At the third quarter of the Xu hour, the final revolving lantern was hung under the eaves of the Taiye Pavilion. Jiang Wan held a copy of the "Marriage Rites" chapter of the *Book of Rites* in her hands, her fingertips pausing at the *gong, shang, jue, zhi, yu* musical notes for the "Joining of the Cups" ceremony. "Jingyuan, why is the *zhi* note missing from this score of the 'Guan Ju'?"
Lu Jingyuan set down the candle holder he was holding and leaned in to look. The silver hairpin on his cuff brushed against the page. "The *zhi* note belongs to the element of fire, which corresponds to the 'red' of the wedding. If it were deliberately omitted..." He suddenly frowned. "Go and summon the head musician."
A short while later, Uncle Chen, the head musician with white hair and beard, was brought to the corridor. Looking at the musical score, his fingers trembled slightly. "Th-this is not the version I copied..."
Chapter 246