Chapter 2780: The Capital (Part 136)

"Enough of that nonsense. Just go quietly." You Rong retrieved a small piece of silver wrapped in mulberry bark paper from the drawer and pressed it into Granny Shi's hand.

The old woman weighed it in her palm—at least five taels. Delight spread across her weathered face. She curtsied again and said, "Many thanks, Miss! Leave everything to this old body to arrange!"

Three days later, You Rong had indeed devised a plan. She maintained friendships with several sworn sisters in the Capital, most of them concubines in wealthy households, and they visited one another from time to time. One such sister was currently the favorite concubine—known as Red Auntie—of a Vice Minister in one of the Capital's ministries. Wang Yehao cultivated connections throughout the city, so naturally he would not neglect such a useful relationship. He routinely permitted You Rong to visit these sisters to maintain their bond.

As it happened, this particular sister had recently given birth to a son. Though the child was concubine-born and thus of shu status, the great household still required a proper celebration. You Rong would be expected to offer her congratulations.

Her low status meant she was considered "unfit for the table"—too humble for formal occasions. Yet this carried an advantage: she was the sister's private guest. She need not go through the official household management, nor register in the guest book. Once inside the residence, she moved freely.

Life at home was lonely and tedious. Whenever such an opportunity arose to venture out, You Rong would leave early and return late, spending the entire day at another's residence.

Though the incense-burning outings on the first and fifteenth had been temporarily suspended after Xu Yong arrived to impose order, visiting a close friend remained permitted by Master Wang. The servants could raise no objection. With Xu Yong absent, and the Liu Qi'er couple disinclined to interfere, nothing stood in her way.

She arranged the timing with Granny Shi. On the appointed day, she arrived at her friend's residence, dismissed the sedan chair first, and instructed them to return at dusk. The accompanying servant woman waited outside. Entering the backyard, You Rong first reminisced with her friend, then asked her to "make things convenient." Her friend understood such matters perfectly and replied at once: "As far as I'm concerned, you've already gone home. I know nothing else..."

She promptly dispatched a trusted old maidservant to lead You Rong quietly to the back door and let her out. Beyond the threshold, a small two-bearer sedan chair with a green cloth cover waited in the shabby alley. The servant boy beside it was none other than Pan Cheng'an's attendant. Relief washed over You Rong. With a knowing glance, she climbed into the sedan without a word.

The chair was lifted, winding through streets and alleys, out through Chongwen Gate, past the Tax Division Yard. The area southwest of the Tax Division Yard had been a depression since the Ming Dynasty, dotted with lakes of various sizes—known locally as haizi. The scenery was pleasant, and temples stood in great numbers. Ganlu Nunnery was nestled among them.

Ganlu Nunnery was modest—a small compound of three courtyards. You Rong had visited many times. The abbess, Wu Yan, was not a true monastic; naturally, she possessed no ordination certificate. She had been a dismissed concubine of a powerful palace eunuch. Her former "Master" had belonged to the Eunuch Party, and after his downfall, his maids and concubines had scattered, each seeking her own way out.

Wu Yan hailed originally from a Music Household in Jinling. Having spent several years in the eunuch's residence, she had accumulated considerable savings and useful connections. After leaving, she was unwilling to simply return to her hometown. Instead, she took an elderly nun as her teacher, purchased land in the Southern City to build a nunnery, and bought several girls to serve as young nuns, claiming to be "practicing Buddhism."

In truth, Wu Yan had no heart for cultivation. Her decision to "leave home" was merely a means of securing freedom of movement. Because the surrounding temples were all legitimate religious establishments, Wu Yan dared not openly fly the banner of beauty or operate a "Flower Nunnery"—those brothels disguised as convents. Privately, however, she often brokered illicit arrangements, providing discreet meeting places for men and women of great households seeking secret rendezvous.

Her technique was masterful. Outsiders believed that while this nunnery carried a somewhat stronger scent of the red dust than most—too eager to cultivate favor with wealthy and powerful women—it remained a respectable place of practice. Little did they suspect what transpired within.

You Rong descended from the sedan chair. A young nun was already waiting to welcome her and led her to a courtyard on the east side. Through the moon gate stood a grape trellis, now reduced by the freezing cold to a few withered stumps. Two large vats occupied the courtyard, once planted with lotus but now holding only remnant leaves and broken stalks in the winter chill. The main building—three rooms facing south with two flanking chambers—was modest in size but exquisitely crafted. The beams and pillars bore no colorful painted designs common to the region, only natural Canton lacquer.

This scene often reminded You Rong of her hometown. Moreover, Wu Yan was from Jinling; they shared similar speech and tastes in food. In this Capital where people and places were unfamiliar, a natural closeness had grown between them. This was why she had been willing to come here to burn incense in the first place.

At the foot of the steps, a woman emerged to greet her. She was about thirty years old, with a beautiful face, dressed in attire somewhere between monastic and secular. Though she wore a monk's robe, her full head of black hair was covered only by a hairnet—and nothing could disguise her gentle, alluring quality. When You Rong had first seen her, she had recognized immediately a "fellow daoist"—someone of the same trade. Sure enough, when they had talked, they discovered they were practically fellow townswomen.

Both had been "thin horses" in their youth, and both had ended up adrift in the Capital. A feeling of mutual sympathy arose naturally between them. Wu Yan treated her with particular warmth.

Seeing her arrive, Wu Yan immediately took her hand and whispered, "No trouble getting out this time?"

"I used the Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell stratagem." You Rong smiled playfully.

Wu Yan laughed and led her first to offer incense in the main courtyard's hall, then invited her into the quiet room for tea. This ritual was followed regardless of a visitor's purpose—it was Wu Yan's way of maintaining plausible deniability.

"Has he arrived?" You Rong asked eagerly, anxious to see Pan Cheng'an.

"Long ago," Wu Yan replied with a teasing smile. "What's the rush?"

A blush crept across You Rong's face. "I have important matters to discuss..."

"It's not yet noon. There's plenty of time." Wu Yan said. "If you show such eagerness, won't you hand him the advantage? Even if the matter were as large as the sky, you should let him wait a while first."

"Sister speaks wisely." Chastened by Wu Yan's counsel, You Rong restrained her impatience and settled in to drink tea and chat. Fortunately, she had matters on which she wanted this sister's advice, so she recounted the situation of Xu Yong coming to the residence to impose order.

"...That young brat seems to know something."

Wu Yan listened attentively but said nothing until You Rong had finished. Then she asked, "What do you plan to do?"

"I don't know." You Rong gave a bitter smile. "I guard the four walls of that home, enduring one day after another. I cannot tell if I'm living like a widow or waiting for a husband who will never return."

"If you ask me, you must make up your mind properly." Wu Yan held a white copper hand warmer. "Do you want to stay in the Zhou family? If you cannot bear it, you might as well beg Master Wang to let you return South. After all, you have given him a son for the Zhou family."

"If only it were so simple!" You Rong said. "Back then, the Wang family paid my parents three hundred taels of silver. I have the money; if I were willing to beg, perhaps this 'body price' could be waived. But my parents are not good people either. If I went back, before my seat had warmed, they would sell me off again!"

Wu Yan's family circumstances had been similar to hers. Hearing this, she felt a deep pang of shared sorrow and sighed. "Being born human, don't be born female—a hundred years of joy and sorrow at the mercy of others! Since you still wish to remain in the Zhou family, it would be better to break things off with Master Pan early. If the Wang family truly caught you in some transgression and handed you to the official matchmaker to be sold, that would be falling into true hell!"

Contemplating this terrible prospect, You Rong could not help but shiver. She was not Newton's birth mother. Even if she were, should such a thing come to pass, the master family would still sell her without hesitation.

Seeing fear on her face, Wu Yan pressed her advantage. "You must decide early! Such things can be hidden for a time, but not forever! If someone truly catches you, the choice will no longer be yours!"

"What is there to break off or not?" You Rong sighed deeply. "It is already the second month. Next month, when the river ice melts, Master Pan will naturally travel South. By then, it will be over whether I wish it or not."

Seeing that reluctance still lingered in her heart, Wu Yan continued. "Master Pan leaves, then there will be Master Li, Master Wang. Sister, I am a middle-aged woman well past my prime, but you are still at a flower-like age. Guarding yourself inexplicably—having such thoughts is perfectly natural! Going on like this is no solution."

These words touched something in You Rong's heart, and she pondered in silence. Wu Yan seized the opportunity. "Ever since you first came to burn incense here, I felt that we sisters are wonderfully compatible. Speaking of which, we are practically fellow townswomen. You have no one to rely upon, neither above nor below. You should plan for your future..."

Sensing meaning behind her words, You Rong asked, "What do you mean, Sister?"

As it turned out, although Wu Yan possessed this property, she was not content. She intended to make the incense offerings more prosperous—amass a large sum of money, purchase dozens of mu of farmland as temple property. She also planned to build a garden and hire skilled hands to prepare vegetarian meals, transforming this place into a retreat where wealthy women could burn incense and enjoy leisurely outings.

Her ambitions were grand, and she had the means—she could gain entry to the inner chambers of many great households in the Capital and speak with influence. But for now, she dared not act boldly, for a single tree cannot make a forest. She lacked capable help. The few nuns in the nunnery were either too old or too young; those of suitable age were poor women seeking only their next meal. When meeting strangers, they could barely string together a coherent sentence. They were fit only for menial work.

Since You Rong had begun coming to burn incense, the two had found their tastes compatible and their temperaments congenial. Unconsciously, this had rekindled Wu Yan's grand aspirations. You Rong possessed a beautiful face and had undergone the complete training of a "thin horse" since childhood—whether in speech, wit, etiquette, or response, no fault could be found. If she could be enlisted to receive guests, would she not be an invaluable asset?

You Rong was not a local and would never grow powerful enough to become uncontrollable. She could only rely on Wu Yan. Moreover, she had at least several hundred taels in private savings and many pieces of jewelry. With Wu Yan's skill at manipulation, she could surely coax You Rong into contributing these for "investment."

"Why not come to my place?" Wu Yan whispered. "Wouldn't it be freer than being a concubine in someone else's household?"

"You mean... become a nun?!" You Rong was taken aback, having never expected such a proposal.

"Whether you become a nun or not is entirely your choice. It matters little." Wu Yan said. After all, one could practice with hair unshaven—as she herself did. And if one was unwilling to wear monastic robes, one could simply reside long-term in the nunnery as a lay believer.

"...You are clever, capable, and well-spoken. Serving as my helper—wouldn't that be better than living like a widow in the Zhou household for no good reason?" Wu Yan coaxed. "Living in this nunnery, you would not be bound by any master family. Apart from abstaining from meat and fish within the nunnery walls and foregoing lavish dress, you could decide everything else for yourself. Moreover, if you came, you would be the Guest Prefect. Naturally, others would serve you. No exhausting labor, no need to read anyone's expression. In our leisure, we sisters could keep each other company and pass the time together."

These words stirred something in You Rong's heart. Setting aside everything else, the notion of being able to "decide for oneself" held a particular appeal for her.

(End of Chapter)