Chapter 14#
Yue Lianlou#
Yue Lianlou’s figure was slender and graceful; wearing women’s clothing wasn’t odd at all. The ensemble perfectly complemented his face—beautiful to an almost excessive degree for a man.
Yet when he danced, his supple form concealed immense power. His hands, feet, waist, shoulders—every part seemed to spark with fire, and every fleeting glance was like a hook.
The drumbeats grew urgent, the zither notes came one after another, climbing higher like silk threads being pulled taut. Yue Lianlou stood firmly on one foot, spinning rapidly. The canopy curtains billowed in the airflow, lifting continuously. The bells on his hair, neck, waist, belly, hips, and legs chimed in perfect harmony with the zither, quickening the heartbeat, making it hard to breathe.
Barongal waved his hands clumsily, a尴尬 smile on his face. Helan Feng shoved him aside, seeking resonance from Jin Yi, but Jin Yi’s lips were slightly parted, completely captivated.
He leaned close to Jin Yi, shouting, “Is this the dance of Dayu?”
“Not entirely!” The music and cheers were too loud; Jin Yi had to lean near Helan Feng’s ear to speak. “Some moves are from the Chiyan dance!”
“Chiyan?” Helan Feng asked. “That place where it doesn’t snow?”
“Yes! A small country at the southern tip of Dayu!” Jin Yi explained, growing excited enough to tug Helan Feng’s sleeve. “Chiyan is hot, their clothes simple and light, their dance steps much more unrestrained than Dayu’s. Look—look now! That pose where he stands on one toe, like a little bird, is imitating the white plum swallow, Chiyan’s national bird…”
He thought he’d get another “I don’t understand,” but Helan Feng nodded, listening intently, the anger on his face lessening somewhat.
The music suddenly cut off. Yue Lianlou pushed off with both feet, toes pointed, leaped into the air, his body bending like a plump full moon. Amid everyone’s shocked gasps, he flipped in midair and landed steadily. The gauze curtains, lifted by the airflow, drifted down slowly, like melancholy mist. The man under the canopy curled his lips into a smile—a face both smiling and gentle, heartbreakingly beautiful, yet tinged with wistfulness.
The dance ended just like that.
Scattered applause and sighs rose from upstairs and downstairs inside and outside the Huixin Courtyard. Jin Yi craned his neck, trying to catch another glimpse of Yue Lianlou’s smile through the gaps in the gauze. Unexpectedly, Yue Lianlou suddenly grabbed a silk ribbon, his body darting like a swift, and in an instant, he was standing before Helan Feng and the others.
Jin Yi felt dizzy: Yue Lianlou stood right in front of him, looking down, radiating warm, earthy heat. He didn’t know what kind of scented powder Yue Lianlou had applied, but the scent loosened something in his heart, making him feel as if he might float away.
“Handsome young master.” Yue Lianlou held a long bronze pipe, twisted his wrist, and pressed the jade mouthpiece against Jin Yi’s chin, giving it a slight nudge. His voice held a trace of lingering low breathlessness. “Do you want me tonight?”
Jin Yi: “…”
Helan Feng surged to his feet: “Get lost!”
Yue Lianlou reluctantly let go of Jin Yi, stood up with the pipe in his mouth, and turned to look at Helan Feng with a light laugh.
“Is this your slave?” he asked. “Others aren’t allowed to touch him?”
Jin Yi’s expression darkened immediately.
Barongal hurried to smooth things over. “Lianlou, this is Helan Jinying’s brother…”
“Oh…” Yue Lianlou drew out his response, looking Helan Feng up and down. He suddenly blew a puff of smoke at his face. “No wonder he’s so annoying.”
Hun Daer and Du Ze were nearby, watching Yue Lianlou, their faces flushed, not daring to breathe loudly, their gaze completely drawn by Yue Lianlou. As Yue Lianlou left, he winked at the two. Hun Daer, emboldened by some sudden courage, grabbed Yue Lianlou’s arm. Not knowing how to address him, he stammered, “Be… beauty?”
Before he could blink, the pipe in the beauty’s hand hovered over the back of his hand, hot and scalding, not quite touching.
“Don’t touch me if you’re not paying.” Yue Lianlou smiled, each word clear. “Otherwise, someone might cut off this hand.”
Hun Daer quickly withdrew his hand, watching Yue Lianlou saunter downstairs. A guest knelt beside the mat, looking up intently at Yue Lianlou. Yue Lianlou used his toe to lift the chin of the prostrate figure. Around his ankle was a golden anklet with several tiny bells, ringing crisply and lively.
“Why is this man my brother’s lema? Has Helan Jinying gone mad?” Helan Feng was the first to lose his temper, grabbing Barongal and shouting. “He’s a man… he’s… he’s neither man nor woman!”
Zhuo Zhuo asked Jin Yi, “What’s a lema?”
Jin Yi asked her back, “What’s a lema?”
Ruan Buqi was eating the last piece of Guanghan cake, her cotton skirt sprinkled with crumbs from laughing.
“It’s not him!” Barongal broke free from Helan Feng’s grip, pointing at the high platform. “It’s that one!”
At the top of the high platform hung a large lantern, and on it was a smaller, narrow circular platform. Three women sat on it, each holding a zither, occasionally plucking a note, blowing kisses toward the hall.
One of them looked entirely different from the others—she had long, deep brown hair and a complexion slightly tanned like rich honey.
“Zhu Ye!” Barongal shouted.
The woman was clearly familiar with Barongal. She removed her veil and waved toward them. Jin Yi was shocked and tugged Helan Feng’s sleeve. “Her eyes…”
The zither player named Zhu Ye had emerald-green eyes, clear and bright as the purest spring water.
She was a Gaoxin person.
The subsequent performances gradually became vulgar. Helan Feng covered Zhuo Zhuo’s eyes, refusing to let her watch, and urged Barongal to leave.
Barongal refused: “Seeing Yue Lianlou’s dance once, our group has to spend five taels of silver.”
Jin Yi was shocked: Five taels of silver could support an ordinary family in Liangjing for half a year!
Barongal converted it into a way Helan Feng could understand: “About enough to buy a hundred sheep.”
Helan Feng immediately sat back down, rendered speechless by shock. Jin Yi suspected the total number of sheep he’d raised in his life didn’t even add up to a hundred.
Hun Daer and Du Ze exchanged a worried glance. Jin Yi asked, “What’s wrong? Weren’t you happy just now?”
Hun Daer whispered, “Does Helan Jinying know we’re here to see his lema?”
While they spoke, Zhu Ye had already approached their seating area.
Jin Yi felt dizzy again: The people in Huixin Courtyard always carried sweet, heavy perfume powder, making everything feel weightless, his heart unable to settle. He stared blankly at Zhu Ye, then turned to look at Helan Feng.
Gaoxin people had high nose bridges, deep-set eyes, and striking features. Jin Yi thought that if one disregarded family background, wealth, and the legend of the wolf eyes, the brothers’ looks alone wouldn’t prevent them from finding marriage matches.
“I know who you are,” Zhu Ye said with a smile. “You two brothers look so alike.”
Helan Feng lowered his head to drink his tea, which was also cloyingly sweet. He frowned slightly.
Zhu Ye was curious about him. “Which part of Gaoxin are you from?”
Helan Feng paused. Neither his father nor Helan Jinying had ever mentioned this.
He immediately asked back, “Didn’t my elder brother tell you?”
“He probably did? But I forgot.” Zhu Ye brushed her long hair back, smiling at Helan Feng. “So many people share their thoughts and pasts with me daily; I can’t remember them all.”
Helan Feng got a little angry: “But my brother treats you as his lema!”
Before he finished, Barongal slapped his forehead. Zhu Ye was completely stunned, and after a moment, burst into laughter. “He said that?” She looked at Barongal, a mix of curiosity and seriousness in her laugh. “Barong, is it true?”
Helan Feng’s face flushed, then turned pale: “…You didn’t know?”
Zhu Ye’s fingers plucked the moon-shaped zither in her arms. She shook her head, laughing. “He never told me. Lema… This is the first time I’ve been considered one. How interesting.” The zither notes came sporadically as she slowly stopped playing, looking at the lively Huixin Courtyard. She murmured, “So it’s lema, Helan Jinying…”
Hun Daer and Du Ze sat frozen, their faces even paler than Helan Feng’s. Though they didn’t know exactly what “lema” meant, it was clearly a secret Helan Jinying had never uttered. Terrified, they trembled, turning to share their fear with Jin Yi.
But Jin Yi, who had been sitting beside them, was gone.
The side corridor reserved for servants was long and winding. Jin Yi followed closely behind a young man, walking briskly.
Just moments ago, while Helan Feng and Zhu Ye were exchanging words, this young man, dressed in Huixin Courtyard servant attire, had quietly tugged Jin Yi’s sleeve. Jin Yi saw his features and knew he was a Dayu native.
The young man silently mouthed the name “Yue Lianlou,” signaling Jin Yi to follow him quietly.
“Are you Yue Lianlou’s man?” Jin Yi whispered as they hurried along.
“Reporting to Young General, I’m from the Mingye Hall.” The young man turned his head and smiled.
“Don’t call me Young General…” That title always made Jin Yi sad. “Just call my name. What should I call you?”
The young man suddenly raised a finger to his lips, signaling silence. Voices drifted down the staircase. The young man hurriedly pulled Jin Yi into a dim corner. His fingers were long and strong, covered with the thin calluses of someone who trained in martial arts. Jin Yi, standing close to him, noticed his features were delicate and refined, reminiscent of jade from distant mountains.
Leaving the Huixin Courtyard’s small building led to the back courtyard, which was tidy, with a few bare trees topped with cloud-like accumulated snow. Yue Lianlou, still in his dancer’s attire, was under a tree, plucking at a hawk.
“Did you swallow his letter?” he glared viciously at the hawk. “How could he possibly have written me only these few lousy words?!”
Jin Yi picked up a crumpled note from the snowy ground. It read in small characters: Task incomplete. No returning home.
Jin Yi: “…?”
The young man beside him calmly reminded, “Last time five words, this time eight. That’s pretty good.”
The hawk took advantage of Yue Lianlou’s loosened grip to flutter up, scratching his arm viciously. Yue Lianlou cursed, snatched back the note, and examined it carefully several times. Just as Jin Yi wondered if he was illiterate, the note suddenly burst into flames and turned to ash in an instant.
“Hello, young master.” Yue Lianlou brushed the ash from his hands. “How have you been lately?”
Jin Yi: “…You said you’d come find me at Yetai.”
Yue Lianlou: “How old are you? So naive, believing everything.”
Jin Yi: “…”
The young man behind him spoke up. “Yue Lianlou, be serious.”
Yue Lianlou exhaled long and slow, finally shaking off his anger. He warmly took Jin Yi’s hand and led him into a servant’s room in the back courtyard. The servants’ living quarters were sparsely furnished, with dull-colored felt blankets on the walls and several narrow beds with messy bedding. The room had a musty smell from long lack of sunlight. Yue Lianlou sat on the bed, crossed his legs, and began removing his various ornaments.
Jin Yi suddenly noticed that the gold ring embedded with top-grade red jade around his neck couldn’t be removed—as if it were embedded in Yue Lianlou’s skin.
Yue Lianlou: “If you didn’t see enough just now, should I take off my clothes so you can get a closer look?”
Jin Yi couldn’t respond, so he changed the subject. “Is this your room?”
“His.” Yue Lianlou lifted his chin. “I sleep in Zhu Ye’s room.”
Jin Yi: “…?!”
Yue Lianlou: “Don’t misunderstand. I’m only temporarily staying at Huixin Courtyard. Zhu Ye lets me sleep on the blanket on the floor. We’re good friends.”
Jin Yi thought, You don’t like Helan Jinying, and Helan Jinying definitely doesn’t like you either.
The people of Mingye Hall were upright and proper. Jin Yi had never met anyone as uninhibited and unrestrained as Yue Lianlou. By comparison, the young man behind him fit his impression of Mingye Hall much better.
“There are plenty of people in the world who don’t like me, Yue Lianlou, but there are always one or two fewer than those who do,” Yue Lianlou said with a smile. “I’m here to help you, Jin Yi. You just need to trust me, not like me.”
His fingertip brushed the cold wick flat, and the flame ignited instantly. The room, filled with dancing shadows, gradually warmed up.
“Three pieces of good news, one bad. Which do you want to hear first?” Yue Lianlou asked.
Without hesitation, Jin Yi said, “The bad news.”
Author’s Note:
Yes, it’s a cross-dressing gong, but Yue Lianlou has his own CP! Hahaha, sorry to disappoint everyone…
Helan Jinying: My taste isn’t that poor, thanks.
Yue Lianlou: Likewise!
Today, enjoy Yue Lianlou’s performance. The money will be covered by his partner [bleep].