In the capital, there was a river called the Ying River, as renowned as the Milky Way. It was said, though the origin was unknown, that this river was the earthly reflection of the heavenly Milky Way. On the day of Qixi, people would release magpie lanterns into the river, allowing the Cowherd and Weaver Girl to meet on the magpie bridge.
This was a far-fetched tale, but the common people happily believed it, using it as an excuse to go out and enjoy themselves. On this day, young women and wives from every household in the capital would come to the banks of the Ying River to release magpie lanterns, praying for good marriages and marital harmony.
There was no such custom in Jin territory. Ji Cheng thought these capital girls knew how to have fun. Qixi held no special significance for Ji Cheng. When she was young and carefree, she would play wildly with the boys, naturally not engaging in such activities. As she grew older, Ji Cheng was frantically trying to catch up with the young ladies from noble families while also managing the Ji family business. She had no leisure time on Qixi to watch spiders weave webs in boxes.
So, this year’s Qixi, at the age of fifteen, was a novel experience for Ji Cheng.
On the sixth day of the month, the Qing Garden had already set up a colorful “Qiqiao Tower” in the courtyard. By the seventh day, before darkness fell, Shen Yuan led her sisters to set up an incense altar in the Qing Garden. They laid out moheluo (a type of pastry), flower-shaped melons, roasted meats, writing brushes and inkstones, needles and thread, and other items. Then Ji Cheng followed Shen Yuan and the others in praying to the stars, worshipping the Cowherd and Weaver Girl stars.
Afterward, Ji Cheng and the others placed their gilded boxes on the incense altar. These boxes contained spiders that Yuxian’er had searched for throughout the garden yesterday, waiting to be opened the next day to examine the web patterns and see if they had “gained skill.”
After completing these rituals, Shen Yuan called for maids to bring out the “love threads.”
Ji Cheng looked at the love threads in confusion. “Sister Yuan, what’s the story behind this?”
Shen Yuan explained, “According to the ‘Miscellaneous Records of the Western Capital,’ on the seventh day of the seventh month, people gathered at the Hundred Children Pool and performed Khotan music. After the music, they tied each other with five-colored threads, calling it ‘mutual love.’ These are the love threads we’re holding now.”
Shen Qian also came over, smiling, and said, “Yes, but now it’s not just us sisters tying each other, it’s…” Shen Qian stood on tiptoe and whispered something in Ji Cheng’s ear. She had expected Ji Cheng to be shocked, but Ji Cheng remained calm. When she had told Su Yun about this, Su Yun had blushed furiously.
Shen Qian pouted, “Sister Cheng, why aren’t you surprised at all? Do you have this custom in Jin territory too?”
Ji Cheng shook her head. In Jin territory, there was no custom of young men and women exchanging glances and tying five-colored threads on Qixi. Their customs were more direct. If two people liked each other, they might head to the haystacks. Of course, even people like Ji Cheng wouldn’t dare to venture randomly into the woods, fearing they might see something they shouldn’t.
The open-mindedness of Great Qin’s customs was related to the founding emperor’s decree. All men and women of age had to marry, but at that time, many had lost their parents early and had neither parental arrangements nor matchmakers. Under such circumstances, they couldn’t just marry in the dark. After all, everyone had survived chaotic times, so there wasn’t much room for modesty. If two people liked each other on the street, exchanging meaningful glances, they might enter the woods together. Some even married after the meal was cooked.
In Jin territory, some of these customs were still preserved. In the capital, however, as people became more prosperous, they gradually developed more formal rituals. It evolved to the point where young men and women could only flirt during festivals like Qixi and the Lantern Festival.
But no matter how customs changed, no one was willing to marry blindly. Everyone wanted to find a spouse that suited their heart. So, the free-spirited traditions of Qixi and the Lantern Festival still flowed in these girls’ hearts.
Using one’s love thread to tie to one’s beloved on Qixi was both romantic and sweet, and many beautiful stories had been passed down. As a result, many outstanding young gentlemen would return home after walking the streets on Qixi to find many needles attached to the back of their robes.
This was unavoidable. Outstanding young men were admired by many, and everyone wanted to tie their five-colored threads to them. But these men were often proud and aloof, constantly dodging. The girls had no choice but to carry needles with threads, and once they got close, they would pin the needles to the men’s robes. This was considered as tying their love thread, hoping that the Cowherd and Weaver Girl would bless them and let the love thread tie the man’s heart.
When Shen Qian heard that Ji Cheng didn’t know about this, she quickly said, “Then Sister Cheng probably didn’t prepare needles and thread, right?”
Ji Cheng shook her head again.
Shen Qian took out her prepared pouch, which had at least twenty needles pinned to it, each threaded with five-colored threads. “I’ll give you a few.”
Shen Cui came over and said, “Sister Qian, why did you prepare so many? How many people are you planning to tie?”
Shen Qian puffed her cheeks and said, “This is just in case. Maybe I’ll give my needle to the first handsome guy I see, but what if I meet someone even more handsome later?”
This made everyone laugh. Shen Cui also laughed and spat lightly, “Aren’t you ashamed?”
Shen Qian wouldn’t let it go, “Hmph, dare you say you didn’t prepare needles and thread yourself?”
After the sisters joked around for a while, they prepared to go to the Ying River to release magpie lanterns, which was the main event of the day.
By the time Ji Cheng and the others arrived at the Ying River, the small street by the water was already crowded. Vendors lined both sides of the street, selling moheluo and “water floats.” Water floats were yellow wax castings of mandarin ducks, turtles, fish, and other water creatures. The most ingenious were the “grain boards,” small wooden boards with soil on them, planted with millet sprouts, and adorned with small thatched houses to resemble rural courtyards. They were very cute.
The intricacy and thoughtfulness of these small items in the capital far surpassed those in Jin territory. Ji Cheng couldn’t take her eyes off them. By the time they reached the riverbank, she had bought quite a few trinkets.
At this point, there was hardly any space to stand on the riverbank. People were packed shoulder to shoulder, just waiting for the bell of Jingyun Temple to ring. Then all the young women would simultaneously release their magpie lanterns into the water. At that moment, the water surface would be covered with lanterns, truly resembling an earthly Milky Way. One can imagine the beauty of such a scene.
Because there was almost no space by the water, Ji Cheng and Shen Cui had to separate and squeeze into the crowd, trying to get as close to the water as possible to release their lanterns.
Ji Cheng was lifting her skirt when she heard someone cry out in surprise. Then the crowd began to stir. Being tall, she stood on tiptoe to look and saw that a few girls had been accidentally pushed into the water. Just as everyone’s attention was drawn to those girls, Ji Cheng felt something dark fall over her head. She was stuffed into a sack. There must have been some drug in the sack because Ji Cheng felt dizzy. She barely managed to struggle before losing consciousness.
Whether it was due to Ji Cheng’s strong constitution or the drug’s quick-acting nature, she didn’t remain unconscious for long. When she woke up, it was still pitch black around her. She heard the sound of rolling wheels and felt the jolting beneath her, realizing she was in a carriage.
Ji Cheng stretched her hands and feet, finding that her kidnappers hadn’t tied her up. She felt slightly relieved and was about to turn over and get up when she realized her limbs had no strength. The drug’s effects hadn’t fully worn off. She bit her tongue to stay alert and tried hard to untie the sack.
Just then, the carriage stopped. Ji Cheng didn’t dare to move or call for help, as she had no idea what was happening outside.
She heard chaotic footsteps, then a shrill male voice saying, “New goods so quickly?”
Another rough male voice replied, “Isn’t fresh meat good?”
The shrill voice: “That depends on the quality. My Tianxiang Pavilion doesn’t take just anyone.”
Ji Cheng’s heart sank when she heard “Tianxiang Pavilion.” The name sounded like that kind of place. She mentally counted the people she had offended, but could only think of the Wang sisters. She never imagined the Wang sisters could be so vicious. It was just a common dispute between girls, yet they had resorted to such a poisonous scheme to ruin her reputation.
The rough voice said, “You can inspect the goods as you like, but there’s only one condition: they must be deflowered tonight.”
They? Ji Cheng was startled. Who else besides her? She reached out through the sack and felt another bundle.
The shrill voice lowered, asking, “What’s the background of these goods?”
“Never mind their background. Just say whether your Tianxiang Pavilion dares to take them or not,” the rough voice replied.
The shrill voice gave a low laugh, “That depends on whether the goods are worth it.”
The light coming through the sack’s gaps suddenly brightened. Ji Cheng knew they were about to inspect the goods. Her palms were sweaty, her heart pounding loudly, but her mind was surprisingly calm because she had no choice but to be.
Soon, Ji Cheng felt someone untying the rope at her feet, and then the sack being pulled off her. She kept her eyes closed, pretending to still be unconscious, holding her breath as she waited for these people to speak again.
The shrill voice soon spoke again, “Not bad, Pockmark. Goods of this quality are rare. I suppose the other one is equally rare?”
The man called Pockmark chuckled, “If you don’t have the guts, don’t take them.”
“Don’t try to provoke your grandpa. Name your price.”
“Two hundred taels, for both,” Pockmark said.
Selling the wealthy Ji family’s young miss for a mere two hundred taels, Ji Cheng felt a mix of absurdity and desolation. She was helpless now, unable to do anything. Even if she escaped, she could do nothing against the Wang sisters. And what if she couldn’t escape?
Ji Cheng was filled with murderous hatred, yet ultimately powerless. She even thought that if she couldn’t get revenge, perhaps she should find a way to marry the old emperor and uproot the Wang family entirely.
The transaction was quickly concluded. Ji Cheng was put back into the sack and carried away. She heard doors opening and closing, then someone saying, “Guard the door well.”
Ji Cheng waited quietly for a moment. Once she was sure there were no voices around, she quickly lifted the sack from her head. In a stroke of luck amidst misfortune, all the people were guarding outside the door.