The final result of this matter was that after the food was set out, Li Wenzhuang, under Chu Nian's watchful eye, chased all the servants and maids, including the madam, out.
Zhao Feiyan was perceptive. Seeing Li Wenzhuang obediently follow behind the others to close the door, she quietly asked Chu Nian, "Miss Tong, how did you manage to make this young master Li so obedient?"
Zhao Feiyan didn't believe that Tong Nian had already pledged herself to him. After all, when she arrived, Tong Nian was the most popular courtesan, with the highest popularity and price in the Cuihong Brothel. If she wanted to redeem herself, she would definitely choose a husband, and would never just randomly come to Li Wenzhuang.
Chu Nian also moved closer to Zhao Feiyan and whispered, "That's his taste!"
Zhao Feiyan was a little stunned, but she had traveled from the modern world and had heard of sadists and masochists before, so she quickly figured it out.
Chu Nian whispered a reminder: "His family is quite respectable, so this matter must be kept a secret!"
Zhao Feiyan nodded immediately.
Once two people share a secret, their relationship quickly grows closer. This was the case with Chu Nian and Zhao Feiyan.
The two closed the door and ate breakfast together. Li Wenzhuang was like a little slave, running around serving food to the two girls. Every now and then, Chu Nian would scold him and even kick him a couple of times.
Li Wenzhuang was not angry at all; on the contrary, he became even happier.
Zhao Feiyan was secretly amazed. She never expected that in this day and age, even a masochist could be identified. How did Tong Nian manage to do it?
She vaguely sensed that Chu Nian was no ordinary person, and Chu Nian, because she was a female protagonist with a strong sense of justice, was willing to befriend her, so the two got along very well. After breakfast, the two chatted while eating sunflower seeds.
Li Wenzhuang originally wanted to serve Chu Nian like a lackey, but Chu Nian sent him home.
Only Chu Nian and Zhao Feiyan remained in the room. Following the original owner's memories, Chu Nian took out paper and pen and casually wrote down a poem by Zhao Feiyan that was circulating outside. After finishing, she recited it thoughtfully, praising Zhao Feiyan's poem highly.
Zhao Feiyan blushed and laughed, embarrassed by what she said, "I didn't write this. I've told people before that it's a poem I read in a book, but nobody believed me."
Chu Nian smiled and said, "Alright, whether you wrote it or not, this poem is excellent to me." Then she recited it softly as if savoring it.
Zhao Feiyan stared at the poem she had written and said with some surprise, "Wow, Sister Tong, your small regular script is really beautiful."
Chu Nian hummed in agreement and said, "My father loves calligraphy and painting. I've been exposed to it since I was little, so I've learned some of the tricks of the trade."
Back when she was a movie queen, many variety shows required her to perform on the spot. In order not to embarrass herself, Chu Nian learned a lot of skills. She practiced calligraphy and traditional Chinese painting very carefully.
In the original owner's memories, this ancient timeline highly valued calligraphy and painting, though masterpieces were few and far between. It's estimated that while officials and nobles admired calligraphy and painting, the field had a limited history, and true masters were few and far between. Therefore, Chu Nian's calligraphy and painting skills were quite impressive.
Zhao Feiyan is a modern person. Even if she can attract attention with the poetry she learned in the past and the vernacular novels she read, she's really not very good at calligraphy and painting. However, she can still tell whether the calligraphy is beautiful or not.
She exclaimed in surprise, "In my opinion, your calligraphy is no worse than that of those young masters and nobles who spend all day practicing calligraphy and reading books." This was the truth. At Cuihong Tower, guests often left calligraphy and paintings, but she felt that none of them were as beautiful as Chu Nian's small regular script.
Chu Nian wrote four small characters in one corner of the paper.
"Left Bank Hermit?" Zhao Feiyan murmured, then asked, "Is this yours, sister..."
Chu Nian said, "It's a nickname I just randomly gave myself."
Zhao Feiyan smiled and said, "But I think this name sounds a bit too lofty."
Chu Nian smiled and casually put the calligraphy into a drawer next to her.
Not long after, a seal reading "Zuoan Shanren" was added to the calligraphy, and it appeared at the Confucian Guild Hall, where many great Confucian scholars gathered.
Because Confucian scholars frequently visited this place, many calligraphy and paintings favored by Confucian scholars were sold here. It is said that the owner of the gallery was a famous Confucian scholar from the Eastern Chu Kingdom, respected by all, and with extremely high connoisseurship of calligraphy and paintings. Over time, this place became an exhibition venue for valuable calligraphy and paintings, and many great Confucian scholars and literati came here to appreciate them.
Later, Zhao Feiyan happened to pass by the Confucian Academy and saw this small calligraphy hanging on the wall directly opposite the door of the academy. It was as if the academy was showing everyone that this was the "standard" of good calligraphy. Zhao Feiyan was quite surprised.
She then asked Xiao Tao, the maid who had accompanied her shopping.
Xiao Tao smiled smugly and said, "Miss, you don't know yet, but I heard that the calligraphy by Zuo An Shan Ren was left by a guest at our Cui Hong Lou to pay for his drinks."
The old woman held onto the calligraphy for two days, but when the customer still hadn't come to exchange it for money, she asked someone to find the Confucian Guild Hall. Her intention was simply to inquire how much the calligraphy was worth, but the guild hall immediately offered three hundred taels of gold to buy it.
"Three... hundred taels of gold?" Zhao Feiyan exclaimed in surprise. "That's so valuable!"
Xiao Tao: "That's right. I heard that the Left Bank Hermit was Miss Tong's guest, and this calligraphy was also meant for Miss Tong. But the nanny exchanged so much money and only gave Miss Tong fifty taels of silver."
Back at Cuihonglou, Zhao Feiyan rushed into Chu Nian's room, closed the door, and told her about seeing her calligraphy at the Confucian Guild Hall.
Chu Nian said dismissively, "I already knew about this. The nanny will definitely take the lion's share. If we want to live well in this Cuihong Pavilion, we have to accept this reality."
Zhao Feiyan sighed helplessly, thinking that a large portion of the money she earned from her poems and novels had been embezzled by the nanny.
"Sister Tong, when do you think we can leave Cuihonglou?" Zhao Feiyan asked. "Only then can we hold onto the money we've worked so hard to earn!"
Chu Nian: "Even if we are redeemed, it will be difficult for us to escape our status as prostitutes, unless a high-ranking official is willing to step in and speak to the government on our behalf."
Chu Nian felt that this matter would most likely fall on the female lead. Zhao Feiyan's poems were so captivating that they won the genuine appreciation of some high-ranking officials and noblemen, and she later even gained the emperor's favor.
To be freed from prostitution, all it takes is a word from the emperor.
Zhao Feiyan chuckled, "Those high-ranking officials and nobles? Don't even think about it." Although she had only been here for two months, she could already sense that while those nobles liked to come here, most of them secretly looked down on these prostitutes.
Even if Zhao Feiyan doesn't sell her smiles or her body through her abilities, and never drinks with clients, since she's been sold into this place, she's now a prostitute.
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