When Yuelan’s carriage arrived at the location for the cherry blossom viewing there were already several other carriages there. Her driver had a bit of trouble finding room close to the bottom of the hill, but managed to make it so Yuelan wouldn’t have to walk too far. Leaving the guzheng in the carriage, Yuelan and her three maids got out and headed up the hill. When they reached the top they found several chairs and tables had been set up, and a dozen young ladies and their maids had arrived and were trying to chat with Liling and two other girls who looked similar to the oldest princess.
It was easy to notice when Liling spotted Yuelan as she gave a delighted smile and started toward the lavender-clothed girl. “Lan-lan!” she cried, slipping her arms around one of Yuelan’s. “You made it! Is that the moon water silk Father Emperor gave you? It’s so beautiful!”
Yuelan laughed and gave Liling a helpless smile as she let herself be pulled to a table by the first princess. “It is. Granny Mei was very pleased with how the dress turned out when it arrived at my manor two days ago.”
“Your accessories are very nice too. I love pink crystals. They’re from third brother’s shop, aren’t they? I asked for the set, but he said I couldn’t have it because you’d already ordered it.” Liling’s bottom lip stuck out in a charming pout, drawing another laugh from Yuelan.
Yuelan touched one of the rose quartz earrings. “These crystals are called rose quartz,” she explains. “I’m fond of them too.”
“Eldest sister, is this the Miss Long that Father Emperor declared must marry one of our brothers?” the younger of the two girls who shared similar features and bearing to Liling asked, making her way over and sitting down at the table with them.
“Yes, she is,” Liling answered. “Ruzhen, this is Long Yuelan. Lanlan, this is my younger sister and the third princess, Xiong Ruzhen.”
Yuelan gave a proper salute to the third princess along with a genuine smile. “My mother’s name was Ruzhen,” she said. “I’ve always thought it was a beautiful name.”
Xiong Ruzhen studied Yuelan for a moment and smiled as well. “Thank you.”
“My second sister, Xiong Ainuan, is just over there,” Liling said with a hint of warning in her voice. “Her mother is the current empress, but Ruzhen is Father Emperor’s favorite.”
Yuelan remembered the warning Liling had given her earlier that week about Longuo’s second princess and nodded to indicate she understood Liling’s warning just as the other girls gathered around the table to speak with the princesses and a few more joined the group at the top of the hill from the carriages below.
At first, the cherry blossom viewing was calm and relaxed. A group of servants brought out individually boxed meals and placed them in front of each guest, made sure all the glasses were kept filled, and generally stayed out of the way while the girls chattered away and ate. It didn’t seem any different from the cherry blossom viewings Yuelan had attended back home, except that she was sitting at a table instead of on a blanket on the grass. Once the food was gone, however, things started to change. Girls started to challenge each other to competitions in painting, poetry, music, dancing, and anything else they could think of.
Yuelan watched the ‘duels’ as she sat calmly next to the three princesses. She’d tried to get up and move a couple of times, but Liling had pulled her back down each time. Some of the daughters of influential families glared in Yuelan’s direction on occasion as a result. Eventually, one of the glaring girls seemed to gather enough courage to approach Yuelan.
“I wonder if Miss Long would be interested in a friendly competition?” the girl asked, arching an eyebrow in a challenging manner.
“That would depend on the competition,” Yuelan answered, giving the girl a gentle, calm smile in return.
“Music,” the girl decided without any hesitation. “Does Miss Long play an instrument?”
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“I do,” Yuelan answered before turning to Camphor. “Bring my guzheng from the carriage, please, Camphor.”
The maid bowed and hurried down the hill as Yuelan stood and saluted the princesses. “If Your Highnesses will excuse me, it seems I need to prepare for a test of my skills.”
“I’m excited to hear you play, Lan-lan,” Liling replied while the second princess played with a folding fan and pretended to ignore them. “Third brother says you’re very skilled.”
“His Highness the third prince is known for flattering women,” Yuelan pointed out with a polite smile. “I hope Liling won’t be disappointed in my meager skills.” She turned to her challenger and gave another polite smile. “I hope Miss won’t mind my frankness, but I have no idea to which family this miss belongs?”
The girl sniffed in disdain as her maid stepped forward. “My miss is Miss Wang Chunming, daughter of the first wife of the prime minister of the right.” The maid covered her mouth and smiled. “We heard that Miss Long is the daughter of a prime minister as well, but nobody seems to know what country Miss Long is from…”
“Kilin,” Yuelan answered calmly. “My father is the Prime Minister of Kilin.” She smiled, her eyes glittering. “Of course, I don’t expect the daughter of a prime minister here in Longuo to have heard of my country, as it is quite far from here and difficult to travel to.”
Wang Chunming glared at Yuelan. “I have received an excellent education from the best tutors. I learned the name of every country on this continent and there is no such place as Kilin!”
“Kilin isn’t on this continent,” Yuelan replied. Movement caught her attention from her peripheral vision and she turned to see Camphor and one of the servants from the palace carrying the case with the guzheng toward them. “Where is Miss Wang’s instrument? Mine has arrived, so we should begin our friendly competition.”
The right prime minister’s daughter frowned and pointed to a spot beneath a nearby cherry tree. “It’s there,” she answered. “Miss Long should go and set up. Fortunately you brought your instrument today. No one will have to risk having theirs damaged due to an accident from Miss Long playing.”
Yuelan shrugged. “Master Jin would have agreed to repair any damage done to any instrument if I were to accidentally cause it,” she replied without seeming to care. She gave a brilliant smile to the daughter of the prime minister. “After all, he sold me this one himself and is repairing the guzheng that has been handed down in my mother’s family for over six-hundred years.”
Some of the other girls started whispering and Wang Chunming’s face turned red. “Master Jin? Perhaps Miss Long means Master Jin’s son, who is also called Master Jin?”
“No,” Yuelan replied calmly. “The older Master Jin is the one I mean.” She headed over to the tree and started setting up her guzheng on a stand that a servant quickly placed in front of her. Once she was finished setting up she sat in the seat and started to check the tuning of her instrument, adjusting each string by ear.
At the sight of Yuelan’s instrument there were more whispers and several envious looks in the direction of her beautiful guzheng. Even Wang Chunming didn’t have anything more to say and simply sat behind her instrument in a huff.
“Would Miss Wang care to play first?” Yuelan offered politely once she’d finished tuning her instrument.
"Miss Long must be confident in her skills to invite me to play first. I have never lost a competition on the guzhen." Wang Chunming sniffed and started to play her own guzheng. The music was light and airy, fitting for a spring day watching the cherry blossoms. She played well and looked satisfied when she finished. The look she gave to Yuelan was filled with challenge.
Yuelan smiled and nodded at the right prime minister’s daughter, then turned her attention to her own instrument and started to play. The song was one she’d found, handwritten, among her mother’s things. She had taken the time to memorize it long before coming to Longuo and her body moved along with the notes as she concentrated on bringing out the emotions of the piece. It started with a deep, quiet, loneliness and grew to a light, cheerful happiness that fit the theme of winter turning into spring. She let the last notes linger in the air before putting her hands down and standing up to salute her challenger. “I thank Miss Wang for the invitation to play,” she said in a gentle voice.
Everyone at the cherry blossom viewing looked stunned. They stared at Yuelan with eyes that seemed full of awe--except for a few who were glaring at her with resentment.
“I think Lan-lan has won this challenge,” Liling said from her seat. “Lan-lan, you played so beautifully! But I don’t recognize the song. Is it from Kilin? Or did you write it?”
Yuelan smiled and briefly saluted Liling. “I’m not sure,” she admitted. “It seemed quite old when I found it among my mother’s music things. I never heard anyone in Kilin play it, but I found the piece beautiful and play it often.”
Liling smiled. “It’s a beautiful piece. We are fortunate to have heard it.”
“Thank you, Liling,” Yuelan said, saluting the princess. “I’m happy you were pleased with my song.”