Chapter 13

Page 1 of 3

In the blink of an eye, the seventh day of the seventh month had arrived. The lingering summer heat was fading; crickets chirped among the grasses, and startled leaves fell from the parasol trees. At last, the world had become a place of cloud steps and moonlit terraces.¹

The markets had been bustling since the beginning of the month. Around the boundary between the inner and outer city, many Qiqiao fairs had sprung up, selling melons and fruit, needles and thread, clay figurines, dough figurines, and all manner of other things. Carriages and horses clamored through the streets, while silk and brocade filled every thoroughfare.

As one of the liveliest festivals of the year, the local prefectures and counties held lantern fairs as well. Lantern mountains, piled into all sorts of shapes for people to admire; stalls where one could pay to guess riddles; fine carriages adorned with little horn lanterns and beaded lamps… They could not rival the splendor of the capital, but they were still a magnificent sight.

The pleasure quarters were liveliest of all. A revolving lantern had been set up at the street entrance, and there were also fish-and-dragon dances. Young gentlemen and ladies gathered there to watch acrobats and wrestling performances. People pressed shoulder to shoulder, jostling without end, their uproar loud enough to shake the heavens.

In such circumstances, most companions were separated in the crush. Who could possibly spare a thought for anyone else?

A girl in a red jacket, her hair arranged in twin loops, finally managed to extricate herself from the crowd and reunited with her companion in front of a teahouse.

“Ah! Where is my purse?” She reached for her waist and gave a startled cry. “I dropped it in there!”

Her companion frowned. “It must have been lifted by a thief. There’s no use searching now; you won’t get it back. Quickly, check whether anything else is missing.”

The girl in red felt around again and said with relief, “Nothing else. Nothing else is gone.”

Her companion exhaled and patted her chest. “There are plenty of pickpockets on days like this. Reporting it won’t help. Look—I hid my money pouch here. No one will be able to steal it.”

The girl in red nodded, then glanced around. “Oh? Where is Little Wang?”

The three of them had just been separated by a surge of people. They had agreed to meet in front of this teahouse, but the third girl had yet to appear.

Her companion laughed and sighed. “That’s how it is on a grand festival day. Let’s wait for her upstairs and rest our feet.”

The girl in red nodded, and the two of them entered the teahouse, chatting and laughing.

…

Inside the chaotic pleasure quarter, an entertainer stood before a stall, facing the audience and spewing great tongues of flame. Cheers rose from below.

A girl in yellow came to herself with a start, remembering that her companion was still waiting for her. She hurried to leave, but someone behind her called out in a deep, muffled voice:

“Miss, did you drop this handkerchief?”

“Thank you…”

She turned around, and a wisp of white smoke rushed into her face. Her body went limp, and she collapsed.

Chen Si seized the opportunity to catch her, tied a cloak and hood around her, then smiled apologetically at the people nearby.

“Excuse us, excuse us. My girl was overcome by the candle smoke.”

Seeing that the girl’s steps were unsteady and that she appeared to be in considerable distress, the crowd instinctively made way.

Someone, shaken, tugged his family toward a less crowded place. “I didn’t notice it before, but that candle smoke is far too thick. It makes my chest feel tight and leaves me short of breath.”

After walking a short distance, Chen Si turned into a row of dark lanes on the edge of the bustling district. Since all the residents had gone out to see the lanterns, the area was deserted and silent.

Looking left and right, Chen Si supported the unconscious girl to a wooden cart piled high with straw and deftly concealed her inside.

He was about to change locations and repeat the trick when, at the instant he turned around, a cold, sharp blade pressed against his lower back.

“Let her go.”

The voice was as cold as frost on steel.

Chen Si broke into a cold sweat. “M-My lord! Sir! Let’s talk this over!”

The other man ignored him, kicked him to the ground, and pulled out a thick rope, binding him tightly.

By the faint lantern light spilling from the mouth of the alley, Chen Si finally saw his captor clearly. He wore coarse cloth and a short jacket and looked vaguely familiar.

He was the same man Chen Si had brushed shoulders with inside the pleasure quarter.

The man raised a hand. In an instant, four or five men dressed in the same fashion dropped down from above.

Mistaking them for members of a rival gang, Chen Si immediately began cursing.

“Which blind bastard has come looking for trouble with your grandfather? Haven’t you gone out and asked around? Anyone in this district who wants to make a fortune in this line of work has paid respects at the stronghold of Master Chen Si!”

What an idiot. They had not even tortured him, and he had already revealed his identity.

Imperial Guard Captain Gao Qiang gave a derisive laugh and rubbed his fists together.

“Oh? So you’re the chief around here?”

Chen Si sneered, but the instant he opened his mouth, the sneer became a howl of agony.

His arms were twisted into an inhuman angle. He writhed across the ground in pain, begging for mercy.

“Wrong, wrong! Good sir, take whoever you want! Just let me go!”

Page 1 of 3

Page 2 of 3

Gao Qiang planted his foot on Chen Si’s face. Thinking of the princess, who was still suffering somewhere unknown, his teeth ached with hatred. He ground his boot against Chen Si twice before shouting:

“Tell the truth! Where do you usually make your exchanges? Are there any other gangs? Confess everything!”

Chen Si could never have imagined that the officials would find them. They had clearly greased the right palms, and they had only dared to target ordinary families. How had they managed to attract the attention of soldiers?

The imperial guards had kept watch throughout the night. They had not only captured Chen Si; near the end of the Watch of the Dog, word also came from the eastern part of the city that another discovery had been made. Under interrogation, they learned that the culprits belonged to the same gang.

The guards located the traffickers’ den in Qi County, a courtyard with two successive enclosures. More than a dozen boys and girls were being held inside, all drugged unconscious. Most were between fourteen or fifteen and seventeen or eighteen years old; the boys were younger still, the eldest no more than twelve.

At such an age, with such delicate and handsome features, where would they be sold?

Anyone with children flew into a rage, cursing them as a pack of beasts.

Chen Si, however, was merely a minor leader among them. He acted only on orders and knew nothing about where the captives would be sold or who stood above him. Each time they met, the person who came was different; they could identify one another only by matching secret signs.

The trail had gone cold once more.

Aunt Ruan said, “How about this? Chen Si said he is to ferry the goods across at midnight. Let him take several men with him. We can continue watching from the shadows and act when the opportunity arises.”

Gao Qiang felt there was no other choice, but then he frowned. “Who are we supposed to send?”

All the men under his command were burly fellows in their thirties or forties.

Just as they were at a loss, a small, timid voice sounded:

“I… I can go.”

Gao Qiang turned his head. The young girl they had just rescued from Chen Si had awakened at some point and was now crouched fearfully in the corner. Her body trembled faintly, yet there was not the slightest hesitation in her eyes.

“Several honored officers saved me. I’m willing to help you!”

…

The prelude to autumn brings coolness; autumn surrounds the four walls. The Milky Way fades into the vast, leisurely night. Fragrant powder and fruit are laid upon the mats, while graceful dancers ascend the jade steps to worship the Weaver Girl and the Cowherd.²

Within the Cui residence, the maids rowed little boats out to gather lotus leaves and decorated the clear stream behind the study. Upon the water they set the pastel lotus lanterns they had painstakingly made during the day, their lights glowing as they drifted with the current into the distance.

On a tall table to the east stood a bronze incense burner. Wisps of smoke curled above the woven mat, filling the air with a faint sweetness. Two low tables had been placed along the western side, bearing incense, candles, bowls of water, needles, thread, and all the other things needed for the Qiqiao rites.

A wide-mouthed celadon jar held lotus blossoms and various melons and fruits, packed in ice.

When the auspicious hour arrived, the maids brought out the offerings for the Weaver Girl and arranged them one by one upon the tall table.

A pale yellow crescent hung at the edge of the sky, its light hazy and indistinct as it quietly watched the stars of the evening.

The heavens were scattered with stars like broken diamonds. A brilliant river of milky white stretched across the northern sky, with the Weaver Girl and the Cowherd gazing at one another from opposite banks of the Milky Way.

Chongyun and Cangwu sat cross-legged beneath the corridor, their heads tilted back as they stared upward.

“Look! The Moon Rabbit is pounding medicine!”

“Nonsense. That is clearly Wu Gang chopping down the cassia tree.”

The two children debated the moon with solemn conviction. Cui Yuan listened and shook his head, evidently deciding they were beyond salvation.

Bai Zhu came over and rapped each of them on the head.

“Have you put all your books in a dog’s stomach? You can’t even tell the Mid-Autumn Festival from Qixi. At this rate, Chang’e will marry the Cowherd one of these days!”

Then she curtsied to Cui Yuan.

“Master, everything for the Qiqiao rites is ready.”

Cui Yuan nodded. “It is a festival for young ladies. Go and enjoy it yourselves.”

This was the first time Bamboo Garden had celebrated Qixi. The idea had begun when Ye Ying mentioned it at the start of the month, asking whether they should prepare honey offerings to worship the Weaver Girl and the Cowherd.

All the girls in Bamboo Garden, young and old alike, were granted half a day’s leave, for which they were immensely grateful to Ye Ying.

Today, every one of them had dressed in fresh finery, wearing her prettiest skirts, robes, and jewelry. Their hems fluttered as they walked, gauzy sleeves drifted like mist, and the jade pendants at their waists chimed pleasantly.

“Where are the honey offerings? We can set them out now.”

Ye Ying called Su He over, and together they carefully carried out the honey-offering pastries they had made at dusk from the cool side chamber. Such offerings could easily collapse or become sticky if stored improperly, so they had thoughtfully cleared out a room especially for them.

The moment the pastries appeared before everyone, a soft collective gasp arose.

“They’re beautiful!”

Page 2 of 3

Page 3 of 3

Under the lamplight, the honey-offering pastries gleamed golden from head to toe, the distinctive color of cakes soaked in malt syrup and honey. Even standing before the offering table, one could smell the faint, rich sweetness of their fried crusts, and the imagination began to wander—

Were they sweet, fragrant, and crisp? Would the pieces stretch into sticky threads when broken apart?

The melons and fruit gave off a fresh, clean sweetness that dispelled the cloying richness and banished the last threat of summer’s heat.

The wind was light, stirring only the jade pendants; the tender osmanthus carried its fragrance into the distance. After worshiping the Weaver Girl, the maids gazed at the moon and threaded needles.

The needles used for Qiqiao were unlike ordinary ones. Each had six or seven tiny holes, so fine they strained the eyes. The one who could thread hers most quickly and skillfully would win the favor of the Weaver Girl.

They also prepared a small black box containing a spider. It would be opened the next morning. Whoever found that her spider had spun the straightest and roundest web would be deemed blessed with skill and destined to excel at needlework.

Ye Ying could not tolerate insects with too many legs or too much hair. Su He had been asked to catch the spider, and while everyone else kept her box on her lap during the Qiqiao rite, Ye Ying set hers far away, terrified that the spider might push up the lid, crawl out, and make its way onto her body.

The others laughed at her.

“If you’re like this, Ying’er, then even if the Weaver Girl wanted to teach you some skill, she couldn’t possibly manage it.”

Ye Ying pressed her palms together and swiftly changed her prayer.

“Then I beg the Weaver Girl to grant me a husband who is skilled with needle and thread!”

The others laughed even more merrily.

Afterward, they went to the stream to set their water lanterns afloat.

In the moonlight, the murmuring stream was clearer than it had been during the day. Its current flowed gently, making it especially suited for floating lanterns.

Ye Ying chose a round lotus leaf and laid it flat on the water’s edge. She placed upon it the lotus lantern she had made herself, then gave it a gentle push. The leaf spun once before gliding and winding its way downstream into the distance.

As fireflies flickered here and there, Ye Ying quickly closed her eyes and clasped her hands. This time, she made her wish with complete sincerity.

After the lanterns had been released, everyone laughingly asked one another what they had wished for.

The answers were either “a husband who fulfills my heart’s desires” or “beauty like a flower.” They exchanged glances and smiled shyly.

Only Ye Ying felt rather embarrassed as she recalled her own wishes:

To have lots and lots of money!

To be healthy and live for two hundred years!

How utterly vulgar. It was practically bubbling over.

As for her wish to return home as soon as possible, she had forcibly suppressed it before making her prayer. Being ungrateful to the people who had saved her would have been rather improper.

Ye Ying let out a breath. When the others pressed her for an answer, she blinked and smiled.

“I can’t say, I can’t say. A wish won’t come true if you speak it aloud.”

“Ah!”

The others covered their mouths in regret and glared reproachfully at the person who had asked first.

No one knew who began scooping up water and splashing the others. Cool stream water spattered their clothes. Ye Ying cried out and ran away, laughing until her eyes curved into crescents, brighter and clearer than the sliver of moon in the sky.

Cui Yuan stood before the screen, watching the scene before him.

On the paper, the brilliant moonlight and the radiant Milky Way suddenly lost all their color, becoming dull and uninteresting.

He paused, then peeled the painting from the screen. A moment later, he stuck it back in place.

His brush moved slowly, laying down fine, precise lines. When the drawing was finally complete and those curved almond eyes stared directly at him, he realized what he had drawn.

The night was already deep, and silence had long since returned outside the window.

Really… If he left it hanging here to dry, the others would see it tomorrow.

He merely thought the scene looked exquisitely beautiful beneath tonight’s starry sky. He had better not let anyone misunderstand.

Cui Yuan gathered his thoughts, removed the finished painting, and walked toward the inner chamber.

Page 3 of 3