The water of the Grand Canal flowed ceaselessly, and the warmth of the south could not overpower the cold of the north.
In just three days, the fast boats from Jiangning Prefecture brought back the most shocking news from the capital.
The people of the Great Qian Dynasty loved to while away their time in teahouses and tea stalls.
The Deyue Teahouse.
This was the biggest money - squandering den and information hub in Jiangning City. At this moment, it was filled with a din of voices.
The dockworkers in their short - sleeved shirts were gulping down the old tea.
Two junior clerks from the county government, dressed in plain cyan silk robes, were sharing a table with several traveling merchants.
At an octagonal table by the window on the east side of the hall sat several young women who were traveling together.
They were the female workers from several newly - opened factories in the south of the city.
And sitting among them were none other than Yunniang, the former top entertainer of the Hundred Flowers Tower who had once been famous in Jiangning, and Hongxiao, who was well - known for her fiery temper!
These two former flower queens had long since shed their makeup.
Hongxiao had no trace of makeup on her face and had neatly tied up her cuffs.
Yunniang was wearing a simple, elegant blue dress and a fine fox fur. Habitually, she was twirling two crystal - clear abacus beads in her hand.
After leaving the Hundred Flowers Tower, they were now the female accountant and the supervisor in charge of dozens of female workers in the textile bureau in the south of the city. All over their bodies, there was only an air of efficiency and a hint of tiredness.
There were four plates of delicate seasonal pastries on the table, and a pot of excellent pre - Qingming Longjing tea was steaming.
On the high platform in the middle of the teahouse, the storyteller slapped the gavel.
"The First Prince held a Deer - Cry Banquet at the Mingyue Tower, the most famous building in the capital! This banquet was truly magnificent! The First Prince announced that all the candidates who ranked among the top three in each of the thirteen provinces in this imperial examination would be invited. All of them would be sent to the capital by fast boats at his expense!"
The storyteller was spitting as he spoke, pointing with his folding fan and his voice full of excitement.
"Who were invited? There was not only Niu Dazhuang, the poor - family Confucian laureate from the capital who had outshone many sons of aristocratic families, but also Chen Dashí, who ranked third in our Jiangning Prefecture! In the past, these peasants who made a living from the mud couldn't even touch the threshold of the powerful families before they achieved high - ranking honors. Now, they were being treated as honored guests by the First Prince!"
The storyteller tapped his fan and his face glowed with excitement as he continued, "Moreover, there was that amazing event where Lord Xu, the provincial runner - up, debated with pedantic Confucian scholars in the long street, and Classics Laureate Niu leaped from a poor family to fame!"
The audience below roared with approval.
At the table by the window in the east corner, an older female worker named Yang Xiunü skimmed the foam off her tea and said in wonder,
"Sister Sanniang! You said that Niu Dazhuang from the capital and Chen Dashí from the east of our Jiangning City, who used to work as farm laborers in the mud, how did they suddenly rise to such a high position and be invited by the prince to sit at the main table? What kind of amazing knowledge is it that Lord Xu preaches?"
Liu Sanniang, sitting in the center, swallowed the pastry in her mouth and patted the crumbs off her hands. She was stunned for a moment.
Then she looked at the two beside her. The three of them exchanged glances, their faces full of disbelief. "You mean... Xu Zijin?!"
Yang Xiunü looked surprised. "Yes! It's Xu Zijin! How? Do you know him?!"
Liu Sanniang was suddenly choked and coughed a few times. She changed the topic, "No! How could we know him?!"
The other two were also full of wonder, but they remembered Xu Qinghuan's words -
No matter what happens to Xu Zijin in the future, you must not mention anything about the Hundred Flowers Tower!
But then they suddenly understood!
If Xu Zijin rose to a high position in the future... how should the people and things in this Jiangnan area be dealt with!
Liu Sanniang quietly took a breath, rolled her eyes, and said, "What kind of gods! I'm illiterate. I don't understand the so - called knowledge in the court. But since I've been working in the factory for the past few months, I've come to understand a simple truth - this world doesn't support idlers anymore!"
"Every morning, we sisters sit at the looms. When the thread breaks, we have to fix it ourselves. At the end of the month, we use the abacus to calculate our meager wages bit by bit. If there's a slightest mistake in the accounts, the shopkeeper will deduct our pay. What's this? This is having real skills in our hands!"
"Both Chen Dashí and Niu Dazhuang are good farmers. They can grow good crops and produce enough food to feed people. Why can't they sit at the main table?!"
Liu Sanniang curled her lips and said disdainfully, "Do we expect those poor scholars who can't even recognize a scallion and only write pretentious poems in brothels to conjure up food for everyone?"
Hearing this, Hongxiao, the former dance girl from the Hundred Flowers Tower, burst out laughing. She grabbed a handful of melon seeds and loudly agreed, "What Sister Sanniang said really hits the nail on the head! In those days when we were in the Hundred Flowers Tower, those so - called scholars who spouted benevolence and morality would drink the wine we offered but couldn't even take out a tip. All they wanted was to write a few pretentious poems to get things for free!"
Yunniang gracefully took a sip of tea and played with the abacus beads in her hand. Her voice was gentle, "In the past, we sisters made a living by smiling at others. We were of low birth. Now, thanks to the new regulations of the court, we make a living with our skillful hands and this abacus. Every coin we earn is clean, and our backs are naturally straight!"
As soon as she said this, several tables of people in the once - noisy teahouse turned to look over.
Just then.
There came a sharp sneer from the next table.
Bang!
A palm full of ink stains slapped heavily on the table, splashing the tea all over the place.
Two failed scholars in old, patched long gowns that had been washed many times suddenly stood up. The bearded scholar among them pointed at Liu Sanniang's table, his face full of suppressed contempt and anger. He even directly targeted Yunniang and Hongxiao.
"This is a disgrace to literature!"
The bearded scholar's voice was extremely high - pitched, almost a shout.
"You country bumpkins and these two low - born prostitutes from the Hundred Flowers Tower! You should stay at home and behave. How dare you show up in public like this! And you even dare to talk nonsense about the imperial examination and the new learning!"
The round - faced scholar jumped up and added fuel to the fire, "Do you think that you illiterate women can discuss the articles of Xu, the provincial runner - up? Women meddling in men's affairs! The rules have all been ruined by you restless women! Go back to your backyards and brothels quickly. Don't dirty this place for scholars!"
The air in the hall suddenly went quiet for a moment.
The dockworkers stopped chatting and watched the scene with glee. The two clerks in plain clothes not far from the scholars exchanged a look but didn't get up to dissuade them. They just picked up their teacups and covered their mouths, waiting to see how these female workers would respond.
According to the old - fashioned rules, the women should have been extremely ashamed and fled with their faces covered when being scolded in public.
But Liu Sanniang didn't move, and neither did Hongxiao and Yunniang.
Liu Sanniang looked at the two furious scholars, snorted, and then took out a heavy cloth pouch.
Snap!
Liu Sanniang quickly undid the drawstring of the pouch.
Seven or eight pieces of pure silver and two strings of brand - new copper coins fell on the table. The silver shone brightly, and the copper coins glistened.
Liu Sanniang stood up, casually threw a half - tael piece of silver on the table, and pointed in the direction of the counter. "Waiter! Settle the bill! Keep the change for this table!"
After shouting this, Liu Sanniang turned around and stared defiantly at the two men. "Humph! You call this a disgrace? I've never stolen nor robbed! The silver on this table was earned inch by inch with my own hands after stepping on the pedals at the weaving mill countless times!"
Hongxiao stood up at this moment. She crossed her arms over her chest, sized up the bearded Confucian scholar from head to toe, and suddenly let out a snort of laughter, looking at him as if he were a pile of filth.
"Oh, I wondered who was throwing such a big tantrum!" Hongxiao's clear voice rang out throughout the teahouse. "Isn't this Scholar Wang who used to stand in the stable at our Hundred Flowers Pavilion all night just to get a sip of the leftover free wine?"
Boom!
The onlookers in the teahouse were first stunned, and then erupted into laughter that could have blown the roof off.
The bearded Confucian scholar was struck as if by lightning, and his face instantly flushed red. "You... you vulgar woman reeking of money! You're slandering me!"
Yunniang sat in her seat, slowly took out a small ledger from her sleeve, and gently slapped it on the table. Her tone was gentle but cutting. "Scholar Wang, you still owe one mace of silver for the wine you had at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion that year. Although the owner doesn't care about it, it's still recorded in my ledger. Well? Now that you can't even afford a proper meal and are still drinking this cheap second - grade tea that costs only two coppers a pot, you still have the leisure to meddle in the court's new learning?"
"You... you all!" The two pedantic scholars were immediately drowned out by the laughter, and their originally flushed faces turned as purple as a liver.
Liu Sanniang picked up the thread, her tone full of contempt. "You've studied for decades and haven't even passed the imperial examination to become a scholar. And you even went to the brothel to mooch off the wine. Now you dare to point fingers at us who earn our living by our own skills? Go back to your mother's bosom and suckle!"
Even the two clerks in plain clothes who had been quietly sipping their tea couldn't help bursting into loud laughter. One of them even tapped the edge of the bowl with his chopsticks to keep rhythm.
The two pedantic scholars were completely defeated by the shiny silver and their past embarrassing deeds.
The bearded Confucian scholar opened his mouth and stammered for a long time but couldn't utter a single word.
In the end, amidst the laughter and pointing fingers of the whole teahouse, they covered their faces with their sleeves and scurried out of the door like a pair of stray dogs.
Yunniang put away the ledger, and Hongxiao smilingly took Liu Sanniang's arm.
The several women leisurely divided the remaining tea on the table, generously bowed to the people around them, and then strode out of the teahouse with their heads held high.
When people saw them leave, they didn't show much interest in gossiping. There was no other reason. The social atmosphere in Jiangning had changed, and such extraordinary women were now a common sight.
