After exchanging pleasantries, Lin Shuo steered the banquet toward its purpose, raising his cup to A Zi. "As it happens, we have a shipment we'd like you to appraise today, Boss A Zi. Would you do us the honor of taking a look?"
A Zi covered his lips and laughed. "Of course. Bring it out."
Clap, clap. Lin Shuo clapped, and two rows of beauties immediately streamed into the room. The woman at their head covered her face with her sleeve. As her dance swept the sleeve aside, it revealed a peony ornament between her brows.
Almost simultaneously, once A Zi saw Wan'er's face in the middle of the group, his fanning hand paused slightly. He raised his wine cup to conceal that moment of awkwardness, then glanced sideways. When he saw who was quietly playing the zither nearby, he nearly spat out a mouthful of tea.
Wh-what... why was Lou Yun here too? The young master being here was one thing, but if Lou Yun was here, what about the crown prince at court? He hadn't heard anything about the crown prince leaving the capital!
He looked toward the young man seated nearby. There was a hint of surprise in his eyes too, but perhaps more of an entranced admiration? A Zi wasn't sure.
When Lou Yun spotted Pei Qing and A Zi, she too was utterly speechless. After all their twists and turns, everyone had ended up in the same place.
The dance came to an end.
Unaware of the complicated thoughts running through the three of them, Lin Shuo began his introduction to A Zi with great enthusiasm. "I've long heard that despite your youth, Boss A Zi, you've already become a regional tycoon, with businesses spanning all of Great Yan and even showing signs of expanding into foreign lands."
Only after lavishly praising A Zi did Lin Shuo reveal his purpose. "What do you think of this shipment before you, Boss A Zi?"
A Zi turned the wine cup in his hand, his tone inscrutable. "What do you mean?"
Brimming with enthusiasm, Lin Shuo shifted closer to A Zi and pointed at the foreigner, whose eyes could barely take everything in. "That's A Tu, a merchant from abroad who wants to work with us. A Tu knows both the Central Plains and foreign lands, so he couldn't be more suitable as our intermediary."
A Zi pointed at Lou Yun and the others in turn, asking as though his interest had been piqued, "You mean you want to take these 'goods' abroad?"
"Yes." Lin Shuo surveyed the women in the center of the room with satisfaction and continued, "Foreign women are fierce and quarrelsome. How could they compare with our gentle, understanding women of the Central Plains? Taking these over there will naturally earn us a fortune."
A Zi's gaze shifted. Rather than taking up that line of conversation, he asked, "As I recall, Great Yan doesn't permit human trafficking."
"Ah! That's not quite right, Boss A Zi. What Great Yan forbids is trafficking in commoners. Everyone before you is a purchased slave! What reason would there be to forbid the sale of slaves?" Lin Shuo smiled and took a sip of tea.
"Besides, my father is the prefect. Would we do anything that violates Great Yan's laws?" Lin Shuo gave A Zi a meaningful look as he tried to persuade him.
A Zi did not answer Lin Shuo immediately. Seated nearby, A Tu provoked him in broken Central Plains speech. "Are you Great Yan merchants any good? I only came to work with you because I trust Young Master Lin. If you don't even have this much courage, you aren't qualified to be my partners!"
Before A Zi could react to the provocation, Lin Shuo jumped in to smooth things over. "Oh, A Tu! Don't be impatient. Boss A Zi is Great Yan's foremost merchant. How could he lack even this much courage?"
His lips curved, A Zi leaned against the back of his chair and watched the two of them play good cop and bad cop, putting him on a high pedestal.
When he caught a certain movement by someone beside him out of the corner of his eye, his gaze immediately focused there.
Pei Qing suddenly lifted his wine cup and gently swirled it. The wine struck the cup's walls without spilling a drop. The young man bent his forefinger slightly and tapped the rim three times.
Lou Yun took in all their little movements. She kept feeling that the truth of this matter would soon come to light.
A Zi said, "It's possible, but how would the three of us divide the proceeds?"
Lin Shuo laughed heartily. "That's easy. We supply the goods, so we should receive fifty percent. Boss A Zi supplies transportation and manpower, so you receive thirty percent. A Tu takes the goods abroad to sell, so he receives twenty percent."
"You get fifty percent?" A Zi raised his voice, clearly dissatisfied with the division.
This time, Lin Shuo would not yield either. "You must consider that we're responsible for all the processing and finishing of these goods. Shall I have them perform something else for you right here?"
A Zi had no taste for humiliating women and declined. "There's no need. Just ensure the quality."
"Of course. Rest assured, I guarantee you'll be satisfied." Lin Shuo thumped his chest, then asked impatiently, "Since everything has been settled, why don't we sign the contract today?"
His swaying fan paused. A Zi shook his head. "Unfortunately, I haven't brought my seal today. Would tomorrow do?"
"What time?" Afraid A Zi might change his mind, Lin Shuo pressed him.
"The same time and place as today. How does that sound?" A Zi asked.
Lin Shuo was delighted. "In that case, I'll be here tomorrow awaiting your esteemed arrival."
With their business settled, all that remained was entertainment. Sharp-eyed, Lin Shuo noticed A Zi glancing at Wan'er, seemingly both deliberately and casually, and eagerly stepped forward to do him this favor. "It seems to me you're rather interested in the woman in the middle with the floral ornament, Boss A Zi. How about I give her to you?"
"And her indenture?" A Zi feigned concern.
Lin Shuo readily agreed. "Naturally, it will be sent to your current lodgings along with her."
Pei Qing also pointed at Lou Yun. "Brother Lin, I'll take this one."
Seeing Lou Yun's face, Lin Shuo understood the reason and teased, "To think you're still thinking about her, Brother Ye. Since you've asked, I certainly won't refuse. Take her back to the residence with you later!"
A Tu selected several of the remaining women as well, and the day's banquet came to a satisfactory close.
Before leaving, A Zi even made a point of patting Pei Qing twice on the shoulder to show his fondness for the young man.
After returning to the prefect's residence, Pei Qing heard a servant report that Lou Yun had been delivered and ordered her brought to his room.
The moment Lou Yun entered, the young man caught her by the shoulders and carefully examined her from head to toe.
"Did anyone mistreat you?" the young man asked anxiously. He could hardly be blamed for worrying. Lou Yun had even performed onstage; who knew what other things a place like Pleasant Breeze Courtyard might make her do against her will?
"No-" Lou Yun took his hand to reassure him. Seeing that the worry still hadn't faded from his eyes, she joked, "Do you think I'm the sort to let myself suffer a loss? Not only did I suffer no grievances, I even made someone fall flat on their face and eat dirt."
Her words made him laugh. Looking at the smiling young man, Lou Yun asked, "Happy now?"
"Mm."
Pei Qing led Lou Yun to sit beside the bed. "Did you find anything?"
Lou Yun said, "There's also a secret passage between the prefect's residence and Pleasant Breeze Courtyard. The mechanisms inside are much like those in the passage from the Li residence to the outskirts. I have a rough idea where it is. Other than that, nothing much."
Pei Qing also shared what he had learned. "The study seems to be the most tightly guarded place in the Lin residence, but the place people are actually kept furthest from is the old room of Lin Bian's late wife."
"Let's find a time to investigate."
"Mm."
Once their serious business was finished, memories of that night returned, and an awkward atmosphere suddenly spread between them.
Or rather, the imperial preceptor's own awkwardness and uncertainty permeated the room.
After much thought, the imperial preceptor finally remembered something he had forgotten to mention. "A Zi will come tonight at the hour of the dragon."
"Speaking of which, why was A Zi the honored guest Lin Shuo was entertaining?"
Pei Qing shook his head. "I don't know either. Perhaps it's something to do with Mother."
"Mother?" Didn't Great Yan's imperial preceptors all have neither father nor mother?
"Yes." Pei Qing openly told her his background, detail by detail. "It's not that I have no parents. My mother is the master of the Beast Taming Pavilion. A Zi and the others are all members."
"The Beast Taming Pavilion that ranks first among the martial world's factions?"
"Yes." Trusting Lou Yun completely, the imperial preceptor laid bare even his underclothes.
"No wonder they all call you young master."
Recalling the rumors about the Beast Taming Pavilion, Lou Yun teased Pei Qing. "They say the Beast Taming Pavilion uses animals to represent ranks and members. Then is the young master's representative animal that embroidered tiger on your bag?"
Pei Qing had not expected Lou Yun to so quickly
make the connection, and his face flushed bright red again. After all, for a grown man's representative animal to be a cat was rather too embarrassing.
"Yes." Heat suffused the corners of the young man's eyes as he turned his head aside to answer.
"It suits you very well," Lou Yun said sincerely.
She had already thought Pei Qing resembled a cat she had once raised. Now that she knew his representative animal, she felt it was an even better match.
"Do people from the Beast Taming Pavilion really fight alongside their representative animals?" Lou Yun had always wondered about this. After all, animals and humans were so different; wouldn't fighting together be too difficult? But then she thought of the harmonious menagerie in Pei Qing's back courtyard.
...Perhaps it wasn't impossible.
At this, Pei Qing nodded readily and replied, "That's true enough. Some people in the pavilion use rats to scout paths and eagles to kill."
Oh? Lou Yun was very curious about this way of fighting. "I must take a look if I get the chance."
Chapter 28
Lou Yun and Pei Qing chatted back and forth. Although it felt as though they had experienced a great deal together, they had actually known each other for less than a month. Today was, surprisingly, the first time they had sat quietly together and chatted without any mishaps.
Creak-
The two, who had been chatting happily, fell silent at the same time, turning their attention toward the sound.
"Step on my hand and go in first. Be careful," A Zi whispered to someone.
Lou Yun turned her head, the meaning in her eyes plain: Someone you invited?
Pei Qing blinked and shook his head. He hadn't known A Zi had a friend here either.
Wan'er stepped onto the windowsill and carefully jumped down. Once she steadied herself and looked up to find two pairs of eyes staring straight at her, her entire body went rigid for a moment.
Especially since one of them was a "fellow soul fallen on hard times" she had only met these past few days.
After seeing Wan'er get inside, A Zi rose and leaped, intending to vault through the window in an exceedingly graceful manner. Halfway through, he discovered a figure standing right in front of him. To avoid stepping on the woman, A Zi hastily changed direction and landed flat on his back, all four limbs in the air.