Nie Yunzhu and Yuan Jin’er had indeed come to sell preserved eggs.
It had only been a few days since Yuan Jin’er dove into the water and fled Jinfeng Tower, and rumors about the details of her disappearance from Jinfeng Tower were still spreading wildly outside. Madam Yang of Jinfeng Tower was currently fuming over it. But Yuan Jin’er was, by nature, someone who couldn’t sit still — she’d taken all the money she had on hand and invested it, planning to follow Nie Yunzhu out to drum up some business and enjoy the feeling of being a self-made woman.
In truth, this business relied on connections that already existed — Yuan Jin’er knew Madam Chen of Yancui Tower and had dragged Nie Yunzhu along to help open up the market. Selling preserved eggs on consignment was a small matter compared to Yancui Tower’s overall scale and income; since they were already acquainted, it was easy enough to arrange. It was the other, incidental matters that proved more troublesome.
“…Where was I? Everyone in the trade knows Yang Xiuhong’s temperament. You mad girl, you don’t know when you’re well off — the preserved eggs are a small thing, but Jin’er, you really ought to go apologize to her, humble yourself a bit. Distance wears down feelings, and that woman’s got a blade for a tongue but a soft heart underneath, tsk… anyway, it’s not my business what the girls do after they buy out their contracts, but you two really are giving me a headache…”
Walking into the room, Madam Chen sat down before the bronze mirror and began touching up her makeup, chattering on without pause — though of course, she and Yuan Jin’er knew each other well enough to speak so casually.
Jin’er narrowed her eyes.
“Yes, yes, I know, I know — you’re such a nag, you know that? Ugly and talks too much, how annoying!”
“Ha, and this is the attitude you bring to doing business!”
“That’s the attitude you get.”
Madam Chen was in her thirties but still quite beautiful; she’d only taken over Yancui Tower’s business a few years back, backed by an official “sworn father” behind the scenes, and had a fairly forthright temper. She and Yuan Jin’er glared at each other now, sparks flying, while Nie Yunzhu mediated with a wry smile. “All right, all right, you two, enough.”
“Hmph, if Yunzhu weren’t standing between us, I’d tear that mouth of yours off today.”
“Go ahead and try.” Yuan Jin’er stuck out her tongue, then turned and asked, “By the way, what was going on outside just now?”
“What else could it be? The Xue family’s cloth shop ran into the Su family’s cloth shop, old rivals as always. Though the crowd that showed up today really is something — Liu Qingdi, Li Pin, and even that famously low-key one who never sets foot in the pleasure quarters, Ning Liheng. Ha, if he actually writes a poem at Yancui Tower tonight, this place is going to become famous… oh, right, I heard you know that Liu Qingdi fellow well — what’s he like?”
Jin’er blinked. “He dashes off poems without a thought, and they’re quite good too. Li Pin often leaves his poems behind as well. As for that Ning Liheng…” She glanced at Nie Yunzhu. “There’s really no hope there.”
Madam Chen, dabbing rouge onto her own cheeks, shrugged. “Doesn’t matter, as long as we’ve got poems from Liu Qingdi and Li Dexin, that’s plenty. As for Ning Liheng, tomorrow I’ll have someone spread the word that he came to support my Yancui Tower tonight… In a bit I need to remind Ah Xia and the others to perform well, really heat up the atmosphere — best if it actually stirs up some real friction, get that Ning Yi worked up if we can manage it…”
“Devious.”
“What’s devious about it? Your own Madam Yang does the same thing. You think all those times the great talents fought over you, your Madam Yang wasn’t behind the scenes pulling strings?”
“I’m simply that stunning.”
“A green little chit, that’s what you are.”
The two continued sparring in the room, which also had a bronze mirror, the reflections none too clear. As Madam Chen squinted, drawing her eyebrow lines, Yuan Jin’er impatiently snatched the brush from her and took over the job, the two of them still bickering the whole time. Nie Yunzhu sat listening behind them with a smile, then spoke up. “If Ning Yi really does write a poem in her support, will Ah Xia go up to him?”
Madam Chen fell briefly silent, then glanced over with a faint smile. “It’s not that simple. Support, sure — but it still comes down to how much silver’s involved.”
“I doubt the Su family would be stingy with silver.”
“If that’s really how it goes, then I’m the one in a bind…” Madam Chen laughed softly.
“What do you mean?”
“You don’t know, Yunzhu — Ah Xia’s already got something going with Xue Yan of the Xue family. And now with Liu Qingdi here too — if the Su side only brings a fine poem plus silver, that would be one thing. But if that Ning Liheng gets involved, the stakes change entirely. Ah Xia is our pillar performer here — I can hardly force her to embarrass Young Master Xue at a time like this, that would be ruining a match, wouldn’t it…”
Madam Chen sighed. “But then again, if the Su side even gets the foremost talent himself to compose a poem for her, and in the end she still offers that cup to Xue Yan — word will get around, and how will people talk about my Yancui Tower, about Ah Xia? They’ll say she doesn’t know a good thing when she sees it, that she’s putting on airs — that’ll be trouble… Of course, if that Liu Qingdi can produce something truly outstanding, something that outshines both Li Pin and Ning Yi’s work in one stroke — the way Ning Yi did with those two ci poems of his — then there’s no problem at all… Yunzhu, you’ve got the best eye for poetry, do you think that’s possible?”
Yunzhu thought about it, then wrinkled her nose slightly, and shook her head — small in motion, but unmistakably firm. “Of course not.” It was clear she found even the act of considering it a bit unnecessary.
“There you go, then.” Madam Chen finished her makeup and stood, ready to head out. “Good thing that Ning Liheng doesn’t usually write poetry anyway. All right, I’m off. You two… make yourselves at home. If you’ve got old friends here, go catch up — just don’t go poaching any of my girls. Yunzhu, I understand what’s on your mind, but for a woman… that’s just how it is. Might as well go be someone’s young lady of the house…”
“So much talking…” Yuan Jin’er muttered.
“Fine! I’m ugly and talk too much and annoying, I’ll stop! You little troublemaker… Speaking of which, you and that Liu Qingdi are so close — he’s right outside, aren’t you going to go say hello?”
“No! We’re not that close!”
“Suit yourself, then, hide in here…”
Madam Chen shook her head and walked out. Yuan Jin’er quietly cracked open the window to peek out; the main hall below was a scene of lively commotion…
…
Most of the people coming and going at Yancui Tower had some kind of merchant background — well-off traders liked to come here to relax and enjoy themselves. Beyond the main hall’s entertainment, the service in the inner chambers was thoughtful and attentive as well. The place had everything in order, really — it just lacked the brand and reputation to match.
Jiangning might seem vast, but the upper circles were actually fairly small; the merchants who frequented Yancui Tower more or less all knew one another to some degree, and now the main hall buzzed with people greeting each other, while up on the second floor, guests wandered between boxes chatting. Various pastries and dishes had already been laid out, and girls came around to pour wine and keep company. Before long, the lights dimmed, and the various performances on the stage below began, the noise in the hall gradually quieting.
Tonight’s show at Yancui Tower followed a format similar to a beauty pageant of sorts. The house’s finest girls put on a small evening showcase, each performing twice, drawing all manner of support and patronage. The girls would then choose whom to accompany based on how much support they’d received — not just for that night’s banquet, but with priority treatment on future visits as well.
This bidding-like format was actually quite an effective business model, though of course it depended on the performing girls genuinely having some skill. For the men, what they sought was largely excitement and face. Both the Su family upstairs and the Xue family downstairs had turned out in force tonight, and with three great talents in attendance besides, it was practically their home turf — though two or three other proprietors whose family fortunes rivaled the Xue and Su families were also present. Still, a spectacle like tonight’s wasn’t necessarily something they’d fight to the end over.
Music drifted pleasantly through the hall, matched well by the accompanying dance. Occasionally people upstairs and downstairs called out greetings to one another, some wandering back and forth to talk business or discuss the performances. There seemed to be talk, too, of the gossip about the Xue and Su families vying tonight over who’d win Lü Xia’s company.
Lü Xia’s first performance was a dance, fifth in the lineup. Her style leaned toward the alluring and enchanting — dressed in Tang-style palace attire, her flowing sash swaying as her gaze shifted, the suggestion in her eyes and movements stirring the heart. To Nie Yunzhu and Yuan Jin’er, such a dance might have seemed a touch too forward, but within the context of tonight’s show, it truly stood out above the rest. After her performance, Liu Qingdi promptly offered up a poem, which was read aloud on stage: “Flower shadows come in pairs, disturbing the jade screen…”
“Li Pin’s writing a poem up there too…” For Nie Yunzhu and Yuan Jin’er, the overall level of tonight’s gathering felt somewhat beneath them, though they kept watching from nearby all the same — mostly keeping an eye on the Xue family’s movements below, and on Li Pin and Ning Yi’s activity among the Su group above. Throughout it all, Li Pin and Ning Yi had actually been talking about something between themselves the whole time; aside from watching Lü Xia’s performance with some attention, they didn’t seem particularly invested in the rest of the show. Now, in the dim upstairs lighting, Li Pin had a nearby woman fetch paper and brush — apparently intending to write a poem to present to Lü Xia. Downstairs, Liu Qingdi glanced back up at the scene from time to time, and seeing Li Pin’s reaction, laughed.
Once Li Pin finished his poem, he went back to discussing matters with Ning Yi.
“Sister Yunzhu, what if Ning Yi writes a poem too, later?”
“Hm?”
“Since Li Pin’s already written one, and Liu Qingdi’s clearly trying to provoke him, he might write one too. If it’s poorly done, it ruins his reputation; if it’s good, and Ah Xia still doesn’t give him face, going off to offer that cup to Xue Yan instead — wouldn’t that be terribly embarrassing? If word got around afterward, his reputation would suffer — people would say that in Lü Xia’s eyes, Ning Yi couldn’t measure up to Liu Qingdi.”
Nie Yunzhu glanced at her with a smile. “Jin’er, didn’t you say you disliked him? Why are you suddenly so worried about him now?”
She said this teasingly, of course — Yuan Jin’er’s usual principle was to favor blood ties over distant connections, and naturally she felt Ning Yi deserved more support here than the Xue family did. She shot Nie Yunzhu an irritated glare, pouted, and didn’t bother explaining herself. After a moment, she saw Ning Yi stand up in the box above, apparently heading off to the washroom, and with a raised eyebrow, turned and headed for the door. “I’m going to warn him not to write any poems — it’ll cost him face!”
“Hey…” Nie Yunzhu called after her with a laugh, but Yuan Jin’er had already dashed out the door, racing against time. Once Yuan Jin’er was gone, Liu Qingdi, apparently noticing Ning Yi had left his seat, thought for a moment, then rose and headed toward one end of the hall as well. Nie Yunzhu glanced sidelong at the performance still going on down on the stage, her gaze wandering as she thought for a long while.
She closed the window, walked over to the dressing table Madam Chen had just been using, stood there for a moment with her brow slightly furrowed, then sat down, looking at her own reflection in the bronze mirror. She was still dressed like a village girl today. Looking at her reflection, she reached up to touch her cheek, smoothed back a loose strand of hair by her temple, and after a few seconds, took a deep breath and pulled out the wooden hairpin holding her hair up.
A cascade of black hair unfurled and slid down in a rush. She sat there quietly, watching. In the bronze mirror, a delicate, oval face looked back — clear-eyed, mature, alluring all at once — and then the corners of the mirrored woman’s mouth curved slightly, a little awkward, yet also somehow natural, breaking into a smile.
Like a child, smiling for the very first time in her life…