122. Red Flower Pavilion (5)
Red Flower Pavilion (5)
122. Red Flower Pavilion (5)
"One thing I can say for certain. You're a very capable Pavilion Mistress, but you were never a courtesan after all."
The Red Flower Pavilion Mistress. My first impression hadn't been wrong. The scholarly impression was exactly right—her mind was certainly sharp, but she had never felt like a courtesan to me.
"Why do you say that, sir?"
"This occasion is meant to showcase Red Flower Pavilion's value to Master, is it not? I'll grant that your information-gathering skills and perceptiveness are genuinely impressive. As a Pavilion Mistress, you're truly outstanding. But from a client's perspective, as a courtesan you're the absolute worst. I'm requesting a different courtesan. I'll cover the fee for the new one myself."
"Reverend. Please calm your anger. I've now shown you our main hall and cuisine, our wine, song, and dance. But if one omits the pleasures of the flesh from a pleasure house, one cannot claim to have shown everything. However, since most of us are women, and entangled with the Reverend in complicated emotional bonds, I needed to ease the awkwardness between us and prepare a light atmosphere. With the very survival of Red Flower Pavilion at stake, I sincerely apologize for speaking so carelessly."
"I know. Senior Sister Lee is angry right now too, but for better or worse, this means you'll be able to approach us a little more comfortably now. You really are clever. Inviting us to a pleasure house was also meant to avoid the Gongsun Clan's eyes, was it not? Even if things went wrong, a woman who came to a pleasure house, put on makeup, and danced like a courtesan could hardly tell such a story to the Gongsun Clan. I'm not angry about being toyed with. Truthfully, even Byeok-geum of the White Tiger Sect is a more seasoned member of the Martial World than we are, so we are used to clever people. We have no complaint with the Red Flower Pavilion Mistress. The final decision rests with Master, but I'll recommend accepting them. I only requested a change because Courtesan Lee Yeon makes me uncomfortable."
But the Red Flower Pavilion Mistress replied, her eyes all the clearer.
"The Reverend is right. I am sincerely grateful that you have looked kindly upon me as a Pavilion Mistress. Embarrassing as it is, Courtesan Lee Yeon truly is a complete novice. Does everyone not have a first time? This is her first time attending to a man, so I beg you to look kindly upon an inexperienced courtesan."
"In that case, the Pavilion Mistress's judgment was wrong too. She put forward a novice courtesan for a reception this important."
"Reverend. A pleasure house teaches a courtesan countless things, but what makes her a courtesan worthy of the name is not the pleasure house—it is the client. As Pavilion Mistress, I will not accept ordinary clients from now on. I will appear as a courtesan only before members of Yeongsan Sect. Any member of the sect may be attended to, but in the end, I will become a courtesan for the Reverend's exclusive use. Is raising a courtesan to your own tastes from the very beginning not also a sophisticated man's romance?"
"Ah. Seriously. This is why I hate silver-tongued people. I know you're smart, but a pleasure house is not a village school. And a courtesan isn't a schoolmaster."
As I started to show my irritation while drinking the wine the Pavilion Mistress had poured for me, Master spoke from beside me.
"I think the Pavilion Mistress is admirable. When I deal with high-ranking people sometimes, I find myself utterly tongue-tied."
Well, that's true. It isn't that Master can't speak, but she's extremely vulnerable in sudden situations where she's shaken by a sense of crisis like this time.
"The Sect Leader, the Reverend, and I are all martial artists who have trained in martial arts, but our essential natures are entirely different. My essential nature is that of a courtesan, and the Reverend's is that of a martial artist. The Sect Leader's essential nature is that of one who stands above. To speak honestly, if this had originally been an invitation to a pleasure house, I should have brought only Reverend Yeongmok, but I am afraid of the Reverend. I investigated his record myself, after all. So I brought the Sect Leader, who can perfectly control even a peerless master like the Reverend. If you keep me by your side, I can teach the Sect Leader light conversational techniques."
See. That's exactly what I don't like—that attitude of hers, trying to teach us. I know it's excellent advice, but if she meant it that way, why didn't she tell us separately as Pavilion Mistress? Why is she sitting here dressed as a courtesan?
At least her eye for Master is accurate. Master herself may not know it, but leaders who head their own clans, like Peng Clan Head or Murong Clan Head, already understood Master precisely. The fact that she could perceive this means she really is qualified to be the administrator who leads Red Flower Pavilion.
"You've sized up Master correctly, but you and I got our essential natures wrong. My essence isn't a martial artist, it's a Taoist. And your essence isn't a courtesan, it's an administrator."
"Reverend, you have attained tremendous achievements in Taoist studies as well as martial studies. But in your daily life, which do you devote more effort to—martial cultivation or Taoist cultivation? In living your life, do you pursue power, or the Way?"
A question that suddenly pierced straight through the person I am. My greatest combat power is the Spirit-Binding Art, but does that really make me a true Taoist? What I use in battle are Taoist arts, but honestly, the moment my temper flares, I reach for my sword first—that's hardly the way of a Taoist. I'd long believed I wasn't a martial artist, but it seemed that in the end, I too was a man of the Martial World who lived by the logic of power.
"As for my essence not being that of a courtesan—you haven't even let me sit at your side yet, let alone seen my true essence. I think that judgment is far too hasty."
At the Pavilion Mistress's repeated urging, Master answered.
"Yeongmok. I've made my decision now. I will accept Red Flower Pavilion. I haven't seen everything Red Flower Pavilion has to offer, but from the cooks to the young trainees, and even the courtesans, despite doing such arduous work, every single one of them had a bright expression. And if a pleasure house this large is established on Yeongsan, Yeongsan will change quickly too. Before I set out on this journey, I didn't know how remote a backwater our Yeongsan was, without so much as a single pleasure house. If merely lending the name of Yeongsan Sect can save people in danger of their clan's annihilation, I want to help them."
Master's internal deliberation was finished. The reason she'd sat a courtesan beside her and chatted idly had been to see the courtesan's inner character.
"Thank you, Sect Leader."
Overcome with emotion, the Pavilion Mistress rose from her seat and tried to bow deeply to Master, but Master shook her head gently.
"Pavilion Mistress. I heard this from Murong Clan Head. A sect leader must never bow her head in matters concerning her own sect."
"Even so, Sect Leader. I am a courtesan. How could a courtesan bowing within a pleasure house possibly contravene any principle? Please permit the Three-Bow Rite."
"Pavilion Mistress. Set your role and act accordingly. At this moment, you are attending us here not as a sect leader, but as a courtesan, are you not? Right now you are attending to Yeongmok, so it would not do to bow to other members of his party."
One of Master's great strengths. She distinguished boundaries clearly. Master compartmentalized her various roles precisely—as sect leader, as teacher, as wife. Compared to her, the Pavilion Mistress had been clumsily straddling the roles of Pavilion Mistress and courtesan this whole time, and that was exactly what I'd disliked.
"Thank you for your guidance. Truly, Sect Leader, you were exactly the person worthy of my service. From this moment on, please do not call me Pavilion Mistress in this place. Call me Lee Yeon."
The Pavilion Mistress seemed quite startled. She had always inspected the services of her pleasure house, observing the faces of courtesans and clients and easily discerning the inner thoughts of others, yet now she gazed at Master with respect, for Master had instantly pointed out a flaw she hadn't even noticed herself.
Hmph. I'd meant something similar. I should've just said it like Master did.
"Yeongmok, moderate yourself too. A grown man coming to a pleasure house only to pick a fight with a courtesan. It's not a good look. I wanted to see Yeongmok skillfully enjoying the refinements of the pleasure house, you know."
I truly don't understand women's hearts. A man who doesn't appreciate refined pleasures has no charm. But no matter how beautifully you dress it up as elegance, it's still just infidelity or commercial sex. Why do they think that's admirable? My romantic experience was so low in my past life that I can't tell if this is unique to this era or if it was always this way.
"Junior Brother. Go on, seat Lady Lee Yeon next to you. We came here to enjoy ourselves, didn't we? Master has already settled everything regarding Red Flower Pavilion, so now relax your shoulders and enjoy yourself."
Jeong-hyang spoke too, taking my hand. The form of address didn't matter, but these women—what exactly did they expect me to do and enjoy with my lover right here?
"Lee Yeon. Come over here and sit."
"Yes! Esteemed Elder!"
Lee Yeon laughed brightly. Now, with the genuine face of a courtesan, she stepped lightly around the table, clung tightly to my arm, and began to act coy.
"One last question. You said you've never attended to a man before, didn't you? Right now, to gain Yeongsan's protection, you, the Pavilion Mistress yourself, are personally offering your body to attend to me. Did you not do this sort of thing back when you were under Black Heaven Association's protection? Especially Heuk Cheon-gyeon—that bastard settled in Liaoxi and founded Heavenly Wolf Sect precisely because he wanted a quiet life away from the position of Hall Master, yet he wallowed in lust and ended up dead by my hand. Didn't Heuk Cheon-gyeon demand you?"
"You'll be able to meet the Pavilion Mistress after the reception ends. Clumsy Courtesan Lee Yeon here doesn't know about such difficult matters."
Lee Yeon exuded a feigned air of naive charm as she placed a piece of fruit into my mouth.
"No. Master's words meant for you to define your role clearly, not to perform a split-personality act."
"Since I'm still an inexperienced courtesan, I'm in charge of cleaning the Pavilion Mistress's room. So I happened to overhear..."
So she'd decided to push through with this multiple-personality gimmick no matter what. Of course, if it was the room of the Red Flower Pavilion Mistress of an intelligence organization, naturally no one but the Pavilion Mistress herself could enter it.
"In the past, they say our Red Flower Pavilion's position was different. There was nothing to be lacking. If Black Heaven Association made unreasonable demands, Red Flower Pavilion could simply request the Gongsun Clan's protection. And Black Heaven Association knew that too, so they only took reasonable protection fees and information, and couldn't treat Red Flower Pavilion carelessly. But once Black Heaven Association collapsed, they could no longer use the strategy of weighing both sides on the scale. So the Pavilion Mistress had no choice but to approach the Gongsun Clan's Deputy Steward on much more disadvantageous terms than before. He was a man of great greed, so it was easy to approach him with money. But would you believe it? That Deputy Steward turned out to be a spy for the Hobang Sect, and he stole the Gongsun Clan's heirloom jade incense burner before fleeing, wouldn't you know? The Pavilion Mistress, knowing nothing of this, helped the Deputy Steward escape to the Hobang Sect without anyone knowing. The head of an intelligence organization, tricked outright by talk of a top-secret infiltration mission. Our Pavilion Mistress pretends to be so clever all on her own, but isn't she really just a stupid woman?"
A scathing criticism of herself. Honestly, this really was just terrible luck. If one only hears the words "intelligence organization," it certainly sounds impressive, but they are merely a group that gathers information in a single region called Beijing. Using that as raw material, they trade with the Hao Sect to exchange desired intelligence, but even the stock exchange groups of my past life, who gathered the fastest information, couldn't achieve perfect intelligence gathering or predict the future. Perfect intelligence gathering never existed in the first place. The value of information lies in its future worth, yet the fact that the Beggars' Sect and the Hao Sect remained lower-class groups in the Martial World meant that the intelligence they could gather was inevitably extremely limited.
"She was a woman who lived in love with her own excellence. She thought she was a tremendous figure who held all the information in her grasp and used foolish people. But after suffering such an incident, now she knows how frightening the world can be, and a fire's been lit under her rear. Red Flower Pavilion, having aided the Deputy Steward's escape, became the Gongsun Clan's target. So she begged desperately for her life, and this time tried to attach herself to the Peng Clan by investigating the Peng Clan's anomalies, and that's how we ended up here. It seems the Pavilion Mistress has nowhere left to retreat now. She came to Yeongsan Sect, her last hope, and this time decided to hand over her liver and gall—everything—to receive protection. So with the very survival of Red Flower Pavilion riding on this occasion, she told me that if I failed to utterly steal your heart, Esteemed Elder, she'd pull out my fingernails. Esteemed Elder. You must cherish me, won't you?"
This wasn't a problem of insufficient information. The reason the Gongsun Clan merely chased Red Flower Pavilion out rather than annihilating them was simply because they too needed a scapegoat to hold accountable. Red Flower Pavilion was also a victim, yet they were forced to become a sacrificial lamb because they lacked power. As it always had been, this was the Martial World, and this was the way of the world. Lee Yeon tugged my hand around her waist and spoke coquettishly.
"Tell your Pavilion Mistress this. That the Gongsun Clan affair couldn't be helped. And that threat about pulling out fingernails—it sounded like a threat directed at me, not at the rookie Courtesan Lee Yeon, and tell her I'm extremely displeased by it."
"I think so too. Esteemed Elder, you're incredibly strong, aren't you? Next time you meet the Pavilion Mistress, please kick her in the rear for me."
Lee Yeon giggled. With this unfunny split-personality act, the conversation actually became easier.
Just then, Son Yeong, who had been sitting silently beside me the whole time, spoke to Master.
"Master. Would it be all right if I taught Courtesan Sang-hong the Water Moon Dance I've supplemented?"
"Hm? It's fine. But you want to do it now? This is a pleasure house."
"If anything, it's more fitting precisely because it's a pleasure house. The Water Moon Dance is both a martial art and a dance."
"Courtesan Sang-hong. Please remove all your clothing."
"Pardon? Ah. Yes. Understood, Esteemed Elder."
I had no idea why she had suddenly been told to strip, but she was the courtesan who had come over and agreed to accept payment. With elegant movements, the woman named Sang-hong removed her one-piece-like dress and revealed undergarments of an extremely unusual design. A single strip of cloth wrapped around her chest as a breast covering, though I could not see what it was meant to conceal. From where I sat below her, the undersides of her breasts and even her nipples were plainly visible. Her lower garment was simply a white silk band wound around her hips, almost like a loincloth at first glance. Women in the Central Plains normally wore inner trousers, but apparently this style existed too. Had it been inspired by the Japanese fundoshi? Naturally, none of the other women could tear their eyes from a genuine professional's striptease either, and they openly admired Sang-hong once she stood completely naked.
"Courtesan musician over there. Please play that song from earlier.
"Courtesan Sang-hong, pay close attention to the movements of my body."
Son Yeong rose from her seat and began to undress as well. So Son Yeong had been wearing underwear almost like a T-back too.
"Junior Sister. Why are you undressing? Is nude dancing a pleasure-house custom?"
Jeong-hyang, who'd been fondling a courtesan like a man well-versed in pleasure houses, asked as she watched Son Yeong's eccentric behavior.
"The movements of the Water Moon Dance are extremely delicate. At Courtesan Sang-hong's current level, she won't be able to read the movements of my qi and blood. So she must observe the detailed movements of my muscles to be able to follow the motions."
Son Yeong danced the Water Moon Dance completely nude. Her firm, healthy, slender body completed the delicate Water Moon Dance far more beautifully than when she was adorned in splendid clothing. The courtesans were entranced by the Water Moon Dance they themselves had practiced for over a decade. Some marveled at the hidden profound subtleties of the Water Moon Dance concealed within the dance, while others blushed even to their faces at Son Yeong's beautiful body. But the most shocked person of all was none other than Lee Eun-ha.
"S-Senior Sister! What is that between your legs? Why is a shiny silver ornament attached there?"
Amid the artistic dance movements, even the eroticism had been forgotten.
Son Yeong had sat through this entire occasion with a clitoral piercing in place.