“Mother,” Madam Xie said softly, “choosing the most beautiful courtesan is the most important thing for those prominent families, without exception.”
"What?" Jiang Nuan's eyes flickered as she asked curiously, "What benefits do they get from becoming the top courtesan that make them fight tooth and nail for it?"
Before this, Jiang Nuan had never imagined that a woman in feudal society would do something as fashionable as campaigning for votes in advance.
“Mother,” Jin explained softly, “the top courtesan chosen at the Flower Festival has the opportunity to redeem herself.”
"What does this mean?" Jiang Nuan was a little confused. "Anyone can be redeemed?"
“Yes,” Madam Xie nodded repeatedly. “If everyone has not lost their innocence, they can become famous throughout the world by being chosen as the most beautiful courtesan. After redeeming themselves, they can become good citizens and marry officials as concubines. Their lives will be secure.”
Seriously, becoming a concubine is considered the pinnacle of life? That's a bit ridiculous.
Because of their differing values, Jiang Nuan couldn't understand these things.
"Um," Jiang Nuan asked tentatively, "has no one ever redeemed themselves and then established a female household or married someone as a legal wife?"
"Mother, do you think that's possible?" Madam Xie looked at Jiang Nuan strangely. "Those courtesans are trained from a young age to serve men. What else can they do besides that?"
These words left Jiang Nuan speechless.
“Mother,” Jin Shi also spoke up, “not only do we have to pay 30% more tax to establish a female household, but we also need a scholar to act as guarantor. Those men are most interested in the body of the courtesan, how could they possibly agree to do that?”
As for marrying someone as a legal wife, that's unrealistic. Even a courtesan who hasn't lost her virginity would still be considered dishonorable for ending up in a brothel.
No matter how beautiful a woman is, no one would dare to marry her as their principal wife, Jin thought to herself.
“Alright,” Jiang Nuan took a deep breath, then asked, “What’s this opportunity to redeem myself?”
"I'm not quite sure either," Xie said, looking bewildered. "I guess if you're good at seducing men, you can get your freedom."
Cough cough...
Jin was almost choked by Xie's blunt words, and her originally fair face instantly turned fiery red.
Jiang Nuan was similar, except that she was older and had eaten several more bowls of rice, so she could barely sit still.
“Jiaojiao, those literati and scholars are all about pretentious elegance; they would never be so vulgar,” Jiang Nuan said, rubbing her forehead. “Don’t let anyone hear you say that; you’ll offend too many people.”
“Mother,” Jin said, her face flushed, “Second sister-in-law’s words are straightforward, but they make a good point. Scholars and gentlemen look down on money and silver. They exchange their silver for flower tokens and cast them for the people they admire. The one who gets the most flower tokens is the courtesan. Once the courtesan has enough flower tokens, she can redeem herself.”
"It's all the same," Xie said, pursing her lips. "Whoever is good at seducing men and gets the most money is the top courtesan."
That's absolutely right; it gets straight to the point.
Jiang Nuan thought about it for a moment, but ultimately did not reprimand her.
"Mother, why are you asking this?" Jin glanced at Jiang Nuan cautiously, then quickly lowered her head. "We are a respectable family, we can't get involved with those people."
She was terrified that her mother-in-law would be too soft-hearted to bear seeing the suffering of courtesans.
To be honest, she felt sorry for those women, who were lonely and helpless and had fallen into prostitution. But her family was just an ordinary family, and they were already doing well to keep their own little plot of land clean.
"Hmm," Jiang Nuan replied perfunctorily, then excused herself to go to the outhouse and left the two of them. Before leaving, she repeatedly told them, "Wait here, I'll be back soon."
After leaving the two, Jiang Nuan covered her face with her sleeve, crouched down, and cautiously walked towards the second floor.
At this moment, many people were discussing the vanished Mei Yu and were unaware of Jiang Nuan's movements.
There are eight private rooms on the second floor. Jiang Nuan didn't know which one Mei Yu was in, but according to her guess, it should be the one furthest inside.
Sure enough, as soon as I got close to the door, I heard a soft, seductive voice, "Qiuqing, pack your things, we're leaving."
The seductive, bone-chilling allure was so captivating that even Jiang Nuan, a woman, found it hard to resist.
She shuddered, straightened her face, and then raised her hand to gently knock on the door.
"Oh, is someone here?" Mei Yu glanced at the door with a charming look, then said seductively, "Is this the young master? Please come in for a chat."
After saying that, he pulled down the outermost layer of tulle.
As soon as Jiang Nuan entered the room, she saw Mei Yu's collarbone, which was faintly visible.
In an instant, my mind went completely blank.
At that moment, she finally realized that the pursuit of beauty is not limited to men or women.
“Auntie,” Meiyu looked at Jiang Nuan with interest, a smile playing on her lips, “what brings you here?”
"Selling vegetables!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Jiang Nuan wanted to slap herself.
What kind of vegetables are you selling!
"Is that so?" Upon hearing this answer, Meiyu covered her mouth with her fair hand and chuckled softly.
Her laughter was both sweet and seductive, the kind of feeling that tickles to the bone but you can't quite grasp.
Looking up at the laughter, Jiang Nuan saw a pair of flamboyant and alluring peach blossom eyes, with a bright red beauty mark under the corner of the eye.
"What a pity!" Jiang Nuanqing couldn't help but shake her head, her regret growing stronger.
"How can you be so rude, woman?" Qiu Qing, who was standing to the side, was furious when she saw Jiang Nuan shaking her head and sighing at Mei Yu.
Even if her daughter has fallen into prostitution, it's not something a village woman should pity.
“Qiuqing!” Meiyu shook her head, signaling her to be quiet.
She was unaware of Jiang Nuan's malice towards her.
This woman was strange. She was a woman, yet she was completely infatuated with herself. However, her eyes were very clear, without the lust of men or the jealousy and disgust of women.
My admiration was tinged with deep regret, as if I were a pearl covered in dust...
Thinking of this, Meiyu's interest deepened. "Auntie, what are you regretting?"
"It's nothing." Jiang Nuan came back to her senses, almost wanting to bite her tongue off. She straightened her face and said sincerely, "I'm sorry about earlier."
What is she doing? She came here to discuss business, but instead she's causing trouble.
If someone were to swoon over her or sigh in despair, she would have slapped them long ago.
“It’s alright,” Meiyu waved her hand listlessly. “If Auntie has nothing else to say, please leave. Meiyu is leaving too.”
“Ms. Meiyu, wait a moment,” Jiang Nuan quickly regained her composure and got into the zone. “I have a business deal to discuss with you.”
"Talk to me about buying and selling?" Meiyu repeated softly, then sincerely apologized, "I'm sorry, auntie, I don't need to buy groceries."
“I’m not buying groceries,” Jiang Nuan said awkwardly, touching her nose. “I have a piece of music here that’s perfect for you.”
After Jiang Nuan finished speaking, she cleared her throat and sang "Itch" once.
After the song ended, the private room fell silent.
Was my singing really that bad? Jiang Nuan was a little unsure.
Can't this group of people give any response?
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