video | un: qishan

[silverneedles]

[ Wen Qing appears, filming from one of the monk cells on Mount Nathadi. She looks stern and annoyed, with a ghostly monk in the background looking rather delighted. ]

I have been asked to provide cheer to the crowd, and when I inquired to the specifics, the monk provided me with a song to sing. [ She waves a piece of paper, scribbled on with lyrics. ] A-Ning, you are not allowed to listen to this.

[ She looks back at the monk, who gestures for her to hurry up, and turns back to the camera to launch into her song. Her voice is lovely, and she can carry a tune, but that's about the nicest thing anyone can say about her performance. ]

A rambling young sailor to Unkharil came down,
He’d been paid off his ship in old Yancai town....

[ She continues through the entire song, trying to maintain a neutral expression and mostly managing, although by the end her cheeks are red. The monk in the background looks delighted, occasionally sniggering and cackling, and provides rousing applause at the end.

As soon as she's done, Wen Qing bows to the camera and abruptly shuts it off. ]



A rambling young sailor to Unkharil came down,
He’d been paid off his ship in old Yancai town.
When they asked who he was, well, he answered them, “Right,
I do belong to a family called nine times a night.”

A buxom young widow who still wore her weeds,
Well, her husband had left her his money and deeds,
And resolved she was on her conjugal rights
To soften her sorrow with nine times a night.

So she sent for her serving girls Ann and Amelia
To keep a look out for this wonderful sailor.
And if ever by chance he appeared in their sight
They should bring her the glad tidings of nine times a night.

She was favoured by fortune the very next day,
These giggling girls saw him coming their way.
And upstairs they rushed full of amorous delight,
“ Oh, here comes that bold sailor with his nine times a night.”

Well, she danced out of bed and she pulled on her clothes
And down to the hall door like lightening she goes.
And she viewed him all over and gave him a smack
And the bargain was struck: no more sailing for Jack.

Well, the wedding was over, the bride tolled the bell,
Jack trimmed her sails five times and that pleased her well.
She vowed in her heart she was satisfied quite
Yet she still gives sly hints about nine times a night.

Says Jack, “My dear bride, you mistook me quite wrong,
I said to that family I did belong:
Nine times a night’s a bit hard for a man;
I couldn’t do it myself, but my sister she can.”

Comments

[silverneedles]

Of course. Tell me where you are, and I will find my way there after I climb down this cliff. Have wine ready!

[ how she wishes for a sword to fly on, or another swift way to get down. but she does start on her way down the cliff face, careful not to risk a fall. it'll take her a little while, but she'll make it there. ]

[weifinder]

( and when she does, she'll find him grinning, holding up two bottles - glass bottles, the style of their current company - of alcohol. wines. the kind from grapes, which is not the usual he cares to note, but is again a preference from the merchants and the present refugee company. )

We can drink right from them if we're feeling uncouth, but I did dig up some smaller bowls to use as cups - wood ones, neatly carved. Which will it be?

( offering one of the two her directly, easy smile, relaxed body language. )

[silverneedles]

[ since it is just wei wuxian, and they do not need formality, wen qing just takes the offered bottle. ]

No one will know if we indulge like this.

[ she settles in next to him, sipping straight from the bottle. sweeter than she prefers, but the sharp, alcoholic note is still there, and that's what she's after. ]

I will get you to join me on my next attempt at singing.

[weifinder]

( he grins, and laughs, holding his bottle up to her before taking his own long swallow, not quite careful enough to prevent some from spilling past the corners of his lips as he draws the bottle back, familiar in a less constant way here with the beading course the alcohol takes down the sides of his mouth, to his chin, to drip toward his neck. )

Hah! Good, good, I have Chenqing, obvious, and if you want a harmony... well, I'm not the worst with singing. Not great either, I handle melodies, not singing.

( he waves away the thought of him being a prolific singer with the same sort of general goodwill he's relaxed into since she took the bottle. his gaze, lazy in the moment, flicks her way. smile growing a touch impish, without any bite behind it. )

And if there's ever anyone you want to impress...

[silverneedles]

[ wei wuxian is easy to be around, especially like this, and wen qing is still in high spirits. she's tidier when she drinks, none of the wine spilling past her lips, but she makes a face as she pulls the bottle back. ]

I do miss our liquor at home. Even Uncle Four's. [ it was better than this, more suited to her tastes.

she catches that impish smile, and the question makes her both laugh and flush, ducking her head down for a moment before she straightens. she needs another drink before she can answer. ]

There will be no attempts at impressing anyone here. I'm a respectable woman!