A cold mist hung over the late autumn river as Sū Wǎnzhōu wrapped her fox-fur cloak tighter around herself and leaned against the railing of the painted barge. The intermittent sound of a xiao flute drifted from afar, sobbing like a weeping ghost. Her grip on her wine cup suddenly tightened, and the warm wine spilled over the rim, staining the front of her dress with dark patches.
It was an autumn just like this in Lin'an City seven years ago. Back then, she was still the most pampered legitimate daughter of the Sū family, and she had run into the flute-playing youth by chance on Vermilion Bird Avenue. At that time, Shěn Qīngyá was nothing more than a destitute scholar performing arts on the street, yet under the moonlight, dressed in white purer than snow, his rendition of "Feng Qiu Huang" had brought the entire street to a halt. When Sū Wǎnzhōu tossed her ancestral jade bracelet into his instrument case, he raised his gaze, the sparks in his eyes burning brighter than the moon in the sky.
"My lady's jade bracelet is worth three years of my bitter studies," he said, picking up the bracelet and rubbing his fingertips over its warm, smooth surface. "Yet to accept a reward without merit—I wonder what tune my lady wishes to hear?"
Chapter 229