Insufficient balance

  "Third Sister, do you know what thing sticks on the most and is hardest to wash off?"

  "I don't know."

  Blood.

  ……

  Walking in the bright sunshine, a raise of the head reveals the blue sky with white clouds floating about. In this unpolluted Tang Dynasty, clear skies are so beautiful and pure, just like an untouched maiden.

  Xue Chongxun was spotless, and not long ago he had just steamed himself in the misty pavilion and washed his whole body several times, changing into a brand new hemp robe... But at this moment, he still felt a bloody smell on his body.

  Next to him, San Niang lowered her head, covering her eyebrows with her palm. She seemed unaccustomed to the strong light. Xue Chongxun turned his head and said: "You often move around during the day, so you're used to the bright daylight... Don't worry about the officials, except for Li Shouyi, no one dares to openly capture me, but Li Shouyi doesn't know you, in case someone recognizes me, I can also deny it."

  The three daughters remained silent. Xue Chongxun said again: "Today is a leisure day, let's go to Shuiyunjian to see Meng Xiaoyu."

  "Is Lang Jun very important to her?" San Niang finally spoke up.

  Xue Chongxun hesitated for a moment, as if it was difficult to answer this question. He suddenly remembered a movie called "The Killer is Not Too Cold", where an old man in the bar who specialized in introducing jobs to killers would always appear with a group of children laughing and playing together. Xue Chongxun thought for a moment before hesitantly saying: "I feel like when I'm with her, it's like this sky... blue sky and white clouds, very warm. Don't tell her about Xiao Heng's matter, got it?"

  The third daughter nodded silently and remained speechless.

  They arrived at the Water Cloud Pavilion just in time, and the person performing on the wooden stage in the hall was Meng Xiaoyu, playing and singing "Chang Xiang Si". Xue Chongxun stood in the crowd to appreciate her performance.

  Meng Xiaoyu wore a white dress, looking elegant and pure, winning the applause of the audience. She held a pipa in her arms, singing with deep emotions, playing with heart-wrenching sorrow, and shedding tears at every note, but the audience continued to cheer loudly.

  It's probably this kind of sorrow that makes her look like a sentimental beauty, or perhaps it's just that her tears seem to be as touching as pear blossoms in the rain. The people who come to watch the singing and dancing spend their money for nothing more than a thrill, who cares whether Meng Xiaoyu is really heartbroken?

  A delicate and lovely girl, a girl who still cares about feelings, always caters to men's tastes. Looking at the countless beautiful poems that describe beauty, one can see that the women in the poems are either crying or feeling sad, never smiling... Most of these poems were written by men.

  The procuress didn't know when she recognized Xue Chongxun, and hurriedly ran over, laughing: "Look what a noble person has come!"

  Xue Chongxun cupped his fists and said: "No need to be polite, I just came to listen to Xiaoyu sing. Never mind, Sister Du is busy... By the way, why didn't Xiaoyu raise a few more days before going on stage?"

  "Hey, I didn't force Xiaoyu, she said it was fine herself. Besides, many of our regular customers at Shuiyun House like to listen to Xiaoyu sing. We can't keep her cooped up in the room for too long, so we agreed to let her out. She'll be down soon. Have her keep Langjun company... Cai'er, take Langjun upstairs to Xiaoyu's room and attend to him."

  A young woman came over and answered, and Xue Chongxun and others followed her upstairs. The elegant room on the upper floor is much more expensive, but it's worth it, with a high view from the open window, you can see the program on the stage, which is indeed much more comfortable than downstairs.

  When Meng Xiaoyu finished singing, she put down the pipa, stood up and bowed to the people below, showing a sweet smile, saying some words of gratitude, and then turned around and left. The audience was still reluctant to let go, shouting for her to come again with another song. But soon another group of beauties came on stage, their clothes revealing more skin, and everyone became even more excited, no longer calling out for Meng Xiaoyu to play again.

  After a while, Meng Xiaoyu went upstairs and returned to her room. She saw Xue Chongxun and was quite surprised, saying: "It's you..."

  Xue Chongxun nodded and said: "Last time I came to listen to you sing, but unfortunately something happened. Today it finally came true."

  Meng Xiaoyu's face sank, but she still managed to say: "I haven't thanked you for saving my life yet." Her voice clearly didn't have much excitement in it, but the tone was still crisp and unchanged, like a canary, with a bit of a cute feeling.

  "It was an acquaintance of mine who saved you, I don't know any medical skills, so there's no need to thank me."

  Meng Xiaoyu sat down across the table, still wearing the white dress from the stage, without having had time to change. She glanced at Xue Chongxun and said: "I haven't asked for your esteemed name yet."

  Xue Chongxun said: "No need, we're fine like this... your clothes look great, making you look just like a celestial maiden."

  Although she was in a humble position, she wasn't very old. All girls like to hear praise from others, and Meng Xiaoyu was no exception. She suddenly revealed a hint of a smile: "I don't dare to be so presumptuous... most people despise people like us... but you, sir, are not concerned about it?"

  Xue Chongxun said sincerely: "Compared with me, you are purer than the spring water on the mountain."

  "It seems like you're a very bad person." Meng Xiaoyu gave him a white eye, suddenly thought of something, and sighed softly, shaking her head and saying, "Someone said that to me before, I even believed it was true."

  Xue Chongxun was silent.

  Perhaps she felt that in front of Xue Chongxun, she didn't need to worry about anything, so she didn't hide her emotions. She fell silent for a moment and another big tear dropped from her eyes. Xue Chongxun hastily pulled out a handkerchief and handed it over.

  Meng Xiaoyu sobbed, her shoulders shaking violently: "What vows of mountain and sea are all false, everything is false! He said his family can't accept a concubine, what did I ask for? Just to be a concubine, they're not some aristocratic family with so many rules. What's the difference between a concubine and a slave? I didn't ask him to spend money to buy me, I'd be doing him a favor by going there as a slave myself! Why did he have to do this..."

  San Niang said coldly beside him: "Ungrateful and unscrupulous, heart like a poisonous snake, such a person deserves to be killed..."

  "Third Sister!" Xue Chongxun turned his head and shouted at her, "No need to say more, didn't I tell you?"

  Meng Xiaoyu wiped away her tears with Xue Chongxun's handkerchief and said, "If I weren't a performer, would people treat me like this?"

  "No, everyone is the same." Xue Chongxun said calmly.

  She cried for a while, then suddenly said: "Sorry, Lang Jun is here to listen to the music, shouldn't make you unhappy too. What do you want to hear? Is it still the teaching tune?"

  Xue Chongxun thought for a moment and said, "Let's hear something pleasant... I think your voice is suitable for singing a song, I'll write one for you." He then walked to the desk, picked up his pen, dipped it in ink, and prepared to compose.

  When he picked up his pen, he realized that translating the song into a Tang tune was quite difficult. At this time, the commonly used scores were mostly instrumental scores, such as pipa and qin. Xue Chongxun was born into a noble family and received good education from an early age, mastering all six arts, but it was still a bit difficult to translate a melody into an instrumental score on the spot.

  Meng Xiaoyu saw Xue Chongxun scratching his head in deep thought, and said: "Just give me the name, I know many tunes, but don't know their names. Hum a tune and I'll know what it is."

  Xue Chongxun smiled and said: "This tune is no longer popular, very few people know it, so I won't write it down either. Let me teach you to sing it."

  Meng Xiaoyu took a glance at Xue Chongxun's dark appearance, which didn't seem like someone who could sing songs. For a moment, she forgot her sorrow and couldn't help but burst out laughing with a "heh" sound. She quickly covered her mouth with her sleeve and intentionally said: "Lord, just write down the lyrics, then sing them once, I can remember the tune, but not the lyrics."

  "Is it that fierce?" Xue Chongxun really didn't know that Meng Xiaoyu was intentionally making him look foolish and funny, and he seriously exclaimed in surprise.

  Meng Xiaoyu struggled to hold back her laughter, looking at Xue Chongxun's dark face, and nodded slightly.

  "Alright, I'll sing." Xue Chongxun looked at Meng Xiaoyu with an innocent expression, then turned his head to look at San Niang, and even the usually indifferent San Niang had a hint of a smile on her face.

  At this moment his mood improved, and life seemed to be filled with bright sunshine all at once.

  "...Youth does not understand the red dust, rouge stained with ash, letting long-absent tears moisten your face..."

  His voice is too coarse, like "a big man holding an iron plate copper gong, but singing 'Yang Liu Shore Xiao Feng Can Yue'"... However, the five tones are still complete.

  "Hahaha......" He had just finished singing, Meng Xiaoyu couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing, doubling over backwards.

  Xue Chongxun's face turned red as he said: "My voice isn't very pleasant to listen to, but the song itself is fine. If you sang it, it would definitely sound good, even if the song is a bit old."

  Meng Xiaoyu still held Xue Chongxun's handkerchief in her hand, she covered her small mouth with the handkerchief and smiled: "What a strange pronunciation, I've never heard of such a thing before, where is it old?"

  Xue Chongxun hastily said: "This song has been around for a long time, just as you said. Because of its unusual style and uniqueness in the world, there are few people who can sing it... You really remember it?"

  Meng Xiaoyu nodded: "I learned this very quickly, otherwise with so many songs, how could I get through them all? Now sing it to you, listen and see if there's anything wrong."

  Xue Chongxun sat up straight, his eyes fixed intently on Meng Xiaoyu, looking like a primary school student attending class for the first time, or as if he was listening to a Buddhist master expounding on Zen.

  Meng Xiaoyu gently picked up the pipa, her movements elegant and soft, then held it in her arms to tune it before singing in a clear and pure voice... When she sang the word "spring breeze", her voice was gentle and rich with emotion, full of love. Xue Chongxun felt deeply moved, as if the sound lingered on, unforgettable for three months. Xue Chongxun's judgment was correct, her pure voice was indeed suitable for singing this song.

  The music ended, and Xue Chongxun was truly stunned. He stared at Meng Xiaoyu's face for a long time, hardly believing his ears. A Tang Dynasty girl could sing so perfectly, with a voice as beautiful as heavenly music, seemingly even better than the greatest musicians...

  Until Meng Xiaoyu was seen to be embarrassed, her face flushed with a red glow, Xue Chongxun finally came back to his senses. He stared blankly and said: "I can't say it's good..."

  Meng Xiaoyu raised her head: "Where did I sing wrong?"

  Xue Chongxun shook his head: "If I use 'good' to describe it, it would be blasphemy against the music of the immortals."

  Meng Xiaoyu's face suddenly turned red, and her shy smile made Xue Chongxun feel like the whole world was filled with fresh flowers. She said sincerely: "Thank you, now I feel much better."

  Xue Chongxun thought for a moment and said, "I don't know why, but seeing you smile makes me incredibly happy. It's as if anything I do is worth it as long as you're smiling. Suddenly, I understand why King You of Zhou was willing to light the beacon towers just to see his concubine smile..."

  "You're quite skilled at flattering women with your words."

  Xue Chongxun shook his head and pointed at San Niang: "Ask her if I'm a smooth talker or not?"

  The three girls stood still with expressionless faces.

  Xue Chongxun said: "Xiaoyu, I'll take you somewhere."

  "Where are you going?" Meng Xiaoyu asked curiously.

  "Chenghuang Temple... I have a friend who really likes to go there, I don't understand why she always feels good every time she goes there, maybe you will too."