Guangming Temple didn’t occupy much space. The front courtyard housed the Buddha statue, while the back courtyard and left-wing housed the nuns. The right-wing was reserved for pilgrims. Shen Shaoguang occupied two main rooms, while the remaining three main rooms and six side rooms were cleaned out and prepared by Jingqing.
Since Guangming Temple was located within the city, pilgrims found it convenient to come and go, with few staying overnight. This courtyard was often empty, which was why initially when Shen Shaoguang requested to stay, the rather materialistic guest receptionist nun Jingci didn’t immediately refuse, but instead brought her before the abbess.
Watching Jingci boss around the menial nuns to carefully clean and prepare the rooms, and personally arrange peonies from the courtyard in vases, her manner towards Shen Shaoguang seemed to say “This is how our temple treats noble ladies” – which actually made Shen Shaoguang laugh. The young nun was truly childishly endearing…
When the Second Young Lady of Duke Lu’s mansion arrived, Shen Shaoguang was in the courtyard preparing preserved fish in wine lees.
A few days ago, she had bought many small crucian carp at a bargain price. After making soup once, there were still many left. They had too many bones to cook other ways and weren’t good for storage, so Shen Shaoguang cleaned them thoroughly and dried them out.
Now that they were mostly dried, she was layering them in an earthen jar – one layer of fish, one layer of wine lees, one layer of salt, then repeating the pattern. She thought that in a few months when the weather cooled, she could take them out and stew them until the bones softened and the meat became tender, making them salty and fragrant with the wine lees – perfect to eat with porridge.
Footsteps and voices came from the entrance. Shen Shaoguang looked up with her hands covered in wine lees and met a peach blossom-like face in full formal makeup. The two eyebrows were long and thick, almost drawn to meet at the center – the fashionable “connected willow brow” style popular in the palace. Although she had endured seeing these strange eyebrows for quite some time, Shen Shaoguang still wasn’t used to them. It was truly a waste to mar such a beautiful young lady’s face this way.
Jingqing made the introductions, “This is Young Lady Shen who is worshipping Buddha at our temple, and this is Young Lady Pang from Duke Lu’s mansion.” Very compassionately, she described Shen Shaoguang’s “rental stay” as “worshipping Buddha,” transforming an economic matter into religious devotion.
Jingqing was truly considerate, Shen Shaoguang smiled, wiped her hands, and stepped forward to greet them.
However, such concealment couldn’t fool the discerning. Second Young Lady Pang gave Shen Shaoguang a side glance without speaking. Her maid said to Jingqing, “Venerable nun, you’re having our young lady stay with this poor girl?”
Jingqing pressed her lips together and smiled apologetically, “Young Lady Shen comes from the Shen family of Luoyang.”
The previously disdainful maid suddenly became somewhat embarrassed, glancing at her mistress, not knowing what to say.
Duke Lu’s family had only risen to prominence during the An Lushan Rebellion at the end of the Tianbao era for their merits in suppressing the rebellion. Even those founding ministers from the beginning of this dynasty were considered “nouveau riche” by the old noble families, let alone families like Duke Lu’s. Moreover, the current Duke Lu wasn’t particularly capable, with the family’s status entirely dependent on Imperial Consort Shu in the palace. With shallow roots and being relatives by marriage to the imperial family, they only earned sneers from the old aristocratic families.
Although Shen Shaoguang was poor, she had a good family name. In this era where “people took pride in their surnames,” she was a “noble.”
Shen Shaoguang smiled as she looked at Second Young Lady Pang, who stared back at her face, finally giving an unwilling greeting in return.
Jingqing felt somewhat awkward and made conversation with Shen Shaoguang: “What is the patron making?”
Shen Shaoguang smiled and said, “I’m preserving fish in wine lees.”
Preserved fish wasn’t exactly a refined dish, and Second Young Lady Pang’s expression grew even more displeased. Fearing further disputes, Jingqing quickly nodded to Shen Shaoguang and led the Duke’s party into the main room along with Jingci.
Shen Shaoguang leisurely sealed the earthen jar in the courtyard. She had initially thought to place it in the shade under the courtyard tree, but considering she wasn’t living alone in the courtyard anymore, she decided not to annoy others and moved it back indoors, tucking it under her bed.
They were still cleaning the three rooms on the western side. Regarding such a roommate, Shen Shaoguang decided to adopt a diplomatic strategy of “being reasonable, beneficial, and measured.” However, thinking about it, after all, she was a young lady from a duke’s mansion, with family and parents – what reason would she have to stay long at a nunnery? So they wouldn’t have to endure each other for long.
However, Shen Shaoguang was quite skeptical about the claim of coming to worship Buddha – this Second Young Lady Pang’s temperament didn’t seem at all like someone devoted to Buddhism.
But if she hadn’t come to worship Buddha, what had she come for? Perhaps she had taken a liking to the temple’s pastries? Shen Shaoguang let out a snicker.
After “however-ing” and “but-ing” about the young lady for a while, Shen Shaoguang finally felt better. Mental criticism was truly a simple and effective form of psychological therapy.
Soon, Shen Shaoguang learned about Second Young Lady Pang’s purpose for coming to Guangming Temple.
In the evening, when Shen Shaoguang returned from buying vegetables – evening vegetables were cheaper than morning ones, though a bit wilted, but still fine for eating – she happened to meet Second Young Lady Pang taking a walk near the temple gate with two maids.
Having finished criticizing others, Shen Shaoguang was now a magnanimous lady and actively greeted Pang.
Seeing the rice and vegetables in Shen Shaoguang’s hands, and recalling her maid’s vivid description of this Young Lady Shen selling pancakes at the ward gate, Second Young Lady Pang snorted, “I never expected to be neighbors with a street vendor!”
“…” Shen Shaoguang’s lips twitched, hesitating for a moment, wondering whether to discipline this ill-mannered bear cub on behalf of her parents or to ignore her and wait for her to cause bigger trouble.
Considering herself a kind person, Shen Shaoguang decided to help her parents: “As a descendant of the Three Kingdoms’ Marquis Pang, you naturally wouldn’t deign to associate with us common merchants. Though I imagine Military Advisor Pang must have felt quite uncomfortable following our First Lord back then, after all, the First Lord made his living selling straw sandals and mats.”
The first Duke Lu came from military ranks, and after becoming wealthy, learned to act like refined people by creating a family genealogy. They gave titles to ancestors whose names hadn’t even been recorded, and the literary servant responsible for writing the genealogy, understanding his master’s wishes traced the Pang family lineage back to Pang Tong of the Three Kingdoms period. Duke Lu was overjoyed and from then on claimed to be from the Pang clan of Jingzhou.
Such false claims of ancestry were common – after all, even the current emperor claimed to be a descendant of Laozi – but people would still mock them. However, while others usually mocked them for being fake, Shen Shaoguang took a novel approach: she acknowledged them as descendants of Pang Fenghuang but then connected herself to Liu Bei, the sandal seller.
Second Young Lady Pang wasn’t well-read, but because of their claimed ancestor, she had been forced to read some Three Kingdoms history. After hearing Shen Shaoguang’s words, it took her a moment to understand the meaning, and she became so angry her powder-white face turned red. She stamped her foot and said, “You, you—”
Just then, they heard a “tsk” of laughter from behind. Shen Shaoguang and Second Young Lady Pang turned around to see two young gentlemen. One wore a sapphire blue round-collared robe – Shen Shaoguang recognized him as the crimson-robed official who had caused trouble at the palace gate that day. The one who had laughed was wearing a white scholar’s robe.
Second Young Lady Pang was startled. She glared at the one in white, then bashfully greeted the official with a curtsy, “Your humble servant greets Assistant Magistrate Lin.”
In that flash of a moment, Shen Shaoguang understood – this must be their neighbor, the Assistant Capital Magistrate, and Second Young Lady Pang’s purpose… tsk tsk, could it be, perhaps, could it be… Tang Dynasty women were truly bold and open! She couldn’t help but watch this live dating show with great interest.
The one in white also looked at his companion teasingly.
However, Lin Yan only responded coolly to Second Young Lady Pang: “No need for such formality, Young Lady.” His gaze swept briefly over Shen Shaoguang.
Shen Shaoguang perfunctorily gave them a greeting, Lin Yan nodded slightly, glanced at his friend, and walked ahead.
The scholar in white met Shen Shaoguang’s eyes, and they both smiled – people of questionable character always found it especially easy to understand each other.