"Oh? The person in this painting..." The guests were puzzled, turning their heads to look at the "Hundred Beauties" painting hanging at the center of the hall. Their eyes suddenly lit up, and they stopped talking, just looking closely.
"Ah! This ’Hundred Beauties’ is not bad! I have never seen so many different beauties before, and the clothes on these beauties are really..." A man couldn’t help but swallow his saliva before continuing, "tempting."
Shopkeeper Wu chuckled: "These beauties are all real beauties from our place!"
"Real beauties? Impossible! I have seen most of the beauties here, the girls from Yihong Courtyard are all gorgeous, but I haven’t seen this kind of..." The man paused, seeming to organize his words for a while before saying, "this kind of novelty."
"These are the girls from the Flower House!" An elder with sharp eyes noticed the big characters above the "Hundred Beauties" painting and exclaimed, "Three days later, there will be the Oiran competition, and even the capital’s top courtesan Ah Lian is coming!?"
This statement caused a wave of astonishment. Some people were so shocked they almost dropped their chopsticks: "Ah Lian? Which Ah Lian? Is it the famous Ah Lian from the capital?"
The elder nodded excitedly: "Yes, yes, yes, it’s Ah Lian! It says so right here, it’s her! She will even perform The Drunken Imperial Consort dance!"
The whole place exploded in a hubbub, Ah Lian’s reputation had spread throughout the country, and her breathtaking "Drunken Imperial Concubine" dance caused a sensation. In just two months, even Lian’an Town had heard about it.
"Is this true?! It can’t be a fake, right? Ah Lian was doing well in the capital, why would she come to our remote little town? I just don’t believe it." Some people were skeptical.
Shopkeeper Wu stroked his beard and smiled: "Anyway, I’m sure she came! Believe it or not, three days later, at the Flower House’s Oiran competition, you can see Ah Lian’s beautiful face and witness her extraordinary ’Drunken Imperial Concubine’ dance. Why not enjoy it?"
"Hey! Which one in the painting is Ah Lian?!" Someone asked impatiently.
"Isn’t it obvious? It’s the one in the middle! She is the most stunning and has an unbeatable grace. She is truly a peerless beauty!"
"Wow, that’s true! She’s so beautiful! I remember I had a painting of Ah Lian brought back from the capital by a friend. It’s just like this one! Ah Lian really came!"
The entire tavern instantly became bustling, and the noisy scene downstairs indicated that this "Hundred Beauties" painting was already astonishing enough.
Xin He stood on the balcony looking down, watching the occasional exclamations in the crowd, a smile inadvertently hanging on the corner of her lips.
"Madam’s strategy really works, without saying a word herself, the best publicity effect has been achieved. At this rate, the Flower House’s reputation will spread throughout Lian’an Town in no time," said Shulan with a smile.
"No matter how much you say, it’s not as good as letting them see for themselves. The Flower House’s strength now is not inferior to any other Flower House in Lian’an Town. With all this, it’s well deserved," Xin He said.
As they were speaking, they saw many officials and nobles coming out from the private rooms upstairs, apparently disturbed by the noise in the hall downstairs.
It seems that Guilin Residence is going to be lively today.
"Hey, what’s hanging in the hall? I heard it’s the ’Hundred Beauties’, a painting of real beauties? Are they really that beautiful?" A young man’s voice was the loudest, and his emotions were obviously the most excited.
"Can’t you see for yourself? With Ah Lian herself here, how can it be bad?"
"The capital’s number one courtesan, Ah Lian, is here too!" The man exclaimed in a shocked voice, excited as if he wanted to jump off the second floor.
Xin He looked at the man and frowned, "Who is this guy?"
Shulan shook her head in a daze.
Xiaoyu whispered, "This servant heard that he is the only legitimate grandson of the Sun family, Young Master Sun." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚
Xin He raised her eyebrows, "Isn’t that the family Ji Xiulan married into?"
"That’s right."
"Heh!" Xin He sneered, "It’s true that people of a feather flock together. I have really seen the world."
At this time, more and more people were appearing in the corridor, and Xin He didn’t want to stay any longer. She gestured to Shulan and turned to go downstairs. The effect had been achieved, which was enough.
Shopkeeper Wu saw Xin He coming downstairs from afar but couldn’t free himself to come over and see her off. Xin He slightly nodded to him as a gesture then left directly.
When she arrived at the entrance of the tavern, she saw a familiar face just as she was about to board the carriage.
"Oh! I wondered who it was. Turns out it’s Xin He! No wonder she looked so familiar." Ji Xiulan said sarcastically.
Xin He glanced at her indifferently and then boarded the carriage.
Having been ignored, Ji Xiulan was naturally unwilling to let it go. She was about to continue provoking Xin He when Xin He suddenly turned her head and looked at her coldly: "Ji Xiulan, I warned you not to mess with me. You should be glad I’m too busy to deal with you right now. If not for that, don’t blame me for not reminding you what would happen."
Ji Xiulan shrank her neck in fear and couldn’t help but back away.
Only when Xin He’s carriage had disappeared into the distance did Ji Xiulan react, jumping and stomping her feet: "What does that mean? I’m the wife of the Sun family! How can I be worse than her? How dare she threaten me!"
The little maid standing next to her didn’t dare to say anything, as her mistress only dared to scold her after Xin He had left.
----
"Madam, are you going directly to the Flower House now?" Xiaoyu asked.
"Mmm," Xin He nodded. With only three days left, the publicity has started, and she can’t slack off on the Oiran competition and the grand opening.
Looking up, Xiaoyu saw Xin He deep in thought and asked, "Is Madam upset about Mistress Ji?"
However, Xin He shook her head, "Why should I be angry with her? I don’t have the time for that. I just remembered today that the Sun family is considered one of the top merchants in Lian’an Town. I don’t know what kind of business they do, but now that we’ve made efforts in the Flower House, advancing among Lian’an Town’s wealthy merchants, we might have to deal with these people."
Xin He continued, "You should investigate it in more detail later. Not only the Sun family, but also any other powerful families in Lian’an Town."
Xiaoyu bowed her head and replied, "Yes."
----
Three days later.
Today is the grand opening of the Flower House.
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