杂记Collected Writings

Words of Gold and JadeAI

金玉言
— Cong Family Chamber of CommerceAI
译AI translation. The game hasn’t shipped official English for this text, so this one was machine-translated from the Chinese and may contain errors. It will be replaced automatically once an official translation is imported.

Many friends who are Golden Terrace Guests for the first time ask, "How should I enjoy being a Golden Terrace Guest?"

If you can ask that question, you are not yet a proper Golden Terrace Guest.

Wealthy merchants and noble scions, mighty heroes and remarkable folk: only the most honoured of honoured guests may ascend the Golden Terrace. Whenever we became Golden Terrace Guests, we all count as old friends of Weiyang City, and keeping to the rules would only spoil that friendship.

When hungry, the best sea-view seats at Number One Cup are kept for us;

when changing clothes, the newest finery at the Merfolk Silk House passes before our eyes first;

when weary and sleepy, the Aromatherapy Hall brews its exclusive herbal baths to our measure;

when bored and jaded, the people at our side, the view before our eyes, the pavilions under our feet can all be changed however you please.

As for quiet all to ourselves even in jail, another floor opened to us at the Manor, and the newfound respect of all who come and go, these are too many to list.

"I don't know anything about the enjoyments of a Golden Terrace Guest," one old friend who often comes to Weiyang City answered me. "But the servants here are far more attentive than elsewhere, and they take good care of my big crocodile."

For his new pet, a whole crew of servants rebuilt the second-floor bathing pool overnight, and from then on everyone brought along their own fierce beasts, and the place was lively beyond compare. Yet this friend never even noticed that the credit for starting it all was his: truly a model for us Golden Terrace Guests.

The Chamber has invited me to write for all of you newly made Golden Terrace Guests precisely because so many new friends are still shackled by the old customs of the Central Plains and cannot show off the wealth and splendour of Weiyang City.

Think less, do more; ask less, demand more; nothing is forbidden, do whatever you please: that is how a Golden Terrace Guest ought to behave.

As for how the Pearl Court Guest, one tier higher still, can differ when the Golden Terrace Guest is already the pinnacle, this humble writer is not up to saying; that I leave for you all to find out for yourselves.

A finalist of the Linglong Wager, a renowned merchant of the year at Nowhere Bazaar, and a kind, warm and sincere veteran Golden Terrace Guest