HMAM CH 22 Flower Fair
Jing Ye soon discovered that there was no need to inquire, as soon as he entered Harmony Pavilion, he could hear almost all the guests at the tables talking about the "Flower Fair".
Connected with the "Flower Fair" was the "Miming Pavilion".
This Miming Pavilion was clearly different from the general brothel and pleasure houses. After entering the door there was a stage for singing and dancing made of red gauze. Pretty girls in pink silk sat there, a pipa gently clasped in their hands as they sang songs of lovesickness. Small wing rooms separated by hollow doors surrounded the stage, each with a circular window opened towards the side of the stage. After the red gaze curtains were put down, due to the slightly dim candlelight, figures could only be seen vaguely, along with faint laughter that could be heard coming from inside.
As soon as Jing Ye led Shanyue inside, a handsome young man immediately came up to him and said, "Is the guest here to see today's courtesan competition? There just so happens to be two good seats vacant just now..."
Jing Ye motioned for him to lead the way.
The servant then led the two of them to a wing room facing the stage, two girls in bright yellow brought in fruit and wine with lowered heads, and then stood by the side.
The servant smiled and said: "There is less than an hour before the Flower Fair, so gongzi must wait for a bit. This is Liu'er, Feng'er, let them accompany you first."
“En."
Jing Ye sat on the soft seat by the circular window, raised his hand to signal Shanyue to sit opposite, and the servant quietly retreated.
The two girls secretly glanced at each other, wanting to step forward to serve, but Shanyue's eye swung at them with every step like knives, so they were so frightened that they didn't dare to move.
Jing Ye shook his head at her.
Shanyue couldn't help but say: "Gongzi..."
"We already came." Jing Ye laughed, "Could it be that the money should be spent in vain?" Then he said to the two girls, "Come over and pour some wine."
The two walked over gracefully, curtsied, and then knelt down by the wine table. The one called Feng'er was more daring and clever, she rolled up her sleeves to reveal her slender fingers and delicate wrists, and said with a smile while pouring wine: “Gongzi, is rice wine fine?"
"I don't have a preference." Jing Ye half propped his head to watch her posture while pouring wine. The two girls both wore light makeup, and possessed a certain charm. The girl called Liu'er still kept her head down but her collar exposed a section of fair neck, shy and lovable.
A woman was like a vase, which could not be touched but could be admired.
Shanyue felt that the eyes of the young master's wife really needed to be treated with two more bowls of medicine.
If she still knew a little modern slang, she would definitely be angrily yelling f**k (╯｀ ′)╯(┻━┻ in her heart now.
Jing Ye took a sip, remembered something and asked the two, "There isn't anything added inside, is there?"
When he asked this question, he appeared both curious and wary, causing Feng'er to cover her lips and smile: “Gongzi, don't worry, we don't use any special medicine in the Miming Pavilion, unless you request it."
"Oh." Jing Ye sniffed and drank while continuing sniffing.
Feng'er was very good at chatting and making jokes. Seeing Jing Ye's gentle temperament, she relayed to him some funny scenes related to drunken guests. The topic jumped from one to another and eventually settled on the Flower Fair.
“They say it is many courtesans competing against each other, but in fact the next owner of the flower crown is already decided between two. One is Sister Huai Lan, and the other is Liu Gongzi." Feng'er poured wine for him again, "Both of them are beauties talented in poetry, calligraphy, music and painting, but Liu Gongzi is slightly better at playing the qin, and Huai Lan is better at dancing."
Literate or illiterate, did it make a difference after the lights are blown out?
Jing Ye sipped wine silently.
The sound of the pipa downstairs gradually stopped, and suddenly the sound of the guzheng sounded loudly, and everyone in the room sat up straighter. Feng'er said: “It has begun."
Liu'er went forward to pull up and hang the gauze curtain on the silver hook, and from the window, one could see the stage below lined with red candles that shone brightly.
The sound of the guzheng gradually lowered.
They then saw a girl wearing a vermilion gauze skirt, holding a large fan of the same color, coming out from behind the screen.
There were gasps and noises from the audience.
Feng'er also covered her lips and exclaimed, "Huai Lan is actually leading the dance personally!"
Jing Ye took a sip of tea, staring at the dancing girl with long sleeves on the stage.
Her legs were long, her waist was very thin, and her cleavage was... cough, quite deep, with a slender and elegant neck. Half of her face was covered by red gauze, revealing only willow-leaf brows, and almond-shaped eyes that were full of autumn waves and tenderness.
Jing Ye looked at the woman's waist, which could be grasped by one hand, and then pinched himself with his left hand: "What the hell… who said I have a thin waist."
At the same time.
There was only one wing room in the hall, the window of which was facing the center of the stage. At this time, there were two people sitting in the room. There were two full jade cups on the small table in front of them. The candlelight refracted off the wine which shone like amber, causing it to be even more intoxicating.
The man picked up one of the cups and took a sip, then said with a smile, "Look here, I've put so much effort into building the foundation but in a moment of carelessness it's all ruined by you."
Lu Baizang glanced out the window, then turned his head boredly: "You have a good musician here."
"..." The man raised his head to look at him, "Although I don't like to boast, Huai Lan's appearance, figure, talent and character are rare in the world."
“Hmm."
"..."
"A beauty is still a beauty." A certain Mr. Lu picked a piece of pastry and stuffed it into his mouth, "But recently, for some reason, I don't have the same interest as before in regards to entertainment."
The man stared: "...You can't get it up?"
Lu Baizang pointed out the window: "Do you want to try landing on the ground from here?"
"It's just a joke." The man smiled awkwardly, and suddenly thought of other possibilities, "Could it be… you've fallen for someone? That's not right, you have only been in the palace during the past two years..." He suddenly inhaled, "You, don't tell me..."
Lu Baizang's eyes were slightly deep.
"Oh my Buddha." The man slapped his forehead, "Which one did you fall for, the youngest son of the Gu family? Or that tanhua? Or the Lin family's..."
Lu Baizang took a sip of the wine, got up and walked to the window, with a smile on the corner of his mouth: "Guess."
"A palace maid?" The man carefully observed his expression, "...or a eunuch?"
After the dance ended, everyone praised and applauded. When the man looked over, he saw Huai Lan curtsying and looking their way with lingering eyes.
It was a pity that all the winks were thrown to the blind man.
Lu Baizang looked to the right with a smile on his lips: "He must have never been to a place like yours. Have your kitchen make some crab cakes and send them over, as well as some tofu skin buns."
The man had a vague premonition: "To whom?"
Lu Baizang turned his head, as if he was recalling something interesting, with a smile on his face.
"Of course it's to... actually, since he's in Pingyue City now, you might as well call him Jing Gongzi."
Jing Ye looked at the two trays of snacks in front of him: "Why suddenly send over snacks at the last minute?"
"This... I don't know either." Feng'er looked at the pastries carefully, only to feel that it was completely different from the ones first sent over when they entered the wing room. The appearance was simple, but the color and fragrance were on another level.
This kind of craftsmanship should be specially used to serve the owner and several young mistresses.
Liu'er slightly raised her head and said, “Gongzi, why don't you try it first?"
Jing Ye looked at Shanyue: "Then let's try it?"
Shanyue thought for a while and nodded. There was no need to worry with the strict control over food in Miming Pavilion.
From the beginning to the end of the Flower Fair, the event would last for more than half a month. Tonight, with Huai Lan's pearl and jade-like example in front, it was very likely that the courtesans coming after would be compared to rubble. The owner of the establishment obviously understood this, so today ended early.
Jing Ye was led downstairs by the servant, and when he was about to reach the entrance, a servant girl hurriedly ran over with a food box, but bumped into Jing Ye head-on, and the food box fell the ground with a "crash".
The servant girl immediately bowed her head and knelt down: “Gongzi, forgive me..."
Jing Ye wanted to help her up, but Shanyue moved first: "Why are you so careless? Fortunately, it was an empty food box. If there was some hot soup and rice in it, wouldn't it have burned my young master."
The servant girl knelt down again, touching her forehead to the ground: “This slave is stupid, gongzi please forgive me."
"Forget it, it's nothing." Jing Ye smiled at Shanyue, "Let's go."
Jing Ye walked ahead, and when he passed by the maidservant, he glanced down inadvertently, and saw the tip of a snow-white tail moving slightly among the piles of food boxes scattered around.
His eyes flickered slightly. Turning back to Shanyue, he said, "The steamed stuffed buns just now were quite delicious."
"If gongzi likes it, we can ask the cook back in the manor to make some."
“Fine."
The carriage of the City Lord's Manor was parked outside the pavilion, the driver lifted the embroidered curtain, and Jing Ye lowered his head and sat in.
The wheels rumbled across the ground, gradually moving away from the bright lights, and suddenly stopped when they reached a secluded area. Jing Ye raised his eyebrows: "Shanyue?"
Only the wind fluttering the curtains could be heard.
Jing Ye waited patiently, and soon he heard the "creak" of the door, and the curtains were lifted. The person who lifted the curtain smiled at him frivolously.
"Your Majesty, could I be considered a hero saving the beauty?"
"Not really." Jing Ye stretched out his hand for him to hold, and stepped off the carriage, "You haven't rescued me yet."
Shanyue fell beside the car, Jing Ye stepped forward and said, "Did you kill her?"
"I just tapped her sleeping pressure point." Lu Baizang stood behind him, wrapped his hands around his waist, and leaned into his ear with a chuckle, "I know Your Majesty would be reluctant."
Jing Ye didn't bother to quibble over his sneaky gestures, he raised his head and asked, "Are we leaving now?"
"En." Lu Baizang rubbed against his face, "They stirred some chaos in the southern area, and that young master is rushing to find a way to solve it."
Jing Ye looked at him: "Then what are you waiting for?"
Lu Baizang smiled wickedly: "Stay for a while longer, when this subject thinks about eloping with Your Majesty, my heart is instantly full of joy."
Jing Ye: "..."
There were many qinggong masters in the city, so Lu Baizang led Jing Ye to an inner courtyard residence. There were horses parked in the yard, and a man stood on the side, apparently having waited for a long time.
Jing Ye followed Lu Baizang forward, took a look with the help of the moonlight, and couldn't help but startled slightly: “Sir?"
It was the scholar who sold noodles in plain soup.
"Jing Gongzi." The scholar cupped his hands and greeted heartily.
Jing Ye and Lu Baizang got on their horses. He leaned over and said, "We've met for a while, but I still don't know sir's name."
"What's the use of asking for the name of a lowly person?" The scholar smiled widely enough that his eyes curved into crescents, "I will be moving my noodle shop to the capital in the next few days, at that time please take care of my business, gongzi."
Jing Ye smiled and said, "Naturally."
After saying so, the two rode out of the courtyard and headed for the south gate.