Looking Again by Lamplight at the Poem-Who Wrote It?

The second floor of Moonlight Pavilion glowed with scattered lamplight.

Had Parasol Tree been there, she would have recognized two men among the crowd leaning against the railing upstairs.

Zhang Yuanlai and He Xiao.

They were the two tutors Xie Yuan had found for Xie Guan. After the lessons ended, He Xiao had lost touch with him and had never visited his little courtyard.

Zhang Yuanlai, by contrast, had become a regular visitor and often came to see Xie Guan.

He was slightly stout, with a round, genial face.

A pretty woman stood beside him now, her features delicate and lovely.

Yet Zhang Yuanlai looked decidedly uncomfortable. His hands hung straight against his trousers as though nailed there, and his face was utterly expressionless.

He Xiao found the sight rather amusing.

He had an arm around the waist of a courtesan from Moonlight Pavilion. She could not compare with its "pure entertainers," "leading ladies," or "painted beauties," but she was far beyond the commonplace women of the West Wing Tower brothels.

Even so, her price was steep.

The fee recorded on her "flower register" for a single evening exceeded twenty taels of silver, enough to make anyone gasp.

What was more, the women here sold their talents, not their bodies. If a patron wanted to "blow upon the flower" or "share the bed,"

that carried another "price"!

Of course, if the woman was willing, they might still enjoy a bout of "cloud and rain."

"Brother Zhang, you came here for pleasure. You ought to enjoy yourself, not let a fine night and beautiful scene go to waste."

"There's no need to be so stiff. Look, this young lady isn't nervous in the slightest. How is it that a grown man like you seems the bashful one?"

The woman beside Zhang