Centuries

Chapter 1

Lord Dong's Great Hall was lined with lanterns, with many ladies in waiting playing instruments on stage. Waitresses presented the dishes to us, with all of us noblemen talking and laughing in between bites. Except, I wasn't a nobleman. I had disguised myself as one, and I adopted their accents. I used my chopsticks to dip my chicken in the sauce. Over the centuries, the food had gotten better and better, and I had to marvel at the ingenuity of mortals'--they had discovered many spices and complementary flavours. I ate. The spicy and yet sweet chicken caressed my tastebuds, and I was in a good mood.

"What brings you to Lord Dong's estate, then, Mr uh--"

"Lord Yi," I said. I wasn't sure if I could keep up this facade,but I had to try. After all, I was not here to drink and relax, like everyone else. I had to do my job, no matter how unpleasant it was.

"I have not seen you before. Many of us are longtime friends and--"

"Ah, I see. I made a deal with Lord Dong regarding some arms," my plausible excuse sounded feeble, but I tried to be convincing. "And his dinner invitation extended to me."

The man eating opposite us hooted in laughter.

"You cannot be this dense!"

What? Had he discovered who I really was?

"Lord Dong hosts this dinner every year in an effort to wed his daughter. He allows us to invite another nobleman in our circle to see if she is to our liking, but it is of no use."

"Oh," I say, realising that I had unknowingly stumbled upon a matchmaking session.

"I am Lord Wu. Pleased to make your acquaintance. Surely he would have mentioned his daughter when he invited you to dinner?"

"I thought he meant it as a joke. Besides, a man of his stature and can afford a matchmaker, could he not?"

At this, all the men, who I had realised were listening in on this conversation, started roaring with laughter.

"It is impossible for her to marry! She has no manners, not any qualities that a wife should have!" a man howled.

"I was matchmade with her once, and she threw soup in my face!" another told me. So it began. The men began trading stories while I listened, amused at what she had done. Another lord chimed that she had used her zither to smack him on the head when he'd criticised her playing, and the last one said that she had no hips.

"No hips! What about heirs and grandchildren?" He was about to start ranting when a woman in green robes showed up on the stage with a zither. Silence fell.

"Is that her?" I asked, and the men nodded. The one who had been hit by her zither shuddered. Gazing down at the instrument, the young lady plucked it with trained ease. From the way the other men talked about her, they said that she was not the most beautiful maiden in this province, but what did it matter to them? I found that their judgement of beauty was daft. One of them made some remark about how she ate like a barbarian, but judging from their table manners, they did the same. I sighed, and continued to observe the performance.

Midway through, though, the tune changed from a tranquil and peaceful one to one that was lively and full of energy, akin to what soldiers heard before going to battle. All of us stared at her, and I swore that there was a cheeky gleam in her eye as she played. Or it could have been my imagination. After all, her head was bowed and she was hard at work.

Suddenly, an attendant appeared and whispered into her ear. Her expression did not change, but she left the stage. All was quiet again.

At this moment in time, I thought it best for me to use the gentlemen's room. I took my leave from the men and stood up, strolling around the estate. I knew that Lord Dong would not mind, after all--as someone who was privy to the records of many mortals, I knew that Lord Dong loved showing off. I strolled past the courtyards, where other guests were chatting. None of them seemed to notice me. His estate was large, certainly, and I was headed to the main garden, which I surmised was straight ahead. However, I turned left, simply because I was in the mood for exploring, and found a smaller garden with a pond, a bridge, but not much else.