The palace maid outside took the letter from the guard’s hand and passed it to the maid who opened the door. She glanced at Lin’an, who was sitting on the edge of the bed and turned to the side, looking very unhappy. The maid tactfully retreated.
The one who opened the door was the pretty palace maid whose buttocks had been patted by Li Qi’an. She opened the envelope and glanced at it.
After reading just the opening sentence, the clever maid stopped reading. She guessed who the letter was from and said with a covered smile, “Your Highness, the dog slave has sent a letter.”
Lin’an immediately turned her face, glanced at the two pages of the letter, and then turned away again. “Too long, won’t read.”
This was very much in line with Princess Lin’an’s character. The two palace maids giggled and placed the letter on the table, saying softly, “This slave will leave first. Please call if Your Highness needs anything.”
As soon as the maids left, Lin’an kept glancing at the table. When the footsteps faded away, she muttered to herself as she walked to the table and picked up the letter to read.
After hearing Huai Qing’s words, she was a bit angry. The dog slave appeared honest on the surface, but was secretly a lecherous fellow, frequently visiting the imperial brothels. Just thinking about it made her feel stuffy.
But she didn’t know the reason, so she had been sulking since coming back.
Logically speaking, as the noble Princess Lin’an, with countless guards under her command, she had never cared about their lifestyle or conduct.
She sat down at the table, straightening her back and slightly lowering her head. Her posture was full of spirit, having been trained from a young age in proper etiquette for walking, sitting, and standing.
“…The long night drags on, and I have no desire for sleep. Your Highness’s voice and laughter seem to be before my eyes and in my ears. Not having seen you for half a month, I miss you dearly.”
“Pah!” Lin’an spat, her lips curling up involuntarily.
This unconventional opening fully expresses the writer’s dependence and longing, highlighting her importance. Princess Lin’an was most susceptible to this approach.
She was a girl who loved romance. It was only because the “domineering CEO” trope couldn’t sprout in this era; otherwise, Lin’an would have been a fanatic of female-oriented novels.
She continued reading. The letter described many strange events, such as a water ghost incident in the canal. Her dog slave had fearlessly jumped into the river to save people, battling fiercely for three hundred rounds, and rescued that poor guard. The guard knelt and kowtowed in gratitude, but the dog slave helped him up, saying thunderously: “A man’s knees are worth gold!”
That’s so well said… Lin’an smiled, becoming more and more engrossed.
She loved reading about these peculiar events, full of intrigue, both thrilling and exciting.
Outside the door, the two personal maids quietly pushed open a small gap and peeped through. They were surprised to find Princess Lin’an sitting at the table, utterly absorbed, sometimes smiling lightly, frowning, and sometimes showing a scared expression.
Quietly retreating, the two whispered to each other:
“Is the Princess in a good mood again?”
“Yes… She’s reading the letter so attentively.”
“Sister, what’s written in the letter?”
“Don’t ask. We shouldn’t pry into our master’s affairs. Have you forgotten what the palace matrons taught us?”
“That Li Qi’an has some skills. The Princess has only known him for a short time, yet she cares about him so much… Hmm, I won’t spread these words around.”
…
Lin’an read to the end with great interest, only to find that the story had concluded. The dog slave began describing a type of lotus in Qingzhou called the red lotus, as seductive as fire, always reminding this humble servant of Your Highness’s unparalleled grace when wearing a red dress…
As she read, Lin’an’s round, crystalline face flushed with shy redness, looking alluringly intoxicating.
Although she knew there was no one in the room, she still nervously glanced at the door, then clutched the letter tightly in her palm.
“He, he…”
Princess Lin’an heard her own heart pounding wildly, her oval face burning hot.
How dare he write such a letter to her? Seducing a princess, if leaked, would be punishable by death. Thinking of this, Lin’an wanted to tear up the letter to destroy the evidence.
But she was somewhat reluctant to do so because, since birth, this was the first time the princess had received such a letter. The story was thrilling and exciting, and Li Ning Yan’s words were so pleasing to hear…
Her bright black eyes turned, and the clever Lin’an came up with an idea. She put the dehydrated, shriveled flower petals together with the letter and tucked them into a thick book, a rare edition given to her by her imperial mother.
“There, now no one will find it!” Lin’an exhaled, placing her hands on her hips.
Soon after, the two personal maids in the courtyard heard the princess’s call: “Come in and help me change. I want to wear the red dress!”
The maids responded and entered the room, assisting Princess Lin’an in changing her clothes. Following her instructions, they helped her into a beautiful dress as red as fire.
Lin’an nodded with satisfaction, twirling gracefully, her skirt spreading like a blooming flower.
“Look at my unparalleled grace!” she said confidently, raising her chin.
“…” The maids exchanged glances, utterly confused.
“Your Highness, aren’t you angry anymore?” The maid whose buttocks had been patted by Li Qi’an probed cautiously.
“Angry about what?” Lin’an asked in return.
“That dog slave,” the maid had just finished speaking when she saw Lin’an’s eyebrows furrow, angrily interrupting her:
“What dog slave? How dare you call him a dog slave? You should address him as Lord Li.”
My dog slave is not for others to call, she thought to herself.
…
At Yingmei Pavilion.
Wearing a white cotton long dress with her hair loose and undressed, Fu Xiang was carrying a bamboo basket, picking plum blossoms in the courtyard.
The plum blossoms were in full bloom, and the courtyard was quiet. She wore an elaborate white dress with the hem trailing on the ground, her snow-white wrists holding the bamboo basket filled with clusters of picked plum blossoms. She raised her other arm to reach for a branch.
The plum blossoms and the beauty complemented each other perfectly.
The maids in the courtyard gazed at this scene, finding it pleasing to the eye. Recently, their mistress had become increasingly detached, spending her days practicing dance, tuning her zither, and appreciating plum blossoms, engaging only in refined activities.
She rarely appeared at tea gatherings, and when she did go out for a small drink, she would leave the guests behind. Far from being angry, the guests became even more eager to pursue her.
Gradually, just being able to see Fu Xiang the courtesan once became something men could boast about for days.
After “The fragrance floats as the moon turns yellow at dusk,” another poem gained considerable fame: The beauty rolls up the pearl curtain, sitting deep in thought with furrowed brows…
Through the promotion of the imperial brothels, a story was fabricated for this poem:
The talented Lord Li had made Fu Xiang cry. To cheer her up, he paced anxiously in circles. Finally, after drinking three cups of strong liquor, inspiration struck, and this poem was born.
A simple poem lacks soul, but with a backstory and legend, it immediately became a topic of great interest.
Many scholars believed it to be true, thinking that Fu Xiang was a woman blessed with talent. They thought that by interacting with her more, they might be able to write immortal poems like Li Qi’an and achieve lasting fame.
This was the Da Feng version of hyping up and selling a persona!
However, since Lord Li left the capital, the mistress had often been sighing deeply. Every three days, she would send someone to inquire about news, asking if Lord Li had returned to the capital.
At this moment, the gatekeeper ran in, waving a letter from afar:
“Mistress Fu Xiang, there’s a letter from Qingzhou, sent by Lord Li.”
Li Qi’an didn’t dare to sign his name on the envelopes sent to the princesses, but for letters to Fu Xiang and his family, there was no need for such caution.
Fu Xiang, who had been quite interested in picking flowers, was stunned at first. Then, with an exaggerated reaction, she dropped the bamboo basket, abandoning the plum blossoms. She lifted her skirt and ran to meet the messenger, not even letting her maids deliver the letter.
She snatched the envelope from the gatekeeper’s hand, her beautiful eyes sparkling brightly like a little girl suddenly receiving an unexpected gift, immersed in surprise and joy.
Lord Li sent me a letter… Fu Xiang’s inner joy was overwhelming, as she realized that she held some position in that man’s heart, and it wasn’t just a casual relationship.
This realization made her feel dizzy with elation.
“Mistress…” The maid softly reminded her, as the mistress’s smile looked rather foolish.
Fu Xiang completely ignored her, holding up her skirt with one hand and the letter with the other, quickly returning to her bedroom. After closing the door, she eagerly opened the letter, reading as she walked towards the bed, sitting on the edge.
She pursed her pink lips, reading word by word, afraid that if she read too quickly, it would be over too soon since the letter wasn’t very long.
When she read that Li Qi’an hadn’t visited the brothels in Qingzhou, Fu Xiang felt inexplicably happy. When he said that when she missed him, she should remember to trim her nails, Fu Xiang was stunned for a moment before she understood.
“Pah!”
Fu Xiang spat with a face flushed red, hugging the letter to her chest like a treasure. She fell back onto the bed, closing her eyes, her plump little mouth curving into a pleased smile.
…
The letter arrived a bit late at the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, just in time for mealtime. Chu Cai Wei, who had been striving to advance to the rank of alchemist, felt as if she had used up all her efforts for the coming year.
Starting next year, she wanted to be a “salted fish” (meaning to slack off) and try for the next rank advancement in a few years. She didn’t want to be so tired anymore.
Her round oval face had thinned a bit, and her chin had become sharper.
She was sitting in the dining hall, about to have dinner with her fellow disciples, but before eating, Chu Cai Wei wanted to read the letter Li Ning Yan had sent her.
She was a little excited.
“There’s a delicacy in Yuzhou called yellow sprouts braised with ham. Ham is a unique southern delicacy, rarely found in the north…”
“Qingzhou has countless delicacies, let me describe them one by one…”
As she read, Chu Cai Wei’s eyes widened, and she swallowed repeatedly. By the time she finished reading the letter, the ordinary food of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau suddenly lost its appeal.
It seemed difficult to swallow.
“Damn you, Li Ning Yan…” Chu Cai Wei slammed the table and stood up, stomping out angrily.
“Where are you going, Junior Sister Cai Wei?”
“I’m going to Qingzhou, and Yuzhou too!”
“Huh?”
“To a restaurant! I don’t want to eat the food from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau anymore, it’s terrible!”
…
Before dusk, Li Ying Yue brought Little Bean home from school, followed by two strong servants.
Her aunt, wearing a deep red gauze robe and a pleated long skirt, was holding scissors and trimming the potted plants in the hall.
The aunt found her role as the family matriarch quite boring. The children had just grown up and weren’t married yet, so there were no difficult daughters-in-law for her to contend with.
Moreover, the Li family didn’t have many members, unlike those wealthy families with numerous people inside and outside the household. The aunt’s burden of managing the house wasn’t heavy.
Every day, she drank tea, watered flowers, and occasionally went out shopping with the household servants.
The inner city was indeed more prosperous and safer than the outer city. She could walk on the streets without fear of encountering ruffians. The inner city had night watchmen on patrol, the Five Guards of the capital, and constables from the government office.
Even at her age, when she went out, there were still men who couldn’t help but stare at her. How annoying.
Li Ying Yue entered the hall and saw her mother’s back as she bent over to trim the plants. Her waist was slender, and beneath the loose gauze dress was a full, plump figure.
She felt a bit envious.
“Mother, I’m back…” Li Ling Yin, with a small cloth bag hanging around her neck, came running in, the bag swinging back and forth with her movements.
The swinging made her lose balance, and she bumped headfirst into her aunt’s bottom.
“So noisy,” the aunt turned and scolded.
After reprimanding her younger daughter, she looked at her elder daughter. “How did Ling Yin behave at school?”
The little bean had started school. This was a requirement set by Second Young Master Li when he last returned home. It wasn’t out of spite; he surely didn’t want to see his young sister waste her studies.
So Second Uncle Li had asked someone to find a reputable school in the inner city. The teacher was an old xiucai (a person who had passed the imperial examination at the county level), very strict in his teaching. A juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations at the provincial level) wouldn’t teach children enlightenment education.
Even for a xiucai, teaching children’s enlightenment was like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, but there was no choice. The parents paid too much.
The children studying with Li Ling Yin were all from extraordinary families.
Li Ying Yue looked at her carefree sister and sighed, saying gently:
“The teacher said that when reciting, she’s always the loudest and most serious. But after reciting, she forgets everything. Today, she finally memorized three sentences of the Three Character Classic… The teacher was so happy he almost burst into tears.”
The aunt felt embarrassed and poked her younger daughter’s forehead with her finger. “Stupid girl, you need to think when you read. Don’t let it go in one ear and out the other.”
“I’m not stupid, no no no,” Li Ling Yin protested loudly.
“You are stupid.”
“Mother is the stupid one because I was born from you,” the little bean argued back.
“…” The aunt was speechless. She picked her up and smacked her bottom a few times, but the thick-skinned Li Ling Yin wasn’t afraid at all and insisted on proving she wasn’t stupid.
The aunt sighed, not wanting to argue with her young daughter anymore. It would only result in her getting angry and shouting, with no effect at all.
“Your eldest brother sent a few letters back. They’re on the table. Ying Yue, go take a look.” The aunt couldn’t read.
Li Ying Yue’s eyes lit up. She excitedly walked to the table and picked up the letters, glancing at them. There were three letters, addressed to herself, her father, and her mother respectively.
“Mother, Big Brother sent one to you too.”
The aunt was stunned, her moist eyes flashing with surprise. She thought to herself that this troublesome nephew remembered his old mother.
“Let me read, let me read…” The little bean felt that after a few days of schooling, she was now a scholar and the task of reading letters should be given to her.
Li Ying Yue looked at her amusedly and handed over the letter addressed to their father, then opened the one addressed to herself.
The little bean took the letter and immediately furrowed her little brows. “So amazing, Big Brother can write so many characters. Big Brother’s writing is better than mine.”
“Of course it is. Are you going to read it or not?” The aunt sat down in a chair.
“People at the beginning, nature good in origin. Nature near…” She finished reading.
“Is this a letter? Is this what your big brother wrote?” The aunt was angry.
“This is the letter. I’ve read it all out,” the little bean flapped her arms like wings to increase her persuasiveness.
“Is it just these three lines you can recite?”
At that moment, Xu Lingyue had finished reading the letter her elder brother had written to her. She carefully tucked away a dried petal, intending to place it in her incense pouch for safekeeping. Her delicate, oval face was alight with a smile as she opened the letter addressed to her aunt.
“Mother, I’ll read you the letter that Brother sent,” she said cheerfully.
Her aunt immediately shifted into a more relaxed sitting posture and nodded slightly, “Mm.”
“Please take good care of Lingyin, that’s all!” Xu Lingyue forced a somewhat awkward smile, feeling the sting of embarrassment. “Brother’s writing is both concise and to the point…”
“He’s doing this on purpose to irritate me,” her aunt exclaimed, turning her face away in annoyance.
…
Meanwhile, Xu Qi An, accompanied by Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao, had changed into casual attire, each armed with a sheathed dagger. They left the inn just before curfew and made their way to Huangbo Street.
They settled at a small tavern along the street, ordering a meal while sipping wine and waiting for sunset. Xu Qi An, with chopsticks clenched between his teeth and a wine cup in hand, watched as the number of pedestrians dwindled and dusk began to envelop the sky.
As the last sliver of daylight disappeared in the west, he set down his cup and called out, “Waiter, the bill, please.”
Song Tingfeng observed him pulling out some silver to pay. Once they exited the tavern and headed towards Huangbo Street, he remarked, “Ning Yan, where did you get all that silver? I’ve never seen you use copper coins.”
Copper coins are beneath someone like me, the child of fortune… Xu Qi An replied nonchalantly, “What’s it to you?”
“It’s just that the piece of silver you used seemed familiar, missing a corner… I lost three coins yesterday, and it was missing a corner too. Is that my silver?” Song Tingfeng asked, uncertainty creeping into his voice.
“Be confident; just drop the ‘maybe’—it’s yours,” Xu Qi An said, giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “I found it outside your door.”
“You’re unbelievable… Give me back my silver!” Song Tingfeng shouted, chasing after him.
Before long, they arrived at Huangbo Street, one of the infamous black markets in Baidi City. Unlike the quiet streets outside, this area buzzed with activity, filled with hooded figures and masked faces, concealing their true identities.
The trio donned dark cloaks, pulling their hoods over their heads while hiding their daggers within the folds. As they entered Huangbo Street, the rich scent of blood assaulted their senses. Shops lined the streets, all selling dog meat, featuring live dogs tied up, prepared dishes, and fresh cuts of meat.
“I haven’t had dog meat in years…” Xu Qi An said, feeling a pang of temptation.
Once their business was concluded, he considered buying some to take back to the inn. Enjoying a hot pot of dog meat on a cold winter night sounded like a delightful experience.
Soon, they navigated to shop number 15, which appeared to be another establishment selling fresh dog meat. However, the three, alert and attentive, simultaneously perked up their ears at the sound of lively chatter coming from within.
Indeed, this was a shop selling dog meat.