Jiangdong, Wu Commandery.
After a night of wind and rain, pale blossoms fluttered down petal by petal. The thousand-year-old city of Gusu seemed a little hushed after the rain. Beneath a small bridge, murmuring water rounded two bends and flowed into the Luo Residence. Pavilions rose at every step, towers stood at every turn, and covered walkways curved like slender waists, their gauzy curtains winding gently.
"Endless longing, in Gusu.
Luo Wei cried in autumn by the golden well rail; a faint frost lay bleak, the bamboo mat cold in hue."
Below the pavilion window, swaths of verdant bamboo stretched past. Luo Chu sat upright in a plain robe, wearing no ornament save a single piece of jade. His features were refined, his eyes clear and bright, their black and white distinct. His hands caressed the zither, its notes lingering among the rafters.
Xiao Qiao wore a jade-green blouse and skirt. She still looked fresh, youthful, and sweet, though a hint of allure touched the corners of her eyes. She sang softly along, her voice tender and charming, lilting as though... She gave full expression to that lingering, heartrending longing, until crystalline tears fell from her own eyes.
When the song ended, she gently wiped away her tears and asked, "Whom are you missing in your heart, my husband, to compose such plaintive, sorrowful words? To think Gusu holds such a beauty. I would like to meet her and see whether she surpasses my elder sister."
Luo Chu paused, then chuckled. "The situation in Jiangxia has changed, and I must go there. I leave you this music and these words to remember me by. Once matters here are settled, I will take you to Zhao City to pay our respects to the elders."
In a shaft of light, sorrow gathered