Behind the screen on the noble consort’s couch, after that soul-stirring sigh, there were no more major movements, only the occasional rustle of clothing.

At this moment, silence was more eloquent than sound.

All kinds of images flooded their minds!

Ding Wu, unable to bear it any longer and wanting to distract the two behind the embroidered screen, said to the musicians: “Play a new suite for us to hear.”

A suite required various instruments playing together. The wooden clappers sounded, the pipa was plucked, the ruan zither and xiao flute all rang out together as the singer began a song called “Yichun Ling”: “Lord of Green Yang, mist and rain falling…”

The song’s voice was clear and melodious, soaring to the clouds. Combined with the instrumental accompaniment, it drowned out the heart-racing sounds coming from behind the embroidered screen.

As soon as the music started, Wei Caiwei said quietly: “You can let go now.”

Was he going to massage endlessly?

Wang Daxia was massaging with great delight when he was suddenly interrupted. He immediately resented Ding Wu, reluctantly removing his fingers from her face.

Wei Caiwei still lay languidly on the noble consort’s couch while Wang Daxia maintained his leaning posture, saying in a way that only made things more obvious: “It’s not that I don’t want to get up, it’s that I can’t get up. If I get up, people will see our silhouettes moving on the embroidered screen.”

Wang Daxia maintained a gentleman’s distance. Though it looked like their silhouettes overlapped, he actually wasn’t pressing down on Wei Caiwei – only their clothes were connected. He exerted force at his waist, keeping his body always a palm’s width away from Wei Caiwei, like a narrow U-shape.

Wei Caiwei asked: “Aren’t you tired?”

I’m willing! Tired but happy.

Wang Daxia said: “I practice martial arts every day under Commander Lu’s supervision now, so I’ve built up my strength. I’m not tired at all.”

Actually, his waist was somewhat sore.

But at this moment, a man would never admit he couldn’t handle it.

He had to persevere.

They were really too close. By the dim lamplight, Wei Caiwei could see the green stubble on his chin struggling to break through the skin.

He was growing up.

After castrating himself in their previous life, Wang Daxia stopped growing facial hair – even his leg hair had nearly disappeared completely. So Wei Caiwei had never seen Wang Daxia with a beard.

She really wanted to touch his chin.

Wei Caiwei thought this, but she didn’t dare do it now, afraid of frightening Wang Daxia. She could only settle for second best, gently lifting her head to blow air toward Wang Daxia’s stubbled chin.

Wei Caiwei found an excuse: “There was a mosquito, I helped chase it away.”

“There was actually a mosquito?” Wang Daxia said: “That shouldn’t be possible. Did you see wrong? I’m carrying the mosquito-repelling sachet you gave me, and it’s always worked well. Besides, we’re in the middle of the lake – there are rarely mosquitoes here.”

Innocent Wang Daxia still didn’t understand romance.

Wei Caiwei was an old fox who had practiced for many years. She could lie without blinking an eyelash: “Oh, perhaps it was a small insect attracted by the lantern.”

Wang Daxia was getting tired from supporting himself, and beads of sweat from his temples rolled down onto Wei Caiwei’s cheek.

Wei Caiwei felt sorry for his exhaustion and said: “Let’s change positions.”

Wang Daxia’s ear tips, which had just cooled down, heated up again: “Change… how to change? This… position is quite good.”

I can hold on.

“You get up and sit at the head of the noble consort’s couch.”

Wang Daxia’s waist was almost petrified. When he sat up straight, the joints in his waist creaked. Fortunately, the music and singing outside covered the sounds here. People at the banquet could only see that the two figures behind the screen had changed positions.

Wei Caiwei also sat up, half-reclining on the noble consort’s couch with her back against Wang Daxia’s chest – of course, she wasn’t actually leaning against him, always maintaining a palm’s width distance. But from outside the embroidered screen, it looked like Wei Caiwei was nestling in Wang Daxia’s embrace, the two of them intimately enjoying the starry sky.

Wisps of mist like smoke and gauze softened the originally brilliant starlight. What a scene of “mist shrouding cold water, moon veiling sand” – this setting was perfect for romance!

Wei Caiwei asked: “Is this position comfortable?”

Hearing these words, Wang Daxia’s crimson ear tips were about to bleed!

Wang Daxia said: “Com… comfortable.”

Wei Caiwei said: “Much better than the previous position, right?”

Wang Daxia felt his soul leaving his body, as if about to ride the wind and return: “About the same, both are good. Actually, I could hold the previous position.”

Wei Caiwei said: “Let’s stick with this position. Why aren’t Lu Ying and the others here yet?”

This was one of tonight’s objectives. Since the White Lotus Sect portrait was old and uncertain, the Embroidered Uniform Guard spy who had seen Wu Dianyong guide An Da Khan’s army ten years ago had retired. Lu Ying had sent people to bring him over for personal identification.

As soon as she finished speaking, a small boat approached from the distance. Someone on the boat holding a torch was drawing circles in the night sky with it – this was their signal.

Wang Daxia said: “They’re here.”

The covered boat rocked up to the pleasure boat’s side. At the bow, drums and gongs sounded as a burly man in blue robes with a yellow sash around his waist stood upright. The yellow sash was used to tie up the long robe’s hem during rainy or snowy weather or when playing cuju, to keep clothes clean and allow easy movement.

The burly man held a wooden stick in his mouth, with a thin, agile boy perched on top like a monkey. The boy also wore blue robes with a yellow sash tied around his waist. He balanced a red lacquered plate on his head with a sauced pig’s head on it.

The boatman, two musicians beating gongs and drums, and the boy balancing the pig’s head all shouted together: “We little ones have come to show filial respect to the great officials! Filial respect to the great nobles!”

Only the burly man with the stick in his mouth didn’t speak.

This was called Yuan She – uninvited entertainers who forcibly joined banquets for tips. They often knew juggling or were cuju masters, could speak flattering words, and brought meat and wine to honor guests while seeking reward money.

Simply put, they were street ruffians with skills and capital. They had good information networks, bribing waiters at various taverns to specifically watch for rich people hosting banquets. When they received word from these waiters, they’d come over with gifts to seek money.

Because they came bearing gifts like pig’s head, roast goose, and wine, unlike beggars who only extended empty hands, hosts would usually have servants give them some money to make them leave quickly.

But sometimes when guests wanted to play cuju or watch juggling, they’d accept their food and drink and have them perform for entertainment. The reward money given then would far exceed the value of the food and drink they brought.

Zhao Quan had no interest in Yuan She, but he was hosting tonight and had requests of his guests, so of course he watched to see if his guests were interested.

These people were Yuan She by day, moving between Beijing banquets seeking money, but secretly they were all Embroidered Uniform Guard spies specializing in collecting intelligence on high officials and wealthy households. The old gong-beater was the spy who had seen Wu Dianyong’s appearance years ago, while the drum-beater was a handsome young servant – all wearing blue robes with yellow sashes. It was actually Lu Ying in disguise!

Lu Ying wasn’t satisfied with just seeing the portrait – she wanted to see the person herself. If the bearded man with the black mole between his eyebrows really was Wu Dianyong, then the Embroidered Uniform Guard would have netted a big fish.

Ding Wu was also waiting for Lu Ying’s group. He stood on the pleasure boat, looking somewhat curiously at these freeloading Yuan She: “To stand so steadily on a boat shows some skill. Come over and let’s have a look.”

Since the guest had spoken, host Zhao Quan waved his hand: “Come up then.”

The Yuan She with their gongs and drums carried the sauced pig’s head and two wine jars up to the pleasure boat’s upper deck. They all performed a half-kneel: “Filial respect to the great officials! Filial respect to the great nobles!”

Zhao Quan had Wu Dianyong accept the sauced pig’s head, slice it, and rearrange it on plates. He also poured the wine Yuan She brought into wine pots – adding wine and relighting lamps to restart the banquet.

Zhao Quan said: “Whatever skills you have, show them all. As long as you make my guests happy, there’s plenty of reward money.”

The skinny monkey said: “This little one is best at pole climbing. No matter how much the pole sways, this little one can stay steady. But since you great officials just saw the pole climbing technique, this little one won’t repeat it. Let me perform rope walking for you great officials instead.”

With that, the skinny monkey and burly man strung a rope between posts at both ends of the pleasure boat. The skinny monkey put on a monkey mask while the burly man pasted an eye on his forehead – it was Sun Wukong battling Erlang Shen from “Journey to the West.”

The two musicians beat gongs and drums as the skinny monkey and burly man jumped onto the rope, one holding a staff, the other a wooden spear, fighting while treading on the rope!

The two rolled and battled following the drum beats as if on flat ground, fighting inseparably in an exciting display. The Red Sleeve Pavilion musicians clapped and cheered, stirring up the atmosphere again.

Zhao Quan coughed lightly and asked Ding Wu: “Should we call them out to watch the rope walking?”

“Them” naturally referred to Wei Caiwei and Wang Daxia.

Though Zhao Quan said he was inviting Ding Wu, his real intention wasn’t the wine – he wanted to win over Wang Daxia, one of the Four Scourges of North City. But now the main target was only focused on being intimate with the beautiful widow behind the screen, looking completely like an emperor who no longer held court.

Ding Wu looked back at the pair of nestling silhouettes and said: “No need. My sworn sister is tired from dancing the branch dance earlier, so let her rest.”

If Wei Caiwei wouldn’t return, Wang Daxia certainly couldn’t leave her alone on the noble consort’s couch – accompanying his beloved was more important.

After performing rope walking, Yuan She accompanied the guests through a round of drinking games, with various auspicious and flattering words flowing endlessly. Ding Wu drew a drinking order requiring “great person,” “small people,” and two proverbs.

Ding Wu said: “The character for umbrella has five people – small people listed below, awaiting one great person above. As they say: ‘Blessed people have everyone serve them, unfortunate people serve others.'”

It was Wu Dianyong’s turn next. He pondered a moment and said: “The character for ‘shuang’ has five people – small people arranged on the sides, one great person hidden in the middle. As they say: ‘Don’t speak of others’ faults in front of people, then you’ll truly believe there are people beyond people.'”

When it came to Zhao Quan’s turn, he couldn’t think of anything for a moment and raised his cup: “I’m poorly educated and truly can’t do it. I’ll punish myself with three cups!”

To save Zhao Quan face, Yuan She all raised their cups: “We’re the same! Self-punishment with three cups!”

“I also can’t do it, drinking a whole jar! Haha!”

They continued drinking until the second watch. Host and guests were all satisfied. Zhao Quan saw Ding Wu showing signs of fatigue and ended the banquet, rewarding Yuan She with five taels of silver and sending them away.

On the covered boat, Lu Ying impatiently asked: “Did you see clearly? Hear clearly? Is it him?”

Earlier when Ding Wu proposed the drinking game, it was deliberately to get Wu Dianyong to speak so they could identify his voice.

The old man nodded: “I’d recognize him even if he turned to ash. It’s him. He’s put on weight these ten years, but the black mole is still there, and his voice hasn’t changed much. He’s one of the four great leaders of the White Lotus Sect.”

On the pleasure boat, behind the embroidered screen, the two “nestled” together. Wang Daxia shifted his body backward. Wei Caiwei said quietly: “Don’t be anxious, stay calm. Wait until Lu Ying’s boat is farther away before we go out to take our leave. Don’t leave any flaws. Hold on a bit longer and finish the performance.”

Wang Daxia thought: It’s not that I can’t stay calm, but if I don’t retreat further, Little Wang Daxia might touch you.

Author’s Note: Note 1: The Yuan She setting comes from Chapter 15 of “The Golden Lotus.” “The Golden Lotus” was written at the end of the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty, the same period as “Returning to Before My Husband’s Self-Castration,” so the customs, local conditions, social practices, daily language, proverbs, and polite expressions I use in this story all reference “The Golden Lotus.” Some scholars say the male protagonist Ximen Qing in “The Golden Lotus” was based on Lu Bing… I think there are some similarities, though personally I think Emperor Zhengde most fits Ximen Qing’s character.

Note 2: From “Ancient and Modern Anecdotes” by Feng Menglong of the Ming Dynasty, this was a drinking game played by Han Yong and Xia Xun.