Lingering Notes

Speaking of which...

Wei Qing's eyes darted about, and she grinned. "But this piece might as well have been made for you!"

"Think about it. Who are you, Jiang?"

"You slew a dragon at Taihu Lake! What could be fiercer than that?"

"If you pair that with a piece like this at the Floating-Cup Banquet..."

Wei Qing clenched her little fist and punched the air. "You'll make the eyes of those fools who do nothing but moan about imaginary troubles pop right out of their heads!"

Jiang Yuechu looked at her in amusement.

This girl.

She had gone to such lengths to help Jiang Yuechu shine at the banquet.

"All right."

Jiang Yuechu took the worn old book.

"After everything you've said, I'd be ungrateful to refuse."

"Hurry, take a look!" Wei Qing urged.

"But I should warn you: that old man said the fingering is intricate and obscure. It's terribly hard to learn."

"Even the most gifted musician at the Court of Imperial Music would need at least half a year of painstaking practice to play anything resembling the whole piece."

Wei Qing counted the days on her fingers, and worry returned to her face.

"There are only two days left before the Floating-Cup Banquet..."

"Yuechu, don't put too much pressure on yourself. Learn whatever you can. If you have to play only half the piece, that's fine. As long as it has the right force behind it."

Jiang Yuechu said nothing. She opened the book.

In the past, the sight of it would have made her head ache.

But now...

Her gift of Unfailing Memory quietly took hold.

Every fingering, every pause and shift in force or tempo...

Even the writer's annotations were etched clearly into her mind.

Rustle—

Rustle—

Jiang Yuechu turned the pages at astonishing speed.