A Collection of Cloud Ballads from Bianjing

Pei Yuan'an is known throughout Bianjing as an untouchable beauty.

He is a great-grandson of the powerful King of Wuyue, and a prodigy who passed the imperial examination at just fourteen. Born into wealth and surrounded by every luxury, this precious young man nevertheless experiences three times when he cannot have what he desires.

At twenty-one, the Court Gentleman for Service Affairs throws caution to the wind and pulls her into his arms, ignoring her struggles as he stubbornly says, "Yan'er, come home with me."

At twenty-five, the Supervising Commissioner of the Xihe Circuit sits alone in the empty Swallow Tower, wondering whether the moonlit night before was a dream. The night stretches on, and there is nowhere to search for her. Only a wisp of lingering fragrance remains.

At twenty-eight, the Vice Minister of Court Ceremonial stands by West Lake and silently watches her carriage leave. Amid the sound of his flute, he stands alone in the misty drizzle, gazing across the autumn waters until they disappear from sight.

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Among Bianjing's singers, Yao Nü is hailed as the finest.

A single performance of her song "A Toast to Joy" is worth more than a thousand gold pieces.

Only when someone sees the ever-disciplined, distant Lord Pei clutching Yao Nü and calling her Yan'er do they realize this peerlessly beautiful singer truly looks like the daughter of Hanlin Academician Mei.

Mei Luoyan, the Hanlin Academician's daughter, was a noble young lady who had grown up with Lord Pei and was once engaged to him!

The daughter of a powerful family has fallen from grace. As people mock her over drinks, she brushes the dust from her cloth skirt and lifts her head to ask, "So what if I'm a courtesan? I'm still beyond your reach."

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Decades later, when the Jin forces capture the capital, they take the emperor and his ministers, but also specifically order a search for a collection of songs, The Collection of Cloud Songs.

This collection of lyrics was compiled by the celebrated Hanlin Academician Pei for his wife. He declares his love in the boldest, most passionate way possible.

Pei's romantic gestures become the talk of the court, then spread to foreign lands.

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When words cannot contain a confession of love, it overflows into song.

If time won't remember, then preserve it forever in a collection.

1. Set in a fictional Northern Song era, devoted couple, one-on-one romance

2. Untouchable beauty vs. clever, flirtatious singer

Theme: Let hardship inspire you; the plum blossoms bloom in the cold