The Red Mansion

Chapter 145 Let's see the winds of change rise again (Part 1)

Last month, the scandalous deaths of Jia Zhen and Jia Rong caused Yuan Chun a period of deep sorrow.

This month, Jiang Nian caused trouble at the Rongguo Mansion, punished the Lai family, and made Yuan Chun lose face.

Jiang Nian wanted to comfort Yuan Chun in some way.

After much thought, he decided to have Yuan Chun teach him the guqin. Once he had learned it, he would give Yuan Chun a piece from his past life. The process of learning the guqin with Yuan Chun was also a beautiful experience for the couple.

Entertainment options were limited in this era, and Jiang Nian had virtually no leisure activities. He disliked drinking, watching plays, gambling, and frequenting brothels…

Learning the guqin provides a form of entertainment. In this era, a man playing the guqin is not considered vulgar, but rather elegant. The guqin is regarded as the foremost of the four arts: music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Playing the guqin allows one to immerse oneself in the cultural connotations of poetry and landscapes, to experience aesthetics and philosophy, and to cultivate inner peace, meditation, and stress reduction.

With Jiang Nian's exceptional memory and cultural literacy, he will find it easy to learn the guqin.

The day was sunny and breezy, with a refreshing autumn breeze.

Jiang Nian offered to teach Yuan Chun how to play the guqin, saying that once he learned it, he would "compose" a piece for her. Yuan Chun was taken aback at first, but after confirming, she readily agreed.

So, Yuan Chun directed the maids to set up a zither table in Jiang Nian's study, placing a zither she treasured there, and burning incense in the bronze beast-shaped incense burner in the corner. Wisps of smoke rose, and the zither table gleamed.

Jiang Nian and Yuan Chun sat side by side at the zither table. Yuan Chun gently stroked the strings with her fair wrist, teaching Jiang Nian the "Four-Finger Eight Techniques": "Master, this is 'split,' this is 'push,' this is 'mo,' this is 'pick,' this is 'hook,' this is 'ti,' this is 'da,' this is 'zhai'..."

To learn the guqin, you should first learn tablature and basic fingering techniques.

In fact, in Jiang Nian's previous life, modern people learning the guqin also used the ancient tablature. Tablature may seem complicated, but once you grasp the rules, it is more intuitive than standard musical notation.

After Yuan Chun taught her three times, she let Jiang Nian try.

Jiang Nian imitated Yuan Chun's gestures, pressing the strings with her left hand and plucking the strings with her right thumb, index, middle, and ring fingers, but produced a series of jarring noises.

A few soft laughs suddenly came from outside the window.

Xiangling, Baoqin, Jinchuan, Yuchuan, Qingwen and others peeked out the window and couldn't help but laugh when they saw Jiang Nian making such a fool of himself.

As they were making a ruckus, Xue Baochai and Ying'er were also drawn to the scene. When the two of them stood outside the window and heard the jarring noises coming from inside, Xue Baochai covered her lips with her handkerchief, her eyes sparkling with amusement. Ying'er, on the other hand, couldn't help but burst out laughing, and quite loudly at that.

Startled by Ying'er's laughter, Jiang Nian looked out the window and saw Xue Baochai smiling. She called out to the window, "Baochai, come in."

Xue Baochai went into the study.

Jiang Nian smiled at Xue Baochai and said, "Since you're laughing at me from outside the window, you must be an expert in this area?"

Xue Baochai quickly replied, "Master, I don't know how to play the zither."

Although she was a talented woman, her talents were mainly reflected in poetry, knowledge, and social skills.

Jiang Nian insisted, "Even if I can't, I'll try playing a tune."

As he spoke, he pulled Yuan Chun to her feet.

Seeing that Jiang Nian was in such a good mood, Xue Baochai sat down at the zither table, pressed the strings with her left hand and lightly stroked them with her right. Although her posture was not bad, the sound she produced was a jumble of noises, harsh and unpleasant to listen to.

Seeing this, the maids outside the window burst into even louder laughter, and even Yuan Chun couldn't help but laugh. Xue Baochai, usually so dignified and composed, and known as a talented woman, had never been in such an embarrassing situation before.
Xue Baochai blushed with embarrassment and quickly stopped.

From that day on, Jiang Nian would learn the guqin from Yuan Chun almost every day.

Yuan Chun taught her meticulously, sometimes demonstrating the beauty of "yin nao" (a type of acrobatic movement), sometimes pointing out the skill of "chuo zhu" (another type of acrobatic movement), always teaching her step by step. Far from being annoyed, she found it improved her mood.

Jiang Nian also learned very quickly. In just ten days, he was able to play short pieces such as "The Immortal's Melody". Although his playing style was still immature, it was beginning to take shape.

Originally, Jiang Nian planned to give Yuan Chun a piece of music from her previous life once she learned how to play the guqin.

After studying for ten days, he had a further plan. He thought that if he liked a woman in the future, he could give her a song from his previous life, which he would call "one he composed himself".

The question now is, which piece of music should he send to Yuan Chun?

……

……

Outside the West Gate of Shenjing City, there is a famous Taoist temple called Baiyun Temple, which is frequented by a constant stream of worshippers.

There is an inn near Baiyun Temple called "Guanxia Inn". Its name both borrows from the landmark and hints at its target customers.

When Lai Shangrong was in Jiangning, he made an agreement with Wang Long: Wang Long must send someone to deliver Jing Qing and five hundred taels of gold to the Guanxia Inn at 9:00 AM on the 11th of August. Emperor Taishun approved Jiang Nian's request and ordered Jiang Nian to ambush and capture the people at the Guanxia Inn.

It was already August 11th, and the autumn rain was drizzling with low-hanging clouds.

Outside the Xibianmen Gate in front of the Baiyun Temple, there were far fewer worshippers than usual, probably because the rainy day dampened the piety of the devout men and women.

A blue cloth wine flag hung from the eaves of the inn, soaked through by the rain, drooping heavily, like a dejected person with their head drooping, completely devoid of spirit.

Dai Xiu sat alone by the window of the inn, dressed like a young master. He wore a lake-blue robe with dark patterns, a pine-flower handkerchief tied around his waist, and a piece of mutton-fat jade pendant hanging from it. On the table in front of him was a gold-leafed folding fan.

He was originally a junior military officer in the infantry battalion. Because he looked somewhat similar to Lai Shangrong, Jiang Nian chose him to impersonate Lai Shangrong.

Suddenly hearing footsteps, Dai Xiu looked up and saw a strong, muscular man stepping into the inn.

This robust man named Ge Laishun was dressed in a blue cloth arrow-patterned jacket, his waist tightly bound, bulging as if concealing weapons. His hawk-like eyes swept around, fixed on Dai Xiu by the window, lingered briefly on Dai Xiu's face, then caught sight of the gold-painted folding fan on the table before walking straight over to her.

Ge Laishun stepped closer and asked Dai Xiu in a low voice, "Is it Lai Shangrong?"

Dai Xiu paused in her wine glass, her eyes glancing at the bulge at Ge Laishun's waist. She feigned composure and slowly nodded, saying, "Exactly."

Upon hearing this, Ge Laishun sat down next to Dai Xiu, leaned slightly closer, and whispered, "The items have been delivered."

Dai Xiu feigned composure and asked, "Where?"

Ge Laishun said, "To prevent any unforeseen circumstances, I dared not send it here rashly. It is temporarily stored at the riverside inn, where my senior brother is guarding it. Please come with me now."

Wang Long entrusted Tan Fengchi with the task of escorting Jing Qing and five hundred taels of gold to the capital. Tan Fengchi sent two reliable disciples and three attendants to escort them. Ge Laishun was one of the disciples, and the other, named Feng Liujin, was Ge Laishun's senior brother. Dai Xiu nodded and said, "I'll call my servants."

After saying that, he waved to a nearby table.

There were four people sitting at the table: a middle-aged man dressed as a steward, two men who looked like servants, and a young man who looked like a young servant—in reality, they were all soldiers from the infantry battalion in disguise.

Dai Xiu got up, led four servants, and followed Ge Laishun out of the Guanxia Inn.

The autumn rain fell like fine silk threads, and the bluestone path outside the inn gleamed with a faint, cold light, as if it had been coated with tung oil. As pedestrians walked by, the water rippled slightly, reflecting the gray sky.

Ge Laishun gestured to a young man in his early twenties sitting in a corner outside the inn. The young man, named Xu Shuangquan, was thin and had a sharp look in his eyes. Seeing Ge Laishun's signal, he followed.

Clearly, Xu Shuangquan was secretly monitoring outside the inn to prevent any unforeseen events.

Dai Xiu led four servants, following Ge Laishun and Xu Shuangquan as they walked along the wet street.

Halfway there, Dai Xiu realized the path was wrong. She frowned slightly and whispered to Ge Laishun, "This is not the way to the Riverside Inn."

Upon hearing this, Ge Laishun showed no change in expression. He simply leaned close to Dai Xiu's ear and whispered, "To be on the safe side, I didn't tell the truth just now. Actually, the item is at the Guangyuan Old Shop."

Dai Xiu sighed inwardly, "Fortunately, Guard Jiang is incredibly resourceful. He's clearly ten years younger than me, yet he's more mature than I am." On the surface, however, she remained expressionless, only nodding slightly to signal them to continue.

Guangyuan Old Shop was quite far away, and the group walked for half an hour in the autumn rain before arriving. In the rain, they could see an old locust tree in front of the shop, as thick as a person's embrace, which was washed shiny by the rain. The withered yellow locust leaves were scattered and stuck to the stone steps, looking like a layer of leopard skin, mottled and colorful.

Guangyuan Old Shop is divided into a front shop and a back residence. The front shop is used for ordinary food and drink business, while the back residence is used for accommodation.

As Dai Xiu and her group passed through the front shop, the shopkeeper was busy fiddling with his abacus. Hearing footsteps, he merely glanced up, but seeing that Dai Xiu and the others were heading straight for the back courtyard, he didn't bother to ask any further questions and went back to calculating the accounts. The crisp sound of the abacus beads clattering together blended with the sound of raindrops outside the eaves, creating a uniquely desolate atmosphere.

After entering a secluded room in the back courtyard, Ge Laishun pointed to a middle-aged man and said to Dai Xiu, "This is my senior brother."

The man clasped his hands in greeting and said, "Feng Liujin." After speaking, he squinted and carefully examined Dai Xiu. Seeing that Dai Xiu's appearance matched the description of Lai Shangrong by Tan Fengchi, he still had some doubts. So he tentatively asked, "Are you really Lai Shangrong?"

Dai Xiu calmly took out the household registration document and a private seal, and handed it over.

Feng Liujin took it and examined it carefully. Seeing that there were no flaws in the documents and seals, he was relieved and said, "Don't blame me, this matter is of great importance and we have to be careful."

After saying that, he turned around and pointed to a small box in the room, saying, "The five hundred taels of gold are here."

Ge Laishun stepped forward and opened the box. Although the room was dimly lit, the golden ingots still shone brightly.

Dai Xiu bent down slightly, pretending to inspect, but in his heart he thought, "Now that the fish are in the net, it's just a matter of reeling them in."

Then, Feng Liujin led Dai Xiu to the next room. Pushing open the door, they saw two simply dressed women sitting on bamboo chairs by the window. One of them had her face covered with a silk veil, completely obscuring her eyes and nose. The woman with the veil was Jing Qing. The other was her maid, Lü Yi.

Wang Long indeed delivered Jing Qing and five hundred taels of gold to the capital, and Jing Qing was not defiled. Wang Long knew the gravity of his actions and feared angering Lai Shangrong, which could harm him. Feng Liujin and Ge Laishun, Tan Fengchi's two apprentices, though not exactly good people, were loyal to their master, Tan Fengchi, and Jing Qing's journey was uneventful.

“This is Miss Qing,” Feng Liujin said, pointing to the veiled woman. His voice was hoarse, as if he had phlegm in his throat. “Because she is extremely beautiful, and we were afraid of causing trouble on the road, we specially asked her to dress like this.”

Dai Xiu deliberately said, "Miss Qing, please take off your veil so I can confirm it."

Jing Qing's slender fingers trembled slightly as she slowly lifted the veil.

Dai Xiu nodded deliberately.

Dai Xiu and Feng Liujin returned to the next room. Feng Liujin took out a document and said, "Please sign for it." He then pointed to the cinnabar ink on the table and said, "Stamp your seal here."

Dai Xiu picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote the three characters "Lai Shangrong" in one stroke. He then took out his seal, pressed it heavily onto the cinnabar inkpad, and stamped it on the document. Afterward, he took out two ingots of snowflake-patterned silver and handed them to Feng Liujin, saying, "You must be tired from your journey."

Feng Liujin took the silver, weighed it in his hand, and said, "Now that the transaction is clear, we will leave the capital immediately and dare not stay any longer."

Dai Xiu said, "I will send a servant to fetch a carriage and take Miss Qing and Jinzi away."

Feng Liujin said, "One carriage isn't enough; Miss Qing is carrying four boxes of luggage." Dai Xiu nodded and said to the soldiers disguised as servants, "Go and call for a carriage and a large cart."

The officers and soldiers understood and left Guangyuan Old Shop.

A short while later, a commotion arose in the front shop. Jiang Nian led Meng Xiong and a dozen soldiers into the back house. They were all dressed as merchants and commoners, but they were carrying crossbows or short-handled knives.

Meng Xiong shouted loudly, "Imperial guards, arrest the man by imperial decree!"

Feng Liujin, Ge Laishun, Xu Shuangquan and his group were shocked and hurriedly took up their weapons to meet them.

The two sides immediately engaged in battle.

Chaos erupted at Guangyuan Old Shop, with some customers rushing out in a panic.

Jingqing and her servant Lüyi heard the deafening shouts of battle outside from inside the room. Lüyi was so frightened that her face turned ashen. Although Jingqing was also alarmed, she forced herself to remain calm and quickly put her silk veil back on. The two of them huddled together by the window and the corner of the wall.

The battle came quickly and ended just as fast. Soon, Feng Liujin, Ge Laishun, and Xu Shuangquan were all captured alive, and two others were killed by crossbow bolts. The government troops also lost one man, killed by Feng Liujin. If he hadn't spared a soldier, Feng Liujin wouldn't have had the chance to kill a government soldier; he would have been killed by a crossbow bolt.

Corpses lay across the courtyard, blood mingling with rainwater, meandering like red snakes.

Dai Xiu led Jiang Nian to Jing Qing's house. Pushing open the door, they saw two women huddled by the window, like frightened deer. Jiang Nian straightened his clothes and said in a deep voice, "I am an imperial guard, ordered to capture the thief. Please remove your veil, young lady."

Upon hearing this, Jing Qing's slender fingers trembled slightly again, and she slowly removed her veil once more. The silk gauze slid down like flowing water, revealing a beautiful face that was naturally radiant without any makeup.

The distant mountains, verdant and graceful, possess an ethereal beauty; the autumn waters, clear and deep, are imbued with the essence of jade.

A touch of crimson on her lips surpasses even the finest cinnabar, and the sorrow in her dimples only adds to her allure.

Although Jiang Nian's expression remained normal, her heart was like a stone thrown into a lake, stirring up ripples.

Jing Qing in front of her was not wearing makeup, but her bare face already amazed Jiang Nian.

In Jiang Nian's opinion, if Jing Qing were to put on makeup, her beauty would be comparable to Qin Keqing! She would be even better than Yuan Chun and Xue Baochai! According to Lai Shangrong's confession, Jing Qing was originally a young lady from an official family, but her family was raided and she ended up in a brothel. She was proficient in all the arts, especially singing.

In that instant, Jiang Nian suddenly understood why this courtesan was worth eight hundred taels of gold, and why she had captivated Lai Shangrong so completely.

(End of this chapter)