The late spring breeze swept across the glazed tiles of Qinfang Garden, sending wisps of smoke curling from the gilded incense burner inside the waterside pavilion. Jiang Rou stood before the Guqin, deliberately slowing her movements as her fingertips brushed the strings, her gold-inlaid jade nail guards glinting coldly in the candlelight. She cast a sidelong glance at Jiang Wan, who was seated quietly on the west side, a half-mocking smirk curling her lips—she would reclaim today in musicianship what she had lost in yesterday's poetry gathering.
"Please listen, my dears," Jiang Rou began, her voice deliberately affected and sweet. "This piece is called 'Cranes Calling', personally taught to me by Lord Yuezheng himself, and it emphasizes above all the realm of 'broken sounds and continuous intent'." With a light flick of her wrist, the strings emitted a clear, piercing vibrato, like a crane crying out above the clouds.
The music began like a solitary crane spreading its wings, piercing the layers of clouds; then it shifted to a low hum, resembling a crane's shadow skimming across a cold pond; and at the climax, all seven strings sounded together with the resonance of metal and stone, as if nine immortal cranes were crying out in unison, shaking the peach blossoms outside the pavilion until they fell like rain. As the tune ended, Liu Ruyan was the first to applaud, striking her folding fan loudly. "Second Miss's musicianship is truly 'a melody belonging only to the heavens'!…
Chapter 39