The next hour tested Rong Tian’s patience. He moved repeatedly between tables carrying bamboo-leaf wine, lady’s wine, chrysanthemum tea, osmanthus sweets, bird’s nest soup, and plates of sweet-and-sour fruit, all while studying the room without appearing to study anything. At the southern tables, three young nobles drank too quickly and laughed too loudly. Their jade rings struck their cups, and the sleeves of their expensive robes became increasingly disordered each time another wine jar was emptied. “Play that song again,” one called toward the stage, raising his cup. “If I go home now, even my household servants will know I am a coward.” His red-faced companion laughed. “Go home? Your house has no pipa like this, no wine like this, and no woman who understands when to keep quiet.” An attendant behind them suppressed a laugh. An older official a