Xuanqing Guard-Chapter 56: The Eccentric

Late at night, Wen Xiuyun returned to her boudoir looking somewhat tired. There had been a banquet tonight, which she accompanied until just now.

She slipped out of her elegant long dress, removed the ornaments from her hair, and sat in front of the dressing table, gazing absentmindedly into the copper mirror. Suddenly, as if recalling something, her charming face flushed red in an instant, the blush spreading all the way to her neck.

"Miss, I’ve prepared hot water—why don’t you have a soak to ease the fatigue?"

"Ah! Oh, all right."

Unlike other songstresses, Wen Xiuyun didn’t live inside the Brocade Pavilion, but resided in a small, separate courtyard behind it. Everything from the rooms to the furnishings had been arranged according to her tastes—this was her little nest.

Her maid, Xiaobi, was a fellow townsman, three years younger and only fourteen this year. Young as she was, her hands were deft and her looks inviting of pity. Wen Xiuyun, worried she would suffer losses, had insisted on keeping her here to prevent her from being sent out to entertain clients too soon.

With all her makeup removed, Wen Xiuyun draped herself in a thin veil and entered the bathing chamber. She reached out to test the water, found it just right, then took off the veil and sank herself into the bath.

"Miss, today I mixed in some Soul Fragrance Grass, hehe, I wonder how fragrant you’ll be after the bath!"

"Save a little of the Soul Fragrance Grass, or Mrs. Chen will scold me again next month for being too extravagant."

"Hmph! Mrs. Chen is so stingy! Miss, you earn so much silver for the house, and she can’t even spare a little Soul Fragrance Grass. I really don’t like her!"

Wen Xiuyun gently tapped Xiaobi’s head, laughing, "One mace of Soul Fragrance Grass costs one hundred taels of silver, and each bath takes at least three maces. Do you really think that’s cheap? If it weren’t for training, I’d feel guilty about bathing at all—it’s like throwing silver into the water."

Xiaobi, unconvinced, retorted, "What! I always put four maces in for you, Miss. Training is important—only by raising your cultivation can you get a higher grade, earn even more money, and if you reach Third Grade, Mrs. Chen won’t dare threaten you with the contract anymore!"

"Third Grade? Heh, it’s not that easy. And even if I really reach Third Grade, who knows what will happen then?"

Generally speaking, once a songstress attained Third Grade, the Flower House’s control over her would be greatly weakened. Songstresses at this level could easily buy their own freedom—a kind of escape many songstresses dreamed of.

However, most Third-Grade songstresses came from major Flower Houses with powerful backing, and even then, they seldom dared to cut ties easily. At best, they gained a few more choices in life.

After all, a Third-Grade songstress is a money tree—who would let go so easily?

"Miss, you’re acting a bit strange today."

"Am I?"

"You came back much later than usual, and when you were taking off your makeup, you stared into space for a long time—all shy. Did you perhaps meet some handsome young man today?"

Although they were mistress and maid, being close in age and from the same hometown made them more like sisters, so they spoke without much reservation.

"Ah! You wicked little thing, what nonsense are you saying? Be careful or I’ll spank you!"

"You’re not getting the chance! Miss, look, you’re blushing again—there must be something!"

Wen Xiuyun, unable to grab this little girl while soaking in the tub unclothed, could only blush all the more.

"Miss, come on, tell me, who did you see today?"

"...A strange man."

"Strange? In what way—looks odd or talks weird?"

Talking about the parade of men who came and went in Wen Xiuyun’s memories was a little secret the two always shared, but Wen Xiuyun was rarely this hesitant.

"It was the Black Banner Battalion Commander of the Xuanqing Guard—Shen Hao."

"Wow! Miss, you met Shen Hao?! That day in the East Market, he presided over an execution, and I was too scared to go see it. They say the one supervising was this Shen Zongqi. I heard his eyes are like bronze bells, he stands eight feet tall, his arms are thicker than most men’s waists, and he has a cleft lip and a mouth full of sharp teeth—one glance could scare a person to tears! Was it true?"

"Pfft! Nonsense! Who could look like that? Shen Zongqi is very young—better looking than most gentlemen I’ve seen, and he’s got an air of valor about him. Even his voice is pleasant to listen to... Hey! Why are you laughing? If you laugh again, I’m not telling you any more!"

"I’m not laughing, not at all. Please, Miss, continue. Since Shen Zongqi is so good-looking, why do you call him strange?"

"Hmph, good-looking or not, he’s still strange. As soon as I entered, he roused his True Qi to drive off the charm skill I’d dispersed on myself, as if he thought I meant to harm him."

"Wow! There are people like that? Then why did he come to Brocade Pavilion—was he inexperienced?"

"Pah! If you keep talking like Mrs. Chen, I’ll really smack you!"

"Hehe, please go on, Miss."

"Later, I performed for them. After I finished, everyone else praised me, but he just smiled without commenting—giving that ’just so-so’ look, which was infuriating to see."

Xiaobi furrowed her brows, indignant: "Outrageous! Miss, with your unmatched talent in both song and zither, and yet that Shen fellow can’t appreciate it?!"

"I was a bit annoyed too and asked if he wasn’t satisfied with my performance—can you guess what he said?"

"What did he say?"

"He said I sang very well, but the song itself wasn’t up to par."

"So, what songs did you sing tonight, Miss?"

"’Tonight’s Farewell,’ ’Meng Hanshan,’ and ’Don’t Forget.’"

"What?! Those three are Meng Qianxun’s masterpieces—everyone says they sound heavenly! Shen Hao must be deaf!"

Seeing Xiaobi so worked up, Wen Xiuyun could not help but smile. She knew full well that Meng Qianxun was Xiaobi’s idol, so she nodded: "Mm-hmm, I almost lost my temper and scolded him. I pressed him—if these classics weren’t to his taste, what did he think was good enough? Let’s hear it, I said."

"Hahaha, right, right! That must’ve left Shen Hao speechless, right?"

Xiaobi pictured Shen Hao’s comeuppance in her mind, laughing with glee.

But Wen Xiuyun shook her head, "That’s the strange part—he really did have a song better than those three, much better in fact. It’s the finest piece I’ve ever known, without exception."

"Huh?! Wait, Miss, what did you just say? I didn’t catch it."

"I said, he truly had a song better than those three, and it’s the best I’ve ever heard."

"Impossible!"

"Hmph, you don’t believe me?"

"No, I do not!"

"Fine, when I finish bathing, I’ll play it for you."

Half an hour later, Wen Xiuyun sat clad in a gauzy gown, hair loose, looking languid with a rosy glow from her bath. She seated herself before the zither, and let her hand gently rest on the strings...

From the very first note, the melody was cold and desolate, as if a young woman wandered pensively along a riverbank in chilly autumn. The scenery was lovely, yet her mind brimmed with endless thoughts.

Then, with Wen Xiuyun’s singing, Xiaobi’s eyes went wide with amazement at the opening line:

"The lotus scent fades, jade mat turns cold in autumn; lightly untying silk robes, I board the orchid boat alone."

"Who, through the clouds, will send brocade letters?"

"When the wild geese return, moon fills the western tower."

"Flowers drift, water flows—one kind of longing, two places weighed by sorrow."

"This feeling—no way to dispel; just left my brows, only to invade my heart again."

...

Ps: "A Cut of Plum," by Li Qingzhao. Song: Faye Wong version.