Under the willow tree stood a young woman in light yellow Hu-style clothing, her hair styled in an alluring topknot adorned with two simple ornaments. Her figure was slender and graceful, her features as delicate as a painting. She smiled faintly as she bowed and spoke, appearing elegant and poised, with an indescribable air of freshness and ease. She was undoubtedly a rare beauty, pleasing to the eye.
However, for Prince Ning, beautiful women were not uncommon, especially given the current circumstances. He only glanced at her briefly before averting his eyes, saying coolly, “I don’t see anything particularly virtuous about her.”
Lady Meng, not missing the Prince’s lingering gaze, probed further, “Your Highness, doesn’t her posture remind you of someone?” This was a transparent attempt to make the Prince look again.
Prince Ning did indeed look at Mudan once more, but ultimately turned his horse away without comment, though his face showed no sign of annoyance.
As long as he was willing to look twice, there was hope. Lady Meng thought to herself that men were indeed all susceptible to beauty. She decided to stop while ahead, inwardly criticizing but outwardly saying, “It seems I was mistaken. This must be our first meeting. However, this Miss He is truly exceptional. Not only is she beautiful and gentle, but also gracious and well-mannered. She’s much more sensible than that loud, disrespectful girl from General Huang’s household.”
At the mention of Xue Niang, Prince Ning frowned and said coldly, “Why are you picking on a child? You’d do better to recite sutras for the Princess Consort’s well-being than to go about causing trouble! Today you provoke General Huang, tomorrow will you provoke Minister Lu?”
With that, he rode away. Lady Meng knew he was truly angry, but she didn’t pale with fear. She calmly turned to her maid Li Niang and instructed quietly, “Go find out who this girl is. Make sure you get all the details.”
Li Niang nodded and left, pretending she had dropped something at the estate. Meanwhile, Lady Meng ordered her driver to catch up with Prince Ning, determined to enter the palace alongside him.
As Lady Meng reclined on her cushions, she observed the two attendants sitting at the front of the carriage. Though they appeared respectful, she knew they held no real regard for her. She sank into deep thought.
It was the Qixi Festival, and Prince Ning had chosen to avoid the palace, likely to escape painful memories. She had managed to follow him here but hadn’t achieved her desired outcome. After carefully staying by his side for days, she had inadvertently offended him and was now being sent back early, even her maids looking down on her. How could she face returning like this? Heaven had been kind, sending that boisterous girl from the Huang family as an outlet for her frustration and a reason to wait for Prince Ning’s return. And now, this beautiful Miss He had appeared.
Though Miss He associated with General Huang’s daughter, her smooth and skillful manner suggested she wasn’t a sheltered young lady or an arrogant noble, but someone used to deal with people. Lady Meng hadn’t heard of anyone so outstanding among the notable families in the capital. She surmised that Miss He’s background wasn’t high, but not too low either. Such a background, combined with her intelligence, made her perfect for entering the prince’s household. She wouldn’t be a rival to Lady Meng but could become a valuable ally.
Lady Meng had been disappointed to hear Miss He was betrothed, but seeing Prince Ning’s reaction gave her hope. As long as he was interested, anything was possible. Even if she was engaged, as long as she wasn’t married… After all, hadn’t princes taken other men’s wives before? If he liked her… even the Empress would consider Lady Meng virtuous for arranging it.
Since Consort Qin’s death, Prince Ning had fallen ill and remained melancholy. The Empress had been worried, sending several women to his household. But none of them could compare to Miss He in beauty, and more importantly, their manners were all the same. Prince Ning, having grown up in the palace, was likely bored of such women. How could they interest him? Lady Meng’s lips curled into a slight smile. How could the dead compete with the living?
Meanwhile, Mudan and Xue Niang bid farewell to the short, stout man and slowly rode towards Fang Garden. Xue Niang, elated by Prince Ning’s apology, had forgotten her earlier grievances. She exclaimed excitedly, “Sister He, the rumors are true! Prince Ning is indeed reasonable. It’s just that woman in his household who’s detestable. He really should keep her in check.”
Madam Feng laughed, “How can you speak of managing royal households, child? Even emperors have their flaws. These princes have thousands under their command and dozens of women in their households. They’re concerned with affairs of the state, not trivial matters. As long as it’s not too outrageous, it’s overlooked. We only witnessed this incident, but who knows what happens in other households?”
Xue Niang tilted her head thoughtfully, “I suppose that’s true.”
Mudan smiled, knowing it wasn’t just supposition, but the way things were. The saying about managing one’s household before ruling the country was only brought up when needed. Most of the time, the nobility simply enjoyed their privileges. What commoners saw as serious matters were often trivial in the eyes of those in power.
For instance, if Lady Meng had truly gone too far and beaten Xue Niang, even if General Huang complained, the best outcome would be Prince Ning discarding an unloved woman to appease the General. The General would gain nothing, while the Prince would earn a good reputation. But Lady Meng hadn’t beaten anyone, just caused some trouble, so the conflict remained within acceptable bounds.
Xue Niang didn’t dwell on these thoughts. She quickly changed the subject, smiling, “Prince Ning is so handsome! No wonder I’ve heard people say he’s the most attractive of the young princes, resembling His Majesty the most.”
Mudan nodded absently. She had once been curious about Prince Ning’s appearance, given his deep connections to the Li family, but now that she had seen him, she wasn’t particularly impressed. He had a high nose and double eyelids, two eyebrows, and a mouth – all the features a person should have. If there was anything extra, it was the air of authority that common people couldn’t imitate. More than Prince Ning’s looks, she was interested in whether he would succeed and if the Li family would rise to power.
Xue Niang chattered on excitedly, looking around, “Sister He, wasn’t it around here that the Jiang family sent you a sedan chair when you were ill? Don’t they have an estate nearby?”
Mudan, still lost in thought, replied absently, “Yes.”
Xue Niang’s eyes curved into crescents as she smiled, “Where is it? Can you show me? I’m curious what kind of place such people live in. When I told my friends about it, they were all so interested.”
Realizing there were celebrity fans even in ancient times, Mudan pointed with her riding crop, “I’ve never been there, but it should be over there. See where there are many large trees surrounded by a vast rice field?”
Xue Niang craned her neck to look. She saw a sea of golden rice swaying in the wind, and in the distance, amidst a ring of green, glimpses of gray and white. A shimmering stream about ten feet wide meandered from there through the undulating rice fields, connecting to the main road. The scenery was truly beautiful. She was momentarily stunned and asked softly, “How far is it from your estate?”
Mudan replied, “Not too far. I haven’t measured it exactly, but if you want to know, you can calculate it yourself now.”
Xue Niang made a small sound of acknowledgment and fell silent, furrowing her brow in concentration as she began to calculate.
Mudan led Xue Niang and the others around the newly constructed waterways, ponds, and rockeries, going directly into the house. She settled Xue Niang in the room next to hers and assigned Madam Feng and A’Tao to handle the tasks of bringing water for Xue Niang to wash up and prepare food. Without even washing her face, Mudan hurriedly sorted and soaked the baskets of peony seeds in warm water. Then, donning a wide-brimmed hat, she called on several reliable female farmhands who worked at Fang Garden to join her in the nursery garden.
As they followed Mudan’s instructions to apply well-rotted manure mixed with lime to the soil, digging it in deeply and creating raised beds, the women joked with her: “Miss He, it’s smelly here. Be careful not to get too sweaty and tanned, or you won’t be beautiful anymore. Why don’t you let us handle the fertilizing and bed preparation? You can rest and come check on us later. We’ll make sure you’re satisfied.”
Mudan just smiled, standing in the shade of a tree watching them work while making small talk to build rapport. “Time flies. When I arrived, it seemed the rice was almost ripe. Is that right?”
A young woman named Zheng Niang laughed, “You were too busy admiring the scenery to notice the people working in the fields. They’ve already started harvesting. If it weren’t for the high wages at your estate, we’d all be out there harvesting too.”
Mudan replied, “I’ll need to hire help regularly in the future. As long as the work is done well, the wages can be even higher. Once you’re experienced, we can discuss long-term contracts.” She had long planned to supplement her bought servants with local farmhands for agricultural work, which would also help establish local connections.
The women exchanged glances and giggled, “As long as you pay well, we’d even make you a flower out of the soil if you asked!”
Mudan laughed, “I don’t need you to make me flowers, just help me grow them.”
As they were talking, Xue Niang emerged, having changed into a refreshing light blue gauze jacket paired with a cyan silk skirt. She hugged Mudan’s shoulders and asked the woman, “I’ve heard that you sing and dance under the moon at night. Is that true?”
Zheng Niang smiled, “Of course it’s true. On beautiful nights like this, after we finish harvesting the rice and have dinner in the fields, we always sing and dance under the moon until it reaches its zenith. People from nearby estates come to watch the fun. Would the young miss like to join?”
Xue Niang replied happily, “Where I used to live, we only did this in spring.”
Zheng Niang said, “The harvests have been good these past few years. If we want to sing and dance, we don’t care if it’s winter, spring, summer, or autumn. If you want to join, we’ll come call you after dinner.”
Xue Niang tugged at Mudan’s sleeve, her eyes full of anticipation. “Sister He, can we go? I’m almost suffocating from being cooped up by my mother.”
Recalling Zhen Shi’s description of the grand踏歌(singing while walking) scenes, Mudan was also interested. She smiled and said, “We have nothing else to do, so let’s go take a look.”
Hearing this, Xue Niang happily hugged Mudan and bounced up and down, nearly nuzzling her head against Mudan. “Good sister, you’re the best!”
After the ground was prepared and all the necessary work was done, Mudan inspected the garden once more. She washed up and lay down for a short rest, but it felt like she had just closed her eyes when Xue Niang came rushing in to wake her. “It’s time to eat! Let’s eat quickly and go!”
Yuhe had already returned from the city. Seeing Mudan’s eyes still red from lack of rest, she cast a reproachful glance at the excited Xue Niang who was running in and out. She slowly brought water for Mudan to wash up and, following Mudan’s habit offered a cup of cool boiled water. Only after Mudan had slowly drunk it did Yuhe call for the meal to be served, much to Xue Niang’s impatience.
Knowing this body’s poor health, Mudan never fussed about food and always chewed slowly. By the time Xue Niang had finished her bowl of rice, Mudan was still slowly eating half a bowl. Xue Niang sighed repeatedly in frustration. Mudan laughed, “Why are you in such a hurry? Didn’t you say they dance until the moon is high? The people will still be there, they won’t run away. Besides, they’re probably still working at this time and haven’t even eaten yet.”
Xue Niang could only tap her fingers on the table and wait restlessly. Finally, when she saw Mudan put down her bowl and wash her hands, she eagerly pulled her up to go find Zheng Niang in the kitchen. Outside the kitchen, they saw a large group of women, each holding a big earthenware bowl full of food, squatting in the shade of trees, eating and chatting. Among them was Zhou Ba Niang.
Seeing the Mudan approach, Zhou Ba Niang showed no discomfort. She stood up and said directly to Mudan, “Miss He, I heard you’re looking to hire long-term workers. I was just telling them that you should let me manage your kitchen from now on.”
Mudan hadn’t considered having the village head’s wife as her cook, but she couldn’t refuse outright. She just smiled and said, “I’m afraid you might be too busy.”
Zhou Ba Niang glanced at her sideways and said, “If I’m offering, I’ve already considered everything. If you’re willing, I’ll do the job well. If I don’t, you can send me away.”
Being pursued so forcefully to work for her gave Mudan mixed feelings. However, to be fair, Zhou Ba Niang was indeed capable, and since she had already spoken so directly, Mudan said, “Alright then.”
Seeing Mudan and Xue Niang come to the kitchen, Zheng Niang knew they were waiting for her to take them to see the踏歌. She quickly finished her meal and smiled, “It’s still early. Why don’t I take you two young ladies for a walk to help digest?”
Before Mudan could respond, Xue Niang had already cheerfully said, “Sure! Where shall we go?”
Zheng Niang replied, “The踏歌 takes place on the embankment by the Yellow Canal. We can walk along the field ridges to get there.”
The group left Fang Garden and walked along the field ridges for about the time it took to drink two cups of tea. As the sky gradually darkened and the moon began to rise, they heard a clear female voice singing in the distance: “A thousand wishes made at the pillow’s side, wait to rest until the green mountains crumble. The plumb bob floats on water, wait until the Yellow River runs dry. The sun, moon, and stars appear in daylight, the North Star turns to face south. Unable to rest now, wait until we see the sun again.”
The song was melodious and moving. Before Mudan could react, Xue Niang’s face had already turned red, and the maid Fu beside her frowned, looking very displeased. Just as Fu was about to comment on how inappropriate such songs were for young ladies to hear, another voice sang: “The plums are falling, seven of them. Seek me, you officers, while the time is auspicious! The plums are falling, the fruit is ripe. Seek me, you officers, while it is time! The plums are falling, and I gather them in my shallow baskets. Seek me, you officers, before it is too late!”
The singer had a beautiful voice, cheerful and melodious. Mudan was about to praise it when Xue Niang stamped her foot, saying with infinite coyness, “Oh my, why do they always sing such things?” The songs were either about longing and vows or inviting suitors.
Zheng Niang smiled indifferently, “This is what we usually sing.” She glanced at the angry Fu and the expressionless Madam Feng, saying, “Young ladies, don’t feel embarrassed. Look, some ladies over there’ve come to enjoy the cool evening and watch the fun. They come every day and listen without complaint. When they’re in a good mood, they even give money or gifts to the best singers and dancers. Sometimes they even join in and sing along.”
Mudan looked in the direction she pointed and indeed saw several young women standing under lush willow trees on the nearby embankment. They wore brightly colored skirts, their hair piled high, each holding a fan half-covering their face as they chatted softly. They must be the young mistresses from the nearby estates. Young women listening to and singing love songs on a moonlit night was indeed a pleasant pastime.
Not far away, groups of five or so well-dressed young men were talking and laughing loudly, occasionally glancing at the women around them. Everyone seemed excited as if it were a grand festival.
Mudan couldn’t help but smile. Regardless of whether Xue Niang was embarrassed or Fu was angry, she resolutely followed Zheng Niang. No matter what, she was determined to enjoy tonight’s踏歌. Seeing Mudan take the lead, Xue Niang confidently shook off Fu’s hand and strode forward.
As night fell, more and more people gathered on the embankment – men and women, old and young, but mostly young girls. It seemed to start with the sound of a clear flute. A few bold girls formed a circle, holding hands, stomping their feet to the rhythm, twisting their waists, and swaying their hips as they danced and sang: “Don’t cling to me, clinging makes my heart turn away. I am the willow by the Qu River, one person breaks me off, another clings, love is but a moment.” As they repeated the song, more people joined in. Eventually, even the young men who had been watching joined, regardless of gender. They stomped their feet, clapped their hands, and those who fancied each other exchanged flirtatious glances. The atmosphere was joyful and relaxed.
As the night deepened, the atmosphere reached its peak. Mudan and Xue Niang stood under a willow tree, smiling as they watched the cheerful crowd, humming along softly but not daring to sing the lyrics out loud. Zheng Niang, sweating from dancing, happily squeezed out of the crowd and boldly reached out to pull them in. “Come dance with us. What’s the point of just standing there?”
Xue Niang was eager to try, but Mudan had never danced before. Though she wanted to join, she felt a bit shy and laughed softly, “I’m too clumsy, I’m afraid I won’t be able to do it.”
Seeing Xue Niang wanted to go, Fu feared she might be taken advantage of by some rogue and that she would face Madam Dou’s wrath later. She quickly tried to stop her. Xue Niang pouted, “There are hardly any people standing still like us. Even those ladies from earlier have gone to dance. I’ll just dance on the outside, it won’t be a problem.”
Mudan looked and indeed saw that the young women from earlier had joined the踏歌. Only a scattered few people were left watching. Unexpectedly, her gaze met that of a man standing with his hands behind his back not far away. They both paused for a moment, and Mudan reflexively smiled at him. The man’s expression became a bit flustered, and then he broke into a big smile, revealing two rows of snow-white, even teeth. He then stepped towards Mudan – it was Jiang Changyang, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time.
He walked quickly; Mudan felt like she had barely blinked before he was in front of her. He smiled somewhat shyly and said, “Miss He, you’ve come to watch the踏歌 too? Are you staying at the estate?”
Mudan smiled and replied, “Yes, I came to the estate to grow flowers and heard something was exciting going on.” She glanced behind him. “Are you alone? I don’t see Manager Wu.”
Jiang Changyang said, “He’s here, he went to join the踏歌.” He looked towards the joyful crowd, found Wu dancing like a crab with outstretched claws, and pointed him out to Mudan. “Look, he’s over there, dancing as ungracefully as possible. It’s embarrassing. He’s bold.”
Wu’s dance moves were indeed comical. Mudan couldn’t help but laugh, unkindly saying, “He is bold.” She wondered if Jiang Changyang didn’t dare to dance because he was even worse. She couldn’t help wondering how someone with such a good figure would look dancing. With a mischievous smile, she asked, “Why don’t you go dance?”
Seeing her strange smile, Jiang Changyang laughed and asked in return, “Why don’t you go dance?”
Perhaps because of their pleasant interactions before, Mudan subconsciously felt he was a trustworthy good person. The relaxed and joyful atmosphere made her feel even more at ease. She replied frankly, “Because I don’t know how to dance. I’m afraid of embarrassing myself. Why don’t you dance?”
Jiang Changyang smiled, “I do know how to dance, I just don’t want to. It’s very simple.” He looked at Mudan, hesitating several times whether to invite her to try.
Xue Niang stood by, staring blankly at Jiang Changyang, clutching her sleeve so tightly that her nails dug into her palm without her noticing. From her angle, Jiang Changyang’s straight, beautiful nose bridge, strong jawline, upright and graceful posture, and gentle, calm expression made him seem even more approachable than the few times she had seen him before. And his Adam’s apple… everything was so… Xue Niang’s heart raced, and without thinking, she called out, “Sir Jiang.”