The Twenty-Four Moon Pavilion, as its name suggests, was inspired by the line “Twenty-four bridges on a moonlit night.” In the Qing Garden, there was a delicate bridge over West Lake with nine arches, named Moon-Treading Bridge. To the east of this bridge stood the Twenty-Four Moon Pavilion, where one could observe the autumn moon reflected on the lake—an ideal spot for moon-gazing during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The Shen family’s Mid-Autumn reunion feast was set in this pavilion. While modern banquets often feature round tables or individual small tables, Old Madam preferred a lively atmosphere. She declared that today’s family gathering was for close relatives only, so there was no need for formalities. Thus, the Twenty-Four Moon Pavilion was arranged without privacy screens. Instead, two rows of crescent-shaped small tables were placed on either side of Old Madam’s central dining table.
The tables were laden with food and wine, with two or three people seated comfortably around each small table. Old Madam shared the head table with Su Yun’s grandmother, Madam Su. To the left sat Duke Shen Zhuo and Princess An He, while to the right were Third Master Shen Ying and his wife, Third Madam Ji Lan.
As for Second Madam Huang, since Second Master was not in the capital, she had requested to attend to Old Madam, effectively sharing her table. The two rows of small tables below were naturally occupied by the younger generation. Ji Cheng shared a table with Shen Yuan, while Shen Qian sat with Su Yun. Shen Cui found herself paired with Lu Yuan. Since it was a family gathering and a festive occasion, even the young ladies’ tables were equipped with wine jugs filled with sweet and mellow plum wine, which was quite pleasant to drink.
Opposite Ji Cheng and her companions sat Shen Yu and young Master Hong. Diagonally across from them was Zeng Xiuwen, who was also present. Although the Zeng family had their residence in the capital, Old Madam had insisted that Zeng Xiuwen, as her future grandson-in-law, was not an outsider and should join them for the Mid-Autumn celebration. This caused Shen Yuan to blush throughout the evening.
Zeng Xiuwen’s appearance was ordinary, mainly because he paled in comparison to the Shen family members. However, he exuded an air of scholarly refinement and had a somewhat endearing, naive quality about him. Unlike Shen Che, Shen Yu, and the others, he would blush every time he looked at Shen Yuan, which made Ji Cheng want to laugh.
Shen Yuan, annoyed, kept pinching Ji Cheng’s waist, causing her to repeatedly beg for mercy.
A feast with wine naturally called for dance and song to make it truly elegant.
In front of Old Madam, in the center of the pavilion, dancers from the Shen household first performed, followed by a young girl from Jiangnan, trained by Princess An He, who sang a tune.
The song was most familiar to Ji Cheng and Shen Cui: “If love is destined to be long-lasting, why fret over constant companionship?”
This verse had recently taken the capital by storm, with everyone eager to recite it. Su Qingci was invited to banquets night after night. In brothels and pleasure houses, it was hummed constantly. Ji Cheng was surprised that in such a short time, even the Shen family’s songstresses had learned it.
It was, however, Old Madam’s first time hearing it. She exclaimed, “What a wonderfully written verse! Is there more?”
The songstress then performed another piece, “Breaking Through the Formations,” which prompted Old Madam to exclaim loudly, “Excellent! It’s been a long time since I’ve heard such fine verses. One might not come across their like in a decade. I wonder who composed them?”
Shen Qian said, “Grandmother, you’ve asked the right person. The first person to sing ‘Delicate clouds playfully…’ was our Cui. She performed it at the Central Altar competition.”
Old Madam looked at Shen Cui in surprise. “Cui, my dear, is this true?”
Shen Cui smiled and said in a clear voice, “Grandmother, it’s all thanks to Sister Cheng. I was just lucky. That day, Sister Cheng happened to save a scholar on the street. Having nothing else to offer in gratitude, he gifted her two verses.”
A gifted verse for a beautiful lady would typically be considered a romantic gesture, but for a young woman like Ji Cheng, it could be seen as improper. Shen Cui always spoke without considering others, whether out of ignorance or intentionally.
Ji Cheng turned to Old Madam with a helpless smile, like an elder sister indulging her younger sibling. “At the time, Mr. Su owed someone money and was being chased and beaten. Seeing him in such a pitiful state, I paid his debt for him. Having nothing of value to repay me with, yet unwilling to accept charity, he wrote two verses as payment.”
In those times, a talented scholar could eat and drink for free in pleasure houses for half a month with just one verse, so the poems could indeed be considered as valuable as silver, if not more so.
With Ji Cheng’s explanation, everyone understood. It seemed that Su Qingci was a man of integrity, which explained how he could compose such exquisite verses. Any hint of impropriety between him and Ji Cheng was dispelled; it was not a case of verses gifted to a beauty, but merely a form of debt repayment.
Ji Yuan had frowned upon hearing Shen Cui’s initial words, protective of his sister’s reputation. Now, hearing Ji Cheng’s explanation, his brow relaxed.
Shen Cui, having heard Ji Cheng’s words, winked at her as if to say, “Your secret is safe with us.” Ji Cheng was puzzled, unsure why Shen Cui suddenly seemed to be targeting her. What had she done to offend Shen Cui?
In truth, Ji Cheng was wrongly accused. After Shen Cui had developed feelings for Qi Zheng in Today’s Alley, she discovered that Qi Zheng’s attention was always on Ji Cheng. This naturally infuriated her, leading to her current animosity towards Ji Cheng.
“Has this Mr. Su written any new verses?” Old Madam was hooked.
Ji Cheng didn’t know. After helping Shen Cui with the Central Altar competition, she hadn’t inquired further about Su Qingci, instinctively disliking him and feeling that such a person couldn’t possibly compose those verses. She thought it best to keep her distance.
Although Ji Cheng didn’t know, Shen Cui chirped, “Yes, he has.”
All eyes in the pavilion turned to Shen Cui. Since the Central Altar competition, she seemed to be surrounded by a halo, acting more boldly than before.
“A new verse was just released today,” Shen Cui said, signaling to her maid Xian Yun. Xian Yun, who hadn’t always been called that—Shen Cui had renamed her two maids after receiving Su Qingci’s verses, one Xian Yun and the other Fei Xing—turned to retrieve a stack of floral-patterned paper from a nearby box. She presented it to Old Madam and distributed copies to the others.
This Su Qingci certainly had a business head. Originally penniless, though he had received some silver from Ji Cheng, his daily expenses for entertaining friends were considerable and unsustainable. So he decided to make a business out of selling his poetry.
Su Qingci had partnered with a bookstore and art shop. Well before the Mid-Autumn Festival, the owner had advertised that Mr. Su had composed a new verse celebrating the festival, to be sold on the day itself.
As soon as this news broke, people began queuing outside the shop from midnight the day before, eager to be the first to read Su Qingci’s new verse. The courtesans from the pleasure houses were particularly enthusiastic; nowadays, not knowing how to sing Su Qingci’s verses was considered extremely embarrassing. Being the first to sing his new verse was a matter of great pride.
Even Miss Rui Yu had sent someone to queue at the bookstore.
Unfortunately, Su Qingci didn’t realize that once a scholar became associated with money, he would be seen as vulgar. People’s opinion of him plummeted, but his verses were undeniably good, leaving them both despising and unable to give up his work. But that’s a story for another time.
Ji Cheng, upon receiving the poem, read it once and found it truly exquisite, especially the line “The moon waxes and wanes, joy, and sorrow ebb and flow; perfection in this world is rare.” Reading it evoked countless emotions. After perusing the verse, Ji Cheng noticed a faint, embossed flower-patterned seal in the lower left corner of the paper. Because it was the same color as the paper, it was easy to overlook, but once noticed, it left a distinct impression.
The seal bore the character “Clear Stream,” which was the style name Madam Yu had given to Ji Cheng. This paper was indeed made by Ji Cheng, but it had been engraved and printed by the Ji family’s shop, “Clear Collection Pavilion.”
This was truly an unexpected delight. The Clear Collection Pavilion sold paper, brushes, and ink, and also collected rare calligraphy and paintings from around the country. However, in the capital, a place teeming with hidden talents, it wasn’t particularly famous. But now, thanks to Su Qingci’s popularity, it had finally made a name for itself.
Su Qingci had eschewed paper from other shops, specifically choosing the “Clear Stream” branded paper from Clear Collection Pavilion for his new verse. This was Su Qingci’s way of repaying Ji Cheng. When he was staying in Orchid Alley, writing verses for Shen Cui, Willow Leaf gave him a paper made by Ji Cheng and inadvertently mentioned this fact to Su Qingci.
Su Qingci, already infatuated with Ji Cheng’s beauty, learned that she had made the paper and thought to himself that she must truly be a paragon of beauty and talent. He entertained various unsavory thoughts but had no opportunity to approach Ji Cheng. So he decided to use the Clear Collection Pavilion’s paper to convey his feelings to Ji Cheng, hoping she would realize he had done this for her.
Of course, Su Qingci’s influence couldn’t be ignored, but it was also thanks to Ji Cheng’s exquisite design and beautiful brushwork, far beyond what ordinary craftsmen could produce. As a result, “Clear Paper” quickly gained fame. Although it couldn’t yet compare to the renowned “Gu Paper” from the South, it showed signs of becoming a strong contender.
But that’s a story for another time.
Now that they had a new verse, naturally, they wanted to hear it sung. This posed a challenge for the songstress, who hadn’t had time to practice. She couldn’t possibly perform it on the spot, much to Old Madam’s disappointment.
Seeing this, Shen Cui became even more pleased with herself and said in a clear voice, “If Grandmother wishes to hear the new tune, this granddaughter is willing to try, though I may not do it justice.”
Old Madam pointed at Shen Cui and laughed heartily. “How could I forget? We have our very own nightingale reincarnate in our Cui.”
Shen Cui stepped forward and sang with confidence. Her voice was unique, slightly husky yet ethereal, truly pleasant to the ear. However, she was too young to fully capture the essence of the verse, which was somewhat regrettable, though most people couldn’t discern this subtle difference.
“Wonderful! Both the verse and the song are excellent. No wonder our Cui won the Central Altar competition,” Old Madam said with a smile.
Hearing this, Su Yun felt a mix of emotions. She had practiced her dance for over a year and thought her victory at the Central Altar competition was all but assured. Who would have thought she would narrowly lose to Shen Cui? If Shen Cui truly had the talent, that would have been one thing, but to Su Yun’s ears, Shen Cui’s singing was only slightly better than average, relying heavily on the quality of the verse rather than true skill. She had never accepted this defeat.
Now, hearing Old Madam say that Shen Cui’s victory was well-deserved, she felt even more aggrieved, especially since this was said in front of Shen Che, the object of her affection.
In Suzhou, Su Yun had been considered the cream of the crop among young ladies from noble families, always the most dazzling. Since coming to the capital as a guest of the Shen family, she had been keeping a low profile. But now, she could no longer contain herself. So, with a charming smile directed at Old Madam, she said, “Since Fifth Sister has started us off, why don’t I dance Grandmother as well?”