Chapter 48: This Woman Is Not Simple

The people drinking and carousing in the room all looked up in surprise. Miss Summer Lotus had not invited anyone into her chamber for a month, yet today she was making an exception.

The head maid stood on the stairs with a smile. Unexpectedly the Tang Zishu and his two companions stood up and said, “Oh, Miss Summer Lotus is summoning the gentleman who composed the poem? Which one of the three of us is it? Could it be all three of us together?”

The three asked expectantly. After those words, the faces around them turned red with embarrassment. These three fellows were shameless. Was that lousy poem you three made worth Miss Summer Lotus breaking her rule for? Have these men no sense at all?

The head maid’s face darkened, but in their line of work they could not afford to offend people. She kept smiling and said, “Miss Summer Lotus is looking for the gentleman who composed the poem ‘Little Pond.’”

“Looking for me?”

Li Chaosheng was stunned for a moment and looked at the head maid. The head maid nodded and said, “Yes, it is you.”

After these words, Li Chaosheng looked at the old temple keeper and Zhou Bo. The old temple keeper said enviously, “Brother Li, why are you standing there stunned? Hurry up and go. Miss Summer Lotus is one of Changchun Court’s four top courtesans. Getting to see her is not easy, let alone being invited into her chamber. You’re going to hit it big.”

Li Chaosheng shrugged and said, “Really? Then I will have to see for myself.”

Li Chaosheng was curious too. What did this top courtesan of the brothel look like to enchant those wealthy patrons so completely? Thinking that, Li Chaosheng rose and walked up the stairs to the second floor, and the people downstairs drinking envied him.

“The young lotus just shows its pointed tip, and already a dragonfly perches on top. Well then, with such talent, Miss Summer Lotus is justified in making an exception this one time.”

Those drinking thought this to themselves. Only the three talents stood there looking indignant and resentful.

“What nonsense, what’s so good about that lousy poem? Ours are closer to life. You bunch of people don’t understand poetry.”

After hearing that, those sitting nearby were unwilling to pay them any mind. They had seen shameless people before, but never ones so brazen.

Watching Li Chaosheng disappear with the head maid, the three of them felt sour jealousy.

Wen Buzhi said, “This fellow is lucky to enjoy Miss Summer Lotus’s charm. I envy him to death. Compared to Miss Summer Lotus, all those other girls are just scraps!”

Zhu Caisheng then said thoughtfully, “Brother Tang, Brother Wen, do you think maybe our poetry is too lofty for them to understand and they cannot grasp the meaning?”

“That must be it. As the ancients say, when the melody is high, few respond. Our poetry is too elevated. A group of plebians cannot appreciate it.”

Tang Zishu nodded and said so. Wen Buzhi and Zhu Caisheng nodded together. It made such sense. From now on our poems must be grounded. If we fail, it’s because we were too refined. That kind of refinement is fatal!

Led by the head maid, Li Chaosheng arrived at Summer Lotus’s boudoir and stood at the door looking in. Inside the room was a folding screen embroidered with a full pond of lotus flowers.

Behind the screen was the silhouette of a beautiful woman, faint and indistinct, stirring the imagination.

“Miss, Master Li has arrived.”

Earlier, while going upstairs, the head maid had already asked Li Chaosheng his name.

“Oh, please invite Master Li into the room.”

“Yes, please come in, sir.”

The head maid addressed Li Chaosheng. Just as Li Chaosheng prepared to step into the room, two maids knelt on the ground.

“We help to take off the master’s boots.”

Li Chaosheng was taken aback and said, “You want to take off my boots? My feet sweat.”

At those words the two maids’ faces changed, darkening. Bad memories flashed through their minds. For example, a while ago a wealthy merchant from Xuzhou had bribed the house mistress with a large sum to see Miss Summer Lotus. When he removed his shoes back then, the two maids practically burst into tears. It was nauseating.

Hearing Li Chaosheng’s words, the two maids recalled their fear of foot odor, but the two little maids gritted their teeth and insisted, “We help to take off the master’s boots.”

Li Chaosheng laughed when he heard that. Did he have sweaty feet? He did, but ever since he had eaten the Essence-Washing Marrow-Refining Fruit, the sweaty feet were gone. Now his feet did not exude any special fragrance, nor did they have any odor.

Li Chaosheng lifted his foot. The two kneeling maids braced themselves for an assault, but there was no odor at all. The two maids were stunned and sniffed, looking quite cute. Li Chaosheng laughed and said, “Just teasing you. You actually believed it. You two silly girls.”

At that remark the two little maids blushed deeply and bowed their heads in silence. Li Chaosheng walked into the room barefoot. As soon as he entered he noticed a soft rug on the floor. Placing his feet on it felt indescribably comfortable.

Walking past the screen, Li Chaosheng froze. A bashful beauty stood before him. She wore a pale blue high-waisted dress, her long hair hanging to her waist, her skin like ice and jade, her face powdered and bosom delicate. She held a round fan and smiled like a blooming flower.

Truly a woman with apricot-face and peach-cheeks, suffused with spring charm, with willow brows and bright eyes. Her makeup lent a lively grace. Barefoot on the floor, her pair of jade feet were as white as porcelain and full of allure.

“I greet Master Li.”

Miss Summer Lotus bowed gracefully. Her voice was like a thrush in the woods: clear, melodious, and pleasing to the ear.

In his previous life Li Chaosheng had seen many beauties, whether famous actresses or common beauties on the street, whether Chinese, Japanese, or Korean, none compared to this woman in Li Chaosheng’s opinion.

To borrow a phrase from Master Guo Degang, she was both enticing and charming.

“Hello, Miss Summer Lotus.”

Li Chaosheng smiled and said this. Summer Lotus smiled slightly and made room, signaling Li Chaosheng to sit. She said, “Master Li’s little pond poem, ‘the young lotus just shows its pointed tip, and already a dragonfly perches on top,’ truly brought the lotus to life. I admire it.”

“Oh, Miss Summer Lotus, you are too polite. I have long heard that Miss Summer Lotus is peerlessly beautiful. Seeing you today proves the reputation true.”

Hearing this, Summer Lotus smiled faintly and sat on a stool with Li Chaosheng. Soon a maid brought wine and food. Li Chaosheng was pleased to see there would be something to eat.

However, the portions upstairs were tiny. Each dish had only one small piece and it was gone in a single chopstick. Li Chaosheng felt awkward to dig in and could only look at Summer Lotus and say, “Miss, since I’m already here, what shall we do next? Sleep?”

You could hardly blame Li Chaosheng’s impatience: an extraordinary beauty, an ambiguous setting, and Li Chaosheng had no moral hang-ups. Having come to a brothel, what was the point of pretense? Get on with it.

Hearing that, Summer Lotus smiled slightly and said, “Don’t rush. Let’s first drink a cup of watered wine to warm the mood.”

Li Chaosheng smiled and said, “All as the lady wishes.”

No sooner had Li Chaosheng said that than he looked up and met Summer Lotus’s eyes. Summer Lotus fanned herself and said, “Is that so? Doing everything I say? Then sleep for me.”

As Summer Lotus finished speaking, a wave of drowsiness washed over Li Chaosheng. A word flashed through his mind: soul-entangling technique! She actually knew the soul-entangling technique!!