[Suggested song for this chapter: New Home by Austin Farwell]
The Emperor turned on his side so he could watch Meili play the guqin through the white gauze of his bed curtains.
It was indeed a pleasant and peaceful scene. The beautiful young girl playing the priceless instrument with such an openness and delightful passion as to be worthy of challenging the great masters, those men who played with such technical brilliance but without her pure, unadulterated joy.
She played as though her hands were a natural extension of the melody she heard in her head, effortless and graceful, caring not a whit about minor errors nor perfect timing, but solely focussed on the simple beauty of the melody.
The fluffy cream dog blended into the white fox fur rug, and the gauze curtain overlaid the scene with a soft sheen, so that it looked for all the world like a giant white bear slept alongside a fairy, just like a picture from a folk tale.
