Couplets (Part Two)

As Wu Jingshan left, the atmosphere immediately turned awkward. Before anyone had even put brush to paper at this literary gathering, the highest-ranking official present, the Minister of Rites, had already walked out. The mood had all but frozen solid, and carrying on seemed pointless.

Su Qingkun, the Vice Censor-in-Chief, hurried after Wu Jingshan. He had invited Wu Jingshan today, hoping to use this gathering to flatter him and let him lord it over the assembled scholars. Who could have imagined that Hu Xiaotian would burst onto the scene and leave Wu Jingshan covered in disgrace, slapping Su Qingkun's own old face just as soundly? Though Su Qingkun hated Hu Xiaotian to the marrow, he silently weighed his own standing. Hu Buwei, the Minister of Revenue, was not someone he could afford to provoke. Before leaving, Su Qingkun shot Xu Zhengying a venomous glare, clearly transferring his bellyful of resentment onto him.

Xu Zhengying was utterly aggrieved. What the hell does this have to do with me? I wasn't the one insulting you! Watching Wu Jingshan and Su Qingkun leave one after the other, he knew this feud was now firmly established. He would probably have two more enemies at court from now on. And he owed this predicament entirely to Hu Xiaotian. At that thought, he looked toward him.

Only to find Hu Xiaotian deep in lively conversation with Huo Xiaoru, treating everyone else as though they were air.

Huo Xiaoru clearly had a favorable impression of Hu Xiaotian too, and his banter kept drawing lilting laughter from her.

All those poets and scholars had been reduced to mere background scenery. With Hu Xiaotian having thrown the gathering into disarray, nobody knew how to proceed. They rose one after another to exchange pleasantries with Xu Zhengying. His position spoke for itself, after all: he was now the highest-ranking official present. Xu Zhengying cursed inwardly. Now you remember me. When that old dog Wu Jingshan was here, when did any of you treat me this politely?

Really, they could hardly be blamed. People were practical creatures. Wu Jingshan was the Minister of Rites, a higher-ranking official than Xu Zhengying. When the two stood together, Wu Jingshan was the red blossom, while Xu Zhengying could only serve as a green leaf setting it off. Yet worldly affairs were always subject to unexpected changes, such as Hu Xiaotian's appearance. Nobody had paid him any attention beforehand, taking him for a mere stalk of foxtail grass-not even a green leaf. But if foxtail grass grew tall enough, even it could steal the host's thunder. Hu Xiaotian's performance was the best proof of that.

Qiu Zhitang came over to ask Xu Zhengying's opinion. Naturally, Xu Zhengying did not want to linger either. Wu Jingshan and Su Qingkun had both left; if he stayed to preside over the gathering, people would surely think he was deliberately opposing Wu Jingshan, and the feud would only deepen. Though Hu Xiaotian's help had won him this round, he had no wish to take matters too far. Everything called for restraint; quitting while ahead left room to maneuver. Xu Zhengying made a show of pondering before saying, "I still have business to attend to. My worthy nephew, it's getting late. We should be leaving too!"

Hu Xiaotian was thoroughly enjoying his conversation with Huo Xiaoru, and Xu Zhengying's latest interruption displeased him greatly. This old third wheel really has no sense whatsoever. Can't he see I'm chatting up a beauty? Without even looking at Xu Zhengying, he waved a hand. "You go ahead. I'll stay and chat with Miss Huo."

Rebuffed in front of everyone, Xu Zhengying felt his old face grow hot. But he had already announced his departure and could hardly shamelessly stay. He had brought Hu Xiaotian here and should have taken him home, but Hu Xiaotian had plainly developed an intense interest in the celebrated performer Huo Xiaoru. His backside seemed glued to his chair; he would not be leaving anytime soon.

Xu Zhengying could only nod. "Very well. I'll go first!"

Xu Zhengying went downstairs in the Misty Waters Pavilion, intending to leave his carriage behind. Though he had not known Hu Xiaotian long, he had already seen that the young man's ability to stir up trouble was second to none. As a precaution, it would be better to leave the carriage waiting for him. But he had barely stepped outside when Liang Dazhuang, a servant of the Hu Residence, approached with a broad, cheerful grin. "Lord Xu, where's our young master?"

Xu Zhengying saw five more servants following Liang Dazhuang. They had actually come along earlier and had been waiting downstairs the whole time. Seeing that the Hu Residence had sent people, he relaxed and pointed upstairs. "He's chatting with a friend. It may be a while before he comes down."

Xu Zhengying said, "I have some business and must return to my residence first. You can wait here for him to come down."

Liang Dazhuang nodded.

Once Xu Zhengying left, the poets and scholars naturally had even less reason to remain, and promptly followed him out.

Huo Xiaoru said to Hu Xiaotian, "Young Master Hu, the literary gathering is over. Shall we leave too?"

"A literary gathering?" Hu Xiaotian said. "Heh, we didn't even see a brush. How could that count as a literary gathering? Why don't you and I arrange a private meeting next time, Miss Huo? We could make friends through our brushes, compare calligraphy, discuss literature, and share our reflections on life."

Huo Xiaoru smiled gently. "You honor me with your regard, Young Master Hu. Your talents are exceptional. I truly admire them." Though she wore a veil, her bright, expressive eyes rippled with a subtle, autumnal allure, leaving Hu Xiaotian's heart adrift and his soul swaying.

Seeing that Huo Xiaoru was about to leave, Hu Xiaotian courteously stepped over to steady the back of her chair. As she rose, she felt that this young man really was rather unusual. He was unlike anyone she had met before. Exactly how, she could not say; she simply sensed that there were so many distinctive things about him. On the surface he seemed flippant and irreverent, but he was certainly no ignorant, uneducated wastrel.

Hu Xiaotian accompanied Huo Xiaoru, while her young maid carried the little foxlike dog, and the three went downstairs together. From beginning to end, Huo Xiaoru never removed the gauzy veil covering her face. Though Hu Xiaotian longed to glimpse her beauty, he never had the chance. The more mysterious something was, the more it stirred desire. He discovered that this intellectual beauty truly understood how to display her charms.

Outside the Misty Waters Pavilion, Huo Xiaoru stopped and turned, her lovely eyes resting on the three characters on its signboard. She seemed reluctant to leave the pavilion behind. Softly, she said, "I've thought of a matching line for that earlier couplet too."

Hu Xiaotian stood beside her, his heart expansive and spirits buoyant with a beauty at his side. The breeze carried her faint bodily fragrance to his nose, and every pore of his body seemed to proclaim one enormous word: bliss. He smiled. "I've washed my ears and await your words!"

Huo Xiaoru said, "Son and daughter joined make 'good'; a person who does no evil becomes a Buddha!" Her matching line was ingenious, and seemed to conceal an admonition. Hu Xiaotian's heart jolted. A person who does no evil becomes a Buddha? Does Huo Xiaoru already know who I am and what wicked things I've done? Is that why she's offering me this line, to urge me toward goodness? He clapped his hands in praise. "Wonderful, wonderful! Miss Huo, you truly are Great Kang's foremost talented lady."

Huo Xiaoru smiled. "Great Kang's foremost talented lady? I wouldn't dare accept that title. I've merely read a few books of poetry and composed a few matching lines. Before you, Young Master Hu, I'm only swinging an axe at the master carpenter's gate and making a laughingstock of myself before an expert."

"Modest, modest," Hu Xiaotian said. "Miss Huo, you're far too modest. But modesty makes people fat. If you become fat from being modest, won't you have to lose weight afterward?"

Huo Xiaoru laughed, trembling like a flowering branch. Though a thin veil covered her lovely face, her alluring grace still left Hu Xiaotian staring in a daze. "I've suddenly thought of another line," he said. In the presence of a beauty, his wits were particularly nimble today, his thoughts gushing like a spring. He missed no opportunity to display his talent.

Huo Xiaoru blinked her soul-stealing eyes. "I've washed my ears and await your words!"

Looking at Huo Xiaoru, Hu Xiaotian said, "A young girl makes 'wonderful'; once grown, none fails to follow her husband!"

How could Huo Xiaoru miss his underlying meaning? Her lovely face warmed. Though she felt his line was full of teasing advances, she had to admit that his talent brimmed over. She praised him softly. "You are exceptionally gifted, Young Master Hu! I can only acknowledge my inferiority."

Just then, Liang Dazhuang spotted Hu Xiaotian and came toward him, grinning broadly with delight. From a distance, he called, "Young-" Before he could finish saying "master," he met Hu Xiaotian's murderous gaze. Liang Dazhuang forcibly swallowed the remaining word and spread his arms to block his companions behind him. He was no fool; he understood now. The young master was courting a beauty. If he rushed forward and ruined that grand undertaking, another thorough beating would surely follow.

While Hu Xiaotian and Huo Xiaoru stood outside the Misty Waters Pavilion, matching literary wits and admiring each other's talents, several passing scholars stopped to listen, inwardly marveling at the excellence of their couplets. But wherever there were admirers, there were also those who refused to concede.

The Grand Historian Qiu Qingshan's two sons, Qiu Zhigao and Qiu Zhitang, were seeing guests off at the entrance. They had initiated and organized today's gathering, and had held great hopes for it. They had invited so many heavyweight figures from the capital's literary circles, never expecting this outcome. Hu Xiaotian had ruined everything. Although they knew Xu Zhengying had brought him, they had no idea who he actually was. Seeing him still chatting animatedly with Huo Xiaoru outside the Misty Waters Pavilion filled both brothers with resentment. Had this fellow not stolen the host's thunder, today's gathering would never have ended in such embarrassment.

Qiu Zhitang snorted coldly. "What exceptional talent? Nothing but mutual flattery. I have a line too!" That single remark drew everyone's attention.

Qiu Zhitang cleared his throat and declared loudly, "Woman and branch make 'prostitute'; in love's sea, strip away the heart, and the heavens turn clear!" Cheers rose around him, yet as everyone applauded, their eyes turned toward Huo Xiaoru in unison. Though she was known as a talented lady, in their minds she was merely a famous singing courtesan. Qiu Zhitang's line plainly concealed a barb: through the couplet, he mocked the lowly status of singing courtesans and insinuated that women in her profession had no genuine affection. Though his line was sharp and cruel, one had to admit that it was ingeniously matched-and devastatingly effective.

Listening beside her, Hu Xiaotian inwardly cursed the fellow's spite. Miss Huo hasn't done a damn thing to you. Why use a couplet to insult her? Fuck you! Are you jealous because she's getting along so well with me?