Chapter 1663 - Singing and Dancing in Peace

At Chang Qingyun's command, five or six young servants in blue clothes and small hats came forward with wine pots to pour. Suo Pu's sharp eyes noted that under the corridor outside, a wind stove was burning, heating tin cylindrical vessels for warming wine. It was likely Jinhua wine, the most popular among officials and the wealthy. The General Office had procured quite a lot from Jiangnan; the taste was similar to yellow wine.

However, the most eye-catching items were the gleaming glass bottles on the plates: Guoshi Wushuang—Scholar Unrivaled.

Since its introduction, this white liquor had been widely favored. The Great Ming was not without distilled spirits, but invariably they contained many impurities, went to the head easily, and found little favor among scholar-officials and the rich. Guoshi Wushuang employed modern white liquor brewing and blending techniques—high purity, rich aroma, soft on the palate, pure in taste, and not prone to causing hangovers. Coupled with the crystal-clear glass bottle, it drove wine drinkers mad with desire. As officials exchanged gifts, its fame quickly spread beyond Guangdong, becoming a specialty of Guangzhou. Not only was it consumed in large quantities locally, but it was also sold as far as Jiangnan and the capital. Traces of this wine had even been found in the homes of Later Jin nobles in Liaodong. Although the Guangzhou Station had expanded the distillery's capacity dozens of times, it remained nearly impossible to find a bottle on the market. The black market price was more than ten times higher than the original.

A rough glance showed a dozen bottles of Guoshi Wushuang on the table, and it seemed there were more under the corridor. The Governor-General's Yamen was indeed generous, worthy of a high official commanding eight seats!

"Come, please drink." Chang Qingyun served as an attentive host. Suo Pu and the others, harboring suspicion, dared not drink much and only tasted lightly. Suo Pu, afraid of revealing flaws in his speech, likewise refused to talk much. Seeing the atmosphere growing somewhat dull, Chang Qingyun gave a wink. A professional companion named Mei Lun, who specialized in amusing people in the Governor-General's residence, understood immediately. He stood up laughing:

"Sitting and drinking in boredom is no fun." He readily rolled up his sleeves to pour wine for everyone, laughing: "Why not listen to some fashionable tunes..."

He immediately ordered: "Call the singers up!"

Two singers entered from the corridor. Both were young boys of fifteen or sixteen, looking as if carved from jade and dusted with powder. They entered, knelt and kowtowed, then stood aside with legs together. Mei Lun laughed: "Today we have distinguished guests from Nanjing here. Sing the tunes you know best."

The two young boys quickly agreed. One played the zither and the other the pipa, first performing a set of songs. Although Suo Pu could now understand Nanjing Mandarin, this tune followed neither the rhyme of Jianghuai Mandarin nor modern Cantonese opera or Kunshan style. He felt lost in the clouds, barely comprehending a few scattered words. Lin Ming and Xie Peng, however, listened with rapt attention. Judging from the reactions of those present, the singing was probably quite accomplished.

After the song ended, everyone applauded. Mei Lun laughed: "Indeed." Saying so, he rewarded them with a cup of leftover osmanthus tea from the table:

"Drink it, then pick songs you know well to serve the masters."

The two agreed, drank the tea, wiped their mouths with handkerchiefs, and played the pipa again, singing a set of "Sheep on the Mountain Slope." Everyone at the table cheered, and the atmosphere became lively. Suo Pu did not understand what was praiseworthy about it, so he kept silent. Chang Qingyun observed this and understood seventy to eighty percent in his heart.

"Wait—truly rare beauties in the world." A semi-old man looked at the two singing boys with lustful eyes. "Truly a song that can crack stones..."

"What do you know of their wonders? These two children were purchased by General Feihuang from Fujian to serve the adults," Chang Qingyun laughed. "You all know General Feihuang's generosity. Pity—his ambition unfulfilled, he was struck down by the Australian thieves."

Hearing the words "Australian thieves," Suo Pu pretended to be nonchalant, though a look of sharp focus appeared on his face. Chang Qingyun nodded slightly to himself—that was it!

A private secretary beside them laughed: "What wonders? Master Mei, do tell."

Mei Lun said: "The Buddha says: cannot say, cannot say. Just now Master Xianhe called them 'rare beauties'—you just think on that..."

The people at the table laughed loudly. Suo Pu was thoroughly confused, not understanding what was so amusing.

This Master Xianhe, although possessing gray hair and beard, was very animated. He laughed: "Drinking is boring. Master Mei's phrase makes a fine couplet. Let's compose couplets to add to the fun!"

"'Rare beauties' is easy to match," a private secretary said, looking sideways at the two singing boys. "'Elephant Lady' fits perfectly."

As soon as the words fell, the whole room burst into laughter. The two singing boys likewise blushed, pretending to be silly and indignant: "Masters are just making fun of us lowly ones." Saying so, they came over with long sleeves and delicate hands to pour wine and serve dishes for the guests one by one. The accompanying guests all became animated now. Some flirted shamelessly with the singing boys, some simply groped them up and down, and some directly held them in their arms insisting on a "skin cup"... The young boys were adept at such games, smiling fawningly and coquettishly urging wine. Some simply sat in guests' laps, pulling beards and tugging ears to force wine down throats. For a time, cups and chips were exchanged, and laughter and talk grew joyous. Suo Pu dared not drink much, only sipping a little to keep company.

Because of his wound, Lin Ming did not drink wine, only tea, and picked light dishes to eat. Seeing Master Xianhe pulling a young boy close and refusing to let go, knowing he must harbor the "cut sleeve" preference, he simply smiled. Seeing a young boy swaying and twisting his waist coming to toast Suo Pu, and fearing the Chief would turn hostile in public and make a mess, he whispered: "Just respond superficially, don't be stern."

Suo Pu nodded slightly. When the boy reached him, holding the wine with a handkerchief to Suo Pu's lips, he said coyly: "Master Suo, Master Suo... you are the main guest today, you must open your capacity and drink a few more cups..." Seeing his slender figure and boundless amorous manner, truly more womanly than a woman, with waves of faint fragrance drifting over, although knowing he was a man, Suo Pu's heart could not help but sway, and he drank the wine.

He drank it, but felt disgusted as if he had swallowed a fly.

Mei Lun watched the main guest Suo Pu while joking with others. The other party looked impatient, with contempt in his eyes—clearly, this Master Suo was not interested in this pair of "toys." If the teasing went too far, it would prove tedious. Just then, the chef came to present the main dishes, so he took a plate of white flour steamed cakes, a plate of crystal goose, a plate of pickled fish slices, and a bowl of sour bamboo shoot shrimp ball soup from the table and rewarded the young boys. The two kowtowed their thanks, took the plates out, and knelt under the corridor to eat.

Mei Lun clapped his hands: "Yun Dang, why not come out to serve?"

At the call, a woman responded softly and lifted the curtain to enter. When everyone looked, they saw Yun Dang wearing a pink gauze shirt with a dark green flowing skirt below, dark clouds of hair piled high, green silk curling. Two curved willow-smoke eyebrows were slightly furrowed, seeming worried yet happy, glancing around—everyone's spirits were refreshed. Chang Qingyun could not help praising loudly: "What an apricot blossom face, like a lotus emerging from water!" That Yun Dang smiled sweetly at Lin Ming, almost hooking away his three souls and seven spirits. She sang melodiously:

"Magnolias fallen, wind and rain hasten, courtyard bleak. Spring comes long, music lazy to press, wine counters lazy to hold. Resigning orioles and thanking swallows, ten years of dreams broken in the blue tower, idleness follows willow catkins still lingering. Hard to find an old soulmate, entrusting the lute heart to rewrite. Enchanting, remember holding hands, by the herb-fighting rail, under the flower-buying curtain. Watching the pulley turn low, the swing high. Now where is it? Even with round fan and light shirt, with whom to ride the Zhangtai horse? Looking back at twilight mountains green, separation sorrow comes again."

Lin Ming gazed at the graceful dancing figure, feeling as if transported to a fairyland, and could not help saying: "Ten years a dream in Yangzhou, winning a fickle name in the blue towers."

Chang Qingyun laughed: "This was sung impromptu by a songstress when friends accompanied me to tour the Qinhuai River in Jinling last year. Although it is a work by Master Ji Di, sung a hundred years later, it remains an old dream of Qinhuai." He spoke as if with deep emotion.

After the song and dance, Yun Dang curtsied. Just as she was about to withdraw, Chang Qingyun said: "I heard you practiced a few fashionable new tunes the other day. This Master Suo is a distinguished guest; sing a few especially for him."

"Yes, this slave knows," saying so, she ordered someone to bring a pipa, sat on an embroidered stool, strummed a few times, and chanted:

"Under the small peach branch trying on silk clothes, Butterfly powder fighting remaining fragrance. Jade wheel crushing fragrant grass, Half face annoying red makeup."

Her singing voice was melodious, crisp yet soft, charming with three parts vigor. The song lingered around the beams without ceasing. The guests at the table were all intoxicated. Yun Dang played the pipa while singing with expressive gestures and eyes:

"Wind suddenly warm, sun beginning to lengthen, slender weeping willows. A pair of dancing swallows, ten thousand points of flying flowers, ground full of setting sun."

After the song, Master Xianhe laughed: "This lyric is truly romantic and graceful, enough to succeed the Later Ruler of Southern Tang, truly uniquely gifted by Heaven. Unexpectedly, Mister Maozhong wrote lyrics so sentimental and touching, with natural charm. Truly rare!"

Suo Pu did not know who Mister Maozhong was, but this lyric sounded like ordinary romantic verse—what was rare about it? While pondering, someone said: "Mister Maozhong's poetry is quite different, simply like two different people. Recently, this student just obtained a new work of his..." Saying so, he chanted:

"Immortal talents lonely both leisurely, literary garden desolate all ancient mounds. Han style in former years praised the North, Chu wind today fills the Southern Prefecture. Can elegant music spread in Jade Sea? Just left subtle words to play in Jade Tower. Quite weary of withered sentences in the human world, cutting clouds and shearing moon to paint three autumns."

Everyone nodded in praise. Suo Pu could not discern the beauty in it, so he had to continue sitting blankly with a poker face. The people at the table became animated, and one by one, struck by poetic inspiration, began discussing poetry.

...

"Writing lyrics is most difficult in modern regulated style—level tones where oblique should not be, oblique where level should not be. One slip in adhering to rules, not only is it awkward to read, but how can one afford such loss of face?"

"You are wrong there: poems often use level and oblique interchangeably. Lu Fangweng's 'Burning ash to remove vegetable locusts'—'Huang' is used as an oblique tone; 'Do not break the red fragrant tree, but know to look with full intent'—'Dan' is used as a level tone; Li Shanfu's 'Yellow Ancestor doesn't pity the parrot guest, Zhi Gong is partial to the kirin son'—'Qi' is strangely an oblique tone! Han Yu's 'Yueyang Tower' poem 'Universe narrows and hinders'—'Fang' is actually read as 'Fang', Bai Juyi's 'Replying to Minister Linghu' poem 'Benevolent wind fans the road, dark rain greases the pavilion gate'—'Shan' is a level tone! Li Shangyin's 'Stone City Poem' 'Bamboo seat ice about to float pillow, curtain warmth doesn't hide hook', with self-note 'Bing, returning tone'..."

(End of Chapter)