Chapter 92: The dispute over the ownership of the courtesan
The beautiful figures on the stage came and went one after another. Wei Changtian watched while listening to Yang Liushi explaining the ins and outs of the matter.
For example, the division of the reward money, and the rights and obligations after being named the most beautiful woman.
Generally speaking, it is similar to the live broadcast industry in the previous life.
After making money, the government, which is equivalent to the live broadcast platform, will take a portion, and the brothels, which are equivalent to the guild, will take another portion, and in the end only about 10% to 20% will remain in the hands of the "anchor".
Wei Changtian made a rough calculation and found that the number of flowers he saw from the girls appreciating them since he arrived added up to more than 200 flowers, which was worth more than 10,000 taels of silver.
At this rate, it would be no problem for the government to earn tens of thousands of taels overnight.
Thinking of the thin county magistrate in Zhongling County who couldn't even raise enough money to suppress bandits, Wei Changtian couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
The world is so big, and the weather is so different every ten miles.
…
The flower ranking continues.
Ever since Yang Liushi told him that "even if he got several handkerchiefs, it would be impossible for him to sleep with several girls at the same time", Wei Changtian had completely lost interest in giving rewards and just sat there watching the fun.
Although all the beauties are charming and lovely, seeing too many of them will lead to aesthetic fatigue.
After all, these women are inferior to Yang Liushi in many aspects.
To put it in a more literary way, this feeling is: with pearls and jade in front of you, it is difficult to stop them.
To put it in a more poetic way - Once you have seen the sea, all other waters are but puddles; Once you have seen Mount Wushan, all other clouds are but mounds.
To put it simply, it is called - that's it? This is why Yang Liushi cannot go on stage, otherwise he will be killed.
"...Ms. Xiangling, you have thirty-seven flowers in total! You are ranked twenty-second on the Hundred Flowers Ranking!"
Another woman came down from the stage, and the vote counter shouted and placed the small wooden sign with the word "Xiang Ling" engraved on it on the corresponding position on the flower list, while those ranked below her collectively moved back one position.
For example, Miss Yu Meng, her age had dropped from fifty-three to fifty-four.
There is also a real-time ranking...
Wei Changtian drank a sip of tea out of boredom and turned to look at Liang Zhen.
The two men looked at each other, and it was obvious that the latter was getting a little anxious.
Although these women are good, they are obviously not to Liang Zhen's liking.
Wei Changtian had met Liang Zhen’s wife, Liang Qin’s biological mother.
Apart from anything else, the size alone is enough to make it stand out from the crowd.
The two of them found the performance more and more boring, but at this moment, there was a sudden burst of enthusiastic cheers from the audience.
"Miss Su Yu is here!"
"The branches and leaves are full of Su, and the concubine is beautiful! It's the fairy Su Yu!!"
"These legs, this waist...reward!!"
In just a moment, dozens of peonies were thrown onto the stage, and the servants below the stage shouted their names.
"Yonglong Pawnshop, Manager Liu, would like to give Miss Su Yu three peonies!"
"Master Duan Long from the Duan family would like to give Miss Su Yu two peonies!"
"Song Zhengming, a hermit from Mount Lu, presents Miss Su Yu with a peony!"
“…”
This was the first time that Wei Changtian saw someone being admired for his flowers just after he came on stage, so he couldn't help but look up at Miss Su Yu.
She wore a pleated skirt with a pattern of green grass and water mist, a light blue gauze, and a hollow gold hairpin adorned with red jade.
Her appearance and temperament are indeed first-class, especially her slender waist, which makes people easily wonder whether she can withstand certain strenuous exercises.
But to be honest, Wei Changtian did not feel the same sense of amazement as when he first saw Yang Liushi.
Because this person is indeed not as good as Yang Liushi. At most, he is at the same level as Lu Jingyao, and can barely be better than Liang Qin.
"Thank you, gentlemen."
Standing in the pile of flowers, Su Yu knelt down and bowed gently, her gentle eyes sweeping over the people throwing the flowers one by one: "But there are sisters waiting behind, otherwise I'd better draw lots and perform first."
"Just let them wait! We are just waiting to see you!"
Someone started to cheer loudly, which immediately attracted a lot of response.
"That's right, that's right! The title of the most beautiful lady belongs to Miss Su Yu! It doesn't matter whether others compete or not!"
"Don't argue with me! I've even brought the house deeds and land deeds! Miss Su Yu will be mine tonight!"
"Humph! Master Peng is so arrogant!"
“…”
Listening to all the messy noises, Su Yu ignored them. She just smiled and reached into the wooden box for drawing lots, and quickly took out a small piece of paper.
A turtle took the note and looked at it, then shouted loudly:
"Ms. Su Yu drew... a painting! A portrait!"
As the name suggests, the requirement of this topic is to paint on the spot.
Compared with other inspection items, "painting" should be the most difficult one, but Su Yu did not show any worry or panic, and was obviously very confident in her painting skills.
There were already servants and maids on the stage preparing pens, ink, paper, and inkstone, and since it was a portrait, of course a model was needed.
All the spectators vied with each other to strike various poses that they thought were the most elegant and graceful, hoping to be lucky enough to be noticed by Su Yu and become the person in the painting by the fairy.
However, after Su Yu's beautiful eyes moved around, they stopped at Wei Changtian, who was sitting with his legs crossed and drinking tea.
"This young master..."
Her red lips parted slightly, and she said in a sweet voice: "I wonder if I can watch you paint?"
If you want to draw me, just say you want to draw me. Why do you have to use such an ambiguous way of saying it...
Wei Changtian sighed in his heart that it was difficult to keep a low profile because he was too handsome, and then shook his head seriously.
"cannot."
“…”
There was a sudden silence in the embroidery building, and countless pairs of eyes looked at Wei Changtian as if they were looking at a huge fool.
Some people thought that he was not smart enough, some thought that he had bad eyesight, and some thought that he was really bad at playing hard to get.
However, Wei Changtian didn't care what others thought. After refusing, he continued to drink tea by himself, as if he didn't care about the matter at all.
Fortunately, Su Yu had seen a lot of things in the world. She was just stunned for a moment before she immediately bowed and apologized, "It's my fault for being so rude. I hope you won't blame me, sir."
"No problem."
Wei Changtian waved his hand and ignored her, and Su Yu also knew that it might be inappropriate to find another man at this time, as it would be like using someone else as a substitute.
After thinking for a while, she simply asked someone to bring a bronze mirror and said softly to the audience: "Since it is a portrait, why don't I just paint myself."
Draw yourself? Everyone's eyes lit up when they heard this, and they agreed loudly: "That's a good idea!"
"A beauty paints a beauty in front of the mirror! Wonderful!"
"Hahahaha, if this matter gets out, it will definitely become a great story!"
“…”
Seeing that most people agreed, and that painting herself did not violate the rules, Su Yu smiled softly and soon began to paint on the rice paper while looking in the mirror.
Such a scene of "beauty painting herself" was indeed quite fresh, and for a moment countless peonies fell on the stage.
However, no matter how much others threw, it would be in vain, because Su Yu had already been chosen by Liang Zhen tonight.
"Sir Liang, you can throw away as many peonies as you want. I will pay for the flowers!"
Seeing that the time was almost right, the fat county magistrate called over a few servants carrying flower baskets, with a flattering look on his face.
Of course, as the "organizer" of this flower ranking, Anyi County Government certainly does not need to pay for throwing a few peonies. The reason he said this was just to make Liang Zhen more grateful.
"Master Chen, I don't understand these either."
Liang Zhen knew everything in his heart, but he still had to pretend to be polite.
"But Miss Su Yu's painting skills are indeed superb, and she deserves some praise. As for how much..."
He looked at the servants and asked, "How many flowers are there in all your baskets?"
"Your Excellency, there are more than a hundred."
"Um……"
Liang Zhen nodded: "In that case, let's throw them all up!"
"this……"
Several servants were stunned for a moment, but the fat county magistrate reacted quickly and immediately urged: "Didn't you hear what Lord Liang said? Why are you still standing there?!"
“Yes, yes…”
The servants did not dare to disobey the order and immediately ran to the side of the stage, then lifted the flower basket and shook it upwards in full view of everyone...
More than a hundred gorgeous peonies scattered all over the sky, as if it was a rain of flowers.
Everyone in the embroidery building was stunned. Even Su Yu stopped painting and turned back in surprise with her mouth open.
"Shuzhou, Lord Liang, give Miss Su Yu one hundred and eight peonies as a reward!"
According to the situation before the flower ranking, it was considered a lot for one person to appreciate five flowers.
Even though Su Yu was the strongest contender for the title of Oiran, the most people who had been awarded so far was only twenty flowers.
It was divided into four times.
After all, if you reward one more time, your name will be reported one more time, which is equivalent to showing your face one more time.
But now Liang Zhenyi has raised this record five times! One hundred and eight flowers, equivalent to five thousand taels of silver! Many people present have this much wealth, but no one would spend so much money to sleep with a woman.
What's more, I can only sleep for one night.
After a brief silence, there was a burst of surprise and discussion in the embroidery building. Most of them were discussing the background of this important figure who had to be accompanied by the county magistrate in person.
Liang Zhen didn't care about it and still sat there calmly.
Anyway, as long as the fat county magistrate doesn't say it, no one can recognize that he is the general of Shuzhou.
Even if this matter really spreads in the future, it will not be a big deal. At most, the wife who stays in the capital will write to him and make a few sarcastic remarks.
Wei Changtian looked at Liang Zhen's calm appearance and thought that this might be the "internal number" of the live broadcast platform. He didn't know if some idiot from above would jump out to "counter-brush".
And as if to prove that there are such people who "will risk their lives for face" in every era, before he finished his thought, he saw a few more servants holding flower baskets running straight to the stage, and almost in the same way, they scattered all the peonies.
"Mr. Peng Benzhi of the Peng family in Anyi would like to give Miss Su Yu one hundred and twenty peonies!"
“Wow!”
There was another uproar in the audience, and everyone's eyes were focused on a young man in white.
However, compared with Liang Zhen's calmness, this Mr. Peng was obviously forcing a smile, and his face was even a little pale.
Wei Changtian didn't know how powerful the Peng family was, but someone in the Embroidery Tower knew.
"The Peng family? The one that does the cloth business? I remember their business wasn't that big..."
"Hey, didn't you hear what Master Peng said just now? He secretly brought all the house deeds and land deeds from his home this time, and swore that he would enter Miss Su Yu's bed tonight."
"This...Won't the head of the Peng family be furious when he knows about this?"
"Who knows..."
Everyone was whispering, looking at Peng Benzhi with no admiration, but even disdain.
But at this time, Peng Benzhi no longer cared about what others thought of him. He stared at Liang Zhen with his eyes, seeming a little angry, but also as if there was a hint of begging.
He was already penniless, and not only had he used up the money from his business to purchase goods, he had even sold several of his houses.
If Liang Zhen raises the price again...
"Master Liang, how about you give me a few more?"
The fat county magistrate glanced at Peng Benzhi from a distance, then turned to Liang Zhen and said flatteringly: "In my opinion... it is better to just collect the total of 200."
"Well, then let's do as Master Chen says."
Liang Zhen nodded indifferently, and soon a few servants scattered a few baskets of peonies onto the stage for the third time in Peng Benzhi's desperate eyes.
Everyone was numb to this, and Su Yu was just holding the brush in a daze, not knowing what to say at this moment.
"Shuzhou, Lord Liang, give Miss Su Yu another ninety-two peonies!"
Two hundred flowers, ten thousand taels of silver, one thousand gold!
“Plop~”
Following this shout, the originally elegant young man in white suddenly collapsed to the ground.
Someone around kindly helped him up, and when they got closer they heard Peng Benzhi mumbling something with a trembling mouth.
"Money, money... I can still get some money..."
"Miss Su Yu must be mine tonight...must be mine..."
…
The flower ranking continued in a rather strange atmosphere.
Although Peng Benzhi said that he could still raise the money, he actually did nothing. He just sat at the table as if he had lost his soul, looking very miserable.
Perhaps affected by this "ranking dispute", the level of the second half of Su Yu's self-portrait has obviously declined, but overall it is still considered a top-notch work. It is not difficult to see that she does have some talent.
As for how many peonies she got in the end… Four hundred and seventy-six, ranking first by a large margin.
"Thank you all for viewing the flowers."
"Thank you, Sir Liang, and thank you... Master Peng."
Su Yu glanced at Peng Benzhi, who was still neither human nor ghost, sighed lightly, and walked off the stage.
The next few girls also knew that they had no chance, so they took the initiative to shorten their time on stage and finished the entire "main competition" in less than a quarter of an hour.
The owner of the flower oiran has been made very clear, and now there is only one last step left before the end of the entire "flower ranking" - picking the flower.
A large flower cluster consisting of hundreds of flowers was brought to the stage, and at the top was the peony, which is known as the king of flowers.
Su Yu needs to choose a man to come on stage and pick the peony for her, which not only means that she has won the title of the courtesan, but also represents that she has chosen the owner of her "first night" after becoming the courtesan.
The madam who was guest-starring as the "host" muttered some nonsense like "among all flowers, peony is the most beautiful", and then the beautiful woman, who had been re-dressed, appeared on the stage again.
She was wearing a red dress that dragged on the ground. The wide hem was embroidered with gorgeous and intricate patterns. Her long hair was tied into a bun, with a jade hairpin loosely pinned on it, and a golden hairpin inserted on top.
Compared to her simple and elegant outfit just now, Su Yu's current outfit is almost like a bride-to-be.
"Slurp~"
There was a sound of people gasping for breath in the embroidery building. The madam waited for everyone to look at it for a while before she smiled and said, "Miss Su Yu, please point out the man you like quickly!"
"yes."
Su Yu lowered her head and slowly turned towards Liang Zhen.
This result was expected by everyone.
Although there is no explicit rule that the person who gives the most reward must be chosen, it would be unreasonable if you don't let him sleep with you since he spends the most money.
"Master Liang..."
Su Yu on the stage had already spoken, and Liang Zhen also sat up slightly straighter.
But at this moment, someone walked up to Peng Benzhi, who was about to faint, and suddenly shouted, "Miss Su Yu! Wait a minute!"
"Um?"
The sudden change instantly attracted everyone's attention, and soon someone recognized who was speaking.
"Song Zhengming? Mr. Song?"
"What? This is the monk Song Zhengming from Mount Lu?"
"It's absolutely correct! I happened to see him when he was giving a lecture in Luzhou City a few months ago!"
"But what is he going to do?"
“…”
This Song Zhengming seemed to be quite famous in Luzhou, but no one knew why he suddenly interrupted Su Yu.
"Master Peng..."
Song Zhengming looked at Peng Benzhi and sighed, "Alas, although we have never met, I received your kindness more than ten years ago."
"... Never mind. I'll help you today, and that can be considered as repaying the favor."
After Song Zhengming said these words, everyone thought he was going to pay for Peng Benzhi.
But when it comes to intellectuals, it’s vulgar to talk about money.
He suddenly took out a piece of paper from his arms, and then said to Su Yu word by word:
"I am giving this poem to you on behalf of Master Peng..."
"It's worth a thousand gold!"
The plot is coherent, and it’s 4,500 words in one, so I won’t be able to read it today.
(End of this chapter)
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