The Seventh Year of Shenchu
As Majestic as a Deity
Young Master Liao was not merely speaking casually; he truly donned his fur coat and called the groom to send them back to the opera troupe.
On a winter morning, the entire Taojun City was covered with a layer of cold white frost. Young Master Liao, fearing that Yueniang would be cold, specially had the groom drive the largest carriage, with a charcoal fire inside and a deerskin blanket prepared for her to drape over herself.
Yueniang, being tenderly cared for by Young Master Liao, had her gentle and beautiful eyes almost overflow with a sea of flowers. She nestled in Young Master Liao’s arms, groaning about this ache and that chill for quite a while, clearly making much ado about nothing. Yet, Young Master Liao did not show a single hint of annoyance. No matter how long Yueniang played up, he coaxed her all the while. As they mounted the horse, they recited to each other for a long time, “If you are the dust of the clear road, I am the mud of the turbid water”. When dismounting and about to part, they once again consoled each other with, “Having never parted far, how could one understand the envy of companions”. Inside the carriage, Zhen Wenjun had been sitting at the back serving them. After getting off the carriage, she waited in the icy cold for a long time, yawning incessantly until they finished their affectionate drama.
Standing until her feet were chilled through and her nose was red, the sun nearly reached its zenith before the two finally finished expressing their heartfelt words and parted ways.
As soon as Yueniang returned to the opera troupe, Third Lady Du came to greet her. The two of them huddled together, chattering for a long time in hushed tones to avoid being overheard, occasionally letting out a light exclamation.
Zhen Wenjun was also surrounded by the other young ladies of the opera troupe, who asked her all sorts of questions about Young Master Liao, wondering if he was truly as remarkable as the rumors suggested. Zhen Wenjun told them that she had been outside all night and had not gone inside, so she couldn’t answer their questions. The young ladies then gathered together, slightly jealous, saying that Yueniang was indeed very fortunate to have caught the eye of Young Master Liao. Seeing her so pleased and content, it was clear that she was enjoying her time with him. The chest full of gold and silver jewelry in the courtyard was all gifts from Young Master Liao. If he were to redeem her and take her away, she might very well live a life of wealth and never have to roam the Jianghu again.
Zhen Wenjun, of course, said nothing, but she had her own thoughts.
This Young Master Liao, or Wei Zizhuo, was indeed very good at putting on a show. Not to mention that right after Yueniang left his room, he took advantage of the situation to grope her. Even in the carriage, when he was with Yueniang, whether intentionally or not, his lowering finger brushed against Zhen Wenjun’s knee. This Young Master Liao was definitely not someone to entrust one’s life to.
Precisely because he was so frivolous, Zhen Wenjun saw an opportunity.
The next day, someone came to request Yueniang by name, inviting the opera troupe to perform at their residence. As soon as Yueniang heard this, she immediately started dressing up, but Third Lady Du said that the one requesting was not Young Master Liao. For seven consecutive days, Young Master Liao did not appear again. Yueniang was filled with unease; initially, she had found him somewhat annoying due to his fiery temper, but now that she couldn’t see him, she missed him. No other young master could compare to his handsomeness, wealth, and charm. After another seven days, just as Yueniang was about to pick herself up from disappointment and continue her wandering life in the Jianghu, Young Master Liao reappeared.
The opera troupe was invited to perform again, and once more, the venue was filled with guests. Yueniang sang on stage, while Young Master Liao watched her from a private box, his expression still as infatuated as ever, as if he had not been absent for over ten days.
When the performance ended, Young Master Liao was waiting backstage with a radiant smile. Yueniang rushed over and almost pounded his chest to pieces. He laughed and pulled her into his arms, explaining that he had urgent matters to attend to and left in a hurry without time to inform her. He promised to make it up to her that night.
For two consecutive days, Yueniang did not return from Young Master Liao’s luxurious residence. On the third day, Third Lady Du came to fetch her, and only then did Yueniang reluctantly leave. After resting for a while, she eagerly looked forward to singing again in the evening, but to her surprise, several days passed without any sight of him. She thought Young Master Liao had urgent matters again and left, but upon inquiry, she found out he was still in Taojun City, though he hadn’t requested the Liaoyuan Troupe anymore.
Usually, the young ladies of the Liaoyuan Troupe would wake up to Yueniang’s practice singing early in the morning, but these past few days, even when the sun was high, she was nowhere to be seen. Upon asking around, they found that Yueniang, filled with melancholy, had fallen ill.
Zhen Wenjun picked some herbs to replenish her energy and went to visit her. When she saw her, Yueniang was sitting on the bed, looking lost and sighing, complaining of a headache. Zhen Wenjun massaged her head, saying that her father used to have frequent headaches, and this was how she helped him, always making him feel better afterward.
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Yueniang shook her head, “It’s not really a headache; it’s actually a heartache.”
“Heartache?”
So Yueniang confided her recent worries to Zhen Wenjun. As Zhen Wenjun had suspected, Yueniang was troubled by Young Master Liao’s hot-and-cold behavior towards her. She said that they had once sworn eternal love to each other, but suddenly he changed, no longer listening to her songs, and she couldn’t even catch a glimpse of him when she went looking for him.
“Could it be that he’s grown tired of you?” Zhen Wenjun said. “How many people in this business can truly form genuine feelings in just one night? Yueniang, you’re not usually this naive.”
“You’re still young; what do you know? Of course, I don’t truly expect to be with Young Master Liao forever. How could I, an opera singer, hope to climb so high? I’ve seen many sons of wealthy families and noble officials. There are many with money and power, but there’s no one quite like Young Master Liao. I’m getting older; I can’t stay with the opera troupe forever. Third Lady Du is good to me, but she treats me like a money tree. If one day I can no longer sing and make money for her, she won’t even look at me. How will I live then? Why did Third Lady Du ask you to follow me? She surely wants you to learn from me so that when she can’t rely on me anymore, you’ll take my place and support the entire troupe. And me? If I could leave the troupe with Young Master Liao and live an ordinary life, even if it meant being his concubine or maid, it would be a blessing from my past life. But now I can’t even see him.”
“Has Young Master Liao gone to Taojun City to attend to some business again?”
“I originally thought so, but a young lad from Hua Lou let it slip that he hasn’t left at all. He’s been here the whole time, just that a lady arrived, and since then, Young Master Liao hasn’t seen anyone else, only focusing on her.”
“A lady?”
“Yes, she is Young Master Liao’s beloved confidante, and he obeys her every word. Since she arrived, Young Master Liao has set aside all his work to accompany her. It’s likely that his recent busyness was all for her. Third Lady Du and Uncle Li won’t stay here in Taojun City for long. Those who come to listen to the opera are just seeking novelty; business comes quickly but leaves just as fast. In a few days, they’ll be leaving Taojun City. If by then Young Master Liao still doesn’t take me with him, I really…” At this point, Yueniang’s eyes filled with tears. “I really don’t care about any titles; I just want a place where I can sleep soundly in this chaotic world.”
“With your beauty and charm, no matter how many beloved confidantes he has, none could compare to you.” Zhen Wenjun’s words were partly flattery, but mostly true. Yueniang’s beauty was undeniable; otherwise, so many young masters wouldn’t be willing to spend large sums of silver on her. Yueniang was aware of her beauty and often exhibited a sense of superiority, but this time she immediately denied it:
“No, no, no! I am indeed beautiful, but only among ordinary women. I can never compare to Young Master Liao’s beloved confidante. I once saw the lady from afar; forget men, even I felt as if I lost my soul and couldn’t help but keep staring at her. She is incredibly beautiful, like a fairy descending from the heavens… no, even ordinary fairies can’t compare to her slightest finger.”
Zhen Wenjun: “You’re exaggerating.”
Yueniang grabbed her hand and said earnestly, “Why would I exaggerate about Young Master Liao’s beloved confidante? If possible, I would rather she be extremely ugly. But she is truly so beautiful that I don’t even know how to describe her beauty. To put it simply, if I were Young Master Liao, I wouldn’t regret giving up all the women in the world for her.”
Zhen Wenjun could see that Yueniang had placed great hope in Young Master Liao, so it was natural for her to be so distraught. She recalled that A Jiao had once given her a stack of bamboo slips. Besides containing banned books like the 《Grand Rhapsody of the Union of Heaven and Earth》 and the 《Legend of the Divine Maiden》, there were also some anonymous masterpieces on the art of love. Apart from the 《Nine Methods of the Mysterious Lady》 for the boudoir, she had also been forced to memorize many essays on the ambitions of romantic love between men and women. These texts were rich in strategies for love affairs, so Zhen Wenjun whispered a few techniques into Yueniang’s ear.
Since the beloved confidante is such a divine beauty from Mount Gushe (a mythical place associated with immortal beings), directly confronting her would be difficult. Instead, how about this and that…
Yueniang’s tears stopped, and the more she listened, the more excited she became.
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The next morning, Yueniang carefully dressed up and wore Young Master Liao’s favorite dress to sing in front of his courtyard. The song she sang was called 《The Drunken Immortal’s Tale》, a favorite of Young Master Liao, describing the longing of a renowned courtesan for a wealthy and talented scholar. Yueniang sang with tears streaming down her face, so moving that even the guard outside couldn’t help but shed tears and voluntarily went inside to inform Young Master Liao. The courtyard gate opened, and Young Master Liao, truly touched, came out to greet her personally.
“Yueniang, why do you do this?” Young Master Liao knelt before Yueniang.
Yueniang, also weeping like the rain in his arms, said, “If I cannot see Young Master Liao again in this life, Yueniang would rather descend into the Yellow Springs (the underworld in Chinese mythology) with a heart full of admiration for Young Master Liao!”
Yueniang coughed up a mouthful of blood, startling Young Master Liao so much that his face turned pale. With her last breath, Yueniang poured out how much she had missed him, to the point of being heartbroken and distressed. Young Master Liao held her thin face and cried like a child mourning the loss of a parent, his wails so loud that Zhen Wenjun, hiding a hundred steps away, could hear them clearly.
Young Master Liao was indeed an even better actor than Yueniang, making it impossible to tell whether his feelings were genuine or feigned. However, seeing him help Yueniang into the courtyard, it could be said that her goal was achieved.
Sure enough, in the following days, the Liaoyuan Troupe had more opportunities to earn money from Young Master Liao, visiting him continuously for several days.
However, Yueniang still couldn’t find happiness. Zhen Wenjun asked her for the reason, and Yueniang said:
“What did we sing before? 《Dong Xuan Zi》 and 《Chang Chun Ting》! And now? They actually want me to sing 《Lady Liu’s Three Campaigns in the Northern Frontier》 and 《Prince of Lan Ling》! They say those amorous songs are not suitable for his sister to hear! Afraid they would sully her ears. The ‘sister’ he speaks of is his beloved confidante!”
Zhen Wenjun held back her laughter and advised, “You should sing 《Prince of Lan Ling》, as long as it allows you to stay close to Young Master Liao, it’s worth it to sing anything.”
Yueniang understood this reasoning, but she just needed to vent her frustrations to Zhen Wenjun to relieve the stifling feeling in her chest.
The moon climbed to the treetops, and music once again filled the grand hall. As expected, Yueniang went on stage to sing 《Prince of Lan Ling》, delivering a performance that was both emotional and skilled.
Zhen Wenjun climbed to the top of the stage’s scaffolding, clinging to a bamboo pole and peering out. She had scouted the area long before and knew that only from this vantage point could she overlook the entire venue and clearly see everyone in the private boxes.
Since Yueniang was to sing 《Prince of Lan Ling》 today, the beloved confidante was certainly present. Zhen Wenjun was very interested in this beloved confidante of Young Master Liao’s; she wanted to see just how beautiful this confidante was. More importantly, since Young Master Liao was so indulgent towards this person, it was likely his Achilles’ heel. If Young Master Liao was indeed Wei Zizhuo himself, then gaining control over his beloved confidante would be of utmost importance.
The weather was cold, and the wind was even harsher at higher elevations. Zhen Wenjun donned a tattered fur hat and climbed up the pole like a monkey. With one glance, she located Young Master Liao’s private box. She noticed that, apart from this box, the venue was empty, possibly indicating that he wanted to watch the opera alone with his beloved confidante. This made things easier for Zhen Wenjun, as she didn’t have to search far and wide.
Two rows of maidservants stood outside the box, and only two figures were inside. The one on the right, wearing a crown, was undoubtedly Young Master Liao. The person sitting on the left was clearly a woman based on her silhouette, but she was hidden in the shadows, making it impossible to see her face.
If only the stage lights could move just a bit toward her face, just a little would be enough to see her face clearly.
This was what Zhen Wenjun thought in her heart, and to her surprise, the next moment, a flash of light indeed passed over the woman’s face. Though the moment was brief, Zhen Wenjun still saw her appearance clearly.
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She was stunned for the time it takes an incense stick to burn (approximately 15 minutes) before she regained her composure.
The first thought that came to her mind was that Yueniang had not exaggerated at all.
To think that such beauty could exist in this world, it truly left one speechless. Descriptions like “a beauty capable of causing the downfall of a city or state” and “a rare gem of the human world” seemed frivolous and laughable when applied to her.
“Graceful and elegant, demure yet sincere, with delicate skin and well-proportioned bones and flesh,” Zhen Wenjun could only think of this line of poetry.
She sat there quietly, but when the light flashed across, there was a hint of sharpness in her eyes, ready to be unleashed.
Beautiful yet dangerous, it was mesmerizing and intoxicating.
A cold wind whistled by, blowing away Zhen Wenjun’s fur hat and messing up her hair, but she didn’t notice at all.
