EWRN - Chapter 24
Chapter 24: Encounters in the Brothel (II)
The madam pushed the door open and came in. “An’er, are you ready? The guests have all arrived.”
“Yes, Madam, everything is ready. I’ve changed my clothes and my makeup is done,” Di An replied softly.
“Have you read the booklet I gave you?” the madam asked, still concerned. That young master looked like a person of high status. If she served him well tonight and he took this ill-fated girl as a concubine, it would be a good outcome for her. It would also prevent her from being sullied by other men.
“Yes, Madam. I’ve finished reading it and have committed it all to memory,” Di An answered obediently.
Di An had been sent to Jiang City when she was five. That year, her father had offended the late emperor at court and was then impeached for corruption and abuse of power. Charged with multiple crimes, he was not only stripped of his official rank and beheaded, but his entire family was implicated. The old and young were exiled to the borderlands, their fates unknown, while the female relatives were dispatched by the government to Jiang City and sent into the brothels as official courtesans. Unable to bear the humiliation, the women fell ill and died or took their own lives. Only five-year-old Di An, too young to understand anything, was left behind at the Jade Spring Pavilion.
The madam was a good person. Back then, the Jade Spring Pavilion was just an ordinary brothel with poor business. It was the madam who, against everyone’s objections, insisted on keeping the child and raising her well. Perhaps the madam saw her own past in the girl, or perhaps it was a pure burst of maternal love, but she treated Di An very well, as if she were her own daughter. Di An should have had her first night when she came of age at fifteen, but the madam’s silver tongue had managed to delay it until now, a full three years later.
“Your first night will certainly be painful, but remember to serve the guest well. It will ensure your future wealth and splendor,” the madam rambled on. Seeing the madam’s confident demeanor, Di An grew curious about tonight’s guest. What kind of person could make the worldly-wise madam look at him with such high regard?
Behind the screen, Hua Ying’s fists were clenched tightly. She didn’t understand how she could have developed feelings for a brothel girl. This emotion, which violated the moral principles of the Great Yuan Kingdom, tormented her every moment.
Hua Ying was the Young Mistress of Minghua Pavilion (lit. Famous Flower Pavilion), a clandestine power in the Great Yuan Kingdom. Minghua Pavilion was a renowned assassin organization in the martial world, with a list of its top members called the Famous Flower Ranking. The nine famous flowers on the list were all well-known assassins. Despite her youth, Hua Ying was ranked third, a testament to her formidable skill. She was currently being hunted—no, captured—because she had fled her own wedding three months ago.
She was only sixteen, in the prime of her youth. She had endless missions to complete and the vast rivers and mountains of the country to explore. She had no desire to be shackled by a so-called political marriage, to have children so early and become a haggard housewife, or to bicker with a flock of concubines in a man’s rear courtyard. So, on her wedding day, she ran. The man she jilted was the famous Second Young Master of the Sheng Family Villa, Sheng Wanze, who was also a man of great talent and appearance. Thus, no one could understand why the Young Mistress of Minghua Pavilion would reject such a perfect marriage. The Lord of Minghua Pavilion was furious at his young daughter’s disobedience. Along her escape route, Minghua Pavilion sent many people to try and capture Hua Ying alive. Because they couldn’t harm the Young Master, they never used excessive force, allowing Hua Ying to escape time and again. However, some unknown enemy of Minghua Pavilion also sent people after her, with the goal of hunting her down and killing her. These pursuers naturally used lethal force. Although Hua Ying dealt with them, she was gravely injured in the process. She fled all the way to Jiang City and stumbled into a room in the Jade Spring Pavilion.
She had assumed that any room in a brothel would be a den of debauchery, but she never expected this room to be so warm and refreshing, no less elegant than the chamber of a high-born lady. She didn’t know that by barging in, she had crashed into the world of the head courtesan, Di An, from which she would find it impossible to escape.
On the second floor of the Jade Spring Pavilion.
Huo Jinyu had already eaten her fill. She leaned back on a soft couch, quietly waiting for the legendary head courtesan to appear. Squandering the national treasury, was it? The first night of the most famous courtesan in the kingdom was bound to be expensive. She was determined to have it!
Soon, two lines of young women carrying musical instruments ascended the stage. After setting up their qins and other instruments, the girls took their seats.
This is quite the grand affair, Huo Jinyu thought to herself.
The girls all wore white veils. With a flick of their fingers, the strings and instruments produced crisp, clear notes. There was a rule in the brothels: girls who had not yet come of age or had their first night were to appear with their faces veiled. Only upon coming of age or after their first night could the veil be removed.
As the clear notes of the qin sounded, the entire hall fell silent. The crowd quieted down in a shared understanding. A melodious tune drifted from the center of the stage, a sound that could soothe away agitation and calm the heart, leaving one feeling refreshed and serene. The young masters exchanged glances, all nodding in satisfaction. The Jade Spring Pavilion’s presentation was indeed magnificent.
The music played for some time, but there was still no movement at the top of the stairs. The guests began to stir with slight impatience.
At that very moment, a pair of delicate, jade-like feet appeared at the top of the second-floor staircase. As the feet descended, a woman in a white dress slowly walked down from above, like an immortal descending to the mortal realm. Gasps of amazement rippled through the crowd.
The fairy-like woman walked along the path cleared between the tables and chairs towards the stage. An aura of cool purity surrounded her, causing the men on either side of the aisle to stare, dumbfounded. It was the first time they had seen the head courtesan, Di An, at such a close distance. She was truly a beauty, with fair skin, a gorgeous face, and long legs.
Huo Jinyu was in a private room on the second floor near the staircase, so she also had a clear view of this legendary woman. As the woman descended step by step, her elegant and otherworldly back came into view. Her three thousand black silks were tied in a bun, cascading down her back. Her snow-white dress made her look like a celestial being who had stepped out of a painting.
As if bewitched, Huo Jinyu thought she saw the shadow of Yan Xi in this figure. It was as if the real Yan Xi was standing right below.
No, no, no! Huo Jinyu shook her head violently. How could she mistake a strange woman for Xi'er? Could it be that she hadn’t seen Xi'er in too long and was starting to hallucinate? Huo Jinyu didn’t realize how close she was to the truth.
The white-clad head courtesan stepped onto the stage and, as the music began, started to dance. Her graceful figure and beautiful movements left the men in the audience spellbound. Excited cheers erupted from below the stage.
One dance ended, and the music changed. The head courtesan began to dance again. Her toes tapped lightly, her dress fluttering, her arms lifting gently, sending a wave of fragrance with the long sleeves. She was truly as graceful as a startled swan, as supple as a swimming dragon.
The audience below burst into applause. The more talented men began to compose poems on the spot, reciting lines like, “A single glance from the beauty overthrows a city, a second glance overthrows a nation,” or “The hibiscus cannot match the beauty’s face, a breeze from the water palace carries the scent of her pearls and jade,” and “Her beauty outshines all, past and present; the lotus flower is shamed by her jade-like face…”
It was well known that on a normal day, it cost a thousand taels of silver just to see Di An dance, yet tonight, the head courtesan had performed three dances! Everyone declared that they had not come in vain. Even if they failed to win the head courtesan’s first night, the evening was already worth it. They had gotten their money’s worth!
After the three dances, Di An switched places with one of the qin players. Di An played the qin while the other girls accompanied her with a dance.
It was, without a doubt, absolutely stunning. Di An’s qin playing alone captured the attention of the entire audience, completely overshadowing the performance of the previous musicians.
After another three songs, Di An rose. The girls carried the instruments and stools off the stage, leaving Di An alone. The eyes of a pack of hungry wolves immediately lit up.
“Miss Di An, take off your veil!” a young man’s voice suddenly broke the silence.
“That’s right! Surely you can take off your veil tonight?” another chimed in.
“Miss Di An, take off your veil!”
“You can take it off now!”
“Take it off! Take it off!”
The voices from below rose one after another, gradually spiraling out of control. On the second floor, Huo Jinyu frowned. It was just a face. Were these men really so desperate?
The madam walked onto the stage from the side and made a downward pressing gesture with her hands. The noise gradually subsided. The crowd recognized her and quieted down to listen to what she had to say.
“Good evening, esteemed guests! Welcome to our Jade Spring Pavilion. As everyone knows, tonight is our head courtesan’s first night, and it is also the first time she will remove her veil. Since she is the head courtesan, things are naturally different. The starting bid for the head courtesan’s veil is one thousand taels of silver! Esteemed guests, you may begin!” the madam announced.
Her words startled a portion of the crowd who had only come to drink and join the fun. The ones with the real ability to bid for the veil were the young masters sitting at the dozen or so tables in front of the stage and on the second floor. Most of them were profligate sons of officials or wealthy merchants, and they had silver to spare.
“One thousand five hundred taels!” A young master at a front table added five hundred.
“Two thousand five hundred taels!”
“Three thousand taels!”
“Five thousand taels!”
“Five thousand five hundred taels!”
“Five thousand seven hundred taels!”
…
Just as the crowd was bidding furiously, a resonant voice came from the second floor.
“Twenty thousand taels of silver!”
Everyone was stunned!
Looking up at the second floor, they saw a handsome young master lounging lazily on a couch, holding a teacup in his right hand, speaking with an air of nonchalance.
The one who called the price was none other than Huo Jinyu. Without any hesitation, she had shouted a price that far exceeded the value of the veil. Squandering silver was her favorite thing to do.
The crowd had been hovering around the six or seven thousand mark, and now the price had leaped directly to twenty thousand taels, making them feel a sense of unreality.
Seeing the dumbfounded looks on everyone’s faces, it didn’t seem like they could continue bidding. So the madam called out, “Twenty thousand taels once! Twenty thousand taels twice! Twenty thousand taels three times! Congratulations to the young master for winning the head courtesan’s veil! An’er, you may remove your veil,” the madam said, turning to Di An.
Di An nodded obediently, which stirred another wave of excitement among the men. They had never seen such a pure and docile head courtesan!
Di An’s jade-like hand gently brushed against her face. With a light pull, the veil slid into her fingertips.
The crowd held its breath, not daring to blink. A face of exquisite, unparalleled beauty was revealed.
What a woman—a beauty that could sink fish and startle geese, eclipse the moon and shame the flowers!
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