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Lu Lingcong guided Xie Jing to the far end of the Star-Plucking Tower’s second floor, found the area deserted, opened a particular room’s door, ushered Xie Jing inside, then flipped the cloud-shaped jade plaque at the entrance from “Empty” to its reverse side before stepping in himself.
Xie Jing looked around the four walls; it was indeed his first time setting foot in a brothel’s bedroom, but he found that the décor and furnishings were no different from the bedroom in the Prince’s Mansion and were even far less refined than the Prince’s Mansion; even that large red silk curtain they had only taken down in their room a few days ago after the summer heat began.
“What, are we sleeping here today?” He turned back and asked Lu Lingcong.
Lu Lingcong choked: “If you want to… it’s not impossible either.”
Seeing Xie Jing’s puzzled expression, he explained, “That person has another appointment after the wine party upstairs, and it’s set for next door. This row of rooms is quiet and close to the water, making it convenient for us to eavesdrop against the wall.”
Xie Jing said in surprise, “Do you have to come personally for this kind of thing? Xuanshi should be more skilled, right?”
“They only just located the person, and I came to confirm their identity.”
“I still don’t know who the person is.” Xie Jing quickly added after speaking, “If it’s inconvenient to tell me, then forget it.”
Lu Lingcong glanced at him: “What’s inconvenient about that? Didn’t I already say that you and I have long been like grasshoppers sharing the same rope[mfn]Meaning that they are in this together or share the same fate.[/mfn]?”
He walked to the window, looked at the neighboring room where candles had not yet been lit, and said, “Do you still remember that young girl playing with the sparrow at the estate in Mount Tang?”
Xie Jing clearly remembered, but from their farewell at Jade Terrace last year up until the wedding, he and Lu Lingcong met only rarely and never had the opportunity to ask. Moreover, he had personally refused to serve as Lu Lingcong’s spy within Linhai Palace, so after the marriage, he avoided frequently mentioning these schemes and plots, worried that Lu Lingcong might suspect him of having hidden motives.
“The one above her isn’t an ordinary person. Xuanshi detected only a slight movement from them, yet they stayed motionless for ten months. It was only a few days ago that they finally caught her, using the pretext of coming to the city to deliver accounts and seizing the chance when the palace sent representatives to the Wu Family’s firm for procurement, to pass a letter.”
Xie Jing keenly connected the dots: “The communication was cut off again after the letter was delivered into the palace?”
Lu Lingcong nodded: “Although we don’t know who the recipient is, the letter asked him to attend a banquet at the Star-Plucking Tower tonight and then meet privately in the room next door after the banquet, so we had no choice but to come and wait here.”
Xie Jing asked, “Then when you went upstairs just now, did you recognize who it was?”
Lu Lingcong shook his head: “Upstairs appeared to be just an ordinary official gathering, with no important figures in attendance. I only recognized a few individual external officials, and the possibility of them connecting with the palace is slim, so we still have to wait here.”
Xie Jing peeked around left and right: “How can we ‘eavesdrop against the wall’ here?”
Lu Lingcong knocked on the wall, and Xie Jing heard a few crisp echoes.
“There’s a hidden layer?” He frowned. “What is it used for? It can’t really be for eavesdropping, can it?”
Lu Lingcong looked at him and smiled, teasing, “You must be easily surprised.”
Xie Jing felt uneasy being laughed at and glared at him, “That’s certainly incomparable to Your Highness’s extensive knowledge and experience, especially moving in and out of places like this as if walking on flat ground.”
Lu Lingcong had already figured out his temper, he would flare up when teased and calm down when coaxed, so he didn’t argue with him, only saying, “The Star-Plucking Tower is, after all, a business, and the flesh trade is business too, so naturally, they aim to avoid any trouble. This kind of hidden chamber is meant to conceal people, to dodge love debts and enemies, and, of course, to avoid being discovered in the act by one’s lawful spouse.”
As expected, Xie Jing’s displeasure immediately shifted from Lu Lingcong to the patrons seeking pleasure in the brothel, he sneered, “They’re only brave enough to act but not to take responsibility, that’s the extent of their ability.”
“However, I have no intention of listening; whispers and secretive talk can’t be heard clearly.” Lu Lingcong pushed the window open and looked outside. “I plan to see it with my own eyes.”
“What should we do now then, just wait?”
“The banquet upstairs will take a while to finish; let’s wait.”
Xie Jing then sat down in front of the low table, warmed the cups, and began to brew Gongfu tea. Lu Lingcong leaned his face on his hand and watched him for a long time, then suddenly made an “oh” sound and said, “Your outfit looks a lot like that pale blue-purple one; were they made together?”
Xie Jing was busy with his hands, so he only gave a casual “en” in response. The clothes he was wearing today were indeed part of a batch made at the Wuse Ji shop earlier; the style was the same, only the color and embroidery differed. The lining of this one was a pale light yellow, and the back of the outer robe was embroidered with golden ginkgo leaves, appropriately spaced from top to bottom, with the leaf lobes fluttering like butterfly wings. The embroidery was exquisite, so Xie Jing liked it very much.
However, Lu Lingcong’s interest was greatly piqued. He walked behind him before reaching out to trace the outline of the ginkgo leaves one by one, and asked, “Only these two outfits? Are there any other colors?”
Xie Jing felt a tingling sensation starting from his spine and slightly flinched: “There’s also a pale green one too. What are you going to do?”
“No red ones?” Lu Lingcong’s tone held a sense of disappointment. “Nothing, it’s just a pity. You should have a dozen or twenty of them made and wear a different color every day; that would truly be pleasing to the eye. This cut really suits your figure.”
At first, Xie Jing mentally complained, thinking that Lu Lingcong was treating him like a dye shop, but when he heard the latter part, he was stunned, then his face felt hot as he turned his head away without speaking.
Lu Lingcong asked again, “The pale blue purple one is embroidered with wisteria, the light yellow one with ginkgo. What design does the last one have?”
Xie Jing’s face grew even hotter, and he didn’t answer. Lu Lingcong’s hand wandered unpredictably across his back, his fingertips tracing spirals along the vertebrae, leaving him feeling progressively numb and utterly exposed. Fearing that he might knock over the tea tray on the table, he suppressed a laugh and struggled for a moment before saying, “White plum! Take your hand away! It’s embroidered with white plum!”
Now it was Lu Lingcong’s turn to be silent, and his hand briefly stopped. Just as Xie Jing was catching his breath, the next moment Lu Lingcong enveloped him entirely, holding him in a tight embrace and pressing him without mercy, “There are thousands of white plum trees in the capital. Tell me clearly, which one is it?”
His breath fell directly behind Xie Jing’s ear. Half of Xie Jing’s body was completely numb, and both of his arms were unable to move. He had no choice but to compromise: “The one in the Prince’s Mansion, the tree in the inner courtyard that blooms the most splendidly, beneath which the jar of Meishan Snow liquor lies buried.”
This answer clearly made Lu Lingcong very satisfied; he freed Xie Jing’s arms, but he did not pull his body away, still half-embracing him and slowly stroking his body.
Xie Jing’s breathing became unstable from Lu Lingcong’s touch, but he didn’t want to rush to melt into a puddle of water every time Lu Lingcong flirted, so he deliberately didn’t respond, only repeatedly washing the teacup in his hand several times.
The result was that his lapel had loosely fallen open, and the scented sachet around his neck containing the joined strands of hair was completely exposed. Lu Lingcong’s hand rested lightly along his chest and collarbone, yet he still gritted his teeth and endured, refusing to beg for mercy.
After a while, it was Lu Lingcong who spoke again: “I think you’ve gotten thinner again. I don’t see you moving your chopsticks much at the dinner table. Is it too hot? Jinling’s summers are indeed tough to endure.”
Xie Jing was nowhere near as shameless as he was; his hands behaved improperly, yet his expression and words remained utterly solemn. Xie Jing merely scolded in a breathy voice, “Weren’t you here to keep watch on someone? What are you doing now?”
Lu Lingcong smiled: “I haven’t even done anything guilty.”
Xie Jing still hadn’t let go of the incident where Yin Chou had mistaken him for a male prostitute, “You acted like a monk in the Prince’s Mansion yet demanded this when coming here. What kind of logic is that?”
Lu Lingcong was confused, “You are my legitimate spouse; surely you wouldn’t come here to catch yourself cheating?”
Xie Jing turned his head: “You consider me your legitimate spouse?”
Seeing his expression, Lu Lingcong knew he had said the wrong thing. Neither nodding nor shaking his head seemed right. After a moment of thought, he said, “You are yourself, not ‘my’ anything.”
Xie Jing was stunned, not expecting him to say that. Seeing how carefully Lu Lingcong had chosen his words, he lowered his eyes after a moment and suddenly broke into a smile.
He had to admit that the answer was very clever; at least Xie Jing was temporarily satisfied. Since Lu Lingcong could not give him the “my something” that he wanted, Xie Jing would rather believe that he was just himself.
Lu Lingcong finally let out a breath of relief when he saw him smile. Xie Jing turned slightly, so he was mostly facing him, raised his arm a little, and Lu Lingcong took the opportunity to draw him into a sideways embrace from the front.
…
Fortunately, the pain was not severe. After calming down for a while, it gradually improved. Lu Lingcong lingered in the same spot for a while, waiting for the heat in his lower body to subside before fixing his clothes. He then stepped into the corridor, found a girl, and asked her to bring washing water and hot milk to the room.
However, before the items arrived, two people entered the next room at that moment. Lu Lingcong immediately slipped back inside. Xie Jing wanted to watch with him, but his body was weak and limped on the pillow, utterly unwilling to move. He watched Lu Lingcong turn and walk towards the window, “I’ll go take a look.”
Xie Jing: “How are you going to get over there?”
Lu Lingcong had already disappeared at the railing, leaving only one word, “Crawl!”
Xie Jing waited idly for a moment, then was startled by a commotion downstairs. There was a surge of noisy voices, quickly followed by a sharp shout, “Official inspection! Everyone, disperse!”
Officials were strictly forbidden from frequenting brothels, although most people outwardly obeyed but inwardly defied, and as long as no major trouble was caused and they didn’t run into a direct conflict, the court would usually turn a blind eye. Such a sudden “inspection,” however, was not only unheard of but also made one suspicious of the timing of its occurrence.
But Xie Jing didn’t have time to dwell on it; strictly speaking, both he and Lu Lingcong were also counted among the forbidden ranks. If they were to run into the government soldiers later, they would become the laughingstock of the entire Jinling.
While he was anxious, a shadowy figure dropped down next to the bed. Lu Lingcong stood steady, bent down, and lifted him horizontally. Without needing instructions, Xie Jing wrapped his arms tightly around Lu Lingcong’s neck as he carried him, climbing along the railings and beams all the way up to the eaves.
Well, after this incident, he would never again have the nerve to mock Lu Lingcong for climbing onto rooftops out of boredom.
“Where are they?” Xie Jing asked, “I mean those two next doors.”
“They escaped through the door,” Lu Lingcong said, squinting as he looked at the Qinhuai River in the night.
“Are they people from the court?” If not, there would be no need to run.
Lu Lingcong shook his head: “We were discovered. The appearance of the government soldiers was a warning for them to quickly leave and not talk in depth.”
Xie Jing let out an “ah”: “Then wouldn’t that be a failure at the last moment? What a pity.”
Lu Lingcong, however, said, “It wasn’t a complete loss either. I clearly saw one of them, he’s from the palace, an inner eunuch. As he fled, his sleeve snagged on something and exposed his left elbow, revealing a purple birthmark.”
Xie Jing pondered, “Anyone who can call up government soldiers is certainly no ordinary person, but at least this gives us a lead on who’s behind them. I just don’t know where we slipped up that allowed them to discover us.”
He then asked Lu Lingcong, “Are you going to enter the palace tonight to search for the person?”
“If I enter the palace at this hour, it will only risk alerting the enemy. Once I have paper and brush, I’ll report this matter to Zhong Zhao, courting him all this time wasn’t for nothing.”
Seeing that Lu Lingcong had a plan, Xie Jing no longer worried and only asked, “Then are we still going to rest here tonight?”
Lu Lingcong smiled and patted Xie Jing’s spine: “You really hit the nail on the head.”
The next morning, after Xie Jing finished the breakfast that Xiao Yao had sent up, the Prince’s Mansion’s carriage was already waiting at the back door. Lu Lingcong first went to the corridor to look around, and seeing that no one was paying attention to them, he turned back and called Xie Jing, “Let’s go back.”
The two left the room, following one another toward the small staircase leading to the back door. Passing the atrium, they heard a fierce argument and shouting from below, still in the Wu dialect.
Xie Jing paused to watch and saw it was the man they had seen yesterday, who had brought several servants and was confronting the disheveled Yin Chou. The madam of the Star-Plucking Tower was also among them, yelling something at Yin Chou with her hands on her hips. On a nearby table were piles of jewelry and banknotes.
Lu Lingcong noticed him pause, stepped back a couple of paces, listened for a few lines, and then translated: “The man says the girl stole something, she wants to buy her freedom, and the madam refuses.”
Xie Jing thought for a moment and said to Lu Lingcong, “Lend me your waist token for a moment.”
Lu Lingcong didn’t understand why but seeing Xie Jing holding out his hand so insistently, he still unclasped it and gave it to him.
Xie Jing went straight downstairs with the waist token. Under the astonished eyes of Lu Lingcong on the second floor and everyone on the first, he gently but decisively pulled the madam aside, turned his back to the man, and whispered, “She has enough gold, let her buy her freedom.”
The madam glared at him, “Who are you?”
Xie Jing showed the madam the token while concealing it in his sleeve, “Let her buy her freedom.”
The madam was initially skeptical, but after clearly seeing the three characters “Prince Zhao’s Mansion” on the token, she was stunned and asked doubtfully, “Is this thing real or fake?”
Xie Jing lifted a finger, pointing toward the second-floor corridor above them. The madam followed his gesture and saw Lu Lingcong leaning against the railing. He met her eyes and smiled.
The madam did not recognize Xie Jing, but Lu Lingcong was a distinguished guest among the regulars, so naturally, she knew him. Though she couldn’t be certain if the person before her was a minor figure trying to intimidate others by borrowing authority, the token was undeniably genuine, and Prince Zhao’s tacit approval was real as well. Although the patron who sent people to cause trouble held an official post, he was merely a minor official and couldn’t be compared to Prince Zhao.
Noticing her expression change, Xie Jing spoke again in a calm voice, “Let her buy her freedom.”
An incense stick’s time later, inside the carriage returning from the Star-Plucking Tower to Prince Zhao’s Mansion, Lu Lingcong and Xie Jing sat side by side on one side, while Yin Chou sat opposite, clutching a bundle, the three of them looking at each other.
In the end, it was the “instigator,” Xie Jing, who first broke the silence: “My surname is Xie, and I am Princess Consort Zhao.” He then gently nudged Lu Lingcong with his elbow and added, “This is His Highness.”
Yin Chou clearly recognized Lu Lingcong as the “guest” who had taken Xie Jing away yesterday. She was speechless for a long time before blurting out, “You became a Princess Consort in one night?”
Hearing this, Lu Lingcong looked sideways before giving Xie Jing a meaningful glance.
Xie Jing didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “I was already one.”
Yin Chou: “……”
“Please forgive my many offenses yesterday, Your Highness and Princess Consort. The kindness you both showed in saving me from that hellish place is something I will never forget. I will naturally serve the Prince’s Mansion for the rest of my life.” She immediately changed her tone.
Xie Jing immediately stopped her: “There’s no need to be so formal with us. You bought your own freedom. We didn’t pay anything or put in any effort; we just lent a hand.”
In the Star-Plucking Tower, too many eyes and ears were present, making it difficult to speak freely; that’s why Xie Jing brought Yin Chou onto the carriage. Lu Lingcong was still out of the loop, but seeing that Xie Jing had no intention of explaining, he didn’t ask further either, only saying, “You are now a free person. You can leave or stay as you wish. If you have a place to stay in the capital, we can have the coachman take you there later.”
Hearing this, Xie Jing felt a bit awkward and didn’t speak. Yin Chou also looked distressed and said softly, “Originally, besides the redemption of silver, what I had saved would have been enough to secure a temporary place to stay, like a medical hall or a herbal shop. But just now, to escape, I had to spend the funds to avoid disaster, leaving only a small amount for the house—”
She didn’t continue, but Xie Jing knew her embarrassment. Last night, when she spoke about raising funds for herself, she sounded so confident. But the world is harsh. Even if Yin Chou had medical skills to earn a living, which medical hall would be willing to hire a courtesan from the Star-Plucking Tower? And if she couldn’t find work to save up the capital, how could she possibly open her own medical hall?
For the Prince Zhao’s Mansion or the Xie family, this sum was just a small leak from their wealth, but for Yin Chou, it was the very capital of her survival.
Whether it was giving her silver directly or helping her establish a medical hall, Yin Chou would never accept it, and Xie Jing certainly wouldn’t do that either. He fell silent, feeling somewhat troubled, but then heard Lu Lingcong interject, “That’s excellent then. I was worried you already had arrangements, and it would be inconvenient to ask you to stay.”
Yin Chou looked at him blankly. Lu Lingcong grabbed Xie Jing’s hand and held it, saying smoothly, “The Princess Consort only settled in the capital last year. Now that summer is approaching, he finds the climate uncomfortable and feels generally unwell. Fearing it would worry his maternal family, he hasn’t dared to mention it, which makes things even more difficult.”
As he spoke, he looked at Xie Jing with an expression full of pity, which gave Xie Jing a sudden chill.
“Since you understand medical texts and herbs, and also get along well with the Princess Consort, why not serve as his attendant for a while, helping him recover? You’ll live and dine in the Prince’s Mansion, with your salary continuing as usual. We can make further plans after this summer. What do you think?”
Yin Chou was half-surprised and half-skeptical. Though she was clever and had long been immersed in the entertainment district, skilled at reading people’s expressions, Lu Lingcong’s words and actions were simply too natural. For a moment, she couldn’t tell if he genuinely needed her help or was just using an excuse to assist her.
Xie Jing quickly reacted, signaling Yin Chou to lean closer and quickly whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, “There are some matters that are inconvenient to tell outside physicians and will require your thoughtful advice.”
Yin Chou was still somewhat confused, but since it had reached this point, there was certainly no reason not to agree, so she quickly offered repeated thanks.
Back at the Prince’s Mansion, Xie Jing asked a few maidservants to first help Yin Chou get settled before instructing her to come straight to his study once she was ready. He also went back to the bedroom to change into clean clothes.
Lu Lingcong watched from the side, noticing that he remained silent and lost in thought the entire time. Just as Xie Jing was about to push the door open and leave, Lu Lingcong stopped him, asking, “Why are you still so listless and unhappy after helping someone? That girl seems articulate, surely, she’d be more interesting to talk to than me, right?”
Xie Jing was silent for a moment, then said, “I can help one person, but I can’t help the entire Star-Plucking Tower, and even less can I help all the people in the world forced into the courtesan registry.”
“You’re getting hung up in a minor detail. It’s true that you can’t help everyone,” Lu Lingcong said to him, “But when you come across one in need, you help that one; when the next appears, you help them too. Doing what you can with a clear conscience is enough.”
He understood the meaning of the saying: ‘In office, attend to your duties; out of office, cultivate your character.’ Xie Jing understood what he meant but still felt a sense of sadness.
“I don’t understand the way of being a sovereign,” Lu Lingcong said, touching Xie Jing’s long hair and meeting his clear, penetrating gaze, “but the way of being a person, if you hold to this one principle, you generally won’t go wrong.”
