In the county town, at Yimanlou, in a quaint and elegant boudoir, Meiyu lazily combs her hair in front of the mirror.
“Miss,” Qiu Qing said tenderly, massaging Mei Yu’s shoulders, “no matter how much money you offer, we won’t go to any more banquets.”
What rubbish!
They look respectable, but they're all lustful devils. They can take advantage of anyone even from three feet away, and they can't wait to pounce on them.
“Why not go?” Meiyu shook her head indifferently. “I can earn two thousand taels in one night, which is three times more than if I were to perform at Manlou. If I go a few more times, I can raise fifty thousand taels.”
Then, you'll never have to worry about that knife hanging over your head again.
“But this is too unfair to Miss,” Qiu Qing complained. “We agreed that it would only be singing and playing the piano. It’s one thing to force you to drink, but you also have to take advantage of me.”
He's even worse than some lecherous men!
“Men are all like this,” Meiyu said sarcastically. “These scholars still have some sense of shame; at least they didn’t directly force anyone.”
Thinking about what happened last night, Meiyu felt a surge of anger. It was normal to look down on courtesans, but to take advantage of them as a matter of course was simply shameless.
He even calls himself a refined scholar, which is utterly ridiculous. He's so eager that he's not even as good as a customer seeking pleasure in a brothel!
If there hadn't been so many people, Meiyu wasn't sure if they would have just swallowed her whole.
Qiu Qing also knew this principle, and after a long while, she advised unhappily, "It's better to stay in the brothel, at least it's easier to deal with."
With the title of courtesan and the protection of the prefectural city, the people of Yimanlou dared not be too presumptuous.
Having a cup of tea and a chat is enough to make someone feel flattered; there's no need for any special response.
Hearing this, Meiyu shook her head, "It's not easy anywhere, just bear with it, it will get better in a while."
After saying that, she put down the hairpin in her hand in annoyance.
She was well aware of all this. What good were her looks and cunning if her status was too low? She could only lie low and wait for an opportunity to act.
Dealing with these people every day is exhausting; I'm always on edge, afraid I might fall into their trap.
But if we don't plan this out little by little, who will collect the blood debt owed to the whole family?
“Miss, you really don’t need to compromise like this. If the master and mistress were to see this from heaven, they would be heartbroken and wish they could take you with them.”
"No, they can't bear to see all my years of hard work go to waste."
He's endured so much for so many years, all for the sake of revenge.
Having finally seen a glimmer of hope, she would not give up, even if it meant enduring countless humiliations.
“Miss,” Qiu Qing pursed her lips and whispered, “Why don’t we go to the Huang family and ask for a few more songs? As long as the songs are good enough, they will naturally attract talented men from all over the world. You won’t need to go through so much trouble.”
"No, the time is not right."
The relationship has already been established, and now is the time to maintain it. If we reveal our true intentions now, all our previous efforts will have been in vain.
It's just that the days are a little tough, but she can endure it!
“Miss, since the newly appointed top scholar will come to Ping’an County to visit old friends, why don’t you choose him? He is incredibly intelligent, young and promising, and has the backing of the Grand Chancellor. He is very likely to overturn the case for the Master.”
“Impossible,” Meiyu fell silent for a long time before speaking, “The disaster that happened in my family ten years ago was inextricably linked to the top scholar’s father-in-law.”
Even if she has no evidence!
Why has she been so careful all these years, never daring to show the slightest abnormality?
He was just afraid of being discovered, and before he could take revenge, he was eliminated without anyone noticing.
She never dared to tell Qiu Qing that the torture she suffered at the hands of certain people was orchestrated by Yi Man Lou. She and her mistress lived under surveillance for three years, and only after she had completely immersed herself in the world of prostitution did the surveillance personnel leave.
"How could this be?" Qiu Qing exclaimed in horror. "The master never offended him back then!"
"In officialdom, it's all about interests. What does it matter whether you offend someone or not?" Mei Yu's eyes were full of frost. "Li Wenshan bullied my Qian family because we have no one left. I'll show him that even if only one weak woman is left in the Qian family, she can still take revenge!"
"Miss, are you really not interested in the new top scholar?"
"right!"
"Then why did you inquire about so much information?"
Talented men and beautiful women have always been like this. Qiu Qing couldn't believe that her young mistress had no feelings for the top scholar, as she had inquired about his appearance and preferences.
“You don’t understand,” Meiyu said with a smirk, “I just wanted to collect some interest in advance.”
That old scoundrel has done so many evil deeds that he only has one daughter in his life; all the others are adopted sons.
She wanted to see what would happen to this delicate young lady of an official family if she were to bewitch the newly appointed top scholar!
However, before that, you need to find someone to rely on.
Thinking about this, Meiyu felt a headache coming on.
Many are plotting against him, but none can stand against the current prime minister. This matter will likely require careful planning.
Knock knock knock!
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
"Meiyu, the young master of the Jin family wants to see you. He is already waiting in the small hall. Please freshen up and come to greet him quickly."
Upon hearing this, Qiu Qing flung open the door and angrily demanded, "Mom, my young lady doesn't receive guests this morning. How could you break the rules?"
They used to be able to discuss things, but now they don't even bother. It's really bullying.
“Qiuqing,” the madam said with a fawning smile, “Mama meant well. Young Master Jin gave you eight hundred taels of silver as a gift, just wanting to have a cup of tea with you. He is so sincere, how can we let him down?”
"Pah," Qiu Qing spat lightly, "Mom is quite something to make being greedy for money sound so elegant and refined."
“I don’t like hearing that,” the madam’s face darkened. “Eight hundred taels of silver for a cup of tea? You can’t even pick up silver this fast. If your young lady can’t even handle this little bit of hardship, when will she ever earn fifty thousand taels?”
"It's not time yet, why are you in such a hurry, Mother?" Qiu Qing's face was ugly. "My young lady is temporarily staying at Yimanlou, but she has not sold herself to you, Mother."
"We'll talk about that after we've earned fifty thousand taels," the madam scoffed. "I know you're ambitious, but we have to accept our fate. Go back eight generations and see, which of us has a good ending?"
If you don't make as much money as you can while you're still beautiful, how will you survive when you get old and your looks fade?
The flower girl who washed clothes for the girls almost became the most beautiful flower girl herself. And what happened? If I hadn't kindly given her a meal, she'd probably be buried alive by now.
“My young lady wouldn’t do that. She’s of good birth, unlike a courtesan.”
“What’s the difference? Once you step into this world, you can never escape it in this lifetime,” the madam said to Meiyu directly, too lazy to deal with Qiuqing. “Eight hundred taels for a cup of tea. Such a good deal is rare. It’s enough for two nights of your giggling. You’re making money anyway, so why be so pretentious?”
These words are heartbreaking.
After a long silence, Meiyu calmly said, "Mom, please leave first. I'll change my clothes and then I'll be there."
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