In the Great Zhou Dynasty, the city of Jinling was shrouded in a thick night. Few pedestrians were on the streets, and a gentle breeze left only fallen leaves on the ground. Red lanterns shone like pearls in the darkness, and red veils fluttered in the breeze, carrying with them the fragrance of women and the scent of cosmetics.
A woman dressed in a light, gauze-like garment, heavily made up, uttered seductive giggles, her allure captivating amidst the bright lights and verdant willows. The red lamplight cast a dim, yellowish glow, highlighting the three characters "Zui Xiang Lou" (Drunken Fragrance Pavilion) prominently displayed on the red-and-gold plaque.
Jinling City, located in the south of the Great Zhou Dynasty, was extremely prosperous, teeming with wealthy and powerful people, and exuding the gentleness and luxury of the south. Zuixiang Tower was located on East Street in Jinling City. The three-story building was antique and elegant, and the interior was extremely luxurious. The courtesans inside were all stunningly beautiful, proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and their upbringing was no less than that of ladies from noble families.
Compared to the bustling activity in front, the back courtyard of Zuixianglou was eerily quiet, mostly inhabited by ordinary maids and servants doing menial tasks. From the low, thatched hut, intermittent coughs could be heard. In the dim, yellowish light, a woman dressed in coarse linen sat leaning against a wooden bed. Each cough seemed to drain away a bit of her life, and her face visibly paled.
His face was pale and his skin was yellow. The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes were obvious. The most conspicuous thing was the ugly scar on his cheek. His exposed hands were full of wrinkles and frostbite. His wrists were so thin that they looked like they could be broken with a single hand. He looked pitiful and terminally ill.
One can only vaguely discern her youthful beauty from her facial features; she must have been an exceptionally beautiful woman.
With a creak, a girl dressed in a long, coarse blue dress slowly entered the room carrying a bowl of brown medicine. She was thin and tall, with long hair covering most of her face, making her look somewhat gloomy. Her head was deeply pounded, giving her a cowardly appearance, as if she dared not fight back.
"Mother, this is medicine I begged Aunt Li in the backyard to buy for me. Drink it quickly, it will make you feel better." The girl slowly sat down next to the woman, tucked the blanket around her, looked at her with concern, and brought the medicine bowl close to the woman's lips, gently urging her.
The girl's face was barely visible in the dim light. She bore a striking resemblance to the woman on the wooden bed: a classic oval face, arched willow-leaf eyebrows, and alluring peach blossom eyes; her lips were full and rounded, though her dark skin was rough, significantly detracting from her beauty. Especially when she lowered her head, no one could discern her delicate features beneath her thick bangs and dark skin.
"Cough cough... Didn't I already tell you not to waste money on me? This is all for you to use when you look for your father. I'm afraid I won't make it, but you must live well." The woman coughed, and the handkerchief in her hand was stained with specks of blood, strikingly beautiful.
The girl, Jiang Wuyou, stared wide-eyed in surprise, her face filled with terror, her voice trembling with sobs, and tears streaming uncontrollably down her face.
"Mother, how could I possibly abandon you? Even if I disown my father, I still want you to stay with me. I want you to watch me grow up, to see me get married and have children. I haven't even had a chance to repay you yet!"
While sobbing, Jiang Wuyou held the bowl of medicine to the woman's lips, as if to say, "I won't give up until you drink it." The woman sighed deeply, reached out her thin hand, and grasped her daughter's arm.
"Wuyou, your mother is dying. You must take good care of yourself and find your father. He will take good care of you. If you don't want your mother to die with regrets, then promise me."
Under the woman's coercion, Jiang Wuyou nodded with tears in his eyes, and the idea of acknowledging her father took root and sprouted in his heart.
Despite the medicinal soup, the woman ultimately couldn't hold on for more than two days, passing away on the second night. Jiang Wuyou wept uncontrollably, yet still had to muster his strength to attend to his mother's funeral arrangements.
The mother and daughter had relied on each other for eleven years, and the mother was almost Jiang Wuyou's pillar of support. One can imagine the sadness in Jiang Wuyou's heart.
Inside the cramped thatched hut, a simple table was placed, upon which sat a memorial tablet draped in a snow-white cloth: the Memorial Tablet of Jiang Chunyan. The tiny hut was crammed with barely any space, rough and simple, yet it represented the limits of what the young girl could manage.
Jiang Wuyou knelt on the ground with her back straight, silently weeping as she looked at her mother's memorial tablet. Her thin body swayed precariously like a leaf falling in the wind.
With a loud crash, the dilapidated wooden door made its loudest sound yet, creaking and shaking as if it might shatter at any moment. A heavily made-up woman, dressed in a long, red, sheer dress, her long hair meticulously styled in a bun, adorned with a vibrant red peony, gently swayed a delicate silk fan in her hand, exuding a rich, perfumed scent.
"What on earth is going on? The moment I opened the door, I was met with a wave of gloom." Qin Mama, the madam of Zuixianglou, covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief with disgust, her tone filled with utter loathing. Behind her followed two or three tall, burly men with fierce and menacing expressions.
Upon seeing this group of people, Jiang Wuyou froze, quickly touching her cheek and secretly letting out a sigh of relief. She hurriedly turned away, lowering her eyelids, not daring to look at Qin Mama's face, her voice low and timid.
"Aunt Qin, it's my fault. You know my mother just passed away..." Unfortunately, before he could finish speaking, Aunt Qin waved her hand to interrupt him.
“Newly deceased, newly deceased, I can understand how you feel about losing your mother, but you have to be considerate of us. We sisters have it tough. Every day we welcome and see off dignitaries. If they see this scene, they'll be disgusted. Who will dare to come to our Drunken Fragrance Pavilion for pleasure in the future?”
Qin's mother spoke impatiently. In a place like theirs, people come and go with joy and celebration, but the dead are considered unlucky, and she didn't want to get herself into trouble.
“I…” Jiang Wuyou bit her lip, “After my mother’s seven-day mourning period is over, I will immediately put it away and I will never let any noble person see it. I only hope that Mother Qin will give me two more days. I will be very careful and repay your kindness by serving you like a slave in the future.”
"Enough! Someone like you, working like a slave? How much money can you possibly earn for me with your looks? The customers will all despise you!" Mother Qin became angrier as she spoke. She had thought that Chunyan was beautiful and that her daughter would also be stunning. With proper training, she could become a top courtesan. But she never expected that Chunyan would be so plain-looking and dull-witted. She was a waste even to be a personal maid, and could only do menial work in this Drunken Fragrance Pavilion.
Even if we're going to give face, we should give face to those who are useful. People like this are completely useless, so why should we give them face and invite bad luck upon ourselves?
Jiang Wuyou choked and began to sob, kowtowing desperately to Qin Mama. "Please, Qin Mama, give me two more days. I promise I'll do whatever you say from now on."
Her mother had suffered enough in her life; how could she not even be able to lay her mother's body to rest?
"Get out of here—someone, throw everything out of here, so the guests don't see it." Without looking at Jiang Wuyou's reddened forehead, Granny Qin gave a few instructions to those behind her and turned to leave.
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