Chapter 20 A tear fell onto his hand with a "plop"...
Shen Mi gestured for Cuiwei to accept the gift list, and then ordered the servants to put away the other gold, silver, jade, glass, calligraphy and paintings, to be dealt with later. However, she was afraid of damaging the guqin, so she didn't want to entrust it to anyone else and took it from the palace servants herself, holding it in her arms.
"Thank you for making this trip, Eunuch Sun." Shen Mi nodded to Sun Cheng.
As Sun Cheng was about to leave, Shen Mi looked at the zither she was holding in her arms and suddenly remembered that night when Gu Zhan had defended her without any concealment, whether in front of the Dangxiang envoy or in front of the Empress and many other women in the palace. She couldn't help but call out to Sun Cheng, "Eunuch Sun, please wait. Please tell His Highness that I like the zither that His Highness gave me very much. If His Highness has the time, would you be so kind as to visit Qingluan Palace?"
Sun Cheng was taken aback. He was unaware of what happened in the palace on New Year's Day. He only found out later when the news spread like wildfire. Although he never dared to question Gu Zhan's decisions, seeing Shen Mi's deep affection for Gu Zhan, he still agreed to her request.
After all, he was a veteran of the palace, and he had heard some of the secrets of His Highness's background. He always thought that His Highness had been lonely for so many years, and it wouldn't be a bad thing if His Highness could have a close and caring person to accompany him.
When he returned to the Hall of Diligent Governance to report to Gu Zhan, he deliberately brought up the matter to test Gu Zhan's attitude: "The zither that Your Highness intended to send to the Qingluan Palace is very popular with Consort Shen. However, she does not dare to come to the Hall of Diligent Governance to disturb Your Highness's official business, nor can she express her gratitude in person."
Gu Zhan's gaze lingered on the official document. Upon hearing Sun Cheng's words, he paused in his movement to retrieve another memorial. "Did I instruct you to send her a zither?"
Sun Cheng was slightly surprised, but then understood Gu Zhan's doubts: "It was from the congratulatory gift that was sent this morning."
Gu Zhan pondered for a moment, then turned his gaze back to the official documents he was working on. "I hadn't noticed. Since she likes it, it's just a zither; I'll leave it to her."
Compared to Shen Mi's initial joy and excitement, Gu Zhan's indifference was like a cup of boiling water poured into the dead of winter, instantly freezing into ice. Sun Cheng couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "Emperors are heartless."
Gu Zhan seemed to suddenly remember something, and without looking up, he ordered, "I remember someone gave me a musical score before, didn't they? Send someone to look for it, and if you can find it, send it to Qingluan Palace."
"Yes." Seeing that Gu Zhan cared about Shen Mi to some extent, Sun Cheng couldn't help but feel happy for Shen Mi.
When the musical score was delivered to Qingluan Palace, Shen Mi was both surprised and delighted. She inquired about Gu Zhan's intentions from Sun Cheng: "Does Your Highness mean that you will come to Qingluan Palace tonight by sending the musical score?"
Sun Cheng was caught in a dilemma. He couldn't bear to expose Gu Zhan's indifference in front of Shen Mi, so he could only say, "Your Highness has been busy with official duties lately. Consort, you should rest early."
The light in Shen Mi's eyes faded instantly, and she lowered her head with a self-deprecating smile, "I understand."
That night, after the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), the sky had completely darkened, and lanterns were lit inside and outside the courtyard. Chen Mi sat in front of the bronze mirror and said to Cui Wei, "Let's wash up. You and Dan Ju don't need to stay up with me tonight. Let's rest early."
Cuiwei was surprised that Shen Mi would say such a thing. "Aren't you waiting for Your Highness? In the past, you would wait until after midnight before you would rest, and you always remembered to leave a lamp on for Your Highness. It is clear that you do not like any light when you sleep."
Shen Mi counted the days on her fingers. Today was already the tenth day of the first lunar month. It had been ten days since she and Gu Zhan returned from the palace on the night of the New Year's Day court assembly, and they had not seen each other. Gu Zhan had also clearly told her to do her job well, so why should she do this?
Facing Cuiwei and Danju, Shen Mi concealed her disappointment and took off her earrings, saying, "I'm not feeling well today, so I won't wait any longer."
After dismissing the servants, Shen Mi, unusually, did not wait for Gu Zhan without removing her hairpins and makeup as usual. Instead, she wore a light blue nightgown, her black hair loose, and sat at the table, plucking the strings of the zither score that Gu Zhan had brought her, as if trying to rediscover the boudoir pleasures that she had deliberately forgotten.
The ink marks on the sheet music had long since faded, but Shen Mi could still clearly make out the handwriting. The piece was called "Guan Shan Yue" (Moon over the Mountain Pass), the first piece her teacher taught her when she became an apprentice in Yanzhou. She was thirteen years old that year, with her parents, brother, and teacher all alive. She was still the most carefree little girl in General Shen's family, and everyone called her "Zhi Niang." But now, she couldn't remember how long it had been since anyone had affectionately called her "Zhi Niang."
She didn't need to read the sheet music or even look at the strings. She could play the piece fluently simply by closing her eyes and letting her fingertips lightly stroke the strings.
When Gu Zhan arrived outside Qingluan Palace, Sun Cheng intended to announce his arrival, but upon hearing the zither music, he raised his hand to stop, instructing the palace servants on duty not to disturb the person playing the zither.
The melody begins slowly and mournfully, then quickens in the middle, and finally the two emotions merge into one, leaving the listener with only endless sorrow and grief.
The zither was placed by the window, with only a candlestick beside it. The room was dimly lit, with only the clear moonlight shining through the lattice window onto the person playing the zither.
Her makeup was simple and unadorned, without any fine silks or brocades. As she stroked and played her instrument, the strings vibrated. She showed no trace of her usual weakness and timidity, but rather a certain spirit and integrity.
Gu Zhan stood by the screen with his hands behind his back, remaining silent until Shen Mi finished playing her piece, at which point he said, "Not bad."
Shen Mi was startled. Her fingernails touched the strings of the zither, making a few noises. She pressed down on the strings, hurriedly turned around, and saw that the person who came was Gu Zhan. She immediately stood up and bowed, saying in a low voice, "This concubine greets Your Highness."
She never expected Gu Zhan to come. Sun Cheng said that Gu Zhan had been very busy recently, so she dared to play the zither in the palace according to her own nature. But it was at this most casual time that Gu Zhan, for the first time ever, took the initiative to come to Qingluan Palace.
She heard Gu Zhan approaching step by step and say to her, "No need for formalities."
Shen Mi did not dare to raise her hand, but lowered her eyes and said, "This concubine was unaware of Your Highness's arrival. I was without makeup and was unable to greet you from afar..."
"It's alright, I don't care about these things, and I'm not meeting with outsiders," Gu Zhan walked around her and went straight to the table where she kept her guqin. He picked up the sheet music that she had spread out and casually asked, "Is this the sheet music that Sun Cheng brought?"
“It is a rare and unique piece. Your Highness is very thoughtful.” Shen Mi turned around and stood a step away from Gu Zhan. Her gaze was quietly fixed on the zither. She said, “The zither has a spirit. I have come up with several names for this zither, but I have been unable to choose one. I wonder if Your Highness could give me some advice?”
Perhaps it was the calming music that made Gu Zhan forget his busy work and become interested in such refined matters, so he asked, "What's the name?"
Shen Mi went around to the desk outside the screen, took a page of prepared Xuan paper, and handed it to Gu Zhan with both hands.
Gu Zhan looked at the words on it and read them aloud: "Fuyun, 'Several times I thought of returning home and drank wine, Fuyun piled up to pray for Mingfei,' Qiushuangwan, 'Autumn shadows do not disperse and frost flies late, leaving withered lotus to listen to the sound of rain,' and this Yuemingrusu, is also from Li Bai's 'Chang Xiang Si'. Are you, missing home?" After he finished speaking, he looked at Shen Mi.
When Gu Zhan so directly revealed the thoughts she had unintentionally written down, Shen Mi choked up and could no longer hold back her tears.
Gu Zhan saw Shen Mi raise her eyes, her eyes glistening with tears. He slightly lowered his brows, but Shen Mi lowered her eyes again.
With a "plop," a tear fell onto the web of his hand.
A note from the author:
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Thank you for reading.
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