Duan Hongning’s private chamber occupied the topmost floor of the Duan Family’s third-courtyard building — the room with the finest light.
Directly facing the entrance stood a six-paneled embroidered screen, its surface covered with a cluster of begonia flowers in full bloom. As the play of light and shadow shifted, the begonias seemed almost alive, swaying as though caught in a passing breeze.
Rounding the screen, the eye was drawn first to a vermillion daybed positioned beside the window. Three or four plush cushions had been tossed across it, and every window was thrown open — sunlight and wind moved together over the scroll-books lying on the bed, their pages turning like dragon scales with a soft, whispering rustle.
To the left of the daybed stood a rosewood dressing table, upon which rested a bronze mirror nearly half a person’s height, polished to a clarity that could reflect every detail of one’s face. Atop the table sat a five-tiered cosmetic case, two long rows of crystal-clear glass bottles, their light refracting into dozens of tiny rainbows.
Through the round archway on the left, one could make out an elegantly appointed tea room. The archway on the right was veiled by layer upon layer of hanging curtains that drifted gently with the breeze — that, presumably, was Duan Hongning’s sleeping quarters.
The maidservant who led the way seemed to be quite familiar with Liu Qingxi, the two speaking with easy intimacy. Once inside, Liu Qingxi did not head toward the tea room. Instead, she first gathered the scroll-books scattered across the daybed, stacking them together with her book case on the small table beside it, then slipped off her shoes and sat cross-legged on the daybed, gesturing for Lin Sui’an to join her.
Lin Sui’an felt a cold sweat coming on. “This — this doesn’t seem quite right, does it?”
“Never mind, we’re all women here — no need to stand on ceremony.” Duan Hongning’s voice drifted from behind the curtains. “Since Lin Niangzi is a friend of Liu Niangzi’s, she is a friend of mine as well — a friend of Duan Jiu Niang.”
Lin Sui’an hesitated, then decided it was best to follow her host’s lead. She removed her shoes and sat cross-legged just as Liu Qingxi had done, pulling her collar down to cover her feet, though the awkwardness remained. Her eyes wandered self-consciously for a moment, and she cast about for something to say. “What’s in Liu Niangzi’s book case?”
Liu Qingxi opened the case. Inside, to Lin Sui’an’s surprise, was a dazzling array of colorful cosmetic boxes.
“Jiu Niang is Yidu City’s most celebrated expert in the art of cosmetics — she has studied pigments, creams, lip colors, hair styling, and accessories alike. These are new products from my Liu family cosmetics shop, and I have come especially to ask Jiu Niang for her appraisal. Should we earn even a word of praise from Duan Niangzi, the goods are certain to sell well throughout Yidu.”
The “Jiu Niang” Liu Qingxi referred to must be Duan Hongning herself, Lin Sui’an reasoned. So Duan Hongning was, in the parlance of this age, a beauty influencer.
A maidservant soon arrived with a tray: two cups of tea, and a small dish of crystal phoenix-and-dragon cakes. The tea was a clear, amber-colored brew, and Lin Sui’an took a sip — it was premium “hundred-flower tea” from Qingzhou County. The Yidu Jingmen’s hundred-flower tea distribution channels had only just been established, yet Duan Hongning had already gotten her hands on a cup this authentic. Her connections and resources were clearly extensive.
The sleeping-chamber curtains stirred, and a woman stepped out dressed in a sheer, light blouse, long hair left loose and unbound, bare feet, her toes peeking from beneath the hem of her skirt into the sunlight — their tips touched with a blush of red dye, quite striking.
Lin Sui’an’s mouth fell open, a string of question marks floating through her mind: Who in the world are you?
The woman before her had a slender, graceful figure, her hair like flowing clouds, her bearing as she moved one of exceptional elegance. Yet as for her face — her complexion was dull and sallow, her eyelids red and swollen, the dark circles under her eyes rivaling Fang Ke’s, and the sides of her nose were dusted with a scattering of freckles.
“You were so kind to me at the Scattered Flower Pavilion that day, Lin Niangzi. Hongning had been meaning to find a proper time to come to your residence with gifts and express her gratitude. To think we would meet again because Lin Niangzi and Liu Niangzi became friends — we truly must be fated.”
The moment the woman spoke, Lin Sui’an recognized the voice — it was indeed Duan Hongning.
Liu Qingxi covered her mouth with a light laugh. “Could it be that Jiu Niang without her makeup has startled Lin Niangzi?”
Lin Sui’an scratched her temple. “Duan Niangzi is willing to appear before me with a bare face — she must not regard me as an outsider at all. Lin Sui’an is greatly honored.”
Duan Hongning inclined her head in greeting, then lifted her skirt and walked to the dressing table, settling into the seat and opening the first tier of the cosmetic case. Inside was a collection of miniature containers in every conceivable shape — round, flat, long, square — crafted from all manner of materials: gold, silver, jade, glass. Each container held a pigment or cream of a different color, and beyond the common shades of white and scarlet, there were purples, greens, and grays as well. The second tier held charcoal pencils ranging from deep to pale. The third held several dozen boxes of lip color. The fourth was divided into two compartments: one filled with flower-shaped forehead ornaments in an array of styles, the other with tweezers, scissors, and brushes of every shape and size. The fifth tier was given over entirely to a glittering array of hair ornaments.
Duan Hongning began by pouring a liquid from one of the glass bottles on the table into her palm, working it evenly into the skin with her fingertips. Then, using the surface of the mirror to guide her, she applied it slowly along the contours of her face until the skin gradually became clear and dewy.
Without rushing to apply any pigment, she next took out a clean jade box, poured a white powder from one of the glass vials into it, added a measure of the liquid from the bottle, and used a slender silver rod to stir the mixture slowly. Soon the powder thickened into a paste, its surface shimmering with a silken luster.
“Did you come to ask about Minina and Lian Niangzi as well, Lin Niangzi?” Duan Hongning asked.
Lin Sui’an craned her neck to watch Duan Hongning’s technique. “Ah — yes. What is that you’re using?”
“Mica.” Duan Hongning caught Lin Sui’an’s expression from the corner of her eye and curved her lips slightly. “What I know of the matter, I already told Investigating Censor Ling in full last night.”
“Ah — I see.” Lin Sui’an nodded, then sniffed the air. “And what is this for?”
“That is Jiu Niang’s closely guarded cosmetic secret — not for sharing.” Liu Qingxi laughed. “Do watch carefully, Lin Niangzi.”
From the first tier of the cosmetic case, Duan Hongning lifted out a long rectangular box of mutton-fat jade, opened it, and revealed a tissue of silk so thin it was nearly transparent. She pinched a piece between silver tweezers, laid it with great care upon her face, and pressed it gently with her fingers — miraculously, the silk adhered to her skin. She then took up a small brush, dipped it into the mica paste, and applied it in close, careful strokes across the silk. A powder puff dusted over the finished surface with a loose, fine powder to refine the details, and in a matter of moments the silk and mica had become a second skin upon Duan Hongning’s face — smooth, fine, and radiant.
Lin Sui’an’s jaw dropped. “Wow!”
Liu Qingxi burst out laughing. “Lin Niangzi, you’re too dramatic.”
“Extraordinary!” Lin Sui’an clapped her hands with enthusiasm. “With technique this breathtaking, even the renowned thief Yun Zhong Yue — greatest thief under heaven — would have to admit defeat.”
Duan Hongning was tickled into a smile. She selected a charcoal pencil and began to draw her brows. “Did Lin Niangzi truly exchange five hundred blows with Yun Zhong Yue on Mochou Lake?”
Lin Sui’an propped her cheek in her hand and watched Duan Hongning’s handiwork with undisguised enjoyment. “How could that be — it was at most thirty or fifty rounds.”
Liu Qingxi asked: “Is Yun Zhong Yue really as the rumors say — a thousand faces for a thousand people?”
“That fellow can disguise himself. He doesn’t only pass as a Tang man, a foreigner, a man, or an old man — what’s truly alarming is that he knows how to compress his bones. He can pose as an old woman, even a young girl.”
Duan Hongning’s brow pencil paused. “Have you ever seen Yun Zhong Yue’s true face?”
Lin Sui’an covered half her face with her hand. “Only half of it.”
At that, both Duan Hongning and Liu Qingxi grew curious. “Is he handsome?”
Lin Sui’an nodded emphatically. “Very handsome!”
Liu Qingxi asked: “More handsome than the fourth young master of the Hua Family?”
Lin Sui’an replied: “More than — no less so.”
“Wow—”
Duan Hongning laughed, set down her brow pencil, and picked up the blush. “There’s a rumor going around the city that Qu Niangzi was abducted by Yun Zhong Yue, and later rescued by Lin Niangzi. Is that true?”
Lin Sui’an kept her eyes fixed on Duan Hongning’s face. “False. I was the one who brought Qu Hui out of the Wu family’s estate, and I was the one who gave Wu Zhengli a sound beating.”
Duan Hongning spun around sharply. Liu Qingxi let out a startled “Oh?”
Lin Sui’an raised a finger. “I’ll need both of you to keep this secret for me.”
Liu Qingxi’s eyes went wide. Duan Hongning blinked. Lin Sui’an raised an eyebrow. All three burst out laughing at the same moment.
“Lin Niangzi is truly a singular person.” Duan Hongning set down the blush and picked up the lip color, using a small brush to dip from it and carefully trace the outline of her lips. “So then — what is it that Lin Niangzi actually wants to ask?”
Lin Sui’an replied: “I want to know what sort of person Lian Xiaoshuang was. Her temperament, her tastes, her habits.”
Duan Hongning’s hand stilled for a moment. “The direction of Lin Niangzi’s investigation is truly unlike anything I’ve seen.”
“To tell you the truth, the leads in the Lian Xiaoshuang case have nearly all gone cold. We’ve been running ourselves ragged and are desperate enough to try anything.”
Duan Hongning set down the lip color and turned to look directly at Lin Sui’an. Her makeup was now almost complete, and she looked like an entirely different person — skin like cream, lips red as cherries, eyes clear and bright, brimming with a gentle, wistful beauty.
“Lian Xiaoshuang was nothing more than an ordinary embroidery seamstress — no family, no background, no money. People like her die by the heap every year in a city as large as Yidu. If she died, she died. Why dig to the root of it? Even if you break this case, what benefit is there in it for you?”
Lin Sui’an thought: Ah, here it is — the loaded question.
Just as Hua Yitang had said, Duan Hongning clearly knew something about the Scattered Flower Pavilion case — but she did not trust the authorities, did not trust Hua Yitang or Ling Zhiyan, and certainly did not trust Lin Sui’an. So she said nothing.
From the moment Duan Hongning had spoken her very first words today, Lin Sui’an had sensed she was being tested.
In order to dispel her wariness as quickly as possible and find her way into the easy atmosphere between the two women, Lin Sui’an had worked hard to appeal to their interests — heaping praise on the cosmetics, sharing gossip from the martial world, even dragging Yun Zhong Yue out as a talking point — and it had seemed to have some effect; the mood had warmed considerably. But Duan Hongning’s last remark had dropped the temperature back to freezing.
Strangely, Lin Sui’an felt a measure of relief at that.
This might be the one genuinely honest thing Duan Hongning had said all day.
Now the question was: how to answer?
Various responses floated through Lin Sui’an’s mind, each one dismissed in turn.
The grand and lofty ones, the polished and high-minded ones, the flowery ones — they might have sounded beautiful, but to someone like Duan Hongning, she had no doubt heard them all before. Too hollow. Too false. Useless.
Against such a moment of honesty, only honesty could break the ice.
Lin Sui’an was silent for a moment, then sighed. “I’ve had rather rotten luck. Wherever I go, I seem to stumble into one disaster after another — especially since I met Hua Yitang. Wherever that man sets foot, someone turns up dead.”
Duan Hongning clearly had not expected the conversation to take this turn and froze momentarily. Liu Qingxi pressed her hand over her mouth.
“I’m the sort of person who hates getting entangled in things. Every time something happens I’m aggravated beyond measure — I genuinely want to wash my hands of all of it.” Lin Sui’an paused, then lifted her eyes. “But I — I cannot stand it.”
Lin Sui’an placed both hands flat on Qian Jing’s surface. Beneath her palms, Qian Jing let out a low, resonant hum. “I cannot stand to see victims die with grievances unaddressed. Cannot stand to see the true culprits walk free. Cannot stand to see ordinary, common people with no avenue to voice their wrongs. Cannot stand to see those elevated beings in their lofty positions lording it over everyone else. I want to tell those who harm others that under this sky there will always be someone watching them, always someone who cannot stand it, always someone who will pursue the truth to the very end — to return to the world a clarity it deserves!”
The wind came through the open window, and soft sunlight fell across the top of Lin Sui’an’s head. A few strands of hair stood up in stubborn defiance. The young woman’s eyes were as clear as water.
A subtle shift moved across Duan Hongning’s expression. The corners of her eyes flushed faintly pink, and she lowered her lashes quickly, turning away from Lin Sui’an’s gaze. She moved too fast for Lin Sui’an to read her eyes clearly, but Lin Sui’an felt the atmosphere in the room suddenly loosen.
Liu Qingxi smiled gently. “Lin Niangzi — that is the spirit of a true hero.”
Lin Sui’an scratched her head in embarrassment. “I’m just someone with a bit of brute strength who’s decent at fighting.”
Duan Hongning began the final step of her makeup, selecting a gold flower-shaped forehead ornament and pressing it to the center of her brow. Her gaze, like her voice, softened. “Lian Niangzi was a person who loved to smile. When she smiled, her laugh sounded like water held in the mouth. Her way of speaking was soft and gentle. She said she grew up in Yangdu — a place where even the air carries a sweet fragrance. She was timid by nature; a small insect under a lamp could send her into a fright. On fine days she liked to go where the crowds were — not to buy anything, just to wander. She loved the liveliness of it. At night, she could only fall asleep to the sounds of the market outside — the carriages coming and going.”
The expression on Duan Hongning’s face as she spoke of Lian Xiaoshuang was six parts nostalgia, three parts sorrow, and one part something unnameable — more like the way one speaks of a dear old friend of many years.
As though reading Lin Sui’an’s thoughts, Duan Hongning gave a small smile. “Lian Niangzi and I had known each other for less than two years, and yet we shared the same sensibilities, and lamented meeting so late — as though we had known each other for many years.”
“The Lian Xiaoshuang described by Qu Niangzi,” Lin Sui’an said, “does not sound like the same person you are describing.”
“Perhaps.” Duan Hongning completed the final touch of her makeup and gazed quietly at her own reflection. “Perhaps neither of us truly knew her.”
Hua Yitang sat in the main hall of the Duan family’s first courtyard, fanning himself and bouncing his knee, puffed up with barely contained frustration.
Lin Sui’an had been in Duan Hongning’s room for nearly half an hour now — why hadn’t she come out yet? They had only met twice; they couldn’t be that well acquainted. What could there possibly be to talk about for this long?
The performers, maidservants, and manservants of Duan’s establishment were all busy preparing for the afternoon opening, hurrying back and forth, occasionally stealing glances at Hua Yitang and exchanging wordless looks with one another.
So that’s the legendary Hua family’s fourth young master, the number one rake of Yangdu.
Why does he look like a wilted green bean?
They say the Lin Niangzi he came with has gone up to Jiu Niang’s chambers and has been there quite a while.
Oh my — could it be that this Hua family’s fourth young master is jealous?
Ha! We’ve seen plenty of Jiu Niang’s admirers over the years, and more than a few who’ve quarreled out of jealousy on her account, but I’d say this Hua Fourth’s jealousy is the most pungent of the lot.
Take a whiff — that sourness could choke a person.
Wait, I don’t think so. I think Hua Fourth is jealous over that Lin Niangzi.
That Lin Niangzi? Skinny as a stick, unremarkable features, no rouge, no powder, no silk skirts, no painted brows — and Hua Fourth with his looks and family, he’d actually set his eye on her?
Oh, away with you lot of useless men — no eyes and no brains, can’t appreciate what a woman’s truly worth.
Lin Niangzi is a top-tier beauty, are you blind?
Shh, shh — Hua Fourth is looking this way.
Unable to sit still a moment longer, Hua Yitang clapped his fan shut with a snap and strode over. The servants scattered in all directions. With quick hands, he caught hold of one of the performers and clasped his fan in a bow. “Might I ask where Duan Niangzi’s private chambers are?”
The performer blinked. “Duan Niangzi has said she is not receiving guests today.”
“A friend of mine went up to Duan Niangzi’s room some time ago, and I’m rather worried—”
“Worried about what?” Several more performers crowded in. “Worried that Duan Niangzi will eat your Lin Niangzi alive?”
Hua Yitang raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Precisely.”
The performers dissolved into laughter.
“No need for Hua Fourth to fret — I just passed by Jiu Niang’s door, and there was plenty of talking and laughing going on inside. Quite a cheerful time.”
Hua Yitang: “Oh?”
“It seems Jiu Niang is very fond of Lin Niangzi.”
Hua Yitang: “Oh??”
“Lin Niangzi is a heroine of rare spirit and vigor — not just Jiu Niang, we are all fond of her.”
Hua Yitang: “Oh???”
The fourth young master of the Hua Family of Yangdu, at this particular moment, felt an enormous weight of pressure descending upon him.
The performers laughed for a while, then a wistfulness crept in.
“These past six months, it’s only when Liu Niangzi comes to visit that Jiu Niang can manage a smile.”
“She’s not like she used to be — Jiu Niang used to laugh so often.”
“Especially on the fifteenth of every month. When she’d come home at night she’d be humming a tune, practically dancing — she was so happy then.”
The fifteenth of every month? Investigating Censor Ling the Sixth had mentioned that both Minina and Duan Hongning had placed standing orders with Lian Xiaoshuang, and the fifteenth of each month was the pickup date.
Hua Yitang snapped his fan open with a flourish, instantly stepping into the full bearing of Yangdu’s number one rakish young master, and smiled. “Ladies, would you be willing to tell me about the way Jiu Niang used to be?”
When Hua Yitang smiled like that, it was truly a dazzling and breathtaking sight. The performers were so dazzled they nearly lost their senses — and when they came back to themselves, they had somehow all gathered in a circle around Hua Yitang, offering tea and fruit and fanning him, clustering around him like petals surrounding a great glittering golden stamen.
Hua Yitang laid gold leaves one by one on the table. “Did Jiu Niang go out every month on the fifteenth?”
The performers spoke all at once:
“Jiu Niang made a few close friends when she was young, back at the Music Bureau.”
“They were as close as sisters, bound like gold.”
“The fifteenth of every month was the day they would gather.”
Hua Yitang asked: “Who were these friends?”
“Jiu Niang never said — we could only guess.”
“One time Jiu Niang came home drunk, and she was doing the latest steps from the whirling foreign dance — I’d guess one of them must be Minina from Yongzhao Lane.”
At this, the performers’ expressions all grew a shade dimmer.
Hua Yitang sighed inwardly and pressed on. “Do any of you know where the gatherings were held?”
“We don’t know — though I’d wager it wasn’t far. When Jiu Niang came back, the scent of tea on her hadn’t faded yet.”
“Sometimes there was wine too — it smelled like the White Fragrance from Scattered Flower Pavilion.”
“Could it have been at Scattered Flower Pavilion?” Hua Yitang tapped his fan against his forehead, somewhere between asking and thinking aloud.
The performers dissolved into laughter.
“Of course not — Scattered Flower Pavilion is far too expensive.”
“Scattered Flower Pavilion is for aristocrats and nobility. We performers from Red Fragrance Quarter are of the lower registers — without an invitation from a great family, we can’t even get through the door.”
“Right — and sometimes Jiu Niang would come back humming a little tune. The melody was quite familiar. What was it called again?”
“I know! It’s Minina’s favorite song to dance to — it’s called — ‘Autumn Moon, Keep Him Here.'”
Ding. Something clicked in Hua Yitang’s mind.
Autumn Moon, Keep Him Here! That wasn’t the very piece Lian Xiaoshuang had played for Qu Hui?
He was just about to ask more when the performers suddenly scattered with a burst of movement, stepping back behind him in a neat line.
Duan Hongning glided in dressed in a pale silk skirt, serene as a water-lily fairy. But Hua Yitang’s eyes did not fall on her at all. Every scrap of his attention had been seized by Lin Sui’an, who walked behind her.
Lin Sui’an had changed into a close-fitted dark ink-colored foreign-style outfit — narrow-sleeved tunic, tapered trousers, a wide lapel that revealed the long line of her neck, black leather belt drawn tight, making her waist look all the more slender and straight. A touch of light makeup had been applied to her face, lending it a rosy glow, and her brows had apparently been shaped — they were all the more spirited now.
Hua Yitang’s fan slipped from his fingers and clattered to the floor. He swallowed hard. He had gone completely, utterly blank.
Side story:
Liu Qingxi: Hello, I am a fully grown living person standing right next to Lin Niangzi — did anyone notice?