“I hear that Pang has been staying at a temple lately, praying for blessings?” asked a young lady wearing a pomegranate-colored silk gauze dress.
Standing by the pavilion, Second Young Lady Pang smiled nervously at the question: “Yes, that’s right.”
“Which temple might that be?” the young lady in the pomegranate dress pursued with a sweet smile.
All the noble ladies looked at Second Young Lady Pang.
“It’s Guangming Temple in Chongxian Ward,” Pang thought for a moment and added, “Their abbess, Venerable Yuanjue, is very learned in Buddhist doctrine.”
“Ah, Guangming Temple—” the young lady in the pomegranate dress smiled meaningfully.
Beside her, a young lady in jade-colored clothing fanned herself gently with a round fan and asked with raised eyebrows, “This year’s summer cakes from Guangming Temple taste different from before, quite delicious. Could it be Pang’s recipe?”
Second Young Lady Pang instinctively glanced at Shen Shaoguang in the distance. She wanted to deny it but hesitated – it was rare to have such a chance to shine in public.
“Does the Pang family have private recipes? They must be old recipes from Jingzhou or Shu,” the pomegranate-dressed young lady smiled, her eyes curving.
The Pang family’s roots were shallow – how could they compare to the great families with recipes passed down for generations? The mention of Jingzhou and Shu was mocking their false claims of ancestry.
Such was the way of noble ladies’ verbal sparring – sweet venom wrapped in silk, needles hidden in cotton.
Several young ladies laughed.
A lady in the center, wearing an osmanthus-colored robe with gold embroidery, playfully swatted the pomegranate-dressed girl’s hand, “Twelfth Sister, you’re teasing again!” Then she smiled at Pang, “Don’t take offense, Pang.”
Second Young Lady Pang’s face turned pale. She bit her lip, about to turn and leave or say something, but ultimately held back.
Shen Shaoguang poked at her small stove with fire tongs, putting the pot of zongzi back on to heat, while inwardly clicking her tongue. The usually domineering Second Young Lady Pang, being pushed around today… was truly pitiful. They weren’t the same kind of people – better not to try mixing with them.
The lady in the gold-embroidered osmanthus robe, who appeared slightly older and seemed to be the leader of these noble ladies, said, “We’ve rested enough, let’s go look over there.”
A small maid advised, “There are many people there, Fifth Miss should be careful not to get jostled.”
The pomegranate-dressed young lady quickly said with a smile, “It’s fine, I see the Capital Prefecture’s people are there.” She winked at the gold-embroidered lady.
The gold-embroidered lady gave her a mock glare, and the group of ladies left the pavilion, crowding together as they walked along the main road.
As they passed Shen Shaoguang’s stall, the jade-robed young lady noticed the circle of ai wowo on the bamboo rack. She looked puzzled, glanced at Shen Shaoguang, then at Second Young Lady Pang who had fallen behind, but retained enough kindness not to bring up the earlier topic.
Pang had only known about Shen Shaoguang selling zongzi and sour plum drink, not this – her already unpleasant expression grew even worse.
The jade-robed young lady slowed her pace and, when Pang drew near, quietly admonished, “You should know your place! Not everyone is suitable for you to associate with!” Then she hurried ahead.
Pang stopped in her tracks. She had already been holding back tears, and this somewhat well-intentioned rebuke finally broke her composure – she began to cry.
Shen Shaoguang felt quite awkward and quickly lowered her head, pretending to doze.
But unexpectedly, after a moment, Pang came over and said petulantly, her voice still nasal from crying, “Stop pretending! I know you heard everything.”
Shen Shaoguang gave an awkward laugh, rubbing her nose, “Would Young Lady Pang like a bowl of jasmine tea to quench your thirst?”
Shen Shaoguang had just said it casually – noble ladies were particular, and their maids always carried food and drinks for them.
She expected Pang to leave in a huff, but surprisingly, after giving Shen Shaoguang a look, Pang accepted the bowl of flower tea.
The maid beside her quietly reminded, “Fifth Miss and the others have gone far ahead…”
Pang muttered, “They’ve already humiliated me, why should I chase after them?”
Looking at Pang’s pretty young face with its comically thick eyebrows, Shen Shaoguang sighed inwardly – she was still just a sixteen or seventeen-year-old child.
Shen Shaoguang placed several ai wowo on a small white porcelain plate and pushed it towards Pang, then lowered her head to continue rolling the dough.
Pang began eating, and her maids exchanged glances, and looked at Shen Shaoguang, but said nothing.
After eating the cakes and drinking the tea, Pang seemed to be in a better mood. She said softly, “I’m leaving.” She wanted to say “thank you” but hesitated and ultimately couldn’t get it out.
Shen Shaoguang let out an amused hum – such a young girl!
With her keen eye for gossip, though Shen Shaoguang didn’t know the noble ladies’ identities, from their conversation she could guess that the earlier verbal sparring seemed related to the handsome young Assistant Capital Magistrate.
After that chance encounter, Shen Shaoguang had casually asked the abbess and learned that this Assistant Capital Magistrate came from the Lin family of Hedong.
The Lin family was among the top-ranked old aristocratic families in the Register of Clans, having maintained their status for several dynasties. In early Tang, they produced two Grand Councilors, though they had declined after being severely persecuted during Wu Zetian’s reign – many were killed or exiled. But even in their decline, in the eyes of the gentry who valued ancestral glory and old family honor, they were still far above nouveau riche families like Duke Lu’s.
Moreover, he was already a fourth-rank official at such a young age – even department ministers were only third-rank – and held the crucial position of Assistant Capital Magistrate. He was truly favored by the emperor and had limitless prospects.
Shen Shaoguang shook her head – Second Young Lady Pang’s girlish feelings would likely come to nothing.
While Shen Shaoguang sighed over others’ stories, she continued her business. As noon approached, more and more people gathered by the river – the dragon boat races were about to begin.
Her business grew even better. The beautiful ai wowo were particularly popular and had sold out, while the zongzi sold basket after basket. Only the jasmine tea remained slow to sell.
Not bothered by the poor sales, Shen Shaoguang poured herself some tea into her usual large crude ceramic mug, sipping it slowly.
Gongs and drums thundered over the river, people crowded together, and cheers erupted from time to time – the dragon boat races had begun.
From her position, Shen Shaoguang could only see the backs of people’s heads, not the river, but she still fanned herself and craned her neck to look.
After several rounds, the Red Team won the championship. The Red Team was the “Royal Dragon Boat Team” composed of the Crown Prince and several princes’ generals. Shen Shaoguang smiled – there were unwritten rules everywhere.
With the races finished, those who could attend the imperial banquet naturally went there, while those who couldn’t had various gatherings or family feasts. Common people either ate food they had brought or bought something casual before heading home early – it was too sunny today.
Shen Shaoguang moved her stall further under the trees, took out the last few remaining zongzi to steam, and watched the thinning crowds by the river. She sat on her folding stool to rest her legs while mentally calculating today’s earnings, dreaming her modest dream of buying property in the capital – though actually, if she had enough money, becoming a landlord somewhere with beautiful mountains and waters would be nice too.
The imperial procession returned to the palace, and naturally, the imperial guards left too, leaving Qujiang under the Capital Prefecture’s jurisdiction. Prefect Bai, being advanced in years, returned to the office first, while Lin Yan led the remaining officials in serving the last shift of the Dragon Boat Festival.
The sun was strong, and the river’s surface was dazzlingly bright, almost hurting the eyes. Lin Yan walked slowly out of the shade pavilion with his hands behind his back.
Two officials in green robes and several runners were about to follow, but Lin Yan smiled and said, “I’m just taking a short walk – wouldn’t want to have come to Qujiang Pool on Dragon Boat Festival for nothing.”
Even if the superior’s joke wasn’t funny, the officials and runners all laughed, then respectfully watched their Assistant Magistrate stroll away along the river.
When Lin Yan knocked on her table, Shen Shaoguang was nodding off. Suddenly startled awake, she blinked her bleary eyes, wiped what might have been drool from the corner of her mouth, and stood up smiling, “Would the young lord like some zongzi or jasmine tea?”
Thinking of the cold, rich plum drink from the imperial guards that morning, Lin Yan smiled faintly and said, “I’ll have the jasmine tea.”
Since no one had been drinking tea, Shen Shaoguang had already extinguished the water-boiling stove. Now she refilled the iron kettle and moved it to the stove heating the zongzi, using a small fan to fan the flames while brewing tea.
Lin Yan sat down on the folding stool prepared for customers and waited quietly.
Shen Shaoguang boiled the water, rinsed the bowl, added tea leaves, and slowly poured in the water. The tea powder and jasmine flowers floated up, and the tea gradually turned a pale yellow-green color, even lighter than the osmanthus-colored robe that the young lady had worn earlier.①
Lin Yan lifted the porcelain bowl, took a light sip, and set it down. “Is the young lady content among the common markets?”
Shen Shaoguang looked at him in surprise – why suddenly ask such a philosophical question? Was this an appropriate conversation between strangers? But she suddenly remembered the “Are you happy?” interviews from a news broadcast in her previous life – was this like a deputy mayor’s random survey of social happiness?
Shen Shaoguang squinted and smiled, “With the world so peaceful nowadays, and this Chang’an City so prosperous and tranquil, I am naturally content, very content indeed.” Shen Shaoguang felt her answer was perfectly standard, flattering yet not embarrassingly so.
Lin Yan gave her an ambiguous smile but said nothing, slowly drinking his tea.
Shen Shaoguang wiped here and there with her cloth, tidying things up – soon Zhao Er would come with the donkey cart to pick her up, and she would head back.
Lin Yan finished his tea and stood up.
Shen Shaoguang smiled, “Five coins for the tea, young lord.”
Lin Yan took out his purse, placed five coins on the table, and strolled away.
Shen Shaoguang was a bit disappointed – she had hoped for one last tip of the day.