"I'm afraid I still have to stay at the Bai Mansion for the time being and cannot get away. I will keep an eye on matters regarding Jinlan Cottage, so you needn't worry. Let us at Tingyu Pavilion focus on doing our own part first. As for you, just take charge of the inn's daily operations. Regarding how our competitors are doing, let us wait and watch how things unfold."
"Understood."
After Wenxin left, Yuling couldn't help feeling a bit unsettled. Truth be told, she hadn't the faintest idea who their opponent sacred or profane might be, but to open an inn directly opposite Tingyu Pavilion—that was nothing short of a blatant provocation.
Returning to her room for a meal, she realized she had ordered the wrong dishes; she should have ordered a double-boiled black-bone chicken soup with golden fish maw. Her currently vacant brain truly needed some serious nourishment.
No, she had to go talk to Steward Zhao; she simply must have her meal supplemented today.
Just as she reached the main hall, before even stepping inside, she heard the heavy sound of a porcelain teacup and saucer smashing onto the floor, followed by a succession of Bai Molian's angry, disgruntled shouts.
The hall doors were wide open, and standing sideways at the entrance, she peered inside to see his trusted aide, Zhuiyun, half-kneeling on the ground with his hands cupped in front of him, repeatedly calling it his own lapse and begging their exalted Commander of the Capital Guard for punishment.
Standing off to the side was the plump Steward Zhao, as quiet as a cicada in winter, not daring to utter a sound.
Yuling waited at the entrance for a moment. Only when the conversation inside died down and the man's anger had subsided did she show herself, giving a symbolic knock on the door frame.
He glanced toward the door and dismissed the other two.
"Young Master Bai has finally returned, or should I call you the Commander of the Capital Guard instead? With your busy military duties, it's inevitable that a busy man would forget things, but this has really made a wretched mess of me. My East City inn has just opened, and now I'm afraid I must bid farewell to the Bai Mansion."
The man's handsome face, just relaxing from its softened expression, took on a sharper edge once more. He adjusted his tone, reining in all signs of displeasure, and said, "That simply won't do. For the past half month, military affairs at the Palace Guard Command have been overwhelming, and I've been constantly stationed there unable to leave. Now that I finally have some free time, I was just planning to find a moment to take you out to tour the wine houses, tea shops, and pleasure quarters of West City. Besides, since your Tingyu Pavilion has only just opened, the competitive pressure from the East City inn is rather significant. Touring West City more, learning the ropes from the proprietors of the major establishments, and drawing inspiration from their business philosophies and experiences can surely do you no harm at all. What do you say?"
Listening to this earnest counsel of his, Yuling fell silent.
Seeing that she made no sound, he drew closer to her in his moon-white gauze brocade robe and continued coaxing, "Why don't you accompany me tomorrow to Luyin Pavilion, the largest training house in West City? The pavilion recruits young women year-round to study musical tuning, teaching song, dance, and banquet music. On one hand, it cultivates talent for performances on the stages of the pleasure quarters; on the other hand, a tiny fraction of its most accomplished students are sent to the imperial court's training house to perform music before the emperor. When their twenty-year term expires and they return home, they are naturally bestowed with glory, wealth, and prosperity. Most commoner women in the city practice music, song, and dance bitterly, hoping that one day they might fly up the branches to become phoenixes."
"It sounds quite interesting. On this outing, is the Commander of the Capital Guard merely intending to add flowers to the brocade for my Tingyu Pavilion?"
Her eyes shone brightly, even more dazzling than the morning glow, making her look precisely like a mischievous little celestial fairy.
How could he bear to let this fairy gather dust.
The man slowly replied, a trace of a smile mixed in his voice, "Naturally not. This time, I am hoping that Little Lady Yuling will provide some timely help in the snow for me. Emissaries from the Khitan of the Liao State have recently been visiting the Central Plains, and our court suspects they harbor ill intentions. A welcoming banquet has been scheduled for tomorrow at Luyin Pavilion in West City, and the following day the City Lord will personally receive the Khitan emissaries, respectfully inviting them into the imperial palace to have an audience with the Son of Heaven."
"What does this matter have to do with me?"
"I am currently in need of a fresh and refined beauty to attend alongside me. Seeing that Little Lady Yuling possesses such fairy-like beauty—as natural as a lotus rising from clear water, without a trace of artificial adornment—as long as you are willing to nod, you will surely dazzle everyone present and eclipse all other flowers on that day."
"I never expected the Commander of the Capital Guard to possess such a discerning eye and such a silver tongue. In that case, I cannot refuse. I must also ask you to introduce the proprietor of Luyin Pavilion to me when the time comes."
He smiled, quite naturally reaching out to stroke Yuling's head with a doting tone in his voice, "Naturally."
The next day, Luyin Pavilion in West City.
Early in the morning, banquets, fruits, pastries, dishes, and green tea were all prepared at Luyin Pavilion. Most of the military officers from the Palace Guard Command and the Imperial Guard Command arrived one after another to attend the banquet. As noon approached, all the military officers of our court were seated, waiting for the Khitan emissaries to enter and take their places.
"The Khitan emissaries have arrived—"
Everyone stood up to welcome them as a group of rugged men dressed in narrow-sleeved long robes and black boots approached. At the front of the pavilion, they removed their girdles and sabers one by one, keeping only the small personal sabers attached to their sashes before swaggering into the hall.
After taking their seats, representatives from both sides exchanged polite pleasantries.
An attendant in the pavilion shouted at the top of his lungs, "The banquet begins—"
A group of maidservants dressed in colorful damask and silk filed in one after another, serving fine wine, tea snacks, pastries, and Central Plains specialty delicacies to each table.
Amidst the mingling of goblets and the music of strings and woodwinds, a closer look revealed that the first floor of the pavilion was a banquet hall for distinguished guests, while the four sides of the second floor each had four chambers screened by crystal bead curtains and light gauze. Melodious sounds of various stringed instruments drifted out from within, suggesting that the women sitting inside must be the most accomplished in zither arts at Luyin Pavilion. The third floor was reserved for VIPs; viewed from outside, heavy purplish-red curtains completely blocked everything inside, presumably serving as honorable seats reserved for imperial relatives and nobility.
The pavilion pavilion designated for receiving the Khitan emissaries was located in the northeast corner of Luyin Pavilion. Surrounded by water on all four sides at the center of the lake, the view from the height of the third floor leaning against the railing must surely be magnificent and vast.
At the banquet, Yuling sat on the eastern side dressed in a white gauze gown, closely accompanied by Bai Molian in a light blue silk robe.
The leader of the Khitan emissaries in the opposite seat glanced lingeringly at Yuling, then said to Bai Molian, "Is this clear and lovely beauty the wife of the Commander of the Capital Guard? She truly has a striking appearance. Bianjing is truly worthy of being the Celestial Empire. I have come to the capital to pay tribute by order of the Khan. Men, bring out our Great Liao's congratulatory gifts."
Several Khitan subordinates carried in several huge wooden chests. When opened, they contained a total of three chests of agate and two chests of crystal.
"In addition, there are twenty heavenly horses of the blood-sweating breed, and over fifty thousand catties of frankincense and sundries. They are currently stationed at the post station in the suburbs of West City, guarded by my subordinates, and will soon be presented to the Son of Heaven as tribute along with these gifts."
"On behalf of our Celestial Empire, I offer my deepest thanks to the Khan. Tomorrow, the Grand Marshal of the Palace Guard of West City will accompany you into the palace to meet the Son of Heaven. Today, since the emissaries have had a long and tiring journey, you may freely drink and eat meat to your heart's content. After the banquet, you can rest well in the pavilion for the night. Early tomorrow morning, the Grand Marshal will naturally send his trusted aides to receive you."
"Then my people gratefully accept."
As a piece of music came to an end, eighteen young women dressed in green gowns entered the banquet one by one, pouring wine for every table before the guests.
After a few cups of fine wine, the rugged Khitan head emissary's dark face began to flush. He reached out to pull the beautiful woman with alluring eyes sitting before him into his arms, and the woman cooperated by continuing to pour wine down his throat.
Presumably, the man was truly drunk, growing so bold that he cast his gaze toward the fairy in white seated opposite them and uttered wild words once more: "What skills does this fairy possess? Why not display some of them during the banquet so that ignoramuses like us may also feast our eyes?"
Full of spirited indignation, Yuling retorted sharply, "I certainly don't possess the zither skills of the fairies at Luyin Pavilion, nor do I have any talent for dancing. If you truly wish to listen, I can recite a famous lyric by a contemporary lyricist of our court, though we will still need Brother Bai to summon a woman accomplished in the pipa arts to accompany me on the instrument, so that these Khitan emissaries may appreciate the majesty and splendor of our great Celestial Empire."
The elegant man's face darkened slightly. He initially wanted to decline, but knowing Yuling's stubborn nature, he realized he could never persuade her otherwise. Moreover, since the words had already reached this point, he had no choice but to instruct Miaohuan, the matron in charge of Luyin Pavilion, telling her to send down the woman with the most exquisite musical artistry in their pavilion to provide accompaniment.
This task naturally fell upon Miaoxian, the chief female disciple of Luyin Pavilion. Dressed in a thin gauze robe, she gracefully descended from a room on the second floor, a cyan hairpin pinned in her temples, holding a large black sandalwood pipa in her arms. With a slight smile, she took her seat right in the middle of the banquet.
The clear notes began: "What lyric would the young lady like to recite? Let me ponder the musical tune to accompany you."
A wave of joy washed over Yuling. Although this woman's face was veiled in light gauze, she carried herself with poise and grace, bringing Yuling an inexplicable sense of comfort, ease, peace, and delight.
She truly liked this woman's quiet and composed temperament.
After staring blankly for a moment and pondering for a few breaths, she spoke: "Let's go with Yan Shu's 'Butterflies in Love with Flowers'."
"Then I shall match it with a grand and desolate tune. What does the young lady think?"
"Splendid."
Yuling's clear voice was tinged with a sorrowful depth of emotion: "The chrysanthemums by the fence fret in sorrow, the orchids shed tears of dew; the silk curtains feel a light chill, and a pair of swallows flies away."
The pipa player gently plucked the strings, and ethereal strings-and-woodwinds music slipped out, drifting into the empty air.
"Last night the west wind withered the green trees; alone I ascended the high tower, gazing out at the road that reaches the end of the horizon. Wishing to send painted paper along with a letter, yet mountains are long and waters are vast—who knows where you are?"
The song ended, and the sound of the strings lingered around the beams, truly giving the sensation of lasting for three days.
Yuling was deeply shaken by the sound of the pipa. A notion unexpectedly sprouted in her heart that she, too, should learn a mastery of zither music as flowing and melodious as water.
"Such a beautiful lyric and such a mournful tune! Truly peerless! We crude men have indeed had a taste of Bianjing's flourishing splendor." Changing the subject, the Khitan emissary began to talk about other prosperous sights and objects of Bianjing: "Aside from beauties, fine wine, magnificent lyrics, and exquisite tunes, I've heard the capital possesses countless rare treasures. In addition to Shu brocade, gold and silver, famous calligraphy and paintings, and countless antique porcelains, there are also many rare items passed down through the millennia. I once heard an elder of my clan speak of a legendary ancient divine artifact known as the 'Kongming Mirror' that was lost in the Central Plains. Speaking of which, it is related to a great battle when Western Xia invaded Bianjing twenty years ago."
"The Kongming Mirror? As the Commander of the Capital Guard, I have truly never heard of such an item. The emissary must surely be drunk and babbling nonsense. Qing'er, help the emissaries back to their guest rooms to rest. We must rise early for the tribute presentation tomorrow; the emissaries should rest as early as possible."
The eighteen youthful maidservants each supported an emissary, leading them out of the pavilion toward the guest rooms of Luyin Pavilion.
The chief envoy, overcome by heavy intoxication, closed his mouth upon seeing this and obediently followed the beauties away to rest.