Living leisurely in Tang Dynasty
Chapter 31

With guidance on directions,Beili was quite easy to find. The children walked for awhile and the sight suddenly became clear.

The façade of this place is much more refined than that of the Westerncity. The plaques hanging on its gate seems to be crafted by the hands of famous artisans unlike the ones in western city which were simply done just to attract attention.

Perhaps it’s becausethose living here are prominent figures- either officials orscholars,the streets in daytime were rather quiet.

Yuanying approached nearer and listened hard. He was able to hear faint sounds from bamboo. These songs were soft in tune,very different from the ones that the Emperor likesto listen to but similar to what Yuanying’sfather is fond ofbefore his death.

It seems like this is a place to listen to music! Yuanyingreminiscence about this music and led Xincheng and Sizito strut together to check out thebiggest and bestshops. He wants to visit thebiggest and the best one!

There were young girls leaning against the windows along the street. Seeing a rather young boy leading a few little girls into Beili from a distance, they becamecurious andpush open the windowswider to lean out with asmile.

The children wereused to attracting attention sothey didn’t care about the gazes. However, Wei Shu and the accompanying guards feltthat something felt very off.

Especially the accompanying guardswho wereadultswith certain“needs.”Even those who have not visited red-light districts would haveheard about it. When a bunch of men gathers together they are bound to discuss such topics sometimes.

Look at thepostureof those around, I’m afraid that this place is not for children!

Gao Yang’s bodyguards were the most often scolded. After seeing the girlsby the window, they felt badvibesandthuspushed someone to notifyGao Yang: “Princess, I’m afraid we shouldn’t be visiting this place.”

However Gao Yang was notsomeone who listens to advice, she turned herhead towards them and askedunhappily, “Why can’t we go? Wefinallymanageto find this place!”

Looking at Gao Yang’s darkeyes, the guards didn’t know how to explainsuch a delicate topic to the royal children.

If it was such a place, howcan the princesses visit it? But theseyoungroyalsin front of them were oblivious. Logical, given that theeldestamong the group Prince of Teng and Princess Chengyang were only ten.

The guard who was pushed out spoke bravely:“This is the place for grown men to listen to songsand watch danceperformances, it’s best if girls do not visit.”

Gao Yang hated thephrase “boys are okaybut not for girls”the most. As she lost her mother at a young age, she grew upwild in the palace. She’s actually abit more naughty than most boys, orelseshe wouldn’t be known to have the same bad reputation as Li Yuanying thelittle demon prince.

“What kind of music is it thatgirlscan’tlisten toand what kind of dance can’t a girl watch? That’s illogical, so I’m going!”

After she’s finished speaking,she waved her handsto the guardstoback away. Then quickly urge Yuanying to pick a good place. She was going to see what was so special about the songs and dances that girls can’twatch!

Yuanying has never been afraid of causing big commotionsbut only despised doing thesmallthings. Hearing Gao Yang, he immediately pointed towarda brightly decorated building in front of him.

“That store looksnice, big enough and stylish.let’scheck it out.”

Gao Yang happily agreed.

Wei Shu and the three othersnaturally followed closely, looking at everything around them curiously. Sizi took a sniffand said toYuanying, “It smells good here.”

Yuanying did the same and nodded:“It’s quite fragrant.”

He didn’t think that it was unusual. Whether it was Da’an Palace or TaijiPalace, he grew up among heapsof incenseand fragrances.

The children approached the door of the “big shop”and someone immediately greeted him.

The other party was an old prostitute named Su ErNiang from WanCui Mansion. She was in her 40s and still had charm. She looked at Li Yuanying curiouslyand wondered how these little dolls who were obviously rich nobles ended up inBeili.

Observing that the children were nobles, ErNiang cautiously asked, “What isthis young gentlemanhere for?”

Is he here to look for his dad?Er Niang has operated Wan Cui Mansion for many years and she has seen many absurd things including official wives bringing their children here to look for their husbands. But this time it was a boy with a few little dolls together. This was a first for her.

Li Yuanyinghas never feltrestrainedby anything.Although he hasn’t been outside much, he acted like everything was normal.

“Of course I’m here to play. If you have anything interesting in this place, please tell us.”

Thinking back to when the formerEmperorwas alive, he vaguely remembered that he likesthe pipaandso the boypretended to understandeverything.

“Find a few people who can play the pipa for me and get dancerstoo.”

Li Yuanying’slittle pretend was on point. AlthoughBeili was aplace where prostitutes gathers, the trade was very discreet. Sincemost patrons werescholars or dignitaries, they normally behave elegantly with proper etiquette, and rarely would there be brazen behaviors seen in public.

When Er Niangheard the boy’s instructionsshe was slightly taken aback in surprise but still reached out to accept his payment and asked that the ladies prepare to serve the group.

Sometimes ignorance is bliss. It is safer that certain fine details are not asked or revealed.She accepted his payment like she would with any other normal guest. After all, even ifthe identities of these children are special,theystill shouldn’t put any blame on WanCui mansion. This is after all just a business establishment.

On the contrary, if they don’t accept the group’s payment and provide service, it mightcause trouble!

The servers in the room curiously look at the group of children. Seeing that ErNiang hadgoneto instruct the girls to make preparations, they stepped forward to lead thegroup into thebest and most spacious room located on the second floor.

The children sat downand a few young women instantly filed inthe gapsserving them delicate desserts and fruits.

The clothes onthese women lookeddifferent from those wornin the palace. Itshows offtheir bosoms and waists and it showstheir graceful posture. Although their appearancemightnotbetop-notch, theywere young making thempleasing to look at.

Wei Shu’s heart skipped a beatas she realized that this place is obviouslynot justfor listening to music and watching dance. This isprobably the “land of wind and moon” ^[1]used to describe entertainment joints like brothels, nightclubs, or red-light districts, etcthat are written in books!

Although Wei Shu often wears men’s clothes out, shestilldoesn’t think it was appropriate for her to visit such a place.

She looked at Li Yuanying beside her.

Yuanying wasn’t even looking at the womenaround butwas instead looking with great interest ata bowl of green tea in front of him.

Hethen turned and said, “I drank this when I was a child, it was presented to my father by a man from the south. At that timeI ate lotsof barbecued meat and this drink aids with my digestion. Butsince lord fatherdidn’t like it,no onehad prepared it eversince, I didn’t expect to tasteit here!”

Wei Shu: “…………”

Well, itlooks like these girls dressed up beautifully for nothing.

Li Yuanyingmentioned thiscasually but the women around them were shocked.

WanCuiMansion has receivedmany dignitaries butroyal members were usually secretive when they visit. Furthermore, they will neverarrive with little girls in toll and then carelessly mention “Royal Father”.

Someone quietly left to look for Su ErNiang.

ErNiang had been payingcloseattention tothe unusual group and when she heard of this her heart raised to her throat.

This place has attracted a very important and incredible group!

Right now, she can only hope for the best and to entertainthese VVIPs and send them offsmoothly without causingany major hiccups!

“I’ll play the Pipa for them,” said the girl who was listening.

The girl’s name was Su QiNiang, adopted by Er Niang sinceshe was a child.Now she’s around 13 or 14 but has played the Pipa for 8 years. She’s the most known for talent inthe mansion and has made the fewest appearances. In Beili she carries the nickname Lady of ONE encounter.

ErNiang knows all aboutQiNiang’s stubborn personality and that she has never tried to win favors from the rich and powerful.Otherwise, it would have been a piece of cake for her to live in luxury if she desires it so. QiNiang’s current offer is solely to help with the dilemma and to share the burden.

ErNiang thought for a while and warned, “Donot offend thenobles.”

Qi Niang nodded.

At this same moment, Yuanying was lobbying Wei Shu and the others to try the tea.

Tea is prolific in the southbut people in the north do not drink much. Li Tangbuilt his Empire starting fromGuanlong and naturally had no habit of drinking tea.

Sizi and the others hadnever drank it beforeand they feel that the greenish-looking liquid wouldn’t be tasty.But seeing Yuanying drinkingrepeatedly, it started to look delicious and so they tried itexcitedly.

Wei Shu tried a few sips and realized that the originally boringtasting snacks were turning out to tastejust right after consumingthem with tea. It was indeed a unique tasting experience.

As the group wasdiscussing the wonders of this tea, QiNiang pushed the doorand enteredwithPipa in her arms.

Yuanying looked up and saw that thegirlwas beautiful with elegant aura. She resembles what the public would call a cardamon flower girl ^[2]In the Tang dynasty, cardamon flowers were used to describe girls around the age of 13 or 14, originating from poet Du Mu’s famous 7-word quatrain called <<Parting>>. He didn’t care much aboutthe girl still but was attractedtothe Pipa she was holding.

This Pipa looks like a good Pipa.

After QiNiang bowedin respect shestarted playing the pipa. The boy was even more convincedthat thePipa wasa great one, if the formerEmperorwas alive, he would like it.

Seeing Li Yuanying stare at QiNiang, Gao Yang couldn’t help but to nudge him.

The boyreturned to his senses and shook his head to indicate thathe was fine. He hasa very good memory andwas only five when his father passed. Until today he stillremembers how the previous Emperorwould pickhim up and condone all his mischievous antics.

Yuanyingwasn’t paying attention to Qi Niang’s playing but as soon as she is done he blurted out: “Will you sell it?”

QiNiang was left speechless by the question. Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ NøvᴇlFirᴇ(.)nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

She looked into Yuanying’s clear eyes and didn’t know how to respond.

Aftershe calmed down, she realized that the boy’seyeswereon the Pipa in her hand.

He didn’t want to buy her, he wanted to buy her Pipa.

Yuanying saw QiNiang subconsciously grasped the Pipa and knew it was precious to her.

Hethenshook his head and said, “Forget it,you cankeep it.”

Gao Yang was still very concerned about her friendso she approached Yuanying and asked strangely:“What’s wrong with you?”

“I don’t know whybutas soon as I walked into Beili I started thinking about my late father. It reminds me of him, even more, when I see this Pipa. Father hasalways liked the Pipaand I thought about buying it for him. But after thinking, I think it’s better to leave the Pipa to someone who can play it, after all, father can’t play anymore.”

After listening tohis words, the childrengathered around him to comfort him:“Young uncle, don’t be sad!”

Yuanying hummed: “I’m not sad. People will die so why should I be sad?!”

He wasjustabout to ask QiNiang to change her tune from melodioussongsto something else butinstead, they heard a loudcommotion outside.

The group placed their ears to the door toeavesdrop and heard someone shouting: “You say it’s hard to book Qi Niang’s time but it seems that you are just lookingdown on me Fang Yi’ai! I’ll give you one more chance, go and bringher over immediately!”

Hearing the word “Fang Yi’ai”, Li Yuanying frowned and turned toward Gao Yang.

Although the engagementwas not officiallyarranged yet, His Majesty Li Er has already agreed with Fang Xuanling to marry Gao Yang to Fang Yi’ai.

Gao Yang was also aware of this. She wasverydifferent from Cheng Yangwho is soft-spoken and gentle. She’s someone with a feistypersonality.

Hearing that Fang Yi’ai was making a commotionoutsideand trying to stealQiNiang who was playing for them, Gao Yang immediately got up and confronted the second son of the Fang family: “Let me see, who dares to snatch someone from our side!”

Fang Yi’ai staredat her likehe sawa ghost.

References

↑ 1used to describe entertainment joints like brothels, nightclubs, or red-light districts, etc

↑ 2In the Tang dynasty, cardamon flowers were used to describe girls around the age of 13 or 14, originating from poet Du Mu’s famous 7-word quatrain called <<Parting>>.

Sᴇarch the N0vᴇlFire(.)nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.