The South Wind Pavilion sat at the end of Windflower Lane, the most secluded corner of the Eastern Market. As you drew near, a faint scent of face powder hung in the air, and two powdered-faced young men lounged by the entrance, chatting idly while their eyes kept drifting toward the mouth of the alley.
Cui Yunchu and Cui Yunfeng, each trailing her own maidservant, strolled boldly into the lane.
The two young men at the door, dressed like painted scholars, spotted the pair and hurried over to greet them.
“Oh-ho, two young ladies here for tea or a meal?”
Cui Yunchu raised an eyebrow. “What’s the difference? No tea with the meal?”
“Tea, tea, of course—right this way, honored guests.”
Cui Yunchu grabbed Cui Yunfeng’s hand and followed the men inside. Cui Yunfeng hesitated, a twinge of fear in her voice. “Elder sister, I’ll pass on this. You’re still an unmarried lady, and we didn’t even bring any guards. What if something goes wrong?”
“…” Cui Yunchu glanced back at Cui Yunfeng.
“Well, that just saves money, doesn’t it?”
“.” Cui Yunfeng’s face went stiff.
Cui Yunchu broke into a grin. “What’s there to fear? Who commands the capital’s imperial guard? Your own prince, isn’t it? And it’s not like this is wartime. Why bring men when you can just carry your prince’s token?”
Cui Yunfeng frowned. “What you say does make some sense… but isn’t this a bit improper?”
Cui Yunchu looked at her sister’s black cap that left only two eyes visible, then gestured at her own exaggerated makeup. “If nothing happens, who’s going to recognize us?”
“That… also makes sense.”
Cui Yunchu laughed. “Have I ever said a word that didn’t make sense? Just think of those men back home—if Prince An had hesitated even half as much as you do now, none of today’s troubles would exist.”
Cui Yunfeng’s brow furrowed tighter and tighter as her sister spoke, until finally she let out a sigh full of resentment. “You’re right, elder sister. Let’s go inside.”
The two painted-faced young men stood at the threshold, watching the one grotesquely ugly woman and the one showing only her eyes, and muttered to each other in low voices.
Cui Yunfeng waved a grand hand. “Give me your finest private room.”
The two men immediately put on fresh smiles and escorted the ladies upstairs.
“Your makeup today is truly unique, miss—I’ve never seen a lady quite so distinctive,” one said to Cui Yunchu.
Cui Yunchu touched her face and smiled, eyes crinkling.
Turning ugliness into such sweet flattery was a talent in itself. It made her happy, and that alone was half the money’s worth.
“And you, miss, hiding behind the hat—is it because your beauty would blind the whole room?” said the other, speaking in such soft, silken tones that it sent a tingle up the spine—softer than anything Prince An had ever whispered in bed.
“You. Stay here later.”
Cui Yunchu turned and stared at Cui Yunfeng in shock. She’d gotten into character that quickly?
The young man beamed, hastily arranging a soft cushion on the couch for Cui Yunfeng to sit on, and let loose a stream of honeyed words.
Cui Yunfeng’s mouth stretched into a grin.
Most ladies who came to a place like this weren’t proper gentlewomen anyway, and the young men knew better than to pry into anyone’s identity. As long as the silver flowed, that was all that mattered.
“Would you care for some wine, miss? Huadiao, or something stronger?”
Cui Yunfeng hesitated.
Reason told her that in a place like this, especially far from home, alcohol was strictly off-limits. If anything went wrong, her identity could disgrace the entire Prince An mansion.
“I don’t think—“
“Just a little, miss. It’s cold today, and the place is nearly empty. If I can’t sell a single jar, the madam will punish me. Take pity on me, miss.”
“Bring two jars.”
Cui Yunchu kicked Cui Yunfeng hard in the shin, making her jump with a yelp.
Could she not use her head for once? Could she not see she was being buttered up by flattery?
Cui Yunfeng rubbed her leg sheepishly, but the young man had already gone off, delighted, to fetch the wine.
Seeing his companion pocket some silver, the other young man’s eyes turned green with envy, and he started working his charms on Cui Yunchu.
“Sure, I’d love some,” she replied, and he broke into a smile—but the smile barely formed before she added, “Trouble is, I’ve got no money.”
He nearly blurted out, “Then why did you come here?” Instead, he sized her up and realized it was Cui Yunfeng who had the purse strings. He tried to edge toward her, but just then the wine-bearer returned, shot him a vicious glare, and dropped straight to sit at Cui Yunfeng’s feet. The other man was forced back to his spot.
Even in this trade, there were rules. Whose customer was whose—no poaching.
The two young men poured wine for Cui Yunchu and Cui Yunfeng respectively.
The one seated by Cui Yunfeng had a mouth that never stopped chattering, while the one serving Cui Yunchu, sensing she was a tight-fisted sourpuss with no coin to spare, grew listless and bored-faced.
Cui Yunchu felt like sitting there was pointless.
“Is this all you have?” she asked. “I could buy a parrot that talks and says whatever I want. Why spend a fortune here for this?”
“Of course not, miss. Whatever you desire, we have it—all of it.” The young man beside her perked up, eyebrows flying like butterflies. And he meant it—the brows arched and waggled with a lewd glint.
Cui Yunchu understood at once.
The young man’s gaze slid over her slim figure. Her face was ugly, sure, but her figure wasn’t bad, and they’d served women weighing several hundred jin before. This was nothing.
“What are you saying now?” Cui Yunfeng, who had been lost in chatter and oblivious to the world, bolted upright.
Cui Yunchu shot her a sidelong glance.
Had she been so lost in conversation that she’d forgotten whether she was even the princess of Prince An’s mansion?
“We’re ladies of taste and decorum,” Cui Yunchu scolded the young man. “None of that dirty talk, understand?”
A joke was a joke, and a romp a romp, but anything improper was strictly off the table. Besides, with these two as the only options, neither she nor her sister had any interest.
The young man serving Cui Yunfeng, the smarter one, jumped in. “Miss, we have music—singing, plucking, strumming—whatever you like.”
Cui Yunchu nodded.
Now that was the flavor she wanted. She whispered to Cui Yunfeng, “In the storybooks, this is exactly how brothels go. Bet your husband’s lot got here the same way. Didn’t they say Prince An admired the talents of a few of his beauties?”
Cui Yunfeng’s hard-won good mood instantly darkened. “Bring out everyone in your—” She paused, and Cui Yunchu prompted her, “Think about the girls in your own household. What are they like?”
“Seductive looks, broad shoulders, narrow waists, long legs.”
Then she leaned in and whispered to Cui Yunchu, “Big round buns—and these boys don’t have them.”
Cui Yunchu patted Cui Yunfeng’s shoulder. “Men are all the same. Best to just accept it and move on.”
Quick of wit, the young man handed Cui Yunfeng a cup of wine. Sniffling, drowning her sorrow, she tossed it back in one go.
Cui Yunfeng was by nature a woman of rules and restraint, but between Cui Yunchu’s jibes and the young man’s sweet tongue, her grief mounted and her guard slipped, loosening more and more.
“You’re married, miss? Your husband must be a real piece of work—with a wife this beautiful, how could he still go philandering outside?”
Cui Yunfeng nodded fiercely, clutching her teacup as tears fell. "When he married me, he was beside himself with devotion—and now, barely any time since the wedding, how long has it been…"
With that, she started crying again.
The attendant let out sigh after sigh, saying comforting words while cursing Cui Yunfeng's husband.
"Miss, what would you like to talk about? I can keep you company as well," said the attendant beside Cui Yunchu with a smile.
The first attendant promptly sat back down, and the two of them fell into silence, while the pair on the other side chatted away with great enthusiasm. Cui Yunfeng had already undone her embroidered pouch, tossing out little gold beads as if they were nothing.
Cui Yunchu's attendant watched, utterly covetous.
