The leading courtesans of each pleasure house were to parade once around the Inner City, and the citizens who caught sight of them followed for a while before turning toward Qingyu Lake to claim spots with the best view.
By the time the hour of shen (around 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM) approached, the area beside the viewing pavilion by Qingyu Lake was packed with people. Rows of guest boats floated on the lake, and only those with status could afford a seat inside.
The madams of each brothel had been waiting outside their respective boats since morning, beaming brightly at the sight of familiar patrons.
Captain Liu and the others were attending the Flower Queen Banquet for the first time. They had asked Kan Chaoyan for leave early that morning, changed into clean robes, and arrived at Qingyu Lake.
The madam of Xiaoqing Tower spotted them immediately. She hurried forward with her attendants and greeted them with a broad smile. “Greetings, Lords. How have you been? The young lady has arranged private rooms for you in this direction. Please allow me to lead you there.”
Captain Liu chuckled. “Much obliged, Madam.”
Captain Liang, walking beside him, quickened his pace and whispered, “Your girl, Mu Nanjin really goes all out.”
Captain Liu shot him a glare. “What do you mean by my girl? You’ll make people misunderstand.”
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Uyrvykd Kkydt nwv kd. “Eykv, vbl csyv plyvp nspv xsdlu? R vbswtbv vbl lmrldplp olal fwpv qsa vbl qsse yde eakdjp.”
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Captain Liu eyed him suspiciously. “How do you know all that? Don’t tell me you’re a regular.”
“With my meager monthly pay? Hardly.” Captain Liang scowled. “Last year, the Flower Queen Banquet happened to fall on my rest day. Out of boredom, I came here to ask about boat fares, and that’s when I learned how expensive it was.”
He pointed far toward the end of the lake. “See that last boat back there?”
The Captains squinted hard, but the boats were lined up too far away. They couldn’t even make out the final one.
Everyone shook their heads. “Can’t see it.”
Captain Liang sighed. “I once spent ten taels to sit on that last boat. Forget seeing the Flower Queen, I couldn’t even hear the music. Just as Mu Nanjin’s invitation said, all I could do was ‘admire the lake and the moon.’”
“Ha ha ha!” The group burst into laughter.
At that moment, the madam stopped and gestured toward a grand, brightly decorated flower boat. “Lords, we’ve arrived. Please board. Your private rooms are on the third floor.”
Captain Jiang grinned. “Third floor, eh? The higher, the better the view.”
Before boarding, Captain Liang couldn’t help but ask the madam, “How much does one seat here cost?”
“This…” The madam wasn’t sure why he asked but replied politely. “For this boat, the first floor is priced by seat, one thousand taels per seat. The second floor is priced by table, ten thousand taels per table. As for the third floor, there’s only one private room, thirty thousand taels.”
“Thirty thousand taels?”
The Captains all widened their eyes.
Twenty men, thirty thousand taels for one night, plus food and drink? That was an astronomical amount.
No wonder the brothels held a Flower Queen Banquet every year. It was easy money.
The madam explained further, “In past years, the boat fare was only five hundred taels, but the demand this year was overwhelming, so the prices skyrocketed.”
Captain Liang, still curious, asked, “What about the very first boat at the front? How much does it cost to board that one?”
“One seat there costs ten thousand taels.”
Captain Liang decided to stop asking before it hurt his pride any more.
He slung an arm around Captains Liu and Jiang. “Come on, let’s board.”
They went up to the third floor, where two maidservants were assigned to serve them.
“I’ve lived for decades, and this is the first time I’ve enjoyed such luxury,” Captain Liang sighed as he stepped onto the balcony.
From there, he could see the viewing pavilion in the distance. Though faces were indistinct, the figures were visible. Then, a silhouette entered his line of sight.
“Huh? Everyone, come look! Isn’t that Mu Nanjin?”
Captain Liu didn’t even move, sipping his tea lazily. “You know her. Can’t you tell for yourself?”
“No, she looks… different today. Come and see.”
The others hurried out to the balcony. Following Liang’s pointing finger, they spotted a young woman in a white dress walking toward them.
Her dark hair was swept up at the sides, exposing delicate features. The rest cascaded down her back, adorned with an exquisite hairpin. Her brows were finely arched like ink-painted mountains, her eyes clear as a lake. Her lips were tender pink like a spring peach blossom, coldly alluring, distant, as if an ethereal plum spirit had taken human form.
To the Captains, she looked both familiar and strange. She resembled Mu Nanjin, yet somehow she didn’t.
They were too used to seeing her in her Jinyiwei flying fish robe. Now, in feminine attire and light makeup, she was almost unrecognizable.
Captain Jiang stared hard. “She looks like Mu Nanjin, but… something’s different.”
He wasn’t entirely sure himself.
“What’s so different that you all can’t recognize her?”
Captain Liu set down his teacup and walked to the balcony. When his eyes fell on Mu Nanjin, who had stopped near the second boat, he froze.
“My word… that little girl cleaned up beautifully.”
Even more stunning than any courtesan he’d ever seen, outshining every brothel’s top girl.
He’d always thought she was good-looking, but her annoying inner voice had overshadowed it.
Captain Liang confirmed, “It really is Mu Nanjin.”
Sensing their gazes, Mu Nanjin looked up briefly before glancing away.
【These Captains still look most dashing in their flying fish uniforms. In their casual clothes, they just look… silly.】
The Captains: “…”
“It’s her, no doubt about it,” Captain Liang muttered, retreating into the room before she could insult him further.
Captain Liu gritted his teeth. “That damn girl, can’t she say something nice for once?”
The rest followed him back inside.
The madam of Xiaoqing Tower walked up to Mu Nanjin with a smile. “Young lady, you’ve arrived! You look absolutely stunning today.”
Mu Nanjin replied calmly, “Had nothing better to do, so I came to take a look.”
She had slept until noon, eaten, and was then summoned by the owner of Yixin Courtyard.
They dressed her up from head to toe, saying that if she looked elegant, their establishment would gain face as well.
She went along with it.
“The Captains have arrived. Would you like to go up and greet them?”
Before Mu Nanjin could respond, a eunuch from Xiaoqing Tower ran over. “Madam! The third boat’s guests have arrived!”
The madam quickly excused herself. “Young lady, I’ll leave you for now.”
Mu Nanjin watched the madam and the eunuch hurry off.
【The third boat?】
【If I recall correctly, that one was reserved for the Emperor, the Empress Dowager, and the Empress. They’ve all come?】
“Pfft!”
Onboard, Captain Liu nearly choked on his tea. “She actually invited the Emper—”
He had thought she’d invited a princess, not the Emperor himself, let alone the Empress and the Empress Dowager.
The other Captains were equally shocked.
Mu Nanjin decided to take a look herself.
She didn’t get too close, but from afar, she could see the Emperor arriving with a grand entourage. His Imperial Guards, dressed in plain clothes, boarded first to ensure there were no assassins hiding within before allowing the Emperor to enter.
The Empress Dowager and Empress hadn’t come.
The former, still shaken from the incident at Jingtuo Temple, refused to leave the palace again. The latter, bound by propriety, would never appear at an event involving courtesans.
They might not have come, but the Left and Right Prime Ministers had.
【Oh? The Left Prime Minister’s here.】
【Isn’t he afraid his tigress of a wife will find out he came to watch courtesans?】
【Then again, since he’s accompanying the Emperor, even if she finds out, he’ll have an excuse ready.】
The Left Prime Minister: “…”
How does she know me this well?!
The Right Prime Minister snorted, and the Left Prime Minister shot him a cold glare.
【And the Right Prime Minister’s here too.】
【I wonder if he told his mother. If not, he’ll be kneeling in the ancestral hall again when he gets home.】
The Left Prime Minister sneered, “We’re all half a catty short of a pound. You’ve no right to laugh at me.”
The Right Prime Minister: “…”
【Still, the Emperor has it best. Power in his hands, life and death decided with a word. No one dares control him. He can have three thousand beauties in his harem and no one can say a thing.】
The Emperor chuckled aloud.
【Though honestly, being Emperor has only that one perk.】
The Emperor frowned. “…”
Only one perk?
There were plenty of others!
He could marry whoever he pleased. The palace was full of women at his disposal!
As if hearing his protest, Mu Nanjin’s voice echoed again:
【The Emperor’s life may look glorious, but in truth, he’s trapped in countless constraints. Take the harem, for instance. Though there are three thousand beauties, he can’t be with whomever he wishes. Favor one too much, and ministers will protest that she’s a temptress leading the Emperor astray. To gain a minister’s support, he must feign affection for that minister’s daughter. Sometimes he’s even forced to give her a child for appearances’ sake. And for the sake of heirs, he works like a stallion, one concubine tonight, another tomorrow. Worse than a brothel gigolo! At least a gigolo gets rewarded after sleeping with someone. The Emperor has to reward them! Pitiful, really.】
Everyone: “…”
The Emperor: “…”
She wasn’t entirely wrong.
【And the saddest part? When his sons grow up, they’ll slaughter each other for the throne. Out of a dozen princes, who knows how many will be left to burn incense for him in the end.】
The Emperor: “…”
He no longer felt like admiring the lake, the moon, or the courtesans.
Seeing his darkened expression, the Left Prime Minister cleared his throat. “Your Majesty, don’t listen to her nonsense. She’s just a young girl, she doesn’t understand.”
The Emperor glared at him. “Then tell me, where exactly is she wrong?”
“Uh…” The Left Prime Minister thought hard but couldn’t come up with a rebuttal.
The Emperor snorted coldly and turned to leave, but just then, Mu Nanjin’s excited inner voice rang out again.
【Ahhh! The National Preceptor is here!】
【Ahhh! And our Commander too!】
【Hey, Emperor old man, aren’t you going to come out and greet them?】
The Emperor: “…”
Excuse me? He was the Emperor! Why should he go greet them?
He had been ready to leave, but now, snorting again, he turned and climbed to the third floor.
【I’ll personally attend to the National Preceptor and our Commander.】
The Emperor grumbled, “Why isn’t she attending to me? She knows I’m here but doesn’t even come to pay respects.”
The Left Prime Minister: “…”
This was hardly the time for jealousy.
The Right Prime Minister murmured, “Perhaps she’s not very familiar with Your Majesty.”
“Not familiar? I—” The Emperor stopped.
Now that he thought about it, they’d barely exchanged a few words.
He puffed his cheeks, glaring across the way, only to see Mu Nanjin boarding a nearby guest boat with Feng Sinan and the Commander.
Feng Sinan and the Commander spotted him too and immediately cupped their hands in salute.
The Emperor gave a dismissive snort and looked away, only to notice two even larger and more lavish boats moored in front of theirs.
He deliberately raised his voice. “Why are there two boats ahead of mine? Why was I placed on the third boat instead of the first?”
He spoke so loudly that Mu Nanjin couldn’t not hear it.
She, of course, wouldn’t answer aloud, but her thoughts betrayed her.
【The first two boats are for the suckers. Whoever bids the highest tonight gets to spend the night with the Flower Queen.】
【Emperor old man, if you want to help me make money, start shouting bids! The people up front will panic, thinking they can’t outbid the third boat, and they’ll keep raising the price. Then we’ll make a killing, hehe.】
The Emperor: “…”
So that was why she’d invited him, to manipulate the bidding?
The Left Prime Minister couldn’t help a quiet chuckle. “Didn’t expect her to have a head for business too.”
The Right Prime Minister tsked. “And you’re praising her now?”
Meanwhile, Feng Sinan and the Commander had taken seats on the third floor.
Feng Sinan gave a mild smile. “Didn’t expect the Commander would also attend the Flower Queen Banquet.”
Not only he, even Captain Liu’s group was astonished.
They couldn’t imagine how Mu Nanjin had managed to invite him here.
The Commander replied evenly, “Nor did I expect the National Preceptor to attend.”
Feng Sinan’s smile faded. He turned his gaze toward the distance, scanning the crowd as though searching for someone.
After a long moment, the Commander asked, “The National Preceptor is looking for someone?”
Just then, a commotion rippled through the crowd.
Everyone looked toward the viewing pavilion, where a group of monks had appeared in full view.
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