“Tch,” said the Seventh Prince. “What nonsense did you say?”

 

Murong Yan chuckled.

 

“Did the fighting make you deaf or is it such a fascinating story that you want me to tell it again, Your Highness?” he laughed quietly.

 

Murong Bo grinned into his arm guard, pretending to wipe sweat from beneath his helmet.

 

The Seventh Prince made a rude noise.

 

“I’m not clear on some of the finer points. Say it again more clearly!” he said with some impatience, kicking his horse ahead.

 

Murong Bo grimaced as the flies and the revolting smell of burnt flesh were still heavy in the air. Kicking his horse, he made to follow.

 

Unflinchingly surveying the battle scene, the Prince skillfully turned his mount in a tight circle in the sand, picking around the smoking remains of an overturned cart.

 

The night assault had been very successful, and they had rooted out the rebels that had made their last stand in the small fort, but the Prince was uneasy.

 

They were more like a mess of bandits…

 

It had been over two months since he’d ridden out under Imperial decree to deal with the rebellion in the Western provinces that had been stirred up by troublemakers from Xiyu.

 

Dirty and aching, the Seventh Prince was becoming more irritable. So much death, and so little accomplished. The rebellion had been ruthlessly put down, but it had only generated more questions for him.

 

Burning the fort to the ground had also been a wasted effort as the true culprits, pulling the puppet strings in the shadows, had not been amongst the dead. Moreover, the fort had been given up far too easily…an utter massacre of what had been an unorganized mess of riffraff.

 

He felt like the An Xi army had been deliberately pulled into a conflict only for the purpose of wasting resources and time, while simultaneously giving the enemy an opportunity to feel out Tiansheng’s defences and test their tactics. His brain churned, sifting through layer after layer of information as he scanned and tore apart the battlefield in his mind, trying to comprehend the real intentions of their enemy.

 

And how is it a coincidence, he thought, that a woman from the Western territory is now making trouble in my pleasure house?

 

Grinding his teeth, he leaned back in the saddle. It was maddening. He knew the answers were right in front of him, but he’d spent almost the entire siege awake and it had worn him down. And yet the fort had only fallen after five days of effort…a new record for the Iron Spear Prince. Thus, the title of God of War remained deservedly his.

 

Apart from fighting hand to hand, he had tried hard to maneuver the intelligence units, but each time he was close to obtaining information about the movement of the leaders…they had slipped through his fingers like fine sand. He could only surmise that the Gao family was involved…but it was the person behind the Gao family that bothered him. In truth, they were likely just a borrowed knife. Who was the mastermind? The traces were still here, mocking him. Groaning, he wiped a hand over his eyes, smudging his already soot blackened skin.

 

“Your Highness…Your Highness…Master!” Murong Yan repeated patiently. Murong Yan frowned as the dark eyes of his master turned toward him like two burning coals, but they did not see him.

 

“Ehh…?”

 

Murong Bo made a “pffft” noise. It wasn’t like the Master to be so distracted. Was the pleasure house story really causing him such concern?

 

Murong Yan’s frown deepened as he continued to watch his Master shift tiredly in the saddle. He knew that it wasn’t the pleasure house that was troubling the Seventh Prince. The things that they had learned on their ride out to take control of the army still needed to be addressed. There would be a reckoning with the Gao family…but how far would that go? He knew that the Seventh Prince could be utterly ruthless when cleaning house.

 

Murong Yan stretched a bit, rotating a shoulder tired out from stretching the great black bow hooked over his saddle horn. He slid a look at Murong Bo’s smirking face, and then snorted as his companion was obviously still thinking about the Hundred Flower house. While he himself had quickly tired of Lao Bai’s crude jokes about the whole thing, the story had sustained the troops for the four nights and five days of the siege.…and he could not begrudge A’Bo a retelling of the tale such as it was.

 

It seemed that a masked demoness had appeared out of the West…a face painter accompanied by a beautiful, half-naked dancer, and a martial expert with a strange sabre. The demoness had entered into the third most famous Hundred Flower Pleasure House of the capital and turned it completely upside down by issuing a unique challenge to the madam. The story had caught the imagination of everyone in the city and it was rumoured that even young back country nobles from the outer provincial towns had swarmed into the capital to watch the battle between the madam and the scar-faced cosmetician.

 

“Tell me again…” Murong Bo said, stealing a glance at the Prince who sat staring into the distance, turning his horse in circles in the rising dust. “We’ll be here a while: Master looks distracted…let him be.”

 

“Alright, alright, you brat. Listen well…it’s like this…”

 

***

 

Five days before:

 

Cui Xi resisted the urge to stretch and sat calmly across from the madam, a cup steaming in front of her.

 

“Well?” she asked, smiling into her tea, looking up just in time to see the flower of greed bloom in the heavily painted eyes that were narrowing in appraisal directly across from her.

 

They sat opposite from each other in an upper part of the pleasure house, looking out over a surprisingly large back garden with its own stunning koi pond. The covered pavilion extended out from the pleasure house and connected by little walkways stretched out to a small island in the middle. In truth, it was more of a lake than a pond.

 

Cui Xi had no idea that the pleasure house had such beautiful scenery hidden in the rear, but she supposed this was part of its charm. Its slightly roughened exterior was like that of a haughty older courtesan, still full of dignity and elegance, but being bereft of the freshness of youth, it hid a dark yearning heart… a little like the smug avaricious woman across from her. Cui Xi could relate, but that surging youth, that vibrance, was something that had suddenly been thrust upon her and she was taking full of advantage of it. She had seized it, along with her fear, and was slowly sharpening it into her weapon.

 

The wind lifted suddenly, and the sweetness of the breeze caressed her skin like the delicate whisper of silk. She shivered watching the painted eyes across from her. The older woman’s lips curved unyieldingly.

 

Xiao Hei stood at her shoulder, losing patience. He didn’t understand what the Mistress was thinking as the two women silently battled each other. Losing to boredom, he started to tap on the blade of the sabre, causing Cui Xi to shoot him a quelling glance. Embarrassed, he straightened and stood perfectly still.

 

Why can she make me feel like such a child?

 

“You’ve seen the dance. You’ve seen my skills. I’ve given my terms. And as promised all the top noble families in the city are confirmed for the event…. I can draw up the contract right now, if you like. You can only gain either way.”

 

“Nonsense. You haven’t won the wager yet and I don’t buy without the goods in hand. There’s no rush,” the woman sat back.

 

“That’s true,” Cui Xi agreed. Shrewd, but your greed will still devour you one day.

 

She stood and curtsied.

 

“As you wish. I take my leave…Xiao Hei, let’s go back. Tonight, we’ll give Madam a good show.”

 

One of the serving staff showed them out, and Cui Xi secretly admired the beautifully decorated eight-sided building with its multiple balconies and rooms and main staging area in the center of the structure. It was really quite an astonishing place when you thought about it.

 

Here I am…a modern girl…in an ancient brothel. Kyaah!

 

As she stepped over the threshold and into the street, she heaved a deep sigh. A lot was riding on tonight’s wager. That stage was to become her battleground. She clenched her fist, strengthening her resolve.

 

“Mistress?”

 

Absently, she patted Xiao Hei’s arm and they strolled off back to the inn to prepare for the night’s activities.

 

That day, the sun set in violent shades of red with evening arriving too soon for Cui Xi. Nervously taking a breath, with Xiao Yu and Xiao Hei at her side, she entered the Hundred Flower house to conquer it.

 

Come on you old broad…be mine…

 

The building was handsomely arranged when she finally stepped onto center stage, dressed in crimson red, silver glittering on her wrists and ankles. Above her, red silk streamers flowed down from the grand pillars securing themselves in an extremely large knot hanging from the ceiling of the pleasure house, and at its centre hung a giant red lantern. The lighting was lower than usual except where she now stood. Seeing his Mistress in full costume, Xiao Hei blushed to the roots of his hair. What is she…wearing?

 

“Does…Does she know what she looks like?” he hissed at Xiao Yu, colour flaring across his cheekbones.

 

“Mistress is extraordinary,” Xiao Yu said with a bit of pride, but her emotions fluttered with unease. Her heart thumped in her throat. So much was riding on A’Xi’s gamble. She scrunched her eyes shut and clenched her fists, the nails biting into her palm. Such a wild scheme…in a pleasure house. What would Da think?

 

Cui Xi lifted her arms and daintily pointed her feet. Then she proceeded to introduce the Crescent Moon dance…and the crowd instantly exploded onto its feet. She kept it short, only meaning to rouse interest, to tease, rather than to provide a full meal. There would be plenty of opportunities to share more if she won the wager tonight.

 

Afterward, as she hurriedly stripped off her costume in an upper room, hastily re-securing her hair and veil with Xiao Yu’s help, she had to laugh because she knew that the first part had been accomplished. The entire house had been roused to a frenzy. The lure of the exotic dancer from Xiyu as the prize of the contest was a huge draw. And as she had hoped, the upper balconies had been filled with rich and noble young lords from all over the city, hanging on her every move. Now, she only had to carry off the last part.

 

Let’s do the magic show…Now you see it and now you don’t!

 

Skipping back down the stairs and making her way onto the stage, she inspected the double row of servants. Although she had said that the guests could choose the six who were to be transformed into beauties, she had hand-picked each of the candidates…something that the madam had agreed to without a thought. Cui Xi had made sure to choose the servants with the best bone structure and skin tone. Makeup could enhance natural beauty, but it took real skill to completely change someone. Although she could manipulate some things, if the canvas was no good, the end product might not be the best. To give herself the highest chance of winning, she had to have a good foundation.

 

At every stage of the game, selection was part of the play…so even the guests selected to choose the servants involved had been drawn by lots so that it was completely random. In the end, a mixture of rich merchants, nobles, and even a few masters of jianghu were selected to play a part. Then, six women were selected from the servants as had been previously decided.

 

“Now the stamps…my Lords…each of you were given a red embossed stamp with the name of your house pressed into the end…please dip it into this red ink and stamp your ‘horse’ on the buttock!”

 

Some young serving boys ran up holding large dishes of red ink. A few of the chibis had to be lifted onto the stage. Cui Xi laughed as one of her messenger urchins winked at her. Delighted with the buns, ducks, money and sweets, several of them had elected to do work for her in the future and had suddenly become very fond of their patroness in the last week or so. Cui Xi winked back and heard a chirp of laughter as the boys rushed off the stage with their ink dishes held high, being careful not to spill a single drop.

 

Turning her attention back, there continued to be shouts and laughter from the guests as each maid coyly flipped their skirt up. Xiao Hei coughed from his place in the balcony level and shifted uneasily as the guests made to place their inked marks while making raunchy banter. A maid squealed as a rather stone-faced guest pinched her after stamping her plump bottom.

 

“I will use my personal seal so it cannot be counterfeited…” said a young, but sophisticated looking man, a blue ribbon holding back his hair in a high ponytail. With a fan in hand, he pulled a small stamp out from an inner pocket of his silk robe.

 

Cui Xi shrugged nonchalantly.

 

“As you wish, my Lord…though the result will be the same…” she grinned beneath her red veil, bowing.

 

A few others also insisted on using their personal seals. This was even better as they could not be counterfeited in such a short time.

 

When the chosen servants had been stamped, Cui Xi whisked them away to her room on the upper floor to apply their makeup, and then when they had been properly dressed, they descended back down to the main level, once again showing their stamps to confirm that they had not been tampered with, and then they melted into the crowd for unveiling later.

 

Despite Xiao Yu’s and Xiao Hei’s misgivings, she had personally instructed all of candidates in the fine art of becoming the most gorgeous beauties of the pleasure house…although heavily embarrassed at first, even the most reluctant of them had eventually satisfied her rigorous requirements. It had been a long seven days of preparation, and a long two weeks since she had brazenly entered into the pleasure house and thrown down her challenge. She wondered what kind of fruit her efforts would bear.

 

The six guests who had made their choices, having stamped their selections, took the seats of honour and sat with her on the stage….except they didn’t know that Xiao Yu had actually switched places with Cui Xi while the makeup was being applied and it was Xiao Yu who now sat on the stage three men on either side of her, while Cui Xi, disguised as Xinyue, was back in her red costume sliding down the banister to raucous cries of approval.

 

“Well then honoured guests, my Lords! As you see the ‘horses’ have been chosen, they have been painted, they have been hidden amongst the other beauties of the pleasure house. How shall we play this game?”

 

She slithered between the seats, teasing and whispering titillating sweet nothings. Time to work the crowd.

 

“My Lord, my Lord,” she called out to the fat rich man on the end. “Did you choose a good horse? Will you win? You must choose properly…oh, wait what’s this?” and she slapped his cheek lightly to the roar of the crowd. He chuckled, good-naturedly sitting back and wagging his finger at her.

 

“I will get you, my naughty beauty!” he vowed.

 

Skipping up onto the arm of the next chair, she flashed her naked white legs in front of the fifteen-year old boy who blushed three different shades of red, leaning away from her. She could feel the fat man behind her leering at her bottom and she lightly skipped off the chair.

 

How had this boy even entered into the pleasure house…? Grimacing internally, she wondered which young master had had the bad taste to bring their baby brother into this kind of thing. Gritting her teeth, she thrust her nervousness to the back of her mind and continued to perform to the crowd. I must not become distracted, she thought.

 

“If you win, my young Lord, I promise a good bedtime story…” she giggled to hoots and whistles. The boy could only look dazed.

 

“Don’t waste your charms on that beardless boy! Come here!” demanded the stone-faced man next to him.

 

She sidled up to this man who was older and quite formidable looking, but only cocked her head and said nothing. She made to saunter past, but he snaked an arm out to seize her wrist, only to jerk back in surprise and pain.

 

“You!” he shouted, coming slightly out of his seat. She shoved him back down forcefully, tracing her fingers up his chest and then up under his chin. On the balcony level two people tensed.

 

“Look, my Lord…but do not touch me…” she smiled, her eyes taking on some venom.

 

She casually lifted a sleeve to show the spiked wrist guards that she was wearing. While doing so, she covertly shot a gaze up at Xiao Hei, who was standing alertly. She cocked her head slightly. This one would be trouble, her gaze said to him. Xiao Hei only nodded back. Roger that!

 

“When you have won, we can do battle, my lord…” she teased. Internally, she steeled herself. If not handled well, this one would get ugly.

 

Slightly mollified, he settled down, but she could sense the shadow that roiled beneath the surface was a cruelty that could not be completely concealed. She moved away swiftly.

 

The other three guests caused her no trouble, only joking with her good-naturedly.

 

“I am delighted,” said the last one, the young man who had initially insisted on his own seal. He looked to be about her age. “I did not think that the Hundred Flower House had such elegant fun! I’ve not had such good entertainment for some time…are you sure you and your Mistress will not come to my manor? I can promise a good life to you,” he smiled, elegantly waving his fan.

 

“No, my Lord! Mistress and I…we go only where the wind and rain blow us…” she laughed softly, taking his fan and fanning herself before returning it to him. He reached out to catch a strand of her hair, bringing it to his nose, while letting it trail through his fingers.

 

“So fragrant,” he murmured, breathing in. “Such beauty…well then, if you will not come to my manor to stay, certainly come as my guest. My name is Zhao Yu of Changping*.”

 

A collective gasp went up, and mutters flitted through the crowd.

 

“It’s the younger brother of the Changping Shizi*, a Royal grandson!” someone in the crowd said.

 

“I will remember your words, my Lord,” she smiled genuinely. This was definitely a connection she wanted…a Royal grandson! Excellent!

 

Cui Xi did one last pirouette and then clapped her hands. Curtsying to her ‘Mistress’, who nodded regally back, she then faced the crowd.

 

“One last trick…as you know the lords here cannot select their own candidate. They must identify someone else’s choice. So we will switch. Let it begin. My Lords…here they come…please make your choice by hanging your token on their necks….”

 

She giggled, colour high, nerves buzzing and her heart thumping madly in her chest. She was about to burst from the pressure.

 

So close to the end! What will it be?

 

Twenty beauties stepped gracefully onto the raised stage. The six men stood in front of each, evaluating, circling, and making their choices. Then they stood back.

 

“You’ve decided?” asked Cui Xi, smiling slightly.

 

The young man called Zhao Yu, who had stood for the longest time before finally making his choice, could no longer hold back and laughed loudly until he was wiping tears from his eyes.

 

“I think your little Mistress is quite deserving of the title Cosmetics Goddess…I believe she has won this wager,” he said quietly, with the remnants of his laughter lighting his handsome face.

 

Cui Xi giggled. He’s a smart one.

 

She casually flipped a little hand and two rows of skirts flipped up revealing pale moons to the crowd. There were shrieks and roars of laughter...and also groans of horrified disbelief.

 

She slapped her thigh, bursting with relief and laughed long and loudly.

 

“URK…t-this! My eyes are burning…it’s nothing but…ehhh???” shouted the fat merchant in confusion.

 

Leaning against a pillar, high on the balcony level, a masked man with a flute tucked into his sash chuckled and quietly melted into the shadows.

 

Down below on the stage, twenty sets of balls hung in the air. There was not a single woman amongst them.

 

 

 

 

_______________________________________

* 長平 – Changping – Perpetual Peace.

* 世子 – Shizi – the heir of a First rank Prince.