CH 73

If people saw, they might think that I’m bullying you (comforting)

In the tea house, Song Shu Qing, who greeted guests, felt busy like a butterfly.

Even in the comfortable spring weather, her forehead was sweating due to running up and down.

When Cao Yun, who went out to deliver goods, returned driving a carriage, he frowned and worriedly told the woman leaning behind the counter who was trying to slack off, “Junior Sister, I just passed by Chunfeng Building and it seems like someone is causing trouble with a crowd gathered there. Even officials have come…”

“Chunfeng Building?” Song Shu Qing, who always stood around, suddenly lifted her neck and her face turned serious. She rarely asked sharply, “Are you talking about Zi Yan?”

Nodding, Cao Yun replied, “There are quite a lot of people. It’s not easy for me to approach even while driving a carriage. Junior Sister, if you…”

“I got it!” Song Shu Qing swiftly flipped over the counter and rushed out without looking back, “Cao Yun, can you watch the shop for me?”

Hurrying to Chunfeng Building, she saw the young man from yesterday leading officials and shouting at the entrance of the brothel.

She immediately recognized the leading official as an acquaintance and quickly approached the crowd, calling out, “Magistrate Li, what’s going on here?”

Since learning that Princess Chongwen had moved here, the nearby officials had sent a group of people to the teahouse to curry favor, and everyone had become acquainted.

Especially in the past six months, with the help of a few former shadow guards, the crime-solving rate and public security in this area had made a remarkable breakthrough, and the local officials also had to give Song Shu Qing some face in their actions.

The official with the surname Li looked embarrassed as he turned around and saw a familiar woman. He bowed and explained in a low voice, “Miss Song, this man came early in the morning and reported that his sister was taken away by the people of Qinglou. He asked us to help him bring her back home.”

He scratched his head with a troubled look, “But when we checked, the contract of sale was valid, and it was indeed signed by her sister… There is really no reason to forcibly take her away…”

“What about his sister’s reaction?” Song Shu Qing glanced at the man shouting at the door, feeling annoyed.

“That courtesan has come down and tried to persuade his brother to leave… But he still refuses to listen.”

The official with the surname Li couldn’t bear to watch and whispered to the woman beside him, “I overheard their conversation. It seems there is a family of old, weak, sick, and young to support, and the brother is just a poor scholar who can’t earn much money. His sister had to sell herself to Qinglou.”

“But the way he speaks is really unpleasant, talking about not willing to be cheap and acting all righteous…”

“Is that so?” Song Shu Qing suddenly chuckled, her meaning unclear.

“Wait a minute, Official Li, take him and your people away. Don’t block the door and affect their business…” After quietly giving instructions, the woman used light work to quickly come to the center of the crowd and grabbed the man trying to force his way into Chunfeng Building. She threw him to the ground and asked, “What do you want?”

“What do I want?” The man, Hong’er, recognized the rough woman in front of him whom he had met yesterday. He blushed and struggled to stand up.

“What are you doing?”

With a cold laugh, Song Shu Qing pushed the man who had just stood up back down. “What are you doing? You just happened to be blocking my way and it was really annoying.”

“I mean, why are you people who always make things difficult for women so shameless?”

“You also like to take advantage of others, and you also like to criticize others. What gives you the right to stand on a moral high ground and have the power to criticize others?” Feeling irritated, Song Shu Qing’s lips tightened, and she put her foot on the man’s thigh, her expression icy.

“Whether it’s ancient times or the 21st century, why are there always people like you who keep coming up?”

“What…what are you talking about?” The man groaned in pain, struggling to break free from her grasp. “You crazy woman, let me go…”

“You want to take your embarrassed sister home, then who’s going to pay the breach of contract fee? And what about after she gets home? Will you scold her every day for selling herself to support the family?”

Song Shu Qing’s foot pressed harder, mercilessly. “And who will bear the cost of the vacancy in your household? Huh? Is it you?”

Looking up and down at the pale and weak man, she sneered. “You have hands and feet but still let your own sister support you. Who should feel ashamed here? Don’t you get it?”

Constantly reminding herself that this was Zi Yan’s brother, Song Shu Qing suppressed the urge to break his bones. She took a deep breath, bent down, grabbed the man by his collar, and casually threw him to the official next to her.

“Get lost. Come back when you’ve cleared your fossil-filled brain and learned to speak like a human!”

Looking disdainfully at the wailing man being dragged away, the woman nodded to Magistrate Li as a gesture of thanks.

As the crowd dispersed, Song Shu Qing shook her sleeve and prepared to walk back to the teahouse, but hesitated after taking a few steps.

Is Zi Yan alright?

She’s an adult now, there shouldn’t be anything to worry about.

But, Song Shu Qing is still a bit concerned.

She stomped her foot in indecision, emitting a frustrated low growl that was uncharacteristic of her, as someone who never meddles in other people’s affairs.

Ah…should I go or not?

Forget it.

I’ll just go upstairs and take a look.

After all, a free musician is so precious, she must take good care of her.

Quickly darting into the alley, in a moment when nobody was paying attention, Song Shu Qing flipped and climbed up the eaves of the building, deftly scaling the Chunfeng Building one step at a time.

The woman seemed more anxious than usual, ignoring the small cut on her finger from a piece of gravel along the way.

Pushing open the half-closed window, she saw a fallen screen in front of her.

The glass porcelain jar was smashed into pieces on the floor, and the rouge and powder were spilled, leaving messy and bright red footprints on the wooden floor as if they had been trampled on.

Looking at the figure of Zi Yan sitting alone in front of the qin, she did not seem as upright as she usually was, but instead slightly lowered her head, allowing her loosened hair to cover her eyes with a layer of shadow.

She tightly grasped the black cloak that did not belong to the courtesan.

The air in the room was heavy and oppressive, and Song Shu Qing felt a mix of emotions within her. Despite her dislike of trouble, she regretted why she had to intervene and come upstairs. However, seeing the slender figure in the corner, she slowly approached the woman quietly.

“Miss Song…” Sensing the movement beside her, Zi Yan forced a smile, her voice hoarse. “Can today’s music be postponed, and perhaps come back in three days, would that be alright?”

“Stop pretending to smile.”

Looking at the woman with a forced smile in front of her, Song Shu Qing’s usually cold tone had a hint of nasal sound. She couldn’t bear it, and knelt down on one knee, taking out a handkerchief from her pocket. “I would rather you be cold and indifferent to me like usual… your smile right now is ugly.”

In a rough voice, but with an incredibly gentle touch, Song Shu Qing held the woman’s bare ankle and wiped off the rouge that had stained it. “I’m not in the mood for music today anyway, so you not playing works for me.”

The white cloth was stained red with rouge, and as she knelt beside her with her head down, Zi Yan felt a tingling sensation in her chest. Her white toes curled up as she whispered, “Don’t do this.”

Her voice was trembling.

“Miss Song, please don’t do this…”

Don’t treat me like this…as if I’m really precious…

What if I, who is so dirty, misunderstand you by accident? What will happen then?

Don’t do this…

“If we don’t wipe your feet first, the room will get dirty again once we start cleaning it up.” Song Shu Qing replied sharply, paying no attention to courtesy as she reached under her skirt to grab her other foot and began to wipe it clean.

“And besides, with all these broken pieces on the floor, aren’t you afraid of cutting yourself while walking barefoot?” She wiped away the rouge from between her toes, her inner frustration growing. “Bleeding hurts, don’t hurt yourself for the sake of someone else’s mess!”

Why does everyone she meets have to be so troublesome?

///

The silent woman spoke with difficulty, her voice weak, “He is not a disreputable person.”

“What did you say?” Unable to hear clearly, Song Shu Qing threw the cloth in her hand to the side and turned to ask.

Taking a deep breath as if gathering all her courage, Zi Yan raised her voice, “That man is my younger brother. I deceived him, but I didn’t expect him to come here from Jiangnan.”

“I… I had no choice. After our father died, we had no one to rely on. No one wanted to employ my deaf mother. My other two younger brothers and sisters are still young and need money to eat. Even Hong’er needed money to participate in the county exam…”

Her voice weakened and became hysterical. Zi Yan hugged her shoulders, trembling uncontrollably.

“Without a recommendation letter, I couldn’t become a servant in an official’s household. I… I really had no choice… it’s all my fault. I deceived them. It’s all my fault. I’m so dirty, so dirty…”

The usually calm woman seemed to have lost her mind, rubbing her own flesh and skin vigorously as if trying to wipe away a layer of never-before-seen filth. Her eyes were empty and she couldn’t hear anything.

“Zi Yan.”

“Zi Yan!”

Seeing the woman’s bare arms under her oversized sleeves already red from her own grip, Song Shu Qing restrained the courtesan’s hand and leaned forward, staring straight into her reddened eyes.

“Zi Yan, listen carefully.”

The usually lazy woman had an inexplicable anger in her heart, but it wasn’t directed at the courtesan in front of her. Song Shu Qing, who rarely spoke with such conviction, said, “You are not dirty, do you understand?”

“Qing Lou1? So what? You didn’t steal or rob to support your family. Who dares to say you are wrong? Your younger brother is such a capable person, yet he still relies on you for support. I find it amusing on his behalf.”

“As for those who dare to criticize and call you dirty, who are they to judge? Did they offer you any other choices when you were in difficulties? Have they ever thought about helping you from your perspective?” The woman’s tone was fierce and full of disdain. “Moreover, if making money is considered dirty, then what about those who spend money? Why aren’t they criticized?”

“It’s all nonsense!”

She vented her frustration and spoke nonstop, leaving Song Shu Qing breathless. Feeling that Zi Yan was still trembling slightly, she hesitated before pulling the courtesan into her arms. “Anyway… don’t listen to what others say. You have done nothing wrong, and you don’t need to apologize to anyone.”

Patting the woman’s back stiffly as if to comfort her, Song Shu Qing sighed helplessly.

After a long time, although the person in her arms had gradually calmed down, she could still feel the weight of tears falling on her clothes. She reluctantly lifted the courtesan’s chin and said, “I don’t have any spare handkerchiefs…”

Under the candlelight, the courtesan’s elegant and cold face was marked by tears. Her tightly pursed lips seemed to be enduring all the grievances and unwillingness. The gleam of tears made Song Shu Qing feel pity in her heart. “Just make do with it for now.”

Avoiding the rough calluses on her palm, the shadow guard gently wiped away the tears from the woman’s face with her knuckles and then chuckled, “Tsk, you poor thing. If someone saw this, they would think I bullied you.”

Untangling Zi Yan’s hair, which was already in disarray, Song Shu Qing opened her five fingers and ran them through the woman’s soft locks. “Don’t cry anymore. I don’t have anything to wipe your tears with.” She looked down at the woman with red-rimmed eyes and teased her, “Strange, when did you become such a crybaby? Don’t tell me you’re going to make me bankrupt by making me buy handkerchiefs.”

“…They’re in the cabinet.”

Suppressing the urge to punch someone, Zi Yan slumped into Song Shu Qing’s surprisingly reliable embrace and said softly, “There are handkerchiefs in the cabinet.”

“Oh my god, please, I was just kidding. I don’t really need your handkerchiefs…” Song Shu Qing brushed aside the woman’s hair clinging to her cheek and spoke with a helpless yet amused tone.

“Anyway, just don’t be sad anymore. It’s not worth it.”

The courtesan did not reply, only lowering her gaze and avoiding eye contact with the person in front of her.

Her chest felt bitter, not because of self-loathing or disgust, but because of another more passionate and thrilling emotion.

Her eyes drifted to the wound on Song Shu Qing’s index finger, where the blood had already dried, leaving only a dark red mark. Zi Yan grasped the wrist of the shadow guard’s hand and gently opened her mouth to envelop the joint, extending her tongue to lick it delicately.

“Hey! Zi…Zi Yan, what are you doing? Are you a dog or something?”

Feeling the warmth of her finger, Song Shu Qing was taken aback. If she hadn’t realized that there was a living person in her arms whom she couldn’t just toss away, she might have been scared and flown away on the spot.

///

“Miss Song, you’re bleeding…” tasting a hint of rust, Zi Yan responded indistinctly, still not stopping. “You just said that bleeding is very painful…”

Song Shu Qing felt awkward, her ears turning red. “That’s nothing, it’s not even painful at all.” She couldn’t help but retract her hand, looking at the silver thread on her fingertips and avoiding the courtesan’s gaze. “The wound is smaller than a mosquito bite. Even if you don’t care for it, it’ll heal in the next second.”

Licking her lips, Zi Yan curled up in Song Shu Qing’s warm embrace, her expression not as calm as before, but rather a bit hazy.

Before they could say much more, they heard a woman in her fifties knocking on the door and shouting, “Zi Yan, tomorrow is the fifteenth day, remember to clean up.”

“…It’s Mr. Jia this month, I have to serve him well.”