Lovable Beauty

Prince Qin was coming. 

Hearing this news, there was a change in Jiang Huaizhou’s expression. What did businessmen fear—government officials, that’s what. A titled prince was coming to Xi’an—one whom they had no idea of his character. If he was of the greedy sort, they couldn’t avoid paying respects to him with excessive gifts. 

This thought occurred to both Madam Jiang and Xie Lanqiao. Heedful of the people around them, the two exchanged a look but nothing unusual showed on their faces. 

Though Xie Lanyin often listened in as her mother and sister reviewed the various shop ledgers—hence she knew some of the ins and outs of government officials and businessmen—but for one thing, she was still too young, and secondly, she had absolute confidence in her uncle’s family—she didn’t feel like it was a big deal. Quite the contrary, she was fascinated as she exclaimed excitedly, “Mother, I want to go see Prince Qin’s procession. Mother had the chance to see Marquis Ping Xi’s victory parade in the past, but I’ve never seen such a lively event in my life.” 

Marquis Ping Xi was Empress Shen’s elder brother by blood and the current Chief General of Shanxi, whose Chief General Headquarters was also in Xi’an. 

Madam Jiang looked at her daughter and recalled how she also used to enjoy watching those bustling scenes; she smiled and agreed, “Alright, we will all go and have a look. But remember, this was your idea—don’t come complaining about it later that it’s taking too long.” 

Xie Lanyin fervently vowed that she wouldn’t. The chilly breeze carried her lyrical voice into the neighboring courtyard. 

*** 

Under an olden, budding locust tree, Xiao Yuan, adorned in a light-colored brocade robe, reclined on a rattan chair with his eyes closed. The light from the setting sun spilled over the walls but didn’t land on him; instead, it illuminated the birdcage that hung from a tree branch: inside was a black-naped oriole bouncing about—the stinging light was intolerable—and it chirped two times before lying down and burying its little head under its wing. 

Thus, the young lady’s voice disappeared, and the oriole stopped chirping. 

Xiao Yuan’s eyes opened. 

Ge Jin stood by his side, attending to him. Seeing this, he fawned over him, “Why has Young Master awoken? Should I coax it to sing a bit more?” 

His master enjoyed napping while listening to the chirping of the oriole. 

Xiao Yuan shook his head. His eyes landed on the tea table beside him. 

Ge Jin promptly poured him a cup of pu’er tea and handed it to him. 

Xiao Yuan reclined indolently on the rattan chair, and with half-lidded eyes, he savored the drink. 

Ge Jin shot a glance at the wall and knew his master must have figured it out from the sounds; he whispered quietly, “What a coincidence—we meet that same family again. Young Master, I noticed the young lady’s cousin possesses exemplary manners. Should I have someone ask around? Who knows, he could be someone from the list.” 

If a powerful dragon couldn’t repress the snake, it only meant the dragon was incompetent. His master was to become the overlord of Shanxi, so they must find out what snakes lived there. Once they had a clear picture, the ones that could be used will be used, and the ones that couldn’t be used will be disposed of and replaced with ones that could. Even if the cousin was only an ordinary person, it wouldn’t do any harm to find out the young lady’s background—if at any time their master was curious, he would know where to find her. 

Xiao Yuan put down his teacup and nodded. 

Ge Jin left with a grin. As he walked out the door, he ran into Lu Jun and casually asked, “Has everything been arranged?” 

Lu Jun didn’t pay him any attention and headed straight for their master and in a low murmur, he reported, “Young Master, I’ve confirmed everything. Young Master’s residence is right behind the prince’s palace, separated only by a road. If anything urgent was to happen, Young Master will be able to hurry over.” 

The identity of a prince would only serve as a hindrance—a merchant, on the other hand, could deftly handle communications with the local authority, affluent merchants, and even the Huns outside the borders. 

“The procession?” Xiao Yuan inquired as he stood, facing the birdcage. 

Lu Jun replied, “We didn’t encounter any problems all the way from the capital to here. As long as Young Master continues to call in sick and refuse to see visitors, those people wouldn’t dare any impetuous visits to the prince’s palace to seek an audience.” 

By the time their master entered the city, their master’s misfortunes in the Imperial Capital would have spread all over Shanxi. Any smart person would be able to guess the Emperor wasn’t fond of their master. Though it may seem he was conferred a venerable title, it was more of a banishment—so if his master had a bad temper and refused to see guests, no one would suspect anything—plus, the people his master set in place would be enough to deceive others. 

Everything was set—Xiao Yuan took down the birdcage, then turned to go inside. “We’ll head out tomorrow morning to go watch Prince Qin’s procession.” 

Out of habit, Lu Jun was about to comply, but before he could open his mouth, he was stupefied—his master wanted to enter the city tomorrow morning? 

Wouldn’t they be waiting around for nothing? 

The word ‘yes’ stuck in his throat. He couldn’t make sense of it all, so he waited for Ge Jin to return. Lu Jun pretended to nonchalantly inform him of their master’s orders. Though Ge Jin was a blabbermouth, he was quite smart—he might not be able to guess their master’s thoughts correctly every time, but he usually wasn’t that far off. 

He didn’t even need to guess—as Ge Jin recalled the tidbit he found from his inquiries, he shot Lu Jun a meaningful smile and raised his foot to go inside. 

“Wait, what are you smiling at?” Lu Jun held out his hand to stop him—such a sly smile, he must know something. 

Stopped without a warning, Ge Jin turned around puzzled. He took two glances at Lu Jun, asking curiously, “I smile every day. What is it to you why I smile?” As he finished saying this, he suddenly understood and pointed to the window, asking in a hushed whisper, “You want to know why Master decided to enter the city in the morning tomorrow?” 

Lu Jun silently acquiesced. 

Ge Jin jerked on his arm and dragged him to the side; finally stopping under the locust tree, he signaled for Lu Jun to lower his head. 

Lu Jun didn’t think much of it as he lowered his head to listen. 

“I know, but I won’t tell you,” Ge Jin chortled. With the last word, he scurried off like a rabbit. 

Lu Jun reached out but failed to catch him. He could only watch and clench his teeth as Ge Jin ran through the door. 

Inside, Xiao Yuan heard the commotion and reckoned the two were quarreling again. The corners of his mouth rose as he continued to feed his bird. 

The next morning, Xiao Yuan dismissed Ge Jin’s service and carried the birdcage to the backyard. He hung the birdcage on a tree and stared at the neighboring house for a while before practicing his exercise routine. His movements were as natural as floating clouds and flowing water—a strange kind of ferocity and power was hidden under the soothing motions—as if they can kill without a trace. 

“Young Lady! Young Lady! Eldest Young Master is here!” 

A maidservant’s excited voice drifted over the wall. Xiao Yuan smoothly collected himself and after a few moments to regulate his breathing, he walked over to the birdcage. 

The black-naped oriole sang in fawning tones for its master. 

Xiao Yuan raised his hand and put his forefinger to his lips. 

The black-naped oriole went quiet. 

In a young lady’s boudoir, Xie Lanyin frowned from being woken up. Then she suddenly jolted up on the bed, parted the canopy, asking for confirmation from Yingge who just walked in, “Really?” 

The beauty just woke up from her slumber: her fine black hair was messily draped over her shoulders and the pair of peach-blossom eyes glowed with delight, animated like those of a child. 

Yingge, who was fetching some water, beamed brightly, “Really! Yesterday, Second Young Master had someone go send the news. Eldest Young Master predicted Young Lady would want to join the crowd to watch Prince Qin’s procession—hence his reason for coming early. Young Lady should hurry and get out of bed. Eldest Young Master hasn’t had breakfast and is waiting for everyone to eat together.” 

Xie Lanyin had already gotten out of bed and began to wash up and dress up for the day. What normally took half an hour was finished in half the time. 

Hearing the footsteps head towards to front, Xiao Yuan frowned. A barely detectable hint of disappointment flashed through his phoenix eyes. 

It didn’t matter how good his ears were if she refused to speak more. 

*** 

Xie Lanyin rushed to the reception hall. Turning into the doorway, she saw all three of her older cousins were present. Her third cousin Jiang Huaizhou and her older sister Xie Lanqiao were seated on her mother’s right-hand side. To the left sat her Second Cousin Jiang Hangzhou who she met with yesterday and a man with a moustache shaped in the character eight. They all looked up at her upon her appearance. 

Their gazes interlocked and Xie Lanyin could confirm that the man with the eight-shaped mustache was indeed her eldest cousin, Jiang Jizhou. 

“Eldest Cousin, why are you growing a mustache?” 

Xie Lanyin was stunned and fought back the urge to fall into a fit of laughter. Walking over to her mother’s side, she shot her eldest cousin a look as if to say ‘What a waste of God’s gift.’ “Even my father doesn’t grow out a mustache, so why is Eldest Cousin growing one? You don’t look nearly as handsome as before. If I was Eldest Cousin’s wife, I would make you shave it off before I marry you—otherwise, you can forget about the wedding!” 

The mustache forced him to look several years older. 

The prospective groom, Jiang Jizhou, was twenty-three this year. He had a handsome appearance: his eyes and brows were like his two brothers’, and the eight-shaped mustache under his nose made him look more mature—but that was only when he wasn’t smiling. Hearing his little cousin making fun of him, Jiang Jizhou stroked his mustache and raised an eyebrow. “Is it really that bad?” 

His tone was doubtful. Mostly, he doubted his cousin’s tastes. With the mustache, he appeared even more outlandish than his younger brother Jiang Huaizhou. 

Xie Lanyin held back her laughter and nodded gravely. 

Seeing his little cousin act so cute, Jiang Jizhou pondered for a moment and said, “Since Lanyin thinks it’s no good, then let’s make a bet. If your cousin-in-law marries me and likes my mustache, you must give me ten silver taels. If she doesn’t like it, I’ll give you twenty silver taels. How about it?” 

Xie Lanyin scrutinized him, then secretly glanced toward her third cousin. Such an unfair bet—she felt like it was a trap. 

Zhang Huaizhou who was drinking his tea put down his teacup and nodded almost imperceptibly. 

Xie Lanyin jumped for joy inwardly. Just as she was about to agree, her second cousin, Jiang Xingzhou, coughed lightly, and then asked his eldest brother out of the blue, “I remember last year Eldest Brother bought a hairpin for Sister-in-law. Did you give it to her while you were visiting the Lin family?” 

Just as these words were uttered, Jiang Huaizhou quickly stood up, crying out, “Aunt, I’ll go check on the luggage,” and made a quick escape. 

Madam Jiang couldn’t control herself and burst out laughing. 

Xie Lanyin was indignant, shouting at his back, “That’s it with you! You knew that Cousin-in-law doesn’t despise Eldest Cousin’s mustache, yet you deliberately tried to trick me into agreeing just to cheat me out of money! Just wait till we get to Xi’an and see how I’ll boss you around!” After scolding him, she then turned to face Jiang Jizhou and pouted, “I’ll be tattling to Cousin-in-law that Eldest Cousin bullied me on our first meeting!” 

Jiang Jizhou merely chuckled without a word. Truth be told, his fiancée did find his new look distasteful, but that quickly changed after he stole a kiss. 

After everyone finished catching up and ate a simple breakfast, they prepared to head out. 

The three Jiang brothers rode their horses beside the carriage. Xie Lanqiao also joined the entourage. 

Xie Lanyin parted the curtains and gave her valiant and heroic-looking sister an envious look. She called out to Jiang Huaizhou, “Third Cousin, you promised you’d teach me how to ride a horse when we get there. Don’t forget!” 

Both her eldest and second sister knew how to ride a horse, so she wanted to learn too. 

“Sit down properly—what are you shouting for.” Madam Jiang frowned as she put the curtains down and dragged her daughter back. 

Having been scolded by her mother, Xie Lanyin immediately sat up straight, acting very obedient. 

This daughter of hers was the best at feigning obedience—and the best at pretending to comply but doing the exact opposite behind her back; Madam Jiang flicked her forehead. 

Outside, Xie Lanqiao looked around; she saw peasants bringing along their whole family and the rich riding in horse-drawn carriages. From the direction they were headed, she guessed they were heading towards the city and couldn’t help musing to her cousins, “Looks like everyone wants to catch a view of Prince Qin’s elegance. Even those from other counties have come rushing over. It’s likely even more bustling inside the city.” 

Jiang Jizhou replied, “Indeed so, but I heard His Highness Prince Qin isn’t in good health. He hasn’t shown his face even once during the whole journey. We might not be able to see him today.” 

Xie Lanqiao glanced at all the young women sneaking glances at them and whispered, “Even if they can’t see His Highness, they get to see my three cousins—these young women wouldn’t have made the trip in vain.” Appearance-wise, her cousins were amongst the finest-looking gentlemen. 

Jiang Jizhou scoured the crowd, merely smiling as he shook his head. 

*** 

At the end of the procession, Xiao Yuan sat inside his carriage, resting his eyes. 

Outside, Lu Jun drove the carriage while Ge Jin sat beside him and whispered, “Later when we stop, do so swiftly and park alongside the carriage up front.” 

Their master enjoyed listening to the Xie Family’s fifth young lady’s voice. It wouldn’t do to be too far away from them. 

Lu Jun turned back to look at the curtains. Under the impression his master wanted to observe the Jiang family up close, he nodded. When they arrived outside the city of Xi’an and stopped to wait for Prince Qin’s procession—with his good eyesight and masterful skill—Lu Jun steadily parked their carriage to the right of the Xie family’s carriage. 

*** 

Author’s Notes (as translated): 

Prince Qin: My wifey is coming to see me. If I don’t let her get a look, she’ll have wasted her time. 

Xie Lanyin: Don’t flatter yourself! 

Prince Qin: So, you’re not coming to see me? 

Xie Lanyin: I’m coming to the procession to admire those long legs! 

Prince Qin: … 

The next day when the procession made its appearance, Xie Lanyin exuberantly swept away the curtains on the window—instead of seeing long legs, she only saws a bunch of midgets.