"Beyond the long pavilion, beside the ancient road, fragrant grass stretching endlessly beneath the sky..."
This was the little tune the people of Central Capital had hummed when they saw Chen Luo off on his first journey out of the capital to Dongcang. Now, it had become the song most often heard when people were seeing others off outside the city.
There were children like this outside the city. They charged five copper coins for a song, and usually ten or twenty children took an order together. Their clear, childish voices could always blow away some of the sorrow of parting.
Don't complain that it was expensive. The minimum price of five copper coins had been set by Chen Luo.
Once, an Old Master had rebuked this practice. It was clearly a heartfelt farewell between close friends, yet the few copper coins changing hands had ruined the atmosphere and disgraced the conduct of a gentleman.
When Chen Luo heard this, he said nothing. He merely asked that Old Master to follow one of the children for a day.
At dawn, the child spent two hours outside the city and earned a total of thirty-five copper coins.
Three copper coins bought a large steamed bun. Five copper coins could buy a great bowl of braised dishes.
After eating his fill, the child went to the Martial Hall in the afternoon and practiced martial arts with his master for three hours. At dusk, he took another farewell job. This time, the Master's Family was generous and gave each child an additional ten copper coins.
That night, he returned home and put away everything he had earned that day.
The Martial Hall had medicinal baths. They were decoctions made from herbs, useful for assisting children in martial cultivation. Dongcang City and the imperial