Chapter 272: The Youth

At Taoye Ferry south of Nanjing, the Qinhuai River lapped gently at the banks in the early spring, faint buds already showing through the dense shadows of the trees.

The spring chill still bit sharply, but inside an exquisite second-floor chamber of a riverside tower, it was already as warm as late spring. Braziers in the four corners poured out steady waves of heat. In the center of the room sat a crock, steam rising from it, simmering last year's dried jasmine flowers. Once the tortoiseshell fragrance began to boil, fragrance flooded everywhere, the scent of jasmine drifting through every corner.

The room was simply and elegantly arranged. A few bamboo-and-orchid paintings hung on the walls. On a small hua nan mu side table against the wall, a display stand held a painted fan — two orchids on it, a butterfly poised above them as if about to land, vivid and lifelike. On the flower stands by the window sat green xiao dan ping vases, each holding a trimmed red plum branch. The twisted plum branches each had their own shape, yet their proportions perfectly complemented the small vases, adding a further touch of lively spirit to the room.

Amid all this elegance, a medium-mouthed bronze vase stood on the floor in the center of the room, utterly out of place with the decor.

With a whoosh, an arrow pierced the fragrant mist floating in the air, traced a graceful parabola, and smacked against the mouth of the vase with a sharp crack. The vase wobbled twice, and the arrow clattered to the floor.

A chorus of disappointed sighs rose from the girls in the room. A maid of fifteen or sixteen stamped her foot and let out a huff, her face a picture of indignation.

She turned and sat down on a bamboo chair by the window. "I'm done throwing. No more. I can't get it in no matter what."

"All of you are so impatient. How will you ever find a good husband like that?"

The maids all burst out laughing together. The speaker was a young woman of seventeen or eighteen, dressed differently from the maids. Her cloud-like hair was piled high, her face the color of peach blossoms. Even in her loose robes and wide sleeves, she had a swaying grace. Now she rose from the back, her silk steps carrying her lightly to the vase. She gently picked up a bamboo arrow, held it before her to aim at the bronze vase, and after a moment, threw it with steady poise.

With a clink, the bamboo arrow slipped cleanly into the mouth of the vase. The shaft followed through, rattled and swayed a few times, and finally came to rest inside the bronze vase.

A few delicate cheers rang out. "Sister is indeed more accurate. But Sister hasn't played pitch-pot game in so long — why set up this toy today?"

The woman who had thrown turned around, but instead of answering, she simply walked back to the window and leaned there.

The short maid who had been angry earlier came over curiously and asked in a low voice, "Sister, what's the matter?"

Another tall maid pulled her aside and whispered, "Today's guest is a military man, so they always need something fitting for the occasion. Li Ma said that pitch-pot game is a archery ritual ritual, which perfectly suits a military man's occasion."

The short maid stuck out her tongue. "It was originally Gu Gao who booked the banquet, and it was going to be full of Restoration Society talents — exactly the kind that catches Sister's eye. Who knew that Young Master Fang would forcibly take it over, and now it's for entertaining some military man. No wonder Sister is displeased."

Four or five maids all crowded around. The tall maid glanced back at the woman's silhouette, then turned back and whispered, "But that military man is the current darling of Jinling."

"How can a military man be a darling?"

"He's the Anqing Garrison Commander who's in the Jiangnan Times every single day..."

The short maid clapped her hands in delighted surprise. "Good heavens! That's General Pang, the one who can rout a hundred thousand troops with a single sword!"

"What hundred thousand troops? The roving thieves were clearly two hundred thousand."

"More than two hundred thousand. I saw one issue of the Times that said five hundred thousand."

"No, I remember the front-page headline from the tenth of January: 'General Pang's Bloody Battle at Physics Bridge, Eight Hundred Thousand Roving Thieves Routed in a Morning.' If it wasn't eight hundred thousand roving thieves, then what?"

"Eight hundred thousand roving thieves — is he even more mighty than the Wuhu Jiang? What do you think that Garrison Commander looks like? Is he Changshan Zhao Zilong or Guan Er Ye?"

"Zhao Zilong is handsome enough, but he's one martial man in ten thousand. Are any of today's military men handsome? He might well be Meng Zhang Fei — takes a fancy to you today and just carries you off."

"Pah, pah! Since when did Zhang Fei carry people off? He's not Li Helmet."

The maids argued fiercely. Behind them, the woman sighed and said, "What do you girls understand? Li Mama already asked clearly at the Southern Ministry of War. It was just over a hundred thousand roving thieves, and only a few thousand of them were Old Bandits. The rest were nothing but coerced followers."

The short maid scratched her head. "Could the Times really be lying? It's probably those people at the Southern Ministry of War talking nonsense. If they understood things so clearly, how did they let the roving thieves attack across the river?"

The woman froze, then came over and pinched the short maid. "You just read too much, and you still dare talk back to me."

The short maid dodged away giggling. The woman couldn't help a rueful smile. "How many times has Fang Mizhi been here? He's talked about the Jiangnan Times at least seven or eight times if not more. Haven't you understood yet? It's that Garrison Commander Pang who puts up the silver. The paper blows him up into something out of a fantasy, and you actually believe it."

The tall maid tilted her head and said, "How can the Times be fake? I think it seems quite real. General Pang was incredibly mighty at Physics Bridge in Chuzhou. When his crescent blade broke, he used a long spear. When the long spear snapped, he used twin swords. When both swords were flattened, he finally grabbed two roving thieves and whirled them like a tornado, smashing at least a thousand of those bandit spawn to death. At the end, he let out a tiger's roar, and Bandit Chuang's roving thieves were so terrified their hearts and gall bladders split — then they all collapsed in defeat. It was exactly like the Three Kingdoms stories Liu Jingting tells."

Seeing that no one believed her, the woman put her hands on her waist and made an angry face.

The short maid made a curtsy and said, "No matter how mighty he is, he still has to come anxiously to our Mei Lou to see our Sister Mei. He even had to ask Fang Mizhi to hijack Gu Gao's banquet to do it. In the end, our Sister Mei's might is still greater."

Gu Mei burst out laughing and pointed at the short maid. "It's only that glib mouth of yours that saves you from so many beatings."

The short maid came over grinning and hugged Gu Mei's arm. "Sister doesn't like that Garrison Commander Pang stole Young Master Gu's banquet, but today it's Fang Mizhi hosting. There will still be many Restoration Society talents. Who knows — maybe there'll be one who suits the young lady's fancy?"

Gu Mei sighed at this, tapped her on the brow, pulled her arm free, and returned to the window. Outside, sparse shadows stretched sideways; a few plum blossoms were in full bloom, dotting the waters of the Qinhuai River. Gu Mei watched for a moment, then said softly, "The plum blossoms wither and the peach blossoms bloom. Another year at Taoye Ferry."

The maids all pulled in their heads, knowing this was not the moment to provoke the young lady.

The short maid was bolder after all. After a moment, she edged closer. "That Young Master Fang is also from the Restoration Society. When he's come before, it's mostly been young and learned talents. Does Sister not like them?"

The taller maid beside her said, "Fang Mizhi may be Restoration Society, but he's also in the Guomen Guangye Society, which has many who've failed the exams repeatedly. If we're talking about future prospects, the proper Restoration Society is far more promising — that's the hong Arrow our young lady is waiting for."

"But the Jiangnan Times says General Pang is an Imperial Academy Student who threw down his brush to join the army. Isn't that being accomplished in both letters and martial arts?"

Gu Mei couldn't help laughing again. "An Imperial Academy Student — that's enough to fool the peddlers and laborers in the marketplace. But do you know what kind of donation for National University he made?"

The tall maid shook her head. "This servant does not know."

"I heard from their people. It was as an outstanding talent recommended from the common people."

The tall maid let out an "Aiya!" "So he's someone who doesn't study."

The short maid pursed her lips and said, "So what if he doesn't study? When the roving thieves were about to cross the river, the ones who climbed the walls to defend the city were all people who don't study. The studying masters only cared about fleeing outside the city, and the ones they hired to haul their luggage were also people who don't study."

Gu Mei turned and glared at her. The short maid hastily retreated two steps. Just then, someone called from downstairs, and she immediately said, "The cosmetics delivery boy is here. This servant will go down and get it."

The maids all chimed in agreement at this and fled downstairs in a flurry. They passed through the garden to the front gate, where indeed a handsome youth carrying a flower-patterned bamboo basket had just stepped inside.

The youth's white clothes outshone snow. His exposed arms were slender and pale. His hair was done up in a woman's topknot. His face was dusted with pearl powder made from jasmine flower stamens — both fair and fragrant. His lips were painted with red lip color, and the tips of his outstretched fingers were also stained with nail dye. He was more alluring than any of the maids.

The maids swarmed forward and surrounded the youth. Maids from a courtesan's household were naturally not shy, and they all pressed up against him. The short maid even directly hugged his arm. The youth was not flustered either, calling them all "Sister" with warm familiarity.

"What dazzling goods do you have today? If they're not good, my young lady won't want them."

The youth said with a grin, "If she doesn't want them, it's no matter. Just seeing you sisters makes the trip worthwhile."

The maids laughed and joked a while longer. Only then did the youth reach out and lift the silk cloth covering the bamboo basket. "If I didn't have good goods, who would dare come to Mei Lou? I came specially today because the tumi lu the young lady wanted last time is finally here — a foreign ship just brought it in with great difficulty. There's also a new batch of yuhua fen, even better than before. This little brother was afraid other houses would snatch it up first, so I asked the Shopkeeper for the goods. No matter what, Sister Mei must get first pick."

"The rose dew is naturally wanted. But you remembered what Sister Mei uses — did you remember the garden balsam, calomel, rouge, and eyebrow stone that we use?"

The youth leaned in close against the short maid. "You are all sisters too — how could I forget?"

He lifted the bamboo basket a little higher before the maids' eyes, and sure enough, inside were all kinds of cosmetics. The maids each began searching for what they needed.

"Sisters, don't rush. These few bottles of face cream are all gifts for you."

The maids were overjoyed. They took the bamboo basket upstairs. After Gu Mei made her selections, she kept nearly everything. The steward downstairs went to settle the account with the youth on his own. The short maid followed along the whole way, only stopping when she had seen the youth out the main gate.

The youth stopped at the gate and said to the short maid, "Sister, stay here."

The maid tugged at his arm. "You've made a fortune in silver today. When are you coming next?"

"When I have good goods, naturally I'll come." The youth leaned in closer. "Once I've earned more silver, I'll buy Sister some nice things."

"I don't want any more Agate facha."

"Agate naturally can't match you, Sister — it would have to be Jin Ya or coral to be worthy."

The maid let out a snort of laughter before releasing him. The youth waved and left. The maid leaned against the doorframe and looked at the face cream in her hand. She opened the cap and sniffed — a rich jasmine flower fragrance. Applied to the face, it would be both fair and fragrant. She couldn't help but smile to herself.

At that moment, footsteps sounded outside. The maid looked up and saw another young man, dressed in a long blue robe, just arriving at the door — another handsome youth.

The maid tilted her head, went up and hugged his arm, and asked with a beaming smile, "Are you also here to sell powder and rouge? Why didn't you bring a bamboo basket?"

The youth glanced down at her oddly, then shifted his gaze away and looked around. "I sell other things. The location's good — let me first see where to hang the advertisement."