Having tasted the benefits of possessing secrets, Bai Qing, relying on his young age and freedom to enter and exit various families and their backyards, embarked on his path of information gathering.
He was cunning and knew this information was far from enough. He used the silver he earned to bribe many gatekeepers and maids from different households.
These individuals were inconspicuous within their respective manors but had access to the most people and the most places. By collecting their information, Bai Qing gained even more intelligence.
As he grew older, Bai Qing's reputation and wealth steadily increased, naturally attracting envy.
When he was younger, anyone who made a move against him would be looked down upon. Now that Bai Qing had grown up, these individuals revealed their fangs.
Bai Qing was not to be trifled with. After evading several kidnapping and assassination attempts, he directly published a booklet filled with information about the families who had targeted him.
Who doesn't love gossip? This booklet quickly spread throughout the imperial city.
Only after the contents of this booklet were verified did the various families in the imperial city realize that this musician was no simple man, and they sent people to probe Bai Qing.
Bai Qing stated his position: he would not casually sell information.
This implied that Bai Qing might possess information on any of their families.
The year Bai Qing released the booklet was the most perilous year of his life, the closest he had come to death.
Some wanted to kill him, some wanted to capture him, and some wanted to protect him.
In the end, a balance was maintained. Each family would send people to keep an eye on Bai Qing, yet also secretly protect him, preventing him from being captured by others.
Hearing this, Qin Junyao finally understood why Bai Qing dared to go out with only one or two companions.
It turned out he had a host of people secretly protecting him.
"Bai Qing, you are the legendary Bai Xiaosheng of the martial world," Qin Junyao clasped her fists at Bai Qing.
This was simply too fascinating.
No wonder Sister Man Shuang always sought Bai Qing's help and brought him along for everything.
"Bai Xiaosheng?" Bai Qing savored the nickname, "It's very fitting."
"Others gave me that nickname. Bai Qing, are you still collecting information now?" Qin Junyao asked.
"Of course. This can save my life, and I also gain considerable benefits from it. At the very least, wherever I go, every family wants to befriend me."
"Because of this, I've acquired many excellent musical scores and instruments."
"Oh, right," Bai Qing snapped his fingers, "When I went to the Zi Sang family this time, I obtained an ancient musical score. Unfortunately, it's incomplete. I'll have someone bring it over for you to examine, Junyao."
Ling Manshuang's interest was piqued upon hearing about the ancient score, and she urged Bai Qing to have someone fetch it quickly.
Since the Sui and Zi Sang families couldn't be dealt with in a short while, it was naturally time to enjoy themselves.
Qin Junyao was unfamiliar with the ancient score that was brought over. It featured a complex arrangement of instruments, so she suggested inviting the young ladies brought by Hua Niang and the eight musically talented men from Bai Yu to discuss it.
Their discussion might spark unexpected brilliance.
Such discussions were rare.
Besides the separation between genders, it was also difficult to gather musical connoisseurs like Qin Junyao, Bai Qing, and Ling Manshuang together.
With the three of them present, others gained much knowledge, and they themselves drew considerable inspiration from everyone's ideas.
Throughout that afternoon while Grandma Qin slept soundly, various melodious sounds drifted from the backyard of the Zhao family.
The next morning, Grandma Qin awoke and was greatly disappointed to learn that Qin Junyao and the others had gathered for a joint performance and she had missed it.
With beautiful women and handsome men gathered, how could she be absent from such a scene?
Grandma Qin shook off her lethargy from the previous day and pestered Qin Junyao to do it again.
Bai Qing and Ling Manshuang enjoyed the simple joy of gathering to discuss and perform music together. They brought their instruments and convened at the Zhao family's residence every morning.