Chapter 298: Yuan Gang, Su Zhao

Knock, knock.

At the sound from the door, Qin Mian turned from the window and called, "Come in!"

Yuan Gang pushed open the door. The gazes of the two women inside, one standing and one seated, immediately fell upon him. Yuan Gang's eyes swept across Qin Mian before settling on Su Zhao's face. He walked straight toward her and stopped in front of her. Being looked down upon like this brought a natural sense of pressure. Su Zhao slowly rose to her feet. Because of the difference in height, she had to tilt her head slightly upward to meet his eyes. Their gazes locked.

There was a smile in Su Zhao's eyes. Yuan Gang's eyes, however, were like a sea beneath the stars—unmoved by beauty, unpleased by women, deep and open. Under that direct gaze, Su Zhao gradually found herself unable to keep smiling. At such close range, she could clearly sense the masculine presence radiating from him. Earlier, when she had seen him from far away on the pleasure boat, she had felt nothing in particular. Now, standing close enough to face him directly, everything became unmistakable.

His powerful physique carried a physical sense of pressure. His gaze was open and fearless. And there was an instinctive masculine force about him that made the distinction between male and female impossible to ignore. Standing before Yuan Gang, Su Zhao realized for the first time just how stark that distinction could be. She was a woman. He was a man. A real man. The feeling was so strong that it left her faintly flustered. Her bright eyes drifted aside, and she no longer dared meet his gaze directly.

When she had summoned Yuan Gang here, she had carried a certain sense of superiority. Only now did she discover that this ordinary mortal's openness and fearlessness were enough to crush every bit of that superiority. One look at the way he regarded her made it obvious. He simply did not care about the high position she imagined herself to occupy.

"You're the proprietress of Among the White Clouds, named Su Zhao?" Yuan Gang asked without fear or hesitation.

Faced so suddenly with a man who gave off such a powerful impression, Su Zhao felt somewhat at a loss inside. Her eyes quickly shifted away. Outwardly, however, she did her best to remain calm.

Turning slightly so she would not have to face him directly, she answered evenly, "I am."

Yuan Gang asked, "Are you dissatisfied with the tofu at my shop?"

Su Zhao said, "It's acceptable."

"Then why have you asked to see me again and again?"

Su Zhao found that strange. Why did she suddenly feel like a prisoner being interrogated? Why should she be afraid of him? She turned back to face him.

"Last time, Proprietor An protected one of my maidservants. I never had the chance to thank you properly. Naturally I should express my gratitude in person."

Yuan Gang said, "It was nothing. No need to be polite."

Su Zhao smiled. "It was hardly nothing. I personally watched Proprietor An take quite a few lashes to protect my maid."

Yuan Gang stared directly at her face.

"How do you want to thank me?"

His gaze made Su Zhao uncomfortable from head to toe. It felt almost as though he intended to study her face down to the smallest detail and commit it permanently to memory. A burst of embarrassed irritation rose inside her. She nearly wanted to thrust out two fingers and poke his eyes blind. Was this how anyone looked at another person?

Qin Mian smiled from the side. "Proprietor An, is it appropriate to stare directly at a young woman like that?"

Yuan Gang slowly turned his head toward her.

"She's good-looking. I want to look a little longer."

"..."

The answer left Qin Mian choking on her own words. This man was truly direct enough. Not the slightest trace of circling or euphemism.

Half laughing and half exasperated, she said, "Even if she's good-looking, you still can't stare like that. What young woman could bear it?"

Yuan Gang turned back toward Su Zhao and asked directly, "I'm not allowed to look?"

"..."

Su Zhao was speechless too. She dragged the conversation back on track.

"What kind of thanks do you want?"

Yuan Gang asked, "You really want to thank me?"

"Of course." Su Zhao nodded. "As long as it's within my ability."

Yuan Gang said, "Among the White Clouds is very famous in the capital. I've never seen it for myself."

"Uh..." Su Zhao's expression became somewhat complicated.

She looked him up and down.

"Proprietor An also wants to experience the enthusiasm of the girls at Among the White Clouds?"

Yuan Gang said, "I've already experienced the enthusiasm of the girls at Among the White Clouds."

Su Zhao and Qin Mian looked at each other.

Qin Mian stepped forward and asked tentatively, "Proprietor An, you've been to Among the White Clouds?"

She found it strange. If he had gone there, how had she not known? Unless it had been sometime in the past?

Yuan Gang said, "No."

Qin Mian became even more puzzled. "Then how can you say you've experienced it?"

Yuan Gang looked at Su Zhao.

"Isn't Proprietress Su a woman of Among the White Clouds? Proprietress Su has repeatedly asked to see me. I've already experienced the enthusiasm."

The two women finally understood. So that was what he meant. In that case, they themselves were the ones whose thoughts had turned indecent, assuming he was talking about relations between men and women. If someone else had said such a thing, the two of them might have become angry.

Calling Su Zhao a "woman of Among the White Clouds" sounded almost like saying she was no different from the other women there who sold themselves.

Yet spoken by Yuan Gang, the words carried no sense of humiliation. If nothing else, they had personally witnessed him step forward for a brothel maid and take a beating on her behalf.

Qin Mian asked, "Proprietor An means you want to visit Among the White Clouds and have a look?"

"Yes. Is that possible?"

Su Zhao smiled. "You would be most welcome. If Proprietor An wishes to go, you're welcome at any time."

Yuan Gang said, "I know I can go at any time. I mean without paying. Just to look around."

"Pfft!"

Qin Mian immediately covered her mouth to suppress her laughter. Even Su Zhao could not resist rolling her eyes.

"I know what you mean. I didn't say you were going there to find a woman. I know you only want to look around. There's no need to emphasize it."

"When I said you're welcome at any time, I meant you're welcome to come look around Among the White Clouds whenever you like."

Yuan Gang's gaze dropped to the bowl on the table.

"Proprietress Su, are you finished eating?"

Su Zhao said, "And what if I am? What if I'm not?"

Yuan Gang stepped aside, gestured toward the door, and said, "If you're finished, then you can go."

Su Zhao laughed. "Proprietor An, you're already driving out your guest?"

With that, she lightly swept her sleeve and slowly sat down again, wearing an expression that plainly said: I paid money to eat here. What are you going to do, throw me out?

Yuan Gang said, "I mean go to Among the White Clouds. Didn't you say I could go at any time?"

"..."

Qin Mian and Su Zhao were speechless once again. By now, they had finally understood completely. When speaking with this man, they simply needed to take his words at their literal meaning. Thinking too much only misled them. As the saying went, clever people were often undone by their own cleverness.

"Now?" Su Zhao asked.

Yuan Gang said, "If you still want to sit here, then you two can stay. If you need anything, ask Shopkeeper Gao directly."

With that, he turned to leave.

"Wait." Su Zhao stood. "I keep my word. Proprietor An, please."

The three left the room soon afterward. They had barely gone a few steps beyond the shop before boarding the pleasure boat at the lakeside. Once the boat set off, Su Zhao entered the cabin and removed the veiled hat concealing her features. Qin Mian personally served tea to their guest. Yuan Gang walked around the cabin examining its interior. From time to time, he even rapped his fingers against something and listened to the sound.

Seated to one side, Su Zhao watched him for a while before asking, "Proprietor An, what are you looking at?"

"The furnishings are exquisite. A single boat is finer than our entire shop." Yuan Gang answered, then returned and sat nearby.

His gaze met Su Zhao's again.

"I've heard a few things about Proprietress Su."

Su Zhao smiled. "What sort of things?"

"Your relationship with the Prince of the Western Court. Rumor says you're his woman."

The cabin fell silent. Qin Mian was truly left speechless. Naturally she knew the rumors outside. But this was the first time she had ever heard anyone ask Su Zhao about them directly to her face. Su Zhao lowered her lashes.

Slowly lifting her teacup, she asked with a smile that was not quite a smile, "Does that have anything to do with you?"

Yuan Gang said, "It does."

Su Zhao looked up, puzzled.

Yuan Gang explained, "If the rumor is true, could the Prince of the Western Court misunderstand us spending time together like this? I can't afford to provoke him."

Su Zhao took a light sip of tea.

"If it's only a rumor, do you believe it?"

"That's exactly why I'm asking you. I don't know."

Su Zhao said, "You're thinking too much. Don't worry. He won't misunderstand."

Her tone was cool. Her lashes lowered again and remained down for a long time. No one knew what she was thinking. Her mood and interest seemed to have fallen somewhat. The cabin grew quiet. Only the sound of oars cutting through the water remained. By dusk, the boat drew up beside the waterside pavilion at the rear of Among the White Clouds. As they disembarked, Yuan Gang glanced back toward the waterway.

"Proprietress Su, every time you come, you travel this far just to eat a bowl of tofu?"

Su Zhao asked, "Is that not allowed?"

Yuan Gang said, "As far as I know, one of our sales points is not far from Among the White Clouds. Why abandon what is near and seek what is far?"

Su Zhao said, "I know about it. But on the street people come and go. The barrels sit there while peddlers and laborers crowd around, noisy and disorderly, sometimes practically spraying spit as they talk."

"Do you think that's clean?"

"So that's the reason." Yuan Gang nodded slightly.

They walked into the quiet courtyards inside. Yuan Gang looked around.

"Nice place. May I look around?"

"Please." Su Zhao gestured and personally accompanied him.

The pleasure quarters in the front were already brilliant with lamplight. Young women in light, revealing clothing drifted everywhere in all manner of poses, flirting and teasing with their guests. Some people openly hugged and played without restraint. Wealthy patrons scattered handfuls of money and drew delighted cries as groups of beauties crowded around them. The air was thick with perfume and powder. An indecent sound came from behind one tightly closed door.

Yuan Gang glanced back at it, then leaned over the railing and looked down toward another burst of cheering below. He seemed to prefer quieter places. After finishing his look around the front, he returned to wander through the rear. There were some places he was not allowed to enter. At the gate of one small courtyard, Qin Mian raised a hand to stop him.

"Proprietor An, inside is a private area for women. It isn't convenient for men to enter."

Yet after they had walked past, a sudden commotion of agitated cooing came from within the courtyard. Yuan Gang's eyes shifted slightly to the side. Without revealing anything, he continued walking. Su Zhao accompanied Yuan Gang away. Qin Mian, however, stopped. She turned back into the courtyard and beckoned someone over.

"What happened?"

The person answered, "I don't know. For some reason, all the Goldenwings in the cages suddenly became restless."

Qin Mian followed him over to investigate...

"Master Dao, someone delivered tofu from outside."

Black Peony entered carrying a bowl and called softly to Niu Youdao, who was reclining in a chair with his eyes closed as though asleep. Niu Youdao sat up and came over. Black Peony removed the lid. There was nothing beneath it. So she took a spoon, stirred through the tofu in the bowl, and fished out a small oilcloth packet. She opened it. Inside were two sheets of paper. One was relatively large. It was a complete map of Among the White Clouds.

Niu Youdao unfolded the map and examined it, clicking his tongue twice.

"Monkey is still Monkey. When that fellow handles something, he's efficient."

"Only a few days, and a detailed map of the inside and outside of Among the White Clouds is already in my hands."

[End of Chapter 298]