Chapter 15
After midday, a light rain began to fall. I hurried to Ruyi Pavilion under my umbrella and idly plucked the pipa along with the other girls.
One of Suli’s attendants called me out.
Suli was sipping her tea with a calm air. When she saw me arrive, she slammed her cup down on the table and shot me a cold, mocking glance. “What do you take this place for, Second Miss?”
My heart skipped a beat; I really didn’t know how to begin.
When I stayed silent, she lost her patience and slapped the contract on the table. “The penalty for breach is one hundred taels. Pay up, Second Miss, and we’ll call it even.”
Her lips were pressed tightly together, barely holding back her anger. Clearly, she thought I’d been playing her.
“Sister Suli, I still want to stay here. Please, don’t make me leave, can’t I stay?”
“Second Miss, what do you think this place is? There are so many pretty girls here who can’t even afford a meal and have to make a living like this. Why are you here-just looking to experience life? Please, do us a favor and stop stirring up trouble. Do you know what kind of family the Zhang Family is? We can’t afford to offend them. If you cause the Zhang Residence to lose face here, I won’t be able to run my business.”
“Sister, since you know I’m the Second Miss, you also know I’m not some pampered daughter. The first day you met me, you could tell I wasn’t a noble girl-your instincts weren’t wrong. If I had a good life at home, I wouldn’t have come here…”
Just last night I’d tasted what it was like to be suddenly rich; how could I let this path to riches be cut off so soon? If I had to pay another hundred taels, I’d be ruined.
“I’ve seen it over the past two months. You’re willing to learn and practice; you’re an ambitious, good girl. But your status really puts us in a difficult spot. Who would have thought such a prominent family would treat a Concubine’s Daughter this way.”
Suli let out a sigh. “All right, come with me. I’ll go ask the master.”
Suli took me to the innermost private room on the third floor.
As soon as we entered, I saw a large bed. White gauze curtains drifted gently, and I could faintly make out someone lying on the bed.
Delicate smoke curled up from the vermilion-bronze incense burner, filling the room with a sweet pear fragrance.
“Master, she’s here.”
Slender, pale fingers drew back the bed curtains, and an extraordinarily bewitching face appeared from behind the gauze.
Sharp, chiseled features, porcelain-white skin, upturned brows and eyes, thin and bright red lips-he was the very image of a Fox Spirit. Compared to him, I was completely outclassed.
His looks were so striking that my heart pounded violently. I didn’t dare make a sound, as if even breathing would profane this Beauty.
He wore red, his bare feet on the carpet, holding a folding fan in his hand. My whole body tensed, hardly daring to breathe, as he came closer and lifted my chin with the fan.
He studied me for a moment, then withdrew the fan and gave Suli a lazy smile. “Understandable.”
“Yes, Master, please understand. The moment I saw her face, I coaxed and tricked her to bring her in-how could I have had time to check her background? You can’t blame me. With a face like that, she could earn our Pavilion a fortune.”
“All right. You failed to investigate properly, so we’ll let the penalty go.”
He turned away in a languid manner and walked back to the bed, the hem of his red robe rustling softly on the carpet.
I couldn’t help but marvel-this man was truly too beautiful, with an ethereal, elegant air that made it impossible to look away.
He lay back on the bed, propping his face on a soft pillow as he looked at me. “Second Miss, this isn’t a place for you. Since Suli tricked you into this, we’ll waive the penalty. I’ll have Suli destroy the contract, but you mustn’t come again.”
I had indeed made them shoulder a risk they shouldn’t have had to bear. There was no reason to shamelessly hang around after being asked to leave.
Still, I couldn’t help feeling a bit of regret. In more than two months, I’d learned only a couple of dances and barely started with the pipa. After leaving, I might never get another chance to try these things.
“Zhuzhu, you’re different from the girls here. Even if times are tough, with your family background you could be a proper wife. What good could you possibly find here? Don’t be foolish-go back.”
On the way home under my umbrella, I couldn’t help but feel sad.
What I thought was a turning point turned out to be another run of misfortune. I thought everything was moving in the right direction, but in a flash I was back where I started.
Head down, I was walking when a pair of black, cloud-embroidered brocade boots appeared in front of me, then a sky-blue robe with a jade belt, and then a proper, dignified face.
“What are you doing here?”
Yin Jiuqing shifted his hand on the umbrella handle and answered simply, “I have business here. Just happened to be passing by.”
I muttered, “oh,” and walked past him-I had no intention of trying to charm him at the moment.
“I also came to see if you were defying orders.” After a pause, he called out to stop me: “I have important matters to discuss with my uncle. I can give you a ride.”
He pointed to a carriage not far away.
No reason to refuse a free ride.
Inside the carriage, it was just the two of us. Only then did I realize how awkward I felt, as if I were sitting on pins and needles.
Yin Jiuqing sat reading a scroll, ignoring me.
When I lifted the curtain to watch the rainy streets go by, he finally asked, “You’re not going back to Ruyi Pavilion, are you?”
“No.”
“Good.” He went back to reading.
As we got close, I asked to get out early.
“What do you mean by that?” Yin Jiuqing put down his book, then seemed to recall, “Ah-I remember now. You’re going to stoop so low as to crawl back into that dog-hole.”
There was really no need for him to be so perceptive.