Volume Two: Inheriting the Legacy, Brocade in Blood Chapter 154: Pearls

Thousands of lanterns were lit along the Qinhuai River, their glow resembling stars. It was as if the Milky Way of the heavens had also grown fond of the mortal world's bustling splendor, merging into the waters of the Qinhuai to chase away the loneliness of the eternal moon.

Yuan Rong had already stood up and walked to the ship's railing. Unable to help himself, Yang Ning followed and walked to the rail as well, watching as Yuan Rong gazed off toward the east. Following his line of sight, Yang Ning saw a blaze of dazzling lights in the distance—an exceptionally large painted barge, reaching a rare height of five stories. Surrounded by a halo of brilliant illumination, it was as bright as day and magnificently luxurious.

"That is the Barge King," Yuan Rong said with a smile. "This is the grand feast I invited you to tonight!"

"The Barge King?"

At this moment, Zhenzhu had also drawn near and explained, "Every year before the Spring Festival, the selection of the Flower Queen is held. It is an annual grand event on the Qinhuai River."

"The Flower Queen selection?"

"Indeed. The eight maidens chosen by public vote will all reside upon this largest painted barge. In the end, one Queen and two Consorts will be crowned. Once someone wins the crown of the Flower Queen, her social standing and value will instantly increase a hundredfold. Not to mention gold and treasures, she will also have the opportunity to catch the eye of princes and nobles, becoming a concubine of a wealthy and powerful family," Zhenzhu explained. "Therefore, every year on this day, the Qinhuai River is at its most lively."

Yuan Rong smiled and said, "With such a grand event, if you were to hole up at home and miss it, you would regret it beyond measure. What is more, this year's Flower Queen selection is vastly different from previous years."

"Oh?" Yang Ning asked with curiosity, "How is it different?"

Yuan Rong replied, "The maidens participating this year can be said to be the most outstanding in talent and beauty in years." He glanced at Zhenzhu and smiled, "Perhaps only the cohort from four years ago could compare."

Zhenzhu offered an alluring smile and asked, "Is the young master afraid that Zhenzhu will feel jealous?"

Yuan Rong laughed heartily and said to Yang Ning, "Zhenzhu was the Flower Queen of the selection four years ago—and easily the most exceptional one in history."

"So Lady Zhenzhu is the former Flower Queen," Yang Ning smiled. "A title well deserved."

Zhenzhu chuckled softly, "My youth has faded like withered flowers; I no longer possess the radiance of those years."

"Your grace remains as enduring as ever," Yang Ning said with a slight smile. In truth, he understood well that along the ten-li Qinhuai River, romance and beauty knew no bounds, and young, lovely maidens were replaced with the rising and setting of the sun. At over twenty years of age, Zhenzhu was already considered an elder in this profession.

Zhenzhu merely offered a faint smile and said, "The Marquis and the young master please continue your drinks here. Zhenzhu will go check if the pastries are ready." With a graceful bow, she withdrew first.

"Is the Marquis wondering why, seeing that she was once the Flower Queen, she is still here on the Qinhuai River?" Yuan Rong sighed.

Yang Ning nodded slightly. "I do harbor some confusion. Yet, seeing that she possesses this painted barge, her life should be reasonably comfortable."

"The painted barge is naturally not hers," Yuan Rong said. "Four years ago, with the backing of Young Master Xue of the All-Treasure Pavilion, Zhenzhu became the Flower Queen. Furthermore, Young Master Xue was utterly devoted to her, spending a vast fortune to marry her and bring her into his household. Speaking of Young Master Xue, he is a man of deep sentiment, deeply loyal and righteous, and back then, his friendship with me was quite profound."

Yang Ning frowned slightly. "The All-Treasure Pavilion?"

"The All-Treasure Pavilion deals in antiques and jade; it is one of the premier merchant houses in the capital," Yuan Rong said with a trace of emotion. "Young Master Xue treated Zhenzhu with the utmost sincerity, marrying her with an official bridal sedan carried by eight bearers."

"If that is the case, why is Zhenzhu still on the Qinhuai River today?"

Yuan Rong replied indifferently, "The All-Treasure Pavilion exists no more, and Young Master Xue's family was ruined and destroyed. What else could Zhenzhu do?"

Yang Ning was slightly taken aback.

"Even before she was nominated for the Flower Queen, Zhenzhu already possessed a considerable reputation," Yuan Rong explained. "Not only Young Master Xue, but another man had also set his sights on Zhenzhu. That man vied with Young Master Xue for her favor. Yet after Zhenzhu won the crown of Flower Queen, Young Master Xue and that man emptied their fortunes for her. Young Master Xue possessed vast wealth and ultimately won Zhenzhu."

"And what happened afterward?"

"Actually, Young Master Xue knew in his heart that he ought not to have offended that man, but for Zhenzhu's sake, he did not care," Yuan Rong sighed. "He figured that man would surely treat him as an enemy afterward, but what he failed to anticipate was that the man would strike with such ruthlessness. In the span of a mere year, he ruined the All-Treasure Pavilion, and ultimately destroyed Young Master Xue's family. Zhenzhu enjoyed less than a year of a good life before she was seized by that man. A year later, she was cast aside and sent back to the Qinhuai River."

Yang Ning never imagined Zhenzhu would have suffered such a fate. He frowned and asked, "Who was that man?"

"Actually, you know him as well," Yuan Rong said. "Dou Lianzhong, the eldest son of the Minister of Revenue!"

"It is him!" Yang Ning's body trembled slightly.

Yuan Rong sneered, "This man has committed far too many acts of coercion and extortion, and the number of lives he has ruined is not small either. Young Master Xue was merely one of the blood debts he incurred." He raised a finger to point at the singing, dancing, and star-lit Qinhuai River. "Along the ten-li Qinhuai River, painted barges dart to and fro like shuttles. A great many of these are operated behind the scenes by Dou Lianzhong. Every year, relying on this, he rakes in money by the cartload."

"That being the case, Lady Zhenzhu is currently under his control as well?" Yang Ning asked with a frown.

Yuan Rong merely gave an indifferent smile and remained silent.

At that exact moment, someone was suddenly heard shouting loudly, "Lady Zhenzhu, my master bids you come over at once. Make haste and prepare!"

Following the sound, Yang Ning looked over and saw a small boat anchored near the painted barge. A man on board was looking up and shouting toward the barge in a rather arrogant tone.

Immediately afterward, the voice of the earlier maidservant rang out: "My mistress is receiving no guests today!"

"Not receiving guests?" The man sneered. "Tell your Lady Zhenzhu not to choose the toast only to be forced to drink the forfeit. Inviting her over is doing her a favor, so do not fail to appreciate what is good for you."

"My mistress is receiving no guests—none at all," the maidservant retorted. "As for toasts and forfeits, we want none of either."

The man on the small boat sneered, "Very well, she had best not regret this." He turned the small boat around and quickly departed.

Yuan Rong, however, furrowed his brow and said, "It seems trouble is brewing."

"What trouble could possibly come of this?" Yang Ning said indifferently. "Since she has no wish to receive guests, she simply refuses them. Could someone truly dare to force the issue?"

"On the Qinhuai River, what kind of people are not to be found?" Yuan Rong said. "Jianghu gallants, princes and nobles, refined scholars—which of them does not possess some backing?"

Yang Ning glanced sideways at Yuan Rong and said, "You shared a good friendship with Young Master Xue. I am rather curious: when Young Master Xue fell on hard times, how did you help him? When his family was ruined and Lady Zhenzhu was cast adrift, did you not help look after her?" He clasped his hands behind his back. "Now that you are here, could it be that out of lingering guilt toward Young Master Xue, you occasionally come to look after her?"

The corner of Yuan Rong's eye twitched slightly. He turned to look at Yang Ning and, seeing that Yang Ning remained calm and composed, sighed. "Marquis, I have often wondered all these years: were you simply playing the fool all along?"

At this moment, the sound of footsteps approached. Zhenzhu came from the back carrying delicate pastries, smiling as she said, "Marquis, Young Master, knowing that the Young Master returned today, Zhenzhu prepared these pastries since early morning. Do try them and see how they taste."

Yang Ning and Yuan Rong returned to the table to find several varieties of pastries laid out on a plate. They had just been steamed, still rising with heat, and their shapes were exquisite and beautifully crafted.

"Lady Zhenzhu certainly possesses fine culinary skills," Yang Ning smiled. "Judging by these pastries alone, this is not something learned in just two or three days."

Zhenzhu smiled faintly, her voice tinged with melancholy, "Years ago, someone loved the pastries I made, so I put my heart into learning how to make them. By the time I had mastered the skill, he—!" She sighed, her expression growing desolate.

Yang Ning knew that the person she spoke of must have been that Young Master Xue.

Suddenly, cries of alarm echoed from below, followed by a maiden shouting, "What do you think you are doing?" After a brief commotion, heavy thudding footsteps sounded on the stairs, clearly showing that someone was charging straight up.

Yuan Rong frowned, Zhenzhu's lovely face changed slightly in color, but Yang Ning remained entirely unperturbed. He picked up a piece of pastry, popped it into his mouth, and finding it flaky and delicious, praised, "Fine craftsmanship!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a harsh, cold voice rang out from behind: "Didn't you say no guests were being received? Who is this here then? A whore is a whore; whatever she does is always underhanded."

Yuan Rong stood up abruptly, saying coldly, "Who gave you permission to barge in? Get out of here at once."

"Isn't this Young Master Yuan?" the man laughed. "Young Master Yuan, you come from a family of letters; if you're going to seek out a whore, shouldn't you find a fresh one? You actually have a taste for such damaged, withered goods?"

He clearly recognized Yuan Rong, yet showed not a shred of fear toward him, nor even a sliver of respect. His words were crude and dripping with mockery.

Yang Ning turned his head to look and saw three or four burly men charging up. They were all tall and broad-shouldered, the foremost among them having a heavily fleshed face, a high nose, a wide mouth, and a beard like needles, both hands clenched into fists.

Yuan Rong said sternly, "Show some respect."

"We don't come from a scholarly family like Young Master Yuan. We are rough men who don't understand your flowery rhetoric," the high-nosed man sneered, then turned his gaze to Zhenzhu and said in a deep voice, "I told you to come over. Did you not understand? Are you looking to die?"

"Who dares lay a single hair on her head?" Though refined and scholarly, Yuan Rong clenched his fists and shouted, "Get down from here immediately!"

The high-nosed man laughed heartily. "Lay a single hair on her head? Young Master Yuan, of all the men on the entire Qinhuai River, you are likely the only one who hasn't touched her. Are you truly ignorant, or are you just playing the fool? A whore is a whore, available to any man. Never mind a single hair, how many hairs she has on her body, our brothers know down to the very last one. Would you like us to tell you?"

His language was vulgar in the extreme, yet the men behind him burst into roaring laughter, their arrogance and overbearing manner soaring.

Yang Ning had originally thought that although Yuan Rong was scholarly and gentle, he was after all the legitimate grandson of the Minister of Rites—a high-ranking official's scion—and ordinary people would hardly dare to offend such a young master. Yet he never imagined these men did not regard Yuan Rong as anything at all.

Yuan Rong gritted his teeth, his fair face flushing red. But being a mere scholar, raising his fists to fight was out of the question.

"What are you still waiting for?" the high-nosed man roared at Zhenzhu. "My master is waiting with his guests over there; don't ruin their mood, or you'll have no end of suffering. Come with us now."

Zhenzhu's complexion turned slightly pale. She offered a desolate smile and said to Yuan Rong, "Young Master, please enjoy yourselves here. Zhenzhu will go for a moment and return as quickly as possible."

"I think there's no need to wait," the high-nosed man chuckled darkly. "You have many people to serve tonight; I doubt you'll be back anytime soon."