Chapter Thirty-Five: Invitation!

A letter for Young Master Zhao:

On the twenty-seventh day of this month, it is the birthday of this humble girl. I have prepared fine lamb and excellent wine, along with clear song and exquisite dance, at Qujiang Pool, and respectfully invite you to grace the occasion. I earnestly hope for the honor of your presence and beg you not to decline.

With sincere respect,
Shuying

In his study, Li Zhao stared blankly at the invitation. Since arriving in Chang'an, he had made quite a few friends, but there was no girl named Shuying among them.

If she was holding a birthday banquet, why was he invited?

Had it been sent to the wrong person?

Yet the servant in blue who delivered the invitation had sworn it was indeed meant for him, and had even insisted that he must honor the request. But when asked who the hostess was, the servant would not reveal a single word.

Such a baffling invitation. Should he go, or not?

While he was still torn, Wang Changshou came bounding in. “Big brother, I came to look for you to play—eh? You got an invitation from Sister Mei too? Wonderful! Now we can go to Qujiang Pool together.”

“You know who sent this invitation?”

“Of course I do. This is Sister Mei’s private invitation; see the plum blossom seal on it? That’s her mark. There’s only one like it. And look, I have one too!”

As he spoke, Wang Changshou also pulled out an invitation, identical to the one in Li Zhao’s hand except for the signature.

One read: with respectful greetings from this humble girl, Shuying.

The other read: with warm regards from old family friends, the Mei family.

Compared side by side, the first was naturally much more intimate in tone.

In ancient times, an unmarried woman would never casually reveal her private name to others, especially not to a young man. If she did, it carried a faint air of intimacy.

Surname Mei... invitation... a woman connected to him... Could it be her?

Li Zhao was very quick-witted. Putting the clues together, he immediately thought of one person: the white-robed woman he had rescued a few days earlier at the Great Ci’en Temple.

He had not expected her to find him so quickly. And from every sign, this woman was no ordinary person.

“Changshou, who exactly is this Miss Mei?”

“Heh-heh. Sister Mei not only sent you an invitation, she even told you her private name, and yet you don’t know who she is? How heartless, how blind to romance. If Sister Mei heard that, how heartbroken she would be!”

“Stop teasing me and get to the point.”

“All right, big brother. You must have heard of the Four Wealth Gods, haven’t you? Sister Mei’s mother was one of them.”

“Oh? You mean Mei Wuniang?”

Mei Wuniang had once been the eldest daughter of the Jiang clan, the foremost noble family of the Fujian region. Later, after resisting a marriage arranged by her elders, she broke away from the Jiang family and took the surname Mei.

Twenty years ago, Mei Wuniang came to Chang’an with nothing and, from the ground up, founded the Mei Trading Company. Specializing mainly in grain and textiles, she relied on her sharp mind and keen judgment to become a great merchant in short order, amassing unimaginable wealth and earning universal recognition as one of the Four Wealth Gods.

Alas, three years ago, this legendary businesswoman passed away, leaving her vast fortune to her only daughter, Mei Shuying.

This Miss Mei was herself a legend:

First, children normally took their father’s surname, yet she had taken her mother’s instead. Her biological father remained a mystery. Some said he was a powerful figure of the present dynasty, some said a royal prince, and others claimed he was a being like an immortal who walked the earth. The rumors were endless, and truth impossible to discern.

Second, when Miss Mei inherited the family business, she was only sixteen. She was young, inexperienced, and had no elder to support her, so everyone agreed that the Mei Trading Company would certainly decline and eventually be carved up by other wealthy merchants.

Yet the opposite happened. Miss Mei was born brilliant, with commercial instincts even sharper than her mother’s. Over the course of three years, not only did the Mei Trading Company not weaken, it flourished beyond measure, spreading throughout the entire realm.

Finally, there was Miss Mei’s marriage prospects, and they were exceedingly unfortunate. Ordinary girls could marry at fifteen, but she was already nineteen and still alone.

...

“Changshou, why hasn’t Miss Mei married yet?”

“Sigh, it’s a long story. When Sister Mei was fourteen, she was betrothed to the eldest son of General Xue Chuyu of the Left Imperial Guard. They were truly a perfect pair, handsome and talented, a match of equal family standing, and very much favored by the world. Unfortunately, before long, that Young Master Xue died of some mysterious illness.

After that, a disciple of Master Yuan’s line calculated Sister Mei’s birth chart and said that her face was like a plum blossom in bloom, but her fate carried the Red Luan calamity. Any man who grew close to her would surely be burdened with bad luck, lose his blessings and his lifespan, and might even bring ruin upon his entire family. That is why Sister Mei wears a veil all day and refuses to show her true face.”

“Oh? Then doesn’t that mean Miss Mei will have to live alone for the rest of her life?”

“Not necessarily. The fortune-teller Master Yuan also said that Sister Mei’s fate is very strange. It is both a fate that harms husbands and one that prospers husbands. The key lies in the man himself. If an ordinary man grows close to her, he will surely lose blessings and lifespan. But if a man favored by heaven marries Sister Mei, not only will he suffer no harm, he will instead gain blessings, gain years, and rise to great heights.

That is why, over the years, the number of men pursuing Sister Mei has not decreased at all. In fact, it has grown and grown, enough to circle Chang’an several times over. Among them are noble young masters from princely mansions, ministerial households, and ducal families. Unfortunately, Sister Mei has never taken a liking to any of them.”

The Wang and Mei families were both great merchant houses and had long enjoyed close ties, so Wang Changshou knew quite a lot about Miss Mei and told Li Zhao everything.

“Sister Mei is said to be as beautiful as a celestial maiden and has especially good relations with everyone. This birthday banquet at Qujiang Pool will surely draw a crowd. There will be plenty of excitement to see, ha-ha!”

“Oh? Who’s coming?”

“Mostly the sons and daughters of nobles and distinguished families. Among the more notable ones are the Four Handsome Men of Chang’an. Big brother, you don’t know about the Four Handsome Men of Chang’an, do you? Let me explain them to you. They’re all outstanding among men!”

Wang Changshou went on to explain. The so-called Four Handsome Men of Chang’an were the four most remarkable young noblemen living in the city.

The leader of the four was Li Lin, the illegitimate eldest son of Prince Ning, Li Chengqi. He was twenty-one this year, with a bright and jade-like countenance and the bearing of a graceful tree in the wind. He was known as the most handsome man of the imperial clan. He was also accomplished in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and was especially skilled at playing a white jade flute, with the ability to make its lingering notes hang in the beams for three days without fading.

Even the current Son of Heaven, Li Longji, was very fond of this nephew and called him “Little Flower.” He was granted the title of Prince of Ruyang and a fief of ten thousand households, a status comparable to that of a royal prince.

...

The second of the Four Handsome Men was Dugu Junchen, twenty years old, born to the noble families of the Guanzhong region. He lost both parents in childhood and was raised by his maternal uncle, who was none other than the foremost power minister of the present court, Li Linfu.

Dugu Junchen was not only handsome and elegant, with extraordinary learning, but also highly adept in social affairs, a man who could move with ease in every direction.

Such a man was unique under heaven, and so people gave him a beautiful title: the Peerless Young Master.

...

The third was Xue Hao, eighteen years old, grandson of the famed Tang general Xue Rengui and second son of General Xue Chuyu of the Left Imperial Guard. Born of a military family, he was bold and unrestrained, mastered every martial art under the sun, and was especially gifted in horsemanship and archery, with the ability to hit a willow leaf at a hundred paces. He was also hopelessly fond of wine and often drank through the night with his friends. Because of his fierce and valiant nature, he was called the Fierce Tiger Young Master.

...

The last of the Four Handsome Men was Yang Yan, seventeen years old, son of Minister of Revenue Yang Bo. A prodigious child from birth, he could speak at one year old, read at three, and recite the Book of Songs at six. He especially loved mechanisms and ingenious devices. His nickname was the Sage Young Master.

The Four Handsome Men of Chang’an were all unmarried young men. No one knew how many noble maidens wished to give themselves to them, or how many high officials hoped to recruit them as worthy sons-in-law.

Now that everything had been thoroughly explained, only one question remained: should he go to the banquet or not?

After a little thought, Li Zhao made up his mind to attend.

First, he and Miss Mei had once had a certain connection. Since it was now her birthday, both courtesy and reason said he should make the trip.

Second, if Miss Mei was holding a banquet, many people would surely come, and they would all be elites of status and standing. This was the perfect opportunity to make a few new friends and build up his own social circle.

Still, he could not go to Miss Mei’s birthday empty-handed. He needed to prepare a proper birthday gift.

The problem was, what should he give?

She was one of the Four Wealth Gods, after all, with countless rare treasures, antiques, paintings, and calligraphy. Even if he brought out the most valuable possessions he owned, they might not even catch her eye.

What now?

What now?

...

With his hands clasped behind his back, Li Zhao paced through the main hall dozens of times, yet still could not think of a suitable gift. It was truly a headache.

Before transmigrating, he had also dated girlfriends. When their birthdays came around, all he had to do was take them to a nice meal, buy a cake, pick out a few pretty clothes at the mall, and then watch a movie. So easy.

But now he had crossed into the Tang Dynasty. There were no cakes, no malls, and no... wait. A movie?

Yes, why not just take her to see a movie? Even if this era had no movies, there was something else that could serve as a substitute.

A long stretch of movie dialogue surfaced in Li Zhao’s mind.

Baldy: “Don’t blame me for dousing your enthusiasm, Director. No matter how ugly it is, if it’s a movie, it has nothing to do with elegance.”

The director: “Impossible, isn’t film the eighth art?”

Baldy: “After investigation, your cinema is mass entertainment, and its origin lies in the revolving lantern...”

...

That was it: the revolving lantern. A thing that should only have appeared hundreds of years later would be brought into the world ahead of time.

Li Zhao immediately sprang into action, gathering wooden slats, candles, cotton thread, plain paper, porcelain bottles, and a great many other useful items. Then he made it himself.

First, he used thin wooden slats to build the frame: an octagonal prism, each face two chi high and one chi wide.

Second, he made the fan wheel, using tough mulberry bark paper. He first drew the lines, then cut it out.

Third, he placed the candle.

Fourth, he painted the lampshade.

...

After more than an hour of work, he successfully made two beautiful revolving lanterns. Why two?

Simple: one was for the gift, and the other was for Wu Moyun to play with. The little girl was adorable and very close to him, always calling him Brother Zhao, so now that he had something fun, he naturally could not forget her.

To prevent the lanterns from being damaged, he took one apart and placed it in a wooden box, waiting only for the birthday banquet to take it out. It would surely draw countless eyes.