The moment night falls, the streets of Xichuan come alive with feasting and revelry, its lantern-lit streets as rich and vibrant as a dream. It’s been a long, long time since Duan Ling has seen anything like this.
“What do you feel like eating?”
“I’m good with anything.” Duan Ling says, “Where’s that friend of yours?”
“Let’s worry about that later. We’ll go see them after we get something to eat.”
Duan Ling wants wontons. They take a stroll around the bustling streets, Wu Du making sure the crowd doesn’t cram against Duan Ling, and they make their way to a wonton stand.
From time to time a passerby would glance at Wu Du, noting his slender figure walking tall ahead of a young man with fine features, Duan Ling so well-dressed that it ends up making Wu Du look like the servant. The two eat a meal of wontons at the stand. Wu Du’s mind seems elsewhere today.
But Duan Ling is rather happy. “What are you thinking about?”
Seemingly jostled out of his thoughts, Wu Du replies, ‘Nothing much.“
Seeing that Wu Du seems unwilling to divulge, Duan Ling is disinclined to press for more. Wu Du thinks some more about it and ultimately chooses to explain, “When I go meet with that friend later, you don’t have to show your face; it’ll save us some trouble. You can go ahead and have some fun on your own. I’ll explain everything once I’m done.”
Duan Ling gives him a nod, and as he stares at Wu Du with a sceptical look on his face, he suddenly starts to smile.
“What terrible things are you saying about me in your head now?” Wu Du narrows his eyes.
Duan Ling is guessing that Wu Du doesn’t want to stay in the grand chancellor’s estate any longer, and he’s going to meet with a “friend” who’s doing better than himself to try to seek other employment. It’s good to see him pulling himself together a little bit; when it comes down to it, Duan Ling is happy for him.
“I suppose there’s no harm in telling you. This person has tried to meet with me several times. I didn’t really want to talk to him before this, but now I’m thinking that I really should find some work to do.”
Duan Ling makes a considering hum, feeling somewhat of two minds regarding this development. The threads of Wu Du’s fate and his seems to be tangled up together, he feels, as though there’s a curious connection between them. For instance, when Mu Kuangda recognised Duan Ling’s worth, Wu Du’s position was also in turn elevated. Outside the study the other day, Mu Kuangda was implying that he wanted Wu Du to guard the door for him.
Not just anybody can guard the chancellor’s door. Chang Liujun is the one who gets to stand guard outside his door, and it’s one way to indicate his standing.
But Wu Du is simpler-minded and he couldn’t have figured out these implications contained between the lines a literati speaks, the way that Duan Ling has.
Many times, Duan Ling has thought about how he’ll certainly make Wu Du a personal bodyguard and give him both high rank and a high salary if he ever regains everything that belongs to him, but if Wu Du leaves the chancellor’s estate, Duan Ling’s own plans will have to change as well. Will he really change places again though? Wu Du is already with his third master. Another change may not necessarily put him in a better position than where he is now.
Judging by what he can glean from Wu Du’s expression, he seems to be of two minds about it as well.
“Let’s go.” Wu Du finally makes up his mind and gets up with Duan Ling. As they walk through the avenue, Duan Ling pauses curiously at the street performers. When Wu Du realises Duan Ling is gone, he backtracks impatiently and hauls him off.
“Sir —”
“Oh, sir —”
There’s a remarkably resplendent building in front of them, and as soon as they step through the door they’re greeted by young women in heavy make up. Startled, Duan Ling says, “What are you all doing?”
Duan Ling backs up several steps and looks up to find the words Blossoms Pavilion on the inscribed sign above their heads, and it’s written by an emperor from a hundred years ago, too; an awkward look comes over Duan Ling’s face all at once.
“Go inside,” Wu Du tells him.
The women consider Wu Du and Duan Ling inquisitively. To them, Duan Ling looks like the son of a rich family, while Wu Du looks like a servant, but again Duan Ling seems unwilling to defy Wu Du — the relationship between these two seem rather peculiar.
“I um … I better not go. I’ll wait outside for you.”
Growing impatient, Wu Du grabs Duan Ling by the collar and starts dragging him up the stairs. Duan Ling says immediately, “I’ll walk on my own! It’s a new robe, don’t rip it!”
Wu Du only let him go after that, and he stops to ask a young woman, “Has the guest who booked the Sky room2 arrived yet?”
“Not yet.” The young lady bows a shallow bow at Wu Du. “This way please, sir.”
“Take real good care of this young man here,” Wu Du says, “take him to the room across the way.”
Duan Ling’s been trailing Wu Du like a shadow, but now Wu Du is turning his attention to Duan Ling, looking him up and down. “What’re you doing just following me around for? Go on. Do I need to teach you what you’re supposed to be doing in a brothel?”
“No no.” Duan Ling waves the idea off right away, and all the girls around him start giggling. Duan Ling’s face turns bright red instantly, but Wu Du has turned around to stare at Duan Ling with a frosty expression on his face.
“What did we agree on earlier?” Wu Du says.
“Then I … I’ll go in there and eat something. Let me know when you’re done talking.”
“Order whatever you want. We’re not the ones paying.”
The service here is first rate, and as soon as Duan Ling goes inside the room, a bunch of girls trail in after him. Without knowing that the rule here is for him to meet them all before picking the ones he wants, Duan Ling just thinks they’re all here to take care of him and says, “You can all go. Don’t worry about me.”
The Viburnum may have been a brothel as well, but with Duan Ling being who he is, no one there dared take liberties with him, so he’s never experienced anything like this. The girls exchange looks with one another. They’ve all dealt with plenty of guests who both want to visit brothels and pretend to be a wallflower, just like this one, thus they’re quite experienced in the handling of such. One of them steps up to him. “Young master.”
“It’s really quite alright,” Duan Ling groans in dismay, “Please. Please … I’m serious.”
It’s not as though Duan Ling has never thought about matters of love before; come to think of it, the old friends he used to hang out with such as Batu and Helian Bo … are presumably married by now, save Cai Yan, who may not even be alive. Once upon a time, he wanted to have a family too, just like his father and mother.
However, a variety of complicated factors are constantly influencing him. His first impression of the business between the sexes is like a dream that will never be forgotten, flickering in the tapestry of his memories. Seeing Lang Junxia and Ding Zhi that night has given him such a blow that he’s never thought favorably of brothels, even now.
And after that, Duan Ling has always treated the girls in the Viburnum as a gentleman would, the way his father did. They’re all poor souls who lost their homeland, lost their homes. How could he ever treat them the way Yelü Dashi had?
It’s occurring to him now that his heart has somehow never moved for anyone. There is just so much to life that Duan Ling feels he has no control over.
Duan Ling sits inclined on the daybed. The girls watch him for a while, and Duan Ling waves them off, telling them earnestly, “Please go. Let me rest for a while on my own.”
One of them goes looking for the Madam, and it isn’t long before she shows up. “Young master, the girls are just here to sit with you while you drink.”
“No need. The price can stay the same, whatever you’re asking. Just give the bill to the man in the next room over.”
The madam seems to come to a realisation of sorts, but she doesn’t voice it out loud. After all’s said and done though she can’t simply neglect a guest, and so she says to him, “Then let me call for a qin player to take your orders then, master.”
Well that’s probably fine, Duan Ling supposes, and so the madam leaves to send for someone. Soon enough, a boy prostitute walks in.3
Duan Ling is struck speechless.
The boy has delicate, pretty features, and he’s very gentle. He comes over and sits down next to Duan Ling. “Would you like a massage, sir?”
Duan Ling waves him away. “You can go too. It’s quite alright.”
The boy looks taken aback for a moment, and Duan Ling gets to thinking, well, since he’s already here, I may as well keep him here for now, and change his mind. “Oh never mind, just stay here for now and don’t let anyone else come in.”
And so the boy remains seated and pours a cup of wine, raising it to Duan Ling’s lips. But Duan Ling tells him, “I don’t drink.”
Duan Ling is both afraid of talking in his sleep and afraid of saying something odd that can get him killed if he gets drunk, and that’s why he doesn’t touch wine at all. In response the boy can only pick up some food with a pair of chopsticks and feed that to Duan Ling instead. Duan Ling feels rather revolted by it, but it won’t do for him to shun the boy; they’re both unfortunate souls, after all, so he simply nods and praises him a little. “You’re very beautiful.”
“You’re very beautiful, sir,” the boy says, smiling.
“Beautiful people,” Duan Ling seems to be having quite the epiphany, "are always at an advantage, and when they look out at the world it looks more prosperous to them. That’s because most ordinary people will smile at them when they see them.”
The boy never thought Duan Ling would burst out such a comment on life all of a sudden, and he can only smile awkwardly back.
“Just sit there. Don’t worry about looking after me.” As he says this, Duan Ling points at the other end of the daybed, so the boy has no choice but sit there and be content with it.
Duan Ling adds, “You won’t get paid any less. Just pretend you’re taking a break.”
The boy sits there for a while; he did not foresee that Duan Ling’s aura would be so overwhelming that he can’t do anything to move him. A moment goes by before he asks, “What do you like to eat, sir? I’ll go order the kitchen to make you some.”
“Wontons.” Duan Ling replies, “I just had some. Some fruit would be nice.”
And so the boy bows and leaves the room. Outside, the madam asks him several questions, and Duan Ling hears a “didn’t like me” before the boy goes away. Thank the heavens, Duan Ling thinks, best if they can leave me alone.
Leaning back on the daybed, Duan Ling notices the grapes, and since it’s rather rare to see grapes, he eats several; they’re sour and sweet, and the more of them he eats, the more he enjoys them, thereby he drags the whole tray into his lap and starts eating in earnest as he starts thinking about the matter of himself getting married. Usually there are so many things he has to keep in mind that he can barely make heads and tails of them, but now he has the leisure to slowly think things through — for instance, the “set up a marriage alliance” that he heard Mu Kuangda and Chang Pin talk about last night.
By this year’s sixth of the twelfth month, he’s going to be sixteen. If dad’s still around he’ll definitely choose a bride for him, but he’s never thought about it before; it all sounds so very far away. Would he have had to form a marriage alliance with one of the major families just like that “crown prince”? Whenever spring used to come, there was always a desire inside of him looking for an avenue of release, but somehow he seems to no longer have any feeling at all in regards to romantic love.
When did that all begin with if he’s to think about it? It was probably after he came to Xichuan, since the moment Lang Junxia poisoned him. Duan Ling’s voice is still a bit hoarse. He hasn’t fully recovered. What kind of a wife does he want to marry? What will his son be like?
Duan Ling doesn’t think he can be a good father. He’s not ready yet. If he can’t give his child happiness then he would much rather never have one. His own life is hanging by a thread as is, so how can he burden his children? But come to think of it, his father was a wandering vagabond too, so much so that Duan Ling didn’t even see him until a full thirteen years after he was born … when he thinks of the past, Duan Ling thinks he loves him anyway.
But he’s endured enough of that kind of suffering on his own. He’ll only consider marriage if he’s back on the position he ought to be seated on. Perhaps he’ll never be able to accomplish that objective … Even if Great Chen’s ancestors are to bless and protect him and help him become the emperor, with all the infighting and backstabbing in government, being his child isn’t exactly an easy life.
They would be better off being an ordinary person …
Duan Ling’s thoughts go off on countless tangents, flowing along with the sound of music seeping through the door. There is once more knocking, and this time they enter without waiting for an answer.
“The boss asked me to come wait on you, young master,” a deep and resonant male voice says.
The new arrival is a burly fellow, tall, broad shouldered, sturdily-built and robust of figure, dressed in a tight-fitting short sleeve shirt open at the chest. Holding a food box in both hands, he walks in and kicks a foot out behind him to shut the door.
Duan Ling immediately spits out a mouthful of tea.
“Young master?” The buff man comes up to him right away to pat his back, and starts trying to feed him grapes.
“You sit right there!” Duan Ling says at once, “Don’t move!”
The buff man is strong and muscular, with copper skin and rugged features that exudes power and all the charms of a fighting man. He gives Duan Ling a rather stiff smile.
Duan Ling feels faint;4 he drops his forehead into one hand, utterly lost for words.
Where did they even find this man from? Surely he can’t be a resident male prostitute from the Blossoms Pavilion. Most likely he’s just some tough hired for day labour who’s now serving a dual purpose.
“Young master, you’re so handsome. Why don’t I sing you a song?”
Duan Ling says immediately, “No need, friend. You just have to sit there.”
The buff man nods tactfully and asks, “Where’re you from, young master?”
Duan Ling doesn’t even know what to say to him.
“The head of the Blossoms Pavilion spent good money on me to wait on you, so you should at least order me to do something or other. I wasn’t going to come at first, but seeing how handsome you are …”
“Have a drink then.” Duan Ling thinks, well, no one has it easy, so he picks up his teacup in place of wine and lets him know that all he has to do is drink.
The buff man seems perfectly happy about this though; he drinks wine and eats meat, then once he’s had quite enough he turns to Duan Ling, “Thank you for the meal, young master. Since I’ve eaten my fill, then let’s …”
“You just sit right there!” Finally, Duan Ling can’t take it anymore.
The buff man can do nothing else but sit there and look well-behaved.
Not a moment passes before someone else is knocking on the door. Duan Ling is quite on the verge of a breakdown by now, and groans, “Who is it this time?”
“Me,” Wu Du says, and pushes the door open. When he comes in, it’s to find a stout looking man sitting at one side of the room, Duan Ling and him staring at each other, seemingly at an impasse.
Wu Du stares at the scene silently. Duan Ling stares silently back.
“What’s all this about?” Wu Du’s expression is simply marvellous.
As the buff man is about to explain, Duan Ling drops his forehead into his hand. Lest the man ends up making this sound far worse than what it looks like, Duan Ling says to him, “Run along, please.”
That man finally leaves, while Wu Du and Duan Ling remain in the room. Duan Ling looks at Wu Du inquisitively. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh they came over next door and told me,” Wu Du says offhandedly, “the young master doesn’t like men, doesn’t like women either, so I had no choice but to come over and attend to you myself.”
Duan Ling bursts out laughing, while Wu Du considers Duan Ling with a rather uncomfortable look on his face. “You wouldn’t have acquired the same … that unmentionable ailment Mu Qing has, would you?”
“Ah?” Duan Ling looks utterly blank-faced. “What unmentionable ailment?”
“Oh forget it.” Wu Du can’t be bothered to explain, and sits down on the edge of the bed.
“Is your friend not here yet?”
“Not yet. I sat down and thought about it for a while, and I think we may as well just go.”
Duan Ling understands now; Wu Du was probably trying to come to a decision tonight. Should he leave the chancellor’s estate to find another line of work, or should he stay there? He’s hoping that Wu Du won’t leave. Otherwise, Duan Ling’s position will become even more precarious. But Wu Du should be the one making such a huge decision on his own, and Duan Ling dares not interfere and make the choice for him. The two of them sit silently for a time; Duan Ling rolls onto his side and rests his head over Wu Du’s leg, while Wu Du sits there staring off blankly in front of him.
“Let’s leave,” Wu Du says. “Let’s go home.”
Mentally Duan Ling lets out a sigh of relief. Looks like Wu Du has decided to continue to stay in the chancellor’s estate. But that’s when someone outside says, “My lord, your friends are here. They’re right next door.”
“I’ll go meet with him briefly.” Wu Du says to Duan Ling, “You can wait here. This won’t take long at all.”
Duan Ling nods, and Wu Du rises and leaves the room.
Inside the Sky room, the lamp is turned down low. Wu Du pushes the door open, and as soon as he’s inside someone closes the door after him.
“It’s been a long time, Wu Du. Please have a seat.”
Beneath the dim lamplight, Lang Junxia is sitting to one side pouring wine into a cup. Cai Yan sits on a daybed in the centre of the room, staring right at Wu Du, giving him a smile and a nod.
“Greetings, Your Highness.” Wu Du takes one step forward and gets down to kneel on one knee in a military man’s salute. Cai Yan goes to him right away to help him up, and the moment they touch, Wu Du rises and takes a half step back.
Cai Yan puts out a hand again gesturing for him to take a seat, but Wu Du doesn’t sit down. He merely stands there quietly.
“Are you in that much of a hurry?” Lang Junxia says in a cool voice.
Wu Du takes a deep breath and nods. “If there’s anything your Highness would like to say, please go ahead.”
“Last time we spoke, it was actually back in Shangjing, in the Illustrious Hall. It’s hard to think how the years have flown by in the blink of an eye. I was going to arrange a meeting with you for the seventh of seventh so we can share a drink together and pay respects to my father, but unfortunately I will not be able to find the time, and that’s why I wanted to see you now, in advance.”
“I’m very sorry about that old transgression. We each must serve our own master. I had no choice.”
“You each must serve your own master, so of course I don’t blame you.” Cai Yan smiles. “Wu Du, are you planning to have a whole conversation with me standing up like that?”
Only then does Wu Du move to take his seat.
“This cup of wine is to thank you for bringing back my father’s body.” Cai Yan waits until Lang Junxia puts the winecup in front of Wu Du before raising his own cup.
Wu Du picks up the cup and gives it a glance. No matter how brazen they are, presumably they won’t go so far as to attempt a poisoning in front of a master poisoner. Thus the three of them drain their cups.
“The reason why I haven’t been by to see you all this time,” Cai Yan says, “is not because I did not want to. It is because I could not.”
Wu Du ruminates for a long time before glancing over to Lang Junxia, then he turns his gaze onto the crown prince “Li Rong”.
Cai Yan continues, “Only two have ever pledged their allegiance to my father. One is Wuluohou Mu, and the other one is you. The first thing I wanted to do when I returned to the imperial court was to bring you into the palace. I already had Wuluohou Mu with me, however, so even if I recruited you as well it would only have been a waste of your talents, and that’s why I made other arrangements. I’m sure you understand the myriad reasons why this had to be so, therefore I will speak no more on the matter.”
Wu Du gives a slight start, then as though he’s realised something, narrows his eyes.
Meanwhile, Lang Junxia has been quietly watching the cup of wine in front of him. Aside from that, he has kept his silence.
“Chancellor Mu presented the memorial to move the capital at this morning’s court assembly, and I thought I can’t possibly delay this any longer. coming here to see you tonight is a risky endeavor on both our parts, but once the capital’s relocation begins, there will inevitably be changes in personnel. If I don’t let you know ahead of time, it’ll only be more difficult due to the yoke we’ll be under later on.”
Cai Yan eagerly watches Wu Du as though hoping he may react in some way, but Lang Junxia and Wu Du are like a couple of wooden statues placed in the room, each keeping quiet to his own.
“Wu Du, what are your thoughts?” Cai Yan asks warmly, “There’s no harm in voicing them.”
Wu Du lets out a long, long sigh. “That day, when Your Highness flew into a rage and charged me with failure to protect the late emperor, I thought you really wanted to kill me. Now that I think about it, this meeting has resolved something that has been plaguing my heart thus far.”
Once he finishes speaking, Wu Du walks in front of Cai Yan, kneels down on both knees, and kowtows. Cai Yan immediately comes to help him up again; this time there is no doubt to his sincerity as he helps Wu Du up.
“I was the one who did you wrong.” There are tears in Cai Yan’s eyes, gone a little red.
“Once the capital is relocated to Jiangzhou, I need to set up a new division of imperial guards. I haven’t thought about what to call it yet, but those promoted into its ranks must be people I can trust. After much consideration, I believe you to be the only suitable candidate.”
Wu Du falls quiet again.
Cai Yan continues, “I envisage this guard division to be reorganised from Great Chen’s Shadow Guards into an intelligence agency, with spying of foreign enemies and auditing of internal affairs as its mainstay. As you currently work for Chancellor Mu, he certainly won’t suspect you.”
A barely perceptible furrow appears between Wu Du’s brows, but Lang Junxia has been observing his expression all this time.
“Your Highness …” Wu Du looks to be thinking hard.
“You don’t have to give me an answer right this moment.” Cai Yan raises a hand to stop Wu Du from continuing. “You’ll have plenty of time to consider it when you get back. I was hoping that during this meeting I can thank you somehow, but such things as money and jewels can only degrade your unsullied loyalty towards me …”
When he hears this, Wu Du’s eyes suddenly redden; when Li Jianhong died in battle, Wu Du charged into Shangjing and took back Emperor Wu’s body from the enemy, but when he returned to the imperial court, Li Yanqiu arrested him in a rage. Months later, Wuluohou Mu escorted back the crown prince and the crown prince wanted to sentence him to death. It was Mu Kuangda who wrote a petition for mercy, and that was the only reason he was able to keep his life.
All this time, no one understood him, and no one felt sorry for him. It is not until today that the chains around him are taken away with these words — unsullied loyalty.
I do not monetise my hobby translations, but if you’d like to support my work generally or support my light novel habit, you can either buy me a coffee or commission me. This is also to note that if you see this message anywhere else than on tumblr, do come to my tumblr. It’s ad-free. ↩︎
Old time room numbers were not numbered, but in “alphabetical” order according to the thousand character classic. The first line is “black sky yellow earth”, but the characters actually go in the order of sky-earth-black-yellow. Sky room would be the same as saying “Room A” at this time. Quality tends to start highest at the first letter, so the “Sky” room is the best in the house, and here it sounds like it’s the only one of that calibre, since Wu Du didn’t say “Sky room number one” but merely, “Sky room”. ↩︎
Probably anywhere from thirteen to seventeen. ↩︎
The original phrase was actually “first Buddha was born, then Buddha ascended”, which simply means “lived and died” or “died and lived”. It’s just a fancy way to say “nearly fainted”, or “fainted dead away and woke up again”. ↩︎
The moment night falls, the streets of Xichuan come alive with feasting and revelry, its lantern-lit streets as rich and vibrant as a dream. It’s been a long, long time since Duan Ling has seen anything like this.
“What do you feel like eating?”
“I’m good with anything.” Duan Ling says, “Where’s that friend of yours?”
“Let’s worry about that later. We’ll go see them after we get something to eat.”
Duan Ling wants wontons. They take a stroll around the bustling streets, Wu Du making sure the crowd doesn’t cram against Duan Ling, and they make their way to a wonton stand.
From time to time a passerby would glance at Wu Du, noting his slender figure walking tall ahead of a young man with fine features, Duan Ling so well-dressed that it ends up making Wu Du look like the servant. The two eat a meal of wontons at the stand. Wu Du’s mind seems elsewhere today.
But Duan Ling is rather happy. “What are you thinking about?”
Seemingly jostled out of his thoughts, Wu Du replies, ‘Nothing much.“
Seeing that Wu Du seems unwilling to divulge, Duan Ling is disinclined to press for more. Wu Du thinks some more about it and ultimately chooses to explain, “When I go meet with that friend later, you don’t have to show your face; it’ll save us some trouble. You can go ahead and have some fun on your own. I’ll explain everything once I’m done.”
Duan Ling gives him a nod, and as he stares at Wu Du with a sceptical look on his face, he suddenly starts to smile.
“What terrible things are you saying about me in your head now?” Wu Du narrows his eyes.
Duan Ling is guessing that Wu Du doesn’t want to stay in the grand chancellor’s estate any longer, and he’s going to meet with a “friend” who’s doing better than himself to try to seek other employment. It’s good to see him pulling himself together a little bit; when it comes down to it, Duan Ling is happy for him.
“I suppose there’s no harm in telling you. This person has tried to meet with me several times. I didn’t really want to talk to him before this, but now I’m thinking that I really should find some work to do.”
Duan Ling makes a considering hum, feeling somewhat of two minds regarding this development. The threads of Wu Du’s fate and his seems to be tangled up together, he feels, as though there’s a curious connection between them. For instance, when Mu Kuangda recognised Duan Ling’s worth, Wu Du’s position was also in turn elevated. Outside the study the other day, Mu Kuangda was implying that he wanted Wu Du to guard the door for him.
Not just anybody can guard the chancellor’s door. Chang Liujun is the one who gets to stand guard outside his door, and it’s one way to indicate his standing.
But Wu Du is simpler-minded and he couldn’t have figured out these implications contained between the lines a literati speaks, the way that Duan Ling has.
Many times, Duan Ling has thought about how he’ll certainly make Wu Du a personal bodyguard and give him both high rank and a high salary if he ever regains everything that belongs to him, but if Wu Du leaves the chancellor’s estate, Duan Ling’s own plans will have to change as well. Will he really change places again though? Wu Du is already with his third master. Another change may not necessarily put him in a better position than where he is now.
Judging by what he can glean from Wu Du’s expression, he seems to be of two minds about it as well.
“Let’s go.” Wu Du finally makes up his mind and gets up with Duan Ling. As they walk through the avenue, Duan Ling pauses curiously at the street performers. When Wu Du realises Duan Ling is gone, he backtracks impatiently and hauls him off.
“Sir —”
“Oh, sir —”
There’s a remarkably resplendent building in front of them, and as soon as they step through the door they’re greeted by young women in heavy make up. Startled, Duan Ling says, “What are you all doing?”
Duan Ling backs up several steps and looks up to find the words Blossoms Pavilion on the inscribed sign above their heads, and it’s written by an emperor from a hundred years ago, too; an awkward look comes over Duan Ling’s face all at once.
“Go inside,” Wu Du tells him.
The women consider Wu Du and Duan Ling inquisitively. To them, Duan Ling looks like the son of a rich family, while Wu Du looks like a servant, but again Duan Ling seems unwilling to defy Wu Du — the relationship between these two seem rather peculiar.
“I um … I better not go. I’ll wait outside for you.”
Growing impatient, Wu Du grabs Duan Ling by the collar and starts dragging him up the stairs. Duan Ling says immediately, “I’ll walk on my own! It’s a new robe, don’t rip it!”
Wu Du only let him go after that, and he stops to ask a young woman, “Has the guest who booked the Sky room2 arrived yet?”
“Not yet.” The young lady bows a shallow bow at Wu Du. “This way please, sir.”
“Take real good care of this young man here,” Wu Du says, “take him to the room across the way.”
Duan Ling’s been trailing Wu Du like a shadow, but now Wu Du is turning his attention to Duan Ling, looking him up and down. “What’re you doing just following me around for? Go on. Do I need to teach you what you’re supposed to be doing in a brothel?”
“No no.” Duan Ling waves the idea off right away, and all the girls around him start giggling. Duan Ling’s face turns bright red instantly, but Wu Du has turned around to stare at Duan Ling with a frosty expression on his face.
“What did we agree on earlier?” Wu Du says.
“Then I … I’ll go in there and eat something. Let me know when you’re done talking.”
“Order whatever you want. We’re not the ones paying.”
The service here is first rate, and as soon as Duan Ling goes inside the room, a bunch of girls trail in after him. Without knowing that the rule here is for him to meet them all before picking the ones he wants, Duan Ling just thinks they’re all here to take care of him and says, “You can all go. Don’t worry about me.”
The Viburnum may have been a brothel as well, but with Duan Ling being who he is, no one there dared take liberties with him, so he’s never experienced anything like this. The girls exchange looks with one another. They’ve all dealt with plenty of guests who both want to visit brothels and pretend to be a wallflower, just like this one, thus they’re quite experienced in the handling of such. One of them steps up to him. “Young master.”
“It’s really quite alright,” Duan Ling groans in dismay, “Please. Please … I’m serious.”
It’s not as though Duan Ling has never thought about matters of love before; come to think of it, the old friends he used to hang out with such as Batu and Helian Bo … are presumably married by now, save Cai Yan, who may not even be alive. Once upon a time, he wanted to have a family too, just like his father and mother.
However, a variety of complicated factors are constantly influencing him. His first impression of the business between the sexes is like a dream that will never be forgotten, flickering in the tapestry of his memories. Seeing Lang Junxia and Ding Zhi that night has given him such a blow that he’s never thought favorably of brothels, even now.
And after that, Duan Ling has always treated the girls in the Viburnum as a gentleman would, the way his father did. They’re all poor souls who lost their homeland, lost their homes. How could he ever treat them the way Yelü Dashi had?
It’s occurring to him now that his heart has somehow never moved for anyone. There is just so much to life that Duan Ling feels he has no control over.
Duan Ling sits inclined on the daybed. The girls watch him for a while, and Duan Ling waves them off, telling them earnestly, “Please go. Let me rest for a while on my own.”
One of them goes looking for the Madam, and it isn’t long before she shows up. “Young master, the girls are just here to sit with you while you drink.”
“No need. The price can stay the same, whatever you’re asking. Just give the bill to the man in the next room over.”
The madam seems to come to a realisation of sorts, but she doesn’t voice it out loud. After all’s said and done though she can’t simply neglect a guest, and so she says to him, “Then let me call for a qin player to take your orders then, master.”
Well that’s probably fine, Duan Ling supposes, and so the madam leaves to send for someone. Soon enough, a boy prostitute walks in.3
Duan Ling is struck speechless.
The boy has delicate, pretty features, and he’s very gentle. He comes over and sits down next to Duan Ling. “Would you like a massage, sir?”
Duan Ling waves him away. “You can go too. It’s quite alright.”
The boy looks taken aback for a moment, and Duan Ling gets to thinking, well, since he’s already here, I may as well keep him here for now, and change his mind. “Oh never mind, just stay here for now and don’t let anyone else come in.”
And so the boy remains seated and pours a cup of wine, raising it to Duan Ling’s lips. But Duan Ling tells him, “I don’t drink.”
Duan Ling is both afraid of talking in his sleep and afraid of saying something odd that can get him killed if he gets drunk, and that’s why he doesn’t touch wine at all. In response the boy can only pick up some food with a pair of chopsticks and feed that to Duan Ling instead. Duan Ling feels rather revolted by it, but it won’t do for him to shun the boy; they’re both unfortunate souls, after all, so he simply nods and praises him a little. “You’re very beautiful.”
“You’re very beautiful, sir,” the boy says, smiling.
“Beautiful people,” Duan Ling seems to be having quite the epiphany, "are always at an advantage, and when they look out at the world it looks more prosperous to them. That’s because most ordinary people will smile at them when they see them.”
The boy never thought Duan Ling would burst out such a comment on life all of a sudden, and he can only smile awkwardly back.
“Just sit there. Don’t worry about looking after me.” As he says this, Duan Ling points at the other end of the daybed, so the boy has no choice but sit there and be content with it.
Duan Ling adds, “You won’t get paid any less. Just pretend you’re taking a break.”
The boy sits there for a while; he did not foresee that Duan Ling’s aura would be so overwhelming that he can’t do anything to move him. A moment goes by before he asks, “What do you like to eat, sir? I’ll go order the kitchen to make you some.”
“Wontons.” Duan Ling replies, “I just had some. Some fruit would be nice.”
And so the boy bows and leaves the room. Outside, the madam asks him several questions, and Duan Ling hears a “didn’t like me” before the boy goes away. Thank the heavens, Duan Ling thinks, best if they can leave me alone.
Leaning back on the daybed, Duan Ling notices the grapes, and since it’s rather rare to see grapes, he eats several; they’re sour and sweet, and the more of them he eats, the more he enjoys them, thereby he drags the whole tray into his lap and starts eating in earnest as he starts thinking about the matter of himself getting married. Usually there are so many things he has to keep in mind that he can barely make heads and tails of them, but now he has the leisure to slowly think things through — for instance, the “set up a marriage alliance” that he heard Mu Kuangda and Chang Pin talk about last night.
By this year’s sixth of the twelfth month, he’s going to be sixteen. If dad’s still around he’ll definitely choose a bride for him, but he’s never thought about it before; it all sounds so very far away. Would he have had to form a marriage alliance with one of the major families just like that “crown prince”? Whenever spring used to come, there was always a desire inside of him looking for an avenue of release, but somehow he seems to no longer have any feeling at all in regards to romantic love.
When did that all begin with if he’s to think about it? It was probably after he came to Xichuan, since the moment Lang Junxia poisoned him. Duan Ling’s voice is still a bit hoarse. He hasn’t fully recovered. What kind of a wife does he want to marry? What will his son be like?
Duan Ling doesn’t think he can be a good father. He’s not ready yet. If he can’t give his child happiness then he would much rather never have one. His own life is hanging by a thread as is, so how can he burden his children? But come to think of it, his father was a wandering vagabond too, so much so that Duan Ling didn’t even see him until a full thirteen years after he was born … when he thinks of the past, Duan Ling thinks he loves him anyway.
But he’s endured enough of that kind of suffering on his own. He’ll only consider marriage if he’s back on the position he ought to be seated on. Perhaps he’ll never be able to accomplish that objective … Even if Great Chen’s ancestors are to bless and protect him and help him become the emperor, with all the infighting and backstabbing in government, being his child isn’t exactly an easy life.
They would be better off being an ordinary person …
Duan Ling’s thoughts go off on countless tangents, flowing along with the sound of music seeping through the door. There is once more knocking, and this time they enter without waiting for an answer.
“The boss asked me to come wait on you, young master,” a deep and resonant male voice says.
The new arrival is a burly fellow, tall, broad shouldered, sturdily-built and robust of figure, dressed in a tight-fitting short sleeve shirt open at the chest. Holding a food box in both hands, he walks in and kicks a foot out behind him to shut the door.
Duan Ling immediately spits out a mouthful of tea.
“Young master?” The buff man comes up to him right away to pat his back, and starts trying to feed him grapes.
“You sit right there!” Duan Ling says at once, “Don’t move!”
The buff man is strong and muscular, with copper skin and rugged features that exudes power and all the charms of a fighting man. He gives Duan Ling a rather stiff smile.
Duan Ling feels faint;4 he drops his forehead into one hand, utterly lost for words.
Where did they even find this man from? Surely he can’t be a resident male prostitute from the Blossoms Pavilion. Most likely he’s just some tough hired for day labour who’s now serving a dual purpose.
“Young master, you’re so handsome. Why don’t I sing you a song?”
Duan Ling says immediately, “No need, friend. You just have to sit there.”
The buff man nods tactfully and asks, “Where’re you from, young master?”
Duan Ling doesn’t even know what to say to him.
“The head of the Blossoms Pavilion spent good money on me to wait on you, so you should at least order me to do something or other. I wasn’t going to come at first, but seeing how handsome you are …”
“Have a drink then.” Duan Ling thinks, well, no one has it easy, so he picks up his teacup in place of wine and lets him know that all he has to do is drink.
The buff man seems perfectly happy about this though; he drinks wine and eats meat, then once he’s had quite enough he turns to Duan Ling, “Thank you for the meal, young master. Since I’ve eaten my fill, then let’s …”
“You just sit right there!” Finally, Duan Ling can’t take it anymore.
The buff man can do nothing else but sit there and look well-behaved.
Not a moment passes before someone else is knocking on the door. Duan Ling is quite on the verge of a breakdown by now, and groans, “Who is it this time?”
“Me,” Wu Du says, and pushes the door open. When he comes in, it’s to find a stout looking man sitting at one side of the room, Duan Ling and him staring at each other, seemingly at an impasse.
Wu Du stares at the scene silently. Duan Ling stares silently back.
“What’s all this about?” Wu Du’s expression is simply marvellous.
As the buff man is about to explain, Duan Ling drops his forehead into his hand. Lest the man ends up making this sound far worse than what it looks like, Duan Ling says to him, “Run along, please.”
That man finally leaves, while Wu Du and Duan Ling remain in the room. Duan Ling looks at Wu Du inquisitively. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh they came over next door and told me,” Wu Du says offhandedly, “the young master doesn’t like men, doesn’t like women either, so I had no choice but to come over and attend to you myself.”
Duan Ling bursts out laughing, while Wu Du considers Duan Ling with a rather uncomfortable look on his face. “You wouldn’t have acquired the same … that unmentionable ailment Mu Qing has, would you?”
“Ah?” Duan Ling looks utterly blank-faced. “What unmentionable ailment?”
“Oh forget it.” Wu Du can’t be bothered to explain, and sits down on the edge of the bed.
“Is your friend not here yet?”
“Not yet. I sat down and thought about it for a while, and I think we may as well just go.”
Duan Ling understands now; Wu Du was probably trying to come to a decision tonight. Should he leave the chancellor’s estate to find another line of work, or should he stay there? He’s hoping that Wu Du won’t leave. Otherwise, Duan Ling’s position will become even more precarious. But Wu Du should be the one making such a huge decision on his own, and Duan Ling dares not interfere and make the choice for him. The two of them sit silently for a time; Duan Ling rolls onto his side and rests his head over Wu Du’s leg, while Wu Du sits there staring off blankly in front of him.
“Let’s leave,” Wu Du says. “Let’s go home.”
Mentally Duan Ling lets out a sigh of relief. Looks like Wu Du has decided to continue to stay in the chancellor’s estate. But that’s when someone outside says, “My lord, your friends are here. They’re right next door.”
“I’ll go meet with him briefly.” Wu Du says to Duan Ling, “You can wait here. This won’t take long at all.”
Duan Ling nods, and Wu Du rises and leaves the room.
Inside the Sky room, the lamp is turned down low. Wu Du pushes the door open, and as soon as he’s inside someone closes the door after him.
“It’s been a long time, Wu Du. Please have a seat.”
Beneath the dim lamplight, Lang Junxia is sitting to one side pouring wine into a cup. Cai Yan sits on a daybed in the centre of the room, staring right at Wu Du, giving him a smile and a nod.
“Greetings, Your Highness.” Wu Du takes one step forward and gets down to kneel on one knee in a military man’s salute. Cai Yan goes to him right away to help him up, and the moment they touch, Wu Du rises and takes a half step back.
Cai Yan puts out a hand again gesturing for him to take a seat, but Wu Du doesn’t sit down. He merely stands there quietly.
“Are you in that much of a hurry?” Lang Junxia says in a cool voice.
Wu Du takes a deep breath and nods. “If there’s anything your Highness would like to say, please go ahead.”
“Last time we spoke, it was actually back in Shangjing, in the Illustrious Hall. It’s hard to think how the years have flown by in the blink of an eye. I was going to arrange a meeting with you for the seventh of seventh so we can share a drink together and pay respects to my father, but unfortunately I will not be able to find the time, and that’s why I wanted to see you now, in advance.”
“I’m very sorry about that old transgression. We each must serve our own master. I had no choice.”
“You each must serve your own master, so of course I don’t blame you.” Cai Yan smiles. “Wu Du, are you planning to have a whole conversation with me standing up like that?”
Only then does Wu Du move to take his seat.
“This cup of wine is to thank you for bringing back my father’s body.” Cai Yan waits until Lang Junxia puts the winecup in front of Wu Du before raising his own cup.
Wu Du picks up the cup and gives it a glance. No matter how brazen they are, presumably they won’t go so far as to attempt a poisoning in front of a master poisoner. Thus the three of them drain their cups.
“The reason why I haven’t been by to see you all this time,” Cai Yan says, “is not because I did not want to. It is because I could not.”
Wu Du ruminates for a long time before glancing over to Lang Junxia, then he turns his gaze onto the crown prince “Li Rong”.
Cai Yan continues, “Only two have ever pledged their allegiance to my father. One is Wuluohou Mu, and the other one is you. The first thing I wanted to do when I returned to the imperial court was to bring you into the palace. I already had Wuluohou Mu with me, however, so even if I recruited you as well it would only have been a waste of your talents, and that’s why I made other arrangements. I’m sure you understand the myriad reasons why this had to be so, therefore I will speak no more on the matter.”
Wu Du gives a slight start, then as though he’s realised something, narrows his eyes.
Meanwhile, Lang Junxia has been quietly watching the cup of wine in front of him. Aside from that, he has kept his silence.
“Chancellor Mu presented the memorial to move the capital at this morning’s court assembly, and I thought I can’t possibly delay this any longer. coming here to see you tonight is a risky endeavor on both our parts, but once the capital’s relocation begins, there will inevitably be changes in personnel. If I don’t let you know ahead of time, it’ll only be more difficult due to the yoke we’ll be under later on.”
Cai Yan eagerly watches Wu Du as though hoping he may react in some way, but Lang Junxia and Wu Du are like a couple of wooden statues placed in the room, each keeping quiet to his own.
“Wu Du, what are your thoughts?” Cai Yan asks warmly, “There’s no harm in voicing them.”
Wu Du lets out a long, long sigh. “That day, when Your Highness flew into a rage and charged me with failure to protect the late emperor, I thought you really wanted to kill me. Now that I think about it, this meeting has resolved something that has been plaguing my heart thus far.”
Once he finishes speaking, Wu Du walks in front of Cai Yan, kneels down on both knees, and kowtows. Cai Yan immediately comes to help him up again; this time there is no doubt to his sincerity as he helps Wu Du up.
“I was the one who did you wrong.” There are tears in Cai Yan’s eyes, gone a little red.
“Once the capital is relocated to Jiangzhou, I need to set up a new division of imperial guards. I haven’t thought about what to call it yet, but those promoted into its ranks must be people I can trust. After much consideration, I believe you to be the only suitable candidate.”
Wu Du falls quiet again.
Cai Yan continues, “I envisage this guard division to be reorganised from Great Chen’s Shadow Guards into an intelligence agency, with spying of foreign enemies and auditing of internal affairs as its mainstay. As you currently work for Chancellor Mu, he certainly won’t suspect you.”
A barely perceptible furrow appears between Wu Du’s brows, but Lang Junxia has been observing his expression all this time.
“Your Highness …” Wu Du looks to be thinking hard.
“You don’t have to give me an answer right this moment.” Cai Yan raises a hand to stop Wu Du from continuing. “You’ll have plenty of time to consider it when you get back. I was hoping that during this meeting I can thank you somehow, but such things as money and jewels can only degrade your unsullied loyalty towards me …”
When he hears this, Wu Du’s eyes suddenly redden; when Li Jianhong died in battle, Wu Du charged into Shangjing and took back Emperor Wu’s body from the enemy, but when he returned to the imperial court, Li Yanqiu arrested him in a rage. Months later, Wuluohou Mu escorted back the crown prince and the crown prince wanted to sentence him to death. It was Mu Kuangda who wrote a petition for mercy, and that was the only reason he was able to keep his life.
All this time, no one understood him, and no one felt sorry for him. It is not until today that the chains around him are taken away with these words — unsullied loyalty.
I do not monetise my hobby translations, but if you’d like to support my work generally or support my light novel habit, you can either buy me a coffee or commission me. This is also to note that if you see this message anywhere else than on tumblr, do come to my tumblr. It’s ad-free. ↩︎
Old time room numbers were not numbered, but in “alphabetical” order according to the thousand character classic. The first line is “black sky yellow earth”, but the characters actually go in the order of sky-earth-black-yellow. Sky room would be the same as saying “Room A” at this time. Quality tends to start highest at the first letter, so the “Sky” room is the best in the house, and here it sounds like it’s the only one of that calibre, since Wu Du didn’t say “Sky room number one” but merely, “Sky room”. ↩︎
Probably anywhere from thirteen to seventeen. ↩︎
The original phrase was actually “first Buddha was born, then Buddha ascended”, which simply means “lived and died” or “died and lived”. It’s just a fancy way to say “nearly fainted”, or “fainted dead away and woke up again”. ↩︎
