The three were led to the third floor of “Lan Yue Tower” by several young women. A man in casual sky-blue attire approached them, smiling, “Lord Minister, I’ve prepared the fatty crabs and chrysanthemum wine. Su Yan was just mentioning you; she’ll be here shortly after changing her clothes.”
Jiang Ci glanced at the man a few times. He appeared to be about thirty, tall and slender, with handsome features and a warm smile. His skin was even fairer than that of most women. She surmised this must be the owner of Lan Yue Tower, Master Ye.
Pei Yan reclined on a low couch, laughing, “I’m afraid Elder Sister Su isn’t thinking of me, but rather the song lyrics Zi Ming owes her.”
Cui Liang sat cross-legged before the table with a smile, while Jiang Ci surveyed the room’s decor. Everything was exquisitely arranged with an antique charm. Several calligraphy pieces and paintings hung on the walls, covered with green gauze – surely authentic works by famous masters of past dynasties.
As she was looking around, laughter came from behind a screen: “My Lord jests. Su Yan not only misses Young Cui’s lyrics but also misses you, My Lord!”
Light footsteps approached, and a beautiful woman emerged from behind the screen. She wore a crimson robe embroidered with gold and a sky-blue pleated skirt. Her black hair was piled high, her eyes like autumn waters, and her eyebrows like distant mountains. Her figure was graceful, with a mature charm that hinted at past experiences.
Jiang Ci silently praised her, noting how different Su Yan looked now compared to when she had seen her in stage makeup at Chang Feng Manor. Without the theatrical makeup, she appeared even more stunning. Though a mature woman in her thirties, she possessed a unique allure that rivaled that of an eighteen-year-old beauty.
Due to her elder martial sister’s background, Jiang Ci had an inexplicable fondness for people from the theater world. She walked over and took Su Yan’s hand, saying, “Elder Sister Su Yan, you’re so beautiful!”
Su Yan was momentarily surprised, then smiled and asked, “And this young lady is—”
Pei Yan smiled and said, “This is Miss Jiang. She wanted to eat Pingyang Lake crabs, and I didn’t want her to bankrupt the minister’s mansion, so I brought her here to freeload. Incidentally, I’ve also brought Brother Zi Ming to hand over to Elder Sister Su.”
Su Yan chuckled, taking Jiang Ci’s hand and sitting down between Pei Yan and Cui Liang. She picked up the wine jug and poured a cup for Cui Liang, saying, “My Lord’s words are truly becoming more lovable yet detestable. Cui Gong is better; he’s an honest man.”
Cui Liang accepted the wine cup with a smile, shifting slightly to the side. He glanced at Jiang Ci, who was curiously examining the circular jade dragon pendant hanging from Su Yan’s waist.
Su Yan simply removed the jade pendant and placed it in Jiang Ci’s hands: “If you like it, sister will give this jade pendant to you.”
Jiang Ci examined the jade dragon pendant thoroughly, then reattached it to Su Yan’s waist. Her gaze then fixed on Su Yan’s jade ear ornaments. Su Yan removed these as well, and after Jiang Ci played with them for a while, she helped Su Yan put them back on. Her attention then turned to Su Yan’s jade cloud hairpin.
Su Yan, well-versed in reading people after her years in the entertainment world, instantly took a liking to Jiang Ci’s innocent charm and free-spirited nature. While pouring wine, she leaned close to Pei Yan and whispered, “My Lord, where did you find such an adorable young lady?”
Pei Yan, chewing on some cold dishes brought by the servants, mumbled with his mouth full, “She fell from a tree.”
Nearby, Jiang Ci heard the words “from a tree” and glared at Pei Yan, who burst into laughter. Ignoring him, she rolled up her sleeves and challenged Cui Liang to a game of finger-guessing.
In the candlelit room, Cui Liang seemed somewhat distracted, losing several rounds and being forced by Jiang Ci to drink heavily. He simply smiled, draining his cup each time without complaint. Meanwhile, Pei Yan and Su Yan were engaged in their own drinking game, filling the room with laughter and merriment.
At this moment, servants began bringing in small square tables, waist-round hammers, round-headed scissors, and other utensils for eating crabs. They also served steamed hairy crabs in reed baskets. The chef here was quite artistic, arranging green chrysanthemums around the reed baskets. The golden crab roe, green chrysanthemums, cyan wine cups, and clear moonlight created a picturesque scene. Jiang Ci was delighted, her eyes sparkling with joy.
Looking at the crabs on the plate, she inwardly chuckled several times, just about to reach for one when footsteps sounded. Master Ye led another person up to the tower. Jiang Ci focused on the crabs and didn’t look up, but she heard Pei Yan laugh loudly, “Your Highness has arrived late, you must drink three cups as punishment!”
Despite her fixation on the crabs, Jiang Ci couldn’t help but look up upon hearing “Your Highness.”
A young nobleman, about twenty years old, entered the room. He was elegantly dressed, with a handsome face. As he walked in, he smiled and said, “I had an appointment with the Chancellor and was about to arrive, but the Second Brother summoned me to appreciate chrysanthemums. I stayed at his place longer than expected and was late. I deserve to be punished.”
Su Yan suppressed a smile, grabbed the wine jug, and leaped up. She seized the young prince’s right arm and poured wine into his mouth, laughing, “It’s rare for Your Highness to accept punishment. Su Yan can now repay you for getting me drunk last time.”
Jiang Ci had heard that the current Emperor had three sons: the Crown Prince was the eldest, Prince Zhuang was the second, and Prince Jing was the third. It seemed this must be Prince Jing, renowned for his refined and romantic nature.
Having satisfied her curiosity, she lost interest in the prince and lowered her head, rubbing her hands together as she reached for a crab on the plate.
Prince Jing laughed as he took the wine jug from Su Yan’s hand, tilted his head back, and opened his mouth. The wine poured in like a silver arrow.
Pei Yan clapped and laughed heartily, “How is it that Your Highness drinks so freely when you see Elder Sister Su, but last time when drinking with Cheng Hui and the others, you weren’t nearly as enthusiastic even when you lost the game!”
Prince Jing finished the wine in the jug, put his arm around Su Yan’s right shoulder, and sat down next to Pei Yan. He smiled and said, “Those rascals lost a bet with Third Brother and wanted to get me drunk to steal my jade pendant to pay off their debt to him. They thought I didn’t know. How could I let them have their way!”
“What does Third Brother want with Your Highness’s jade pendant? Doesn’t he have enough precious things in his mansion? I doubt there’s anything left in Hua Kingdom that he would consider valuable.”
Prince Jing released Su Yan and said, “Who knows? Perhaps he heard that Father Emperor bestowed this jade pendant on me and felt dissatisfied.”
Hearing this, Pei Yan dared not continue the topic. He picked up his wine cup and turned to Cui Liang, “Zi Ming, you promised Elder Sister Su last time that you’d write lyrics for her. Now that His Highness is here too, and he’s an expert, you can’t slack off anymore.”
Prince Jing turned his head towards Cui Liang and smiled, “So Zi Ming is here too.” His gaze shifted slightly, and he paused, asking, “And this is—”
Pei Yan had just taken a sip of wine and hadn’t swallowed yet. Following Prince Jing’s gaze, he was startled and choked, coughing several times and spitting wine all over his clothes.
They saw Jiang Ci using both hands to eagerly devour the crabs. In the time it took for the others to exchange a few words, she had skillfully dismantled several large crabs on her plate, consuming all the meat and roe. At that moment, she was intently using a small silver pick to extract meat from the last crab leg. Two smears of crab roe remained at the corners of her mouth, apparently left there in her haste to eat.
Cui Liang turned his head to look and couldn’t help but smile. He quickly took a silk handkerchief from the table and handed it to Jiang Ci.
Jiang Ci looked up to see everyone staring at her with various expressions of amusement or mockery. She asked bewilderedly, “What’s wrong?”
Cui Liang put the handkerchief in her hand and then pointed to his face, smiling without a word.
Jiang Ci leaned in close, staring at Cui Liang’s face for a moment before asking in confusion, “Cui Gong, what’s wrong with your face?”
Prince Jing and Pei Yan burst into laughter, while Su Yan giggled uncontrollably. Cui Liang shook his head, suppressing a smile, and took the handkerchief from Jiang Ci’s hand to gently wipe away the crab roe from her cheeks.
Jiang Ci didn’t seem to mind. She finished extracting and eating the last bit of crab meat, then tilted her head back to drink a cup of chrysanthemum wine. After wiping her lips, she looked around with a lingering appetite, her gaze settling on the untouched crab in front of Cui Liang.
Cui Liang pushed his plate towards her and said gently, “You can have it.”
Jiang Ci felt a bit embarrassed: “No need, you haven’t eaten yet. I’m full.”
Cui Liang smiled and said, “I get a rash if I eat too much crab roe, so I don’t dare eat much.”
Jiang Ci was delighted: “Then I won’t be polite.” She gave Cui Liang a sweet smile and pulled the silver plate towards herself.
The others found this amusing and momentarily forgot about their drinking and chatting, watching her skillfully wield the crab tools.
Jiang Ci sensed the unusual atmosphere in the room and looked up to see everyone watching her. That annoying “Big Crab” (Pei Yan) was grinning mischievously, his eyes full of mockery.
She inwardly cursed him, gripping the silver tongs in her right hand tightly. With a “crack,” she crushed a crab leg, her eyes glaring at Pei Yan.
Pei Yan’s right hand inexplicably trembled, and the smile on his face became somewhat forced.
Cui Liang quickly turned to Su Yan and smiled, “Elder Sister Su, I’ve finished the lyrics I promised you last time.”
Su Yan was delighted and hurriedly poured Cui Liang a cup of wine. She also called for servants to bring ink, brush, paper, and musical instruments like the pipa and sheng.
Prince Jing stopped looking at Jiang Ci and turned to whisper to Pei Yan.
After a few sentences, Prince Jing lowered his voice and said, “I just heard at Second Brother’s mansion that Yi Han has gone missing. Does the Chancellor know any details?”
Pei Yan shook his head: “I don’t know either. The people I sent to keep an eye on him were careless for a moment and lost track of him near Hezhou. I fear the Huan Kingdom military won’t let this go easily. The peace treaty hasn’t been finalized yet, and I’m somewhat—”
Another “crack” sound interrupted him, and Pei Yan’s right foot twitched, the word “worried” caught in his throat. He glanced towards Jiang Ci, who was calmly putting a piece of crab meat into her mouth, her eyes fixed on him with a slightly challenging look, her right hand still wielding the silver tongs.
Prince Jing, with his back to Jiang Ci, didn’t see her actions. Noticing Pei Yan’s pause, he called out, “Chancellor!”
Pei Yan snapped back to attention and hurriedly continued, “In a few days, it will be time to sign the peace treaty. If there’s still no news of Yi Han by then, even if the treaty is signed, if the Huan Kingdom military makes a fuss, I’m afraid—”
Another “crack” sounded, and his left foot twitched. He stopped speaking again, shooting a sharp glance at Jiang Ci, who was swinging the silver tongs.
Prince Jing was very puzzled and called out, “What’s wrong, Chancellor?”
Pei Yan smiled and said, “Your Highness, today let’s just talk about romance and not discuss other matters. Let’s drink wine, enjoy the moon, and appreciate Zi Ming’s wonderful lyrics and music.”
By now, the servants had set up everything needed. Cui Liang stepped to the writing desk, lightly rolled up his sleeves, and began writing with swift, fluid strokes. Prince Jing, Pei Yan, Su Yan, and the others stood by the desk to watch closely, while only Jiang Ci remained, fully enjoying the delicious crabs.
Cui Liang wrote with a relaxed demeanor, his brush moving like dancing dragons and snakes. Soon, he put down the final stroke, tossed the brush aside, and smiled, “This song ‘Lamenting the Passing of Time’ in double tune is a spontaneous composition. I hope Elder Sister Su won’t laugh at my poor effort!”
Su Yan walked to the desk and softly recited:
“A spring outing, a spring outing, lotus-painted oars pass sandy shores;
Startled cloud shadows, startled cloud shadows, silk egrets dance with chirping calls.
Once I waited for you, my lord, the music faded, people scattered, and red sleeves dampened.
Adorned with flowers, painted eyebrows, frequent glances back, distant pavilions, and cold windows beneath vermilion towers.
Purple paths and red dust, spring passes swiftly, no wonder that year all the willows on the long bridge by the farewell pavilion were broken.
Facing clear autumn, facing clear autumn, yellow chrysanthemums, fat crabs, and freshly brewed wine;
Drunk on the bright moon, drunk on the bright moon, singing loudly to dispel sorrow.
Today drinking deeply, lying on frosty hills, sitting until the third watch, sorrow deepens.
Slanting wind sweeps away all earthly colors, grass and trees lush, and water flows east.
Cold dew in the courtyard unbearable, let dark hair trail the ground, long regret that this life’s joy is hard to keep.”
As soon as she finished reciting, Prince Jing clapped his hands and exclaimed, “Zi Ming has written excellent lyrics, truly marvelous!”
Su Yan cast a coquettish glance at Cui Liang and said teasingly, “Zi Ming doesn’t come to my place often. If he did, with your lyrics set to my music, Lan Yue Tower would become famous throughout the land.”
Cui Liang smiled and said, “If Elder Sister Su provides good wine and food, Zi Ming will surely come to impose upon your hospitality from time to time.”
Pei Yan clapped and laughed, “Well, well, Zi Ming! When I invite you to assist me, you’re as slippery as a loach, but when Elder Sister Su invites you, you’re so eager.”
As Cui Liang was about to reply, Jiang Ci’s mellow voice suddenly said, “‘Facing clear autumn’ is not good; it should be changed to ‘Watching clear autumn’ to be perfect.”
Prince Jing looked askance at Jiang Ci and said, “I think ‘Facing clear autumn’ is better than ‘Watching clear autumn’. You little girl, trying to correct Cui Jie Yuan’s lyrics!”
Jiang Ci wiped her hands with a silk handkerchief and said, “I’m not saying Cui Gong’s use of ‘facing’ is bad, but for singing purposes, using ‘watching’ makes it easier to project and vocalize. Elder Sister Su Yan is an expert in this; she surely knows.”
Cui Liang’s lips moved slightly, and a smile gradually appeared on his face. Su Yan couldn’t help but test the lines a couple of times herself, laughing, “Miss Jiang has a point. Literally, ‘dui’ and ‘kan’ are quite similar, but in terms of pronunciation and luck, ‘kan qing qiu’ would be more appropriate.”
Jiang Ci suddenly became interested. She approached and took Su Yan’s hand, speaking softly, “Sister Su Yan, I’ve also learned the tune of ‘Tian Shao Guang.’ How about we sing it together? I hope you won’t mind?”
Su Yan smiled warmly, “Of course not. Miss Jiang, it’s a pleasure that you wish to sing with me.”
Jiang Ci’s eyes crinkled with a smile, “Sister Su Yan, you don’t need to call me ‘Miss Jiang’ all the time. My master always calls me Xiao Ci; you can call me that too.”
A maid had already brought a pipa. Su Yan gave a graceful smile to Prince Jing and the others, lightly plucking the strings with her delicate fingers. Jiang Ci played the sheng, and Cui Liang tapped the clappers gently. After a preliminary prelude, Su Yan began to sing with a melodious and elegant voice, her notes weaving through the air, creating a harmony of pitch and rhythm.
Under the full moon, with the autumn breeze refreshing the air, the pavilion outside was serene and bright, while the music inside was enchanting. Prince Jing and Pei Yan were entranced, applauding enthusiastically once Su Yan completed the first part of the song.
After finishing the first section, Su Yan smiled at Jiang Ci. Jiang Ci set down her bamboo sheng and, after the melody ended, her voice flowed smoothly and sweetly, as gentle as the wind. Cui Liang, momentarily distracted by the music, gazed intently at Jiang Ci, who sang with lively emotion and graceful expressions, her words reflecting the melancholy of autumn.
Prince Jing turned to Pei Yan with a smile and said, “Where did the young lord find such a charming girl? She’s quite delightful.”
Pei Yan relaxed on the low couch, his gaze fixed on Jiang Ci. His face wore a spring-like warmth, but inwardly, he sneered several times.