Chapter 7: Reality Dating Show

 

Guangming Temple didn't occupy much space by the standards of religious establishments. The front courtyard housed the Buddha statue and main worship hall, while the back courtyard and left wing contained the nuns' living quarters. The right wing was reserved exclusively for pilgrims and guests.

Shen Shaoguang currently occupied two of the main rooms in this guest wing. The remaining three main rooms and six side rooms were being frantically cleaned out and prepared under Jingqing's supervision.

Since Guangming Temple was conveniently located within the city walls rather than requiring a journey into the countryside, pilgrims found it easy to come and go for daily worship. Few ever stayed overnight. This guest courtyard stood empty most of the time—which was precisely why, when Shen Shaoguang had initially requested lodging, the rather materialistic guest receptionist nun Jingci hadn't immediately refused her. Instead, seeing potential profit in an otherwise unused space, she'd brought Shen Shaoguang before the abbess for consideration.

Now, watching Jingci boss around the junior nuns to meticulously clean and prepare the rooms—personally arranging fresh peonies from the courtyard in expensive vases, fussing over the placement of furniture—her entire manner toward Shen Shaoguang seemed to say: This is how our temple treats noble ladies of consequence.

The performance actually made Shen Shaoguang laugh. The young nun was truly childishly transparent in her social climbing. Endearing, really, in its shameless obviousness.

---

When the Second Young Lady of Duke Lu's mansion finally arrived with her considerable entourage, Shen Shaoguang was in the courtyard preparing preserved fish in wine lees.

A few days earlier, she'd bought many small crucian carp at a bargain price—the vendor had been desperate to sell before they spoiled in the heat. After making fish soup once and finding it quite satisfactory, she still had many remaining. Small crucian carp possessed far too many bones to cook most other ways, and they weren't suitable for long-term storage through normal methods. So Shen Shaoguang had cleaned them thoroughly, removing guts and gills, then hung them to dry in the shade.

Now that they were adequately desiccated, she was methodically layering them in a large earthen jar. One layer of fish, one layer of wine lees, one layer of salt. Then repeating the pattern, building up preserved layers like sedimentary rock. She calculated that in a few months when autumn weather cooled, she could extract them and stew them slowly until the bones softened completely and the meat became tender—transforming them into something salty and fragrant with the complex flavor of fermented wine lees. Perfect accompaniment to plain rice porridge.

Footsteps and animated voices approached from the courtyard entrance. Shen Shaoguang looked up from her work, hands thoroughly covered in wine lees that smelled powerfully of fermentation, and met the gaze of a peach blossom-like face painted in full formal makeup.

The young woman's face was genuinely beautiful—the kind of delicate features that would inspire poetry. But those eyebrows. Those thick, dramatically long eyebrows had been drawn to nearly meet at the center, creating the fashionable "connected willow brow" style currently popular in the palace.

Although Shen Shaoguang had endured seeing these peculiar eyebrows throughout Chang'an society for quite some time now, she still wasn't accustomed to them. They looked like aggressive caterpillars attacking from opposite sides of the face. It was truly a waste—marring such a beautiful young lady's face with this bizarre trend.

Jingqing made the introductions with diplomatic smoothness. "This is Young Lady Shen who is worshipping Buddha at our temple, and this is Young Lady Pang from Duke Lu's distinguished mansion."

Very compassionately, she'd described Shen Shaoguang's economic "rental stay" as spiritual "worshipping Buddha"—transforming a mundane commercial transaction into religious devotion. The semantic distinction elevated everyone's status.

Jingqing was truly considerate in her social management. Shen Shaoguang smiled with genuine appreciation, wiped her wine-lees-covered hands on a cleaning cloth, and stepped forward to offer proper greetings.

However, such careful concealment couldn't fool genuinely discerning observers. Second Young Lady Pang gave Shen Shaoguang a dismissive side glance without speaking—her entire posture radiating aristocratic disdain.

Her maid, emboldened by her mistress's obvious contempt, said sharply to Jingqing, "Venerable nun, you're having our young lady stay in the same courtyard with this... poor girl?"

The condescension dripped from every word.

Jingqing pressed her lips together and smiled apologetically, her expression carefully neutral. "Young Lady Shen comes from the Shen family of Luoyang."

The previously disdainful maid suddenly became visibly embarrassed, her confidence evaporating. She glanced nervously at her mistress, clearly uncertain how to proceed after this revelation.

The dynamics of Tang dynasty aristocracy were complex and unforgiving. Duke Lu's family had only risen to prominence during the An Lushan Rebellion at the end of the Tianbao era, earning their title through military merit in suppressing the uprising. Even those founding minister families from the very beginning of the dynasty were considered "nouveau riche" by the old noble clans—families whose lineages stretched back centuries, who measured their importance in generations rather than decades.

A family like Duke Lu's, with shallow roots and status entirely dependent on Imperial Consort Su's favor in the palace? They earned nothing but sneers from the established aristocracy. They were parvenus, climbers, people with titles but no genuine breeding.

Although Shen Shaoguang was currently poor—selling breakfast foods at ward gates, living in temple lodgings like a vagrant—she possessed something Duke Lu's family could never purchase: a genuinely distinguished family name. In this era where "people took pride in their surnames," where genealogy mattered more than gold, she remained fundamentally "noble" by blood.

The old aristocracy might have fallen on hard times, but they never forgot who they were. And they never let the new rich forget it either.

Shen Shaoguang smiled pleasantly as she looked at Second Young Lady Pang, who stared back at her face with obvious reassessment. The girl finally offered an unwilling, minimal greeting in return—the bare minimum courtesy required.

Jingqing, sensing the awkward tension threatening to crystallize into open hostility, quickly made conversation with Shen Shaoguang. "What is the benefactor making? It smells quite... distinctive."

Shen Shaoguang smiled easily. "I'm preserving fish in wine lees. A humble preparation, but it keeps well."

Preserved fish in wine lees wasn't exactly a refined aristocratic dish—it was peasant food, preservation born of necessity rather than culinary artistry. Second Young Lady Pang's expression grew even more displeased, her delicate nose wrinkling slightly as though the smell personally offended her.

Fearing further disputes that might reflect poorly on the temple, Jingqing quickly nodded to Shen Shaoguang and led the Duke's party into the main rooms, Jingci trailing behind with obsequious attentiveness.

---

Shen Shaoguang leisurely sealed the earthen jar in the courtyard, taking her time to ensure it was properly closed. She'd initially thought to place it in the shade under the courtyard's tree—the coolest spot for fermentation. But considering she wasn't living alone in the courtyard anymore, and her new neighbor clearly possessed delicate sensibilities about appropriate behavior for young ladies, she decided not to unnecessarily annoy others.

She carried the heavy jar back indoors and tucked it discreetly under her bed, where it could ferment in peace away from aristocratic judgment.

The servants were still energetically cleaning the three rooms on the western side, their industry suggesting they'd be at it for hours. Regarding such a roommate—spoiled, superior, clearly unused to compromise—Shen Shaoguang decided to adopt a diplomatic strategy summarized by the saying "being reasonable, beneficial, and measured."

However, thinking practically about it, after all, this was a young lady from a duke's mansion. She had family, parents, social obligations. What possible reason would she have to stay long at a nunnery? Surely she'd return home soon, called back by family duties or social events. So they wouldn't have to endure each other's company for very long.

That said, Shen Shaoguang remained quite skeptical about the stated claim of "coming to worship Buddha." Second Young Lady Pang's temperament didn't seem at all like someone devoted to Buddhist practice. She showed none of the quiet contemplation, the patient humility, the spiritual seeking that characterized genuine devotees.

But if she hadn't actually come to worship Buddha, what had she come for?

Perhaps she'd taken a particular liking to the temple's pastries? The thought made Shen Shaoguang let out an undignified snicker. Maybe the girl was staging an elaborate excuse to access the red bean cakes without admitting she'd rather eat than pray.

After "however-ing" and "but-ing" and mentally critiquing the young lady for a solid while, Shen Shaoguang finally felt better. Mental criticism was truly a simple and remarkably effective form of psychological therapy. She felt considerably more charitable toward her new neighbor now that she'd thoroughly roasted her in private.

---

Soon enough, Shen Shaoguang learned about Second Young Lady Pang's actual purpose for coming to Guangming Temple.

In the evening, when Shen Shaoguang returned from buying vegetables—evening vegetables were significantly cheaper than morning ones, though admittedly a bit wilted, but still perfectly fine for cooking—she happened to encounter Second Young Lady Pang taking an elaborate "casual stroll" near the temple gate with two attendant maids.

Having finished internally criticizing others and achieving psychological equilibrium, Shen Shaoguang was now feeling magnanimous and generously spirited. She actively greeted the young lady with friendly warmth.

Seeing the rice and vegetables in Shen Shaoguang's hands, and recalling her maid's vivid earlier description of this Young Lady Shen shamelessly selling pancakes at the ward gate like common street trash, Second Young Lady Pang snorted with theatrical disdain.

"I never expected to become neighbors with a street vendor! How absolutely mortifying."

"..." Shen Shaoguang's lips twitched involuntarily. She hesitated for a moment, genuinely torn between two options: discipline this ill-mannered bear cub on behalf of her clearly negligent parents, or simply ignore her and wait for her to cause bigger trouble that would teach her the lesson herself.

Considering herself fundamentally a kind person—despite significant evidence to the contrary—Shen Shaoguang decided to help the parents who'd obviously failed in their educational duties.

"As a supposed descendant of the Three Kingdoms' Marquis Pang, you naturally wouldn't deign to associate with us common merchants." She paused deliberately, letting the compliment sink in before deploying the barb. "Though I imagine Military Advisor Pang must have felt quite uncomfortable following our First Lord Liu Bei back then—after all, the First Lord made his living selling straw sandals and woven sleeping mats. Quite the merchant himself, really."

The historical callback was devastating in its precision.

The first Duke Lu had come from military ranks—a soldier who'd risen through battlefield merit rather than inherited position. After becoming wealthy and receiving his title, he'd learned to imitate refined aristocratic people by commissioning a family genealogy. The literary servant responsible for creating this document, understanding perfectly what his master wanted, had conveniently traced the Pang family lineage directly back to Pang Tong of the Three Kingdoms period—the famous advisor known as "Young Phoenix."

Duke Lu had been overjoyed with this manufactured pedigree and from then on proudly claimed descent from the prestigious Pang clan of Jingzhou.

Such fabricated claims of ancient ancestry were remarkably common in Chang'an society. After all, even the current Tang Emperor claimed to be a direct descendant of Laozi himself—the legendary founder of Taoism. But people would still mock these pretensions behind closed doors and sometimes to faces.

However, while others usually mocked the Duke's family for the genealogy being obviously fake, Shen Shaoguang had taken a brilliantly novel approach: she'd cheerfully acknowledged them as genuine descendants of Pang Tong... but then immediately connected Liu Bei—Pang Tong's lord and employer—to herself as a fellow merchant.

If you claim Pang Tong as your ancestor, you must accept that he served a sandal-seller. And therefore, you have no grounds to look down on commerce.

The logical trap snapped shut with satisfying precision.

Second Young Lady Pang wasn't particularly well-read—her education had focused more on deportment, embroidery, and music than literature or history. But because of their fabricated claimed ancestor, her father had forced her to read some Three Kingdoms historical texts so she could at least discuss her "heritage" without revealing complete ignorance.

After hearing Shen Shaoguang's words, it took her several long seconds to parse the meaning and understand the insult embedded within the apparent agreement. When comprehension finally dawned, she became so angry her powder-white face flushed crimson. She stamped her foot with impotent rage.

"You, you—"

Just then, they heard a distinct "tsk" of amused laughter from behind them.

Shen Shaoguang and Second Young Lady Pang turned simultaneously to see two young gentlemen approaching along the street. One wore a sapphire blue round-collared robe of obvious quality—Shen Shaoguang recognized him immediately as the crimson-robed official who'd caused that memorable scene at the palace gate some time ago. The breakfast pancake incident. Her first actual customer in this new life.

The one who had laughed—clearly unable to contain his amusement at the verbal sparring he'd just witnessed—wore a white scholar's robe that suggested literary rather than official status.

Second Young Lady Pang was visibly startled by their sudden appearance. She glared at the scholar in white with fury—how dare he laugh at her humiliation! Then, in a transformation so rapid it would have impressed stage actors, she bashfully greeted the official with an elaborate curtsy, her entire demeanor shifting from outraged to demurely charming.

"Your humble servant greets Assistant Magistrate Lin."

In that single flash of revelation, everything clicked into perfect clarity for Shen Shaoguang. This must be their neighbor—the Assistant Capital Magistrate who lived in the former Shen family residence. And Second Young Lady Pang's purpose for staying at the temple...

Tsk tsk, could it be? Perhaps? Could it possibly be?

Tang Dynasty women were truly bold and open in their romantic pursuits! So much for delicate feminine restraint. This girl had essentially moved next door to stake her claim.

Shen Shaoguang couldn't help but watch this unfolding live dating show with profound interest and considerable entertainment. This was better than theater. This was performance art happening right before her eyes.

The scholar in white also looked at his companion with obvious teasing interest, clearly enjoying watching his friend be ambushed by aristocratic matrimonial scheming.

However, Lin Yan only responded with cool politeness to Second Young Lady Pang's effusive greeting. "No need for such formality, Young Lady."

His tone carried no warmth whatsoever—merely the courtesy required by social convention. His gaze swept briefly over Shen Shaoguang with what might have been faint recognition, then moved on without particular interest.

Shen Shaoguang offered them both a perfunctory greeting—the minimal acknowledgment required by propriety. Lin Yan nodded slightly in return, glanced meaningfully at his friend as if to say let's escape this situation, and walked ahead with purposeful strides.

The scholar in white met Shen Shaoguang's eyes directly as he passed. They both smiled with complete understanding—the knowing look of people who recognized kindred spirits in questionable character and shameless observation of others' embarrassments.

People of dubious moral fiber always found it especially easy to understand each other.

Shen Shaoguang watched them disappear down the street, then glanced at Second Young Lady Pang's devastated expression—the girl had clearly hoped for much warmer reception—and decided this temple stay might prove considerably more entertaining than she'd anticipated.

At least now she understood why the girl had really come. And it had absolutely nothing to do with Buddhist devotion.

Previous/Next