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To get from the Liu family’s residence at the north city gate to Baihua Pavilion near the Confucian Temple, one had to cross nearly half of Jinling City.

After eating a bowl of pig intestine noodles for lunch, Su Yunrao set out early, pushing a wheelbarrow loaded with braised pork. His face and body were wrapped up tightly, his appearance still the same pot-ash inconspicuous disguise.

March in Jinling had a very delightful climate.

In the intoxicating warm breeze, pear blossoms fell like snow, green grass swayed like mist, and spring adorned the two banks of the Qinhuai River.

Crowded pleasure boats painted the scenery, while soft, lingering sounds of storytelling and zither music filled the air. Performers of all sizes took turns in this bustling, beautiful city, weaving the tapestry of A Record of Dreams and Splendor in Jinling.

Su Yunrao was just another inconspicuous person in this bustling city. In order to avoid trouble, he didn’t walk along the main roads but took narrow alleys and minor lanes. It took him nearly the better part of half a shichen to finally reach the side gate in the back alley of Baihua Pavilion.

He knocked on the gate, and from inside came a forty-something-year-old guanshi. Though she was good-looking, her eyes were cold and indifferent toward all men under heaven. However, she was soft-hearted toward the women in the pavilion, who didn’t call her by her name, Wei Qin, but called her Wei-yi. 

Wei-guanshi only roughly counted the braised pork in the bamboo baskets, then called for a maid to carry them inside. After paying him, she tried to send Su Yunrao away.

Seeing the side gate about to close, Su Yunrao quickly blocked it with his hand and smiled politely. “Wei-guanshi, is Madam Liu in today? I have an important matter to discuss with her. Could you—”

“No!”

Wei-guanshi’s face turned cold as she scolded, “If you don’t want to continue selling braised pork here, just say so! Young as you are, you’re already a lecherous troublemaker! Madam Liu isn’t someone you can just demand to see. Now scram!”

With that, she slammed the door shut with a loud bang, almost giving Su Yunrao a bloody nose.

Startled like a frightened kitten, Su Yunrao jumped back several steps and grimaced, muttering under his breath, “Tsk, Wei-yi’s temper really is hard to deal with.”

He could only blame it on wearing his vest so tightly. Other than Madam Liu, no one in Baihua Pavilion knew that the person capable of composing dances and songs, who also ascended the stage as “Fengwu-guniang,” the Queen of Flowers, was the same person as the delivery boy who brought braised pork every day.

Unable to reveal his identity, Su Yunrao had no choice but to push his wheelbarrow out of the alley. He figured that if nothing else worked, he’d return after sunset in a different outfit to visit Baihua Pavilion again.

Tomorrow was the fifteenth day of March. If Su Yunrao didn’t plan to perform on stage, he had to discuss it with Madam Liu in advance to avoid leaving her without a backup plan.

The warm setting sun stretched the mouth of the alley lounge. Su Yunrao, pushing the wheelbarrow, shuffled along it, lamenting the extra twenty li he’d need to walk back and forth—enough to tire someone to death. Someday, when his ge had money, he must buy a proper four-wheeled carriage! 

As he daydreamed about his four-wheeled ride, he reached the back-alley’s entrance, only to find it completely blocked by a luxurious ebony carriage with dangling silk tassels, drawn by a jujube-red horse.

Qinhuai’s spring beauty charms the swallows,
Nevertheless, Liu Ruyan is the most beautiful.

Descending gracefully from the carriage with the help of a footstool was none other than Liu Ruyan. Twenty years ago, she had been Qinhuai’s queen of flowers; now she was the madam of Baihua Pavilion.

She refused to let the girls in the pavilion call her “Mama,” so everyone respectfully referred to her as Madam Liu.

Time was always kinder to beauties: at around forty years old, Madam Liu still possessed a slender waist, a shapely figure, and elegant curves. When she moved, her body swayed in a serpentine manner, as though she were a willow in the mist.

Her bright and alluring face bore almost no traces of age, her eyes brimming with seductive charm capable of captivating souls.

Su Yunrao was pleasantly surprised. What a stroke of luck!

“Madam Liu!” he called out abruptly.

Madam Liu, dressed from head to toe in red gauze embroidered with gold and silver peonies, clutched the handle of her banana leaf-shaped round fan tightly with her long jade fingers. The shout scared her into trembling a little. She said angrily, “Are you summoning spirits? You scared the life out of me!”

Su Yunrao let out an awkward laugh, apologizing profusely. “Sorry, sorry! I have something important to discuss with you. I thought I wouldn’t get to see you today.”

Su Yunrao was dressed in old navy robes borrowed from his gufu, his head wrapped in a big, wide gray scarf that shaded most of his face. The visible part of his appearance was smeared with a greasy mixture of pot soot and pearl powder. His grin showed a mouth full of white teeth. At a glance, he looked like a foolish, diseased malevolent spirit—both ridiculous and frightening. Madam Liu rolled her enchanting eyes, walked into the alley, and tapped Su Yunrao’s hand lightly with her fan, scolding softly, “Next time, remember to smear your claws darker too. And come here less in broad daylight. You meet someone sharp-eyed, your skin will be peeled off.”

Madam Liu’s eyes were indeed the sharpest. Back when Su Yunrao had borrowed one of Liu Wenying’s dresses to disguise himself as a woman and run to Baihua Pavilion, he had boasted that his dances were more innovative than anything else there. The other women had been indignant at his audacity. But Madam Liu had immediately seen through his disguise. She had dragged him by the ear to the back courtyard and interrogated him alone: “You little rascal! Instead of delivering braised pork, you come here to tease me?!”

Su Yunrao had been stunned at the time. Luckily, he was thick-skinned and shameless, managing to pester her into agreeing to let him try.

Madam Liu, kind-hearted, had not only helped him keep his secret but also frequently nagged him to find a stable job and stop taking shortcuts.

Now, Su Yunrao quickly withdrew his still-fair hands into his sleeves and took advantage of the opportunity to briefly explain his decision to stop performing.

Madam Liu seemed relieved. “It’s true, you shouldn’t perform anymore. One can’t always rely on luck. Back then, if you hadn’t been crying poor and desperate to buy medicine for your meimei, I never would have allowed you on stage in the first place.”

She sighed and said, “This side of Jiangnan only performs Shaoxing opera, Huangmei opera, and Huaihai plays. You’ve poured so much effort into creating a new form of musical theater, blending lyrics, melodies, and dance. You even stayed up late last night working on those so-called transitional backgrounds. And you won’t be able to dance. Won’t you regret it?”

Su Yunrao pouted, sounding dejected. “It is a pity. But my dage will be taking the Imperial Examination next year. I’m afraid that if I keep at it, my identity might be exposed, and it’ll affect his reputation.”

Madam Liu sighed once more but didn’t press the issue. She shrugged indifferently. “If you don’t want to dance, then don’t dance. Let Xiao Yunxian take your place as the main character. But you’ll still need to be here tomorrow night to manage things backstage. After all, this is our pavilion’s first attempt at a musical theater performance, and we’ll need you behind-the-scenes to provide support.”

Su Yunrao agreed without hesitation.

With this matter settled, Su Yunrao felt like a burden had lifted from his shoulders. Relieved that he didn’t have to make an extra trip and walk another dozen li, he thought, Good, good.

From now on, I will focus solely on behind-the-scenes work. If tomorrow’s musical theater was well-received, Su Yunrao planned to adapt “Painted Skin” and “The Enchanting Ghost” next. As for “Journey to the West,” he dismissed the idea—customers who went to a brothel looking for pleasure probably didn’t want to see monkeys, let alone beauties who only liked monks. 

Su Yunrao had an open mind and a cheerful attitude, not one to dwell on setbacks.

On his way home, he even stopped by the market near the Confucian Temple to buy roast goose and mung bean pastries—treating himself.