Chapter Twenty-Six: Why Are There So Many Drama Queens?

Chapter Twenty-Six: Why Are There So Many Performers?

“This little girl, I didn’t do anything to you last night, did I?” Zhang Qian instantly saw through Zijuan’s intentions, shaking his head in disbelief and amusement. The prettier the girl, the more likely she is to deceive—Master Jin Yong was right!

Even after two lifetimes of celibacy, Zhang Qian had seen similar gestures and expressions on television. This was unmistakably the posture of a maiden, shyly enduring the pain of her first night with her beloved.

“Congratulations, Brother Zhang, you’ve won the beauty’s heart.” As if fearing Zhang wasn’t embarrassed enough, Ren Cong’s voice swiftly sounded in his ear, full of genuine sincerity.

“I…” Zhang Qian’s face burned crimson, unable to utter a single word in explanation. The more one tried, the worse it would seem.

Unless he hardened his heart and asked the Ren family to have a maid verify Zijuan’s chastity immediately. But doing so would be tantamount to pushing Zijuan off a cliff. Whether to protect their reputation or give a guest an explanation, the Ren family would never let Zijuan serve him again, nor would they hand over her indenture contract. After he left, Zijuan would face harsh discipline and endless humiliation!

“Young master, please cleanse your teeth!” Perhaps aware she’d gone too far, Zijuan called out in a voice as soft as a mosquito, raising the dental tools above her brows.

“You…” Zhang Qian’s heart softened instantly. Shaking his head in resignation, he instructed, “Forget it, leave it there. I’ll brush my teeth inside soon. Go fetch some water for me to wash my face first.”

There was no need to expose her little act. She merely wanted to label herself as “spoken for.” And that was fine. It would spare him from fumbling for words later when asking Ren Cong for her contract.

“Yes!” Zijuan looked up, sneaking a glance at Zhang Qian to make sure he wasn’t truly angry at her mischief. Her reply was soft and sweet. “I’ll go right away, young master. Please wait.”

As she spoke, she didn’t forget to curtsey to Ren Cong. Yet, as she dipped and rose, she lightly furrowed her brows, as if enduring some discomfort.

“Heh heh, heh heh…” Ren Cong faced Zhang Qian, grinning and winking incessantly. Only when Zhang’s patience wore thin and he clenched his fist did Ren Cong stop, raising his thumb approvingly. “Brother Zhang, you’re lucky! This girl was bought by my father, meant to be raised for a few years and sent as a dowry maid for my second sister. She’s excellent in needlework and temperament. Though her looks haven’t fully blossomed, the more she…”

“One moment of folly, I’ve made a spectacle of myself!” Zhang Qian wiped the sweat from his brow, hurriedly interrupting, “Brother Ren, I wonder if you could, could…”

The more he spoke, the more guilty he felt. Suddenly, the few Tang phrases he’d learned seemed insufficient.

Fortunately, Ren Cong was long accustomed to such matters, and gifting beautiful maids among friends was routine. Smiling, he nodded decisively, “Of course. I sent her to serve you in hopes she’d warm your bed. I prepared her contract long ago. I thought you hadn’t touched her because she wasn’t to your taste!”

“Thank you, thank you!” Zhang Qian wiped the sweat from his forehead again, cupping his hands in gratitude.

Ren Cong stepped aside and returned the gesture, his round, chubby face grinning with fox-like pride.

After so long, he finally figured out what Immortal Zhang liked—not wealth, food, antiques, pearls, or jade—but these skinny, delicate ‘washboard’ girls!

That made things easy. The Ren family’s agents traveled far and wide, and whenever they came across families in dire straits selling daughters, they’d buy the pretty ones for him. With such a large estate needing people, and who knew—if any ‘washboard’ caught his fancy later or climbed into his bed, they could help the Zhang family flourish!

Coming from the twenty-first century, Zhang Qian couldn’t guess Ren Cong’s thoughts. Embarrassed by the laughter, he escaped under the pretense of needing to brush his teeth.

Ren Cong no longer hurried him. He continued pacing under the willow tree outside the guesthouse, as if the air was full of immortal energy, and breathing in more might let him ascend to heaven.

After at least twenty laps, Zhang Qian finally finished washing up. The awkwardness was gone from his fair, angular face.

The two exchanged knowing smiles and walked shoulder to shoulder. Soon, they reached the main hall of Ren Manor. Young Marquis Duan Huaijian, Imperial Physician Sun Anzu, and Manor Master Ren Qiong had been waiting, bored. Yet when the sellers arrived, they didn’t immediately begin the transaction. First, they ordered breakfast for everyone. (Note: In ancient times, people ate two meals: breakfast called ‘morning meal’ and afternoon meal called ‘feeding meal.’ Wealthy people had late-night snacks, common folk went to bed hungry.)

The meal lasted nearly an hour before ending. Ren Qiong then offered fruit and tea for further enjoyment. Hosts and guests chatted for another hour, as if nothing needed doing, until the sun crossed the roof and the conversation finally turned to business.

As the highest-ranking present, Young Marquis Duan Huaijian had to deliver some formal words. He praised Ren Qiong’s family tradition of farming and study, his upright virtue and integrity. He lauded Zhang Qian’s broad learning and extraordinary skills, who had just left his master and already used miraculous hands to save Ren Qiong’s life. He then commended both Ren Qiong and Zhang Qian for their concern for the people. Using Ren Qiong’s near-fatal illness as an example, they decided together to entrust the last dose of the lifesaving elixir to three merchant guilds—Han Yuan Exchange, Bao Chang Sheng, and Four Seas Treasures—for joint sale.

Throughout the speech, he never mentioned that Han Yuan Exchange’s largest shareholder was the Duan family, nor that the second was the Ren family. Nor did he mention that Zhang Qian, at Ren Qiong’s suggestion, priced the “lifesaving elixir” at a staggering one hundred thousand strings of coins.

Yet, in the subsequent transaction, every step was strictly businesslike.

He first handed the prepared contract for both Ren Qiong and Zhang Qian to review. Once both confirmed, they signed and sealed it.

After sealing, the contract wasn’t exchanged immediately. The elixir and deposit were placed in full view. With two witnesses present, the Duan family steward and Zhang Qian himself confirmed the deposit and the elixir’s quantity. Only then did they lock them in their respective chests.

Finally, Ren Qiong and Zhang Qian, before a portrait of the ancient Three Sovereigns, Shen Nong, burned incense and swore an oath, promising mutual honesty and willingness. Then they exchanged contracts, completing the entire process. (Note: Shen Nong is honored as the founder of market transactions; the God of Wealth and Guan Gong were worshiped much later.)

Only at this point did Zhang Qian finally understand the agreed deposit of ten thousand strings and its actual amount.

Because the sum was so large, it was inconvenient to carry. The Ren family paid him forty strings of Kaiyuan currency on the spot for immediate expenses. The rest was recorded in a ledger for debt settlement; he could send someone to any of the three merchant guilds in Chang’an—Han Yuan Exchange, Bao Chang Sheng, or Four Seas Treasures—to withdraw it as needed. Even so, the copper coins filled a large chest!

Kaiyuan coins, standardized for ease of use at their inception, weighed precisely one tael per ten coins. In the Tang dynasty, a pound was sixteen taels; forty strings of coins weighed 250 pounds! Thanks to Ren Cong’s thoughtfulness, after the transaction, he sent Ren Five and Ren Six to help carry the chest back to the guest room. Otherwise, Zhang Qian would have struggled to move it alone.

“There’s no paper currency, not even promissory notes!” For the first time witnessing how backward Tang commercial activity was, and feeling his own purse bulging, Zhang Qian left the hall, chatting idly with Ren Cong while secretly pondering.

Without even the most basic checks or remittance services, Tang banks must lack capital requirements. If, after Emperor Xuanzong takes the throne and the world is truly peaceful, he opens a bank in Chang’an, he’ll surely make a fortune.

Perhaps, perhaps, he’ll become the richest man in Tang. When he wants a house, he’ll buy two mansions inside the second ring, each no less than two acres. He’ll hire Persians as accountants, Japanese as gardeners, and Kunlun slaves as guards. One mansion for himself, the other just to show off next door…

Just as he was happily daydreaming, a sudden shout rang out behind him: “Hey! You wild monk who hit my second sister, stop right there! Guo Er from Chang’an is here for revenge! Ren Five, get out of the way. Today, I won’t rest until I’ve beaten his face black and blue!”

As the voice fell, the man arrived, fist as big as a melon and reeking of sour sweat, aiming straight for Zhang Qian’s head!