The chirping of early summer cicadas cut through the Beijing afternoon heat like a dull saw. In a window-side room on the second floor of the "Tingfenglou" teahouse, Chen Weiwan used a silver hairpin to tease jasmine petals floating in a celadon teacup. The snow-white jasmine swirled in the emerald green tea, a perfect reflection of the cunning glint in her eyes. Chuntao crouched on the carved wooden window sill, her nose nearly brushing against the window paper, rubbing her fingertips with excitement. "Look, young lady! Old Zhang's goatee is practically soaked with saliva!"
Chen Weiwan looked up. Downstairs in the lobby, the goateed storyteller, Old Man Zhang, was clapping a wake-up stick. The thud of the jujube wood against the table startled the sparrows nesting on the beams. "Ladies and gentlemen!" Old Man Zhang drawled, his triangular eyes scanning the assembled crowd. "Today, let's not discuss the heroes of Wagangzhai. Let's discuss the secret story of this lame Mr. Li from the capital, the 'gay sleeve' man—"
"Oh--!" The audience exploded in uproar. Melon seeds and peanut shells hit the table with a crackling sound. Some anxious tea drinkers even stood up and spilled tea all over the table.
Old man Zhang cleared his throat and deliberately lowered his voice to almost a whisper: "It is said that on the seventh day of last month, Mr. Li was flirting with Miss Shen Er in the back garden of the general's mansion. What do you think happened? Hey! He was caught red-handed by his 'lover'!" He suddenly raised his voice, startling the fat businessman sitting next to him so much that he almost fell over in his chair.
"What? Li Xiu has a lover?" Shopkeeper Wang, who was selling cloth in the front row, was so shocked that he sprayed the tea in his mouth onto the face of the servant opposite him.
"That's right!" Old Man Zhang's saliva flew, and crystal water droplets hung on his goatee. "That lover was a handsome young man in a black robe. He slapped Master Li on the spot, scolding him for 'eating from the bowl and looking at the pot,' and crying, 'The vows we made at the Yuelai Inn on West Street were all fake?' Tsk tsk, the commotion was so loud that even the eldest daughter of the general's mansion brought her servants over -"
In the private room, Shen Weiwan's shoulders trembled as she listened, nearly dropping her teacup on the table. The script she had given Old Man Zhang for five taels of silver the day before had been embellished and turned into a melodramatic drama by this old man, even the name of the "Yue Lai Inn" was made up with a certain appearance.
Chun Tao leaned close to her ear and whispered, her voice as soft as a mosquito's hum: "Miss, this morning Li Xiu's father went out to visit a guest, and a urchin from the alley threw three eggs at him! Liu went to Xiangguo Temple to burn incense, and as soon as she stepped through the gate, several old maids pointed at her nose and scolded her, 'An old, pious woman who raised a homosexual son-in-law.' Her face turned green!"
Chen Weiwan put down her teacup, her fingertips tapping a brisk rhythm on the window frame. She looked at the closed red lacquer door of the Li Mansion across the street. "Five taels of silver to buy the social death of his entire family, a good deal." She suddenly sat up straight, her eyes cold. "But relying on storytelling alone is not enough. We have to let the rumors spread."
That afternoon, there were suddenly more "informed and interesting" chatterboxes under the shade of locust trees and beside the wells in the alleys of the capital.
"Hey, have you heard? Li Xiu and Miss Shen Er are not having an affair at all. It's his lover who is fighting with Miss Shen Er because of jealousy!" Old Wang, the water seller, lowered his voice, and his bucket made a dull sound on the stone road.
"Is it true? I saw Li Xiu go into the 'Zuixianlou' on West Street yesterday. He chose the private room on the second floor to drink with the handsome waiter!" Matchmaker Wang from the next alley bit her ear, her gold earrings swaying like two small lanterns.
"That's right! Last month I saw lotus flowers embroidered on his cuffs. How could it be a pattern for grown men? It's clearly a token of love from his lover!" Aunt Liu at the vegetable stall threw the cabbage stalks away, spitting everywhere.
Rumors ignited like hot oil on dry wood, blazing through the capital. Even the blind old man selling candied haws on the street invented a new jingle, singing to his bamboo clappers: "Mr. Li, lame, but obsessed with a beautiful young man. A secret meeting in the garden was discovered, and his reputation as a homosexual spread throughout the streets—"
Inside the Li Mansion, Li Xiu hid in his study, listening to the singing outside the wall. Infuriated, he grabbed his inkstone and smashed it against the door. With a resounding thud, the "Family Instructions of Zhu Xi" pasted on the door was stained black with ink. "Rebellion! Total rebellion!" He limped around the room, his royal blue robe dragging on the floor, stained with spilled tea. "Go! Arrest all those bastards outside!"
The servant huddled at the door, trembling. "Sir, outside there are people throwing vegetable leaves everywhere, and some are even holding signs saying 'Duanxiu'!"
In the main room of the inner courtyard, Liu wiped her nonexistent tears in front of the mirror, her jade earrings wobbling in anger. She had finally managed to arrange a marriage with the Minister of Revenue through her connections to Shen Ruorou, but this morning the matchmaker had slammed the engagement letter in her face: "My son wouldn't dare marry a woman who's had an affair with a 'duanxiu' woman. It would bring disgrace to the family!"
Shen Ruorou suddenly screamed and smashed the bronze mirror on the dressing table. The sharp fragments cut the back of her hand, and blood dripped onto the lilac skirt: "It's Shen Weiwan! It must be her doing!" She remembered that Li Xiu shouted "I was seduced" in front of the general's mansion the day before, and now the rumor of "Duanxiu" broke out. She immediately understood that this was a chain of schemes - first confirm her private affair, and then brand Li Xiu a Duanxiu, so that she would never be able to turn over! "Mother! You have to avenge me!" She grabbed Liu's arm, her nails almost digging into her flesh.
Liu gasped in pain, but a glint of resentment ignited in her eyes: "What's the rush? Mother will go find your grandfather right now. He's a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Rites after all. He'll definitely expose Chen Weiwan for bringing disgrace upon our family!"
However, they hadn't anticipated that Chen Weiwan had already instructed Chuntao to keep an eye on Liu's movements. When Liu's father, a fifth-rank official, entered the general's residence with a stern face, Chen Weiwan and Chuntao were in the garden playing with a snow-white parrot, which mimicked the call of "delicious, delicious!"
"Grandfather, you are so honored to visit us. I am sorry that I failed to come and greet you." Chen Weiwan put down the birdcage and bowed, deliberately letting her sleeves slide down, revealing the dragon-patterned jade bracelet left by her father on her wrist.
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