The soft whip made of ox sinew struck her back repeatedly, producing teeth-grinding cracking sounds. The executioner wielding the whip had perhaps received training, and the whip was specially made – it didn’t break the skin, but left purple-red bruises after each strike.
Bao Zhu knelt by the water pool, locked to ground stakes with neck and ankle shackles, unable to move. Every time the whip cracked, she couldn’t help but close her eyes and tremble.
After twenty lashes, two guards flanked the hunched and bent Mi Moyan, placing him beside Bao Zhu and likewise locking him to ground stakes with neck shackles. The two knelt side by side. Afterward, everyone left. The dancers hid behind doors, watching them with pitying eyes through window lattice cracks, whispering quietly among themselves.
Bao Zhu looked in shock at the horrifying whip marks covering Mi Moyan’s back and asked in confusion, “I was the one who committed violence and tried to escape. Why are you the one being beaten?”
Mi Moyan had not dared move during his punishment, lying on the ground gasping. After enduring the most difficult period, when the searing sharp pain became slightly duller and his body gradually adapted, he straightened his waist and said weakly, “Because I’m your roommate. This is called ‘collective punishment.’ If you had run farther, people in the neighboring rooms would also have been beaten. Before the Golden Osmanthus Banquet, they won’t harm you in the slightest.”
Bao Zhu was stunned for a moment, murmuring, “No wonder you wouldn’t come with me. You knew what lay beyond the door wasn’t the outside world.”
Mi Moyan’s expression showed neither sorrow nor joy, indifferent with a trace of despair: “Do you think I haven’t tried? I’ve tried every method you can think of and tasted all the bitter consequences.”
Bao Zhu was extremely dejected. She had been too rash, not yet having explored the detailed intelligence of her surroundings before violently attacking someone due to Aunt Zhao’s humiliation. Now that she was chained up and the enemy was on guard, escaping again would surely be even more difficult.
It was now the Cold Dew season. The daytime air was cool and pleasant, but the night wind was chilly. She wore thin clothing, and Mi Moyan had been bare-chested during his punishment. Neither had eaten all day, and with empty stomachs, they were even less able to resist the cold, kneeling in the courtyard and shivering.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know it would implicate you,” Bao Zhu said remorsefully.
“Oh, I don’t blame you,” Mi Moyan said as chains clinked. He rubbed his neck, and though he had taken a beating, his eyes actually showed a hint of satisfaction. “You smashed that old hag’s skull flat – it was truly satisfying. Taking these few lashes was worth it. Anyway… anyway, I’m used to it.”
Bao Zhu recalled Aunt Zhao’s vicious face and angrily asked, “Is that traitor dead?!”
Mi Moyan had never heard someone curse like this before and found it quite novel. He answered, “Half-dead, foaming at the mouth. I imagine she won’t last until tomorrow.”
Bao Zhu snorted, finally feeling some relief. But thinking it over, she found it quite strange that she had beaten the courtyard’s leader to near death, yet those people hadn’t mentioned it at all.
“Since you weren’t tied up, and didn’t know to beg for mercy or dodge, you just stood motionless and let them beat you.”
Mi Moyan smiled bitterly, “Begging for mercy is useless. The rule here is: if you dodge while being beaten, even just twisting your body once, they start counting over again.”
Bao Zhu couldn’t help but shudder. After a while, she asked, “Did that old thief also humiliate you?”
Mi Moyan said flatly, “She was being merciful with you. When I was caught after my second escape attempt, she didn’t want to damage the skin and leave marks, so she had all ten of my toenails pulled out, then made me dance from dawn to dusk for a whole day.”
Already cold outdoors, hearing the youth’s words made Bao Zhu’s scalp tingle with horror.
After a moment of silence, Bao Zhu lowered her voice and said, “My guard has unparalleled martial arts. Someday he’ll find this place and kill all these villains without leaving a trace. When that happens, I’ll take you with me.”
Hearing her optimistic confidence, Mi Moyan remained noncommittal, just staring blankly in a daze.
Bao Zhu hugged her arms and rubbed them, trying to raise her body temperature, then asked, “When I escaped, I passed through Jinshi Court and Qingge Court, and it seemed there were other courtyards beyond. Were those previously abducted Guanyin slaves scattered and imprisoned in those places?”
Mi Moyan pondered for a moment and said quietly, “Perhaps so. I haven’t seen them for a long time.”
“Are all the people here trafficked by slave traders?”
Mi Moyan shook his head, “Most are slaves of base status, bought from human markets, or sold by poor parents.”
Bao Zhu was silent for a while, remembering Aunt Zhao paying those kidnappers, and wondered aloud, “She’s just an instructor matron. She shouldn’t have the confidence to act so brazenly and commit crimes. Who exactly is the master of these courtyards?”
Mi Moyan shivered, and with obvious fear, whispered, “The sun…”
Bao Zhu asked in confusion, “What?”
“He is the king of this city. We’re not worthy to know his name.”
As punishment, the two knelt in the courtyard all night on empty stomachs. Midway through, Bao Zhu couldn’t support herself anymore and, disregarding appearances, loosened her hair to drape over her body for warmth, curling up and falling asleep.
Early the next morning, guards came with keys to release them both, but left the ankle shackles on Bao Zhu’s feet. This hindered her movement, preventing her from running quickly.
Bao Zhu was disheveled and barefoot, wearing shackles and chains, looking more wretched than a convict exiled to Lingnan. Having suffered these unprecedented humiliations, she was so angry her face turned pale and she nearly fainted. To console herself, she could only say, “At least this way I don’t have to practice those damned lessons.”
Mi Moyan said helplessly, “It seems you really haven’t suffered hardship. You’re thinking too optimistically.”
Indeed, they had no time to rest. After getting dressed, they were taken directly to the practice room to attend morning classes with the others. The bloodstains had been wiped completely clean, leaving no trace. Aunt Zhao’s arrogant and domineering presence had vanished overnight, and no one mentioned her anymore.
Today’s morning class was led by the lead dancer Yu Hu. She called the two to a corner, took out a small package, lifted the cloth wrapper to reveal several crushed jade dew cakes inside.
She said gently, “Eat up. I brought these back from last night’s banquet.”
Mi Moyan thanked her and hurriedly put them in his mouth. Bao Zhu had no interest in leftover pastries from banquets and initially wanted to refuse proudly, but her stomach was honest. After struggling for a moment, she couldn’t help but reach out and take one. While eating with suppressed anger, she felt so aggrieved that her throat choked up, forcing herself not to let tears fall.
Yu Hu said softly, “From now on, I’ll temporarily take over as instructor. For everyone’s dignity, please be gentle and avoid causing trouble. Sister, you need to perform the Zhi Zhi dance at the Golden Osmanthus Banquet. Starting today, you must practice well with Mi Moyan and me.”
Bao Zhu shook the iron shackles on her ankles and asked in surprise, “I have to practice dancing while wearing these?”
Yu Hu sighed helplessly and nodded.
When Bao Zhu went dejectedly to the corner to warm up, Mi Moyan quietly asked Yu Hu, “Why hasn’t the master immediately summoned her for his pleasure?”
Yu Hu whispered, “After all, he’s getting on in years and feels somewhat inadequate. I heard he’s waiting for medicine to be prepared. Also, a few days ago, a two-colored hibiscus bloomed in Xiangyun Hall’s courtyard. Everyone called it an auspicious omen, but who would have thought that some thief stole it in the night. He flew into a rage and has been restless these past few days, still without results from the investigation.”
Yu Hu paused and asked, “You didn’t tell her, did you?”
Mi Moyan shook his head heavily. Both looked toward Bao Zhu, who was sitting on a carpet stretching her limbs, and simultaneously showed expressions of pity.
From that day on, Bao Zhu dragged her cumbersome shackles while following Yu Hu and Mi Moyan in dance practice. This new instructor had a gentle and compliant nature, often coaxing with kind words, nothing like Aunt Zhao’s deliberate harassment and torture. However, she no longer gave Bao Zhu any instruments that could be used as weapons. Bao Zhu responded to gentleness rather than force, and since she couldn’t escape Nishang Court for the time being, she had to temporarily endure and practice grudgingly.
Having watched performances by the court’s top dancers since childhood, her standards were naturally very high. However, even judging with the most critical eye, she had to admit that Yu Hu and Mi Moyan’s dance skills were exquisitely superb and outstanding.
Yu Hu excelled at the soft dance “Green Waist,” with flying sleeves brushing clouds and rain, her body light as if boneless. Mi Moyan was skilled in vigorous dances like “Hu Teng” and “Hu Xuan,” with circular movements and rapid steps all keeping perfect rhythm, his hands placed behind his back and on his waist like a crescent moon. Yet both considered teaching Bao Zhu the Zhi Zhi dance their top priority.
From hints she heard, Yu Hu had the fortune of gaining favor from the master’s son and often served outside. The other dancers, perhaps having witnessed Bao Zhu’s violent assault, didn’t dare get close to her. Most of the time accompanying Bao Zhu in dance practice at Nishang Court was her roommate Mi Moyan.
If it were for her own entertainment, Bao Zhu would have been happy to participate in these beautiful and elegant activities. But thinking that this hard practice was to perform for villains’ pleasure filled her heart with resistance. Moreover, dragging around restrictive shackles made movement extremely inconvenient and exhausted her.
She complained to Mi Moyan, “If it were a group dance, I could just mix in with the backup dancers and keep time. But this Zhi Zhi dance is a solo female dance, at most performed by two people. Even if I had extraordinary talent, I couldn’t possibly dance better than you in just a few days. Why must I learn this?”
Mi Moyan said, “The Zhi Zhi dance is the master’s most valued dance. No matter how well you perform other dances, he considers them all inferior. Every Guanyin slave must learn this one. Whether you’re willing or not, regardless of skill level, you must perform it. Quickly get up and practice.”
Bao Zhu felt thoroughly dejected, thinking silently: Even if Yang Xingjian had been kidnapped instead, his dance skills would be much better than hers. She lay on the leg-stretching carpet playing lazy and refusing to get up, righteously demanding, “I can’t dance anymore. I can’t remember the movements that come next either. Show me again.”
Mi Moyan had no choice but to break down the movements and dance for her again.
His dance style combined vigorous brightness with graceful charm, possessing a divine quality that was neither male nor female, combining firmness and gentleness. Even after watching repeatedly, it remained breathtaking. Bao Zhu thought: No wonder he could stand out and be chosen as Guanyin’s incarnation.
When the dance ended, she couldn’t help but praise, “With dance skills like yours, if you went to Chang’an, you could definitely enter the palace. Getting an official position in the Palace Administration would be effortless.”
Hearing her praise, Mi Moyan showed no joy on his face, only saying indifferently, “I’ve been learning dance since I could walk. The Yao family troupe was the city’s finest music and dance company, and I was the best Hu dancer among them. For over ten years, I devoted myself wholeheartedly to studying technique, training hard day and night, going through layer upon layer of selection, only to end up as livestock and plaything for those above the clouds.”
Bao Zhu fell silent after hearing this. Having fallen from the clouds into the mire, transforming from one who appreciated song and dance into a dancer who served others with her beauty, she had her own sorrow. When her mother refused to teach her dance years ago, thinking her daughter would live safely and smoothly in golden honor all her life, how could she have predicted that one day she would fall to such a wretched state?
After forcing herself to practice a bit more, Bao Zhu was so tired she nearly vomited. Seeing the sky gradually darkening and the day’s lessons finally ending, she sighed loudly, “The sun has set! Time to wrap up!”
“Stop talking immediately!” Yu Hu rushed over quickly, preventing her from continuing. Her usually gentle face became extremely serious.
With a grave expression, she grasped Bao Zhu’s hand and solemnly warned, “Sister, you must remember the most important rule in this courtyard: whether in private conversation, performing on stage, or entertaining guests, you must never say words like ‘sunset, evening sun, going down the mountain, remnant sun.’ It’s best not to even mention ‘evening glow’ or ‘dusk.'”
Bao Zhu was startled and asked, “Is it because of name taboos? But these words don’t share any characters.”
Yu Hu fell silent as if struck dumb, raised her sharp red fingernail, and placed it on her lips with a shushing sound. Mi Moyan silently pointed to the scars on his back.
Avoiding names of superiors, relatives, and worthy people – to maintain the dignity of those in power, when encountering the names of rulers or respected relatives, one couldn’t speak or write them directly, either substituting other characters or writing with missing strokes to show reverence. Once, Bao Zhu’s own name couldn’t be casually spoken by others, but she had never heard of avoiding certain specific concepts.
She remembered Mi Moyan’s veiled mention that “he is the sun,” thinking this person compared himself to the sun in his arrogance. Being aged and not allowing people to mention words related to sunset also showed extremely petty character.
The Grand Historian said: “Human affairs have myriad aspects, with rules penetrating everywhere, leading people forward with benevolence and righteousness, binding them with punishments and penalties.” However, the rules in this “heavenly court” revealed cruelty, ruthlessness, and absurd abnormality everywhere.
She silently pondered: Who exactly was the master of this vast mansion?