Liu Qingyan stood at the gate of the Hundred Flowers Manor.
Up close, without the stage lights, she looked even younger—perhaps eighteen or nineteen. She wore a simple bamboo hat and a plain white robe. She stood alone, no guards, no entourage. Her presence was like a quiet pool in a chaotic forest.
Xue Mu walked out to meet her, flanked by a curious Yue Xiaochan.
"Miss Liu," Xue Mu bowed politely. "To what do we owe the honor? Here to concede defeat?"
Yue Xiaochan elbowed him hard in the ribs.
Liu Qingyan looked at him. Her eyes were incredibly clear, like mountain springs, but they held a deep, furrowed confusion.
"I did not lose," she said softly. Her voice was melodic, soothing even when she was disagreeing. "My score was higher."
"In numbers, yes," Xue Mu conceded. "In impact? You tell me."
Liu Qingyan fell silent. She looked at Yue Xiaochan. "Your song... it was strange. The structure was broken. The rhyming was crude. The melody was repetitive."
"Hey!" Yue Xiaochan bristled.
"But," Liu Qingyan continued, ignoring the interruption, "it possessed a spirit I have never felt. It was... happy. Truly happy."
She looked down at her hands—hands that were calloused from years of practicing the zither. "I have studied the Zither Dao for fifteen years. My master says music is the bridge between Heaven and Earth. It is meant to purify the soul, to express the sorrow of existence."
She looked up at Xue Mu, her gaze intense. "But tonight, I saw people smiling. Not polite smiles. Real smiles. I saw a butcher dancing with a scholar. I saw the city... alive."
She took a step forward. "Who wrote that song?"
"I did," Xue Mu said.
"You have no cultivation," she stated. It wasn't an insult; just an observation.
"I don't need cultivation to understand people," Xue Mu replied. "Music isn't just about Heaven and Earth, Miss Liu. It's about people. If your art only speaks to the clouds, then it's just noise to the people on the ground."
Liu Qingyan stood frozen. It was as if he had just slapped her with a philosophical brick. Art for the clouds vs. Art for the people. It challenged everything she had been taught.
"I..." She hesitated, biting her lip. "I wish to... understand. Can I... can I hear it again?"
Xue Mu exchanged a glance with Yue Xiaochan. The "enemy" wasn't here to fight. She was here to learn.
"We can do better than that," Xue Mu said, a plan forming in his mind. "Why don't you come in? We were just discussing the future of music in the capital. Perhaps the Zither Fairy would like to be a guest lecturer?"
"Guest lecturer?"
"We are launching a newspaper," Xue Mu lied smoothly. "A publication about music and arts. I want to interview you. 'The Zither Fairy talks about the joy of music'. It will be a hit."
Liu Qingyan looked wary, but her curiosity—and perhaps a longing she didn't quite understand—won out.
"I will come in," she said. "But only for tea."
Xue Mu gestured for her to enter. As she walked past him, he smirked.
Step one of conquering the media: Get the biggest celebrity on your payroll. Or at least, get her into your building.
The Shadow Impresario had just claimed his first major asset.