Transmigration & Reverse Transmigration

No. 12: Performance

"Shou"er, take the brocade box on the table to Qingqing," I said to his reflection in the mirror as I touched up my eyebrows.

"Hmph!" he gave a monosyllabic reply and remained where he was without sparing me a glance.

I helplessly set down my eyebrow pencil. "What"s wrong with you now? Ever since we came back from shopping, you"ve been wearing a scowl. It"s almost like someone owes you 500 taels of silver!" …isn"t it you who owes me 500 taels?!

A certain Shou quickly rose to his feet and noisily scattered the makeup on the table before pulling my sleeves to stare at my eyes, saying word by word, "Who. Is. Zhi. Yuan?"

So that was the reason…

When we were on the streets, I"d grabbed that man dressed in black. "Zhi Yuan! Is it you? How did you transmigrate? That"s completely inconceivable…" 

But when the man turned around, all of my excitement froze! This person was definitely not Zhi Yuan! Although they shared the exact same face, the Zhi Yuan I knew would never have such a cold expression or indifferent, foreign eyes. Neither would his words be so heartless…

"Hand. Let go," he said without an extra word.

"Ah…" I recovered my senses. "S…sorry! I"m sorry! I thought you were someone else…" I hastily released him and backed away. When I stared carefully after the retreating figure, I ascertained that they were truly different people. This person was much taller than Zhi Yuan and much more robust. Zhi Yuan was like all modern boys, who liked to wear oversized T-shirts and slouch when he walked because it was cool. But this man possessed a ramrod straight posture. They were different people… Afterwards, I returned to Hidden Spring Brothel with my head in a daze while Xiao Shou asked me no end of questions.

"…hey! Hey! Come back to your senses! I"m asking you a question!" 

By the time I regained my wits, Xiao Shou"s angry face was right in front of mine. "Every time I mention this name your soul seems to fly away…forget it, if you don"t want to say anything!" He grabbed the brocade box on the table and kicked open the door as he stalked out.

"Hey! You have to watch tonight"s performance! I have a present to give you!" I called after his retreating figure before touching the broken down door in distress. This brat! Why was he so moody nowadays! Is he in his rebellious phase?

—

At the same time, a man called Duke Luo was standing idly in a waterside pavilion, smiling slightly as he admired a swarm of koi fish in the pond. A figure dressed in blue suddenly soundlessly appeared behind him to kneel respectfully on one knee. "Master, Third Imperial Prince is giving a banquet in the main hall and invite you to honor him with you presence."

Duke Luo didn"t seem to have heard at all as he continued to stare at the pond. The retainer remained kneeling like a statue as he stayed still without moving a muscle. After a long time, a voice rose from one side like the melodic notes of a bird.

"You can tell him that Duke Luo has already eaten so we"ll have to politely refuse Third Imperial Prince"s kindness. That"s right, Lianzuo1, you should tell the duke"s kitchens to prepare some dinner. I"m a little hungry as well."

"Yes," Lianzuo"s reply was succinct as he vanished from the pavilion.

"Pfft!" the footman standing by Duke Luo, who had been holding a basket of fish food all this time, couldn"t hold back his sudden snort of laughter.

"Lianyou2, what"s a clever rascal like you secretly chuckling about now?" Duke Luo grasped some fish feed in his hand as he elegantly fed the koi.

"I"m laughing that the Third Imperial Prince has been currying favor with you in all sorts of ways, but he"s using his strengths in the wrong places. How can the imperial kitchens compare to our Weiyang Sect"s3 chef"s skills? Today he even invited you to see the performance at Hidden Spring Brothel, not knowing that it belongs to Weiyang Sect as well. Is he even fit to invite you? As I see it, the imperial family has no way to hold onto you besides this "Duke Luo" t.i.tle. I don"t know what other bright ideas they"ll come up with to rope you in~"

"Lianyou, you"re wrong," Duke Luo said leisurely. "There"s no "besides." No matter the faction, none of them have ever found a way to keep me on their side."

Did his master didn"t even care about his duke t.i.tle?

That"s right. Since he was already the head of the Weiyang Sect, what else could exist to entice him? Lianyou looked with admiring eyes towards his master before hesitating. "But…the performance at the Hidden Spring Brothel…Lianyou really wants to have a look!"

"Oh?" Duke Luo raised an eyebrow. "You want to see Later Ming"s first and foremost lady–Minmin, right?"

"Heheheh…" Lianyou scratched his head, chuckling in embarra.s.sment. "Although the Hidden Spring Brothel is our Weiyang Sect"s, master"s been in the capital this entire year and have never seen a show. Everyone says "those who don"t see Minmin dance are losing out and living their lives in vain!" Even Lianyou is curious!"

"All right, then we"ll have a look. It"s a way to leave face for Third Imperial Prince in the end," Duke Luo said carelessly. "If you really like her after you see her, then I"ll give Minmin to you as a prize."

Lianyou hastily bowed to express his thanks.

A handful of fish feed was scattered upon the pond"s surface, enticing countless koi to fight for the crumbs.

"Lianyou, do you know? This is the amus.e.m.e.nt that comes from feeding fish. I can sit on sh.o.r.e and watch them fight and struggle just for this bit of food…" When Duke Luo agreed to Lianyou"s request, he never thought that his words would bear fruit. The performance that night was the start of everything, the beginning of a beautiful but cruel and brutal recollection.

—

The performance was held in a courtyard. When all of the colorful lanterns were extinguished, silence fell upon the audience. There was only the bright moon overhead and a sky full of stars…

"This song is called "A Beauty,""" a black-robed maid announced, before the melodious notes of a xiao[4] filled the scene from all sides. This xiao was sweet and wistful, appearing intermittently like an ancient melody from bygone times. It seemed to bring its listeners into a boundless and indistinct riverbank, or a cliff"s edge where a swordsman stood alone by the summit. A man"s voice, as desolate as the notes of the xiao, slowly began to sing.

"Wine is tasteless when served with a sword
To whom do I toast this cup to?
You bid me farewell, you bid me farewell
The fragrance of rouge
Can love, but cannot give
How high are the Heavens?
How distant is the Earth?"

Suddenly, the lanterns all lit up as flowers fluttered down upon the audience! A thread of lovely notes sang out from a qin,4 blending in flawlessly with the melancholic xiao.5 As flower petals fell in riotous profusion upon the gathered crowd, the young woman in the center of the stage slowly rose, her every movement marvelous in tune with the music.

The woman had a white skirt with a long strip of silk circling around her neck to expose her exquisite, slender shoulders and back. The exposed skin was covered in mysterious, enticing gold patterns that encircled her arms and waist like ancient vines until they blended in with the two golden swords in her hands. They shimmered with a dangerous, beautiful light.

That white skirt was made from an unknown, multi-layered material that cast shadows with the light as she moved, incomparably resplendent and gorgeous. When she grew still, it was nothing but white, only white, pure, unadulterated white…

The young woman raised her head to reveal a pleasant, peach-shaped face. Then she parted her lips and sang like the notes of a silver bell. Her song rose to the skies, the notes like well-tempered steel that turned soft and supple…

"You are a hero
Destined to never shed tears or have regrets
This smile is dangerous
Like poison through the body
How beautiful are these tears
Only you will know
Living without you in my heart is ridiculous."

The song reverberated throughout the courtyard. Countless people with countless voices, males and females alike, joined together as one.

"I don"t need fame in my life
But ask only for your beautiful smile
After I depart, if I should be reborn again
I am willing to be nothing but yours
And accompany you to the ends of the earth."

The golden patterns on her body were the most outrageous adornments on her body, and yet still the most beautiful. Pure yet seductive, these two contrasting points became the most harmonious whole as they combined with her never before seen dance moves. Every extension of her arms, every bent of her waist, reached its maximum point to express the softness and grace of a young woman and the firm spirit of a youth itself. It was an endlessly alluring dance, performed by one with such clean, innocent eyes…

What a combination! What a dance! What a female…

"I don"t need fame in my life
But ask only for your beautiful smile
After I depart, if I should be reborn again
I am willing to be nothing but yours
And accompany you to the ends of the earth."

—

The fan in Xiao Shou"s hands had long clattered down somewhere. When he finally recovered his senses, he was surprised that he"d been so entranced. But for a woman like her, it was worth it.

Looking around, he noticed that the audience was still lost in the daze left by the song and dance. Duke Luo"s gaze could still be considered clear-headed and bright, but the Third Imperial Prince was clearly looking on with longing. Of course. When it came to a woman like this, who wouldn"t want her? In a flash, Xiao Shou suddenly seized upon an proud thought, because the woman that everyone longed for belonged to Hidden Spring Brothel. Sooner or later, it"d belong to him as well.

And yet the young woman onstage suddenly swept away all his arrogance with a simple line.

"Over the past year, it"s all due to your support that Minmin has gotten today"s opportunity. For this, Minmin gives everyone her thanks." She bent forward for a bow, only to see no reaction from the audience. They were still lost in the aftershock of what they"d just witnessed. Minmin gave a slight smile before releasing her bombsh.e.l.l.

"Today is my final performance for everyone. "A Beauty" can be considered my farewell program, so I hope everyone was satisfied~"