Behind the Mask - Chapter 13
Chapter 13: The Music Score
Chu Ye's mission to protect Qingliu ended ahead of schedule. Qingliu found her boring, calling her a person devoid of any spark, and no longer wished to keep her by her side.
Chu Ye couldn't have asked for more; now she finally had some peace and quiet.
At dusk, she returned to the small house outside the city. The warm, slanting sun fell upon the courtyard, where Chu Lan had already prepared dinner.
Chu Lan's eyes had improved a great deal. She could now make out blurry figures, and the doctor said that as long as she took her medicine on time, she would be fully recovered in less than half a year.
Chu Hu, meanwhile, repeated over and over that once Chu Lan's eyes were a little better, they could return to the snowy plains.
Chu Ye had little appetite. Looking down, she saw that Chu Lan had already placed a lot of food in her bowl.
"Ye'er, is it that you don't want to go back?" Chu Hu's expression was a little cold. He urged her earnestly, "You have to understand, Xizhou is our home."
Chu Ye kept her head down and ate her rice. "Mm."
Even though Chu Lan couldn't see clearly, she could sense that the atmosphere was tense.
After dinner, Chu Ye took out the guqin again. She opened the music score and sat under the pavilion to play. Elder Sister had planted flowers in the courtyard, and their faint fragrance was very pleasant.
Chu Lan was puzzled to see Chu Ye suddenly practicing the zither. She often sat nearby and listened to her play. "Did Second Miss Bai teach you this?"
"Mm." Chu Ye plucked the strings unskillfully. "She gave me this zither, too."
Without Bai Ning to guide her hand in hand, she played poorly. Even with the score, her playing was halting and out of tune. But in front of her elder sister, she didn't have to worry about such things.
Chu Lan smiled. "She cares for you a great deal. You must be missing her again, aren't you?"
Chu Ye stopped playing. As she lowered her head, her nose tingled with the urge to cry, especially when the image of them holding each other intimately surfaced in her mind.
Hearing the zither fall silent, Chu Lan asked, "Why did you stop playing?"
"I..." Chu Ye forced a smile. "I don't play well. I was afraid Elder Sister would laugh at me."
Chu Lan laughed and, guided by her blurry vision, ruffled her hair.
Chu Ye desperately wanted to ask Chu Lan: What do you do if you fall for someone you shouldn't?
She repeatedly flipped through the music score at her side. Bai Ning had written it herself.
Her mind drifted, thinking back to her meeting with Bai Ning that day, how Bai Ning had asked her directly why she hadn't gone to the zither parlor.
Thinking of the look on Bai Ning's face...
She had made the Second Miss sad...
Her heart ached.
"Ye'er," Chu Lan called softly.
Chu Ye wanted to voice the troubles in her heart, but she didn't know how to begin with Chu Lan.
Chu Lan took her hand and said quietly, "If you don't do the things you want to do in time, you will regret it."
"Elder Sister..." Chu Ye felt as if Chu Lan had seen right through her.
But Chu Lan said no more. How could she not understand what was troubling Chu Ye? Every night, in her sleep, Chu Ye would murmur the name of the Second Miss.
"It gets chilly at night. Don't stay out too long." With that instruction, Chu Lan got up and went back inside, leaving Chu Ye to sit alone.
Chu Ye didn't play the zither again. She looked up at the boundless, pitch-black sky, glittering with bright stars.
The next day was clear and breezy.
Chu Ye slung the guqin over her back and mounted her horse. The horse's hooves clip-clopped along the path, weaving through the woods as a gentle breeze, smelling of sunshine, brushed against her face.
She subconsciously urged her horse to go faster, riding in the direction of Jingzhou City.
But soon, the sound of another horse's hooves echoed from behind her.
"Ye'er, where are you going?"
Chu Ye looked back to see Chu Hu catching up, but she didn't slow down.
"Stop!" Chu Hu shouted again, to no avail. He tugged on his reins and quickly turned onto another path.
Chu Ye was still intercepted by Chu Hu at a fork in the road ahead. The horse, startled, let out a long neigh, rearing up as it came to an abrupt halt.
"Where are you rushing off to?" Chu Hu demanded.
"Don't stop me. I'm going to find her." Chu Ye didn't lie; she spoke to Chu Hu bluntly. "I can't let her go. I just... I love her."
"You..." Chu Hu had already guessed. He sighed. "Have you forgotten what I told you?"
"Brother, I don't want to have any regrets." Chu Ye believed that even though Chu Hu always complained, he surely never regretted meeting and getting to know that person.
Chu Hu knew he couldn't stop her. He gave a wry smile. "You like Second Miss Bai that much?"
Chu Ye was a little surprised. "You knew?"
"You cradle that zither all day long. Did you think I wouldn't know who's on your mind?" Chu Hu turned his face away, no longer looking at her.
Chu Ye knew this was his tacit approval. She spurred her horse onward.
"Miss, you have a visitor."
Hearing the maid's announcement, Yao San put down the music score in her hands and asked casually, "Who is it?"
"A handmaid of Lady Qingliu."
Hearing the name "Qingliu," Yao San jolted. What's going on? She got up and walked outside.
"Miss Yao San, my lady has heard that you are fond of playing the zither and would like to invite you to the Drunken Red Mansion for a little chat."
Yao San played dumb. "I am not acquainted with your lady. What is there to chat about?"
The handmaid smiled. "Last time, you left in a hurry. My lady said she deeply regretted not being able to compare notes with you. She hopes you will do her the honor this time."
Compare notes... Yao San's face turned green. "How did she find me?"
"Finding someone is a piece of cake for my lady."
"Tell her I'm not interested." Yao San's expression turned cold. She disdained associating with people like Qingliu.
"My lady said this is merely to compare zither skills. She also said that if you were to hear her play, your own skills would surely improve a little."
"What?" Yao San sneered. "Is she implying her zither skills are better than mine?"
"Well, this servant is only relaying the message. Perhaps you could discuss it with my lady in person?"
Yao San's anger flared. "Go back and tell her I'll be there this afternoon. I'd like to see just how we compare."
After sending away the handmaid sent by Qingliu, Yao San was sipping some cooling tea to calm her temper when a maid announced another visitor.
This was Chu Ye's first time inside Linglong Workshop. In the past, she had only ever gazed at it from a distance. The zither parlor was exquisitely arranged, elegant and refined.
Yao San saw a woman in a mask appear before her, looking quite mysterious.
"Miss Yao, is Second Miss Bai here?"
Yao San sized up the person before her. Quite a few people knew that Bai Ning played the zither here, and occasionally someone would come to pay a visit out of admiration.
"What do you want with her?"
"I have a music score I can't understand, and I wanted to ask for her guidance." As Chu Ye spoke, a feeling of anticipation mixed with unease rose in her heart. Is Bai Ning in the inner room?
"What kind of score? May I see it?"
Hearing Yao San's question, Chu Ye handed the music score over.
Yao San took the score and froze for a moment. Then her lips formed a pout as she muttered aggrievedly, "Damn it all, I begged her for this score for half a year and she wouldn't give it to me, but she gave it to you?!"
Chu Ye: "..."
Yao San looked Chu Ye up and down again. "Did she tell you to come find her here?"
Chu Ye: "Mm."
Yao San's eyes suddenly lit up in disbelief. "You're Ye'er." So, the person Second Miss Bai couldn't stop thinking about was a woman.
But so what if she loved a woman? Yao San didn't think there was anything wrong with it; she had never cared for the world's judgment.
Hearing such an intimate form of address from a complete stranger felt rather awkward. Chu Ye thought for a moment. "She's told you about me?"
"More than that," Yao San's tone softened. Holding the score, she said to Chu Ye, "Do you know why she gave you this music score?"
Chu Ye hadn't thought about it.
"This piece is so difficult that even I can't play it. She gave it to you precisely because she hoped you would come find her. She's been waiting for you."
She's been waiting. The words pierced Chu Ye's heart. She asked anxiously, "Is she here now?"
Yao San shook her head. "No."
It was like a bucket of cold water had been thrown over Chu Ye. "Then I'll come back tomorrow. If she comes, could I trouble you to pass on a message for me?"
"No need. You don't have to come tomorrow, either. She hasn't been here for quite some time."
Hearing this, Chu Ye felt a wave of disappointment. It made sense. Bai Ning had already waited long enough for her.
Yao San added, "If you want to see her, it would be faster to go directly to the Bai Manor."
"But she doesn't want to see me anymore," Chu Ye said sadly in a low voice. She had made Bai Ning so angry; Bai Ning must be utterly disappointed in her.
Yao San smiled. She had known Bai Ning for many years and had never seen her like this, like a celestial fairy who had finally been moved by mortal passions.
"She won't not want to see you." Acting on the principle of helping others find happiness, Yao San chuckled softly and said, "Once you meet, she won't be able to stay angry with you."
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