The beautiful bowls and dishes were taken out of the basket. A sliced piece of preserved duck egg was dipped in the prepared bright red sauce, the red and black contrasting vividly. Nie Yunzhu, who was placing the small dish on the counter, clearly saw the two men over there. She blinked, revealing a slight look of doubt. After a moment, as if remembering something, she restrained her smile, bowed slightly, turned her head, and continued to take the preserved duck eggs out.

“Well… Little Brother, I’m sorry to trouble you. If there’s not enough sauce, just go and get some…”

Gu Yanzhen, with a puzzled expression, walked to the counter and turned to watch her doing these things. The waiter probably sensed something was wrong and hesitated to ask Gu Yanzhen what he needed. After softly entrusting the waiter with the matter, Nie Yunzhu packed up the bamboo basket and smiled at him. “Young Master Gu.”

“Yun… Zhu?” Gu Yanzhen looked at the preserved duck eggs. “How could you… how could you be selling these things?”

“Is there something wrong with it?” Nie Yunzhu packed up her things and walked out, frowning slightly as she asked the question. Gu Yanzhen followed her and thought for a long time. He hesitated to speak, and finally took a breath to calm himself.

“I… I returned from Tokyo and went to Jin Feng Lou to find you, only to learn that you were no longer there. I asked where you were, but they wouldn’t tell me. They just assumed you had found a good home and were happy for you. But now… how could it be like this? Coming out to sell these things in public?”

People came and went on the street. Nie Yunzhu walked with her head down, thought for a moment, and then smiled slightly. “Thank you for your concern, Young Master. Although Yunzhu is showing her face in public, she is only earning money with her own hands and there is nothing wrong with it. Compared to my previous life, my heart has found its place. You don’t need to worry… Uh, your friend is still waiting for you in the restaurant. You should go back as soon as possible.”

Gu Yanzhen sighed and shook his head in distress. “It doesn’t matter… The person just now was Shen Miao, Shen Zishan. He also had a few encounters with you in the past. Didn’t you recognize him just now…” Nie Yunzhu kept her head down, so he couldn’t see her expression. Then he smiled again. “That’s right, you were dressed like this just now, so he didn’t recognize you either…”

Yun Zhu kept her head down as she walked, and he followed beside her, not knowing what topic to bring up. He could only talk about the past in a fragmented way: “… I still remember that year at Bailuzhou, Yunzhu’s zither music amazed everyone. I said that day… During the selection of the courtesan queen that year, I thought Yunzhu would definitely stand out, but who knew Yunzhu didn’t even have the intention of competing. That’s when I knew Yunzhu had a detached heart… When I left, I wanted to confide in Yunzhu, but in the end, it was just a few simple polite words… But when I was in Tokyo, I thought of you every day…”

Thinking about it, his emotions surged. The thoughts of several years burst out at once. This last sentence was considered a desperate gamble. After he finished speaking, he was about to take her hand. However, Nie Yunzhu might be a novice at doing business and setting up a stall, but she already had experience in this area. She frowned suddenly and moved aside. Gu Yanzhen was slightly stunned. Nie Yunzhu looked at him, frowned without speaking, and after a long time, finally revealed a smile and performed a *lǐnrèn* bow.

“Yunzhu… is surnamed Nie.”

“Huh?” Gu Yanzhen hesitated for a moment, then said, “You… your husband’s surname?”

Yun Zhu shook her head. “My father’s surname is Nie. Before, I fell into a life of prostitution, entertaining people with my beauty. Yunzhu didn’t want to sell even this surname in the end, so I only used the name Yunzhu. I never told anyone this surname at Jin Feng Lou. But now I have finally redeemed myself and left, and I can finally restore my full name… I was happy that you favored me back then. I am only honored that you still remember those things now. Therefore, if you really remember such a woman in the future, I hope it will be Nie Yunzhu, and not the famous courtesan Yunzhu of Jin Feng Lou.”

She was smiling from beginning to end, gentle but independent, keeping a sense of distance. Gu Yanzhen naturally understood the meaning of her words: “You… are you blaming me for only remembering you from your days in prostitution… But…”

“There is no blame. Yunzhu was indeed in a place of prostitution that day, selling my art, selling my smiles, and entertaining people with my beauty. That’s how things were. If you are really concerned about Yunzhu, Yunzhu is truly grateful. Therefore, I want to tell you that although I am showing my face in public now, Yunzhu is at peace in her heart, and is many times happier than I was at Jin Feng Lou. You don’t need to worry about Yunzhu.” She bowed slightly. “I have something to do, so I’ll take my leave first. Please go back.”

She still had a delivery of preserved duck eggs to Cuiping Restaurant, and she was thinking about this. After all, it was a hard-won sales channel, and she didn’t dare to be too late. As for Gu Yanzhen… she had seen many talented scholars in the past, and there were also some men who roamed the pleasure houses and considered themselves dashing, winning the hearts of women. Gu Yanzhen was quite outstanding among them. His demeanor, talent, behavior, and temperament all made him likable to many women, but now, to her, he was just an ordinary man with a slightly deeper impression.

She remembered that he seemed to be going to the capital for the imperial examination that year. Not long after, she redeemed herself. It was a bit of a surprise to meet him again now. But this was just a chance encounter. She might meet many people in the future, so it wasn’t that strange.

The past as a courtesan queen at Jin Feng Lou did not feel like a romance or an elegant story to her. Nor did she feel there was much sublime emotion to sing praises for. In the eyes of those scholars and intellectuals, perhaps a poetry gathering or a romantic affair could be praised for a long time. Someone being favored by a famous courtesan, becoming a guest in her boudoir, or even winning the beauty’s heart, who willingly offered her virginity, was the highest, most elegant, and most enviable achievement for a man. But for her, it was just a pitiful time when a woman anxiously endured each day in a future she couldn’t see.

Coming out of the Jiaofang Division, she uneasily accepted the fate of becoming a prostitute. Fortunately, she knew music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, which gave her a small opportunity. Then she worked hard to show herself to others, and worked hard to learn how to attract others without reminding them of vulgar lust, implying to them that such poetry reading and listening to music were elegant things. Even with some fame, she was still uneasy, afraid that one day something unexpected would happen. Those who had power and influence would really be willing to get a certain woman, and no "famous courtesan" or "master" could resist. There were various constraints and checks and balances. She didn't dare to make her name too loud, becoming a courtesan queen, turning into a tool for men to show off their charm…

During those days at Jin Feng Lou, not many women could protect themselves. Those girls who really had no other value and wanted to remain chaste had no good end. They were forcibly drugged, tied up, and subjected to various whippings and tortures. No woman could last until the end. There were not many who had the courage to commit suicide. Or, if they failed to commit suicide, they would eventually be unable to change anything. There were also girls who were top courtesans who sold their art but not their bodies. When the time came, they would be forcibly taken by powerful people, and no one could really support them.

The scariest thing was that those girls who initially resisted fiercely would soon gradually adapt, gradually become numb, gradually start talking to people, gradually learn to live this kind of life, and gradually start telling other women under the same roof about what kind of men they had met… During that time, she was afraid every day that that would be her future. Or, like a very small number of women, she would commit suicide, or go crazy. After having no value, she would be thrown out of Jin Feng Lou, becoming a beggar, running naked in the streets, and eventually becoming a rotting corpse that couldn't survive the winter.

Gu Yanzhen might miss the past when he brought it up, but there was nothing in it that she felt nostalgic about. She was a little displeased. But of course, it wasn't his fault. As Li Heng had said not long ago, it was always a good thing to be remembered by someone. His thoughts were kind, so she should smile and face him, thank him for his kindness, and let him understand these things. Of course, he might not understand the meaning of the home she had mentioned, and assumed that she had gotten married.

She went all the way to Cuiping Restaurant to deliver the preserved duck eggs. Gu Yanzhen kept watching from across the street, which made her feel a little troubled, but there was nothing she could do now. She couldn't say anything. "I was thinking of you every day in Tokyo…" What he thought, what they thought, might all be that Yunzhu who was smiling, playing the zither, singing, or dancing to someone else’s music, constantly pleasing others—this wasn’t their fault either. She couldn’t get angry, but she could only feel embarrassed now…

Over the years, there might have been times when she sang and played for her own amusement, but she had indeed thought that from now on, she would never use these methods and smiles to please others again. What if Gu Yanzhen talked about these things? If she didn't play the zither, sing, dance, or echo those romantic poems or praise the talent of some scholar, then what could everyone talk about when they sat together? But thinking of this, she couldn't help but think of a certain exceptional situation…

Only now did she realize that she had been so firm when she made that decision, but when Li Heng asked about the zither music before the New Year, she hadn't thought of these things at all, and instead unhesitatingly joked, "How many floors high?" Later, she was also playing the zither and composing music. Several times when he listened to *Galan Rain* and *Farewell at the Long Pavilion*, she was thinking while talking and laughing with him that it would be better if she could show more in front of him. She wanted to tell him that she sang her other songs better, and that her other lyrics and music might be better than these strange little tunes. When he casually said that he didn't like monotonous lyrics and music, she even felt a little annoyed in her heart, a little desire to perform, and wanted to say, "If I sang them, it wouldn't be like that."

In her heart, she already understood that just as he didn’t deliberately show his talent in front of her, she didn’t show her past skills either. But that wasn’t because of a shadow, but just because it hadn’t really been talked about. If that person really wanted to listen, she would definitely be willing to use these talents to please him, and wouldn’t feel like she was doing something similar to what she did at Jin Feng Lou at all.

Thinking back to what Hu Tao had told her a few days ago, she thought to herself that this kind of feeling might be impossible to change…

She thought about these things, and smiled faintly as she held the basket, returning all the way to the stall at the intersection. Hu Tao came over, thinking she was happy about the preserved duck eggs.

“Miss, we can sell a lot more in a day now, right?”

“Yes, it’s definitely no problem with the task of thirty eggs.” But… things didn’t seem to have anything to do with Li Heng, because Li Heng usually didn’t interact with these scholars… She wondered about this… Then she turned her head to look around, and Gu Yanzhen seemed to have stopped following…

“Miss, what are you looking at?”

“Heh.” She smiled and shook her head, “Nothing…”

****************

On the other hand, Gu Yanzhen returned to the restaurant and met with Shen Zishan, his expression complicated.

“Zishan, what is the relationship between Dexin and that preserved duck egg stall? Do you… know?”