Chapter 29: Plum Blossom Hairpin

  "Nowhere. I thought you had something to say, and was listening carefully." Xiang Jia Ding said, and sat down on the couch with a swish of his robes. His posture was not like that of a gentleman, it was really ugly, and made Chi Mei burst out laughing.

  Just then, several maidservants brought them wine, dishes and pastries, which were quite exquisite.

  Chi Mei poured wine for Xiao Jia Ding and said softly, "Chi Mei has been waiting for the young master to come. Since he has entered our humble abode, we can't just let him leave like that. We must finish this jar of spring wine before we can discuss leaving."

  Shaoxing wine is a specialty of Shu land, with a strong aroma and an aftertaste that never ends.

  In the Tang Dynasty, when people drank wine at home, they didn't use a wine jug, but instead used a large wine vessel similar to a big tripod cauldron to hold the wine, placed in the middle, with a ladle inside, using the ladle to scoop the wine into cups for drinking.

  Xiao Jia Ding glanced at the large wine jug on the table, which contained at least two or three kilograms of wine. The wine from the Tang Dynasty was not as strong as modern distilled liquor, with an alcohol content of no more than twenty degrees, which is why Li Bai could drink and compose a hundred poems. If two people were to share this amount of wine, each person would get about one and a half kilograms at most, which wouldn't be too intimidating, and he would only get slightly drunk at worst. He smiled and said, "A beautiful woman's wine? I've never refused that before."

  Chi Mei's face lit up with joy, she picked up her own cup of wine, gazed at him with deep affection and said: "Then let's drink three cups first, and then Chi Mei will dance for you. How about that?"

  "Let's go!"

  The two of them downed three cups in one go.

  After finishing, Chi Mei began to play the zither and sang the lyrics of "Seven Zhang Ji" that Xiao Jia Ding had just composed for her the day before.

  Xiao Jiading listened with relish, and when the song was finished, he applauded and cheered. Chi Mei's singing voice had a hint of melancholy, unlike Ya Niang's clear and bright tone, which gave it a unique flavor.

  Chī Méi continued to play and sing a few songs with lyrics she had written herself, mostly about longing for her lover and lamenting the sorrow of being a woman confined in the spring chamber.

  Then, Chi Mei called the musicians to accompany her dance, and she herself danced with flying sleeves. Chi Mei's figure was more seductive than Ya Niang, especially her breasts and slender waist, which could be called enchanting. The dance under such a figure, compared to Ya Niang's elegance, had several degrees of wildness and passion, and there was a kind of fiery heat inside. After watching it, people not only felt carefree and joyful but also had a strong desire surging up.

  Xiao Jiading indulged in the beauty and wine, this taste was truly a wonderful enjoyment. After Mei's song and dance ended, Xiao Jianding had unknowingly drunk several large cups, feeling somewhat dizzy.

  There were beautiful women singing and dancing to accompany him, time flew by quickly. Unbeknownst to him, the large jar of fine wine had already been drunk dry. Of course, most of it was drunk by Xiao Jia Ding. Xiao Jia Ding was already slightly intoxicated, swaying back and forth, saying: "I should go find Ya Niang now! Thank you for your song and dance."

  "Xiao Gongzi, wait!" Chi Mei held him back. After the song and dance, her delicate face was flushed red as she gazed at him with affectionate eyes, "I still have a jar of 'daughter's red' that I've been saving for many years, would you like to try some?"

  "Oh?" Xiang Jia Ding often heard the name "Hong" (Red), a legendary wine that parents would bury in their backyard when their daughter was born, to be dug up and served at her wedding ten years later. Such wine was extremely rare. He gazed at her with bleary eyes, "Is this 'Daughter Red' yours?"

  The foolish plum blossom lowered its head in shame, its pink buds nodding slightly. Then it raised its head again, its eyes filled with autumn ripples as it gazed at him: "Young master, would you like to drink another jug?"

  "Daughter Red is such a good wine, how can there be a reason not to drink it? Bring it over! Haha!"

  Chi Mei happily skipped into her bedroom, and soon took out a small jug of wine, placing it in front of Xiao Jia Ding. The wine was contained in a pale green crystal bottle, and through the crystal, the wine inside appeared as a captivating deep rose color that was extremely enticing.

  Crazy Plum waved her hand to let the musicians and serving maids all leave, closing the door behind them. Xiao Jia Ding even discovered that she had also bolted the door shut, and couldn't help but laugh: "What's this? Are you afraid someone will come in and snatch your precious daughter away?"

  Chi Mei's slender waist was tightly attached to Xiao Jia Ding's lower body, resting her head on his shoulder and giggling: "I'm afraid others will snatch you away from me, you're more tempting than this girl Hong."

  "Hahaha," Xiao Jiading burst out laughing, deliberately gazing at her with a flirtatious look, "Then I'll drink the wine and you can eat me instead!"

  "Hmm!" Chi Mei surprisingly nodded solemnly, which made Xiao Jia Ding somewhat embarrassed. Can't you tell that this is a joke? He hurriedly covered it up by saying: "Then let's pour the wine."

  Chi Mei had two cups, gave one to Xiao Jia Ding, and held up the other: "Come on, Young Master Xiao, let's drink!"

  Xiao Jia Ding didn't speak, first sipping a mouthful, sweet and slightly sour. The wine of the Tang Dynasty was all slightly sour due to the brewing process. However, this "Nü Er Hong" (a type of wine) was almost all sweet, with only a hint of sourness, which seemed like love - amidst the sweetness, there were occasional hints of sourness from jealousy.

  Xiao Jia Ding was very pleased with this evaluation, he raised his neck and gulped down a large cup of "Niang Hong" (a type of wine). Chi Mei also finished her drink and refilled the two empty cups, softly saying: "Young Master, would you like me to sing and dance for you again?"

  "Okay! But the band has left, shall we call someone to get them back?"

  "No need, I'll dance the pipa solo myself."

  Pipa dance?

  Xiao Jia Ding immediately became excited, having seen this in Tang Dynasty murals, where flying apsaras played the pipa, and this dance was a solo performance of singing, dancing and playing. However, he had only seen it in murals and not witnessed the actual dance of a beautiful woman from the Tang Dynasty.

  She slowly got up, blushing and looking at him, slowly taking off her outer skirt to reveal a semi-transparent silk dress underneath. Her full breasts were wrapped in a crimson bodice, with the upper half of her snowy Ru house exposed outside, and her deep cleavage was like a hook that caught Xiao Jia Ding's gaze and couldn't let go. Her slender waist could be grasped in one hand, and even the small dimples on her flat abdomen could be faintly seen.

  This figure, this dress, is too damn seductive!

  Chi Mei took up a pipa and began to play, the sound of "ding ding dong" filled the air as she danced and sang. At first, her movements were smooth and flowing, but as she progressed, they became increasingly difficult, with various high-level dance moves that seemed impossible to execute without interrupting the music, yet the sound of the pipa never stopped!

  After finishing the dance, Chi Mei put down her pipa and sat next to him, leaning on his shoulder, gazing at him with a flirtatious look in her eyes. The previous dance moves were too intense, she was slightly panting, her forehead was slightly sweaty, and her chest was heaving up and down, as if the two small white rabbits inside were moving around.

  Xiao Jiading had an urge to press her down and have his way with her, but he hid it by picking up the wine cup and saying: "Come! Let's drink again!" The two of them finished another cup, and Chi Mei poured more. This small jug of wine was almost empty after the third cup, and there was none left.

  The foolish plum seemed to have jumped enough, leaning against him, her slender hands stroking the undulating twin peaks, her cheeks flushed with excitement as she gazed at him.

  Xiao Jiading gazed at her rosy, bashful and lovely face, especially the plum blossom hairpin between her eyebrows was exceptionally beautiful.

  The plum blossom hairpin was seen by him last time, but the eyebrow flower hairpin is what many women have, and at that time, he didn't pay attention to it. Today, after taking a look, he found that this plum blossom hairpin is exactly the same as the one last time, seemingly without any change, and when he took a closer look, he felt that it didn't seem like it was painted on, but rather like it was born naturally. He stretched out his hand to touch it, and Chi Mei didn't dodge or evade, allowing him to touch her.

  The Mei's forehead was extremely smooth, like solidified fat, while the plum blossom mole between her eyebrows was slightly raised and sunken, clearly not painted on but tattooed. Xiao Jia Ding was somewhat surprised and said: "This is... this is a tattoo?"

  "Hmm..." Chi Mei's face grew even more flushed as she said, "When I was born, I had a red birthmark between my eyebrows. When I arrived at the brothel, my teacher said that this birthmark was auspicious and could be tattooed into a plum blossom, so I got it done. I don't know if it looks good or not." After speaking, she raised an eyebrow, seemingly smiling yet not quite, as she gazed at Xiao Jia Ding.

  "Of course it looks good, tender and juicy, really want to take a bite."

  The plum blossom was even more shy, slightly lowering her head, and softly said: "Young master can do whatever he wants..."

  Xiao Jia Ding's desire was like a fire that had been poured with oil, suddenly rising up. He hugged her fragrant shoulders and leaned in to kiss the delicate plum blossom hairpin on her forehead, but just as their lips were about to touch, he stopped himself. He felt a little bewildered, wondering what was wrong with him. In the past, he had never lost control of his desires in front of a woman. He quickly shook his head and struggled to get up, saying: "I... I should go!"

  "Wait a minute!" Chi Mei grasped his arm, picked up the two cups of wine on the table and said: "Finish this cup before you leave!"

  "Down it goes!" Xiao Jiading took it over, tilted his head back and swallowed it all in one gulp.