Chapter 32 (1/2)

Chapter 32

The Banquet (7)

Xuan Yu grants Xi Yan's request despite her lost of conduct.

He watches as the pet.i.te maiden in front gets up.

He watches as Mu Yan clutches a pipa on top of the raised platform.

One is red while the other is white.  Such distinctive colors; it is as though the most vivid of spring flowers has just bloomed in front of him.  He finds it hard to look away.

Bai Li Nan too, naturally finds it hard to look away.

His eyes are trained more on Xi Yan.  His eyes are slightly narrowed while his lips carry traces of smiles.  He looked lazy but playful at the same time.

An emperor's heart is like a vast ocean.

A concubine's heart on the other hand, is no more than a small spot in that ocean.

Mu Yan's eyes are like water.  She smiles lightly as she looks at Xi Yan.  With the pluck of a string, she begins playing, 'Feng Huai Xin'; overlooking water in the middle of the cold winter.

The view is spectacular and so are the people.  The song, even more so.

The song is gentle and melancholic, lamenting over the obstacles in one's life.

She does not use yijia and used zhenxian instead, unyieldingly playing the sound without any mistake.  It is shocking to the heart.

Who would have known that the famed 'Feng Huai Xin' came from her fingertips?

And who would have thought that the mistake that started in the Lantern Festival would be so cruel and heartless?

This is her first time playing this music for that person; to fulfil her promise from that time.  This will also be the last time.

Because of everything that happened, their promises to each other become meaningless.

The most complex of sounds comes from the tips of her jade-like fingers.  In one hand, she plucks the qinxian string while her other hand plays with the wuxian string.  The tone is low from beginning till the end.

She has accepted everything but she still cannot bring herself to look up.

She is afraid.  She is afraid to look at him.  She is scared that everything she pent up within her will be seen by him.

Everything is already too late for them.

She was once so close to happiness.  So, so close.  But everything has gone to waste.

She closes her eyes, her heart filled with desolateness.