After breakfast Yuelan made sure they had received money from Long He and smiled when she saw the number of banknotes that Camphor held up before placing them in a small bag that the servant tucked into one of her sleeves. Once everything was ready, Yuelan headed out of the inn and followed her servants’ gentle guidance toward the shopping district.

An embroidery shop came into view almost immediately and Yuelan went inside. Pleased with the lovely embroidery, she purchased a few handkerchiefs in different colors, kept one with her, and had the rest sent to the inn before moving on. Suffering the embarrassment of being caught without one wasn’t something Yuelan wanted to have happen again.

Yuelan explored the streets of the shopping district for a few hours. She purchased a few good quality accessories for herself, though nothing very expensive and stopped when she came across a bracelet made of black jade that had three other stones inlaid in it: a nearly clear quartz with a fuzzy white line running through it, a sea green quartz, and a piece of amber. All of the stones were high quality and Yuelan subconsciously reached a hand toward it before quickly pulling it back.

“Would Miss like that bracelet?” Willow asked, catching the motion.

“It...just looks like something my mother used to wear,” Yuelan explained, shaking her head. “That’s all. Besides, we have enough accessories for now. Let’s find a place to buy a guzheng.” She turned away from the bracelet and headed out of the accessory shop.

The three maids looked at each other with slight frowns, nodded, and then followed after their mistress. Camphor stayed behind for an extra moment to pay for what Yuelan had chosen and have the accessories sent to the inn.

Yuelan’s feet were starting to hurt and she was feeling hungry, so she found a small but clean teahouse and ordered tea and pastries to eat. There were tables and chairs set up just outside the teahouse, so Yuelan chose to sit there to allow her to watch passersby while she rested. Seeing rickshaws and pedestrians and carriages interested her and she enjoyed watching and wondering what sort of people were passing by, though having horses everywhere made her nervous.

She thought the tea was watery and the pastries a bit dry, but overall it was decent. When Yuelan had finished she stood and indicated that Camphor should pay for what they’d had before she started walking the streets again.

This time, Yuelan wasn’t wandering around looking at all the shops and people. She had her servants guide her to an instrument maker’s shop and stepped inside. The front of the shop smelled of wood, stains, and varnish and Yuelan started quietly looking around at the various instruments without touching them at first. Her three maids followed along behind silently.

After a minute or so a man wearing a leather apron approached, cleaning his hands on a rough, dirty cloth. “Is Miss looking for something specific?” he asked politely.

“A guzheng,” Yuelan answered.

The man nodded and gestured at a section of the show room. “We have many good quality guzheng here. All with beautiful carvings I am sure Miss would appreciate.”

“Yes, I saw,” Yuelan replied, giving the man a slight smile. “May I test them to see how they sound?”

“Of course,” the man assured her. “Please test them as you like.”

She nodded and stepped past the man to start running her fingers along the strings of the instruments and then playing a few notes on each. Her thin lips formed a concentrated frown as she focused on the sounds coming from each instrument before she finally pointed to one. “This is the one that sounds best in this shop, but it’s not good enough yet. Do you have any of higher sound quality elsewhere?”

The man blinked and looked a bit surprised. “What does Miss mean? All my instruments are of excellent quality.”

“They’re beautiful in appearance, but more time was spent focusing on the appearance instead of the quality of the sound,” Yuelan explained. “The notes don’t resonate as well as I’d like within the instrument. Do you have an instrument with better sound quality or should I go looking elsewhere?”

The man looked a bit nervous and glanced over at the shop. “Miss, these are the finest instruments in the capital. You won’t find anything…”

“Shut up,” said a gruff voice from the doorway to the back. “Quit trying to get her to buy something when she obviously can tell that the quality of your instruments are still lacking. Get in the back and put more effort into making the sound come through nicely. I will take care of our guest.” A man with white hair and stained clothes stepped out of the back room and saluted Yuelan. “Miss, please forgive my pupil. He does well enough for most young misses from good families, though no true musician has shown an interest in his pieces yet. I am old and have gotten slower at making them, so the ones I have made are kept away. Please follow me to the second floor and you may see if one of my guzhengs fits your needs.”

Yuelan relaxed and smiled, returning the old man’s salute. “This girl thanks Master. I would be happy to see if one of your works suits my tastes.”

The older man looked embarrassed and waved his hands. “There’s no need for Miss to be polite. This old man can see Miss is from a good family and cannot accept such politeness.” He headed to a door that he opened and bowed slightly as he waited for Yuelan and her servants to go through and up the stairs.

The second floor smelled just like the first, though the smells were a little more stale. Yuelan smiled when she saw the four guzhengs on one side of the room and she stepped over to them. She ran her hands along the strings and played a few notes on each just as before, though when she reached the last one she enjoyed the sound so much she sat down on the stool beside it and played an entire song. It was the song she remembered her mother playing the most and the melody was beautiful with undertones of the loss of something precious. It was an old song, old enough that the composer’s name had been lost.

When the final notes fell away Yuelan looked up to see the old man had tears in his eyes. “Miss plays more beautifully than any I have heard before except my wife,” he said softly. “This instrument is my finest work. When I began it I intended it as a gift to her, but she died before I was able to finish it. A few have played it, but none as well as you. My wife would be pleased to let you have this instrument.”

Yuelan smiled a little. “My mother would often play that song for me when I was a small child. She died when I was six years old,” she replied. “What amount would Master take for this beautiful instrument?”

“One hundred gold taels,” the old man answered.

The three maids looked stunned at the high price and Camphor opened her mouth to object and start to bargain but Yuelan looked over and raised a hand. “Give him the money,” she insisted.

“Miss is new to Longuo,” Camphor protested. “One hundred gold taels for an instrument is…”

“It isn’t just an instrument,” Yuelan countered. “This is an instrument that would likely never have been sold. Give him the money. This master is getting on in years. The money will support him for the rest of his life, won’t it? I will gladly pay an amount that will let him live comfortably.”

Camphor, Willow, and Laurel looked unhappy, but Camphor still pulled out the banknotes and offered them to the master instrument maker.

“Miss is generous,” the old man said quietly. He took the bank notes and returned half. “This old man expected to haggle, but Miss chose to honor the memory of this one’s wife instead. Fifty taels is plenty.”

“Memories can’t be replaced,” Yuelan said softly. “And new memories cannot be made with those who are already gone. This instrument is just as fine as the one I inherited from my mother and had to leave behind when I came here. It’s also less fragile.”

The old man chuckled and bowed to Yuelan. “This old one thanks Miss for visiting my shop. The song you chose and the way you played it is what convinced me to sell the instrument to you. Even the best instruments cannot play themselves and their sounds are meant to be enjoyed. Where shall I have this instrument delivered to?”

Camphor gave the name of the inn to the old man, who nodded and guided them back down the stairs and to the door of the shop, where he bowed again.

Yuelan gave the master instrument maker a small salute and left the shop. “Let’s go back to the inn to rest,” she decided. “We’ve purchased everything I’ll need for now.”

The maids nodded, bowed, and started guiding Yuelan back to the inn to make sure she didn’t get lost. When they arrived, Long He was standing next to a grand carriage and waiting. As soon as he saw Yuelan he approached. “Miss Yuelan, you’ve come back! Quickly get inside the carriage. His Majesty the Emperor wishes to meet you.”