Baili Weisheng lay flat on his back on the bed, able to move nothing but his eyes and his mouth. Lying like that, if Meng Duo’er wanted to lean in closer, she’d have to bend down over him.

This girl really was so guileless it left one at a loss for what to say!

She actually planted both hands on either side of Baili Weisheng and leaned down, her ear pressing close to his lips.

The fresh, clean scent unique to a young woman washed over him, her soft, warm ear hovering so close to his lips it could brush against them at any careless moment.

The sight, the position, left Jun Beiyue and Ziqing watching with distinctly complicated expressions, while Baili Weisheng’s normally glib tongue froze solid, his crafty, scheming eyes going perfectly still!

The room fell silent. Though it lasted only a moment, everyone present sensed something was off — except, of course, for the thick-headed Meng Duo’er, who remained utterly oblivious to the awkward intimacy of it all, urging impatiently, “Hurry up and tell me!”

Baili Weisheng didn’t move, didn’t make a sound. Growing more anxious, Meng Duo’er turned her head and glared at him, brows furrowed, nearly nose to nose with him, close enough to glare him to death, and shouted, “You wretched scholar, I’m begging you, all right? All right? All right? My father can’t wait any longer!”

Only then did Baili Weisheng snap back to himself, thoroughly exasperated, blurting out, “How am I supposed to talk with you like thi—”

But before he’d even finished the sentence, his lips brushed against Meng Duo’er’s. In that instant, Baili Weisheng went completely silent, utterly dumbstruck, feeling as though something had brushed against him — a sudden shiver ran through him, and every pore across his entire body seemed to spring wide open!

Meng Duo’er froze too. So anxious about her father’s poison that she’d nearly clamped her hands over Baili Weisheng’s mouth to force the words out of him, she’d had no room to think of anything else!

But now, she too had gone rigid, so shocked that thoughts of her father’s life were momentarily wiped clean from her mind!

Both of them froze, still caught in that intimate pose, their nearly cross-eyed stares filled with nothing but embarrassment and panic.

Never mind the perpetually scatterbrained Meng Duo’er — even the sharp, cunning Baili Weisheng was utterly lost for a moment, completely dumbstruck!

“Ahem…”

Just then, Jun Beiyue suddenly cleared his throat loudly.

Only then did the two of them snap back to their senses at once. Meng Duo’er jerked back as if struck by lightning, retreating as far as she possibly could, while Baili Weisheng, unable to move a muscle, could only clamp his lips shut tight, looking for all the world as though he feared being forcibly kissed. But soon enough, he realized just how wrong that looked, and burst out furiously, “What the hell — is your head full of holes? Why were you leaning in so close!”

By rights, in a situation like this, the woman ought to have more standing to speak — but at his outburst, Meng Duo’er genuinely accepted it as entirely her own fault, taking full blame at once. Her small face flushed crimson, and seeing Baili Weisheng in such a rage only left her mind a complete blank!

Heavens, what had she done — had she just stolen the man’s first kiss?

Meng Duo’er had no idea what to say, backing away again and again, wishing she could dig a hole and disappear into it, until her heel finally struck the doorway threshold and snapped her back to her senses. Without even a thought toward the antidote, she spun around and bolted!

She ran and ran, mortified and terrified, on the verge of tears, her mind a complete jumble, straight to where Old Fifth Meng lay.

Old Fifth Meng’s face was still a deep purplish-black, every part of his body aching, far too weak to leave the bed, but his mind remained perfectly clear. Seeing his daughter in such a state, he cried out urgently, “Girl, what’s wrong? Who’s been bullying you!”

Meng Duo’er crouched down beside the bed, looking at her father, saying nothing at all. As she looked and looked, her tightly pressed lips began to tremble, and before long she could no longer hold it back, burying her face and bursting into loud, heartbroken sobs.

She’d never done anything so humiliating in her entire life — she genuinely didn’t want to go on living!

Saying nothing, simply crying — this thoroughly alarmed Old Fifth Meng. He asked again and again, but the more he asked, the harder Meng Duo’er cried, until he grew too frightened even to ask anymore, gritting his teeth through his own pain, not even daring to press her to go seek the antidote.

Helplessly, he silently regretted his own impulsiveness — why had he ever gone and provoked that brat of a child! Why had he bothered arguing so much with a mere baby?

Back at Baili Weisheng’s quarters, though Meng Duo’er had fled, the awkward atmosphere lingered.

Jun Beiyue sat lazily off to the side, raising an eyebrow as he sized up Baili Weisheng, his eyes carrying a hint of contempt and mockery. Man to man, everyone present knew perfectly well who’d come out ahead in that little scene.

Baili Weisheng, having calmed down somewhat, seemed to realize he probably shouldn’t have shouted at the girl so harshly. He glanced at Jun Beiyue, about to say something, then thought better of it, and turned instead toward Ziqing — only to catch her stifling a laugh!

Already mortified and humiliated, seeing Ziqing’s amusement inexplicably made him genuinely irritated. He snapped irritably, “Enough, enough! What did you two even come here for?”

At that, Ziqing burst out laughing outright. “You wretched scholar, taking advantage and then shouting at the poor girl — where’s your sense of shame?”

Jun Beiyue, playing along perfectly, gave a disdainful snort of agreement.

Baili Weisheng rolled his eyes repeatedly, thoroughly out of sorts. “If you’ve got business, spit it out. If not, get lost!”

Just then, Situ Haonan and Yelu Qianqian arrived. Baili Weisheng, about to snap at them too, immediately shut his mouth the moment he saw who it was — the fewer people who knew about what had just happened, the better, obviously.

Naturally, neither Jun Beiyue nor Ziqing were the gossiping type either. Seeing Situ Haonan arrive, they got straight down to business.

Situ Haonan hurriedly produced the silk cloth. Once Jun Beiyue confirmed it was genuine, he handed it over to Ziqing. “This is it — rubbed straight from Yaoshun Island itself. The original was destroyed. Nanny Qin beat him to it, and beat Guxi to it too!”

At those words, Baili Weisheng finally looked over with real attention. Though Jun Beiyue hadn’t explained anything, the moment he heard “Yaoshun Island,” he understood immediately — this was the secret of the negative-polarity totem!

Everyone fell silent, their attention converging at once on the object in Ziqing’s hands. Ziqing carefully unfolded the silk cloth, laying it flat on the low table, and everyone immediately crowded in close.

At this, Baili Weisheng grew anxious. “Hey! Someone come help me over there!”

But no one paid him any mind. What was rubbed onto the silk cloth turned out to be an ancient musical notation — to anyone unfamiliar with musical theory, it would look like nothing more than a totem, never to be mistaken for a musical symbol at all!

Yet the moment Ziqing laid eyes on it, her heart gave a great lurch, and the words spilled out of her involuntarily. “So that’s it!”

At those words, even Jun Beiyue couldn’t help but ask, “What note is it?”

Baili Weisheng grew even more anxious. “Jun Beiyue, let me see it — otherwise I won’t tell you what the positive-polarity totem looks like!”

Before Jun Beiyue could even move, Ziqing had already picked up the silk cloth, holding it out in front of Baili Weisheng. “You wretched scholar, you recognize this ancient notation, don’t you!”

The moment Baili Weisheng saw it, his jaw nearly dropped in shock. “This… this is the ancient yin-yang musical notation!”

This thing was far too ancient — unless someone had specifically studied ancient music, and possessed considerable skill in it, they’d have no way of recognizing it at all!

“Yin-yang notation?” Jun Beiyue didn’t understand, and Situ Haonan and Yelu Qianqian both looked equally baffled.

“It’s a single note that has both a yin and yang tonality, two different playing methods. Different techniques produce different sounds. Though it’s only the difference of a single note, within a full musical score, that one difference ripples outward, affecting the entire piece!” Baili Weisheng explained seriously.

Ziqing couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “How did I never think of that — a yin-yang note! Of course the missing notes in the Lishang score would have their own yin and yang distinction too!”

“This note is hidden within the secret of the negative-polarity totem — does that mean, when applied within Lishang, it must be played as a negative-polarity note, using the negative-polarity technique?” Jun Beiyue said, understanding now.

The moment he spoke, everyone turned at once to look at Baili Weisheng’s face — which meant the secret hidden within the totem on Baili Weisheng’s own face must likewise be a yin-yang ancient note, and that when this ancient note was applied within Lishang, it would have to be a positive-polarity note, played with the positive-polarity technique!