Chapter 50
As the Shenwu Army passed and the ebony carriage approached, Yuli instantly let out a sigh of relief.
The carriage was surrounded on all four sides by dark red gauze curtains. The person inside was only a dark silhouette. Even someone who saw him every day would not be able to picture his face.
Only then did Yuli dare to look out. On the bustling street, men, women, old, and young were all vying to catch a glimpse of the Shenwu Army’s style. Some people shouted things like “great victory” and “triumphant return.”
The young ladies looked at them, some shy, some enthusiastic. A few of them wanted to throw the flowers or handkerchiefs in their hands, but they were a little intimidated by their cold, hard black armor and didn’t dare to be too presumptuous. Seeing a handkerchief fly out from the side, they finally mustered up the courage and threw theirs out with their companions.
The Shenwu Army’s expressions were always stern. They would occasionally glance at the crowd, then turn back and look straight ahead. But some of the thin-skinned ones had red ears.
When the regent’s carriage passed, everyone reined themselves in and didn’t dare to be presumptuous. The carriage rolled over the handkerchiefs and bouquets on the ground. No one dared to throw anything at it, and even the people who were shouting loudly fell silent.
The voices downstairs quieted down a lot. Yuli turned her gaze back, pretended to drink tea, and looked around. Everyone had put away their casualness, not daring to expose too much of their bodies, and bowed slightly, for fear of appearing too disrespectful and being seen by the person inside. This included Lizhen, who had just spoken well of the new dynasty.
For a moment, Yuli became the most conspicuous one. She wanted to follow the crowd and show respect, but she was not used to it. She was half a beat slow, and it was as if a gaze had fallen on her, making her feel uncomfortable all over.
The carriage quickly passed. Yuli secretly glanced at it. It must have been her imagination.
But on second thought, he had known she was here long ago. It was impossible for him not to look at her.
And on another thought, so what if he looked? Had he not seen her enough?
The carriage was completely gone, and this place became lively again. Everyone started talking and laughing again, tacitly pretending that the silence just now had never happened.
After the Shenwu Army had passed, it was the celebration of the Welcoming Summer Festival. The bailiffs put away their long sticks, and after letting the crowd go, they withdrew.
Many people continued to surge south, as if they wanted to see the Shenwu Army out of the city, but most of them stayed and continued to celebrate the festival.
Yuli was relieved. Good, she could continue to live this life where she could be her own master.
As for how long she could continue, Yuli didn’t dare to think about it. She could only cherish her current life even more.
The Welcoming Summer Festival was a festival to welcome the sun and nature. Yuli had never heard of it in her past life, but she saw many special foods on the street. Ancient festivals were always related to some special delicious food.
The young ladies, on the other hand, treated this festival as a day to show off their figures. Because the weather had completely warmed up, they had shed their spring clothes and changed into light and airy summer clothes.
By this window, Yuli and the others were a little dazzled by the sight of the graceful beauties.
Many young ladies were wearing slightly transparent silk upper garments. Some wore a bright half-sleeve jacket, while others didn’t even have a half-sleeve jacket. They wore red, yellow, and green skirts, and adorned their hair with various fresh flowers. They talked and laughed with their companions, full of the fresh taste of early summer.
Yuli also saw a woman in men’s clothing in the crowd. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be the third young lady of the Lu family. Besides her, there were other people she didn’t recognize.
“Look there, are they learning from the Mistress?” the two apprentices on the side said a little louder.
“Definitely. I’ve never seen it in previous years!”
Yuli saw that those women were all young girls in their teens. It shouldn’t be that their husbands had forced them to wear them to avoid suspicion.
Xie Yao’s action to prevent her from being coveted had unexpectedly led to imitation. Yuli couldn’t help but smile.
Half an hour later, the main event finally reached Wangxian Tower.
It was the top courtesans of the various brothels in Pingkang Fang who were parading through the streets. Yuli had only learned from Jingyu that this was a reserved program unique to the capital.
At first, it was a dancer who went out in a sedan chair on the day of the Welcoming Summer Festival. Because she was extremely beautiful and had an exquisite figure, she had caused a stir when she went around Zhuque Street. The news spread like wildfire, and a crowd gathered, eventually causing a traffic jam. The government had to step in to disperse the people.
That dancer also became famous, and her price doubled. Even the brothel she was in made a fortune.
The next year, all the songstresses and dancers vied to imitate her, dressing up meticulously. The sedan chairs also became more and more transparent, and finally became flat human palanquins without a top or four walls.
Now it has become a custom. The locals will come to join in the fun, and people from other places will even choose this time of year to come to the capital to feast their eyes.
The human palanquins of the various brothels came slowly one after another. Yuli and the others saw the custom-made one-zhang-square human palanquin from a distance, which could accommodate five people with room to spare.
Yuli had no heart to look at the other brothels and just waited for them to come.
The Chunxiao Tower’s flower palanquin was approaching. Before they could see the people on it clearly, they heard a clamor of voices. It turned out that there was a crowd around the flower palanquin. There were too many onlookers, and the porters could not move an inch.
Finally, they came closer, and Yuli saw the people clearly.
Yingniang was in the center, wearing a green skirt and a bright red peony. Her phoenix eyes were flowing, noble and cold, making one’s heart flutter at the sight.
The others were of all shapes and sizes. The one in a white skirt wore a camellia, the one in a yellow skirt wore a peony, and the one in a blue skirt wore a gradient peony…
Each of them revealed a large patch of snow-white skin below their necks. Their upper garments were as thin as transparent. They wore heavy makeup, their chignons were exquisite, and their dark hair was like a cloud. But they all only wore the flowers sent from Huayan Fang.
They complemented each other. The flowers were beautiful, and the people were beautiful. It was hard to tell if the flowers enhanced the people or the people enhanced the flowers.
In the crowd of onlookers along the road, there were both men and women. Countless flowers were thrown. The five people on top maintained a dignified or noble air, maintaining a temperament similar to the flowers.
It was simply breathtaking, and one could not get enough of it.
In the midst of the clamor, Yuli heard someone in the window on the second floor discussing.
A female voice said, “The flowers they are wearing are so beautiful! They don’t look like real flowers, nor are they silk flowers. Who on earth made them? I really want to buy one.”
A male voice said, “But they are songstresses and dancers. Why lower your status?”
The female voice paused. “But they are beautiful.”
The male voice laughed. “If you want it, just buy it.”
Then he ordered someone, “Go and find out which jewelry workshop their flowers are from.”
Everyone on the third floor held their breath and listened to this conversation. After listening, they looked at each other and all wanted to laugh. Afraid of disturbing the potential customers, they just pursed their lips, their eyes bright.
Yuli held the railing excitedly. Yes, what business war, what prejudice, they were all empty. In business, the product is king. In jewelry, beauty is king!
The entire third floor was filled with excitement and joy. Xiyun and Jingyu stood together, looking at the handsome men and beautiful women in the crowd. She whispered to her, “It seems that our dream of starting our own household is really possible. Do you know, Jingyu, when I was in the county magistrate’s house in Xihe County, the best way out was to marry a house-born servant in the residence when I reached the right age, or to marry a house-born servant in the young master’s house after accompanying the young lady in her dowry. I originally thought that was fine, but now, I can actually become a free person with my own house. What kind of person I want to marry, and how I will live in the future, is all up to me.”
Xiyun’s eyes curved into a smile, and the lively crowd in her eyes shone with all kinds of colors. “When I have money, I will recruit a husband. He must be good-looking, have a good temperament, and be gentle and considerate. It doesn’t matter if he is a little poor. I can earn money. He can just take care of the house or have his own career that he is devoted to.”
If it were before, Jingyu might have thought she was daydreaming. But now, seeing everyone’s hopeful and expectant look, she suddenly had a delusion too.
Xiyun suddenly held her shoulder and said, “You can too! As long as you tell the Mistress that you want to be freed or start your own household, the Mistress will surely agree.”
Jingyu was in a daze.
“If you’re too embarrassed, I’ll help you say it.” Jingyu’s smile suddenly became a little heavy. Xiyun comforted her, “Don’t worry, I just need to hint a little, and the Mistress will understand. When she comes to ask you, you just have to agree.”
Xiyun spoke of the details, and Jingyu seemed to really see that day. As long as she pleaded on the spot, the Mistress would mention it to the master. With just a word or a nod from the master, she could break free from all the oppression that was suffocating her.
Everything in the Duke’s Residence, including that legal wife who clearly hated her to the core but still pretended to be benevolent, would no longer be able to touch her in the slightest. She could also, like Xiyun, be the master of the life she wanted to live.
Jingyu looked past Xiyun to Yuli. She was leaning, one hand on the railing, looking at the surging crowd. Her gaze followed the Chunxiao Tower’s human palanquin. Her eyes were full of a calm confidence, and the corners of her lips had a hint of a high-spirited curve, but it was not as flamboyant and unrestrained as a man’s smile.
She was happy for her current achievements, but not complacent. It seemed that she had a greater goal ahead, or that her heart was broad, and she only considered this achievement to be small, far from the point of being complacent.
Jingyu suddenly thought, only she was worthy of standing by the master’s side and holding the supreme position among all the women in the world.
“That Chu fellow is here,” Xiyun suddenly said in a low voice.
Yuli also saw Chu Hong in the crowd. He had only brought one young servant and was looking up at her from downstairs.
She had sent someone to tell him before that she had booked the Wangxian Tower. His arrival at this time was expected.
Yuli turned to the room. “Jingyu, Xiyun, Lizhen, prepare to receive a guest.”
Zhile and the other little girls were still in a daze. The three of them, Lizhen, had already understood. It was time to put up a front.
Yuli turned and sat down, her back to the open window railing. Jingyu and Xiyun were on her left and right. Lizhen wanted to have Zhile and the others stand on either side of the hall, but Yuli stopped her. “No, that’s too pretentious. Just let them go and play by the window.”
Lizhen smiled and agreed, then looked at Ye Weiqing.
He was the only man present and could add some momentum.
“Mr. Ye, just stand there and don’t move,” Yuli said, pointing to a position by the window railing on the right.
Chu Hong went up to the third floor and entered the most spacious hall. The first thing he saw was the gentle and kind Shopkeeper Jiang.
She let him in, neither servile nor overbearing. The room was brightly lit, and all the window sashes facing the street were wide open. Yuli was sitting by the terrace. Her two capable assistants, who had been talking in low voices, stopped smiling when they saw him and stood on either side of Yuli.
To her right, a little further away, was that frail dyer. Chu Hong glanced at him. He had gained a lot of weight since that day and was not so timid anymore. He almost didn’t recognize him and had to match him with his cyan cloth robe.
Chu Hong’s gaze did not linger on the others but turned to Yuli. “Shopkeeper Song.”
Yuli did not get up to greet him. Today was her home ground. Whether to cooperate with Chu Hong or not was not important. She said with a faint smile, “Young Master Chu, please have a seat.”
But Chu Hong did not take a seat. He walked closer to Yuli. “After today, Huayan Fang will surely be famous. Madam Song’s ingenuity is unparalleled in the world, her personality is resilient and unyielding, and she has a generous heart. I, Chu, am completely convinced. If I can do business with Shopkeeper Song, it would be the honor of my life.”
Although she knew that Chu Hong might have the intention of making things easier to talk about after some flattery, Yuli was still very happy to hear it. She smiled faintly and bowed. “Not at all, not at all. You praise me too much.”
Holding power, in high spirits, yet pretending to be modest.
This style is so familiar.
Chu Hong had a bitter smile on his face. He was indeed not worthy of her.
“I, Chu, will be leaving the capital soon. The silk threads of Wanse Fang will resume supply to Huayan Fang. I hope Shopkeeper Song will not dislike it.”
“Oh? Young Master Chu is leaving the capital at this time? Are you going home to inherit the family business and not coming back?” Yuli said with a smile.
Good, she still won this contest. Seeing his expression, he must be going home with his tail between his legs to inherit the family business. He probably won’t get a good position at home.
Chu Hong: “I suppose so.”
Yuli smiled. “Young Master Chu is young and talented. I was thinking of hiring Young Master Chu to be the shopkeeper of my branch store.”
“Really?” Chu Hong’s face lit up, and his haggardness was swept away.
Yuli was secretly happy. He was even willing to do this. It seemed he had really been hit hard.
Yuli couldn’t bear to tease him anymore. “But I don’t want to open a branch store for the time being. We’ll talk about it in the future. If there is a chance in the future, and Young Master Chu is still interested, we can discuss it in detail.”
Chu Hong did indeed have a reason why he had to return to Jiangnan. Although he had been completely defeated by Yuli, all of this was not enough for him to give up.
Two months ago, people from the Ministry of Revenue had come to check the accounts of his Wanse Fang every day. They couldn’t find anything wrong, but they were going to order the shop to close, so that he couldn’t even do business. He had wanted to find the Vice Minister of Revenue but had been turned away several times.
That was not all. At the end of last month, something had also happened to the Chu family in Jiangnan. His eldest uncle had been caught with a handle and was imprisoned. His grandfather had gone to the governor’s office, but unexpectedly, the governor did not even give his grandfather face. In a few days, the matter had become very serious, and all his uncles had been imprisoned.
At this juncture, his grandfather had once again used the family fortune to bail them out and had pleaded with the governor. It was only at a banquet that the governor had said that it was his second Chu who had offended a big shot in the capital.
A letter from home came every day, asking him who he had offended, not knowing the height of the sky. He had wracked his brains and could only think of Shopkeeper Song of Huayan Fang, her mysterious husband, and the seemingly fake but real painting in her shop.
He had a vague guess, but he was not convinced and was unwilling. The letters from home were like a death sentence, telling him to go back immediately. He had held on until the day before yesterday, wanting to have a final word with her before leaving, but had unexpectedly received Yuli’s invitation.
He had held on for a few more days, thinking that he could see that person, at least to let him retreat with a clear conscience. But now it seemed that that person was no longer important. He was completely convinced of his defeat.
Yuli had a few more words with Chu Hong, and they left a good impression on each other. If there was a real chance to cooperate in the future, she would consider it carefully.
Chu Hong also put away his dejection. He just treated it as the last time he would see her. He changed his usual pretense and seemed much more sincere.
After this incident, he also realized that no matter how transcendent one’s status was, integrity was still the most important thing in business.
The atmosphere in the hall was harmonious, and there were occasional whispers and light laughter.
No one noticed that several more figures had appeared behind the curtains of the restaurant opposite.
It was Xie Yao and a few shadow guards, who had changed their clothes and disguise after seeing Du Ling off at the city gate and had come here to accompany Yuli.
The people behind the curtain had excellent eyesight and could see the faces and actions of the people in the hall opposite.
Yuli’s back was clear and bright. She would occasionally turn her face to speak to Xiyun and Jingyu.
Chu Hong was opposite her, his eyes smiling. He would glance at Yuli and then look away, his eyes trembling.
Another man was a little further to her right. Only a side profile could be seen clearly. His gaze, however, was on Yuli’s face and had not moved for a long time.
“Tell me that person’s life story again.”
Song He paused. “Chu Hong, the seventh generation of the Chu clan of Jiangnan…”
“Not him. The other one,” Xie Yao said.
“Ye Weiqing, aged twenty-five, from the secondary capital, unmarried and childless. His parents passed away five years ago. He arrived in the capital three years ago and peddled his paintings among the aristocratic families, but no one was interested. He failed the examination for a court painter at the Hanlin Academy at the beginning of last year and has been selling paintings in the city to make a living, often not having enough to eat, and relying on the help of his neighbors. He is skilled in making pigments and was accidentally met by the Mistress and hired as a dyer,” Song He said.
After that, it was all about the affairs at Huayan Fang. Although the person had received the Mistress’s kindness, he had always been well-behaved and had not committed any transgressions. This, Song He was certain of, as he heard the guards’ reports every day.
“Kill him.”
Song He suddenly looked up and saw that his master’s face was indifferent. The gauze curtain let in a few rays of sunlight, which cast small light spots on his face, but the depths of his eyes were dark and colorless.