On the first market day after the rain, Beijing's Suzaku Street resembled a giant steamer, swirling with humid summer air. The heat, like invisible threads, clung to every corner, making even the slightest movement drench one in a sweat. Seven or eight wind chimes were strategically placed on the carved eaves of the Yuelai Teahouse. Caressed by the breeze, they emitted a crisp, melodious tinkling sound. This melody, interwoven with the storyteller's wake-up stick, created a unique urban melody, drawing a throng of people into the teahouse, leaving no room for movement.
Wearing a light gauze hat, I sat by the window of a second-floor elegant room. The veil, like mist, obscured my features, revealing only a pair of lively eyes. My fingertips gently brushed the rim of the celadon cup, feeling the delicate touch, while my gaze drifted downstairs. I saw Boss Wang standing on the stage, his face greasy. The greasy stains on the front of his jacket caught the sunlight, glaring and blinding.
"Gentlemen!" Boss Wang slammed the wake-up stick with a resounding clatter, echoing throughout the teahouse. Spit flew forth, landing squarely on the melon-shaped hats of the patrons in the front row. "Today we've invited a mysterious guest to read the latest chapter of 'The Concubine's Counterattack'! It's the one about Concubine Liu stealing the dowry—"
Before Boss Wang could finish his words, a jeweled figure suddenly burst through the doorway. Lady Liu was dressed in a gold brocade dress, the rich fabric jarringly out of place amidst the rough wooden tables and chairs. Her hair, studded with pearls and jade, was dazzling, a sight too dazzling to behold. Behind her, Mrs. Zhou was frantically adjusting the hem of her skirt, which had been caught askew by the doorframe. "What Mr. 'Jinxin'?" Lady Liu stormed forward, snatching the book from Boss Wang's hand. Her jade armor rustled across the pages, making a sharp, rustling sound. "I know who she is! She's the one from the Prime Minister's Mansion..."
"Aunt Liu, what are you doing?" I gently lifted my veil and walked downstairs with light steps. The jasmine tea leaves in the teacup swayed with my light steps, a few even swaying over the rim. The gauze curtains of the elegant second-floor room were gently lifted by the wind, revealing the stifled smiles of Miss Li and the others. Miss Zhang nearly dropped her round fan, nearly hitting the heads of the tea drinkers below.
This scene immediately caused an uproar in the room. Liu's eyes widened as she pointed at me, the red-gold hairpin on her head trembling violently like a leaf shivering in the autumn wind. "You... you truly are 'Jin Xin'! No wonder the Concubine Liu in the storybook is so spitting images of me!"
"Oh?" I calmly gestured to Mo Zhu. Mo Zhu understood and immediately unfolded a sheet of rice paper. A faint aroma of Sichuan pepper wafted through the pages, as if telling the story of last night. "Did you enjoy reading the 'Kitchen Notes' that my aunt 'borrowed' last night? What do you think of the page 'Liu likes to eat stinky mandarin fish, which needs to be pickled with rotten ginger'?"
"Nonsense!" Liu screamed, charging forward like an enraged lioness. Her skirt flew, sweeping over an eight-person table. The celadon teapot on the table instantly fell to the ground, shattering into eight pieces with a "crack" sound. The fragments rolled to the young marquis' feet.
"I'm not kidding!" The young marquis suddenly burst out from the backstage like a brave little warrior. The hairpin dropped by the woman who stole the manuscript last night still dangled from the wooden sword in his hand, gleaming coldly in the sunlight. "Let me read it to you all! 'Madam Liu sneaked into her stepdaughter's study in the middle of the night, intending to steal a precious manuscript, but instead stumbled upon a copy of 'Postpartum Care for Sows,' and the pepper caused her to sneeze a hundred times!"
The young marquis's words were like a boulder dropped into a calm lake, instantly stirring up a thousand waves in the crowd. Laughter erupted like popcorn, rising and falling, lingering for a long time. Liu's face flushed crimson, then turned from red to blue, then from blue to white, like a mask changing colors. She trembled with anger, pointing her finger at the young marquis, shaking like a leaf in the autumn wind. "You little bastard..."
"I'm a bastard?" I calmly pulled out the evidence Jiang Yan had gathered overnight—a silver hairpin engraved with a lotus flower pattern. The hairpin gleamed coldly in the sunlight, as if silently telling the truth. "This hairpin, and the pepper scent on Mrs. Zhou's body—are they all fake? When she climbed over the wall yesterday, she overturned the remaining lotus pond in my yard."
Upon hearing this, Liu felt as if all her strength had been drained from her, and she stumbled back a few steps. Her lower back slammed against the bench, the pain making her face even more grimacing. Her pearl headband was completely twisted to the back of her head, leaving her in a state of disarray. Boss Wang, observing this, seized the opportunity to leap onto the stage, his abacus clacking loudly, a shrewd expression on his face. "So the prototype of Concubine Liu in the book is..."
"Boss Wang, be careful with your words," I interrupted, calmly observing Liu's horrified eyes. I deliberately waved the wolf-hair brush in my hand, as if it were my weapon of justice. "A storybook is a storybook after all, but Auntie's habit of stealing things needs to be changed—don't end up like in the storybook, being turned over to the authorities."
At this moment, the crowd suddenly made way for a passage, like a parted tide. Jiang Yan, dressed in a moon-white brocade robe, walked in from the door like a breeze. The bamboo flute at his waist was replaced with a brand new one, and a freshly picked osmanthus flower was tied to the tassel. The osmanthus flower was delicate and gorgeous, emitting a faint fragrance. He walked with elegant steps through the laughing crowd, and when his eyes fell on me, he had a sly smile on his face, as if hiding countless little secrets. "Miss Su is absolutely right." He gently raised the folding fan in his hand, and on the fan was the crooked sugar dragon I drew. Although the dragon looked strange, it was full of unique fun. "If anyone dares to steal the manuscript again, it will be a violation of the Dajing Copyright Law, and according to the law, it shall be punished with fifty strokes of the cane."
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