Chapter 14: Drizzle

Seeing the young woman doubled over with laughter, Xue Chongxun was puzzled. He couldn't help asking, "What's so amusing?"

She struggled to stifle her giggles, but as soon as she opened her mouth to speak, another peal of laughter escaped. Covering her lips with a delicate hand, she said, "You…you're truly foolish! Chang'an is such a vast city. Even if we met a second time by chance, how could there possibly be a third?"

Xue Chongxun blinked in realization. "Ah, I hadn't considered that."

The girl tittered again. "What's funny isn't your oversight, but your expression—so utterly blank! Ah, never mind. Let's speak no more of it. My sides ache from laughing."

Her mirth proved contagious. Xue Chongxun's mood brightened, as if touched by her radiance. Smiling faintly, he asked, "Why have you returned to the Da Qin Church today?"

"I came to wait for someone." At this, her laughter faded, replaced by a faint melancholy.

Noticing her shift in mood, Xue Chongxun gently probed, "Has he missed the appointed time?"

She nodded. "We agreed to meet three days ago, yet he still hasn't come… The imperial examination results were posted three days prior, weren't they?"

"You mean the jinshi rankings? Yes, the list was announced then." Xue Chongxun replied. The Tang Dynasty's imperial examinations differed markedly from later Ming and Qing systems, lacking their complex tiered examinations. Yet like later eras, passing the jinshi exam granted eligibility for official posts—a crucial path for commoners seeking advancement. Men of Xue's station, born into nobility, had no need for such struggles.

"If he doesn't arrive by sunset today, I'll seek him at his residence tomorrow," the girl declared.

Xue Chongxun recognized the classic scholar-courtesan tale unfolding. His own marital prospects would be dictated by political alliances, making any entanglement with a commoner girl both impossible and irresponsible. Yet this fleeting encounter's purity pleased him.

His temporary good humor prompted advice: "Visiting his family yourself might create a poor impression. Better to ask your parents to arrange a matchmaker for proper negotiations."

She shook her head. "Such formalities hardly matter when I'd only be his concubine. Besides, his family isn't in Chang'an." Hesitating, she added, "I might as well tell you—I'm a songstress from Shuiyunjian. Should you wish to hear me sing, come visit these next few days. I may soon leave that place."

Xue Chongxun studied her with mild surprise. Her youthful simplicity belied the brothel's reputation. Recovering, he casually asked, "Might I know your name? Should I visit, I'll need to inquire for you."

"Meng Xiaoyu."

"Meng Xiaoyu… 'Misty Drizzle.'" Xue glanced at the rain curtain beyond the temple eaves. "Fitting, given how we met."

Xiaoyu sighed softly. "He vowed to take me in once he passed the exams. Do you think he meant it?"

"Few succeed in the jinshi exams," Xue cautioned.

Her smile turned bitter. "His chances were strong—skilled in poetry, backed by ministers' recommendations… You don't seem the scholarly type. Do you know that passing requires noble patronage as much as talent?"

Xue's sun-darkened complexion and martial bearing indeed contrasted with scholarly pallor, though his manners betrayed refinement.

"Did he have court connections?" Xue asked, avoiding specifics that might reveal his own status.

"Gold buys connections," Xiaoyu replied.

Xue suddenly understood—she'd likely funded her lover's bribes. Courtesans, though lowborn, often accumulated wealth through patrons.

When she repeated her question about the man's fidelity, Xue nearly quoted the adage Trust ghosts before men's promises. Instead, he countered, "You gave him silver. Didn't that answer your doubt already?"

Her silence confirmed his suspicion.

Glancing at the darkening sky, Xue suggested, "He won't come today. Shuiyunjian's in Anyi Ward—my route home. May I escort you?"

"Thank you, but I'll wait longer. Carriages hire at the street corner. Your kindness is enough."

As Xue turned to leave, Xiaoyu called after him, "Why did you come to the Da Qin Church? You've done nothing but talk with me."

He laughed. "Idle curiosity about their 'Hall of Penitence.' Our chat consumed the hours. Were I to confess sins, the priests would lecture till dawn!"

Xiaoyu giggled. "Who'd guess such mischief behind your sun-browned face?"

"Others have said the same," Xue grinned, bowing before hastening to his carriage.

As wheels clattered over stones, Xue chuckled to himself. "Meng Xiaoyu… A songstress who's seen countless men. How does such naivety persist?"

Love, he mused, could make fools of even the worldly. The thought chilled him unexpectedly.

Hearing murmurs, the driver Pang Er called back, "My lord?"

"Whip the horses faster," Xue replied. "I hunger for supper."

‌Translator's Notes:‌

Da Qin Church: Refers to a Nestorian Christian church in Tang-era Chang'an.

Jinshi: The highest tier of imperial examination graduates in Tang China.

Shuiyunjian (水云间): Literally "Water-Cloud Pavilion," a poetic name for a sing-song house (historical term for elite brothels where courtesans entertained through music and poetry).

Cultural references to Tang-era social hierarchies and examination systems are preserved with contextual explanations.