This place was once the mansion of Chen Sanfu, a powerful sea merchant who had been famous for a time. Later, he was wiped out by the government. Only empty buildings and a large seawater pond remained. After many years of decoration for the Tide Banquet, the area had completely changed.
The buildings and the pond blended into one. Around the edge of the pond stood “ten-zhang coral frames.” They were not real coral. Skilled craftsmen had carved red sandstone into coral shapes and wrapped them with wisteria vines. In spring, the flowers bloomed like purple mist floating in the air.
A Siamese ivory treasure ship was docked on the pond. Oyster shells stuck to the hull showed its glorious past of conquering the seas. Now, old rusty winches were wrapped in Shu brocade, and broken lookout towers hung with glass lamps. The whole ship looked like an aging canary locked in a cage.
A music troupe played Fish and Dragon Transformation on the deck. The sound was loud and powerful, like waves crashing on the shore.
Above the fourth floor was the banquet area. In the corridors stood thirty-six gold-painted sea jars. Live crabs inside blew bubbles, waiting to be cooked as drunken crab when the feast began. The center of the banquet hall was hollowed out, so guests could clearly see the performances on the ship. The small building had windows on all sides with hanging curtains. Leaning on the railings, one could see the bright moon over the sea.
When Xu Miaoxue stepped into Ruyi Harbor, a deep bell sound echoed across the entire island. Yet there was no bell tower in sight. She paused slightly, feeling something stir inside her.
Many years ago, she had heard this bell before. Back then, the strong young men of Shatou Ao sang loud songs as, guided by the bell, they carried box after box of red bridal dowries—made with craftsmen’s devotion—down to the docks.
“This is the Tide Sound Mechanism.”
Pei Hening, who came to receive Xu Miaoxue, thought she was confused by the bell and deliberately showed off as she explained.
“During the Yongle era, the commander of Zhenhai Guard secretly built this mechanism on the south side of the island to guard against pirates. A huge bronze bell was placed in a cave among the reefs. When the tide came in, it triggered the device and rang the bell as a warning. Later, during the Seven Seas Tide Banquet, scholars called the sound of tide and bell together ‘the pure sound of heaven and sea.’ It became the signal that the banquet was about to begin.”
Pei Hening’s words were full of pride. She believed this would surely impress the unsophisticated Xu Miaoxue.
But Xu Miaoxue was not surprised at all. She grinned at Pei Hening, half joking and half mocking.
“So that’s what it is. It really is loud—but won’t it summon all the lonely ghosts from the sea?”
Pei Hening’s face changed instantly. She nearly jumped.
“Bah, bah, bah! Don’t say such unlucky things!”
A sea breeze blew past. Pei Hening suddenly felt a chill on the back of her neck. What an annoying thing to say—it ruined her mood completely. She stopped being polite and angrily dragged Xu Miaoxue toward Sea-View Tower.
“My mother asked me to bring you in. There are many rules at Ruyi Harbor. Just follow me and don’t wander around.”
Everyone in the Pei family was too busy to spare attention, so the responsibility for Xu Miaoxue fell on Pei Hening alone. Second Madam Pei had given only one instruction, but it weighed like a thousand pounds:
“No credit needed. Just don’t cause trouble.”
Pei Hening herself was nervous. Who knew what shocking words this seemingly ordinary beauty might say next?
“When we get to the banquet, don’t speak on your own. If others ask you something and you’re not sure, stay silent. I’ll handle it. Don’t mess things up, understand?” Pei Hening warned her again and again.
Xu Miaoxue patted her chest confidently.
“Relax. I know the rules.”
By custom, men and women sat separately. The two entered the women’s seats on the fourth floor. As soon as Xu Miaoxue arrived, she became the center of attention. All kinds of gazes swept over her. The women seemed eager to pick her apart, yet still could not see what was so special about her that could win over the lofty Pei Shuye.
“Lord Pei is talented and eloquent,” Wang Luotang said to Xu Miaoxue. “I’m sure Sister Xu is no less capable. You must know how to play drinking games with verses?”
“Of course,” Xu Miaoxue answered briskly.
Pei Hening grew tense and whispered, “If you can’t do it, don’t force yourself.”
Xu Miaoxue snorted. “What’s there I can’t do?”
Seeing her confidence, Pei Hening was persuaded. After all, her Sixth Uncle was very learned. Even if Xu Miaoxue was naturally rough, she should have learned something from him. Thinking this way, Pei Hening felt a little calmer.
The very next second, Xu Miaoxue said,
“What kind of drinking game do you want, Sister? Throwing dice?”
Wang Luotang froze slightly. Xu Miaoxue thought she did not want to throw dice.
“—Or finger-guessing?”
The entire hall fell silent.
Pei Hening was about to stop her, but Wang Luotang smiled gently and asked,
“Sister Xu, why don’t you explain how finger-guessing is played?”
Xu Miaoxue looked surprised.
“You don’t even know that?”
She actually rolled up her sleeves, put one foot on the chair, and shouted loudly, full of bold, street-hero spirit.
“One ingot of gold! Two horses wrong! Third Lord’s saber guards the canal—
Four joys of wealth! Five poisons strike!
Six Gates churn red waves—hey! hey!”
Pei Hening’s face turned bright red. She rushed forward, covered Xu Miaoxue’s mouth, and dragged her back into the chair.
“We’re doing elegant games, not vulgar ones!” she hissed through clenched teeth.
The women covered their mouths and whispered among themselves.
Pei Hening wanted to cry but had to smile apologetically at everyone.
“Hehe, my Sixth Aunt was just joking with everyone. So, what drinking game are we playing today? Sister Luotang, why don’t you choose?”
The disappointment and probing on Wang Luotang’s face finally faded. She smiled slowly and calmly. She did not need to mock Xu Miaoxue. Simply maintaining her refined, noble-lady manner was mockery enough.
She pointed toward the night clouds outside the window.
“Let’s make it about the night scenery. Choose one image from cloud, crane, pine, or spring. I’ll give two lines first as an example.”
“Seeking the immortal tailor in the blue heavens,
Half-veiled moon palace drops a jade hairpin.
Suddenly frost flows and gathers on the inkstone—
It turns out the Weaver Maiden is drying snowy silk.”
Every line spoke of clouds without using the word “cloud.” The poem was clever and elegant. It was clear Wang Luotang had prepared carefully. What seemed casual was actually a quiet display of her poetic skill.
The woman seated next to her refused to lose. Holding her cup, she smiled and replied:
“Dark robes reflect on moss where it sleeps,
Cries fade in distant marshes, Chu clouds mourn.
If it drinks the Kunlun dew till full,
Would it refuse to descend with the moon on a pine?”
She chose “crane” as her image but hid the word, using “dark robes” to suggest the crane’s feathers. The rules had never required this, but the two women’s silent competition raised the difficulty.
It was Pei Hening’s turn. A poem was already on the tip of her tongue, but she suddenly hesitated. If the game stayed this hard, Xu Miaoxue would surely fail and embarrass herself again. She needed to end it here and switch to something easier.
Pei Hening drank three cups in a row and said apologetically,
“You two are too amazing. I can’t match that, so I’ll drink as punishment.”
After drinking, she pretended to be tipsy.
“Ah, once the wine goes down, my head doesn’t work at all. I’ll choose an easy one instead.”
Wang Luotang smiled gracefully. She saw through Pei Hening’s plan but went along with it.
“Let’s do as Sister Ning says.”
“Let’s do a couplet game,” Pei Hening said after thinking hard, choosing something extremely simple.
“‘Among flowers, one pot of wine’—Sixth Aunt, your turn.”
She gave Xu Miaoxue a look.
This is easy. You can’t possibly mess this up, right?
Xu Miaoxue returned a confident look: Leave it to me.
Pei Hening relaxed for just a moment—then remembered what happened last time she saw that look. Cold sweat broke out on her back. Before she could stop Xu Miaoxue, she heard her clearly recite:
“Half a pig at the butcher’s stall.”
The hall exploded with laughter. Some women laughed so hard they bent over.
So this was Lord Pei’s wife—such a vulgar woman. What a delightful discovery.
Xu Miaoxue, however, seemed completely unaware of the mockery. Seeing so many beautiful sisters laughing happily, she laughed too, as if her answer were brilliant. She raised her eyebrows at Pei Hening.
“Well? Wasn’t that a great match?”
Jewelry shook all around the hall. Only Pei Hening’s wine cup hit the stone table with a loud clatter. She could not laugh at all—she was almost in tears.
Only she truly cared about her Sixth Uncle. How could she bear to see his dignity trampled like this? The laughter around her seemed to say:
So what if Pei Shuye is impressive? Didn’t he still marry a woman like this?
As if mocking one woman together could prove their own lives were better.
Pei Hening could not stay another second. She stood up abruptly. Everyone looked at her in confusion. She smiled awkwardly and pulled Xu Miaoxue up.
“My Sixth Aunt seems drunk. I’ll take her out to sober up.”
With that, she dragged Xu Miaoxue away from the banquet.
She pulled her forward without stopping, almost reaching the stone embankment, before finally halting and throwing off Xu Miaoxue’s sleeve.
Pei Hening was furious and disappointed.
“Fine, you fell straight into Wang Luotang’s trap—but didn’t you know they were laughing at you just now?”
“Really?” Xu Miaoxue said, still smiling. “I thought at a banquet everyone was supposed to be happy together. Why would they laugh at me?”
“Because you were the funniest!” Pei Hening felt like she was talking to a cow. She puffed up angrily like a pufferfish.
Xu Miaoxue smiled sweetly.
“Then they must be jealous that I married such a good husband.”
A strange sour feeling rose in Pei Hening’s chest. Xu Miaoxue’s ignorance and fearlessness—didn’t that show how happy she really was? She truly had climbed a high branch. And her foolish Sixth Uncle was even happy to let her climb it.
Thinking of her own marriage prospects—still uncertain, being chosen and rejected again and again—what kind of unfair world was this?
“You should go back,” Pei Hening said stiffly.
Xu Miaoxue stepped closer, clinging to Pei Hening’s arm. Her voice softened, almost like she was acting cute.
“Miss Ning, I heard that after the banquet there’s an auction of sea treasures for the women. I’m just a country woman who’s never seen much. I want to look at the city treasures and broaden my horizons…”
Pei Hening disliked tough talk but was weak to softness. Her face showed annoyance, but her heart softened.
Xu Miaoxue lowered her voice further, whispering into Pei Hening’s ear.
“I’ve already prepared money. I want to buy a gift for my husband. He lost a pendant before, and I saw on the treasure list a bone-and-wood inlaid incense ball. If I buy it and leave right after, okay, Miss Ning?”
Pei Hening looked at her with slight surprise.
“You like objects made by Second Uncle Zheng too? Not bad taste.”
“Everyone knows Second Master Zheng’s reputation! I’ve just never seen his work before. My husband and I are both curious. Miss Ning, have you seen it?”
Pei Hening straightened proudly.
“Of course. Third Aunt’s thousand-step bed was personally made by my uncle.”
“Is his skill really that amazing?” Xu Miaoxue asked carefully, trying to draw her out. “Have you seen him carve wood with your own eyes?”
“I haven’t, but my aunt has. Every time she comes back, she praises him endlessly. She says whenever he has free time, he stays in his workshop. He never goes to pleasure houses. When he’s free, he comes straight to accompany her. It’s really enviable.”
Xu Miaoxue’s expression darkened.
She felt a bit disappointed. She had hoped to hear some inside story—something like Second Master Zheng being lazy and talentless, his fame only for show.
Could it be… that the bone-wood incense ball was just a coincidence?
She really had lost her head. How could someone like Zheng Er—who grew up surrounded by gold and silver—covet something that belonged to her father?
Seeing Xu Miaoxue’s gloomy face, Pei Hening thought she was intimidated and said generously,
“How about this? I’ll tell them to move the incense ball earlier in the auction. But it’s agreed—you leave right after.”
Xu Miaoxue nodded gratefully. Since she was already here, she had to at least see the item. Otherwise, the trip would be wasted.
She hid her expression and linked arms with Pei Hening, returning inside.
For some reason, Xu Miaoxue still felt uneasy.
Even someone as alert as her did not realize—
Everything was going far too smoothly.