Li Yuangu, having grown up in the deep palace, had inadvertently glimpsed countless women’s bodies in his daily life. However, the two figures who appeared in Sabao Kangsu Mi’s guest room made him blush and feel utterly flustered.

Both were beautiful young Hu maidens, dressed “properly.” The taller one was about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with brownish-yellow hair tied back and held by a jade headband, her green eyes sparkling with dimpled smiles.

She wore the common Hu-style robe of the time, with intricate brocade patterns on the small collar, hem, and cuffs. A golden belt gleamed at her waist, but… the ankle-length robe itself was made of thin gauze, revealing everything beneath in the dim candlelight.

The other girl was much younger, only fifteen or sixteen, with black hair flowing over her shoulders. She too had the high-bridged nose and deep-set eyes characteristic of Hu people, wearing a thin silk dress. Though her beauty fell far short of her older companion’s, she followed meekly behind. The yellow-haired Hu maiden approached with a smile, curtsying to both host and guest, saying, “This humble servant Miwei and Fendui are at your service.”

Her accent was stiff, with a distinctly foreign flavor that added to her exotic charm. Li Yuangu’s face burned as he finally managed to tear his gaze away from her to look at the smiling Kangsu Mi:

“Sabao Kang, this… isn’t quite proper.”

“Ah, Young Lord Fourteen, why so formal with old Kang?” The old Hu merchant smoothly switched from “Great King” to the more intimate “Young Lord Fourteen.” “These are just household servants, very obedient. Young Lord Fourteen, being of imperial blood, honors my humble home with your stay. How could we not provide servants to attend to you? Miwei, why are you still standing there?”

At the master’s command, the yellow-haired Hu maiden Miwei responded with a smile, kneeling before Li Yuangu and reaching to undo his waist sash. The younger black-haired Hu maiden Fendui went to help Yang Xinzhi undress, while other servants brought in large basins of hot water to assist with their bathing.

The room filled with steam and bustling voices. In his agitated state, Li Yuangu only vaguely heard Kangsu Mi say something like “Young Lord Fourteen and Lord Yang should rest early… don’t overexert yourselves…” before the old Hu merchant disappeared.

A pair of jade-like arms encircled his neck as the yellow-haired beauty Miwei’s emerald eyes flickered seductively – the situation needed no explanation.

Li Yuangu felt his heart flutter, but just as he lowered his head, an extremely strong body odor hit his nostrils, immediately clearing his mind somewhat.

This seductive maiden was quite tall, almost Li Yuangu’s height. Face to face now, her thick makeup couldn’t hide her dense freckles, and the fine golden hair on her chin and upper lip, along with the strong body odor that even her perfume couldn’t mask, revolted Li Yuangu, causing him to push her away.

Miwei was confused and made several more attempts while helping him bathe, but this only irritated Li Yuangu further. Yang Xinzhi, having served him for years and knowing his master’s preferences, came over with a smile and led away the yellow-haired Hu maiden, pushing the shy black-haired girl toward Li Yuangu instead.

This Hu maiden called “Fendui” was much quieter and more reserved. Li Yuangu relaxed and allowed her to help him remove his clothes and boots, and wash his face and feet. As he sat down, he felt his entire body aching with exhaustion. Meanwhile, Yang Xinzhi’s side was filled with constant laughter as the two became increasingly intimate.

“Yang Da! Behave yourself!”

Li Yuangu was furious. They were guests in a stranger’s home, hadn’t accomplished anything of their actual business yet, and that old fox Kangsu Mi’s offering of servants surely had some ulterior motive or request – how could they be so unrestrained?

“My Lord, please have mercy,” the black-haired girl suddenly spoke from her kneeling position by his bed, her voice soft and low. “The master ordered us to serve the lords for the night. If we fail to please you, the master will surely punish us severely… please show compassion.”

This meant that if Li Yuangu and his servant didn’t accept the two Hu maidens, they would be beaten and abused tomorrow. Remembering the midnight wails he’d heard in the courtyard earlier, Li Yuangu felt a chill.

Hu merchants traveling between the Central Plains and Western Regions mainly traded in silk, gold, silver, and spices, but slaves and livestock were also major commodities. The desert routes were treacherous, often facing natural disasters and banditry. The merchant Hus were used to bloodshed and death, and never regarded slaves as human beings, being extremely brutal when angered.

Just as he thought of this, Yang Xinzhi emerged from behind the screen and said to Li Yuangu:

“Young Lord Fourteen, don’t be overly kind… look…”

The yellow-haired Hu maiden in his arms had exposed much of her back, and in the light, dozens of faded red whip marks crisscrossed her skin. Though the old wounds had healed, they were still shocking to see. A few curly brown-yellow hairs falling messily from the back of her head onto her back made her appear even more pitiful.

Li Yuangu looked down at the young Hu maiden by his bed. Her black hair fell over her shoulders, held back by a headband, her clothes still neat. Seeming to know what he wanted to see, the girl gently lifted her gauze sleeve, revealing three coin-sized black burn marks arranged neatly on her forearm, clearly deliberately branded there.

With a long sigh, Li Yuangu abandoned his thought of driving the two women out, thinking they might as well stay the night… Though only the two men and two women remained in the room, with the other servants having left with basins and other items, there were certainly Kang household servants guarding outside the window. The window was only covered with a thick layer of paper, and any movement, or lack thereof, inside couldn’t be hidden from those listening outside.

Miwei let out a surprised cry, followed by giggles.

Li Yuangu looked toward the screen and saw that the tall couple was becoming increasingly unrestrained. Well… perhaps this was good – with such loud noises, the people outside probably couldn’t discern the true situation inside.

Yang Xinzhi, while busy, grinned at Li Yuangu:

“Young Lord, rest easy… Xinzhi serves country and crown loyally, how dare I spare myself… leave this task to me… I’ll charge the frontline first, and my lord can follow…”

“Follow your big head!” Li Yuangu cursed irritably, not wanting to watch this unseemly display. “Get lost!”

Yang Xinzhi laughed and carried her behind the screen, but not before gesturing toward the kneeling Fendui with his lips, suggesting Li Yuangu “not waste the opportunity.”

Li Yuangu sighed again. The black-haired Hu maiden looked up at him, their eyes met, and the girl’s face reddened as she lowered her head in panic and fear, her small hands clutching her skirt anxiously, seeming even more nervous than Li Yuangu.

This girl had snow-white skin, deep-set eyes, and a high bridge nose – unmistakably of Hu descent, but her hair and eyes were pure black, and she spoke fluent Han Chinese with just a slight Western Regions accent. “Fendui” was a common nickname among Han people in Hexi at the time; she appeared to be of mixed Han-Hu ancestry.

“Are you Sabao Kang’s home-born servant? Or did he buy you?” Li Yuangu asked her.

Fendui lowered her head further and softly replied, “This servant only arrived at master’s house late last year, and hasn’t yet learned proper service. Please forgive me, my lord…”

“Where is your hometown? Who taught you to speak Han Chinese so well?”

The black-haired girl looked up, biting her lip, her expression a mixture of misery, fear, and reluctance, tears gradually welling up in her eyes. Li Yuangu suddenly felt this expression was familiar, having seen it more than once when he questioned women about their origins.

“My lord asks, and this servant doesn’t wish to lie… but…”

Fendui glanced at the window, clearly afraid of people listening outside. She worried too much – behind the screen, Yang Xinzhi and Miwei were making such a commotion that her whispers certainly couldn’t reach the window.

Li Yuangu tried hard to focus, sitting cross-legged and leaning forward toward Fendui:

“Was one of your parents Han?”

The girl nodded with teary eyes, a clear tear rolling down:

“This servant’s mother was surnamed Liao, originally from a great clan in Wuwei of Hexi, educated and refined, already betrothed to a local noble family…”

It turned out her maternal grandfather had once been the Prefecture Governor of Wuwei during the former Sui Dynasty. During the chaos at the end of Sui, the entire family was ravaged by wandering bandits and Hu raiders. Her mother drifted to Dunhuang, was sold as a servant to a merchant Hu, and gave birth to Fendui. Her father had loved both mother and daughter dearly, and Fendui learned to read and write from her mother in childhood. A good marriage had been arranged for her, but two years ago, the Tuyuhun joined forces with Gaochang and the Turks to raid the Four Commanderies of Hexi. Fendui’s family was destroyed, she was sold into slavery, changed hands several times, and ended up with Kangsu Mi at the end of last year.

In troubled times, humans were worth less than dogs. Though her life story was tragic, it was not unusual, even common among servants. Fendui narrated without much emotion, quietly wiping away her tears with her gauze sleeve, again and again, practiced and desperate.

“Servant-born spawn!”

Consort Yin’s contemptuous and cold rebuke suddenly rang in Li Yuangu’s ears, startling him so much his spine tingled, as if a bucket of snow water had been poured over his head. That was after his mother had hanged herself in her chambers – when he had just regained the ability to move after his great shock and grief, he had rushed toward Da’an Hall intending to fight Consort Yin to the death, only to witness that vicious woman taking away his seventeenth sister of the same mother. Several guards restrained him, and he didn’t dare act rashly for fear of harming his sister. That wicked woman turned and spat out those words like a steel blade piercing Li Yuangu’s heart.

When his mother, Beautiful Lady Zhang, first entered the palace, she had been Consort Yin’s servant before gaining favor and bearing a son, which earned her a title. Among Li Yuangu’s brothers, quite a few had mothers who were former palace maids. He hadn’t thought anything of it at first but later discovered that Consort Yin particularly despised him and his mother and sister, while his mother especially feared Consort Yin like a mouse avoiding a cat, until finally, after a conversation with Yin, she despaired and hanged herself…

It was now the darkest hour of the night, probably close to dawn. Li Yuangu was exhausted both mentally and physically. Not wanting to deal with anything more, he lay down directly, pulled up the covers, and closed his eyes to sleep. Behind the screen, Yang Xinzhi and Miwei also seemed to have finished, their movements gradually quieting.

In the spinning darkness, someone blew out the candles in the room.

He slept until well past morning, yet still hadn’t had enough rest. In his dreams, thousands of thunderbolts struck down from the sky, all hitting his body, making his ears ring and limbs ache. A great thunderclap struck directly overhead, startling him awake, its aftermath still lingering:

“BOOM — hr —”

Li Yuangu gathered his wits, and another thunderous sound arose, not from his dream this time, but from the outer room.

Oh… Yang’s “Meat Tower” was still sleeping soundly. After last night’s activities, satisfied and content, his snoring shook the earth and mountains.

The two beautiful Hu maidens were nowhere to be seen. Li Yuangu pushed aside his covers and got up, rubbing his eyes. At this movement, the outer door creaked open, and Kangsu Mi’s laughter entered.

The old Hu merchant brought in five or six servants, including Miwei and Fendui, while others carried in breakfast tables. Large silver platters held golden-fried Hanyu biscuits that looked like arm bangles, and steaming hot lamb-filled Biluo dumplings piled high, along with a large pot of sour milk yogurt. Yang Xinzhi also woke and got out of bed, and the two men exchanged greetings and pleasantries with Kangsu Mi before sharing breakfast at the table outside the screen.

Other servants cleaned up the bedroom, while the two Hu maidens knelt by the food table to serve. Both women were now properly and fully dressed, showing none of last night’s seductive charm, but Kangsu Mi immediately pointed at them and asked Li Yuangu, “Did these two girls serve the Great King well?”

With green and black eyes pleadingly staring at him, Li Yuangu’s face heated up again, and he could only nod vaguely and say “Very good.” The old Hu merchant seized the opportunity, laughing heartily: “They’re both blessed to serve the dragon’s descendant, bringing glory to my entire clan. If Young Lord Fourteen doesn’t mind, take them both back to your residence, consider it old Kang’s humble offering of devotion.”

Li Yuangu was stunned. He hadn’t expected Kangsu Mi to be so generous, especially since the yellow-haired Hu maiden Miwei was exotic and passionate, exactly the type most favored by wealthy Han young men – if sold in the Western Market, she could fetch a thousand gold pieces.

As a prince, receiving servants and property as gifts from Hu merchants like Kangsu Mi seeking to curry favor with officials wasn’t a big deal. However, he currently resided in Da’an Palace, and bringing servants back to the Seventeenth Prince’s Residence on his authority would require explaining their origins, dealing with inquiries, registering documents and status – all quite complicated procedures he had no interest in dealing with. Moreover, Hu merchants were mysterious and unpredictable, and the concubines they planted near him were almost certainly spies – why create such trouble for himself?

“These two beauties must be Sabao’s beloved, Yuangu shouldn’t steal what others cherish, though I appreciate the kind intention…”

Before Li Yuangu could finish declining, Kangsu Mi waved his hand and smiled: “Why so formal, Great King? The Emperor’s brother honoring old Kang’s home with your presence is such a great honor. If you don’t accept the gift, you’re suggesting I’m not righteous!”

“Sabao, you’re too kind…”

“Besides, old Kang must apologize,” the old Hu merchant leaned forward and respectfully cupped his hands, “This morning my people reported big trouble in Songzhou, urgently calling me to go there. I must leave the city today, so I’m afraid I can’t accompany the Great King!”

Though his Sichuan-accented Chinese was heavy, his meaning was clear. Li Yuangu was shocked – the Tang army was attacking Tuyuhun on six routes, with Army Commander Li Daoyan of the Chishui Road and Army Commander Gao Zhengsheng of the Yanze Road both relying on Songzhou for rear support. When Kangsu Mi said “big trouble in Songzhou,” could it mean there were new developments in the Tuyuhun campaign?

Note: The names of the two Hu maidens, Miwei and Fendui, come from Dunhuang documents. There is a letter from an abandoned Sogdian wife Miwei to her scoundrel husband, written over 1,500 years ago, and still not fully translated (the letter is in ancient Sogdian), but the translated portions already have a powerful emotional impact, see “The Sogdians: Adventurers of the Han-Tang Period.”

As for “Fendui,” it was so common in Dunhuang names that there are specific academic papers studying this name.

In this text, Miwei’s hairstyle “brownish-yellow hair tied back and held by a jade headband” references the hairstyle of this serving girl from