Chapter Twelve: A Meeting of Acquaintances

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A pair of white-jade stone lions guarded either side of the vermilion gates. A gilded plaque hung high above the lintel, the four characters “Marquis of Martial Might’s Residence” sweeping across it in bold, vigorous strokes. It was said that the inscription had been written by the Emperor himself—a distinction sufficient to show how deeply the Marquis of Martial Might enjoyed the sovereign’s favor.

Beyond the spirit wall stood three successive ceremonial gates. Passing through the hanging-flower gate brought one to the grand hall, five bays wide.

To celebrate Ling Heng’s birthday, the residence had been adorned with vermilion brocade curtains and twelve-branched bronze lamps. With the many guests in embroidered robes laughing and offering their congratulations in turn, the entire marquisate seemed alive with merriment.

Guests were welcomed, gifts presented, seats taken, and dishes served.

Before long, the birthday banquet began.

Since Jiang Zhuo had only recently joined the Music Office and had no wish to encounter the Marquis of Martial Might, Qin Liuyun had simply assigned her the preparations involving the management of the instruments.

For convenience in summoning them should anything unexpected arise, Jiang Zhuo and the other female musicians of the Music Office waited behind a folding screen.

After the third round of wine came the Music Office’s specially arranged “Immortal Longevity Banquet Melody,” a slow and spacious solo played on the sheng. Its mood was deep and lingering.

Lotus-shaped meat cakes were served alongside the performance, making the blessing implicit in the music all the more apparent.

When the piece ended, the entire hall broke into loud applause.

“I hear that Miss Jiang of the Jiang family now serves as a musician in the Court of Ceremonies. Has she come today?”

The moment Ling Heng spoke, the guests began whispering among themselves, and more than a few voices carried open mockery.

“She was born a proper young lady of an official household, yet she has chosen to become a female official who exposes herself before the public. Whatever could she be thinking?”

“What can one say? Everyone has different aspirations. Some people simply enjoy plucking the pipa. Even if they were born to a young lady’s station, they would still have the makings of a servant.”

“Isn’t this the perfect opportunity? Let her come out and perform something for the Young Marquis’s birthday. Then we can see what difference there is between a song played by a proper young lady and one played by a mere entertainer.”

“Female musicians belong to the Court of Ceremonies and hold official rank. Young Master Wang, you should not jest so carelessly.”

Amid the frivolous taunts of the noble young men and women, Shen Guanzhi’s calm defense rang out with unusual clarity.

Jiang Zhuo felt her eyes grow hot.

“In answer to the Marquis, Musician Jiang did indeed come today. However, she injured her hand while practicing the qin two days ago and is unable to appear,” Qin Liuyun replied with composed ease, as she had anticipated this possibility. She then gave Caiyun behind her a meaningful glance. “If the Marquis wishes to hear the sound of stringed instruments, many of the musicians in our office are skilled with the pipa. Perhaps one of them might perform a piece for you.”

Ling Heng, seated at the head of the table, gave no particular response.

But Caiyun had already taken up a pipa and slowly stepped forward to sit down.

So Caiyun played the pipa as well. No wonder her hostility toward Jiang Zhuo had run so deep.

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Jiang Zhuo felt faintly embarrassed.

It was said that a true connoisseur could recognize a performer by her music. Caiyun’s style was entirely different from her own, brimming instead with vitality and a lively, leaping quality. Her playing sounded brighter and more buoyant, though her handling of certain passages also revealed a touch more impatience.

Just as Jiang Zhuo thought the banquet’s attempts to make things difficult for her had passed and began to relax, one of the accompanying musicians tugged anxiously at her sleeve and whispered:

“Musician Jiang, the flutist, Madam Li, said she needed to relieve herself as soon as she entered the residence. She has been gone for three quarters of an hour and still has not returned. Do you think something may have happened?”

The flute part was intended to accompany “The Immortals Gather in Joy,” a piece specially prepared by the Music Office for the climax of the birthday banquet.

Although the thirteen-string zither served as the principal instrument, the piece would lose much of its brilliance without the flute’s high notes.

Jiang Zhuo counted the accompanying musicians and discovered that one was indeed missing.

Seeing that Qin Liuyun was still outside, directing the pace of the banquet, Jiang Zhuo clenched her teeth and quickly made up her mind.

“I’ll go look for her. You should also inform Musician Qin.”

In her previous life, Jiang Zhuo had been thoroughly familiar with the rear courtyard of the marquisate. She ought to be able to find Madam Li in the privy without anything going seriously wrong.

After giving the accompanying musicians instructions concerning the matters to be handled before they went onstage, Jiang Zhuo soon entered the rear courtyard and headed straight for the privy on the eastern side.

The peonies in the rear courtyard were as vivid as she remembered. Beneath the layers of lamplight, the Taihu rocks of the artificial mountain appeared particularly jagged and stark.

She passed through the familiar winding corridor. Jiang Zhuo felt as though, after circling endlessly, she had returned once more to the loathsome prison of her former life. She quickened her pace.

“Hey! Who are you?”

Someone called out sharply to Jiang Zhuo as she hurried through the night.

She turned and saw a woman dressed in a pale-pink brocade robe. Though the lamplight was dim, Jiang Zhuo could still make out skin white as snow, hair black as ink, and striking features touched with unmistakable arrogance.

She recognized the woman at once. This was Lin Rou’er, Ling Heng’s favored concubine.

“Why have I never seen you before? Don’t tell me the Marquis has taken another new concubine?”

Lin Rou’er continued questioning her in a lofty, imperious tone.

“Madam, please do not take offense. I am a musician from the Court of Ceremonies. His Majesty has sent us to provide music at the marquisate today, and I came to coordinate matters concerning the performers. One of the musicians went to relieve herself and has been gone for some time, so I came to look for her.”

Jiang Zhuo gave a slight bow, offering Lin Rou’er all the respect due to her position.

Before Jiang Zhuo’s disfigurement, the two of them had been like fire and water within the marquisate. They had vied with each other over Ling Heng’s favor and the finery he bestowed upon them. Whenever they met, their words dripped with jealousy, and neither would yield an inch.

Yet after Jiang Zhuo’s face had been ruined, Lin Rou’er had unexpectedly been the one to offer aid in her hour of need, coming often to provide her with small necessities.

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Looking back now, Jiang Zhuo realized that Lin Rou’er was not bad by nature. She was merely too dependent on Ling Heng.

But perhaps that could not truly be blamed on Lin Rou’er. As a concubine, what else could a woman hope for besides her husband’s favor and the children she bore him?

Lin Rou’er slowly circled Jiang Zhuo once, then lifted Jiang Zhuo’s chin with a finger and examined her carefully in the moonlight.

“What sort of respectable musician looks this alluring? I say you pretend to be a musician, but in truth you came here amid the crowd to seduce the Marquis.”

“Madam, you misunderstand. I—”

“Are you Musician Jiang? A musician lost her way earlier, so we were sent to find you.”

As Jiang Zhuo tried to explain, a maid with her hair arranged in twin buns approached carrying a lantern. She bowed first to Lin Rou’er, then to Jiang Zhuo.

“Hmph. You had better not let me see you in the Marquis’s chambers.”

Now that someone had come looking for her, Lin Rou’er’s expression softened somewhat, but she still left Jiang Zhuo with that threat before departing.

“Please do not take offense, Musician. That was our Madam Lin. The Marquis has always favored her, so she is somewhat spoiled, but she means no harm toward people or in matters.”

The lantern-bearing maid comforted her in a soft voice while taking the lead and guiding Jiang Zhuo onward. Yet their destination was not the privy of the marquisate, but the northeastern corner of the rear courtyard.

Perhaps Madam Li was waiting for her in one of the rooms.

Jiang Zhuo did not think much of it.

It was only that the maid’s sweet, gentle voice seemed strangely familiar.

“It is nothing. Thank you for your help today. May I ask your name?”

“You are too kind, Musician. I am only doing what a servant ought to do.” The maid turned around and smiled sweetly at Jiang Zhuo. “You may call me Peach Blossom.”

Peach Blossom?

Memories of her previous life surged forward like a tide. The hysterical face in her recollection gradually aligned with the twin-bunned maid before her.

Jiang Zhuo remembered.

The person who had ruined her face in her previous life was Peach Blossom.