Just then, they heard a commotion downstairs.
The group all looked down at the same time.
Seeing that someone had torn off the veil of the girl playing the pipa and pushed her down, a woman adorned with jewels stood on the platform with her hands on her hips, looking down at her. She spat and sneered, "What a thing! Relying on her looks, she goes around seducing men, saying she sells her art but not her body. Bah! A prostitute hanging up a chastity arch, isn't she disgusting!"
Even as she lay on the ground, the woman clutched the pipa in her arms. A thin, long gash ran down her arm, and bright red blood stained her plain white dress.
She was indeed very beautiful, with fair skin and delicate features, possessing the gentle and graceful beauty of a woman from Jiangnan, like a blooming white lotus, pure and unpretentious.
Qingying stared at her face, and a picture suddenly flashed through her mind: a little girl running forward with a baby in her arms, saying "Don't be afraid".
She wanted to remember it more clearly, but she just couldn't recall it.
Qingying stared intently at the stage, watching as the woman groped for a chair to stand up, only to be pushed down again. This time, she almost lost her grip on the pipa and barely managed to kneel down to steady herself.
She choked back tears as she spoke, "Madam, I've already fallen so low, why won't you let me go!"
The woman snorted coldly and continued to curse, "You filthy hussy, I thought everything would be fine after I kicked you out of the manor, but I didn't expect you to be able to seduce the master while working as an actress in the teahouse! You're truly incorrigible! You think I'll let you go? You'll have to die!"
Qingying was puzzled as to what grudge existed between them when guests at another table nearby, who were watching the commotion, started talking about it.
"This Li Niang is such a pitiful person."
"That's her own fault, she deserves it."
"Alas, she was just a weak woman. If it weren't for Master Zou coming here to listen to music every day, would she have suffered such a misfortune?"
Qingying was unaware of the details, but seeing the woman below preparing to pour boiling tea on Li Niang, she suddenly felt a pang of pity.
"She plays the pipa so beautifully, it would be such a pity if her hands were ruined."
Upon hearing this, Wei Dongchen glanced at her and asked, "Do you want to save her?"
Qingying hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
He then stood up and leaped down the stairs.
Before Qingying could react, she saw Wei Dongchen standing on the platform, blocking Li Niang and preventing the woman from making any further moves.
"Who are you? Mind your own business!" the woman glared at him. "Could it be that you also have something going on with this little slut..."
Before she could finish speaking, Wei Dongchen raised his hand. She instinctively flinched and backed away. The next second, his hand landed on the chair next to her, and the wooden chair instantly shattered into pieces.
The woman was truly frightened by this imposing manner and fell silent for a moment.
Everyone around fell silent, afraid to utter a sound for fear of getting caught in the crossfire.
Wei Dongchen slowly straightened his sleeves, smiled, and said, "This is the first time I've heard anyone dare to speak to me like this."
"Young Master?" The woman was so frightened by his noble attire that she didn't think he was lying that she was terrified.
Wei Dongchen had no patience to waste time with her, and simply said, "This young lady, I'm taking her away. Do you have any objections?"
The woman quickly shook her head and waved her hands, "No objection, no objection."
Then he called over the shopkeeper, pointed to Li Niang who was still sitting on the ground, and said, "Find a doctor to treat her injuries. I, the young master, will pay for it."
Yes, yes.
Soon the shopkeeper had someone help Li Niang down, and the woman slunk away.
Wei Dongchen went upstairs again, and Qingying couldn't help but praise him when she saw him return: "I didn't expect the young master to be so decisive in handling matters."
He said with a hint of pride, "My style has always been to get things done in one step rather than dragging things out."
"Look at how capable you are," Liu Chengfeng said with a smile, teasingly.
Qingying personally poured him tea, saying, "Your Highness, you've worked hard."
Wei Dongchen didn't even look at it, happily picked it up and took a big gulp, only to spit it out because it was burned.
Unfortunately, it sprayed right onto Qingying's clothes.
She had no choice but to find a private room to change her clothes.
As she came out, she happened to see two waiters leading the doctor away, so she casually grabbed one of them and asked, "Why was that woman bullying people in the teahouse? It seemed like your manager wasn't planning to do anything about it at first?"
The waiter gave her a strange look. "Who are you?"
Qingying answered without hesitation: "I am a servant of the Crown Prince. He sent me to check on Li Niang's condition and to find out the reason."
This was in Pandu City, right under the emperor's nose. No one would dare to easily impersonate the crown prince, so they naturally believed that Wei Dongchen's identity was genuine. Since she said so, the waiter had no doubts.
He took Qingying to a corner where no one was around, and only then did he dare to tell her the whole story.
It turns out that the woman who had just hit someone was the wife of Master Zou, who was in the jewelry business, and that Li Niang was originally the concubine of the eldest son of the Zou family.
Li Niang was originally a courtesan in a music hall. After being noticed by Young Master Zou, she was redeemed and taken into his household as a concubine. Young Master Zou did not marry a principal wife, but treated Li Niang with the respect due to a principal wife. The two were very much in love.
But their good fortune didn't last long. Two years ago, Young Master Zou suddenly passed away from a serious illness, and then Old Master Zou suddenly demanded to take Li Niang into his household. Naturally, Madam Zou disagreed. Having just lost her son, she already harbored resentment towards Li Niang, and now her husband had caused this trouble. How could she swallow this insult? Besides, what kind of logic was it for a daughter-in-law to become a widow and serve her father-in-law? She feared being ridiculed by others.
However, after some time, Li Niang suddenly became pregnant with Master Zou's child. It seemed that it was a foregone conclusion that she would become Master Zou's concubine. But Madam Zou had an exceptionally strong temper. She actually poisoned Li Niang, causing her to miscarry and go blind.
Afterwards, Li Niang was kicked out of the Zou family by Madam Zou and, after many twists and turns, came to this teahouse to make a living by performing. Unexpectedly, Master Zou has been frequently coming to the teahouse to enjoy tea lately. Madam Zou found out as soon as she investigated and went straight to the teahouse to cause trouble.
"Is this not the first time she has done this?" Qingying asked.
The waiter sighed and said, "This is the third time."
"Her disturbance is affecting the teahouse's business, and the manager isn't doing anything about it?"
"You've seen Madam Zou's temper; you can't control her, and she'll even cause innocent bystanders to suffer."
"Your manager is kind-hearted, allowing Li Niang to stay in the teahouse like this."
The waiter hesitated, then sighed and said nothing.
Seeing his expression, Qingying knew he still had something to say, so she took a hairpin from her hair and said, "It's gold, here you go."
"Thank you so much, sir." The waiter took the hairpin with both hands, his mouth practically stretched to his ears in a wide grin.
He then looked around and deliberately lowered his voice, saying, "Liniang sold herself to our manager."
in this way……
Qingying understood, and after thinking for a moment, decided to go and meet this Li Niang herself.
He then had the waiter lead the way to a side room in the backyard.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com