In the evening, Second Lady Pang arrived as promised, and Shen Shaoguang indeed led her to a quiet corner seat. On the shelf above the table sat garlic sprouts growing in white porcelain pots. Due to Shen Shaoguang’s oversight in not eating them when they were most tender, they had aged over several days. With no other option, she kept them as decorative plants like narcissus, waiting for their natural end. Though inedible, their lush green appearance was pleasing to the eye.
Next to the garlic sprouts was a leather doll bought from the West Market, with vermilion-dotted lips and two spots of rouge, giving it a silly yet festive look.
Second Lady Pang sat down beneath the garlic sprouts and the silly doll. When Shen Shaoguang asked what she would like to eat, Second Lady Pang wasn’t expecting any rare delicacies from Shen Shaoguang’s small tavern – how could a common establishment compare to the Duke’s kitchen?
But since she had come to eat, she had to go through the motions properly. Second Lady Pang told her to serve whatever was tasty.
Showing true generosity, Shen Shaoguang served five or six expensive dishes including Sweet and Sour Fish, along with soup, main courses, and desserts, filling the entire table.
Seeing the vibrant Sweet and Sour Fish in the porcelain dishes, the glossy red Agate Meat, the jade-green dumplings, and the tender “Monkey Brain Tofu,” Second Lady Pang found herself unconsciously salivating. Even just the presentation was remarkable for a common establishment, no wonder it drew so many customers at noon, and no wonder Master Yuan Jue favored it.
Second Lady Pang first tried a bite of the Sweet and Sour Fish. Mmm, sweet and sour, fresh and fragrant – it was truly delicious!
She couldn’t help but take two more bites.
Her attending maids were surprised – the Second Lady was usually quite picky about food, when had she ever gone back for seconds?
Then Second Lady Pang ate a piece of Agate Meat and four or five small jade-green dumplings. The Monkey Brain Tofu was prepared in some special way that made it fresh and tender without any beany taste – she ate nearly half a bowl. The Jade-Tip Noodles had an imperial banquet quality about them, delicate and beautiful with fragrant filling – she unconsciously ate three. From another plate, the green rice balls had a green outer layer with red bean filling inside, not too sweet but soft and glutinous, perfectly seasonal for spring – she took another one of those too.
Under her maids’ surprised and somewhat worried gazes, Second Lady Pang lived up to expectations and ate until she was stuffed.
When Shen Shaoguang came over after being busy for a while and saw the leftovers on the table and Second Lady Pang’s satisfied yet languid expression, she thought, “Wow, quite the fighting spirit!” Earlier seeing her appearance, she had thought her the type to subsist on air.
Happy that her dishes were well-received, Shen Shaoguang personally brewed and brought over a bowl of hawthorn and licorice drink to aid digestion, preventing indigestion from eating so much late at night.
The weather wasn’t good, with the evening rain growing slightly heavier. There weren’t many customers in the shop, especially after peak hours – gradually only Second Lady Pang’s table remained.
Shen Shaoguang could finally relax a bit. She brought over a cup of osmanthus honey water and sat with Second Lady Pang.
The rain pattered against the peach-flower-oiled paper windows with a rustling sound. The candles flickered slightly. Across the table, Shen Shaoguang and Second Lady Pang chatted casually.
What else could they discuss but the current fashions in the capital – how peony hairstyles looked better slightly askew, how wearing gold foil decorations in spring and summer was vulgar and feather decorations were better, how distant mountain eyebrows were coming back into fashion…
“Look at my eyebrows,” Second Lady Pang leaned forward, “I’ve changed them.”
Shen Shaoguang nodded deeply, “They look so much better than the previously connected eyebrows. Those connected eyebrows seem designed specifically for the children of Gan Jiang and Mo Ye – ordinary people can’t pull them off.”
Second Lady Pang didn’t know the reference to the “eyebrow ruler,” but she also felt connected eyebrows weren’t attractive. However, what could be done when they were fashionable in the palace? Fashion is fashion – without following it, wouldn’t one appear outdated?
Shen Shaoguang felt this child had been poisoned by fashion. Fashion and beauty were completely different things. To save Second Lady Pang’s makeup and dress sense, Shen Shaoguang sold her Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel’s quote from a thousand years in the future: “A Madam Xiang once said, ‘Fashion fades, style is eternal.’ Think about it – isn’t that the truth?”
The charm of famous quotes lies in their ability to transcend time and space – they can impact people in any era. Second Lady Pang furrowed her brow, finding more and more truth in these words as she pondered them. She also wondered about the person who said this, not knowing which great family of the current dynasty had the surname Xiang. But since her own family was new nobility, and Second Lady Pang hadn’t studied genealogy seriously, she didn’t dare ask, fearing to show ignorance before Shen Shaoguang.
Second Lady Pang belatedly realized that Miss Shen knew quite a lot about capital fashions. How did she learn all this while dealing with daily mundane matters in the marketplace?
Shen Shaoguang smiled faintly, “Though trends may fade, beauty is eternal.”
Shen Shaoguang dipped her finger in wine and drew a face on the table, explaining to Second Lady Pang the concepts of “three courts and five eyes”: “Generally speaking, the closer to this standard, the more attractive. When we apply makeup, it’s to compensate for what’s lacking and make our features closer to this standard.”
Second Lady Pang felt like a whole new world had opened up to her. She looked at Shen Shaoguang in amazement, then at the wine drawing on the table, thought for a moment, and nodded vigorously.
Seeing her aptitude for learning, Shen Shaoguang spoke even more: “The tiny red bean lips that were popular two years ago – how could that look good on a face as big as a silver basin? And the exposed forehead,” speaking of this fashion trend, Shen Shaoguang couldn’t help but criticize, “Shaving the front hairline to make the forehead as wide as Imperial Street – what for? Want to drive carriages there? With all those face decorations and patterns, is there not enough space? Need to develop more territory?”
Second Lady Pang burst out laughing. Among all the trends, the only one she hadn’t followed was this “exposed forehead.” It truly wasn’t attractive, but it had indeed been popular, lasting even longer than various eyebrow shapes.
The two chatted until nearly the next watch before Second Lady Pang left. Only upon leaving did she realize she hadn’t seen Assistant Magistrate Lin – she had been so engaged in conversation that she had completely forgotten about it!
Shen Shaoguang smiled and called out, “See you tomorrow, Second Lady.”
After returning to throw the silver left by Second Lady Pang’s maid into the money basket, Shen Shaoguang narrowed her eyes in a smile – there must be one tael of silver as tuition fee in there. Knowledge truly is wealth!
Second Lady Pang came daily to idle away time with Shen Shaoguang. After seven or eight days, her little face had grown rounder before she finally encountered Assistant Magistrate Lin.
Lin Yan was working overtime again and returning after curfew when he saw the lights at Shen’s establishment. He got down from his carriage, told his attendants to return first, and walked in slowly.
Upon entering, he heard Miss Shen’s laughing voice: “Makeup is like writing an essay – it needs proper emphasis and detail. If the eyes are beautiful, emphasize them; if the mouth is pretty, focus on the lips. If everything is heavily painted, trying to emphasize everything, it becomes like a painter’s palette.”
The way of writing, emphasis, and detail… Lin Yan turned past the small screen and saw Miss Shen and Second Lady Pang in the corner.
Meeting Second Lady Pang’s suddenly brightened eyes, Lin Yan lowered his gaze, nodded slightly to her, and walked to the opposite corner.
Shen Shaoguang turned her head – the Second Lady’s efforts had not been in vain. After spending some twenty taels of silver, she had finally encountered him.
Second Lady Pang lightly touched the peach blossom hairpin at her temple, smoothed her clothes, and raised her eyebrows at Shen Shaoguang, silently asking if her appearance and makeup were proper.
Shen Shaoguang nodded firmly. Today’s Second Lady Pang was truly beautiful – the lovely peach blossom makeup, the floral-patterned jacket, carrying a young lady’s charm, looking far better than that gilded appearance when they first met last year. The second Lady had quite a talent for makeup and dress.
“Young Master Lin,” Second Lady Pang walked forward and curtsied.
Shen Shaoguang retreated to the kitchen, also stopping A-Yuan who was about to serve tea, to avoid awkwardness.
“Young Master Lin comes so late to dine – official matters must truly be busy.” A smiling young lady’s voice.
“Just doing one’s duty in one’s position.” A cool male voice.
“Is Young Master Lin busy with the upcoming Double Third Festival? Will Young Master go to Qu River? I hear this year’s new jinshi graduates will pick flowers at Qu River – is it true?”
“Yes.” However, it wasn’t clear which of the three questions this answered.
“I heard that Young Master Lin was once a Flower Prince – is that true?” The hope and shy coquetry in her voice moved even Shen Shaoguang’s heart – young girls’ romantic thoughts are always poetic!
However, to think this severe Assistant Magistrate Lin had such a romantic past! But thinking again, given his appearance and bearing, being chosen as Flower Prince wasn’t surprising. At this time, Flower Prince wasn’t yet exclusively used for the third-ranked jinshi graduate but rather was a temporary cultural position given to the youngest and most handsome among new jinshi graduates, specifically for visiting famous gardens and picking flowers.
“It’s late. The young lady should return home.” An increasingly cold voice.
“I… I wanted to ask…”
“Please return home, young lady.” Second Lady Pang’s following words were severely cut off.
What else was there for Second Lady Pang to misunderstand? Her large eyes misted over, she bit her lip, stamped her foot, and turned to leave.
Only after hearing the door close did Shen Shaoguang let A-Yuan serve the tea.
When Second Lady Pang first spoke, Yu San had thought Assistant Magistrate Lin was improperly, flirting with women, but after hearing his firm rejection, she thought him stone-hearted, not knowing how to cherish beauty. Yu San frowned and glanced at Shen Shaoguang – what kind of judgment was this, only looking at appearances?
Shen Shaoguang brought out the menu and asked Lin Yan with a smile, “What would Young Master Lin like to eat today?”
Hearing Shen Shaoguang’s formal “Young Master Lin” in contrast to Second Lady Pang’s intimate “Young Master,” Lin Yan pressed his lips together, “Whatever Miss arranges will be fine.”
“Very well, sir, please wait a moment,” Shen Shaoguang said with a smile, taking back the menu.
Hearing this address of simply “sir” with the surname dropped as if addressing any random customer, Lin Yan’s lips pressed even more tightly together.
Shen Shaoguang returned to the kitchen and had Yu San prepare tender yellow chives with scrambled eggs, preserved meat fried with spring onions, cold-dressed okra, and steamed tofu. She chopped coriander finely and mixed it with minced meat to make light-boiled meatballs. With two people working, it went quickly – everything was soon ready. Adding pepper-salt steamed bread, she had A-Yuan take it out on a tray.
After a while, estimating he must be nearly finished, Shen Shaoguang came out to ask, “Would Young Master Lin like anything else?”
Lin Yan paused, then said with lowered eyes, “Very good. The vegetables were very tender, and the meatballs were fragrant. Thank you.”
“…” Oh, Aunt Mary’s apple pie! What did I just hear? This Assistant Magistrate Lin praised the food. What shock had this gentleman received?
“You’re too kind, sir,” Shen Shaoguang said with a forced smile.
Lin Yan glanced at her, then lowered his head to pick up his teacup.