After parting ways with Yuan Jin'er and returning to the second floor, the Su family was still discussing how they could get Lü Xia to choose their side. Although they understood the Xue family probably had their own bargaining chips, Su Wengui and the others actually felt somewhat confident. This was mainly because they were regulars at Smoke and Emerald Tower. Among them, Su Wending was close to the First Branch, Su Wengui and Su Wenxing belonged to the Second Branch, while Su Wenluo and Su Wenji were from the Third Branch. Naturally they wouldn't travel together normally, but at this moment they chose to band together, combining all the connections they could pull.

The result looked quite promising. Some knew the more influential managers in the building, others were very familiar with Aunt Chen, and some had personally supported Lü Xia's performances several times and felt they had close relationships with her. Speaking of it all naturally made them look very confident, and putting it all together made them feel victory was within their grasp. At this point, the Su family members had also been constantly making arrangements up and down, and had taken out a large sum of silver. Combined with Li Pin's poetry, they felt very confident indeed.

If it weren't for the fact that Lü Xia and Xue Yan had already developed some kind of relationship, as long as they gave enough face and wrote one or two stunning poems or song lyrics, tonight might not have been without hope of victory. But at this point, it was no longer a matter of competition. Of course, Yuan Jin'er's suggestion to hide outside and wait until the singing and dancing was over before going back in naturally wasn't a good solution. Ning Yi went up and told Li Pin about this matter with a smile, and Li Pin also laughed.

"Haha, no wonder they looked so confident down there. I was already suspicious—so that's how it is." Within his laughter, his attitude was magnanimous. After joking with Ning Yi for a few sentences, he took paper and brush to write a second poem, still handing it to the woman beside him to take downstairs. The poem was neither satirical nor complaining, but still a work praising Lü Xia. Soon after, Lü Xia's second performance began below. After she finished performing, the Xue family offered two hundred taels of silver, while the Su family offered three hundred taels, along with their accompanying poetry, waiting for Lü Xia's choice.

When the final result appeared, the main hall was naturally in an uproar. The Su family members were also somewhat indignant. Not long after, Xue Yan, Xue Jin, Liu Qingdi and others brought Lü Xia up to greet everyone. From Lü Xia's position, she naturally thanked the Su family for their generous favor. Xue Yan and the others smiled happily, speaking at this time.

"Haha, today's matter must have put Miss Lü in an extremely difficult position. Choosing one side inevitably makes the other unhappy. Wenxing, Wenji, we've been family friends for many years, so let me apologize first. If you're angry, be angry at me. Ah Xia was ultimately in a difficult position—don't take this matter to heart..."

Within Xue Yan's words, he was deflecting the Su family's anger from Lü Xia. In reality, this was nothing more than needling this side to put on an "I'm not angry" attitude. Everyone appeared harmonious and cheerful as they chatted for a few sentences. Wenxing, Wenji and the others could only display a magnanimous demeanor here, while their gazes paid attention to the overall situation in the main hall. At this time, most people's eyes were actually already looking in their direction.

Amid Lü Xia's apologies and Xue Yan and others' words, Li Pin also raised his wine cup and said with a smile: "We've long known of the relationship between Brother Xue and Miss Lü. Helping lovers unite, as we have today, brings my heart great comfort. I wonder when Brother Xue will formally bring Miss Lü into your household¹. We can also say we've helped broker a beautiful marriage, and that would be a meaningful thing..."

"Brother Li... why do you say such things..." When Li Pin said this, Su Wenxing and others were somewhat confused. On the surface they naturally put on knowing smiles, but Xue Yan and Lü Xia's expressions changed slightly. They knew the inside story. If Li Pin truly knew about the relationship between the two, and people believed these words, others would probably say the Su family knew they would lose but were still willing to help lovers unite, making the Xue family look petty instead. On Lü Xia's side, it would be even more troublesome. If she really married into the Xue family, it would probably confirm this statement, and if that were really the case, it might cut off her possibility of entering the Xue family.

The light was slightly dim. Liu Qingdi, hearing Li Pin's words, came forward and raised his cup: "We accept Brother Li's auspicious words. Today's matter was indeed the Su family being accommodating. If Liheng had also brought out poetry, I'm afraid I really wouldn't dare compose poems to make a fool of myself. At that time, which side Miss Lü would choose would probably be truly hard to say..."

This attempt at stirring up trouble didn't have much effect, because the Ning Yi he mentioned was currently standing by the railing looking down at the stage below. Lü Xia didn't feel reassured by this, and gazed at Li Pin with a somewhat uneasy expression. Li Pin then also sighed, raised his wine cup and drank it all in one go, smiling and saying no more. When he turned to look at Ning Yi, his gaze also looked down below. Not long after, Xue Yan, Xue Jin, Su Wenxing, Lü Xia and others also turned to look down.

The sound of strings and bamboo had already quietly begun from earlier.

Still appearing clamorous, the main hall presented to everyone's eyes a somewhat dimly lit stage. A woman in white robes sat in the center of that stage, gently caressing the ancient qin before her. Her long hair was bound in a bundle behind her head, cascading down. Her white skirt spread out on the stage like lotus petals. The qin music tinkled, and the gentle, comfortable feeling mixed in with the human voices.

The second floor, where the Xue and Su families were talking, was already the focal point, and even more people were now looking toward the stage. The clamorous sounds gradually turned to whispered conversations, as if they had been soothed by that gentle, slow qin music. Unknowingly, the qin music seemed to become clearer and clearer, and the main hall had also become quieter and quieter.

That woman looked as if she had been painted on that stage with ink wash. Between her slender fingers' gentle plucking, there was naturally an elegant and captivating temperament. She had wrapped a veil around her face, and in her slightly lowered head, only tranquil, leisurely eyes and pink lips showed. Although her full appearance couldn't be seen clearly, she was undoubtedly quite an outstanding beauty. She seemed not to pay much attention to the audience in the main hall, instead appearing as if she were leisurely playing in uninhabited mountains or by lakes.

Perhaps only a few people could understand the infectious power that figure created in just a short moment.

"Who is this?"

At the second floor railing, Xue Jin asked softly. Naturally he was asking Lü Xia, but Lü Xia also shook her head somewhat puzzledly. Xue Yan looked at the few people beside him and said in a low voice: "What piece is this?"

Liu Qingdi beside them frowned at this moment, subconsciously glancing toward Ning Yi, only to see Ning Yi tilting his head to look down, his fingers lightly tapping something on the railing. He shook his head: "It sounds like something I've heard before, but... it's hard to be certain right now..."

"It sounds like Water Melody Prelude..." Lü Xia softly answered.

"This song has been sung everywhere for the past while. If I haven't heard it ten times, it's been twenty times. This kind of melody..." someone murmured, "Did she play it wrong?"

These words weren't very confident either. Before the voice had even finished, the woman on stage finally raised her head. Her clear gaze swept across the entire venue, pausing briefly on the second floor, and from behind her veil, her singing voice drifted out leisurely.

"When will the bright moon appear..."

Water Melody Prelude.

This music had already been sung countless times in Jiangning over nearly a year. For many brothel regulars, it actually no longer held much novelty. But this singing was somewhat different from usual. It still followed the musical framework of the past, but the singing gave people only a leisurely, ethereal, melodious feeling. During this, it didn't lose the grandeur of those lyrics, making it difficult to determine whether this voice was orthodox or rebellious. For a time, whispered conversations arose again in the main hall, then quickly quieted down. These people had probably realized how good this song sounded—whatever they had to say could wait until after listening.

Of course, no matter how the melody changed, the next line of lyrics would always be the same.

That was: "I raise my cup to ask the blue sky."

"I wonder what year it is tonight in the palace above... I want to ride the wind and return, but fear the jade towers and crystal palaces..."

Few people in the main hall were talking. The qin music and singing affected everything around them in this moment. White robes, ancient qin, long hair, veil—in the clear, melodious singing, this scene created a captivating aura, an impact like that of an unstained fairy. The music was different from usual, the singing style was also different from usual, but it wasn't rebellious either. The framework actually remained unchanged, but within every turn, every trembling note, every rise and fall of melody, there seemed to be its own soul. Combined with an ethereally beautiful voice, it magnificently created an entirely new artistic interpretation.

"High places cannot bear the cold. I rise and dance, making clear shadows. How can it compare to being in the human world..."

After finishing one stanza, the woman smiled slightly and focused again on the qin. Ning Yi did see her seemingly casual glance toward him from the second floor, and gently shook his head. Of course, this didn't disturb the tranquility and smile in the woman's eyes below. She hadn't done these things for three years and originally had no need to do them.

Before this, Ning Yi had never truly heard Nie Yunzhu sing in an ancient style. But he knew how this piece came to be. Ning Yi had taught her the modern singing method for Water Melody Prelude and told her he liked that way of singing. She had actually been somewhat dismissive of it, though she never argued back, until this moment's piece. It was simply like combining two songs in an almost magical way, yet didn't give people any sense of awkwardness.

"Several floors high..."

"At least in this matter, whether it's various poetry and song lyrics, or the folk songs that Young Master mentioned earlier, if Yunzhu can't do it, probably few people in all of Jiangning City could do it..."

Remembering her playful or supremely confident words, her somewhat hesitant expressions when hearing those songs, Ning Yi now probably understood. But at present, he could only listen quietly to this song continue like any other person.

"Turning vermillion pavilions, passing low silk doors, shining on the sleepless... There should be no regret—why is it always full when we part..."

On the other side, from a window on one side of the main hall, Yuan Jin'er watched that figure on stage, quietly listening to this song. Behind her, Aunt Chen was also listening, only frowning at a certain moment and saying: "This is Yunzhu..."

She had heard Nie Yunzhu's qin pieces before, and listened with professional standards. When she was at Golden Wind Tower, Nie Yunzhu's accomplishments in this area were already superb, but actually had a somewhat aloof and transcendent quality in temperament. Originally this was also a kind of artistic conception that others liked—for example, Lu Caicai had a similar temperament, but Lu Caicai's temperament tended toward self-pity and ultimately couldn't compare to Nie Yunzhu's cold aloofness.

But at this time, that coldness was gone, and the somewhat distant aloofness had also disappeared without a trace. In its place was only naturalness and gentleness like flowing streams, warmly enveloping everything, nourishing silently. Almost no one was willing to disturb such songs and artistic conception. Her appearance on stage didn't need to overwhelm everything with a high-profile attitude, but was just like... requiring no controversy at all, directly infecting everyone...

No need to compare with Lü Xia and others, because that simply wasn't the same level or system.

"People have joys and sorrows, partings and reunions. The moon has dark and bright, waxing and waning. These things have always been hard to complete..."

The woman smiled and sang this verse happily. Not long after, when she gently parted her lips to sing "I only wish for long life, sharing the moon's beauty across a thousand miles," there seemed to be some reluctance to let go. Her voice and the qin music took a long time to finally fade away. She lowered her head and sat there quietly. After waiting quite a while, applause finally began.

Talking voices mixed with that applause. Some people on the first and second floors began asking the women beside them about the origins of the person on stage, or excitedly began discussing with those beside them about inviting her over.

Amid such sounds, the woman stood up from the stage, smiled and bowed slightly without speaking, showing her thanks. Then she walked toward one side of the stage, not to the backstage entrance Lü Xia had used earlier, but to the small platform beside it. She poured a cup of wine to be sent to Xue Yan. Then, taking a porcelain cup for herself, she moved to the side and poured a cup of tea, leaving the wine pot untouched.

The main hall—people watched this scene with slight puzzlement, whispering among themselves, watching what would develop next...

(End of Chapter)