After the burst of fireworks came applause and laughter, the faint scent of spent gunpowder drifting through the air. On this spring night at Bamboo Records, the performances upstairs were still underway — song and dance, magic, acrobatics, comic cross-talk — with the women of Fan Tower handling roughly half of the acts. The banquet was drawing toward its close; since many of the guests present knew one another, some were still watching the performances while others mingled and chatted, discussing the evening’s shows and Ning Yi’s new poetry. From a business standpoint, the atmosphere could be called harmonious and successful.

Having waited a while up front and coming to suspect Gao Mu’en likely wouldn’t show, Ning Yi found himself somewhat puzzled as well. But with a man like Gao Mu’en, it really wasn’t wise to reason by ordinary standards — as Wenren Bu’er had said, nothing the fellow did would be surprising.

As for Wenren Bu’er, aside from coordinating with Ning Yi over today’s manhunt operation, he’d also brought up, in a roundabout way, some news concerning Chen Fan.

“…This morning, aside from the Twin Heroes of Heshuo — word came in from Xi Guishan’s people that a Yongle remnant has entered the city, come specifically looking for you. I’d meant to eliminate him, but unfortunately arrived a step too late, and he got away.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Heh, I haven’t yet confirmed his exact identity, but supposedly his martial skill is formidable, quite dangerous.” Wenren Bu’er looked at him. “You dealt a heavy blow to the Yongle rebels’ cause — if he’s come looking for you, his intentions surely aren’t friendly. Do you need me to assign you more men?”

Ning Yi laughed. “There have been more than one or two supposedly formidable fighters who’ve died at our hands already — why so nervous, Brother Wenren? A remnant of Fang La’s forces… he’s already a defeated enemy. Whoever it is, I don’t think we need to make such a fuss over it.”

Wenren Bu’er said, “I just worry about causing an incident here in the capital. You know how the Yongle affair is wrapping up right now — this is actually the most sensitive time of all, with the Ministry of Justice looking into things very closely… After a while longer, once everyone who needs to be dealt with has been dealt with, there won’t be any need to worry about this sort of thing anymore.”

He rested both hands on the terrace railing as he said this, then let out a breath. Ning Yi looked at him, puzzled. “What exactly do you mean by that, Brother Wenren?”

The two of them exchanged a look for a moment; Wenren Bu’er spread his hands and shrugged. “I don’t really know what I’m saying myself, but let’s just say you understand.”

Ning Yi affected a thoughtful expression. He understood well enough the warning implicit in Wenren Bu’er’s words, but regardless of the friendship between them, on a matter of this kind — of political standing — only a naive, hot-blooded young man would openly acknowledge such an unspoken understanding. The two of them exchanged veiled hints back and forth for a while; Wenren Bu’er couldn’t quite read what this consistently inscrutable young man was thinking, and before long, he changed the subject.

After parting with Wenren Bu’er, Ning Yi headed toward the back of Sunset Glow Pavilion to find Li Shishi.

He’d already seen Shishi once earlier; her demeanor had seemed entirely normal at the time, and since the corridor lighting hadn’t been particularly bright, Ning Yi hadn’t noticed anything amiss. The performances that followed had shown her at her usual best, fully living up to her title as the capital’s foremost courtesan queen — the rumor of her being beaten yesterday was likely untrue, or at least exaggerated. Still, having heard about it, Ning Yi felt he ought to go check on her regardless.

Arriving at the second-floor room where Li Shishi was staying, he found the lamp inside extinguished, everything quiet. He knocked, and her voice came from within: “Who is it?”

“It’s me, Ning Yi.”

“Oh, hold on.”

Someone rose inside the room; a light flickered a few times, and a lamp came on. When the door opened, a warm, golden glow spilled out. It was indeed Li Shishi who opened the door, still dressed in her performance costume — a long robe of white with black trim, embroidered with red plum blossoms. The robes worn by both men and women at this time were mostly of the connected, one-piece long-robe style, somewhat resembling Han-style clothing, but for the sake of performance, this one had been cinched at the waist with a sash to accentuate her figure, and trimmed with layered lace, giving the robe the appearance of a slightly unfurling flower — elegant and slender. Her makeup had evidently been removed already, her smile appearing plain and unadorned; her bangs swept to one side, her long hair gathered loosely, still retaining a graceful, refined air.

“Come in, Liheng.”

“The performance is almost over, so I thought I’d come check on you. Where’s your maid?”

“Sent off to tidy things up. I’m alone.”

Only a single lamp burned in the room, its light somewhat dim; the front window actually offered a side view of the hall’s performances, currently opened a small crack, with a chair set beside it — clearly, having finished performing, Shishi had been sitting alone in this darkened room, watching the audience herself. Once Ning Yi entered, Shishi invited him to sit by the table, then pulled over the tea tray and began pouring water.

“Let me do it.”

Ning Yi reached to take over, but the woman shot him a glance. “Who’s better suited to this? Naturally I should do it. By the way, I was just watching those two men tell jokes from in here — quite entertaining…” Saying this, she gave a faint smile.

Ning Yi studied her expression carefully; though the light was dim, he could just make out what seemed to be some slight swelling on the left side of her face. “Does Shishi enjoy this sort of thing too?”

“I love it. A few of those tricks were quite fun too. I hear all of this was something you came up with, Liheng?”

Having poured the tea, Shishi sat down and discussed the performance outside with him for a while. As the finest performer in Bianliang’s profession, she naturally had authority to speak on how a show had gone — though amid her praise, she also subtly slipped in a note of caution.

Tonight’s performance, in truth, could hardly be called refined — certainly not in the style most fashionable among cultured men of letters. Among the various acts, the magic tricks resembled acrobatics, but acrobatics were generally a kind of hard-earned physical skill, the sort that required contorting one’s body from childhood; a performer might spend over a decade mastering a single technique, and yet it would still be classified among the lower trades. However elegant and composed a presentation Ning Yi had tried to give the little magic tricks he’d had people practice, they could still easily be seen as frivolous, unsuited to any refined occasion.

As for cross-talk routines meant to draw laughs, those seemed even less likely to hold up in grand company. Given Li Shishi’s familiarity with the world of scholars and literati, she’d naturally spotted the underlying concern after watching, and gently offered her hints.

Though well-versed in the world and eloquent in conversation, in Ning Yi’s eyes, she still carried something of a girlish quality, by later-era standards. Having heard her out, Ning Yi nodded, accepting the point humbly. “Still, the Bamboo Records shops were never meant to aim for the high-end market to begin with. Actually, I’d rather hope the crowd it draws leans somewhat vulgar and worldly — that’s not a problem at all.”

“Oh?” Li Shishi looked somewhat puzzled.

“Heh, Bamboo Records isn’t taking the high-end route — I’ll be aiming more for the middle, or even lower end of the market. And paired with Bamboo Records, there’s a whole lot more business to weave together… Though for now, these are all just ideas, hard to say much more about yet. I just want to build as broad an influence as possible.” Having said this, he paused slightly. “Oh, by the way — what exactly happened yesterday at the Grand Marshal’s residence, with Gao Mu’en?”

Li Shishi blinked, momentarily startled. “That fellow — did he come here to make trouble?”

“Not yet. I just heard something about it.”

“It’s nothing.” Shishi cradled her teacup, smiling, her fingers slender and fair. “He… he didn’t dare touch me. I’ve been in this profession for so many years — there’s always a way to handle these things.”

“That slap mark on your face doesn’t say much for that.”

Shishi tilted her head with a smile. “Are you hoping to get some payback for me, Liheng?”

“Heh, I’m afraid I wouldn’t have much luck against Gao Mu’en, honestly…” Ning Yi said with a smile, though his regard for the woman before him grew a little warmer still.

Those who lived in this world of pleasure and performance understood the human heart better than anyone. Had she simply said “you don’t need to worry about me” right then, most men would find it hard to let the matter drop, feeling obligated to take it up regardless. But by instead asking “do you want to get payback for me?” she generally put people at ease — a sign that the other party genuinely had her own interests in mind.

Having said this, Shishi shook her head. “The Grand Marshal’s residence draws its power from the current Emperor’s favor. I know you’re capable, Liheng, but honestly, there’s no need to dwell on this matter. You’re capable, but I’m quite capable myself too. The name Li Shishi may carry the title of courtesan queen, but if someone thinks well of you, that’s simply how it is; if they don’t show you the proper respect, you’re still, in the end, just a woman of the pleasure houses. I’ve faced plenty of difficult situations over the years — this isn’t the first slap I’ve taken, nor the first beating. Sometimes I’ve been forced to drink until I vomited, and had to smile prettily even as I did it. Yesterday at the Grand Marshal’s residence, that young master got carried away with his own arrogance, but the Grand Marshal himself called him to heel, and I managed to slip away in the confusion. Since I got away, it’s all fine now.”

She looked up at Ning Yi, her eyes carrying both amusement and genuine earnestness. “If this had happened to someone else, I might’ve played the pitiable victim a bit. But you and Hezhong, Liheng — you’re different from the rest. You’re among the very few friends I have. And you’re a man of the world, Liheng, so I’ll just be honest with you. I’m a courtesan queen, you’re a great merchant — you’ll understand.”

She spoke with an air of ease and naturalness, though there was something different about it compared to their past exchanges — clearly, yesterday’s incident had left some lingering effect on her after all. Ning Yi thought it over, but didn’t try to force the matter, simply nodding. After a moment, he said with a smile, “The most troublesome thing about this Gao Mu’en fellow is that whatever price you’d pay to take him down, in the end it never feels worth it — and yet somehow he still manages to cause endless trouble for people.”

The remark struck her as amusing, and Li Shishi laughed. “How did you come to cross him in the first place, though? You’d best be careful.”

“There are ways to handle it.” Ning Yi nodded. “But aside from your face, nothing else got hurt, I hope? It looks fairly bad — I can’t believe I didn’t notice earlier.”

Shishi shook her head. “Nothing else. And it’s not even that serious.”

“It’s been a full day and night and it still hasn’t faded — no need to keep putting on a brave face.”

“It’s not because it’s serious.” Shishi reached up and tapped her cheek, smiling faintly. “It’s because my skin is delicate.”

This was the first time Ning Yi had discovered this playful side to Li Shishi.

The two chatted a while longer after that, and Ning Yi didn’t bring up the Gao Mu’en matter again — Li Shishi clearly took this as a sign that he’d taken her advice to heart. In a society with such starkly defined class distinctions, people found it far easier to accept the reality that circumstances simply outweigh individual will — in other words, having been bullied by the Grand Marshal’s residence, one simply endured it, and there was no shame in that.

That evening, as guests gradually took their leave, Gao Mu’en, who’d sworn he’d come smash the place up, never did appear. Returning home, Song Yongping guessed that Ning Yi had likely nipped the matter in the bud somehow, and found himself viewing his brother-in-law with a certain newfound sense of inscrutability. Ning Yi himself, for his part, didn’t quite understand the situation either — in truth, neither of them had realized the truth of the matter wasn’t complicated at all. Just as Ning Yi had judged it not worth the cost of taking Gao Mu’en down, Gao Mu’en, in turn, judged it not worth the cost of provoking Ning Yi either.

“That guy’s a walking disaster!” That evening, addressing a group of dissolute young noblemen he’d gathered together, Gao Mu’en was rather candid about it. “I’ve been cooped up at home for half a year! Finally I’m out, brothers! Ever since I ran into that Ning Liheng fellow, nothing good’s ever come my way! Taking him down would be easy enough, but if it stirs up more trouble — I’ve only been out one day! Haven’t even had a chance to enjoy myself with a woman yet, and if I get locked up again, I’ll die!” He spread his hands. “Tell me — do I look like an idiot to you all?!”

Perhaps because he clearly didn’t look the part, no one answered the question right away. In truth, dissolute young noblemen were usually more a case of excessive self-regard combined with limited worldview — genuine idiots among them were actually rather rare. Having used Li Shishi as his pretext at home, declaring he wanted to make trouble for Ning Yi, Gao Mu’en had finally gotten Gao Qiu’s tacit permission to go out — and he had no wish to get locked right back up again. That evening, he pooled ideas with the group and decided to become a clever mastermind, striking from the shadows without ever being discovered.

Before long, the group had come up with all sorts of ideas, then happily went off to enjoy some women instead…