By the time they reached the destination, the others had long arrived and were laughing and chatting under the willows by Huangqu, waiting for them. “This spot looks nice. Shall we rest here?”
Huangqu was the water source for Furong Pool. Its water was abundant and clear, with willows densely planted along the banks and fragrant grass beneath. It was indeed an ideal place for an outdoor feast. Li Man agreed and called for her attendants to set up screens, lay out mats, and arrange the food and drinks they had brought. She then asked who had won the race earlier.
“Of course it was me! How does it look?” Madam Xu approached with a smile, showing off by swaying her head in front of Li Man and Mudan. The butterfly-shaped hairpin on her bun trembled slightly, as if about to take flight.
Li Man patted her, laughing, “Show off!”
Madam Huang joked, “We all know her temperament. She cries when she loses and brags when she wins. For the sake of our peace, we’d rather see her cry, so we let her win.”
Madam Xu raised an eyebrow and pounced on Madam Huang, playfully pinching her mouth and retorting, “Sore loser, all you have left is a sharp tongue.” The two wrestled without regard for their image, while the others watched and laughed, creating a lively and relaxed atmosphere.
Li Man’s eyes crinkled with laughter as she asked Mudan, “How is it? Different from those people at Liu Dao’s, right?”
Mudan, who had worked up a light sweat from riding in the sun, fanned herself with a handkerchief and smiled, “Indeed, very different.” These military officials’ wives behaved more like modern-day close friends, relaxed and uninhibited, without much formality. Unlike the noble ladies like Madam Bai, whose every word and action exuded elegance and restraint, which, while pleasing to the eye, also felt heavy and constricting.
As they spoke, the attendants had finished setting up the mats, drinks, and food, inviting everyone to be seated. Snow Lady naturally sat with Mudan, clinging to her and saying, “Sister, the lotus fragrance on you is even stronger than before. I’ve heard that some scents become more pleasant after sweating. It seems to be true. Is that right?”
Hearing this, Mudan brought her sleeve to her nose and sniffed. Indeed, the fragrance was more intense. She replied, “It was made by my brother. I’m not sure exactly how it’s done. If you like it, I can pack some for you when I return and ask my aunt to pass it on to you.”
Snow Lady smiled, “Why go through all that trouble? I live in Buzheng Fang. You can just have someone deliver it directly to my home. We’ve only moved here from out of town less than two years ago, and I don’t know what good fragrances are. People often laugh at me. Now it’s great that your family runs a perfume shop. You must know better than others what good fragrances are. Just tell me, and see who dares to laugh at me then.”
Mudan paused for a moment. In her view, it wasn’t that Snow Lady’s fragrances weren’t good; those people were just looking down on her for not coming from an established noble family. Class distinctions existed regardless of the era. However, she didn’t want to discuss this topic with Snow Lady and enthusiastically promised to share any new fragrances with her first. Snow Lady was delighted and immediately felt closer to Mudan.
The playful Madam Huang clapped her hands and laughed, “It’s not fun just drinking and eating like this. Let’s play a drinking game to liven things up.” This suggestion was met with general approval.
Madam Huang asked everyone to sit in a circle and had a silver tray placed in the center. She took out a figurine carved to resemble a high-nosed, blue-eyed foreigner and placed it on the tray to spin. Whoever the figurine pointed to when it stopped had to drink. As soon as it started spinning, everyone began clapping and screaming, afraid it would stop in front of them.
At first, Mudan was too shy to scream, but after her first drink, she let go of her inhibitions and joined in the clapping and screaming with the others. Just as they were enjoying themselves, they suddenly heard the sound of rapid hoofbeats. A large group of people came galloping from the direction of the capital, shouting and whistling loudly.
Everyone paused their game and stood up to watch the commotion. A group of brightly dressed people, both men and women, all quite young, rode on uniformly tall and strong horses adorned with colorful tassels and ornaments. It was truly a dazzling sight of fine clothes and horses, full of youthful vigor.
At the front was a red-clad woman with a falling horse-tail hairstyle, naturally beautiful with a radiant smile. She vigorously swung her riding crop, focusing intently on the path ahead, occasionally showing off by swinging her crop left and right to block those trying to overtake her.
Mudan saw clearly that this person was none other than Princess Qinghua. She couldn’t help but think how unlucky she was to encounter this troublemaker on her outing. Following the principle of avoiding trouble, Mudan decided to sit back down and try not to be noticed.
Suddenly, someone screamed that someone had fallen from their horse. The sound of hoofbeats immediately became chaotic as the group scattered, trying to avoid trampling the fallen rider. Hiding behind Li Man, Mudan saw clearly that the fallen rider was a young woman in a blue round-collared robe. One of her feet was still caught in the stirrup, and she was being dragged by the panicked horse. She neither struggled nor cried out, silent as if dead.
Those riding with her were all trying to control their horses and couldn’t immediately tend to her. Mudan felt a cold sweat break out all over her body, and she began to tremble uncontrollably. She had seen that the horse had bolted because Princess Qinghua’s crop had caught its eye. She wondered what unfortunate woman had accidentally offended Princess Qinghua to suffer such a misfortune.
While she was lost in thought, Li Man had already rushed out, snatching a knife from an attendant. Despite her plump figure, she nimbly mounted a horse and gave chase with a crack of her whip. Catching up to the runaway horse, she leaned over, arm outstretched. With a flash of cold steel, she cut the stirrup strap. The woman fell to the ground as the horse galloped away. Li Man immediately reined in her horse, put away the knife, dismounted, and crouched down to check on the fallen woman’s condition.
By this time, Princess Qinghua and her group had turned back and quickly surrounded Li Man and the fallen woman.
Madam Dou and Madam Huang exchanged glances with the others, deciding to go over and see what was happening, lest Li Man’s good intentions lead to trouble.
Mudan hesitated. She wanted to go check on Li Man, but her instincts told her it would be better not to appear before Princess Qinghua, as it might have the opposite effect. Snow Lady, however, didn’t think so much and tugged hard on Mudan’s hand, saying admiringly, “Sister, let’s go see too. Who would have thought Li Man could be so nimble despite her size?”
Mudan pulled her hand back and hurried to Madam Dou, saying, “Madam, I have something to tell you.”
Madam Dou, worried about Li Man getting into trouble, was somewhat impatient with this niece Li Man had brought along who seemed unconcerned and was causing a fuss. She replied curtly, “We’ll talk later.”
Mudan, throwing caution to the wind, urgently said, “I know the leader. It’s Princess Qinghua. She and I have some old grudges.”
This warning was crucial. These weren’t ordinary people but imperial relatives and nobles, so their manner of handling the situation and conversation needed to be carefully considered. The impatience on Madam Dou’s brow dissipated, and she quietly instructed Mudan, “In that case, stay here with Snow Lady. Don’t go over there. We’ll go and see. It’ll be fine.”
Snow Lady was quite displeased, but faced with her mother’s stern gaze and Mudan’s worried expression, she obediently took Mudan’s hand and said, “Then I’ll wait here with Sister He.”
The two stood behind the screen, peering through the gaps. They saw Madam Dou leading several women with solemn expressions, walking over with heads held high. After exchanging a few words with the group, the crowd parted, revealing the scene inside. The fallen woman lay motionless on the ground, with Li Man examining her injuries. A woman in a rouge-colored Hu-style robe anxiously crouched nearby, watching over her.
A young woman in a green Hu-style robe was gesturing animatedly at Princess Qinghua, saying something. Princess Qinghua looked at her with an innocent expression, saying something in a low voice. The green-clad woman flew into a rage and, without thinking, raised her whip to strike Princess Qinghua. The others quickly intervened, causing chaos. Princess Qinghua stood to the side, watching coldly, neither avoiding nor trying to pacify the situation, completely composed and without a hint of guilt or remorse.
Snow Lady, having learned of Princess Qinghua’s identity and unable to get any information about the grudge between her and Mudan, became curious about the green-clad woman’s identity: “Is she a princess too? Look at her daring to raise her whip at the princess.”
Mudan replied, “Probably.” She remembered seeing this green-clad woman at Princess Kangcheng’s viewing pavilion during the Lantern Festival. At that time, the woman had worn an exquisite gold-wired flower crown and was often whispering with Princess Qinghua, which had caught Mudan’s attention. She had thought they were close friends, but today they seemed to be at odds. However, she was certain of one thing: the woman lying on the ground must be of lower status than Princess Qinghua, otherwise Qinghua wouldn’t dare to be so arrogant.
Soon, someone brought a makeshift stretcher, and they carefully lifted the fallen woman onto it. The green-clad woman was persuaded to calm down but spat angrily at Princess Qinghua before bowing in thanks to Li Man. She then left for the capital with the rouge-clad woman and about a dozen attendants, following the stretcher.
By this time, Princess Qinghua was smiling and chatting with Li Man, Madam Dou, and the others. Mudan couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she could see the reluctance and refusal on Li Man and Madam Dou’s faces. However, Princess Qinghua, like a persistent plaster, had already started walking towards the group’s feasting area.
Mudan was startled. Was there no avoiding her after all? She clenched her fists, deciding that if she couldn’t avoid it, she might as well face it head-on. Could she hide for a lifetime? Aunt Feng and Yuhe exchanged glances and discreetly moved to surround Mudan. Mudan let out a soft sigh and smiled, “Don’t worry. With so many people around today, as long as we’re careful enough, she won’t dare to do anything rash.” Despite her words, her heart was pounding. Hadn’t the fallen woman just been secretly attacked in front of a crowd?
As they spoke, Princess Qinghua had already reached the outside of the screen.