Early the next morning, Luluo finished attending to Xie Changxi and then went to find Shi Jun, crying for quite some time.
Shi Jun was startled by her tears, quickly supporting Luluo and asking with concern.
"What's wrong? Why are you crying?" Shi Jun's voice was soft and gentle, soothing Luluo until she stopped crying.
Shi Jun helped Luluo to the pavilion and sat her down.
Luluo wiped her tears with her sleeve, growing more aggrieved: "Last night, the master hurt me."
Shi Jun was momentarily stunned, thinking to herself that this was something Luluo would share with her. Luluo was two years younger than her, only sixteen now, still looking like a child.
This kind of thing was all too common in this environment. Shi Jun understood this in her heart, yet she couldn't help but feel pained.
Finally, Shi Jun gently patted her thin back and comforted her, "You've been through a lot."
A flicker of surprise passed through Luluo's eyes, and she immediately buried herself in Shi Jun's embrace.
"Sister, from now on I only have you." Luluo sobbed while twisting her handkerchief. "Sister, please care for me too, don't distance yourself from me."
Shi Jun nodded in agreement. Luluo cried for quite a while, then suddenly stood up, pressing her lips together and smiling.
"Sister, I can play the pipa. Shall I play a tune for you?" Luluo pulled Shi Jun toward her room and took out her beloved pipa.
Shi Jun let Luluo lead her, her thoughts already drifting somewhere far away.
Luluo carried the pipa out and sat beneath the pavilion to play.
Shi Jun stood to the side, observing her precise and nimble fingering, her clear and crystalline tone, her controlled dynamics—all showing deep skill.
The daylight was just right today, the courtyard lush with foliage and clusters of flowers.
Luluo played "Three Variations on Yang Pass." Her technique was beyond reproach, far more impressive than most her age.
Shi Jun was wrapped in the golden sunlight, yet her heart trembled with cold.
Before long, tears rolled down her cheeks.
Luluo played with focus and didn't notice Shi Jun crying.
Only when the piece ended did she look up.
"Why are you crying, sister?" Luluo furrowed her brow and stepped forward to ask.
Shi Jun shook her head, her voice forlorn. "I miss home."
"Don't cry, sister. As long as the master is here, how could you lack a home?" With that, Luluo pulled her to sit beneath the pavilion.
She pressed the pipa into Shi Jun's arms and said warmly, "Sister, I don't have many talents, but I play the pipa well. Let me teach you, and we can pass the time together."
The last time Shi Jun had played the pipa felt like a past life, though it had only been four years since she'd stopped.
But now that she was here, the days of playing the pipa in her former life could never return.
Shi Jun held the pipa and smiled bitterly. "I played a few times back home, but I never learned well."
With that, she gently caressed the pipa, as if it were a rare treasure she held dear.
Luluo was full of confusion, and her gaze toward Shi Jun gradually carried a hint of scrutiny.
For women like them in the pleasure quarters, learning the pipa was to please others. So why did Shi Jun learn it? She truly was a strange person.
Shi Jun played the first song she had heard as a child—"Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." Luluo studied Shi Jun carefully, noting that although her fingering was unpracticed, she was quickly finding her way.
Luluo listened closely to the tune and found it even stranger—it was something she had never heard before, with a gentle, warm melody.
When the piece ended, Shi Jun returned the pipa to Luluo, resolved never to touch it again.
Just as Shi Jun was about to rise, she saw a figure standing before the moon gate behind Luluo.
Xie Changxi stood there, still as a pine, quietly watching her.
Shi Jun's gaze faltered. She gave a slight bow, and when she looked up again, Xie Changxi had already turned and left.
When Luluo turned around, she saw no one there either.
For several days in a row, Shi Jun did not attend to Xie Changxi, sending only Luluo to serve him.
Shi Jun enjoyed the freedom, but Lanfang was dissatisfied, and whenever she saw Luluo, her face turned sour.
One day, Lanfang found Shi Jun kneading dough in the kitchen and couldn't help complaining, "Sister! That Luluo is by the master's side every day. Who knows what she's saying about you. You may not be worried, but Lingxiang and I are afraid."
Shi Jun soothed her, "What's there to fear? Lanfang, as long as I'm here, you'll always have a meal to eat. Luluo attends to the master—shouldn't you and I enjoy the leisure?"
Lanfang's brows drooped, and she said nothing more, turning to leave.
Mama Qin noticed that even a young girl like Lanfang knew to worry, so why was Shi Jun so unconcerned?
That evening, Shi Jun brought pastries to Luluo. When Luluo opened the door and saw who it was, she first pulled Shi Jun inside, then looked around in all directions.
"What are you doing?" Shi Jun asked, bewildered.
Luluo let out a long sigh, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. "Sister, you don't know this, but in two days is my sister's death anniversary. The master won't allow me to go out, but I truly want to burn incense for her."
Shi Jun's brows knitted slightly, and she dared not make any move.
Luluo said sorrowfully, "Sister, I'm not like you. I grew up with my elder sister. When she turned fifteen, our parents sold her to a wealthy merchant as a concubine, and when I was ten, they sold me to the madam."
Recalling the past, Luluo's eyes brimmed with tears, her voice choked with sobs.
Shi Jun set down the pastries and stepped forward to support her.
"Sister, would you be willing to help me? I want to go outside the city to burn incense for my sister, or even just go to a temple to pray."
Luluo's tears fell onto the back of Shi Jun's hand, each drop striking like it was landing on her heart.
"I didn't want to come here in the first place—it was the prefect who sent me. Sister, I have only this one wish: please take me out during the temple fair in a few days. Just this once." Luluo wept more pitifully, her tone almost pleading.
Luluo looked at her through tear-blurred eyes. Shi Jun's face showed reluctance, and for a long while she could not give her an answer.
Seeing that Shi Jun would not respond, Luluo could only kneel. "Sister, if anything happens, I'll bear it myself. My husband dotes on me; he surely won't blame you."
Shi Jun hurriedly helped her up, frowning as she agreed. Having consented to Luluo's request, Shi Jun's heart was uneasy, yet whether she helped or not, her conscience would trouble her either way.
Luluo was also a pitiful soul—both of them lived at the bottom rung. Shi Jun was willing to help her this once.
Besides, it was only because of Xie Changxi that Ahe had been able to be buried. Now that she could make decisions for others, she naturally ought to help.
In the days leading up to the temple fair, Luluo often came to see Shi Jun, asking what she liked, pulling her into long chats about everyday matters, and even teaching her the local accent of the south.
The misgivings Shi Jun had about hiding things from Xie Changxi gradually faded away.
But the day before the temple fair, Xie Changxi ordered Shi Jun to attend to him in the study.
That was strange—since Luluo had arrived, Xie Changxi had not summoned her for a long time.
Because she had promised Luluo she would take her out, Shi Jun could not help feeling guilty when she saw Xie Changxi. For the first time ever, her hand trembled before him as she held the plate of pastries.
"Yingyue, what do you think of Luluo as a person?"
His gaze drifted from her hand, and he set down the documents, lifting his eyes to look at her as he asked in a calm voice.
Shi Jun stood with her head bowed, composed, and said with furrowed brows, "Perhaps she is a pitiful soul."
Without her noticing, a thin layer of sweat had formed on her palms, and her heart seemed to hang suspended, afraid of letting something slip.
Xie Changxi smiled but said nothing. After a long moment, he picked up a sugar pastry.
Then, he released it and set it back down.
"She was originally a courtesan, drifting through the world of song and pleasure. She is not worth your sincerity." Xie Changxi said coolly, then rose and asked Shi Jun to attend to his bath and change of clothes.
Shi Jun nodded.
But in her heart, she was unconvinced. If one had a choice, who would sink to becoming a courtesan? Xie Changxi, after all, was born into nobility—how could he understand those struggling desperately at the bottom?
Thinking of this, Shi Jun felt Xie Changxi was far too cold and unfeeling.
She also recalled how Xie Changxi had helped bury her younger sister and spoken up for her—to him, these were no more than a flick of the fingers.
Yet any one of these deeds, if placed upon her shoulders, would have crushed her.
At that moment, looking at Xie Changxi, Shi Jun suddenly felt she was a little foolish.
Those trivial kindnesses of Xie Changxi's could resolve her plight, but the debt between them was unequal.
Shi Jun was lost in thought for a moment when Xie Changxi suddenly stepped close to her, a cold, dark shadow looming over her.
"What are you thinking about?" Xie Changxi asked in a low voice.
For some reason, this voice—which she had once found gentle and kind—now sounded like winter frost and snow, cold and unfeeling.
"It's nothing, I just lost focus for a moment." Shi Jun stepped back and attended to Xie Changxi's change of clothes.
Xie Changxi kept his voice low and said, "You need not attend to me these next few days. Summon Luluo instead."
Shi Jun nodded and withdrew.
On the day of the temple fair, Shi Jun rose early and borrowed an old set of clothes from Mama Qin for Luluo to change into.
The temple fair in Jiangling at the start of the sixth month was extremely lively. Mama Qin took Lanfang and Lingxiang and left the residence first.
Luluo smeared ash on her face and, disguised as an old woman, followed Shi Jun out of the estate.
By dusk, the two had reached the streets.
The temple fair was bustling—long streets hung with lanterns, pedestrians jostling shoulder to shoulder, and cries of vendors filling the air without end.
Luluo held Shi Jun's arm, gazing at the lively scene all around, her eyes curving into crescents as she smiled, just like a child.
"Luluo, going outside the city is far too dangerous. Just go to the temple and offer prayers for your sister instead." Shi Jun said gently.
Luluo nodded, released Shi Jun's arm, and gathered her sleeves before saying, "Thank you for your trouble, sister."
Shi Jun walked alongside Luluo down the street. The closer they got to the temple, the denser the crowd became. Seeing the press of people ahead, before Shi Jun could reach for Luluo's hand, Luluo grabbed her and pulled her forward at a run.
"Sister, you've never been to Jiangling—it's so lively up ahead!" As she spoke, Luluo laughed and hurried forward.
Shi Jun could only quicken her pace to keep up. The crowd pressed in, and gradually Shi Jun felt Luluo drifting farther and farther away from her.
"Luluo!"
Shi Jun called out loudly.
Suddenly, Shi Jun's hand was left empty, swept along by the surging crowd.
She stood on her toes and looked around, trying to spot Luluo's figure, but the people around her shoved her this way and that.
At this moment, she was like a drifting, rootless duckweed.
"Sister! Sister—"
Luluo's voice came from somewhere unknown. Shi Jun could not pinpoint the direction, and with so many people around, she could barely move.
Shi Jun stood frozen in place for a long while, then could only steel herself to go find Luluo.
She circled the temple area several times without catching sight of Luluo.
She had finally managed to come out for a stroll, and now she had lost the person.
Unable to find her after much searching, she could only head back—and happened to run into Luluo standing properly on the very road she had come by.
Luluo stood beneath the moonlight, her figure slender, sleeves covering the backs of her hands. She gazed quietly at Shi Jun, her eyes shimmering with light.
Shi Jun watched her, thoughts churning within—was Luluo truly careless just now, or was it deliberate?
Luluo's steps were slightly unsteady as she made her way toward Shi Jun, and when she reached her side, she whispered softly in her ear.
"Sister, I beg you, just one more time, won't you help me?" Luluo's tears streamed down her face, her words sincere, her voice trembling uncontrollably.