Lou Yun silently accepted Wan'er's kindness and pretended to listen to her explanations.
Cui Hao, however, had lost patience. Picking up a jade plaything at random, she demanded that Lou Yun demonstrate it for her on the spot.
Lou Yun gave her a cold look. The displeasure and anger at being offended had not quite vanished from her eyes, frightening Cui Hao into an involuntary shudder. But when she looked again and found Lou Yun merely standing with her head lowered in silence, her arrogance returned. "When I tell you to demonstrate it, do it immediately! Don't think being brought up here makes you anything special!"
Lou Yun remained rigid and unmoving. Cui Hao immediately flew into a rage and raised her right hand to summon the thugs behind her. Wan'er hurried forward and caught her upraised hand.
Smack!
The crisp sound echoed through the hall. Everyone stopped what they were doing and shrank back where they stood, not daring to move as they stared at the scene of the clash.
Lou Yun had not expected Cui Hao to be so easily provoked either. She quietly gathered qi in her palm, preparing to teach the woman a lesson.
Wan'er remained good-tempered and soothed her gently. "Don't be angry, Mama. This is Ling'er's first time here, after all. It's only natural that she can't swallow her pride."
"Hmph!" Cui Hao refused to give Wan'er any face and berated her too. "A little hussy like you dares stop me? I'm disciplining someone! Who do you think you are, grabbing me like that? Here in Pleasant Breeze Courtyard, you still depend on me for your livelihood. Understand?"
Wan'er obediently knelt, her words still clear. "It was wrong of me to stop you, Mama. I apologize. But I have another suggestion about Ling'er, and I ask that you hear me out. Ling'er arrived in such a hurry that there's no time for her to learn these things. Never mind serving the honored guest well-I fear she'll only learn a mishmash that's neither fish nor fowl and anger him instead."
"Why not simply have Ling'er learn none of it? Her refined, noble bearing is rare in itself. Men are creatures who enjoy conquest. The way Ling'er is now might stir their competitive spirit even more, and perhaps please the honored guest better. Besides, Ling'er has the grace of an immortal and the beauty of jade. That face alone is enough to capture a man's heart."
Cui Hao pondered for a moment. "There's some sense in what you say. In that case, I'll leave Ling'er in your care. Make sure you have her ready within two days."
"Yes."
Having said her piece, Cui Hao turned to leave. This was precisely the moment Lou Yun had been waiting for. Just as Cui Hao was about to step over the threshold, Lou Yun sent the qi in her palm shooting beneath Cui Hao's feet.
"Ow!"
Cui Hao fell face-first, eating dirt like a dog, her face even scraping some distance along the ground.
"Mama Cui!"
"Mama Cui!"
The two attendants on either side hurried to help her up. Cui Hao's rouge-covered face was now smeared with dirt beyond recognition, and blood seeped from several scrapes.
Many of the girls who had seen it quickly turned their heads and covered their mouths to hide their laughter. Even Wan'er's eyes held a trace of amusement.
Once Cui Hao had disappeared completely from sight, the girls behind them suddenly swarmed forward, crowding around Wan'er and chattering over one another.
"Sister Wan'er, does it still hurt? Let me blow on it."
"Mama Cui went too far! How could she hit you so hard!"
Wan'er smiled and accepted each girl's concern, patting their heads as she coaxed them. "All right, all right. Today's lessons are over. Go back and rest."
Chapter 26
Once only Wan'er and Lou Yun remained in the hall, Lou Yun sincerely bowed to her. "Thank you."
Wan'er said nothing, merely giving Lou Yun a gentle smile.
An understanding between women that needed no words spread between them. Lou Yun had an intuition that she would definitely become close confidantes with the woman before her.
In the blink of an eye, the day of meeting the honored guest arrived. The girls were urged to dress up. Women loved beauty, yet not one of the sixteen wore the slightest smile. The thugs then herded them downstairs one by one.
Cui Hao stood on the stairs, giving them a final round of taming. "Smile, all of you! What do you think you look like with those funeral faces?"
The girls timidly lowered their heads without speaking and obediently forced stiff, unnatural smiles onto their faces.
At the same time, Lin Shuo brought Pei Qing to Pleasant Breeze Courtyard.
Two figures, one in red and one in yellow, stood at the entrance to Pleasant Breeze Courtyard. Cui Hao greeted them with a fawning smile. "Young master, you've arrived! Cui Niang has been waiting for you for so long. Everything you requested is ready. I'll take you there now."
Lin Shuo tapped the fan in his hand against Cui Hao's face, which was plastered with white powder. Powder cascaded from her face. Disgusted, Lin Shuo flung the fan into her face and threatened, "If you botch this for me today, I'll skin you alive."
"Yes, Cui Niang wouldn't dare. I guarantee you'll be satisfied today, young master." Cui Hao caught the fan falling from her face in both hands, not daring to show the slightest resentment or anger in her eyes.
Lin Shuo held himself high and mighty. "Don't let me see you today. If you weren't still of some use, that face of yours would deserve to be thrown out to feed the dogs!"
Having dealt with the eyesore before him, Lin Shuo returned his gaze to the much more pleasing sight of Pei Qing.
"Brother Ye, please. Let me show you some true beauties."
As for why Lin Shuo had brought Pei Qing to Pleasant Breeze Courtyard, that began the previous night.
Pei Qing kept up the act with Lin Shuo during the day and secretly investigated the Lin residence at night. Last night, just as Pei Qing was about to leap out the window, Lin Shuo's voice sounded outside the door.
"Brother Ye, Brother Ye, are you asleep? I have something important to discuss." Lin Shuo pounded on the door and called inside.
Helpless, Pei Qing deliberately waited a moment before answering in a voice that pretended he had just woken. "What is it? Come in."
With permission granted, Lin Shuo rubbed his hands and joyfully pushed open the door. As he had wished, he was greeted by the sight of a beauty reclining in bed with his hair loose. His eyes gleamed even brighter, and he rushed excitedly to Pei Qing's bedside.
Pei Qing frowned. Certain things Lin Shuo had done these past few days always made him uncomfortable, to the point that he wished he could bathe three times a day.
"What brings you here so late, Brother Lin? Is there something in your lessons you don't understand?"
At this, Lin Shuo scratched his head awkwardly. For some reason, whenever Ye Yun taught him, he always felt as though he were facing an elderly schoolmaster and unconsciously became obedient and respectful.
Brushing aside the strange feeling, Lin Shuo sat on the edge of Pei Qing's bed with undue familiarity and reached to clasp the young man's hands, which lay outside the covers. Pei Qing swiftly dodged him.
Lin Shuo regretted missing his chance to touch him, but business came first. "Oh, Brother Ye, under your instruction these past few days, I've made tremendous progress! Father even praised me yesterday!"
Lin Shuo looked proud. Pei Qing pressed a hand to his forehead. He very much wanted to tell him that even a seven-year-old child could recite the Thousand Character Classic fluently, let alone a man who had already come of age.
"Father summoned me this morning and told me to receive an honored guest tomorrow. If I entertain him well, Father will put me in charge of Pleasant Breeze Courtyard. I only have so many ideas on my own. With your help, Brother Ye, we'll surely win victory the moment our horses arrive!"
Lin Shuo spoke with absolute confidence, but suspicion arose in Pei Qing's mind. If this was something truly important, why would Lin Shuo, an ignorant, uneducated young master, be put in charge?
So he asked for clarification. "What did Lord Lin tell you to do?"
"Heh-heh." Lin Shuo suddenly gave a very strange laugh and waggled his eyebrows at Pei Qing. "The happiest thing in this world for you, me-for us men."
"What do you mean?"
Lin Shuo suddenly leaned close to Pei Qing's ear. Perhaps because he was coming to see Pei Qing, he had specially changed his clothes and even hung a sachet on himself. But Lin Shuo was not a man who liked cleanliness, and he had spent the day fooling around outside. Beneath all that incense lingered a stench of sweat that was hard to ignore.
The mingled odors assailed Pei Qing so badly that he dared not breathe and nearly suffocated himself. He kept quietly edging backward, but Lin Shuo seemed unable to sense his resistance and doggedly pressed closer.
Finally, just as Pei Qing was about to lose patience and knock him unconscious, he revealed why he had come tonight. "Father told me to take the honored guest around Jiangling and show him a good time. I have to make sure he's pleased with Jiangling. I may not have much else, but I know how to have fun!"
Since Lin Bian had personally given the order, there might be some clues. There was no harm in investigating.
"Then just call for me when you leave tomorrow, Brother Lin," Pei Qing said with a nod.
"Good, wonderful! Wait for my news, Brother Ye." Lin Shuo was overjoyed.
Pei Qing hastily nodded in agreement, then spoke to usher him out. "It's getting late. You should rest early too, Brother Lin."
"Yes, yes, I'll go to bed now." Feeling cared for, Lin Shuo returned to his room perfectly satisfied.
Not long after Lin Shuo left, Pei Qing requested three buckets of hot water and replaced all the bedding.
Pei Qing followed Lin Shuo to Pleasant Breeze Courtyard and took his seat. Several more groups of guests arrived one after another, including even a foreigner. Pei Qing's gaze lingered on him for a moment before quietly moving away.
Before long, the honored guest Lin Shuo had been waiting for finally appeared. The instant Pei Qing saw who it was, his mind briefly froze.
The newcomer wore purple and wielded his fan with a thoroughly dashing air. Gold and silver adorned him from head to toe, and the bells on his wrist jingled with his movements. That familiar forehead band, and at his waist
that peacock jade pendant-who else could it be but A Zi?
A Zi had not expected to encounter his young master here either. Covering his face with his fan, he blinked his exposed foxlike eyes.
Huh? If he remembered correctly, hadn't it been less than seven days since he left the young master?
"Greetings, Boss A Zi. I am Lin Shuo. I've specially prepared a welcoming banquet for you today. Please come in, please come in." Lin Shuo gestured for A Zi to take the seat of honor.
As they passed Pei Qing, he did not forget to introduce him. "This is Ye Yun, Brother Ye, a friend I recently made. He's a capable man too. I'll give you a proper introduction shortly."
A Zi met Pei Qing's eyes, deliberately tilted his head, and smiled. "I see that Brother Ye has the bearing of a celestial being. Surely he's no ordinary man either. I'm determined to make this friend."
Hearing A Zi praise Pei Qing so highly, Lin Shuo became even more certain that today's venture would succeed.
The gathering then sank into pleasantries. More precisely, everyone was currying favor with A Zi alone, while A Zi favored only Pei Qing and invariably answered only his remarks.