Dance Costumes
Her movements were light and graceful, like a butterfly vividly emerging from the deepest dream.
All the dance moves were ones that A-Qiu had practiced hundreds of times, whether she was awake or dreaming.
But what this young girl danced out was not changing postures, but flowing poetry and profound emotions.
At this moment, A Qiu had already remembered who she was.
A-Qiu had seen her once, in the study of a grand mansion in his dream. At that time, she was writing a poem with her back to A-Qiu.
"Life is less than a hundred years, yet worries are as long as a thousand. The days are short and the nights are long, why not light a candle and wander?"
Ah Qiu blurted out, "Back then you said you had never seen the White Silk Dance."
After the veil was lifted, the girl's dance slowed down. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but her voice sounded more mature than before, with a hint of sadness: "Do you know that time flows? Even the same person can look different at different stages. Just because I didn't see it then doesn't mean I won't have the chance to see and learn it now."
For some reason, her voice and appearance seemed to have a natural and strong attraction for A Qiu. A Qiu desperately wanted to lift the white veil to see her face, but instinctively felt that if she did so, this dream would probably end immediately.
She will never see this girl again.
This is the unfinished bond between this girl and her.
A-Qiu said, "So, you are the true creator of this White Silk Dance, right?"
The girl's posture froze, and she said softly, "The White Silk Dance did not have a single creator. It first entered the court when a friend born in Wu recommended it to me. Later, someone adopted the style of Wu songs and Western tunes, perfected the music for it, and completely painted the banquet dances he had witnessed in Jiangnan. Then, it was perfected and choreographed by the dancers of the Qing Shang Department, and that's how we got the complete 'White Silk' we have today."
Ah Qiu, behind the curtain, remained silent for a moment before saying, "I see your starting movements and postures are beautiful, but you certainly didn't learn to dance from a young age. Why...did you decide to practice this 'White Silk' yourself?"
Upon their first meeting, she could tell from the young woman's elegant demeanor that she must be from a noble family. "White Silk" was once a piece of music performed by female entertainers at banquets in Jiangnan, often presented by household entertainers and official entertainers.
Although Ah Qiu was a member of the martial arts world, he knew that daughters of noble families would never be allowed to learn the dance repertoire of entertainers.
The girl sighed softly, "Why do you also think that I can't?"
There seemed to be a deeper layer of melancholy in his tone.
A-Qiu was speechless.
The girl said wistfully, "Even in the palace, there are always people who can do what they want. Only I... ah." Her sigh was filled with an indescribable sadness.
For some reason, her every smile and frown seemed to stir A Qiu's emotions, causing them to rise and fall with her. A Qiu immediately said, "No, no, you can learn whatever you want, do whatever you want."
He added, "At least, that's what I think."
The girl behind the veil seemed somewhat surprised: "Why do you think that?"
Ah Qiu said, "Because someone as beautiful as you can probably do the right thing."
These words may seem absurd, but they are Ah Qiu's most genuine feelings. From the first moment she saw this girl, she naturally felt that she was surrounded by a faint halo, a radiant beauty.
In comparison, all the beauties I had seen before, such as Consort Chen and Zhao Zhaorong, paled in comparison.
The girl behind the veil smiled softly. But it wasn't a smile of finding it funny or amusing.
If A-Qiu hadn't misheard, there seemed to be a hint of relief in her laughter.
What puzzled A-Qiu was whether being understood and accepted by herself was that important to her.
After the girl finished laughing, she said softly, "Do you remember the question you once asked me?"
Ah Qiu blurted out the same question she had asked before:
How to love someone without getting hurt.
The white gauze curtain fluttered, and the figure behind the curtain remained still, yet appeared and disappeared with the swaying of the gauze.
"Many of the beauties in this world are actually made up of sadness."
"The raw silk of white hemp is produced by the life of silkworms in spring."
"Whether it's the regret of unrequited love, the sorrow of being abandoned after starting a relationship, or the fulfillment of mutual love, it's all a different kind of love."
"Love is another form of fate. When it comes, one can only face it, not change or resist it."
The white veil before my eyes gradually turned into a hazy mist, and the figures behind it also became blurred and illusory.
Suddenly, A-Qiu remembered something and reached out to grab the white veil in front of her, as if trying to hold onto this dream. She shouted, "Tell me your name!"
A girl's voice, seemingly real yet ethereal, rang in her ears before fading away: "My name is—Axiu."
Where have I heard this name before?
In the dormitory, A-Qiu sat up in fright, her back soaked with cold sweat.
The dancers in the hall slept soundly, their breathing even. They were exhausted from practicing for many days and each of them was lying in bed, preparing for tomorrow's performance.
The moonlight outside the window was like water, shining onto the couch. In her hand, she was holding a white silk dance dress.
The gold thread, pearls, and crystals on the collar shimmered with a delicate, flickering glow under the moonlight.
Gorgeous yet refreshing.
Ah Qiu remembered that this was something Xue Hongbi had repeatedly told him before the training session ended today.
Tonight, all the geisha must take their performance costumes and headdresses out of the dressing room and keep them with them at all times until they go to bed.
Even in dreams, one must hold onto the dance costume.
Ah Qiu had no idea what had happened before the performance of "White Silk" back then. From the few words spoken by the two instructors, she learned that the costume Xue Hongbi wore when she was the first to go on stage as the opening dancer was lent to her by her wife, Sun.
With her intelligence and keen insight, it wasn't hard for her to guess that someone must have damaged the costumes before the performance in order to prevent Xue Hongbi from going on stage.
In A Qiu's opinion, such a thing would never happen again in the dance troupe now. But Xue Hongbi insisted that everyone be careful, so she followed suit.
The water clock struck in the distance, signaling the third watch. She heard hushed conversations outside the bedroom.
Where are you going at this hour tonight?
"I just wanted to take a look at the dressing room of Jixian Palace the night before the performance."
“Things are different now. Besides, they brought back their clothes and jewelry, so the same thing will never happen again. If it's about what happened back then,” the voice paused, “so many years have passed, you won't find a single clue if you go back.”
Ah Qiu finally recognized that the voice persuading the other party not to go was that of Sun's wife.
"Besides, didn't Consort Chen promise to do her best to recall Hu Miaorong? When she comes back, we can ask her face to face and we'll know."
A-Qiu quietly got up, tiptoed behind the windowsill, and looked outside.
The moonlight cast long shadows of the two figures on the ground beneath the corridor. One of them was Sun's wife, who was blocking the other's path.
She seemed to have hurriedly thrown on her clothes and rushed over to stop her.
The other person was Xue Hongbi, who was dressed as neatly as she was during the day.
Under the moonlight, Xue Hongbi's expression was calmer than ever before.
“Sun Ci, the truth about that matter is of greater significance to me than you can imagine.”
Sun's wife paused for a moment, then said, "At least you hid it very well in front of everyone. At least from then until now, I haven't seen any change in you. Xue Hongbi will always be the vibrant, ambitious, and beautiful top dancer in my memory."
Hearing Sun Neiren say that, Xue Hongbi, whose face was originally very tense, couldn't help but smile.
“You’re just teasing me.” She sighed. “Actually, there are all kinds of beauties in the dance troupe, from plump to slender. It’s just that I like to show off and always want to be the best, so that’s the impression I’ve left.”
Then, she said calmly, "But Sun Ci, if that incident hadn't happened, I might have stayed in the Music Bureau just like you. Although I longed for wealth and fame, and to stand out from the crowd, even if I had stayed in the Music Bureau, these things wouldn't have been unattainable for me. The old instructor always valued me highly. She said I might become the first female steward of the Music Bureau, or even the female music master."
That's not impossible. That's what Consort Sun thought. The Music Bureau of the previous dynasty was very powerful, and the status of musicians rose accordingly. Shi Changqing enjoyed an influence in the palace like that of a prince.
If Xue Hongbi had not become a concubine in the Pei household, with her reputation as the Empress Shangguan's personal choice and the top dancer in "White Silk," no one in the previous dynasty's dance troupes could have matched her.
"But I left the palace without any regrets in the end."
It was the scene of her costume being torn that was too tragic, and the chilling feeling of knowing that someone hated her so deeply yet had to deal with her every day.
Someone plotted this, even at the cost of the inability to perform "White Silk" and the potential inability of all geishas to perform, all in an effort to make her look bad.
"At that time, I began to doubt all the years I had spent in the Music Bureau. All my hard work in practicing was for recognition and praise. In the end, what did I get?"
If the praise and admiration of the masses are like sunlight, when it shines on a person, what follows is the darkness fermented by jealousy and resentment.
It is a duality, and no one in this world is immune to it.
"Madam Pei wouldn't be jealous of me, nor would the eldest young lady. They both have their own achievements in life. And with a Madam Pei who comes from a criminal investigation background and is decisive and efficient, the concubines in the Pei household have very limited means to compete for favor and curry favor. So, for many years, I have managed to live peacefully."
Xue Hongbi lowered her eyes and said expressionlessly, "But they only survived. Like a painting on the screen in the Pei residence, a piece of calligraphy in Pei Gong's study, a potted plant in the lady's garden, or even an antique in the storeroom."
She calmly said, "That's why I want to return to the Music Bureau. Under your guidance, I've rediscovered the dance troupe that felt like 'home' to me from my childhood."
"However, I still care a lot about who did what happened back then. Who could harbor such deep hatred for me? If it wasn't you, and if it wasn't Hu Miaorong either, then who was it?"
She said softly, "My nanmu chest was once locked with a heavy brass lock. It took two eunuchs to lift it, and it was the most sturdy piece of furniture in the entire dressing room of Jiying Hall. But it was actually split in half and shattered into pieces."
She emphasized, "What kind of person would have such strength and such deep hatred to target me?"
"Furthermore, since so many years have passed and we are both still alive, do you think this person is still around?"
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