EWRN - Chapter 25
Chapter 25: Encounters in the Brothel (III)
When she removed her veil, a face that could topple cities and ruin nations was revealed.
Di An gently placed the veil into the madam's hands. The madam called a girl over, put the jade-white veil into her hands, and instructed her to personally and carefully deliver the piece, worth twenty thousand taels, to the young master on the second floor.
Having received her orders, the girl gracefully made her way through the crowd toward the second floor.
Huo Jinyu waited in the private room. Before long, the girl delivering the veil entered. She gingerly handed it to Huo Jinyu, terrified it might fall to the floor, get dirty, or be damaged. Even if they sold her, it wouldn't be enough to cover the cost.
Huo Jinyu took the veil and examined it in her hands for a moment. She decided to return it to the head courtesan later. After all, she wasn't like the other men with ulterior motives; holding onto it served no real purpose for her.
Once the small disturbance passed, the main hall on the first floor grew lively again. Everyone's attention was now focused on a single question: who would win the first night of the head courtesan, Di An.
There was no shortage of lavishly spending wealthy merchants and sons of officials in Jiang City, and most of them hadn't participated in the earlier auction for the veil. After all, they weren't like some brain-dead sycophants who would take a woman's personal belongings to do sordid things with. What they had their eyes on, what they wanted, was the head courtesan herself! What inanimate object could bring more pleasure than a living, breathing person?
The madam clapped her hands three times. "Esteemed guests, please quiet down! Today is Miss Di An's birthday, and it is also her first night—a very important day. This mama's heart is filled with reluctance to let her go." As she spoke, her voice choked with tears, and the performance was quite convincing.
The madam held back her tears, wiped her eyes with a wrinkled hand, and continued, "Tonight is An'er's first night. I hope the guest who wins the bid will be understanding; An'er is still innocent in many ways. So, without further ado, let's begin. The starting bid is ten thousand taels of silver."
The onlookers, both downstairs and up, were moved by the madam's choked-up sorrow. One after another, they secretly vowed that if they won her first night, they would surely dote on her and not let Miss Di An suffer the slightest grievance.
"Fifteen thousand taels!" a young master shouted, the first to raise his hand. He knew full well that such a paltry sum wouldn't win her first night; it was merely to get things started.
Spurred on by his shout, the crowd snapped back to their senses and began to compete, driving the price up continuously. "Twenty-five thousand taels!"
"Fifty thousand taels!" "Seventy thousand taels!" "Seventy-five thousand taels!" "Eighty thousand taels!" "Ninety thousand taels!" "One hundred and ten thousand taels!"...
The price climbed higher and higher, and the trace of reluctance in the madam's heart was washed away by the glittering silver. If Di An ended up with a kind patron, she thought, then tonight's auction wouldn't have been in vain.
One hundred and ten thousand taels was already an extremely high price, yet the wealthy patrons didn't mind and continued to raise their bids. The coarse men who had come just to witness the event and the young masters with little money widened their eyes in astonishment. Some of them might never see so much money in their entire lives. In comparison, Huo Jinyu's earlier bid of twenty thousand taels for a mere veil no longer seemed so outrageous.
Many people were sneaking glances at Huo Jinyu on the second floor, waiting to see how much she would offer for this precious first night. To their disappointment, the bidding rose all the way to three hundred thousand taels, and still Huo Jinyu hadn't opened her mouth. People scoffed inwardly, thinking, So this pretty boy is just putting on a brave front. He must have spent his entire fortune on that veil.
People stopped looking at Huo Jinyu, turning instead to gaze at Di An, whose first night was about to be sold. The thought that after tonight, this beautiful woman would no longer be pure filled many men with a pang of regret. Such a wonderful girl, if only I could marry her and take her home, they thought. What a pity, what a pity.
"Three hundred and fifty thousand taels!" The bidders in the hall gradually fell silent. While being able to boast of spending the first night with a nationally famous courtesan was a matter of great prestige among men, over three hundred thousand taels was enough to open one's own brothel. There was no need to spend so much on a single woman. One by one, the bidders stopped, and for a moment, the entire Jade Spring Pavilion was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
The final bidder was a pot-bellied, middle-aged patron with a fat head, large ears, and a greasy face. The crowd sized him up and thought, He must be a ridiculously wealthy merchant.
Seeing that no one else was competing with him, the middle-aged man smiled so wide his eyes narrowed into slits. His lecherous gaze fell upon Di An, who stood quietly on stage with a faint smile, showing no sign of displeasure. He rubbed his hands together in delight, practically drooling. Some of the young masters who fancied themselves suave sighed inwardly. A fine cabbage is about to be ravaged by a pig. At the same time, they prayed desperately for some handsome young master to outbid this greasy oaf.
On the second floor, Huo Jinyu unhurriedly sipped fine Nu'er Hong wine, showing no sign of anxiety. After all, the real power players always make their move last.
"Three hundred and fifty thousand taels, going once!" The madam looked at the fat-faced man before her, her heart sinking. This wasn't how she had envisioned it. If her An'er really ended up with this pig-headed man, wouldn't it be a terrible waste? She looked up at Huo Jinyu on the second floor, her eyes filled with expectation.
Huo Jinyu clearly saw the madam's expectant gaze. With a roguish smile, she called out, "This young master bids five hundred thousand taels of silver!"
The moment her voice fell, the entire hall was stunned. Five hundred thousand taels of silver! What kind of sum was that? Which family's young master could possibly be so wealthy?
The crowd turned their astonished gazes toward Huo Jinyu. Seeing the attention shift away from him, the pig-headed man was greatly displeased. He immediately added fifty thousand taels, bellowing, "This lord bids five hundred and fifty thousand taels!" An uproar went through the hall. These two are really going at it, people thought. That pretty boy on the second floor can't possibly have any more money.
However, Huo Jinyu gave the pig-headed man no chance to compete. She raised the price to its absolute limit: "This young master bids one million taels of silver!"
This time, the crowd was truly struck dumb with astonishment. The madam was so shocked she dropped her handkerchief. She quickly bent down to retrieve it, cleared her throat, and announced, "One million taels, going once! One million taels, going twice! Sold for one million taels! Congratulations, Young Master! My felicitations! From this moment on, Miss An'er is yours. Please, Young Master and Miss An'er, follow this mama." With that, she led Di An off the stage and toward the stairs.
The middle-aged, pig-headed man, unhappy at having lost the beauty, simply chose three other girls and went upstairs. Seeing that the main attraction was over, the crowd in the hall returned to its usual revelry. Those who came to drink, drank; those who came to flirt, flirted. The head courtesan's first night had nothing to do with them anyway, and there were plenty of other girls to enjoy. It was best to have a good time.
Huo Jinyu gave her guards some silver notes, telling them to enjoy themselves, then left the private room to find the madam and the head courtesan.
The madam and the head courtesan were already waiting at the top of the stairs. Seeing Huo Jinyu approach, the madam greeted her politely and led her up to the third floor, intending to continue on to the first-class "Heaven" room on the fourth.
"Mama," Di An said suddenly, "I would like to take this patron to my own room." The madam was taken aback. Normally, the girls only invited patrons they particularly liked into their personal rooms.
"Very well, An'er. We'll do as you wish, as long as you're happy," the madam agreed at once. "An'er, I'm leaving this young master to you. Be sure to serve him well." After muttering a few more instructions, she turned and left.
"This way, Young Master, please follow me," Di An said softly, leading the way to her room. "Young Master, this is it," she announced, stopping at the door and deliberately raising her voice. Inside, a woman in tight-fitting clothes, who had been sitting stiffly, was startled and immediately ducked behind a screen.
"Then may this young master come in?" Huo Jinyu asked with a smile.
"Of course." Believing the other person was now well hidden, Di An pushed open the door and led Huo Jinyu inside.
After closing the door, Di An walked softly to the bedside and began to undress. Seeing this, Huo Jinyu quickly stopped her. "Miss, there's no need for that just yet. This young master would like to hear you play a tune."
What kind of joke was this? How could she, a woman, possibly sleep with the head courtesan? Perhaps we can just listen to some music and chat tonight, she thought.
The head courtesan, Di An, was also quite surprised. Weren't men supposed to be desperate to sleep with her on her first night? She had even learned many techniques, just waiting to use them for her patron tonight. Yet now that the moment had arrived, this young master showed not the slightest desire to sleep with her. Am I not beautiful enough? she wondered. Am I not attractive enough? Or... is there something wrong with him?
Huo Jinyu was baffled when Di An gave her a strange look.
Di An studied the young master before her for a moment. He had refined features, and his eyes were clear, without a trace of impurity. The smile on his face was gentle and courteous. He was completely different from the men who usually frequented the brothel, and Di An found it rather novel.
Hearing his request for a tune, Di An went to the qin in the center of the room and sat down. Huo Jinyu also sat down lazily, her back against the screen. As Di An's fingers moved, a clear melody flowed from her fingertips. Huo Jinyu felt her spirit relax, and she became lost in the music.
The moment the door opened, the woman in tight-fitting clothes, Hua Ying, had clenched her fists in anger. She is truly outrageous, she thought. She knows I care about her, she knows I'm right here in the room, and yet she deliberately brings the man who bought her first night in here. Does she intend to tumble with another man right in front of me? It's truly too much!
Especially when, through a gap in the screen, she saw Di An—her beloved—undressing in front of a man, she could barely restrain herself from rushing out. Her right hand was already gripping the sword at her waist. Even if she had to kill him, she would never let this stranger defile the woman she loved!
Fortunately, for some inexplicable reason, the man stopped Di An from undressing and asked to listen to music instead.
Hua Ying released her grip on her sword. Together with Huo Jinyu—one in front of the screen, one behind it—she listened to the soothing music of the qin.
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