Chapter 46 Famous Flower

Before Shi Nian could answer, a burst of cheers suddenly erupted in the main hall. As if only just snapping out of their trance, the people began to clap, praising, "Splendid! Such wondrous music, truly never heard before! What extraordinary talent the lady possesses!"

"May I ask the name of the instrument the lady played, and what the tune is called?"

Shi Nian turned her head slightly to avoid Dugu Ying's gaze, replying, "Lord Pei is too kind. This humble one's instrument was purchased from a Western Region merchant, and the tune was taught to me by him as well. He said it was a folk ditty from his hometown, nameless. I merely played according to the score; it is hardly worth mentioning as talent."

This is one of the classic rules of historical costume dramas: whenever you encounter some inexplicable exotic flora, venomous insect, or hidden weapon, simply attribute it to the Western Region. That is a magical land where anything growing is entirely unremarkable.

"The lady is far too modest. Even if played from a score, to perform it as exquisitely as you did is a rare feat," Lord Pei smiled. "Might I ask how one should address the lady?"

His attitude was warmly enthusiastic, and Shi Nian instinctively hesitated. "My surname is Shi..."

"And your birth order among your siblings?"

"I am an only child." Back then, responding to the national call for family planning...

A sudden realization dawned on Lord Pei. "Ah, so it is Eldest Lady Shi."

Shi... Eldest Lady Shi...

Shi Nian's brow twitched violently. Only then did she recall that in the Tang Dynasty, it was customary to append the suffix "niang" (lady or maiden) after a woman's birth order within the family. For example, Wang Susu was called Wang the Seventh because she was the seventh child before being sold, and Madam Zheng the brothel keeper was known as Madam Zheng the Third.

Yet... she had no desire to be addressed as the eldest matron!

Looking on the verge of tears, Shi Nian left Lord Pei momentarily stunned. Just as he attempted to say something further, Nie Cheng aggressively seized her hand and pulled her into his embrace.

Mistaking this for the flare of masculine possessiveness, Lord Pei merely shrugged and pulled a comical face.

Caught off guard, Shi Nian struck her nose against Nie Cheng's chest and muttered angrily, "What on earth are you going crazy for?"

"I wouldn't let you plagiarize poetry, but you thought you could just play music instead? Playing *Moscow Nights* in the Tang Dynasty of all places!"

Shi Nian had her defense prepared. "I've thought about it. Melodies are nowhere near as easy to record and spread as written text. Look at how many Tang poems have been passed down, but how many famous tunes survived? Besides, I only played it this once. Since it won't cause any consequences, it doesn't count as breaking the rules. Stop abusing your power for personal vengeance!"

Observing her fierce expression, Nie Cheng recalled the girl's performance from moments before—so focused and earnest. Standing there, she possessed a rare, quiet charm. Abruptly, he remarked, "To perform in a place like this for men of that sort, you certainly take things lightly."

There was nothing difficult about taking this lightly. Shi Nian had long since figured it out: what kind of transmigrated heroine would she be if she didn't visit a brothel and stun everyone with her exceptional skills? She would never be able to show her face in front of her peers again!

Heaven knows how profoundly grateful she was that she had impulsively tossed her harmonica into her bag when setting off.

A flicker of a smile surfaced in Nie Cheng's eyes. "Then how do you think the effect was?"

Shi Nian turned her head. Across the room, Dugu Ying had already returned to Wang Susu's side, drinking under her attentive service, though his gaze still lingered in their direction from time to time.

"We shall find out how the effect was very soon."

Events proved that the effect was rather mediocre.

On the night the banquet concluded, Dugu Ying did not come looking for Shi Nian, nor did he show his face the following day or the third. Upon making inquiries, Shi Nian discovered that he had actually left the brothel entirely, destination unknown, with no word on when he might return.

...What on earth is this!

"Dugu Ying hasn't been completely rooted here these past three months; he occasionally slips away, sometimes for a day or two, sometimes three or four. We simply happened to time it poorly," Nie Cheng said.

"Then what are we supposed to do?"

"What else can we do? We wait for him to return."

Stump-sitting to wait for the hare—this was far too passive. Yet Shi Nian could not conjure a better strategy for the moment, so she could only fret inwardly, thinking: *Dugu Ying, you son of a gun, you had better get back here soon!* Otherwise, she truly worried that by the time he finally returned, he would have forgotten all about her...

Surely she wasn't expected to play the harmonica for him all over again!

Over the next few days, banquets continued to be held in Pingkang Quarter every evening, but with Dugu Ying absent, attending served no purpose for Shi Nian, and she remained secluded in her room seeking peace. To avoid complications, Breeze stayed with her. To outsiders, she appeared to have been kept exclusively by this handsome and wealthy Western merchant, the two of them entwined day and night. The reality, however, was that the two of them, along with the maid assigned to wait on Shi Nian, had locked themselves in the room and played rounds of *Dou Dizhu* (Fight the Landlord) without sleep for days...

Breeze turned out to be even more enthusiastic than she was, having actually brought a deck of playing cards and even taught the little maidservant!

This decadent routine persisted for five days until Shi Nian finally had a new itinerary—listening to the scriptures at Baotang Temple.

The courtesans of Pingkang Quarter were normally kept under strict surveillance and forbidden to leave at will. Only on the eighth, eighteenth, and twenty-eighth days of each month were they permitted to visit Baotang Temple within the quarter to listen to the nuns lecture on the scriptures. Today happened to be the twenty-eighth of the month. While washing her face in the morning, the maid brought it up: "Does the lady wish to go? If not, once we finish breakfast, we can resume our card game."

Pondering it, Shi Nian realized endless card-playing grew tedious. Having made the journey all the way to the Great Tang, she ought to venture outside more often; staying cooped up in a room would cause mold to grow on her skin.

More crucially, however, catching sight of the little maid's sparkling eyes, she silently reflected that Breeze's card skills were too formidable, and the maid he had instructed was now too skilled as well—losing to both of them simultaneously was getting a bit hard to bear...

"We're going, of course we're going."

Thus, by noon that day, Shi Nian and the other women of the brothel boarded carriages and arrived at Baotang Temple. Upon stepping down, she discovered that numerous carriages were already parked outside. Wherever she looked, there were graceful shadows in long skirts and floating fragrant breezes; presumably, nearly all the courtesans and maidens of Pingkang Quarter had gathered here.

Just as Shi Nian desired to properly appreciate the young ladies from her rival establishments—she had heard that besides Wang Susu, Pingkang Quarter boasted two other top-tier courtesans, and wondered if they had come today—her sleeve was gently tugged by the maid. Shi Nian then noticed that the surroundings seemed rather abnormal. The taverns opposite the temple, the eateries on the diagonals, and even the streets within the quarter were crowded with young, elegant men dressed as scholars, all of them gazing directly in this direction.

"Who are they...?"

"Everyone knows the ladies will be coming today, so these men have come specifically to catch a glimpse."

Understanding dawned on Shi Nian. Because courtesans were not permitted to roam freely, these three days each month were the sole opportunity to catch sight of them outside. Over time, it had evolved into a grand spectacle in Chang'an City. Whenever the courtesans traveled to Baotang Temple to hear the scriptures, scholars and candidates vied with one another for a free view of the beauties.

Observing the expressions of these men, Shi Nian noted that although they were engaging in frivolous behavior, they lacked any sense of vulgarity; instead, an aura of carefree elegance emanated from them. A man in dark green robes leaned against the second-story railing and softly declaimed: "'No wonder the pure breeze wafts a strange fragrance, the graceful fairy trails her rainbow-feathered gown.' When Chancellor Cui bestowed this poem upon Wang Funiang that night, he truly penned a masterpiece. Is she not the very picture of a graceful fairy!"

Shi Nian could not help curving her lips into a smile, turning to follow the crowd as they stepped into Baotang Temple.

The interior of the temple was not overly large, with flowers and trees planted in the courtyard, giving it a secluded ambiance. At present, however, the diminutive temple was awash with rouge and powder as the courtesans dispersed to burn incense and offer prayers. Although Shi Nian had been raised under the Marxist materialist worldview, ever since joining this transmigrating band and being forced into superstition, she went ahead and requested a stick of incense. Kneeling before the Buddha statue, she clasped her palms together and murmured silently: *Bodhisattva, oh Bodhisattva, though you are a Bodhisattva from over a thousand years ago, I beg you to protect us outsiders from another time and space so that our mission goes smoothly and is completed swiftly. While I may not be able to return here to fulfill my vows later, once I am back in the twenty-first century, I will remember to burn incense for your successors!*

We have plenty of your colleagues over there anyway; all Bodhisattvas belong to one big family!

Rising after offering her incense, Shi Nian realized the person standing nearby was none other than Dugu Ying's intimate, Wang Susu. Having also just finished her prayers, Wang Susu was asked with a smile by another woman, "What wish did the Top Courtesan make?"

Before Wang Susu could reply, a second woman chimed in, "What wish could she possibly make? Most of us coming here are praying for the same thing: begging the Buddha to let us soon find a good match and escape this world of dust and wind."

This remark evidently struck a chord with the hearts of the courtesans, plunging them into a momentary silence. After a brief pause, a woman asked, "Seventh Lady, has that Dugu Yilang returned?"

Wang Susu shook her head. "Not yet."

"But he will return, won't he? You are on such intimate terms with him; have you ever asked if he is willing to redeem you from here?"

This time, Wang Susu remained silent for a long while before finally offering a faint, detached smile without answering.

From her expression, the others gleaned an entirely different implication. A slightly dark-skinned woman with spirited eyebrows stared fixedly toward the temple gate and laughed coldly, "A good match? In the pleasure quarters, where on earth are there any good matches! It is nothing more than wishful thinking."

Having exhausted this topic of conversation, the group lost interest and turned toward the back courtyard of the temple. A stage was erected there; during the Tang Dynasty, temple fairs and theatrical performances were routinely hosted within major temples, allowing worshippers to enjoy entertainment nearby after paying their respects. Thus, whenever these courtesans made a special trip here, while the nominal purpose was listening to scriptures and revering the Buddha, the greater motivation was watching the plays.

Shi Nian, however, felt no such inclination. Standing still, she gazed in the direction the courtesans had been looking earlier. With the men yet to disperse, she recalled the mockery in the female courtesan's eyes and came to a realization: to these men, associating with these celebrated flowers of Chang'an was a matter of romantic flair, of pleasure, and of a glorious exploit fit to be written into poetry and sung. Yet, if they were truly asked to pluck these flowers and bring them home as wives, precious few were willing.

Consequently, even for a premier courtesan like Wang Susu, the best possible outcome was to accumulate wealth during her youth and gradually retire as she aged, purchasing a small dwelling to pass her remaining days in quiet obscurity. And that assumed the nation remained peaceful and prosperous—should a war break out, safeguarding even one's own life would become impossible.

War...

Shi Nian was struck with sudden dread. *Wait.* Nie Cheng had informed her earlier that the current era was the fourteenth year of Tianbao. The fourteenth year of Tianbao... could this very year be... the An Lushan Rebellion?!*

Her mind spun into a frenzy. That was correct: in the winter of the fourteenth year of Tianbao, An Lushan and Shi Siming revolted in succession, an event historically recorded as the An Lushan Rebellion. This not only utterly shattered the prosperous golden age of the Tang Dynasty but also constituted a major watershed in the entirety of ancient Chinese history.

"An Lushan..."

"You are acquainted with the Military Commissioner of Fanyang?"

"Ah—" Shi Nian let out a shrill shriek, nearly tumbling to the ground. As she clutched her chest in lingering terror and looked up, she met a familiar face—the very one she had been chanting over and over for the past several days.

"...Dugu Ying?"

Before the towering ancient tree, Dugu Ying stood clad in a dark blue round-collared robe, looking at her with a smile.

Astonishment filled Shi Nian's heart. Having vanished for so many days, why would this Dugu Ying suddenly materialize here? He had already reserved a long-term suite at the brothel; surely he didn't need to come and gaze at free beauties?

Nevertheless, seeing him still brought her a measure of joy. Taking a few steps forward, Shi Nian said, "Yilang, you're back?"

Dugu Ying: "We have not met for many days, is the Eldest Lady still well?"

Staggering slightly, Shi Nian hurriedly grabbed his hand. "My name is Shi Nian!"

Dugu Ying stared at their intertwined hands and arched an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Squeezing out a smile, Shi Nian said, "I mean, my name is Shi Nian. Please do not call me Eldest Lady..."

Though the request struck him as rather peculiar, Dugu Ying considered it for a moment and complied smoothly. "Very well. Then in the future, I shall call you Niannian. How does that sound?"

Niannian...

Beneath the brilliant sunlight, the man wore a warm smile, tossing out such an intimate form of address with effortless ease. This version of him was so starkly different from the gloomy and reticent man of before that Shi Nian could not help asking, "Yilang, you... seem to be in high spirits?"

"Is that so? Perhaps it is simply because I have finally heard you tell me your name with your own lips, and my wish has been fulfilled."

He was referring to that fateful evening when he had publicly inquired about Shi Nian's name, only to be interrupted by someone nearby.

The man's gaze dropped to her face. "That night I had the fortune of hearing Niannian play a wondrous tune, and it remains unforgettable to this day. I wonder when I might have the pleasure of hearing it again?"

His tone was precisely that of a patron addressing a courtesan who had caught his eye, and realization struck Shi Nian. After all, this Dugu Yilang was a regular denizen of the pleasure quarters; since he had come in search of amusement, naturally he wouldn't maintain a gloomy demeanor toward a woman who had caught his fancy.

Clearly, the harmonica performance had not been in vain—he was indeed interested in her.

Noticing her silence, Dugu Ying glanced over her shoulder. "Why did you not go watch the play? Everyone else is over that way."

Recovering her wits, Shi Nian replied, "Ah? Well... I'm not particularly fond of plays..."

"If you dislike them, why come here? Did you make a special trip to worship the Buddha?"

"To worship the Buddha, and incidentally to clear my mind. Staying cooped up in that room all day makes one stifled."

"To clear your mind? One cannot clear their mind within a Buddhist temple," Dugu Ying remarked abruptly. "Would you like me to take you out for a stroll?"

*What?* Shi Nian blinked. Judging by Dugu Ying's expression, he wasn't joking, which instantly plunged her into hesitation.

If he offered to take her out, it presented an excellent opportunity for direct interaction. However, Breeze wasn't accompanying her today, and Nie Cheng had been missing for several days with no one knowing his whereabouts. Could she manage this by herself?

Yet, if she refused, wouldn't she be missing a heaven-sent opportunity? She had sworn an oath to make Nie Cheng swallow his pride and apologize!

After lingering for a mere few seconds, Shi Nian made up her mind. "If I slip away secretly and Madam San discovers it, she'll beat me."

Dugu Ying raised an eyebrow, seemingly unsurprised by the answer. The very next second, however, Shi Nian leaned in abruptly, her eyes shining like stars. "Therefore, we must be discreet. Instead of using the main gate, let's climb over the wall and slip out!"