Chapter 4 Chapter 4 Night fell over the small city of Fangpan.
Night fell over Xiaofangpan City.
The city had fallen silent, all lights off. Only the long street to the west remained lit, where the night market had not yet dispersed, casting a warm yellow hue on the bluestone streets. The streets were bustling with activity, and the occasional cries of hawkers could be heard.
As the twelfth lunar month neared the end of the Lunar New Year, the city's inhabitants busied themselves with preparing New Year's goods. The night markets were busier than usual, especially at rice and noodle shops, where long lines of customers formed outside. The caravans, dressed in the robes of the Central Plains, had often sold their wares and were seeking inns to rest. Those in Western clothing had mostly just passed the complex customs inspections and were searching the streets for suitable shops to sell their goods. The lights in the shops were still on, some still restocking, and the shopkeepers' accented voices of bargaining echoed.
Xu's pawnshop had just received a shipment of jade jewelry from Dayuan, and the owner was calling his clerks to inspect the goods. The jeweller, wearing a long, pleated leather skirt and a leather belt with a small knife fastened to it, sat in the shop drinking tea.
The second floor of the pawnshop was a storage room filled with all kinds of goods. Men were busy coming in and out, checking out the new goods.
There was a table by the window, which was temporarily set up for Jiang Wan to check the goods.
There was a worn-out futon next to the table, and Jiang Wan was sitting on it helping to register the account books.
"Sister Jiang Wan!" A young man in charge of inspecting the goods held up several bracelets and looked embarrassed. "Look at these. How much are they worth?"
The bracelets look similar, all simple and elegant, with pure white and round beads.
"It's made of white jade, free of impurities, of good quality, and polished very smoothly. It should be upper-middle-grade jade. Five taels of silver for one string." Jiang Wan took it, examined it under the lamp for a while, picked out a string, and said to the young clerk, "This one isn't clear enough inside, and it wasn't polished that carefully. It's only worth three taels of silver."
"Sister Jiang Wan, you are so amazing. You can tell the ingredients and value at a glance. I just looked at it for a long time and didn't feel any difference at all." The waiter made an admiring gesture, calculated the value of each item, and went downstairs to report the result to the shopkeeper.
After a while, he came upstairs again, with an excited smile on his face: "The shopkeeper said that today's work is done, and we can go home! Sister Jiang Wan, I've been working here for three months, and this is the first time I've left work so early! In the past, when we took on business from outsiders, we had to find a special appraiser to inspect the goods. It was time-consuming and laborious. We worked until midnight and only earned twenty taels of silver. Now that you can help with the appraisal, not only can we finish the work earlier, but we've also earned nearly ten taels more!"
"Yes, you didn't see it. The shopkeeper was very happy just now and said he would give us a raise." Several other guys also came up and surrounded her enthusiastically.
Jiang Wan smiled and stood up. "That's great! I can buy more New Year's goods to take home for the New Year. I just took a look and there are quite a few new and interesting things at the night market."
Selling little sugar figurines, corrugated drums, bamboo dragonflies... Jiang Wan had only seen these things in her childhood. But back then, as an orphan, she barely had enough to eat, so naturally, she didn't think much of them. Later, when she grew up and started earning money, she was too busy to enjoy these little gadgets.
Now that she has a mother who loves her and a brother who misses her, she actually feels a glimmer of hope when she looks at the small stalls under the lights on the street corners.
"Of course," the waiter agreed, "but every New Year, the Huns always find ways to cause trouble. I heard that last year quite a few Huns sneaked into the city, stealing, setting fires, and kidnapping women. Brother Wang, who lived across the street from me at the time, even had his wife kidnapped. Brother Wang himself was stabbed and still walks with a limp."
As he spoke, he became nervous, leaned against the window, clasped his hands together, and looked up at the dark sky: "God bless me, this year must be peaceful and safe."
The older guy next to him shook his head: "It's been relatively good these past few years. The Huns only dared to make small moves. They didn't dare to invade the city. I remember twenty years ago..."
He shuddered, fear flashed in his eyes, and he stopped talking.
Twenty years ago, Jiang Wan had heard from her grandmother that the Xiongnu had captured the city of Xiaofangpan and marched straight towards the Central Plains. The Xiongnu Khan even sent a letter to the late emperor, demanding that he give him Consort Chunhui, then the Imperial Noble Consort Chun. The late emperor, enraged, personally led the expedition, only to return in defeat. Your Majesty, still a prince at the time, accompanied the late emperor on this expedition. He shielded the late emperor from a Xiongnu arrow, remaining unconscious for two weeks. Upon waking, he was named Crown Prince.
Afterward, the Great Zhou offered cloth, cattle, and sheep to negotiate peace with the Xiongnu. However, after this battle, the Xiongnu became even more disdainful of the Great Zhou and continued to harass the border. The Great Zhou, however, prioritized civil over military affairs, lacked sufficient manpower, and the imperial court tolerated the situation. Border commanders were constantly replaced, with none daring to confront the Xiongnu head-on. Instead, they simply went through the motions, driving them away when possible and closing the city gates when unable to defeat them. Reports were submitted stating that the Xiongnu had broken their promise and that the officials were unable to do so.
Jiang Wan remembered that whenever her grandmother mentioned this matter, she would always sigh.
"I heard they're recruiting soldiers again recently. I don't know what the officers are thinking. We can't win the fight, so who are we doing this for?" The older guy said dissatisfiedly.
Who else could he show it to? Jiang Wan remembered that the current commander-in-chief was the emperor's brother-in-law. He had been transferred from the capital two years prior, when the imperial concubine was crowned empress. A young man raised in a comfortable environment, he had never won a single battle, yet he was directly appointed commander-in-chief. It was said that in his two years as commander-in-chief, he had not studied military tactics or practiced martial arts diligently, but instead indulged in drinking and merrymaking, much to the dissatisfaction of many of his subordinates. This time, he probably didn't want to sacrifice his own personal soldiers, so he recruited able-bodied men; after all, he wouldn't feel bad if they died.
Jiang Wan snorted coldly. If this royal relative had any talent, he would have been an official in the capital long ago. Why would he be transferred to the border? He was probably a clueless idiot.
The waiter reminded her, "Sister Jiang Wan, in a dozen days, our boss will close the shop and go home for the New Year. Don't run around then, or the Huns might sneak in again."
"I will. Thanks for the reminder. You guys should be careful too." Jiang Wan put the items on the table in order and left the pawnshop.
Since work ended early today, many shops were still open. A sign reading "Rooms Available Today" hung at the entrance of an inn, the brothel's madam was still trying to solicit customers, the rice shop owner was bargaining with a customer, and an old furniture seller was being asked by a woman to return some goods and get a refund, the two arguing fiercely...
Jiang Wan stopped in front of a brightly lit store and looked up at the plaque hanging above the door.
The three characters "Lan Fang Pavilion" were written in Slender Gold script. Looking inside, the shop sold mostly women's items such as bronze mirrors, cosmetics, and jewelry.
A woman in a gorgeous blue dress stood in the shop, looking down at a box of Shidai. The box was exquisite, with delicate patterns, and looked very valuable. Behind her was a girl who looked like a maid, carrying a knitted bag.
When the proprietress of Lanfang Pavilion saw the distinguished guest coming, she hurried over to greet him.
"Madam, are you here to buy Shi Dai? My shop has all kinds of styles. What style do you need?"
The woman in gorgeous clothes nodded: "Is this box Yuanshan Dai?"
"That's right! Madam, you have a good eye. This is authentic Yuanshandai, carefully made with the dyed bluestone from Yan. Cosmetics shops everywhere are scrambling to buy it. My family only got one box this year. It is the treasure of our shop!" The proprietress introduced enthusiastically.
The woman in gorgeous clothes asked in surprise, "Really? Then can I try it?"
"Of course, I'll get you a mirror!" The proprietress agreed readily, took out a bronze mirror and held it in front of the woman.
Jiang Wan frowned slightly and looked at it intently.
The woman painted herself in the mirror for a while, then carefully examined her face in the mirror and said with satisfaction, "It looks really good!"
It is indeed beautiful. The lady's original eyebrows were thin and slightly short, but after being decorated with dark blue, they appear faint, distant and long, just like the distant and continuous mountains beside the West Lake.
"Of course, Madam, you are obviously a girl from a wealthy family. I recommend the best cosmetics to you. You are naturally beautiful, and with this distant mountain ink, you will be even more radiant!" The proprietress did not hesitate to praise her, and the woman from Huafu could not help but smile, and then covered her face.
"Boss, how much is this box?" the woman asked.
"It was originally ten taels of silver, but since I see that you are both kind and straightforward, I will give you eight taels of silver and also give you this bronze mirror. What do you think, Madam?" The proprietress asked without hesitation.
Jiang Wan watched from the side and already had an idea in his mind.
The woman felt the proprietress was kind-hearted and agreed immediately: "Thank you, I will definitely come to your shop more often in the future."
Then he turned around and told the maid to get the silver.
The pearls and jade on the woman's head clinked, creating a melodious tinkling sound. Her skirt swayed gently as she turned, and against the backdrop of the night and the lights, it seemed to float in the air.
Jiang Wan recognized the silk as Tianqingshui, named for its shimmering appearance under the light, resembling the ripples on water beneath a blue sky. This silk was both comfortable and beautiful to wear, but it was difficult to weave, and the market price could reach as much as fifty taels per bolt. While not as high as the fabrics used by some of the capital's noble ladies, anyone who could afford it was undoubtedly a woman from a wealthy family.
Perhaps this would be her chance to escape slavery.
She took a few steps forward and said, "Wait a minute!"
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