Seven-Step Poem - Chapter 3

Fragrance met me as I opened the door.

The room was dim.

Gathering my courage, I approached.

The man’s hands and feet were bound. A thin layer of blue-green gauze barely covered him.

A strip of cloth concealed his eyes. He had his head tilted back, exposing his vulnerable throat as he breathed hard.

At the sound, he turned.

“Who—”

When the cloth came off, he narrowed his eyes.

After a long moment, his alluring gaze swept toward me.

I stared.

The man my sister had found was this beautiful?

Though barely clothed, he had none of a courtesan’s ingratiating air.

He was imposing. There was something almost regal about him.

Truly exceptional.

Excitement stirred in me. I stepped closer with trembling hands.

He drew back.

“Who are you?”

I waved a hand before his eyes.

Blind.

A beautiful blind man.

Well, as long as he could serve the purpose.

I touched his body. He resisted.

“What are you doing? I’m warning you, don’t touch me. Let me go, you ugly woman.”

I paused.

“You can’t see me. Why call me ugly?”

He snorted.

“Apart from my… mother, the rest are nothing but ordinary painted faces.”

He had not guessed wrong.

But I was still displeased.

When he called me ugly again, I frowned, remembered my sister’s words, and slapped him.

He froze.

With his cheek burning red, he stared in disbelief, looking almost hurt.

“You dare hit me?”

I felt a flicker of regret.

Then I remembered that my sister had paid.

Ignoring his struggles, I stripped off his clothes.

A moment later, seeing his body’s response, I snorted.

“That stands up louder than you protest.”

The red sun gave way to a rising crescent, blue-black draping the sky in gauzy skirts.

I could hardly wait to get out of bed and inspect myself in the bronze mirror.

Surprise and joy seized me.

My eyes were a little larger, my mouth a little smaller.

I was not beautiful yet, but at least I was no longer ugly.

It really worked.

I could not stop looking, or keep the smile from my lips.

Beside me, a voice spoke through clenched teeth.

“Shameless.”

I turned. The man was clutching my scarlet embroidered undergarment, the one with the paired mandarin ducks.

His ears were bright red.

He knew I had climbed out of bed without putting on any clothes.

I saw his body, only just settled, respond again.

I rolled my eyes.

“Better than being as insatiable as you.”

Before leaving, I pressed more money into A-Qi’s hand and told him to wait here at the same time tomorrow.

He gritted his teeth.

“Will this never end? What do you take me for, some freelance rent boy?”

I felt a little guilty.

Then I remembered that I had paid.

My confidence returned.

“What else?”

Over the next several days, after repeated encounters, my body changed noticeably.

Willow-leaf brows. Eyes holding starlight. Every expression grew more charming.

Even my sister could not stop admiring me.

A palace banquet happened to be approaching, and she insisted I attend.

As always, she was the moon surrounded by a host of stars.

I still felt self-conscious and kept my veil on throughout the banquet. Everyone who thought they already knew what I looked like paid me little attention.

Huddled in a corner with my cup, I listened to the noble young ladies gossip.

“I hear the crown prince will attend today. Her Majesty means to choose a bride for him. Who will be lucky enough to marry a prince of such exalted birth?”

“Not only exalted birth. His looks are unmatched. Even Qingfeng House’s finest courtesan cannot compare. Such a pity that so beautiful a prince cannot see at night.”

“Keep your voice down! Do you want to die?”

Qingfeng House.

Murmuring the name, I suddenly remembered A-Qi.

I had forgotten to send someone to tell him not to wait today.

Never mind.

If I did not come, he would surely leave on his own.

Previously, I had arrived only a cup of tea’s worth of time late.

When I opened the door, he had been standing right there, looking hurried.

His expression darkened when he saw me.

I assumed he had been about to leave and was unhappy because I had arrived just as he reached the door.

That day, he had moved with such force, thrusting again and again.

I grew angry too.

Afterward, I said coldly, “Always the same. How boring.”

“Perhaps I should try someone else next time.”

My thoughts returned to the banquet as the ladies went on praising the crown prince’s beauty.

I could not help comparing.

My sister said A-Qi came from Qingfeng House.

With looks like his, surely he must be their finest?

Could the crown prince really be more beautiful?

Intrigued, I looked around, but the prince never appeared.

As boredom set in, the empress went to admire the flowers in the imperial garden.

I followed at the very back.

My sister slipped up beside me with a grin, suddenly pulled away my veil, and ran off in the opposite direction.

“Wanwan, you are so beautiful! Why wear a veil?”

Covering my face, I hurried after her.

At a corner, I collided with someone’s chest.

I looked up in pain—and froze.

It was Jiang Yuan.