Chapter 19: The Treasure Banquet
As the saying goes, a new broom sweeps clean, and Xie Huailing certainly did just that.
But her three fires were extraordinary. The first one was almost too much for Su Mengzhen, and perhaps it already was – she wanted to change her place of residence. There was no reason for a guest of the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion to stay at the Yellow Pavilion.
If that were all she wanted, it would be perfectly reasonable. But then she added a sentence: she wanted to move to the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion. Not the entire Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion overlooking the capital over the Bian River, but Su Mengzhen's residence, the true core of the No. 1 Loyalty and Righteousness Pavilion in the world, a tower that soars into the clouds and overlooks all the mountains.
This was going too far, and it was a wonder she dared to bring it up. But where there's a sleeping dragon, there's a phoenix chick, and Su Mengzhen agreed without much thought.
He knew perfectly well that Xie Huailing had intentionally offended him, but since the oath had been made, he had no reason not to tolerate it if he wanted to use her. She was just like that by nature, and he had already understood that over the past month. To get angry and hold a grudge would be to lose all his integrity, and he couldn't do such a thing.
So Xie Huailing had her maid pack up her things, got rid of the items she had collected for posing, and then she was promoted in a flash. As a young lady from a wealthy family, the gossip and rumors surrounding her were endless, but that suited her perfectly; this was the second fire she was about to start.
Xie Huailing wasn't someone who cared about what others thought of her; she could even find their words too flattering. She wasn't concerned with the gossip itself, but rather with the fact that it was happening at the Golden Wind and Drizzle Pavilion. Yang Wuxie understood immediately and acted swiftly, erasing all the rumors within three days, making the pavilion once again an impenetrable fortress.
As for the third fire...
"Redo this one, and this one too. What is all this stuff? Do you even know arithmetic before bringing it here?"
The mountain of account books was glanced at hastily by Xie Huailing before being tossed to the ground, leaving no room to step in Su Mengzhen's bedroom. The accounts reported by the lower-level managers were not even worth Xie Huailing's time to look at. Only when an account book was deemed utterly unusable by her would she pick it up for a second glance, then throw it into the other trash heap, saying, "Writing it on paper is such a waste of paper, redo this one too."
As dusk fell and rain pattered down, blurring the tall, stained-glass windows. Amidst the flowing water, lamplight flickered and danced, leaping across a sword rack that had been pushed aside. The cold gleam of the iron blade outlined only a few figures, some as graceful as butterflies, others as imposing as mountains. Further on, a long, blood-red sword rested on a person's lap, exuding a chilling, menacing aura, eerie and demonic. Autumn deepened, warmth faded, and chill lingered; even the most valiant warriors could only be forced to halt their fighting outside the window by the sword.
Su Mengzhen sat on the pearwood chair, watching her work with such fanfare. For the next few days, many branches of the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion would be losing sleep. In truth, these ledgers were quite elaborate even by the standards of the martial arts world. Most martial arts heroes were roughnecks, and literate people were few and far between; to keep accounts meticulously and clearly was no easy feat. He had overseen this matter before, issuing strict regulations with some success, but it seemed to have little effect on Xie Huailing.
After checking all the accounts, Xie Huailing felt as if he had escaped death and collapsed onto the table.
Her eyes were lifeless, like a dead fish. She lay there for a moment, then got up and said, "Even if we take a step back, can't we just drag them all out and behead them?"
After checking the accounts for two days, Su Mengzhen was no longer surprised by her remarks: "If we cut them all, there will be no one left to use."
“Then let’s cut down enemies while searching… Oh my, why doesn’t the martial arts world have a civil service examination system?” Xie Huailing said.
She rubbed her temples and then her brow, which eased her aching head. She then pulled out a sheet of Xuan paper, used it as a pillow, and lay down on it, motionless. Her ebony-like long hair, unadorned, cascaded down, covering half of the table and folding over her plain white robes.
Su Mengzhen called her twice, but she only pretended to be dead and didn't respond at all. Having no other choice, Su Mengzhen had Yang Wuxie take the ledgers that needed to be redone out first, and said after the door closed: "It's only been two hours since you looked at the first ledger."
Xie Huailing turned his head, showing the back of his head to Su Mengzhen, and said, "Two hours is a lot. Two hours for two or three consecutive days, that's six hours."
Su Mengzhen said calmly, "You've been sleeping for almost six hours a day."
Xie Huailing remained unmoved; these words could not harm her in any way. They only made her, with her impeccable face, feel neither shame nor pride: "So, I haven't had enough sleep yet?"
Unable to reply, Su Mengzhen could only shake her head.
Could he even drag her up? It was already a miracle she didn't sit on the windowsill threatening to jump if she looked any longer. She herself had suggested checking the accounts, but then her laziness got the better of her, and she refused to leave the building, pushing the account books around and knocking on his bedroom door. "Because I'll just leave them everywhere, I won't check them in my own room," were her exact words, leading him to question whether the owner of the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion truly had no authority whatsoever.
But it's not fair to criticize her. It's true that she invariably complains of feeling unwell every two hours, and it's also true that she finished reviewing most of the accounts in less than six hours. She reads quickly and can analyze the financial loopholes of the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion with great insight, and her remedial measures are all to the point. This is what it means to be arrogant because of one's talent.
"Present the official document before nightfall tomorrow." Su Mengzhen let her off the hook after all.
Xie Huailing shook her head, taking it as agreement. She yawned slightly; that's how people are, everything feels unpleasant as soon as they start work.
Before she could slip away, Su Mengzhen had something else to say: "Go get another set of clothes made. There's a banquet in a few days that I need to take you to."
Xie Huailing slowly turned her head. Zhu Qiqi chattered away every day without fail, and she already knew about this from her mouth. She dragged out her words: "Oh, it's that treasure appreciation banquet hosted by that rich man from Bianjing, whose name is Jin Banhua."
“Exactly,” Su Mengzhen said to her. “Jin Banhua is a scion of a collateral branch of the Jin family in Wanfu Wanshou Garden. He has little connection with the main family’s lineage, which is the old lady Jin. However, his father is a shrewd businessman with extensive connections, making him quite wealthy in the area.” Therefore, he requested that someone from Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou be sent.
But that wasn't worth the host's personal visit. Xie Huailing finally showed some interest and moved closer to Su Mengzhen. As a result, the already precarious pile of books on the table crashed to the floor with a clatter because of her movement.
She froze in surprise, then moved even further away, placing her hand on the armrest of Su Meng's wooden chair to find a comfortable position: "What did he have at the banquet?"
Having rarely been this close to a woman, Su Mengzhen felt uncomfortable and leaned back, saying, "Rules."
Xie Huailing kept her eyes half-open, only caring about her own life or death; she truly had nowhere else to turn: "I haven't learned it, please continue."
Su Mengzhen hesitated, then reached out and touched her face, pulling her away: "Go back—Jin Banhua is holding this treasure appreciation banquet because he has bought a priceless treasure, a white jade beauty. He looks at it day and night and feels that it is a rare treasure that will never exist in the world again, enough to be compared with the three treasures of the capital, and to be compared with the four treasures of the capital. Holding the treasure appreciation banquet is also to allow all guests to appreciate it together."
Xie Huailing knew this too, as Zhu Qiqi had mentioned it: "The White Jade Beauty was bought at Jucai Tower. Back then, they beat Zhu Qiqi to it and lit the sky lantern, which almost made her furious. So, how about this treasure appreciation banquet?"
"In order to make the treasure appreciation banquet a grand affair, Jin Banhua borrowed three treasures from the capital, one of which was Wang Wei's snow scene painting from the Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou, which was my father's treasured possession. However, although the treasure is valuable, there are many people in Bianjing who also possess treasures, and their pockets contain items that are no less valuable than the three treasures. Originally, not many people wanted to attend this treasure appreciation banquet."
Su Mengzhen continued, "The other day at dusk, Jin Banhua was painting while watching Bai Yu Meiren when he suddenly smelled a fragrance of flowers. As he chased after her, a piece of floral paper floated in, saying, 'I heard that Bai Yu Meiren is at your banquet, and she is extremely beautiful. I cannot help but yearn for her. The banquet is in full swing, and I should come to retrieve her under the moonlight. You are a man of refined taste, and I will not let my journey be in vain.' This was left by the bandit leader Chu Liuxiang. After this incident, Jin Banhua gathered three skilled fighters to challenge Chu Liuxiang to a duel."
"I understand," Xie Huailing said. "With this incident, many more people will be watching the spectacle. Therefore, there will be quite a few heroes from Bianjing at the treasure appreciation banquet. If I want to identify people, there is no better opportunity than this."
“Exactly,” Su Mengzhen replied. He pulled out an invitation card, the bright red cover giving the pale white inner pages a light pink hue. The begonia-shaped dark pattern was pressed under the elegant but not quite steady calligraphy. The invitation card clearly stated that the host family had invited both the owner of the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion and his cousin, Miss Xie.
Xie Huailing twirled the faces between two fingers, not really wanting to look at the faces filled with their own hidden agendas, and set them aside: "Who's going? Do I really have to go?"
Su Mengzhen was prepared and told Xie Huailing in a short sentence that he had to go: "Go to the Six and a Half Hall Meeting."
"Ugh." It felt like being force-fed a mouthful of Chinese medicine; just imagining the exhaustion spread throughout her body. Xie Huailing let out a short, painful groan and didn't want to speak anymore.
Seeing her like this, Su Mengzhen thought of how Zhu Qiqi always managed to drag her out: "When Miss Zhu Qiqi goes out with you, you don't react like this."
"Nonsense." Xie Huailing scoffed. "I only did it willingly once. You make it sound so easy, why don't you try dealing with her?"
She sighed deeply, then tucked the invitation into her bosom, as if she had suffered a terrible loss, muttering to herself, "I have to submit official documents tomorrow, make clothes, and attend a banquet in a few days. What a miserable life! Poor me, all alone in this Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion, and I haven't even received my first month's salary yet..."
Su Mengzhen felt like ignoring her, but she seemed to know how to get on his good side. She would bang her head on his armrest to play the victim, only to be pushed away by him.
He was the one who sighed deeply: "Fine, it's better not to make clothes. I'll make other arrangements."
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