The familiar aroma of ambergris lingered around me, but Song Heng was nowhere to be seen in the hall. Eunuch Ahfu said to me, "Please follow me." I followed him nervously, my heart beating faster with every step.
After walking out of the main hall and around several corridors, I actually entered a courtyard: the pine trees were straight, the bright moon was hanging high in the sky, and the faint light poured down, making the scene clear and bright.
A pale yellow lamp on a wooden stand stood beside Song Heng. In the dim light, one could see that he had taken off his jade crown, his long hair was scattered behind his shoulders, and he was sitting with his eyes lowered in front of a long stone table. There was actually a guqin on the table.
"Your Majesty, Concubine Mu is here." Eunuch Afu stepped forward to ask for instructions in a low voice and then quietly retreated. The courtyard was silent and quiet, with the sound of wind blowing through the pines.
"Come here," his voice was very soft, but because of the quietness of the yard, it was still particularly clear. I walked forward until I was under the light, and actually smelled a faint aroma of wine.
Didn't Duan Xiao say yesterday that he didn't drink? I thought he just agreed.
"Your Majesty." I bowed and saluted as he gently stroked the strings. I realized that the zither was very ancient, even a little worn, with a long, deep crack at the headstock.
I was a little surprised that the emperor played the guqin, a guqin that seemed incompatible with his status and position.
He still lowered his eyes, his expression difficult to discern in the dim light: "The clear autumn water in his eyes is full, he turns his head and lowers his gaze to the tender girl."
He plucked a string, and the sound of the zither spread out in all directions. "You danced beautifully to the piece 'Autumn Water Filled' yesterday, but the musician got the beat wrong at the end. Why don't you dance again today?"
It was just a small mistake of less than a second, but he actually heard it!
"Your Majesty has good hearing," I quickly replied, retreating into the courtyard. "Yes."
"It's just that I'm not familiar with the new tune you changed," he said slowly, "Is the original tune okay?"
Wait, he's going to accompany me?!
Wait, he wants me to dance to the original song eight times towards him!?
"Yes..." I agreed softly, but Princess Rushuang's unhappy look today reappeared. I bit my lip and prepared to dance.
The sound of this guqin is indeed not as pleasant and clear as the one played by the luthier yesterday, but it is deep, simple and mellow, quite ancient, and has a unique charm.
The sound of the piano spread like ripples in the courtyard, the moonlight was bright, and I danced to the tune. When I paused, I deliberately lowered my eyebrows and used my clothes to cover my eyes. In addition, the light was dim, so I couldn't see Song Heng's expression for a while, but I danced more and more freely.
At the end of the piece, there was a startling sound of a plucked string. The beat was correct, but the sound was too loud, making me feel like the string was about to break.
I subconsciously looked up and saw Song Heng's pair of inky eyes staring at me under the bright yellow light. When our eyes met, my heart trembled.
"Mu Zhaoyi," he huffed, "You sang the entire song 'Autumn Water Filling', and you really didn't even look at me?!"
"Yesterday, you changed the tempo of the tune, and everyone was looking at you, but you didn't even glance at me. Today, I asked you to dance to the original tune, and you tried to hide yourself, afraid to face me!" He actually laughed out loud. "Oh, Concubine Mu, am I a wolf, tiger, leopard, or demon that you avoid me so much!?"
I had never seen him in such a state before. I stood there in shock for a moment, and finally, my mouth was faster than my brain and I lied out of guilt: "I...I...I went to see His Majesty yesterday..."
"Yeah."
I reacted and cursed myself for being so foolish, but I could only bite the bullet and continue: "Yes, yes... Your Majesty happened to be looking down at that time... So, I missed it by mistake..."
As expected, I had no confidence in lying and even stuttered several times. But this excuse should be enough to get by. After all, in such a long dance, there will always be at least a moment of small movements.
He pondered for a moment, then said in a slower tone, "Come here."
I didn't dare look at him because I felt guilty, so I walked forward with my head lowered.
"Mu Zhaoyi," he called me, "there's no need to bow your head like that."
I had to raise my head slightly to look at him. The light was dim. He stood up from the bench and I noticed that there was a small wooden table on the other side of him, with a wine jug and cups on it.
It turned out that he had really been drinking just now.
He took a few steps towards me, closing the distance. He lowered his eyes to look at me and said in a low voice, "I have never lowered my head."
Before I could react, he looked at me, his lips slightly curved but not smiling: "During your entire dance, I never lowered my head."
"I've been watching you."
After being exposed, I felt relaxed and calm for a moment, but then came surprise, confusion and many indescribable emotions.
He turned around and sat back to get a glass of wine: "If you like to drink, I will drink with you."
"I don't like it." I replied subconsciously.
He turned around in surprise: "Yesterday you——"
"Yesterday I was going to say, 'I can drink a sip or two of wine, but I don't really like it.'" I spoke quickly, not knowing how I suddenly calmed down.
His eyes seemed to flash with light, but he turned his head away: "This time again -"
"I didn't lie to you this time!"
He turned around in surprise, and I was surprised too. He suddenly put down his wine cup and waved to me: "Come sit down."
I didn't move, and he waved again, so I sat down on the bench at a distance from him.
He ran his knuckles across the crack on the headstock of the piano on the table: "This crack was caused by the late emperor."
"Aunt Mei gave me this harp for my eighth birthday. I love it and play it day and night."
"When the late emperor found out, he threw the zither to the ground in front of me. He said it was a waste of time and that as a prince, I should study and practice martial arts."
"Later, Concubine Mei was confined for two months by the late emperor and demoted as a punishment. I never played the zither again."
He lightly plucked the first string.
"I went to read and copied on paper 'I have no interest in worldly matters, my nature is to love hills and mountains.'"
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