Princess Consort of Prince Yu graciously invited her to stay, so Wei Caiwei had dinner in Li Jiubao’s room. Despite Prince Yu’s mansion being in such dire straits, they had actually managed to prepare ten dishes, two soups, and a hot pot with sliced beef, mutton, vegetables, and mushrooms.
Of course, in terms of luxurious dining, it certainly couldn’t compare to the Lu mansion. Even in deep autumn, the Lu mansion could still serve small cucumbers grown in heated greenhouses, while Prince Yu’s mansion only had cabbage and chives grown in cellars. But Wei Caiwei understood that this was already the limit of what Princess Consort of Prince Yu could produce. Ordinary families in the capital could only eat cabbage.
Princess Consort of Prince Yu’s daily meals never exceeded five dishes.
Wei Caiwei’s chopsticks only touched the hot pot and two vegetables, leaving all the chicken, duck, fish, and meat untouched. After quietly finishing her meal, Li Jiubao wanted to escort Wei Caiwei out, but she refused, “It’s cold outside with heavy dust storms, and your menstrual period is approaching – you need to keep warm.”
After Wei Caiwei left, Li Jiubao packed the untouched dishes in food boxes and had her maid send them to the eight xuanshi who lived in her former courtyard, so everyone could improve their meals together.
Wei Caiwei covered herself with eye gauze, tied on a face cloth (mask), and wore a veiled hat with fabric hanging down to her ankles, wrapping her entire body to protect against wind and dust. She walked out of the inner courtyard, got into the carriage, and then removed everything one by one.
Inside the carriage were the consultation fees Princess Consort of Prince Yu had given her: five taels of silver and a bolt of Songjiang triple-shuttle cloth. This consultation fee was the lowest compared to the wealthy noble ladies she had treated before. However, considering that Prince Yu’s mansion was so poor that Princess Consort had to secretly pawn her headpiece jewelry just to host a banquet for nine xuanshi, even this fee was probably not easy to produce.
Wei Caiwei gave the five taels of silver to the leader of the Lu mansion guards protecting her, “Thank you for your hard work today. Take this to drink with your brothers.”
Since Wei Caiwei was now living under someone else’s roof, she naturally had to be generous in her spending, otherwise she would invite resentment. Especially when going out in such dusty weather when she wasn’t a legitimate master of the Lu mansion, she needed to provide compensation.
The guard accepted it. The carriage left Prince Yu’s mansion and traveled on Fucheng Gate Street. The Lu mansion’s carriage was luxurious, even having glass windows. Wei Caiwei leaned against the window, watching the dust storms blow across the glass.
The myriad aspects of market life, the smoke and fire of human existence. Regardless of harsh weather, people still had to earn their living. Roadside shops remained open, leaving only one door open with thick quilted door curtains hanging at the entrance for customers to enter and exit.
There were fewer pedestrians on the road than usual, but the flow never stopped. All wore eye gauze, covered their mouths and noses, hunched their backs and bent their waists, hurrying along with urgent expressions, busily making their livelihood.
When passing by Bailu Temple, there was a peddler at the temple entrance pushing a wheelbarrow with an “eye gauze” banner. The peddler wore black eye gauze, covered his face, wore a gray headscarf and black cotton coat, with his hands crossed and tucked in his sleeves, crouching beside the banner waiting for business.
Though the peddler was dressed like a lump of charcoal and his face couldn’t be seen, Wei Caiwei somehow found him familiar. She pressed close to the glass window to look carefully, and the charcoal-like peddler also turned his head, seemingly looking at the carriage as well.
But the carriage was moving fast, and soon the crouching charcoal peddler by the wheelbarrow became smaller and smaller, disappearing into the swirling dust storm.
The charcoal peddler was indeed Wang Daxia. The Lu mansion guards were carrying the Lu family banner and racing ahead, so although the guards all wore eye gauze and covered their faces, Wang Daxia could tell they were Lu family people. He just didn’t know that the person in the carriage was Wei Caiwei.
Wang Daxia was stationed at Bailu Temple today. Bailu Temple was a Taoist temple built with Prince Jing’s money. Emperor Jiajing revered Taoism and hadn’t held court for over thirty years, staying in Xiyuan to cultivate immortality and refine elixirs. He had even granted himself the title of Flying Primordial True Lord, believing in all kinds of auspicious omens.
To curry favor, Prince Jing sent people everywhere to search for auspicious creatures like white turtles and white deer to present to Emperor Jiajing, winning his father’s delight.
Prince Jing found a rare white deer, which greatly pleased Emperor Jiajing. The emperor kept the white deer in Xiyuan, feeling this son was filial and understanding, and bestowed many rewards upon him.
Prince Yu never engaged in such flattery of his father. His personality was like stones in a latrine – ugly and hard.
Unfortunately, the white deer died within a year. Emperor Jiajing was very sad, but Prince Jing flattered him again, saying the white deer had listened to his father recite Taoist scriptures daily in Xiyuan, gained enlightenment, and ascended to immortality – it hadn’t died.
This hit Emperor Jiajing’s heart perfectly. Cultivating immortality was his dream, so he became happy again. Prince Jing seized the opportunity to offer another “good idea” – to give the immortal white deer a grand funeral and circle a plot of land around the deer’s grave to build a Taoist temple called Bailu Temple.
To please his father, Prince Jing often went to Bailu Temple to perform religious ceremonies. This temple belonged to Prince Jing’s mansion as private property, a private Taoist temple that only received Prince Jing’s mansion and the prince’s friends and relatives. Ordinary people couldn’t enter.
Now that Prince Jin had fallen from favor and his entire family had gone to Anlu in Hubei to establish his principality, Bailu Temple remained and was still supported by Prince Jing’s mansion. So Wang Daxia listed Bailu Temple as a surveillance target.
It was too cold. Wang Daxia was shivering from the cold when suddenly he smelled a fragrant aroma through his face cloth. He turned his head and saw a peddler across the alley pushing a large stove with a big pot on top, filled with chestnuts roasted in coarse sand.
Wang Daxia wasn’t hungry, but he was cold! So he went over and bought two large packets of hot chestnuts, stuffing them inside his cotton coat. Ah! How comfortable!
Wang Daxia no longer had to hunch and bend to keep warm. With two packets of hot chestnuts stuffed in his chest, his frozen body came back to life, and he returned to his stall.
A Taoist priest wearing eye gauze rode up to Bailu Temple. Seeing someone selling eye gauze at the entrance, he dismounted to examine the goods. Seeing a customer approach, Wang Daxia quickly changed from crouching to standing, straightening his chest.
In dusty weather, everyone covered their heads and faces, wearing thick cotton coats and pants, making gender indistinguishable. The Taoist’s gaze fell on Wang Daxia’s chest, “This… sister-in-law, how much for the eye gauze?”
Wang Daxia’s chest was stuffed with two packets of hot chestnuts for warmth, making his chest bulge prominently, looking like two large mounds of flesh.
He had a young man’s build from daily martial arts practice – slender waist with no excess fat. In the black cotton coat, the two packets of hot chestnuts created twin peaks, making his wasp waist and slender back even more prominent, appearing plump and graceful like a married young woman who had borne children. That’s why the Taoist called him “sister-in-law.”
Wang Daxia looked awkwardly at the two mountains on his chest, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. He pulled his hands from his tucked sleeves and drew out several pieces of eye gauze in stable colors like black, gray, and blue from the box, “Twenty-three coins per piece, five pieces for one hundred coins.”
Speaking through his face cloth made his voice somewhat muffled, and combined with a young man’s naturally clear and pleasant voice, the Taoist still thought he was a big-chested young woman.
What a pair of white, well-defined elegant hands with neatly trimmed nails and clean nail beds.
The Taoist’s heart stirred. He stared intently at the veiled, big-chested young woman, taking the eye gauze with both hands while secretly hooking his finger in the young woman’s palm and tracing a circle.
Wang Daxia felt a tingling sensation travel from his palm straight to his toes. Oh, this was an experienced rake who flirted with everyone he met.
Stay calm! I’m here waiting for opportunity, not to pick fights!
Small forbearance prevents great plans from being ruined. Wang Daxia repeatedly warned himself, suppressing the urge to beat up the stinking Taoist. He coquettishly twisted his waist and said in a pinched voice, “Sir, please try them on. This servant’s eye gauze is made from the finest silk – windproof, dustproof, and provides clear vision.”
If this were a virtuous woman of good family, she would have run away blushing when a customer flirted with her palm, but the big-chested young woman before him not only didn’t flee but also spoke sweetly while conducting business. She seemed to be a woman versed in romance.
The stinking Taoist’s lustful heart immediately arose. He deliberately reached out, pretending to untie the eye gauze tied behind his head, but purposely made a dead knot. Putting it down, he tested further, “I accidentally made a dead knot with my eye gauze and can’t untie it. Why don’t you help me untie it, sister-in-law?”
After speaking, the stinking Taoist turned around, presenting the back of his head to Wang Daxia.
I only sell eye gauze, not my body!
Wang Daxia wanted to punch a hole through the back of his head. He had no patience to untie dead knots. Grabbing the strap with one hand, he yanked upward and pulled the entire eye gauze off over the top of the head.
The stinking Taoist turned around and handed Wang Daxia a new piece of black eye gauze, “Please help me put it on, sister-in-law. If it’s really good, I’ll buy five pieces.”
Wang Daxia saw half of the stinking Taoist’s face – he still wore a black face covering from nose down, hanging to his chest to prevent inhaling dust.
Wang Daxia felt the stinking Taoist’s eyes and forehead looked familiar – somewhat similar to the carriage driver who had kidnapped Wei Caiwei in the wanted poster. Single eyelid on the left, double eyelid on the right, appearing somewhat asymmetrical, with thick, short, dense eyebrows and a high, square forehead. From his physiognomy, he had an upright, square, and kind face that didn’t look like a bad person at all.
Wang Daxia became excited. He urgently wanted to know if the lower half of the face beneath the face cloth would match, so he pinched his voice again and said, “This servant sees that sir’s face cloth is old. Besides eye gauze, this servant also has face cloths, all made from good materials.”
After speaking, Wang Daxia enthusiastically produced two black and white face cloths, “This servant will help sir put on both the face cloth and eye gauze.”
Seeing the big-chested young woman being so proactive, what wouldn’t the stinking Taoist be pleased about? “If they’re good, I’ll buy five of each – face cloths and eye gauze.”
Wang Daxia untied the stinking Taoist’s face cloth, revealing his entire face.
High nose and wide mouth, prominent cheekbones – at least seventy percent similar to the carriage driver in the portrait!
Due to the dust storm outside, the stinking Taoist’s eyes squinted slightly from the wind. Wang Daxia first put on his eye gauze, then covered him with a face cloth, “How does sir find them?”
When putting on the eye gauze and face cloth, Wang Daxia deliberately thrust out his chest, using the two packets of hot chestnuts to brush against the stinking Taoist’s back.
The stinking Taoist felt two soft objects rubbing against his back, a tingling sensation spreading from his back throughout his body. He trembled as he said, “Very good, I’ll take them all.”
Wang Daxia said, “Five pieces of eye gauze for one hundred coins, five pieces of face cloth for one hundred fifty coins, two hundred fifty coins total.”
The stinking Taoist pulled out an ingot of silver weighing about three taels from his money pouch and gave it to the big-chested young woman.
Wang Daxia refused to accept it, “This servant runs a small business and can’t make change.”
The stinking Taoist forcibly stuffed the silver into Wang Daxia’s hand, taking the opportunity to brush against the towering peaks with the back of his hand, whispering, “I’m buying all your goods – no need for change. Come to my meditation room, I want to personally inspect the ‘goods.'”
Author’s Note: After going round and round, Wang Daxia still relies on female disguise to catch enemies.