Chapter 209: The Principal Ritualist and the Assistant Ritualist [Many thanks for everyone's support, bowing again!]

(Background music: The author's top recommendation for readers is Liu Liu Qingyao's female vocal version of "Qin Wang Po Zhen Yue" at 6 minutes 20 seconds, "Mu Lan Ci" with the sound of horse hooves at 4 minutes 32 seconds, and "Lan Ling Wang Ru Zhen Qu".)

Wei Wei Fangzhi held her pipa, sitting with head bowed in the center of the wooden tower's stage.

As the closing disciple of the Tang family, she was not old, yet her attainment with the pipa was by no means low; after the previous competition of pipa skills, she and Sister Sister Luoyou had become two of the leading pipa performers for this musical gathering.

Inside the tower,

the performance was about to begin,

the noise of chatter gradually subsided, and Wei Wei Fangzhi lifted her head slightly to see nothing but nobles adorned in brocade and kingfisher feathers.

She could see that the noble ladies at the tables closest to her were all holding a folded sheet of paper; besides listing the performance pieces for this musical gathering, it also contained approximate annotations for sections of pieces like "The Trap-Array Song,"

explaining what each segment conveyed from beginning to end and what certain instruments represented.

In Wei Wei Fangzhi's line of sight, there was a rather special partitioned room where several people had either their legs, arms, or both wrapped in white cloth, clearly indicating they were wounded.

The musical gathering began.

Since it was near New Year's Eve, the gathering opened with festive pieces such as "Golden Snake Wild Dance" and "Wealth Flowing In."

Although these were commonly heard tunes, under the performance of a group of high-ranking musicians, they indeed evoked a festive atmosphere different from the usual.

Moreover, while the reigning high officials and lords of various families heard such ensemble concerts most often, the women of these families were most accustomed to hearing Southern tunes, variety plays, and the like.

After playing several pieces, there was a brief intermission.

While the nobles of various families were changing clothes in the well-equipped Shanhai Courtyard,

the tower once again became lively and noisy.

The musicians on stage began adjusting their seats; Sister Sister Luoyou and Wei Wei Fangzhi moved from the second row to the very front, with several other pipa-holding musicians behind them, though the two of them were clearly the leaders.

Soon,

an announcer on stage holding a colorful bamboo pole loudly reminded everyone that the performance was about to resume.

Hearing the various sounds in the tower gradually diminish, Wei Wei Fangzhi loosened her grip on the pipa, allowing her slightly sweaty palms to dry.

Amidst the drumbeats, "The Song of the Zhu Father and Son Trapping the Enemy," performed before the public for the first time, officially began.

The families present all turned their eyes to the annotations in their hands,

and amidst the solemn and grave drumbeats assembling the generals,

the first segment: Departing the Camp.

The overall atmosphere of the music was relatively relaxed and high-spirited; although it depicted the frontline of confrontation between two nations, it was, after all, within the Great Zhou territory.

Among the various instruments, the neighing of horses imitated by the erhu occasionally rang out, like messenger knights rushing back and forth through the ranks of soldiers.

The second segment: Marching.

Within the sound of the pipa, the main instrument, several military tunes favored by the Great Zhou's Junrong Zhi occasionally rang out,

tunes that had mostly been passed down among different military units since the founding of the Great Zhou, possessing quite a few local characteristics.

In a partitioned room on the second floor,

Hai Lady Chaoyun's maid, Zhu Zhu Jian, listened to the music from below and looked at the program in her lady's hand, which read: "Marching, with soldiers singing."

Zhu Zhu Jian nodded and continued to listen.

Downstairs,

Zhu Zhu Qinghu glanced at the few wounded men beside him; a look of reminiscence appeared on their faces, and hearing those few tunes, he seemed to recall a comrade whose singing was off-key, and he even chuckled.

The third segment: Anomaly.

Amidst several faint military tunes, several guzhengs and a large drum began to join the performance in low tones.

Sister Sister Luoyou and Wei Wei Fangzhi continued to play steadily, but behind them, the sound of one pipa began to rise rhythmically, like a horse galloping.

But immediately, a guzheng followed suit; that pipa quickly fell silent, then merged back into the music.

This alternating sequence of pipa and guzheng sounded several times in succession,

and Mo Lan, who had some talent for music, looked at the few characters on the annotation sheet in her hand and already knew this depicted Great Zhou scouts detecting something amiss being intercepted and killed by Bai Gao.

The fourth segment: Realization.

The sound of the guzheng suddenly grew loud, mixed with short, sharp notes from the suona,

as if a scout had fired a warning arrow just before death.

The sounds of the numerous pipas were almost suppressed into silence,

until the pipa in Sister Sister Luoyou's hands suddenly soared above all other instruments, its pitch chaotic, resembling Zhu Zhu Qinghu's father, the commander of a camp, facing the massive army of Bai Gao, his mind filled with fear, shock, and chaotic helplessness.

But soon, Sister Sister Luoyou struck several heavy notes, as if he had made a certain resolution.

The fifth segment: Trapping the Enemy.

The sound of the pipa rose, orderly and unified, like the morale of an army.

Subsequently, the pipas in Sister Sister Luoyou's and Wei Wei Fangzhi's hands began a duet.

The guzheng sounds representing Bai Gao slowly faded away,

and at first, the two pipas played with extreme intensity, as if two people were arguing loudly!

However, Sister Sister Luoyou stopped first, and Wei Wei Fangzhi followed suit, stopping as well.

The wooden tower fell into a brief silence,

with Sister Sister Luoyou playing the pipa as if a father were earnestly telling his son about the impending situation of certain death, and how escape would bring cruel consequences upon relatives, family members, and comrades in the army,

followed by another silence lasting a few breaths,

after which Wei Wei Fangzhi responded with a crisp, decisive sound from her pipa.

It was like a son accepting a military order.

Upon hearing that pipa note, all the instruments sounded once again.

The sixth segment: Charging and Killing.

This was the climax of the piece, with every pipa musician playing with all their might,

The sound of the pipas sometimes split into two, playing different rhythms, and sometimes harmonized together, but ultimately, the pipa in Yang Sister Luoyou's hands gradually grew quieter.

The sounds of all the instruments slowly subsided once again.

Yang Sister Luoyou's soft female voice began to sing.

It was like a lament for the comrades and father who had vanished from the vision of the Zhu family son; the Lady of the Duke of Britain, the Lady of Marquis Marquis Yongyi, and Bai Shi, having understood the meaning, were all wiping away tears with their handkerchiefs.

The instruments began to play together once more.

But the focus fell upon Wei Wei Fangzhi.

Led by the pipa in Wei Wei Fangzhi's hands, the rhythm of all the pipas became as one, a fast-paced beat mimicking warhorses galloping swiftly, interspersed with occasional heavy accents, just like Zhu Zhu Qinghu and his comrades breaking through the encirclement, constantly turning back to shoot arrows and spinning around to fight in counterattack.

The crowd, understanding the meaning of this passage,

listening to the urgent rhythm on stage and watching the fingers flying across the pipas, all felt their hearts tense with anxiety.

Suddenly, a sharp blast from a suona rang out.

The piercing sound caused the pipa music to stutter, but it immediately resumed.

This happened five times.

It represented the five feathered arrows that had struck Zhu Zhu Qinghu's body.

Then,

the pipa and drum sounds, which had been playing in perfect harmony just moments before, began to fall out of sync.

The pipa led while the drums followed; both maintained a rhythm like galloping horses, yet this disordered tempo left the listeners feeling puzzled and hesitant.

As the tempo accelerated, the audience realized that the drums were now chasing the sound of the pipa, just like the scouts of Bai Gao pursuing the scouts of Great Zhou.

The finale of the sixth movement.

Amidst the embellishments of various instruments, military horns began to blow softly.

In the midst of the chase between the pipa and the drums,

suddenly another suona note pierced the sky, causing both the drum and pipa sounds to stutter once more.

But unlike before, this time it was the whistling arrow of the Great Zhou army's scouts!

Immediately after,

a gong sounded.

"Boom, boom-boom!"

The drum sounds instantly grew louder.

However, this time the drums represented the Great Zhou army.

Amidst the neat, grand, and rhythmic drumming and the continuous sound of horns,

"Hu!"

"Ha!"

The musicians exhaled and shouted.

It was like the majestic momentum of the Great Zhou military formation.

The crisp sound of the pipa was like large and small pearls falling onto a jade plate,

recounting the story of riding alone into the enemy's central command tent to report the frontline situation.

The drumming and horn sounds, representing the majestic momentum of the Great Zhou army, gradually faded away, just as the main force marched off to confront and battle the enemy.

Then, a gentle pipa solo began to play.

It was a child missing his father,

a soldier longing for his comrades and brothers.

"Deng, dong!"

Silent tears fell from the eyes of men.

Yang Sister Luoyou's pipa sounded again; perhaps it was the heroic spirit of the father, or perhaps the father in the Zhu family son's memories speaking of something.

The two pipas sounded together once more.

The tone of the pipa in Wei Wei Fangzhi's hands began to become rhythmic, merging into the ensemble of all the instruments.

It signified that the Zhu family son had gathered his emotions and regrouped his fighting spirit.

All sounds dissipated amidst a continuous blast of the horn.

Inside the wooden tower, there was complete silence.

Wei Wei Fangzhi, panting heavily, hugged the pipa.

In Yang Sister Luoyou's eyes, sitting nearby, was nothing but immense admiration for Wei Wei Fangzhi.

The silence in the arena also made Wei Wei Fangzhi and the other musicians feel apprehensive at heart.

"Reward!"

"Bravo!"

"Reward!"

The tower instantly erupted in clamor.

As for Zhu Zhu Qinghu and the others,

after looking at each other with tearful eyes, they removed the valuable items worn at their waists or on their heads,

and had the servants attending to them deliver these items to the stage.

On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month,

three days had passed since that musical gathering at Fengle Tower.

Except for Hou Fu, which, relying on its large courtyard, had invited the musicians to perform at home once, all other performances had taken place at the Landscape Garden of Fengle Tower.

Having heard "The Formation-Breaking Tune" once had become a topic of conversation among the wealthy households and common people of Bianjing.

If you haven't heard of it, though no one will look down on you, you will always seem somewhat out of touch with the trends.

This made Fengle Tower's business much better than in previous years; the back kitchen staff, the tea and wine scholars, and the waiters were all exhausted, yet they also received generous rewards.

Before the New Year, Watching Yu Yu Huguang took Zhu Zhu Qinghu and the others to his own medical clinic; amidst Zhu Zhu Qinghu's astonished gaze at Watching Yu Yu Huguang's identity, Watching Yu Yu Huguang, together with a famous orthopedic Physician from Bianjing, began administering 'cruel' treatment to them.

At dawn,

Prince Yelu Sun sat astride his horse,

surrounded by seven or eight Zaye (young nobles of Northern Liao),

while behind him noises clamored, a herd of livestock exhaled steam, and occasionally the shouts of horse grooms rang out.

He gazed at the river before him; on the opposite bank lay the Great Zhou territory,

where several exceptionally sharp Great Zhou cavalrymen stood, and behind them was a group dressed as horse officials.

A cavalryman galloped from afar within the Great Zhou territory, reined in his horse, flipped off the saddle, and handed over an urgent letter he held.

Soon, horses on both sides, attuned to their masters' intentions, stepped onto the frozen, solid surface of the river.

In the light of torches, Prince Yelu Sun saw that beneath the opponent knight's helmet only a pair of eyes were visible above a face-covering coated in white frost, and he touched his own cheeks, which were nearly frozen stiff.

Then, Prince Yelu Sun took the urgent letter from the Great Zhou cavalryman's hand, unfolded it, glanced at it, and nodded.

On the Great Zhou side, someone waved a hand, and a horse carrying two boxes on its back was led forward,

"Take a look!"

Prince Yelu Sun shook his head and said, "This gold from your Great Zhou Imperial City Bureau, you shall deliver it to Hou Fu of Marquis Marquis Yongyi in Bianjing; consider it a supplementary gift of gratitude from our Prince Yelu family."

Seeing the surprised expression in the eyes of the Great Zhou knight opposite, Prince Yelu Sun continued:

"Are you not the brother-in-law of Gu Gu Dalang of the Xu family, Marquis Marquis Yongyi?"

Hearing Prince Yelu Sun's stiff words, the Great Zhou knight behind the face-covering narrowed his eyes slightly.

"How do you know!? Hmph! You truly know how to do business, using our Great Zhou's gold as your gift of gratitude."

The young Prince Yelu Sun opposite also snorted disdainfully through his nose.

Immediately, he waved his hand as well,

"This is the additional condition proposed by your Imperial City Bureau; take a look."

Behind him, several hundred prime horses in their prime were driven by horse grooms into the Great Zhou territory side.

The horse officials within the Great Zhou territory busied themselves inspecting the condition of the horses; among them, a father and son pair inspected the fastest,

even identifying several horses that were ill, and pulling them aside.

This caused several of the Zaye behind Prince Yelu Sun to exchange glances and raise their eyebrows.

When the horse official came forward to report that the handover was complete,

just as the Great Zhou knight was about to depart,

Prince Yelu Sun said, "Wait."

Then he turned back and spoke a few words in the Northern Liao language.

Very soon,

two young horses were led over, followed by two teenagers of fourteen or fifteen wearing dirty, tattered sheepskin coats.

"These are the main gift."

Hearing Prince Yelu Sun's words and looking at these two horses, whose eyes were as lively as children's and whose forms were exceptionally majestic, along with the Northern Liao youth beside them, the Great Zhou knight swallowed hard beneath his face-covering.

He knew all too well what these were;

just as he was about to lift his head to speak, Prince Yelu Sun had already turned his horse and mounted the riverbank, galloping westward with the Zaye holding the Northern Liao national flag.

Looking at the frightened Northern Liao youths who had been left behind,

the horse official beside the Great Zhou knight asked in shock, "Are... are these the legendary Northern Liao Dragon Steeds and Ma Er Attendants?"

The Great Zhou knight nodded: "What Lord Yuan said is correct; these are indeed the legendary Northern Liao Dragon Steeds and Ma Er Attendants, where if the horse falls ill one's finger is cut off, and if the horse dies, the person dies. I never expected the legend to be true."

After Prince Yelu Sun crossed a small hill, in the wind-sheltered valley below the hill, Prince Yelu Ying, whose face was painted yellow, stood up.

Taking the letter from Prince Yelu Sun's hand, he glanced at it, then flipped onto his horse and said in the Northern Liao language:

"Go, let us avenge my uncle. Hiya!"

On the road westward to Bai Gao,

a convoy bearing the flags of Bai Gao stood out conspicuously among those transporting military supplies.

The two brothers, Li Li Taotie and Li Li Chi Mei, rode on horseback, constantly scanning their surroundings; they were escorting the corpse of a prince back to Bai Gao, and behind the cart followed numerous carriages, from which cries of pain and wails occasionally emanated.

Since they were carrying people, they were obviously faster than the convoys transporting heavy military goods,

and Li Li Chi Mei spoke in the Bai Gao language beside a carriage: "This convoy is transporting grain and fodder, roughly enough for one battalion of soldiers for a month."

Inside the carriage, someone hurriedly recorded this with a brush.

Very soon,

the convoy passed Dacheng, a great city built after Bai Gao and Northern Liao jointly attacked Great Zhou in previous years, only to be beaten back by Great Zhou into Bai Gao territory.

Gazing at the towering, majestic city walls, everyone from Bai Gao sighed helplessly.

After winding around the towering city walls and traveling for another two hours, Li Li Taotie, still on horseback, said:

"Behind the mountain ahead lies a fortress still in our Bai Gao hands; we can go there today to warm ourselves and rest."

Hearing Li Li Taotie's words, a low cheer rose from within the convoy, and the speed of the carts increased slightly.

However, Prince Liang Yi Ren, the former envoy of Bai Gao, said nothing at all, merely sitting in the carriage with a gloomy expression.

After rounding a small hill, before the eyes of the Bai Gao party, three flags—one large and two small—were seen fluttering atop that fortress,

the large one being the military flag of Great Zhou, while one small one bore the character 'Cao' and the other 'Zhe'.

The Bai Gao party, who had just been joyful, now looked at this scene with astonishment, realizing that this place was no longer within Bai Gao territory.

The convoy could only continue forward; after passing several scouts stationed along the route by Bai Gao for inquiry, the convoy entered the foremost military stockade of Bai Gao at night.

Prince Liang Yi Ren disembarked from the carriage and went straight to the room in the military camp where the generals were stationed.

While the convoy from Bianjing was still busy transporting the sick, the generals within the military camp led soldiers to surround everyone.

"Li Li Taotie and Li Li Chi Mei, the two brothers, colluded with the Zhou dogs to plot against the Prince; men, bind them!"

Hearing the words of this Bai Gao general, the two Li brothers wore faces of utter disbelief; when their trusted attendants attempted to resist, they found themselves completely surrounded by the camp's soldiers, their lives and deaths held in others' hands.

While these events unfolded within the borders of Bai Gao,

Xu Xu Zaijing lay on his bed, feigning 'discomfort,' watching Seeing Seeing Qingcao, who had obediently run off to report to his mother that he was 'unwell,' with an expression of supreme confidence.

(End of Chapter)