CH 75

Fortunate enough to meet a virtuous partner in this lifetime

These past few days, Song Shu Qing has been living a very happy life, experiencing the feeling of being a big spender.

The chef at Chunfeng Tower is quite skilled, and Song Shuqing happily ordered every dish on the menu, tasting and evaluating each one with Zi Yan.

Not only can she listen to Zi Yan’s music anytime, but she can also lazily lie on the courtesan’s lap after a satisfying meal, bask in the sun, take a nap, and even teach the women to play Go when she’s bored.

In short, it has been two days of unparalleled indulgence.

“Why? Why? Zi Yan, what do you think?”

As Song Shu Qing put on her hood and prepared to leave, she held onto Zi Yan’s clothing with a reluctant expression. “Why? Why do the good times always pass by so quickly?”

The shameless shadow guard could barely restrain herself from falling to her knees and clutching at the woman’s thighs, crying and begging her not to leave.

“Miss Song…” Zi Yan looked calmly at the woman beside her, who was as soft as a piece of candy. “It’s time to go. If you don’t leave now, someone will come and chase you out.”

The resident enforcers at Chunfeng Tower were accustomed to using their fists to 『escort』 customers who had spent all their money and were causing trouble.

“Those people can’t beat me anyway.” Song Shu Qing shrugged, unconcerned. “Zi Yan, my dear Zi Yan. When do you think someone will invent a time machine so I can stay in this moment forever and not have to go back to work?”

“…”

Although she couldn’t quite understand the nonsense coming from the woman in front of her, Zi Yan reached out to straighten Song Shu Qing’s robe and lowered her gaze to conceal her own reluctant feelings. After swallowing a mouthful of saliva, she whispered, “…if you want to listen to music, I’ll be in my room after sunset.”

Not seeing the woman’s subdued lip biting and difficult-to-discern hopeful tone, Song Shu Qing sighed and politely declined.

“I’m afraid that’s not possible.” She twisted her neck and put on a determined expression. “I have to behave myself at the teahouse these days. Although Ah Yun has a good temper, he can be quite scary when he’s really angry.”

Tightening the brim of her hood, Song Shu Qing’s bright eyes shone through the shadows as she lifted one corner of her mouth in a light smile. “Besides, I’m in debt up to my ears now. I have to go back and make some money.”

With a carefree wave of her hand, as if her previous act of being reluctant to leave had been fake, she pushed open the door and quickly left.

After a while, the madam, smoking a cigarette, poked her head into the room and looked at the clean and tidy space. She exhaled a smoke ring and said, “Oh? This man is quite restrained, huh? Is he really just here to listen to music?”

“Could it be that he wants to become your soulmate and lover?”

Most women who have been in the red-light district for a long time understand the coldness and empty promises of men, so the madam’s tone was light-hearted and full of jokes, as if she found it amusing herself.

But Zi Yan just looked out the window, watching the shadow guard gradually fading away on the street, her expression moving slightly, and she sighed softly, “If I’m fortunate enough to meet a virtuous partner in this lifetime…”

“It can only be her.”

As he walked down the street, Hong’er never expected that he would have such a miserable day.

He had bought a bad steamed bun, was chased by a stray dog on the street, and even tripped and fell on the flat ground.

He was confused and felt that he was just not meant to be here.

Damn it, he thought. He had hoped that his sister, who was working as a servant in a rich household, could introduce him to some opportunities to make money in Shu. But it turned out that she didn’t have a decent job at all.

He couldn’t help but feel ashamed at the thought of how embarrassing it would be if news of this got back to their hometown…

One must always maintain their dignity and reputation!

The money brought from home is almost gone… how annoying…

As the sun sets, the thin and scruffy man kicks a stone in frustration as he makes his way back to the inn where he’s currently staying.

Lost in thought, he doesn’t notice the black-clothed woman in front of him, and before he can react, he is knocked to the ground.

“Ow, it hurts!”

Collapsed on the ground, Hong’er regained his composure and looked at the woman covering her face, “Who are you? Don’t you have eyes?”

“I was wondering who it was,” Song Shu Qing sneered and removed her hood, “It turns out to be Zi Yan’s spineless little brother.”

“What did you say about me?” Hong’er was infuriated, but he controlled himself from shouting, remembering the memories of being unilaterally suppressed. “What do you want?”

“What do I want?” Song Shu Qing tilted her head and lightly chuckled, “Maybe… kick you up to the sky and feed the birds, or tie you naked and display you in the Spring Breeze Pavilion. After all, I am not a kind person.”

“You… you wicked woman.” Hong’er crawled backwards with his hands and feet, looking embarrassed.

“Bingo! Indeed, you are a scholar. You answered correctly, I am indeed not a good person.”

Song Shu Qing squatted down and looked at the pale-faced man. Her tone was regretful. “Unfortunately, although I want to, you are still Zi Yan’s brother. If I really kill you, I’m afraid Zi Yan will go on strike against me.”

“But I can’t just turn a blind eye to you. If you make Zi Yan sad again, it will trouble me,” Song Shu Qing frowned and instinctively touched her collar. She held up two fingers, looking like she was considering her options.

“I have two proposals for you…”

“First, you voluntarily leave here and do not appear again until Zi Yan is willing to come home.” She put down her index finger, leaving only the middle finger standing, and smiled slyly as she made the gesture commonly used in the 21st century. “Second, if you refuse to leave on your own, I will beat you up, take your spy documents, and make sure you never step foot in this area again.”

The woman’s eyes glinted with a cold light as she stood up and looked down with disdain at the man on the ground. Her tone was clearly threatening as she drew the dagger from her waist and gave it a practiced shake.

“Don’t doubt me, I really can do it…”

The weak-looking man, who had never seen someone so fierce before, was scared out of his wits. Though he didn’t quite pee his pants, he fled in panic.

Watching his hasty retreat, Song Shu Qing rubbed her stiff face and wondered aloud, “Is it that scary? My dagger skills are actually quite poor.”

Putting away her weapon, she strode confidently back to the teahouse.

Grabbing a brush and paper, Song Shu Qing quickly wrote a few lines before stuffing the letter into a bamboo tube and heading to the pigeon house.

“Go on.” Tossing a plump pigeon into the night sky, watching it flap its wings towards the direction of Jiangnan, Song Shu Qing then rubbed her hands and entered the teahouse.

Seeing the frosty expression on Cao Yun’s face, the woman put on a pleasing smile. “Hehe, Ah Yun, don’t look at me like that.”

As she massaged the lone male shopkeeper’s shoulders and kneaded his legs, Song Shu Qing said, “I’m sorry, I’ve been giving you a hard time these past few days. I promise to work hard when I come to work tomorrow.”

“… We need to hire more people.” Ignoring Song Shu Qing’s flattery, Cao Yun said flatly, “The teahouse business is still too busy for just two people.”

“I know, I know.” Song Shu Qing nodded confidently. “In five months, we’ll have a fantastic employee!”

Although the number of visits to Zi Yan has greatly reduced, every month when the moon is full, Song Shu Qing always appears on time at Chunfeng Tower, wearing a hood to disguise herself as a mysterious swordsman who is willing to spend a fortune to buy two nights just to listen to music for Zi Yan.

Whenever it is Song Shu Qing’s turn to visit, the other girls at Chunfeng Tower can’t help but gossip to each other.

“Ah, I envy Sister Zi Yan so much.” A young woman is painting her lips in front of the mirror, sighing, “He just sits quietly and watches her play the qin and drink tea. When will I ever meet such a man?”

“Do you think Sister Zi Yan’s guest is handsome?” Another girl leans against the doorframe, looking curious, “He always covers his face and doesn’t let anyone see clearly. Could it be because he is too beautiful and needs to hide his appearance?”

“Have you read too many legends? How could there be such a man?” The woman by the door sounds a bit sour, with a dismissive look, “Even if he is really handsome, he can only be a monk without desires or a castrated man who can’t perform. What’s there to admire?”

“Hey, you don’t understand, even if he’s really like that, I still find him attractive.”

“Yes, it’s rare to find someone who appreciates our music and not just our looks.”

“You guys…”

At this moment, the center of the conversation, Song Shu Qing, was unaware that she had become the topic of discussion among the women on the first floor, and didn’t know whether the debate among the women was whether 『he』 was 『an asexual monk』 or 『unable to perform』. She had more important things to deal with now.

“Hey, dear Zi Yan, please help me out.”

“…it’s not allowed.”

“I beg of you, I’m really uncomfortable.”

“You cannot, endure it.”

“Please, just once, I promise.”

“Do not trouble me anymore, quickly eat your meal.”

“Let me listen to your new composition just once, or at least let me take a look at the score for my own pleasure.”

“I said no, and it means no…”

Inside the room, Song Shu Qing looked longingly at the score in the woman’s hand, like a stubborn child, shaking her empty hand left and right, “Let me hear it, please, just quietly, play a little bit.”

“Playing a little bit is still not acceptable.” The woman still firmly refused, her ears turning red as she hid them under her hair. “It’s not time yet…”

Thinking of the music she had composed involuntarily when she was emotional, Zi Yan suppressed her embarrassment, tightly holding onto the score and not allowing anyone to take it away.

“Tsk, how stingy of you.”

With a face full of disappointment, Song Shu Qing sat down and took a sip of tea, looking displeased. “Stingy Zi Yan,” she muttered. Then, as if making a compromise, she spoke with a concerned tone, “Stingy Zi Yan, what do you want to eat for dinner tonight?”

“…Anything is fine.” Faced with the immature shadow guard in front of her, Zi Yan looked helpless.

“Oh my god, ‘anything is fine’ is the answer I hate the most.” Rolling her eyes, Song Shu Qing hugged the woman’s shoulder. “This is your last month at the Chunfeng Tower, don’t you have anything you want to eat?”

Without waiting for Zi Yan’s response, she answered herself, “But come to think of it, we don’t have to stay in this room all the time, do we? Let’s go out!”

“This…should be the case, I haven’t thought about it before…” Every full moon, the beautiful courtesan is only tormented, and she has never had the leisure to think about this issue, answering uncertainly.

“Let’s go to Niujiao Street near the city wall. I passed by there last time and the shops were open quite late. There are also some shops selling trinkets. Let’s go and see what we want to eat, okay?” Observing the woman’s reaction, Song Shu Qing proposed while tapping on the table.

“I’m fine with it, but…I’ve never been out after dark before.”

A woman walking alone in the dark is always dangerous. Men with lecherous faces may appear at any moment and devour the weak like lambs under the shadow.

“Don’t be afraid.”

“With me here,” Song Shu Qing gently stroked the courtesan’s head, her eyes filled with an unnoticed tenderness. “Although this world is full of disgusting parasites who bully the weak, my fists happen to be quite big.”

“Venturing out, within ten li (about 5km) of our surroundings, except for Ah Yun, no one can harm us.” She leaned close to Zi Yan’s ear, “And Ah Yun is like an old man who’s already asleep, so I basically have no opponents now.”

With a non-serious laugh, Song Shu Qing put on a black cloak and stood by the window, reaching out to the stiff woman. “Let’s go.”

“However, let’s make it clear first…”

As if she had thought of something very serious, Song Shu Qing suddenly became serious.

“I have no money, so it’s you who will treat me today.”