These past few days, the first reaction everyone had upon seeing Wei Qingming was... for instance, Captain Yuan, who bowed low while squinting his eyes, asking cautiously, "My Lord, your face..."
Wei Qingming merely offered a faint smile and said, "The cat at home scratched it." The men would then exchange knowing grins, sharing the vicarious joy of seeing a "blossoming iron tree," relieved that their usually cold, aloof, and seemingly immortal superior finally possessed a touch of human desire. Had it not been for her transcendent character and her usual icy, ethereal reputation, they would have long since tried to strike up a conversation about the finer points of such pleasures. Alas, men—their minds truly only ever hold one thing.
It was the day of Mangzhong, the "Grain in Ear" festival. The young ladies from the extended family had come to the Wen manor’s garden to bid farewell to the Flower Goddess. Everyone was laughing and chatting as they hung colorful banners and set up offering altars in the garden. Wei Qingming was once again subjected to a barrage of stares, but since the attendees were all women and she had always maintained a distant demeanor, those who didn't know her well only dared to whisper behind their sleeves. Only Wen Xiang spoke up—
"Oho, little brother, how did you end up disfigured? You look quite dashingly frail and romantic this way, don't you?"
This time, Wei Qingming said nothing. She only looked at me with a smile in her eyes. The "Shu-Xiang-Gan" trio immediately let out a long, synchronized "Oh—" in a mocking, singsong tone.
I truly could not bear it any longer. Dropping the little horse I was weaving from willow branches, I jumped up, grabbed Wei Qingming, and dragged her away. She was tall, and because I pulled her so abruptly, she bumped and scraped along the way, knocking down many of the five-colored banners tied to the trees. Feathers, silk threads, and brocade scattered across the ground, drawing a chorus of playful scolding and laughter from the girls behind us.
I ran until we reached a deserted spot. Exhausted, I finally flung her hand away. Wei Qingming let the corners of her mouth droop, feigning innocence. "A-Zhi said she wanted me to keep them."
"Hey, when did I—" I was so angry I became incoherent. "I never said I wanted you to keep the scars! Wouldn't it have been over if you just asked me to fix them?"
Because my claws had been infused with demonic energy, those few scratches had barely scabbed over and were refusing to heal, leaving four conspicuous red marks. I felt a twinge of regret. Looking at them in the sunlight, those claw marks paired with her handsome face looked to anyone like a bit of "flavor" from a night of debauchery...
"There is nothing difficult about asking A-Zhi for a favor, but I liked them, so I kept them," Wei Qingming said, spreading her hands.
I glared at her resentfully for a long while before standing on my tiptoes to wipe away the lingering demonic energy around the scars. The wounds closed instantly, leaving no trace behind. Wei Qingming actually looked disappointed... I couldn't look at her anymore; one more look and she would provoke me to death.
I scolded her the whole way back for sullying my reputation, while she followed behind with a smile, tugging at my hand. When we returned, the crowd erupted into another round of laughter. Wen Gan said with a sly grin, "I have heard of 'flowers that understand speech,' but never 'jade that emits fragrance.' Only today do I know that a warm, fragrant, jade-like hand is the best cure for pains of the body and soul. Truly, the medicine works instantly, and the malady is gone..." I was practically moved to tears of frustration; these literary types were so articulate when they were bullying people!
Wei Qingming cupped her hands in a polite gesture, announcing that the two of us were heading out. The group teased us for a while longer until Wei Qingming promised to buy treats for everyone as compensation for the ruined banners. Only then did they let us go.
Mounted on my horse, I was still huffing with indignation, glaring at Wei Qingming as I muttered to myself, "Fine, at least this saves her from acting pitiful in front of Xu Xingze to win his sympathy later..."
Wei Qingming clearly heard me but pretended not to. She loosely pointed her whip toward a shop ahead. "Do you want some cherry curd?"
I held my breath for a moment, seeing that we were about to pass the street and miss it. I roared, "I want it!"
Only then did Wei Qingming turn her horse back with a laugh, snapping her whip to gallop ahead and order for me.
Bright red cherries nestled against ice-chilled, snow-white curd in a green jade bowl, emitting wisps of cool vapor. One bite was refreshing to the core, making one's mouth water. The cherries had just the right amount of tartness and weren't overly sugared. After tasting it carefully, I decided Wei Qingming could handle it, so I scooped up a large spoonful and held it out to her. She obediently lowered her head and took it, swallowing it in one go without even a flinch of her brows. Only then did I smile, raising my hand to call for another bowl for her.
"No need." She reached out to hold my hand, pointing to a waiter approaching with a tray. "Mine is here."
It was a glass goblet of pale blue with a gold rim filled with a red liquid, and a slender-necked white porcelain bottle filled with a white liquid. This shop not only had good food but also excellent aesthetics; the spoons, bowls, and cups were all perfectly matched. The chilled fragrance from the red porcelain bottle was sweet to the nose. Sure enough, Wei Qingming picked it up and placed it by my hand. "Cherries are 'hot' in nature; they must be paired with cane syrup to dispel the heat."
I marveled at the sophistication of the capital's nobility while Wei Qingming picked up the glass goblet and took a sip. I leaned in to sniff it, and she smiled. "Red wine. Want a taste?" I eagerly took a large gulp from her hand, let out a "wow," and then took another long draw. She had to stop me. "Slow down. If you fill up on wine, you won't be able to finish the cherry curd."
I pouted, looking regretfully at the wine, then the cherry curd, then the iced cane syrup, unable to bear parting with any of them. Wei Qingming laughed and said, "There's no rush for the wine. Fifth Brother Wen has quite a collection, much better than this. Another day, we'll take a couple of bottles from him and drink to our heart's content."
"Great, great!" I cheered, burying my head back into my curd without a care in the world. Seeing how much I liked it, Wei Qingming ordered twenty more portions for the shop to send to the Wen manor for the other sisters to enjoy.
We wandered and played our way out of Great Xiangguo Temple Street. Inside my storage necklace, several more useless trinkets appeared beside Grandmaster. Feeling thirsty from the fun, I remembered something and happily pulled a few fruits from my robe, tossing one to Wei Qingming for her to try.
Wei Qingming caught it and frowned, observing it closely. I laughed. "This grows on our back mountain. The two foxes, Feng Xun and Feng Yao, love them most, so we call them Fox Fruits. But I think they're just a special kind of plum."
She nodded, using a blade of light from her finger to slice it. She ate half and wrapped the other half, pit and all, in a handkerchief to tuck into her robe. I teased her for being stingy. "I have a whole handful more. The shops have plenty in stock; you can have as many as you like."
"Oh?" Wei Qingming said. "Are they all from Goumeng Mountain?"
"They should be," I said, crunching on the fruit. "Wait, they usually fruit in the sixth month. Isn't it a bit early?"
By the time we reached the Yuezhou Guild Hall, we were fifteen minutes later than planned. This time we entered through the main gate. The hall was sparse and quiet. Wei Qingming said that Boss Jiang had already been arrested and the search for evidence had concluded yesterday. Sure enough, they had found the Nether Jade required by the Buyin Sect in Meng Tingyun’s room. Based on the dissipation of the ghostly energy, it had been buried on the twenty-first day of the fourth month. Thus, when Wei Qingming had checked on the fourteenth, it hadn't been there yet.
The Yushan Troupe was currently leaderless. The eldest and third senior sisters were either dead or married off, and the second senior sister only had half a life left. Xu Xingze, ranked fourth, had no choice but to take up the responsibility of managing affairs and overseeing rehearsals. As we walked in, we saw no one from the troupe coming to receive us except for the guild hall staff; it seemed Xu Xingze was indeed overwhelmed.
Wei Qingming sent someone inside to deliver a message. Before long, Xu Xingze appeared in a hurried pace. "Master Wei, Miss Wen. My apologies, truly, I simply could not get away." I saw that his face was lightly painted and his stage costume was meticulous. Knowing he was in the middle of a rehearsal, I smiled reassuringly. "It's no trouble at all. We are the ones intruding."
Xu Xingze glanced at Wei Qingming’s expression, then lowered his eyes with a smile. "Please, this way."
I had thought the troupe would be despondent, but upon entering the theater, the atmosphere shifted instantly. The famous actors standing on stage or sitting below were all high-spirited, practicing their scales, warming up their voices, or stretching their legs in an orderly fashion. Xu Xingze smiled sheepishly. "The day after tomorrow is the main performance at Ziyun Tower. The troupe is frantic and the venue is a mess. Please excuse the chaos."
Wei Qingming replied, "Xingze, go about your business. Do not worry about us."
While they spoke, I spotted Hua Moli and ran over with a smile and a wave. "Sister Moli, you're here too? Where is Mr. Tong?"
"Huzi? He was here yesterday; he has a show tonight." Hua Moli fanned herself. "Hey, don't run over here alone. Aren't you afraid of leaving Wei San-ge and Xingze together..."
I looked back and saw the two of them chatting again. I rolled my eyes. "Let her be."
Hua Moli laughed so hard she had to hide her face behind her fan. "Hahaha, don't be annoyed, Little Qi. I'm just teasing. Both he and Xingze are loyal souls..."
I leaned in close to Hua Moli, whispering behind my hand, "By the way, the things Xingze-gongzi accused Boss Jiang of... are they all true?"
At the mention of this, Hua Moli’s temper flared. "Pah! I only fear his sentence will be too light! That old dog deserves a miserable death!" She shared many insider secrets. It turned out that male leads like Xingze had it relatively well; the truly pitiable ones were women like Meng Tingyun and Lin Xiazhu. Even if they weren't forced by Boss Jiang to take hallucinogenic drugs, their minds had long been broken by the cruelty of those "noble" patrons.
I trembled with rage as I listened. "There is truly no justice! They've performed so many plays and must have earned some money. Is it that hard to buy their freedom? How much does it cost?"
Hua Moli held up five fingers. "If Sister Tingyun hadn't gone mad, it would take this much."
"Fifty thousand?"
"Five hundred thousand!" Hua Moli said. "For Xingze, it would be at least double that."
I gasped. "A shop in the East Market might not even cost that much..." Hua Moli sighed. "Exactly. Otherwise, I would have bought Xingze and the others out long ago. Though, it's hard to say. My parents have already used the family switch on me countless times for this hobby of mine. If I actually spent that much, they'd probably twist my head right off!"
I cried out, "Sister Hua, you're actually rich!"
"Shh, shh!" Hua Moli winked frantically. "I don't have it on me. I'd have to steal it from my mother's room."
...That sounded promising. Perhaps she should collaborate with Wen Xiang and Wen Gan?
Seeing Wei Qingming walking over, I guessed Xu Xingze had gone back to rehearse. Sure enough, shortly after she sat down, the curtain rose. Xu Xingze and the female lead replacing Meng Tingyun took the stage. This time, they were performing a scene from a divine tale called *Examining the City God*. It told the story of a scholar named Song who dreamed of taking an exam. After passing, the gods intended to appoint him as the City God of a certain locale. Only then did Scholar Song realize he was dead, and he wept, pleading that he still had an elderly mother to support. The compassionate divine examiners allowed Scholar Zhang, who had failed the same exam, to temporarily hold the post, permitting Scholar Song to return to the human world until his mother passed away. In short, it was an edifying tale promoting filial piety. This particular scene featured Scholar Song waking up from the underworld and meeting his impoverished wife; it was both solemn and hilarious. Hua Moli and I clung to each other, our stomachs aching from laughter.
When the scene ended, I wiped away tears of mirth and said to Wei Qingming, "I thought Southern Opera was all about lingering romantic whispers. I didn't know there were such witty and realistic plays!"
Wei Qingming smiled. "Two hundred years ago, there was no distinction between Northern and Southern drama. Southern Opera had grand spectacles, and Northern Opera had its share of romance. It is only in recent years, as the audience has grown and merchants have chased profit, that themes have become segregated into the 'Flower' and 'Elegant' styles. If an art form can only contain one type of story, it ceases to be art. Just as a great painting can capture majestic mountains or the common marketplace."
Though I thought she spoke beautifully, I couldn't help but squint and tease her, "Which treatise on art did you read last night?"
Wei Qingming gave a soft laugh. "Last night, there was no need for reading."
***
