Chapter 69
In the evening, Liu Heipi sent word that he had arranged to meet with Jiu Tongxing tomorrow at the beginning of the Si hour. As for where they would meet, Jiu Tongxing said that their chief proprietor was a particular man who would not set foot in just any place. With the mourning period for the late emperor still in effect, and so many establishments closed, they would have to search carefully for a suitable location. Someone would be waiting at Dazhong Bridge the next morning, and they could simply follow that person there.
This aroused Cui Lanyin’s interest. She wanted to see just how grand and precious the chief proprietor of Jiu Tongxing considered himself.
They were only going there to put on a show of force. Cui Lanyin figured there was no need to use a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Any one of the Qilin Guards from the uncles’ generation, together with Chiyun and Chiyue, would be enough to show Jiu Tongxing exactly how formidable Qilin Hall was.
After Chilin gave her a mask, Cui Lanyin had Aiye and Sangzhi prepare several sets of men’s clothing for her. Now she finally had a chance to wear them.
Many people in the city recognized those who served at her side, so Cui Lanyin did not bring Geng Dayou or Buyu along.
She had heard Chilin say that whenever the Qilin Guards were sent out on assignments, they had to dress differently from usual. Sometimes they even wore masks, making it difficult for even familiar acquaintances to recognize them.
She had assumed that the masks were the main reason. She had not expected Chiyun and Chiyue to look like entirely different people even without them after changing their appearance.
The two girls explained that this was a skill everyone had to learn upon joining the Qilin Guards. After so many years, each person had developed a specialty of their own.
Chiyun and Chiyue personally set to work disguising Cui Lanyin as well. Cui Lanyin examined herself carefully in the mirror and exclaimed in amazement, “Why didn’t you tell me you could do this? If I’d known, we could have gone wandering all over the city long ago.”
“These skills are not to be taught to outsiders. His Majesty and the four chiefs have never given permission, so we didn’t dare take it upon ourselves. It was only after Chief Chi gave Second Miss a mask that we realized there was no need to hide them from you. But since then, you never mentioned wanting to go anywhere that required avoiding notice, so we didn’t bring it up.”
Cui Lanyin took out the mask Chilin had given her and put it on. Aiye and Sangzhi walked around her several times.
“Second Miss, dressed like this, even if Master and Madam were standing right in front of you, they might not recognize you.”
Since the chief proprietor of Jiu Tongxing was so particular, they could not afford to appear lacking in pomp either. A four-horse carriage would be too cumbersome, so they would go out in a two-horse carriage instead.
Cui Lanyin often rode in the household’s original two-horse carriage. Although two-horse carriages were standard even among ordinary families of officials and scholars, the one the chief steward had arranged for her was especially lavish. After a few trips, everyone recognized it as hers, so she usually took the single-horse carriage when she went out.
After Liu Heipi left, Cui Lanyin sent for Geng Dayou and had him replace the carriage compartment with the most common style seen on the streets.
Once everything was ready, Cui Lanyin brought Chiyun and Chiyue to the second gate. Geng Dayou had already parked the modified carriage there, while the chief steward stood beside it with a broad smile.
The moment he saw the disguises of the three women, the chief steward knew that Second Miss was about to stir up trouble. He looked on with great longing.
“Someone as honored and precious as Second Miss can hardly find a few people worthy of speaking with her. Why not disguise me as well? I can handle the negotiations for you.”
Cui Lanyin was just about to refuse when Chiyun and Chiyue decided it was a good idea and urged her, “Second Miss, there’s bound to be an argument. How can you waste your breath bickering with those roughnecks? Let the chief steward deal with them.”
The moment he heard there was hope, the chief steward hurried over and put on a pitiful expression.
“Second Miss, please let me go. Once you return to the palace, the residence will feel so empty… Ah…”
Cui Lanyin remembered their trip to smash up the Xin family’s place. When the chief steward stepped forward then, he had certainly made their show of force all the more impressive.
From the little Liu Heipi had said, it was clear that Jiu Tongxing’s head manager would be difficult to deal with. The chief steward would be perfect for suppressing him.
Cui Lanyin granted his request and told Chiyun and Chiyue to disguise him at once. Since they had no mask suitable for him, they stuck a full beard onto his face instead. Even his own mother would not have recognized him if she had pulled his face close for a look.
The moment Geng Dayou saw this, he refused to be left behind. He pleaded with Cui Lanyin, “Second Miss, since we’re going to overwhelm them with our presence, Chiyun and Chiyue must stay at your side. How can we have them drive the carriage? Let me do it instead.”
One more person would make no difference, so Cui Lanyin had Chiyun and Chiyue disguise him as well. They rubbed his face a sallow yellow, drew his eyebrows into a single connected line, and transformed Geng Dayou into a middle-aged man. He did not even need a mask.
Thus, Cui Lanyin rode in the carriage with Chiyun and Chiyue, Geng Dayou drove, and the chief steward followed on horseback. The five of them quietly slipped out of the residence through the gate used by the carts delivering provisions.
She had arranged to meet the Qilin Guards from the uncles’ generation at the end of the Chen hour, at an intersection two blocks from Dazhong Bridge.
When they were still some distance away, Chiyun and Chiyue lifted the curtain and exclaimed, “Second Miss, Uncle Qing and Uncle Xuan have come in person!”
Cui Lanyin had asked for only two people, yet six had come. Uncle Qing and Uncle Bai had each brought two Qilin Guards under their command.
This was making far too much of a trivial matter. After they had met up, Cui Lanyin asked helplessly, “Uncle Qing, Uncle Xuan, this is such a small matter. How could you trouble yourselves to come?”
“We didn’t want to, either.” Uncle Qing had a whole stomachful of complaints waiting. “Second Miss, we’re simply too idle. We’ve lost the work of collecting accounts, and you haven’t found anything else for us to do. At least find us some work.”
Cui Lanyin said, “I thought my cousin-uncle had transferred all of you to the palace.”
“All the palace affairs belong to Bailin and the others. Unless things reach the point where they can no longer handle them, we won’t get involved,” Uncle Xuan explained.
“Second Miss, His Majesty seems to listen to you more than anyone else. Now that he has ascended the throne, could you persuade him to marry and have children once he comes out of mourning? Our group is the most idle of all. We spent more than twenty years doing nothing, and just when we finally saw a glimmer of hope, His Majesty turned out not to be in any hurry to marry. If this continues, we may not even get the chance to teach anyone.”
They had said something similar the first time they met, and Cui Lanyin had vaguely guessed the truth. “You’re waiting to teach the children my cousin-uncle has?”
“Second Miss truly is perceptive,” Uncle Qing praised. “That’s both true and not true. It doesn’t matter which child of His Majesty’s it is, as long as it is the crown prince he chooses and loves. It’s not that we would teach the child ourselves. Once it was decided which one would inherit the throne, we would select children of a similar age and train them. When the young crown prince ascended the throne, those children would serve as his personal guards.
“His Majesty’s martial training is a special case. He learned about the existence of the Hidden Qilin Guards ahead of time and wanted to train with them. Since he is the master, the Four Elders had no grounds to refuse.”
Thinking of Bailin and the others, Cui Lanyin understood. Since Emperor Xuanning did not know that the Hidden Qilin Guards existed, Uncle Qing’s group had no opportunity to use their skills. They could only wait until her cousin-uncle had a child and it was confirmed which one would inherit the throne. Only then could Uncle Qing and the others fulfill their purpose.
Cui Lanyin sympathized with them, but she still had a one-year agreement with the emperor. How could she promise anything? All she could say was, “For the sake of the dynasty and the succession, my cousin-uncle must have a plan. He won’t make you uncles wait too long.”
Unlike Xuanlin, who was sparing with words, Uncle Xuan was quite talkative. He cupped his hands and bowed to Cui Lanyin.
“I know it isn’t easy for Second Miss, a junior and a young woman, to advise His Majesty on matters like these. In that case, find us more work. You have no idea—this time, the four of us had to draw lots to decide who would come. We’ve been suffering terribly, and we could only come to complain to you.”
After seeing Liu Heipi yesterday, Cui Lanyin had come up with a few ideas. But she could not give him a definite answer just yet, so she replied honestly, “I’ll go back and ask my uncle. If he agrees, then we’ll discuss the details.”
After working with her once, Uncle Qing and the others knew that she always meant exactly what she said. They hurriedly agreed, delighted.
The party of eleven set off for Dazhong Bridge.
They had agreed to meet at the beginning of the si hour, but Cui Lanyin deliberately lingered a little and did not arrive until a quarter past.
The guide sent by Jiutong Trading and Liu Heipi had already been waiting for some time. The manager from Jiutong Trading appeared thoroughly impatient, while Liu Heipi could barely conceal his anxiety.
His reaction was strange. The moment he spotted them from afar, he rushed over.
“Jiutong Trading rented a large pleasure boat on the Wuyang River and says they want to discuss things there,” he said indignantly. “How could Second Miss possibly go to a place like that? I told them we should meet somewhere else, but they said that if we changed the location, there would be nothing left to discuss.”
Uncle Qing grabbed him and started walking. “I’ll go with you. We’ll smash that pleasure boat to pieces and be done with it.”
“Uncle Qing, don’t be angry.” Cui Lanyin hurriedly stopped him. Then she asked Liu Heipi, “Does Jiutong Trading know that a woman is the one negotiating with them?”
“I only gave them the time. I didn’t mention anything else. There’s no way they could know,” Liu Heipi replied.
Cui Lanyin asked again, “The country is still in mourning, and banquets and revelry are forbidden. How dare Jiutong Trading do this? Even if they’ve managed to curry favor with some powerful person, surely they wouldn’t dare act so boldly at a time like this.”
“I asked about that. Jiutong Trading isn’t bold enough to break the rules. They only rented the pleasure boat under the pretext of admiring the river scenery. As long as they don’t drink or hire singers and dancers for entertainment, it doesn’t violate the restrictions.”
Cui Lanyin clapped her hands and turned to Chiyun and Chiyue. “Weren’t you two curious to see the pleasure boats on the Wuyang River? Here’s our chance. We’ll scout the place today, and next time we can enjoy the full experience.”
Chiyun and Chiyue clapped along enthusiastically. “Then we’ll broaden our horizons with Second Miss.”
Madam Liu had already told Liu Heipi that Cui Lanyin was very interested in the pleasure boats on the river. He had assumed she merely liked the idea of them. He had never expected that the moment an opportunity arose, she would actually go aboard one.
Thinking of the emperor, Liu Heipi figured that Second Miss would receive no more than a scolding afterward. But as the person who had led her there, he feared he might never have a future again.
He did not dare try to dissuade Cui Lanyin. Instead, he looked toward Uncle Qing and Uncle Xuan. They were a generation senior to Bailin and the others, so he hoped they might be able to stop her.
They still needed Second Miss to assign them work in the future. Besides, accepting favors made one reluctant to offend the giver. Uncle Qing and Uncle Xuan exchanged a glance. Uncle Qing coughed and said, “Second Miss, if His Majesty asks about this later…”
Cui Lanyin was completely unconcerned. “My uncle has always taught me not to worry about those etiquette rules. He tells me to do whatever makes me comfortable. As long as no one recognizes me and says that my uncle failed to teach his niece properly, there’s nothing else to fear.”
Remembering Emperor Xuanning’s usual ways, Uncle Qing and Uncle Xuan believed her. Uncle Qing waved a hand. “Then let’s go.”
The chief secretary was a bold man as well. He came over and shook a fist at Liu Heipi. “You’re Master Liu, right? Put some force behind that presence of yours.”
Who was this now? Liu Heipi quietly asked Geng Dayou. After learning that the man was the chief secretary of Prince Wei’s residence, Liu Heipi nearly fainted. When Geng Dayou went on to tell him that Uncle Qing, the others, Chiyun, and Chiyue were all His Majesty’s secret guards, Liu Heipi moved forward with his arms and legs on the same side. Fortunately, a carriage blocked his way, and after a few steps he managed to regain his composure. Otherwise, he would have humiliated himself in front of Jiutong Trading’s manager.
When the party approached, the people outside still could not see who was inside the carriage. But the bearing of those accompanying it was clearly not something ordinary people possessed. The manager from Jiutong Trading, who had initially worn an expression of impatience, immediately restrained himself.
Jiutong Trading had not grown so large through mere luck. The manager quickly adjusted his attitude, came forward to offer his greetings, and then humbly led the way.
The pleasure boat was moored beneath Wensi Bridge near the Imperial Academy. Dazhong Bridge was not far from there, and they arrived soon after.
The chief proprietor of Jiutong Trading and his party put on quite a show of importance. Even after hearing the carriage and horses approach, he did not so much as look outside the pleasure boat. Only after the guide went aboard to announce them did two men emerge from the cabin.
One was around forty, with a sharp, capable appearance and an arrogant expression. The other was in his twenties. His complexion was somewhat dark, but he was strikingly handsome.
When they saw the approaching party, the younger man seemed to urge the other to come down and receive them. The older man refused. Before the younger man could persuade him, the people below had already welcomed Cui Lanyin out of the carriage.
There seemed to be quite a few people inside the pleasure boat peering out. A succession of astonished exclamations could be heard from the bank, from both men and women alike.
Drawn by the commotion, the two men looked toward the shore. When they saw that the leader was a young woman dressed as a man—her mask unable to conceal her extraordinary beauty—even they, who had witnessed countless grand scenes, stood there in shock.
Then they noticed the people surrounding her. None of them looked like ordinary members of the martial world. There was something decidedly unusual about this group.
While the two men were still trying to determine what was going on, the chief secretary stepped forward to lead the way. The others escorted Cui Lanyin aboard the pleasure boat.
Only then did the two men recover. They hurried forward to meet her at the gangplank.
“I am Ji Tong, the chief proprietor of Jiutong Trading. May I ask…” The forty-year-old man, who had refused to come out earlier, gave a slight salute.
The chief secretary stepped forward without even returning the gesture. “This is our Second Miss. She is in charge of Qilin Hall now.”
On the way there, the chief secretary had learned about Qilin Hall from Chiyun and Chiyue, and at that moment he sounded entirely convincing.
Ji Tong’s expression, which had just begun to soften, darkened again. “I was under the impression that Qilin Hall was run by Master Zhao. And now a young woman has come to negotiate with us. Surely you don’t think Jiutong Trading is—”
Before he could finish, the younger man beside him stepped forward. “Chief Proprietor Ji is joking. Please don’t take offense, everyone. I’m Fang Ji. I came out with Chief Proprietor Ji to broaden my experience. The wind is strong out here. Why don’t we go inside and talk?”
The chief secretary, however, refused to let the insult pass. “If someone who doesn’t even understand basic etiquette can be put in charge, then Jiutong Trading is nothing special after all.”
Only then did Ji Tong and Fang Ji realize that these people had come prepared for a direct confrontation.
In Yingcheng, how could a mere martial-world hall possess such confidence? Especially after Jiutong Trading had deliberately let it slip that they had already secured the backing of a powerful and noble family?
Ji Tong suddenly smiled.
“Then please, come aboard. Once you’ve met our honored guest, I hope you’ll still have the same courage.”
