It was the second lunar month, spring deepening by the day. Along the banks of the Qinhuai River, drifting willow catkins mingled with the sound of song and music rising from both shores, dancing amid the burgeoning spirit of spring.
In the early mornings, sitting at a teahouse overlooking the bustling street, one could often watch the comings and goings of pedestrians not far off at the mouth of Jixiang Street—a place in Jiangning famous for its cluster of pleasure houses. At this hour, one could see a fair number of men emerging from that direction after spending the night, some still straightening their robes and caps as they walked, others looking rather flustered, presumably with somewhere urgent to be, robes half-thrown on as they hurried off. Though, admittedly, that latter sort wasn’t especially common.
In this era, patronizing courtesans was, after all, a perfectly ordinary thing. Some scholarly types would greet friends on the street looking fresh and satisfied, then throw an arm around a companion’s shoulder to discuss, in low tones, whose chambers they’d graced the night before. Others carried themselves with the composed, upright bearing of proper gentlemen, refined and elegant, giving nothing away.
“Oh, Chan’er, look at that fellow there—he’s even bought some meat congee to carry home. Looks like he means to bring it back for his wife and kids… quite the family man, that one.”
“That gentleman? Doesn’t look it to me. Young master, you shouldn’t judge someone just because they’re coming from over there.”
“You don’t understand. On the surface they all look about the same, but a man who sleeps at home at night carries himself differently from one who sleeps out.” Ning Yi sat by the second-floor window, popping a silver-thread roll into his mouth.
“Does young master really know how to tell? Then teach Chan’er too, won’t you?”
“What for?”
“So that from now on, if young master stays out at a pleasure house and doesn’t come home, Chan’er will be able to tell.”
“Ha.”
The reason he’d found himself rather idly spending these past couple of days sitting in this teahouse watching who’d spent the night out was mainly that he’d discovered the breakfast here was quite good; Chan’er, having nothing else to do today, had tagged along. The two of them now sat by the second-floor window, pointing things out and occasionally making startling discoveries.
“Young master, young master, look, that old gentleman is coming out of a pleasure house too!”
“How can you tell?”
“Because the girl in the window of that little building over there is still waving goodbye to him…”
“Old but still going strong—now that’s something to… envy…”
“Young master isn’t envious at all. You’d never go to a place like that.”
Master and maid chatted and laughed like this for a while. By now quite a few more people had filled the teahouse. Several men dressed as scholars—men Ning Yi recognized as having spent the night out—sat at a table to the left, their robes and caps neatly arranged, looking energetic, reciting bits of poetry and prose to describe the previous night’s events, occasionally breaking into laughter. Whenever Chan’er caught snatches of those verses, she’d glance back cautiously, then turn away again, blushing.
At this point, these scholarly types had begun trading tales of romantic exploits, most of it delivered with rather reckless bravado. After a while, one of them lowered his voice conspiratorially. “Hey, do you think, with Miss Shishi coming to town, any of us might actually get a chance to meet her?”
“I’ve heard this Li Shishi is only here to visit friends—not receiving guests. Doubt we’ll get the chance.”
“That’s what they say.”
“Probably only the truly important people get to see her.”
“That’s true enough. Though, people like Cao Guan and Liu Qingdi will probably manage it.”
“Brother Jichang comes from a family of scholars, and his uncle serves as an official in the prefecture—he’ll probably get to see her too.”
“Ha ha, just joking around. Though, last year when Gu Yanzhen came back, he mentioned having met this Li Shishi himself while in the capital. I’m not that lucky, I suppose.”
“I wonder how this Li Shishi, celebrated as the capital’s foremost courtesan, compares to our own Qilan, Luo Miaomiao, and the rest…”
“Qilan and the others probably fall short. And honestly, I think this Li Shishi picked exactly the right moment to come visit friends. Think about it—that Chief Courtesan Qilan was deliberately propped up by the Puyang family; her artistry is impressive enough, but there’s too much of the merchant’s stink about her. Luo Miaomiao is dazzling enough but lacks real presence. That Feng Xiaojing used to be praised as an orchid in an empty valley, but… well, driven to jump from a tower by that brute Chen Yong, she’s faded into obscurity now. And that lively, pure-hearted Yuan Jin’er has, they say, already left the trade. Two of the Four Great Ladies gone already—if Qilan and Luo Miaomiao have to face off against a figure like Li Shishi now, they simply can’t hold the stage. What do you think—could Li Shishi have deliberately chosen this timing, claiming it’s just a friendly visit, but really meaning it as a challenge?”
“…If that’s really the case, we scholars of Jiangning had better stand united and not let her succeed.”
“You’re probably overthinking it…”
Though their tone suggested they were discussing something rather confidential, their voices never actually dropped much. Ning Yi, catching names like Li Shishi and Gu Yanzhen, found himself growing interested. Seeing his expression, Chan’er listened in for a while too. “Young master, young master, if you wanted to meet this Li Shishi when she comes, could you manage it?”
Ning Yi blinked. “I don’t even know her. Er… you’ve heard about her coming?”
“Mm, heard about it a few days ago already.” Chan’er nodded. “They say Miss Li Shishi is coming to visit friends and unwind—supposed to be a secret trip, but somehow word got out everywhere. The young mistress knows about it too—yesterday, chatting with the shopkeeper’s wife from Xingqing Alley, the young mistress said: ‘If my husband wanted to meet her, I’m sure he could manage it easily enough. But as you know, my husband isn’t like other men—he’s not much interested in cozying up to famous courtesans just to build his reputation. He always says these so-called romantic talents are mostly just hype.'” She was doing an impression of Su Tan’er’s manner of speaking, and pride shone through unmistakably in her tone—it wasn’t that young master couldn’t go, only that he didn’t care to.
Ning Yi laughed. Chan’er thought for a moment, then added, “Actually, if young master did want to go, Chan’er thinks it might not be a bad thing to join in on this kind of event sometimes. The young mistress has said as much too.”
Ning Yi laughed. “Now that sounds like you don’t quite mean it.”
“No, really, it’s true,” Chan’er shook her head vigorously. “Young master really doesn’t care about those women at all. Ever since young master became famous, both the young mistress and Chan’er have been so happy about it. Sure, young master says these gatherings are all just a lot of noise and mutual flattery, but everyone getting together to flatter each other is fun too, isn’t it? If young master went and dashed off a poem or two to impress everyone, and had a good time doing it, that’d be nice too. Actually, Chan’er’s the same way—if someone praised Chan’er for being amazing, Chan’er would be happy too.”
There was nothing feigned in what Chan’er said. Of course, as a woman of the household, she certainly wouldn’t be thrilled to see her man carrying on with other women outside—but the times being what they were, it really came down to a matter of degree. These gatherings of talented scholars and beauties were, after all, a socially sanctioned form of entertainment; as Chan’er put it, everyone praising each other made the person being praised feel good too.
If he got too deeply involved in this sort of thing, genuinely growing fond of these famous courtesans, then naturally Su Tan’er and Chan’er would be displeased. But if Ning Yi never took part at all, then someone like Su Tan’er might almost start to feel she was somehow standing in the way of his enjoyment—might even feel that his occasionally attending one of these gatherings, dazzling everyone with his poetic talent and winning the admiration of the courtesans, was actually the healthier way for things to be. In short, so long as they understood Ning Yi had no real involvement with these courtesans, if he built up more fame from it, the family would actually feel rather proud, if a bit vain about it.
Ning Yi mulled this over for a moment, laughing to himself, then said, “Chan’er really is impressive.” He reached out and patted her head, and Chan’er giggled.
“So then, does young master really not want to meet this Li Shishi?”
“My charm is far too dangerous. What if she takes one look at me and falls in love, refusing to leave Jiangning, crying and carrying on…”
“Then…” Chan’er lowered her head, her face flushing red. “Then… just wait until young master has taken Chan’er in properly before letting her through the door…” Her voice was faint as a mosquito’s hum. Most people, hearing Ning Yi boast like that, would have laughed and teased him for his vanity. Chan’er’s reaction, though, caught him rather off guard. He blinked, then could only shake his head with a smile, though he found himself wondering, deep down, how this Li Shishi might actually compare to Yunzhu and Jin’er.
His curiosity on this point had nothing to do with reputation as a famous courtesan, really—it was just that Li Shishi’s fame was so immense that her skill in song, dance, and poetry composition must surely run deep. Ning Yi had never had much interest in ancient song and dance to begin with, but ever since hearing Yunzhu play and sing, his view had changed considerably; truly skilled people, it turned out, really were skilled. Of course, this was also partly because Yunzhu, after hearing the musical styles he’d taught her, had adapted her own singing accordingly, which naturally colored his impression somewhat in her favor.
Yuan Jin’er wasn’t willing to perform dance in front of him anymore—having left the trade, she felt there wasn’t much of an audience worth performing for, and doing so would feel too much like currying favor with this smelly man of theirs. But from the few times he had seen her dance, it truly was a pleasure to watch. Apparently, when Ning Yi wasn’t around, she’d dance about playfully in front of Yunzhu just for fun, and being in good spirits, inspiration would strike and she’d choreograph new dances to show her. Sometimes, after Jin’er left, Yunzhu would laugh and describe it, even imitating a few of the moves.
The two of them were roughly equal in skill—Yunzhu was exceptionally accomplished at playing instruments and singing, but her dancing wasn’t far behind Yuan Jin’er’s either, though when she danced there was no music to accompany her, leaving Ning Yi to appreciate only the elegance of her movements. If she performed for too long, Jin’er would inevitably come running back in, loudly interrupting and protesting that Yunzhu was using her dance moves to curry favor with her lover, which was a shameless betrayal of friendship in favor of romance. In truth, Yunzhu was gentle and composed by nature, while Jin’er was lively and energetic, so even performing the same dance, the two came across rather differently.
At the nearby table, the scholars were still discussing Li Shishi, when three more men climbed the stairs and were shown by the waiter to seats close by. All three were dressed in short, practical garb, each armed with weapons, and one of them bore visible wounds—clearly men of the martial world. Once seated, they ordered their food.
“Damn it, dozens of us laid an ambush yesterday, and those Liao men still got away. What rotten luck!”
“They won’t get far. Old Master Cheng of the Hundred Blades Alliance has personally led men in pursuit, laying out a proper dragnet, and the authorities are cooperating too. If these Liao dogs can slip in deep into our Central Plains to murder and assassinate and still get away clean, that would truly be an insult to us all.”
“Still, that lead Liao fellow really was something else—managing to fight his way out even surrounded by that many skilled men…”
Overhearing this, Ning Yi frowned, his interest piqued…