Chapter 1 Autumn Sounds (Grade 5)

  "Looking for me?" Lei Wanchun furrowed his brow, seemingly perplexed. "I am Lei Wanchun, not some great hero. May I ask, young lady, what business does your master have with me?"

  "The young servant hummed a tune, having seen Master Lei's robust appearance! Having seen all of you esteemed gentlemen!" The scholar, who looked even more refined than Ma Fang, was taken aback when his identity was revealed by Lei Wanchun in one sentence. He hesitated for a moment, slightly bowed his head, and paid respects to Wang Xuan and the others with a slight bow.

  "Little girl, you're too polite!" Wang Xun and the others suddenly realized, simultaneously turning sideways, bowing their hands in a half salute. From the moment this boyish woman appeared at the door, they felt like they had seen her before, but it wasn't until now that they finally discovered she was none other than the beautiful young maid who had jumped down first yesterday to lay out the mat for Madame Guo.

  As soon as they guessed the identity of the master from the woman's mouth, the Qin brothers felt a slight heat on their faces. They smiled at Lei Wanchun and said in a low voice: "Brothers, please let us two go first. There are some other things at home that need to be handled urgently!"

  Reminded of the reputation of Guo Guo's wife, Wang Xun also felt embarrassed to listen to Xiaobi girl's whispering about what message she wanted to bring to Lei Wanchun. He lightly pulled Ma Fang and said with a smile: "Since the scene has already started, it's best for us two to go patrol around. Yesterday, Zizida was still here fighting with someone, I'm afraid some ignorant people don't know their limits and will take advantage of the chaos!"

  "Who doesn't know the reputation of Young Master Wang in the entire Eastern City?" Ma Fangzheng stared at the little maid Xiang Yin, who was dressed as a boy and looked silly, being pulled by Wang You and taking a few steps back, protesting reluctantly.

  "Come on, you silly boy!" Wang Jun was so angry that he wanted to give him two slaps. He grabbed the corner of Ma Fang's clothes and said in a low voice, "You've never seen a beauty before. Even if your father is strict with you, it's not like he wouldn't even let you choose a concubine!"

  "Can it be the same? Can it be the same?" Ma Fang retreated, protesting in a low voice, "My grandfather said that when choosing a woman, the first standard is not to seduce the master, and after seeing her, I couldn't help but have impure thoughts. Second, she must have a strong physique..."

  He was so stirred up that nothing became something. Lei Wanchun's face turned red under his whiskers, he cupped his hands and said in a deep voice: "Young lady, please speak. These few are my good brothers, no need to avoid them!"

  "Can anything be said?" Xiang Yin covered her mouth with her fingers, staring wide-eyed in surprise. Her slender fingers were white and clean, and when placed on her lips, they formed a striking contrast with her bright red cherry lips. Many gamblers around them inadvertently glanced over, and couldn't help but stare. Several busybodies who didn't recognize Lei Wanchun's name even slowly gathered around.

  Don't look at Lei Wanchun's fist, which can knock over a startled horse. This kind of array has rarely been encountered in his life. His face suddenly turned red and purple, he turned his head to look at Wang Xuan and others who had already slipped away, and shouted loudly: "Brothers, I'll take my leave first. Tomorrow at Linfeng Building, we'll have a good drink again."

  He said, and helplessly made a please gesture to Xiang Yin. He took her out of the cockfighting arena in a manner that resembled escaping.

  Ma Fang kept staring at Lei Wanchun and Xiangyun until the two figures disappeared into the crowd, then reluctantly withdrew his gaze, shook his head, and said in a low voice: "Brother Lei is also too unromantic. That little girl is obviously..."

  "Look at your behavior!" Wang Xuan snorted in disgust, "As if you've never seen a woman before in your life!"

  "Second Brother, you don't know the whole story!" Ma Fang said with a face full of grievances. "I'm not someone who has never seen a woman before. But my grandfather chose a woman for me with one main requirement: she can't be so beautiful that I become infatuated and neglect my studies. Think about it, based on this standard, am I not pitiful enough?"

  Thinking of Ma Fang's father, whose face was always tense like a coffin, Wang Xun couldn't help but feel sympathetic. "I'll take you to a place full of beauties, want to go?"

  "What?" Ma Fang immediately became excited and eagerly asked back.

  "Alright!" Seeing his anxious look, Wang replied with a glance, somewhat annoyed.

  "Never mind!" Ma Fang shrank his neck, and his expression began to be puzzled again. "The last time Yuwen Xiaoda took me there, in the end I didn't even understand, was I having fun with the girls inside or were the girls having fun with me?"

  "You didn't receive two small red envelopes, did you? Melon head!" Wang Xuan chuckled and teased him for a moment, shrugging his shoulders. "Whatever, anyway Brother Lei won't be back for a while, I'll leave first!"

  Having said that, he ignored Ma Fang, who was lowering his head and walking away with a dejected look on his face, and hastily left through the side door of the Fighting Cocks Inn.

  It was just past noon, and the day still had a long way to go. Wang Xun took two strong men with him and wandered aimlessly on the street. After admiring the scenery for a while, he eventually felt bored and walked towards Bai Hua's small building without any purpose.

  He thought he had arrived early, but unexpectedly, the Jin Hua Building was already packed with guests. Unfortunately, as the top performer of the Jin Hua Building, Bai Huizi was also booked by a group of wealthy customers and couldn't leave to see him. Without having reached an agreement with Bai Huizi to buy out her contract, he naturally didn't have the qualifications to disrupt the business of the Jin Hua Building at this moment. He could only curl his lip in disdain and curse: "What time is it now? They're already running to the Jin Hua Building to drink and socialize. In broad daylight, don't they have any proper things to do?"

  Hong Gu, the aunt of Jin Hua Lou, was also a famous courtesan in her youth. Without looking at Wang Xun's face, she knew he was drinking flying wine. She quickly smiled and approached him, gently pulling on his sleeve, "Second Master, don't be angry? Those soldiers from outside, how can they compare to you, who can only come to White Girl's place once every ten days or half a month to relax? These people are suffocating in the military camp, even a mosquito looks like a double eyelid to them. As soon as it was dawn, they stretched their necks waiting for Jin Hua Lou to open, just to hear White Girl sing one song, no matter how much money it costs! Don't compare yourself with them, their money is earned by risking their lives, the sooner they spend it all, the better. At this rate, I estimate that in a few days, they'll be left with nothing but their bare buttocks and will have to roll back where they came from!"

  "A group of outsiders? Where are they from?" Upon hearing Auntie say this, Wang Xuan's anger in his heart slightly subsided, and he smiled, asking in a low voice.

  "It seems to be the fourth town of Anxi. Ah, Erlang, you don't know, this Master Jun is not easy to mess with. White girl originally didn't plan to show up, but they said that if White girl doesn't come out to perform, they will dismantle this Jin Hua building. For the sake of other sisters' business in the building, Wei Qie had no choice but to compromise!" Looking at Wang Xuan's expression, Aunt shook her handkerchief to explain for Bai Wei Qie.

  "What a bunch of roughnecks!" Wang Jun cursed disdainfully. But in his heart, he couldn't help but think of the scene yesterday afternoon when Gao Xianzhi's general rode a horse to patrol the streets and Bai Huaqi peeked out from upstairs, which made him feel even more suffocated.

  The aunt of Jin Hua Lou, fearing that she might provoke him, leaned in closer and whispered to Wang Xuan's ear: "Young Master, you can rest assured, Huai Xi knows her place. I can stake my life on it, apart from you, no one else has the chance to even get close to her and talk to her!"

  "Is that so!" Wang Xuan smiled helplessly. Bai Hua Zhi's business was indeed selling her voice and appearance, he wasn't born yesterday. By normal reasoning, his anger was somewhat unjustified. But the past two days had been one unpleasant event after another. First being cheated by Yuwen, then getting into a fight and crashing into Madame Guo's carriage. Finally finding time to come to Jinhua Building to find some pleasure, only to have Bai Hua Zhi already booked by someone else...

  "The bamboo pavilion in the backyard is still empty, why don't Young Master go there to have a cup of tea and moisten his throat first? Anyway, those military officers have tasks at hand and can never stay long in the building!"

  "Then go up and rest for a while. Hearing you say that, I'm really a bit tired!" Wang Xuan smiled and nodded in agreement, accepting Hong Gu's suggestion.

  Jin Hua Lou's Aunt Hong Gu called over two newly arrived, exceptionally skilled and agile young maids from Luo, instructing them to carefully attend to Wang Xun as he rested in the Emerald Bamboo Pavilion. A short while later, the young maid brought over freshly brewed tea, along with several types of fashionable tea snacks. One of them sat on Wang Xun's lap, clumsily rubbing his chest with her own. The other began to play a gentle melody on the jade zither.

  "Don't play anymore, I'm not in the mood to listen to music today!" Wang Xun pushed away the little maid in his arms, listlessly waving his arm. "Go down and do what you need to do!"

  The two new servants of the Luo family were startled, staring blankly at Wang Xun with tears welling up in their eyes. "Newcomers?" Wang Xun finally understood the meaning behind Hong Gu's smile and couldn't help but shake his head slightly. "It's nothing. You both go down now. I'll give you the reward money as promised. Tell Hong Gu that I'm tired and want to take a nap here, so don't send anyone over to disturb me!"

  The two new servants from New Lo exchanged glances for a while before finally confirming that they had not offended the guest. They bowed and quietly retreated.

  "These people are quite interesting!" Wang Xun thought to himself lazily, leaning on the couch. Although in Chang'an City, raising a new Luo woman and taking her virginity when she grew up was a fashionable way of nourishing one's life, he couldn't muster any interest in this mute-like new Luo girl. Moreover, it was daytime, if Bai Lianxi dispersed early and came searching for him, and happened to bump into him here entangled with the new Luo woman, neither of their faces would look very good.

  He thought about his worries for a while, and he really felt a bit tired. Not wanting to sleep in the daytime, he got out of bed and casually pushed open the window. Without any obstruction, the noise from the courtyard immediately came in. Wang Xuan perked up his ears and listened, vaguely hearing a familiar voice singing softly in a small building not far from his room, separated by a bamboo forest: "Autumn arrives with winds and sand on all sides, travelers beyond the pass temporarily bid farewell to their homes. A thousand miles, no need to ask about the distance of the journey, time flies quickly to the ends of the earth..."

  The four sides thundered with applause, and the music gradually became more stirring. Bai Zhiyi's voice also rose from low to high, overpowering all the noise in the four directions: "Han soldiers set out with golden armor, shining with bright light and iron clothes. The hundred-mile fire banner is blazing, the thousand-row cloud cavalry is galloping. Trampling the Liao River, they can fly over the Yan Mountains. At this time, the four directions are paying tribute, and the emperor's power is known to all. Young men's courage is soaring, and they are all willing to be heroes. A lone horse challenges the city in the south, a single sword follows the army in the north. The Xianbei tribe surrenders with a single drumbeat, and the five tribes of the Huns resolve their disputes. They vow to make a name for themselves and report back to their country, ashamed to speak of their merits."

  The song ended with the last few words, and the melody stopped abruptly. However, the singing voice pierced through the clouds and tore through the silk, then gradually faded away into the distance, leaving behind a lingering echo that lingered on and on.

  "Good!" The soldiers inside the Huajuxuan were delighted, and their applause grew louder. Some people clapped their palms desperately, while others shouted loudly, "Sing another one, please sing another one, Miss Bai! We fight hard on the front line every day, and what we most want to hear is the local accent of Chang'an."

  "There's still one more song, but the tune isn't ready yet, so I'll just sing it plain!" Bai Huiji walked up to the wine table with her lotus steps, picked up a pair of ivory chopsticks and gently tapped on the white jade wine cup in front of her. "The Xiongnu cavalry gallops on the precipice, the Yin Mountains have no seasons. The wind blows snow outside the tent, the moon shines on the sand in front of the camp. The Qiang children blow jade pipes, the Hu women tread on brocade flowers. But laugh at the Jiangnan guest, the plum blossoms fall without returning home."

  "What a wonderful smile from the guest of Jiangnan, the plum blossoms fall but do not return home!" The crowd cheered loudly again. After the applause, someone suddenly suggested in a loud voice, "Let's have something more gentle, we've been coming and going in the wind and rain for days, it's been a long time since we've heard such a lingering tune!"

  "Right, right, right! Let's have something with a bit of flavor. We've been killing all day, and to be honest, we're all tired of it!"

  Bai Wei Zhi gave a signal, and the musician Xiao Ping immediately plucked the silk strings, changing to a melodious ancient tune of Chang'an, "The jade pass is far away, the empty chamber is lonely. The cold dew wets the green moss, the parting hair is autumnal. People sit in the green building at dusk, the oriole's language is the time of a hundred flowers. The sorrowful person is old, the intestines are broken, you don't know!"

  This time, however, the singing stopped first. The melody continued to play intermittently, like a thread of longing that slowly wrapped around me, held me tight, and seeped into my heart, slowly binding a piece of flesh on my forehead, tying it firmly. It couldn't be untied, nor could it be broken off.

  Apart from that one a cappella song, "Hulunbuir", the other two songs were all ones that Wang Xuan had long since grown tired of. But at this moment, quietly listening to them through the bamboo forest, they had an entirely different flavor. Especially that line "People sit in the green building late, oriole language hundred flowers time". It was simply as if it was speaking directly to Bai Hua's own situation, lonely and trapped in the Jin Hua Building, waiting for her beloved to take her away from this place of debauchery.

  Thinking quietly, the bamboo forest changed its tune again. Bai Huaqi herself played the zither and sang softly: "Advise you not to cherish your golden clothes, advise you to treasure your youth, when flowers bloom they should be picked, don't wait until there are no flowers and only empty branches..."

  The singer is unintentional, the listener is intentional, separated by a cluster of clear and elegant green bamboo, they are already infatuated.

  Note 1: Pingkangli is a famous place for courtesans in Chang'an City. According to legend, if an ancient courtesan encountered a young boy as a customer, it was considered a good omen. They would not accept money from the boy and instead give him a small red envelope.

  Note 2: Auntie, i.e. procuress. The "auntie" in Bai Juyi's poem "Brother went to the army, auntie died, morning and evening going, color is old" refers to this kind of woman who runs this kind of business.

  Wine slave note: In Huang Yi's book, the courtesan in the brothel is called "certain big house", I don't know which allusion it comes from or if he made it up himself. If anyone knows, please tell me. Wine slave thanks you very much.