Chapter 131: The Flower Boat

It was nearly the end of the fourth lunar month. Approaching early summer, West Lake had shed the peach blossoms, green willows, and brocade-like flowers of spring, replaced by a lush, deep green. The gentle breeze blowing across the lake carried a hint of intoxication.

With the Dragon Boat Festival approaching, the weather was sunny and pleasant, neither too cold nor too hot for an outing. Starting from the first of the fifth month, it would be time for dragon boat races on West Lake again. People from the four townships around Hangzhou would pool their money, prepare their dragon boats, and come to West Lake to race and offer sacrifices to the gods.

The lake was dotted with painted boats and small skiffs of all kinds. West Lake was famous for its “lake,” and the number and variety of its pleasure boats were unparalleled in China. The Qing Dynasty scholar Li E wrote “A Record of Pleasure Boats,” which collected more than ninety different types of pleasure boats on West Lake from the Tang and Song dynasties. By the late Qing Dynasty, the number had grown to one hundred and fifty or sixty. There were large boats like the “Precious Vase” and “Bright Jade” that could accommodate a hundred people, as well as small “foot boats” and “melon-peel boats” that could only carry two or three. The variety was dazzling and overwhelming.

Following Zhao Yingong’s instructions, Cai Shi went to charter a painted pleasure boat for a lake tour. As a Hangzhou native, he knew where to find suitable boats. The best painted boats on West Lake were mostly the private pleasure boats of the gentry and large households. The gentry, proud of their status, would only “lend” them out with a formal request. Master Zhao, being a stranger in Hangzhou with no relatives or friends, and with an unremarkable official rank and family background, could not “borrow a boat” with just a calling card.

Fortunately, there were also painted boats built by wealthy merchants. Since they were for private enjoyment, and the merchants liked to show off their wealth and compete with each other, the design and decoration were exquisitely crafted. When not in use, these boats could be rented for leisure, regardless of family background.

Because Zhao Yingong had to satisfy Mei Lin’s request, he told Cai Shi to find a painted boat with boat girls. Cai Shi found a prostitute’s painted boat outside Yongjin Gate, named “Fragrant and Drizzling Rain Boat.” It belonged to a procuress named Mei Niang.

This was a type of brothel. Usually, a “madam” would manage several “daughters”—both biological and adopted—specializing in catering to the pleasure-seeking lake tourists. This was common in Jiangnan, and their class was higher than the ordinary hand-rowed “boat girls,” with more exquisite facilities.

The boat was six zhang long and one zhang wide. It was fully furnished with furniture and utensils, with a hall for drinking, a bedroom for resting, and a spacious terrace on the foredeck with a cloth canopy that could be rolled up or down. Whether on a sunny day or in a light drizzle, tourists could enjoy the scenery and feast on the terrace.

At this moment, the painted boat was gliding slowly across the water. Two boatmen, one at each end of the stern, held poles and pushed against the lake bottom, not too forcefully. They knew the gentlemen were here to enjoy the scenery, not in a hurry to get anywhere. The painted boat glided slowly across the lake under their poles.

Sun Wangcai, with several bodyguards, stood at the bow and stern, guarding the cabin.

Inside the boat’s hall, Zhao Yingong and the other Yuanen on assignment in Jiangnan sat around an eight-immortals table. They all wore fake topknots, covered with nets, and were dressed in silk and satin—but their postures were not very natural, looking very awkward.

Cai Shi, along with Fenghua, Jiying, and other personal servants, stood by to serve.

Since this was purely a pleasure trip on the lake with outsiders present, Zhao Yingong had told everyone in advance not to talk about work or matters related to Lin’gao, only about “wind, flowers, snow, and moon” (romance and leisure).

The Yuanen were usually busy with work. Now, suddenly free to tour West Lake, although the scenery outside was beautiful, they couldn’t think of anything “romantic and leisurely” to say. So they quietly enjoyed the view of the lake and mountains outside the window.

Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Zhao Yingong gave Cai Shi a look. Cai Shi nodded slightly and withdrew.

A moment later, the beaded curtain to the back cabin rustled, and a woman in her early thirties emerged. She was plump and well-rounded, her black hair neatly coiffed, with a pearl hairpin inserted at an angle. She wore a magnolia flower on each temple and a lavender pleated skirt, looking clean, sharp, and still possessing a certain charm.

She held a tray in her hands and, with a smile, first curtsied.

“Greetings, Master Zhao.”

“Oh, that’s enough, that’s enough!” Zhao Yingong knew this was the boat’s “madam,” Mei Niang, and smiled.

Mei Niang stood up and curtsied to the others.

“Greetings, all you masters.” Though her head was bowed, when she looked up, her eyes flowed with an unintentional charm, extremely alluring. Zhao Yingong smiled slightly, knowing she must have been an old hand in the pleasure quarters.

The Yuanen on the painted boat, however, were not interested—not because they disliked her age, as by modern standards, women in their mid-thirties who thought of themselves as young girls were common, but because her appearance was too ordinary. A round face, small eyes, and a broad forehead—her looks were no better than the peasant girls selling flowers by the lake.

After paying her respects, Mei Niang, while making small talk, directed the maids on the boat to set out fruit platters and tea.

The fruit platter was a Japanese-style carved red lacquer sixteen-compartment dish. In the old world, this item could fetch over a million at auction, and it was not a cheap object in this world either. Zhou Dongtian, Xu Ke, Mei Lin, and the others couldn’t see the value in it, but Zhao Yingong had often dabbled in the world of antiques. Although he couldn’t afford any valuable antiques, just like many car enthusiasts who knew everything about cars without owning one, he had a deep understanding of antiques and curios. As soon as he boarded the boat, he could see that the various furnishings and utensils on this painted boat were all high-quality items, not ordinary imitations. No wonder a day of pleasure on this boat, not including tips, would cost forty taels of silver.

The platter was filled with various dried and fresh fruits, melon seeds, and snacks. Some they recognized, some they didn’t. It all looked very exquisite.

Mei Niang was very attentive. A moment later, she personally served four cups of tea in blue-and-white underglaze red peony-and-vine-patterned covered bowls. Zhao Yingong took a gentle sniff and recognized a very familiar scent—it was high-quality Longjing tea. The tender leaves in the cup unfolded and floated, a sign of pre-Qingming Longjing.

“Mei Niang makes excellent tea,” Zhao Yingong said, taking a sip from the cup and sighing in admiration. “Why does this Longjing have a softer freshness than others? There’s no trace of winter snow on the leaves. What’s your secret?”

Mei Niang smiled. “Master, your use of the words ‘soft new’ is brilliant, a perfect contrast to ‘hard new.’ After a winter’s hardship, the tea plant’s skin inevitably becomes tough and its surface withered. The first new buds only bring out the old flavor, which is naturally ‘hard new.’ One must discard those winter-enduring buds and only pick the new shoots that sprout in spring. That is the authentic way. Less is less, but exquisite is exquisite, and wonderful is wonderful.”

Except for Zhao Yingong, the other Yuanen were basically clueless about tea. Listening to Zhao Yingong and this middle-aged woman talk about “soft” and “hard,” they were all bewildered and bored.

Seeing the atmosphere turn cold, Mei Niang quickly gave a maid a look. A moment later, the rustling of a skirt was heard from behind the screen, and the men’s eyes seemed to light up. The woman who appeared was about sixteen or seventeen years old, with a figure that was considered tall by the standards of this time—about 1.6 meters. Because of the hot weather, she wore only a thin peach-colored blouse and a moon-white gauze skirt. Her hair was loosely tied in a Japanese-style chignon at the back of her head. She had an oval face, phoenix eyes, a slightly flat nose, and a small cherry-like mouth, looking plump and well-rounded. In her hand, she held a white mallow fan with a green gauze backing and a gold border. She walked out gracefully.

The woman’s features resembled Mei Niang’s; they were probably mother and daughter. She had applied powder and rouge, drawn her eyebrows, and carefully chosen her hair ornaments, so she looked particularly fresh, beautiful, and radiant. Zhao Yingong knew from Cai Shi that this young woman was the rather famous Mei Yan’er of Hangzhou.

In terms of status, she was not yet top-tier, but among the flower boats on West Lake, she was a top-ranking figure.

“Daughter, greet the gentlemen,” Mei Niang called out.

“Mei Yan’er greets the gentlemen.” The woman had already crossed her sleeves at her waist and curtsied gracefully.

Zhou Dongtian, Xu Ke, and the others had little interest in native women. By modern aesthetic standards, she was at most of average appearance—not to mention the bound feet that occasionally peeked out from under her skirt, which gave one goosebumps.

Zhao Yingong smiled. “We are not important. You should serve this Master Mei well.”

“Master Mei has come to my boat, and I was unaware. I hope Master will forgive my neglect and poor reception!” Mei Yan’er parted her crimson lips and first offered an apology. As a well-trained courtesan, she always spoke softly and slowly, which was very pleasant to hear.

“Um, ah, oh,” Mei Lin mumbled for more than ten seconds before managing to say, “Please, sit.”

Mei Yan’er smiled. “Thank you, Master, for the seat.” She immediately sat down beside and slightly behind Mei Lin, took some pine nuts from the fruit platter, shelled them with her hands, blew away the skins, and placed them one by one on a handkerchief, which she then held out to Mei Lin, inviting him to eat.

Although Mei Lin had been clamoring to appreciate famous courtesans and experience the “Great Ming style,” when this living, breathing famous Ming courtesan actually sat beside him, her breath like musk, and waves of perfume wafted over, he was at a loss. He didn’t know what tone to adopt. Should he first recite a poem like “A thousand li of ice, ten thousand li of snow” to show off his “kingly aura,” or sing a song like “Sweet Honey” to express his “artistic flair”? Or perhaps talk about democracy, freedom, and human rights, or gender equality. After holding it in for a long time, he couldn’t utter a single word.

Mei Yan’er saw that this Master Mei had a dark complexion, a sturdy build, and hands and feet that were not soft like a scholar’s, but more like those of a warrior. She was already somewhat displeased. Looking at the other masters on the boat, except for Zhao Yingong, although they were dressed magnificently like gentlemen, their demeanor seemed ill-suited to their clothes. They also had dark complexions and rough hands and feet, not at all like typical wealthy masters, but more like country squires.

However, this group had a grand entourage, especially the few men on the foredeck, who were clearly skilled bodyguards. This made her even more suspicious of their origins, and she became even more cautious in her words.