Zhao Xiangxiang was very smart, perhaps even sharper than Chen Shishi, and she naturally understood one simple truth:
In the brush and ink of scholars, tales of romance and moonlight have always outlasted genuine devotion.
At first, they had despised Liu Yong; then came a period of gradual softening; and finally, they agreed to set his lyrics to music. Having once witnessed Xie Yuying searching for her lost love, with the two simply sharing a brief embrace in the end.
Yet when all was said and done, Liu Yong went right back to his usual pleasures of food and drink. It seemed that this reunion with an old flame was nothing more than a passing phrase—once read, it was gone.
Perhaps it was worth even less than a passing phrase.
Clutching her Jiaowei zither, Zhao Xiangxiang walked into the backstage area and sat before the dressing table in the guan. The candlelight cast a cold glint upon the jade hairpin at her temple. As she gazed into the bronze mirror, her reflection suddenly chuckled with a hint of sighing:
"Back then, Xie Yuying spent half a year searching for Liu Qi in Jiangzhou, finally reuniting with him at Yanbo Pavilion. Who would have thought that after writing a single *Jade Butterfly*, Liu Qi would immediately turn around and follow Sister Shishi to listen to the tunes of the Xunyang River?"
Chen Shishi smiled softly as she, too, seated herself nearby, gently tuning the strings of her pipa.
When it came to despising Liu Yong, Zhao Xiangxiang fell far short of her.…
Chapter 308