The maidservant with her hair in two buns, who was waiting outside, led Shi Lan, who was slightly tipsy, to the back.
Upon entering the room adorned with exquisite brocade, Shi Lan quickly scanned the surroundings before fixing her gaze on the tatami bed draped with curtains in the inner chamber.
The young maidservant silently moved away to take her leave.
Shi Lan found it strange, but she had no time to care about such things. All she wanted to do now was find out what was going on. Her body was so strange; she couldn't move when she saw a man, and even getting off his lap required a lot of effort.
Shi Lan leaned against the square pillow, lay down, and in her drowsy state, memories rushed back.
The original owner was separated from her family at a young age and was trafficked to a black market brothel. Unlike ordinary brothels that openly welcomed and sent off women, these brothels selected beautiful, petite, and plump girls and raised them as foster mothers. Once the girls grew up, they were sold to officials or noble families to earn a lot of money.
The original owner started living with her foster mother when she was five years old. When she was about ten, she was noticed by a merchant named Liu from out of town. Her foster mother thought that Liu would take her away, but he left her a large sum of money and instructed her to train her well.
From that day on, her stepmother's attitude towards her changed. She not only cared for her every day but also made her a special perfume balm to use when bathing. The original owner was young and naive. Although she had been trained on how to serve men, she was still ignorant and didn't understand some things.
As time passed, the original owner grew up day by day, and gradually she began to feel that something was wrong with her. First of all, her body became particularly flexible, and she could easily complete those difficult and challenging movements that were difficult to do before. In addition, her nose was extremely sensitive, and she could not stand the smell of men. As soon as it entered her nose, her bones would turn soft and her flesh would soften, her eyes would fill with spring water, and she would be filled with passion. Moreover, her adoptive mother had hired a master who was good at tea ceremony for her, as well as a musician who came from the imperial harp and was once a high-ranking official and taught her the most popular musical instruments of the time, such as the konghou and bili. Every now and then, popular dancers would come to teach her Hu dance and secret bed skills.
More than three years passed in the blink of an eye. The original owner was exceptionally intelligent and surpassed her teacher. The dancer admitted that there was nothing more she could teach her. Just then, Liu Weng sent someone with a message, ordering her foster mother to take her to Anxi. Since the original owner had not yet mastered the pipa, the musician also came along.
A year later, when the original owner was about to come of age, Old Man Liu suddenly visited and said he wanted to take the original owner away. This was overheard by the musician who was on his way to say goodbye to his foster mother.
After several years of teaching, the musician inevitably showed more concern for his apprentice. After much deliberation, he secretly told the original owner of the story.
The original owner knew her fate from the beginning, but when she learned that the knife hanging over her head was about to fall, she was still afraid and begged the musician to help her escape.
He was the only man the original owner had spent several years with without any strange reactions, and the original owner felt that he was the perfect man that God had specially chosen for her.
The original owner took out the wealth and jewelry he had secretly saved over the years and sneaked out of the inn with the musician, hoping to escape. However, he was caught and brought back before he even left the town.
The musician was beaten half to death, but the stepmother couldn't bear to hurt the original owner's flesh, so she just locked her in the room and starved her as punishment.
The original owner was very worried about the musician. Suddenly, Liu Weng appeared and told her that as long as she obeyed and did what she was supposed to do, he would let the two of them leave together. Otherwise, he would destroy the musician's hands and send her to a brothel, making her entertain customers every day without rest.
Over the years, Liu Weng had spent a lot of money on her. The original owner knew that if she didn't do as he said, neither she nor the musician would have a good end. Since she couldn't escape this calamity either way, she simply agreed.
Two days later, at a song and dance performance, she was the headliner, performing her best Hu Xuan dance.
After the dance, she was led to the man who sat at the head of the table and was addressed as the Grand Commander. He seemed indifferent at first, but after asking her name, he took her back to his residence.
The original owner thought that Liu Weng wanted her to bewitch this person and take the opportunity to do him some favors, so she did everything she could to please him.
The Grand Commander seemed to treat her well, providing her with good food and drink, and occasionally coming to watch her dance and listen to her play the bili (a type of reed pipe).
The original owner had no ambitions. She was content with her life and lived a carefree life. She thought that this was how her life would be, and that she would live off the money she was given when she got old. But one day she received an order to steal a plaque from the Grand Commander's study. She hesitated and refused to do it. After several urgings from Liu Weng, she finally threatened the musician.
Despite some hesitation, the original owner of this body still harbored a certain teacher-student relationship with the musician and, after much struggle, still managed to steal the plaque.
Two days later, war broke out in Anxi, the Grand Commander disappeared, and the mansion was in chaos. The original owner felt something was wrong and vaguely felt that this matter was related to him.
Fearing that the Grand Commander would return to settle scores with her, she took advantage of the chaos in the mansion to run to the musician, only to be stabbed in the chest by the musician.
The musician knelt before the original owner of the body with a face full of guilt, telling her that it was Liu Weng who forced him to do this, and that if he wanted to live, he had no choice but to do as he was told.
The original owner clutched her bleeding chest, utterly bewildered. She couldn't understand why, after betraying the Grand Commander for their future and indirectly bearing the burden of so many lives, this was the end result.
Before she died, she was filled with regret. Thinking about the people she had seen dying tragically on the road when she came over, she felt that it was all her fault.
She believed her death was retribution, but those people were innocent and shouldn't have lost their lives because of her mistakes.
After absorbing the memories, Shi Lan frowned. The original owner wanted Liu Weng's life, which wasn't difficult in theory. Given time, even with guards, she could easily take his head. Moreover, she possessed witchcraft; if she wasn't afraid to sacrifice her life, she could take his life from a thousand miles away. However, she was currently in the Protectorate, making it difficult to find traces of him, such as hair. As for the peace and stability the original owner desired, that was an impossible task for Shi Lan.
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