The maid gently drew aside the curtain with her delicate hands, and Duànyuè stepped out leisurely, greeting Danqing. With a head of neat short hair, glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, a professional smile curling at the corners of his lips, and hands tucked into wide sleeves folded before his abdomen, he exuded the scholarly air of a refined merchant.
The maid lifted the lid of the incense burner, added some fragrant spices, and silently withdrew.
“Hello,” Danqing greeted Duànyuè. The two fell into a brief silence, and Danqing racked her brain, unsure how to strike up a conversation. Having spent much of her previous life secluded, she had nearly forgotten how to interact with others. In the end, she simply handed over the shopping list Qianzhi had given her, deciding to get straight to the point. “These are the items Qianzhi requested to purchase.”
Without even glancing at the list, Duànyuè instructed directly, “Package them from Warehouse No. 2 and take them away.”
Danqing wasn’t one to talk much in front of strangers, but now she noticed that the owner of Jinghua Pavilion looked somewhat familiar, as if she had seen him somewhere before?
Unintentionally, she stared at Duànyuè’s face for more than five breaths. Duànyuè maintained his professional smile, which somehow didn’t provoke any dislike, and said, “Little girl, is there something dirty on my face, or have you taken a fancy to me?”
“I think you look very familiar, as if I’ve seen you somewhere before,” Danqing blurted out.
“Many people say I look familiar after meeting me, all wanting to get acquainted,” Duànyuè replied, his tone tinged with a hint of sarcasm. “But I’m too lazy to go out, so I just stay here at Jinghua Pavilion. Of course, occasionally I do go out to buy candied hawthorns or small snacks to see the eager looks on children’s faces.”
Candied hawthorns! These three words echoed endlessly in Danqing’s mind. Now she knew why Duànyuè seemed so familiar. “You’re the one with the long legs who showed off from the side and took my candied hawthorn! The next day, a little girl brought a string of candied hawthorns to apologize—the ‘shixiong’ she mentioned!”
“…” For the first time, Duànyuè felt a deep sense of defeat—not because someone recognized him for his fame, but for candied hawthorns. It was such a trivial matter from years ago, why did she remember it so clearly!
The story took place during Danqing’s transition from Baozi to a little girl. One day, Qianzhi brought wild hawthorns to make candied hawthorns. The hawthorns, as large as ping-pong balls, were carefully cut open by Qianzhi, their pits removed, and filled with jujube paste. In a shallow, small copper pot, rock sugar was melted over a low flame. The skewered hawthorn strings were rolled in the pot to coat them evenly with the syrup, then slammed forcefully onto a cool bluestone slab. Once cooled, the candied hawthorns had a large, crystal-clear sugar coating and were incredibly delicious.
Danqing helped out, her tasks being skewering the hawthorns and dipping them in sugar. She never let Qianzhi take over, which was why she was so shocked when someone suddenly appeared and snatched her candied hawthorn. After eating one, the person even complained that the sugar coating was uneven and not crispy. Danqing only remembered the side profile of the person who stole the candied hawthorn. The next day, a little girl arrived with a string of candied hawthorns, formally apologizing on behalf of her shixiong. Although that string of candied hawthorns also had an uneven sugar coating and the hawthorns were so sour they made her teeth ache, the well-behaved shimei who cleaned up the mess and the shixiong who bullied a child left a deep impression on Danqing.
Danqing stared at Duànyuè for a long while, her gaze filled with resentment. After all, no merchant is without cunning, and Duànyuè was, at the very least, a businessman with ample experience dealing with difficult customers and haggling. From behind the curtain, someone couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle, followed by a tender, childlike voice by his ear: “Shixiong, this is karma.” This person was none other than the little shimei who had gone to apologize to Danqing all those years ago.
“So, what do you want to do about it?”
“Not really, it just happened to leave a deep impression.”
As she spoke, the maid who had just withdrawn emerged from behind the six-panel screen, holding a green bamboo silk handkerchief on which lay a simple, unadorned ring. “Pardon the interruption, young master. The items on the list have been packed as requested and stored in this temporary spatial ring. Once the items are retrieved, the ring will lose its storage properties.”
Duànyuè acknowledged and gestured for her to hand it to Danqing. Danqing glanced at the list in her hand. “May I verify that the contents match the list?”
After checking, both parties settled the payment and completed the transaction.
Stepping out of Jinghua Pavilion, Danqing hadn’t expected Duànyuè to give her a one-time-use tracking tool just because of the candied hawthorn. Truth be told, she hadn’t dwelled much on the candied hawthorn either—after all, there were countless delicious snacks, and it wasn’t as if she couldn’t afford them. It was only because the event stood out vividly during the transition period that she remembered it.
Inside Jinghua Pavilion, her junior sister was just as puzzled as Danqing. “Senior brother, you don’t seem like a generous person. What’s your motive?”
Duànyuè adjusted his glasses. “She’s a potential client.”
The exit of Jinghua Pavilion was not far from the stir-fried noodle stall. The crowd waiting for noodles was still as large as ever. Several distinctive-looking individuals had just taken their seats as she left and were still eating their noodles. Danqing concluded: Did time flow slower inside Jinghua Pavilion compared to the outside world?
It was still early, and for once, she was alone in the market without Qianzhi and the others accompanying her. It would be a shame to return so early without exploring the streets. Danqing turned and headed in the opposite direction of the General’s Manor.
Taiping County bordered the Yellow Sea and was small in area, unable to compare with the nearby prosperous cities. However, thanks to a tributary flowing through the county, waterway trade had boosted its economy, allowing the people of Taiping County to live in peace and contentment, with not a single beggar in sight. Though small, the county had all the essentials—performance halls, poetry and painting teahouses—none inferior to those in the neighboring cities.
The streets crisscrossed, with dark green moss dotting the bluestone paths and nameless little white flowers growing in the corners.
Unconsciously, Danqing wandered into the Rouge Alley.
If it were empty, the alley would have been quiet and winding, likely leading to a winemaker’s home, as a faint, elusive aroma of wine drifted from its end. The scent could intoxicate the heart, luring wine lovers to step over the threshold of the wine shop, marked by two small lanterns, and into a new world. Unfortunately, the place was bustling with noise, and the fragrance of women’s rouge overwhelmed all other scents in the alley.
At the entrance, people came and went—not just men, but also young ladies accompanied by wet nurses or matrons, their faces veiled. The ladies hesitated slightly at the door, their silk fans barely concealing their blushing peach-blossom cheeks, before stepping into Nanyi Manor.
Danqing was stunned. Unmarried women openly entering a brothel—this shattered her worldview. After a moment, she began to see the pattern.
Looking down Rouge Powder Street, there were five prominent households. The one where accompanied women or unmarried girls still wearing maiden hairstyles entered was called “Nanyi Workshop.” Upon closer inspection of the pavilion structures within the high walls of these five households, Nanyi Manor’s towers stood out as the most luxurious. The other establishments did not entertain female guests, and from the furrowed brows of women passing by those places—even before their veils were fully lowered—it was clear they felt not just dislike, but perhaps outright disgust.
Driven by curiosity, Danqing followed behind a modest young lady and slipped inside.
The front courtyard was spacious, nearly filled with people, including many young women who had just entered Nanyi Manor and were overwhelmed by the crowd. Nanyi Manor had attendants specifically assigned to guide these young ladies away from the front courtyard, as it was improper for men and women to mingle freely.
“Young lady, why have you come here alone? Although Nanyi Manor welcomes female guests, we generally do not entertain ones as young as you,” said an attendant, noticing Danqing was not with the modest young lady and stopping her as she tried to follow.
“So, you do make exceptions under special circumstances. I was just curious—yours is the only establishment here that welcomes female guests, and these women all seem to be respectable.”
“Because Nanyi Manor does not trade in flesh,” the attendant said bluntly, her smile carrying a hint of mockery.
Meanwhile, the sound of music and singing drifted over, accompanied by cheers from the crowd.
“Selling smiles but not bodies?”
The attendant’s lips twitched slightly. Whose child was this, knowing so much?
“You could say that. Taiping County is prosperous, but not everyone lives comfortably. If someone has a skill, we provide her a stage to showcase her talent in exchange for silver. What’s wrong with that? Survival is what matters.” The attendant picked Danqing up. Tall herself, she allowed Danqing to see over the crowd, finally catching a glimpse of a woman on stage twisting her waist with all her might, her azure water sleeves fluttering like rippling waves stirred by the wind.
“Oh,” Danqing nodded. “That dancing woman is quite pretty, and her waist is so flexible—she twists it without straining.”
“…” The attendant couldn’t comprehend Danqing’s train of thought. “You have a good eye.”
Danqing shook her head. “Thank you for the compliment. My eyesight is average; I can only tell she’s probably good-looking.”
As the dance on stage ended, thunderous applause erupted. Wealthy spectators tossed small silver combs or a few coins onto the stage.
“They’re throwing things up there, and she doesn’t even dodge. Aren’t they afraid of accidentally hitting her forehead and scarring her?” Danqing murmured, watching as items rained down on the water-sleeve dancer—small silver ingots, pearls, amber, agate, hairpins, and more.
“The amount of reward depends on how well the dance is performed. But she should be happy—her dance has won so much appreciation. Of course, her looks are indispensable too.”
“Huaci! Another female guest has arrived. Where are you slacking off?” a sharp voice called from afar.
“Alright, little girl, it’s time for you to go home. This isn’t the place for you right now. In three or four years, if fate allows, we might meet again.” Hua Ci set Danqing down and gently nudged her toward the door. After urging her a few more times, Hua Ci turned away to find someone else.
Danqing didn’t want to leave just yet. She hadn’t had her fill of the excitement, nor had she figured out why, in a place known for its pleasures, so many visitors were respectable women—and most importantly, they were all unmarried maidens.
A candied hawthorn stick, glazed with sugar syrup, was offered to Danqing. She looked up to see a shy scholar holding it out. “Little miss, I’ll treat you to this candied hawthorn if you’ll deliver a letter to a certain elder sister for me, alright?”