The woman's face contorted with rage. "Chen Mianmian, you're still pretending in front of me?"
Chen Mianmian made her eyes look more sincere and whispered, "I really hit my head. You can't tell because my hair is in a bun now. When I have time later, I'll take my hair down and show you the back of my head. It's a huge scar. No hair grows there anymore. The doctor said if it had gone up an inch, I would have definitely died."
Seeing that Shen Mianmian's words were so convincing, Liu Xiangning finally believed her to some extent. After thinking for a moment, she said, "I am the most beautiful courtesan of Yaotai Fang, and my name is Liu Xiangning. Yaotai Fang is the biggest competitor of your Yanyu Fang. Therefore, as the most beautiful courtesan, I and you, as the most beautiful courtesan, have always been compared and are mortal enemies."
Shen Mianmian secretly noted down this information. "So that's how it is. I heard you were bought by the Second Young Master? Congratulations, congratulations on getting ashore."
Liu Xiangning stared intently at her and let out a cold laugh.
Shen Mianmian was completely confused. "No, the Second Young Master is of noble birth, outstanding in appearance, and very young. You've really hit the jackpot! Why are you still so resentful? Did I do something to offend you before?"
Liu Xiangning glared at Chen Mianmian before looking away and saying nothing more.
Chen Mianmian, "..."
She was puzzled—were "thin horses" (a euphemism for concubines) in the Southern Chu Kingdom really that valued? She didn't know what it was like in ancient China, but in her imagination, concubines who came from the "thin horse" background were nothing more than playthings, not worthy of being brought out to social events.
The gathering hosted by the Minister's wife was not large, and not many people attended, so everyone chatted casually.
The women chatted for a while, but then they found it boring.
Since the appearance of these two slender women, the ladies' attention has been focused on them, whether out of curiosity, disdain, or envy for their beauty.
Of course, the ladies wouldn't show their jealousy. After all, in their eyes, a woman's background was the most important thing. No matter how beautiful she was, without the support of her maternal family or the help of her brothers, she wouldn't have much standing in her husband's family.
And in fact, that is indeed the case.
Even so, no one seemed to have much desire to chat.
The Minister's wife also regretted inviting the Xuanping Marquis's Mansion and the Anning Marquis's Mansion, two mortal enemies, and she never expected that these two rascals would both buy sluts.
Seeing the situation becoming increasingly awkward, the Minister's wife forced a smile. "I recently acquired a zither by chance, named Cicada Sound. Are any of you ladies interested in the zither? If so, I will have it brought out."
Everyone exclaimed in surprise, "Cicada Sound? Is that the Cicada Sound weapon?"
"Yes, yes, it must be! Besides that Cicada Sound weapon, who else would dare to call themselves Cicada Sound?"
Even Liu Xiangning gasped, her beautiful eyes widening as she looked at him eagerly.
I'm guessing that the zither must be a famous one like the Rao Liang or Jiao Wei zithers from ancient China.
The Minister's wife had someone bring out the zither. Shen Mianmian keenly noticed that even Jiang Yinjin temporarily put aside her hatred and stared directly at the zither.
The ladies and young women all crowded around to look at the zither. Someone said, "Madam Minister, shall we have someone play a piece for us?"
Someone suggested, "How about letting Madam Bai play the zither? Everyone knows that Madam Bai is the number one zither player in the capital."
The young mistress Bai was referring to Jiang Yinjin.
In fact, Jiang Yinjin was also itching to try it out, after all, the zither had the sound of cicadas, which she had only heard of before.
The Minister's wife smiled and said, "To be honest, the first person I thought of when I saw this zither was Madam Bai. I was thinking how beautiful it would be if Madam Bai played the cicada's song."
Another lady said, "Young Madam Bai, please play a piece quickly, I can't wait."
"Me too."
"I can't wait!"
Chen Mianmian secretly rubbed her hands together—yes, she was really looking forward to it too! This was the female lead playing the zither, and the music would probably bring her a protagonist's aura.
The cicada's song was finally delivered to Jiang Yinjin. Jiang Yinjin's fingers caressed the simple wooden body of the instrument, inch by inch, with utmost tenderness.
At this moment, a sinister glint flashed in Zhou Miaoyin's eyes, and she said to the crowd, "Ladies, have you ever heard of Yaotai Workshop?"
Everyone's attention was drawn, "Yaotaifang?"
One of the girls tentatively asked, "Is it Yaotai Fang in Jiangnan? I heard that Yaotai Fang is famous for its Yaoqin (a type of zither), and even the imperial music troupe goes to Yaotai Fang to buy 'skinny horses' (young, thin horses) to be musicians."
Everyone was shocked—a skinny horse?
When Yaotaifang was mentioned before, everyone thought it was a music hall, but it turned out to be a place that produced young prostitutes.
Chanyin is indeed very famous, and Madam Bai's piano skills are also very famous, but none of them are as interesting as these gossip tidbits.
The ladies and young women knew that the Xuanping Marquis's residence and the Anning Marquis's residence were at odds, and they had long anticipated that the two sides would clash, so they were secretly looking forward to it.
Moreover, as soon as the young mistress of the Anning Marquis's mansion took the zither, the young mistress of the Xuanping Marquis's mansion mentioned the Yaotai Fang, saying that there was no connection between them, but no one believed her.
Sleeping sound—Yaotai Workshop? Why does that sound so familiar? Wait, isn't that another place where a "thin horse" (a euphemism for a prostitute) trained?
Sure enough, Liu Xiangning's bright red lips curled up, revealing a hint of arrogance and pride.
Madam Zhou said, "That's right, it's that famous Yaotai Workshop. My daughter, Miss Liu, is the most skilled qin player in Yaotai Workshop. One is the best qin player in the capital, and the other is the best qin player in Jiangnan. Today, let's have them both play a piece and see who is more skilled."
The crowd erupted in uproar!
Jiang Yinjin's face instantly darkened, and Ding's face also turned ashen—Zhou actually compared the young mistress of the Marquis's mansion to a skinny horse?
Regardless of whether the competition ends in a draw or not, Madam Bai has already been humiliated.
Jiang Yinjin gritted her teeth secretly, but she couldn't directly express her grievances, so she gave Chu Yu a meaningful look.
Chu Yu had a sudden inspiration and deliberately said to her young mistress, "Young mistress, our concubine Shen's zither skills are also quite remarkable. Why don't we let concubine Shen and Miss Liu have a competition?"
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief—thankfully, they had found a way out.
Chen Mianmian was stunned—no! What does this have to do with her? Why is she the one who got hurt? What does she know about the Yaoqin? This is the first time she's ever seen one in person, okay?
When Liu Xiangning heard that she was to be compared with Shen Mianmian, she immediately perked up, "Back in Jiangnan, Shen Mianmian was a woman of exceptional skill and beauty who outshone all others."
Ding's face darkened even more instantly—this skinny girl was utterly ill-mannered, calling herself "top courtesan" in front of so many ladies and young misses? Didn't she care about offending their ears? Besides, Shen was already a concubine of the Marquis of Anning's household; she spoke as if she were a courtesan.
Seeing the Anning Marquis's mansion and his wife humiliated, Jiang Yinjin suddenly felt better and began to relax and watch the show.
Seeing that her "sugar daddy's" expression was off, Shen Mianmian knew something was wrong and immediately said, "Top courtesan? Is your Yaotai Fang a brothel? How can you call a girl 'top courtesan'? Yaotai Fang's business scope is really wide, even brothel business is not spared. Unlike our Yanyu Fang, our business is relatively simple, we just train girls to be sent to the mansion to please the master and serve the madam."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com