The music slowly came to a halt.
In front, the elegant dancers in red and green also stopped, bowed in unison, and retreated with their heads lowered.
“Ding~”
A clear, crisp sound rang out, and then everyone saw a figure in red clothes float in, like a fairy descending to the mortal world.
Her black hair cascaded like a waterfall, her neck was like jade, and her shoulders were half-exposed, exuding an otherworldly charm.
Although Yangliu Shi wasn’t wearing much, the few exposed patches of skin were enough to cause the men in the room to swallow hard and drool.
This woman would have a 100% turn-back rate if she were to walk down the street in her previous life.
Wei Changtian and Lyuxi Liao couldn’t help but shift their gaze to the main attraction.
Compared to Lyuxi Liao, who was almost drooling, Wei Changtian was much more composed.
Because he knew clearly in his heart – she was a fox spirit!
However, one had to admit that Yangliu Shi was the most beautiful woman he had seen in both his lifetimes.
And before that, Lin Qingxia and Lu Jingyao were not far behind…
Among the dozens of greedy gazes, Yangliu Shi sat down elegantly, her face without a hint of shyness.
“Gentlemen.”
Her soft, gentle voice flowed from her cherry-red lips, making everyone feel numb and tingly.
“You have honored me by coming today, and I am overwhelmed with gratitude.”
“I apologize for the delay earlier, as I mistakenly tied my skirt wrong.”
“I shall punish myself with a cup, and offer my apologies to the officials.”
With her sleeves half-covering her face and her eyebrows slightly furrowed, Yangliu Shi’s cheeks flushed pink after just one cup of wine.
She gazed at the crowd with her enchanting eyes, lightly holding the empty wine cup.
“I’ll join Yangliu Shi in a cup!”
It was unclear who suddenly shouted, but the others also came back to their senses, loudly echoing in agreement:
“I’ll join in too!”
“Don’t blame yourself, Yangliu Shi, we won’t hold it against you!”
“This is the truth!”
“…”
For a moment, the room was filled with excitement.
It didn’t matter that these people were all high-and-mighty young masters; bootlicking had nothing to do with social status or wealth.
Who said that having money and power meant you couldn’t bootlick women?
Do you want to know the truth?
The group of young masters pretended to be heroic, raising their cups to toast Yangliu Shi, trying to leave a good impression on her.
Only Wei Changtian didn’t move.
He kept gazing at Yang Liu’s beaming face, feeling a hint of admiration in his heart.
No wonder she could be the top courtesan; not only was she stunning, but her speech was also filled with tea-like charm!
Was she getting dressed or fixing her hair? That’s why she was late?
Although this excuse was quite far-fetched, it was hard not to associate it with her elegant demeanor when undressing.
One could say that just this one sentence was more alluring than many women stripping naked.
Moreover, she cleverly used the ambiguous term “official” to refer to someone, making it even more intriguing…
Tsk, tsk, tsk, this should be considered top-tier flirting.
Wei Changtian thought to himself while casually picking up a melon seed and cracking it open.
This unusual behavior naturally caught Yang Liu’s attention.
Her autumn-water-like eyes gazed over, seemingly with a hint of reproach.
Wei Changtian playfully returned her gaze, spitting out a melon seed shell in the process.
This move already bordered on being rude to Yang Liu, but her face showed no signs of embarrassment, only a gentle smile, as if she was genuinely amused.
Indeed, she was hard to deal with.
Wei Changtian withdrew his gaze, and Yang Liu opened her mouth again at this moment.
“Gentlemen, tonight is Mid-Autumn Festival, a time for reunions.”
“I’ve lost my parents, but fortunately, I have you all by my side, and I’m deeply grateful. I’d like to sing a little ditty to express my heartfelt emotions.”
“May I?”
The soft, gentle tone was tinged with sorrow, as if she had truly poured her heart out as a pitiful woman longing for her family.
Immediately, someone comforted her:
“Don’t be sad, Miss Yang Liu; we’re all your family!”
“Exactly, exactly!”
“Today, we’re fortunate to have heard your heavenly voice; it’s a blessing in three lifetimes!”
“……”
Good grief, they’re all coming out as family now?
Wei Changtian thought that if Yang Liu were to do live streaming, she’d be a natural, and at this moment, the sound of the guqin flowed from the stage.
“The willow branch whispers secrets, and the old scars weep. One spring, the fish and birds have no news, and the dream soul is exhausted from the thousand-mile journey……”
“Not a single word, facing the fragrant wine. The arranged reunion is interrupted until dusk……”
“Just as the lamp is lit, the rain pounds the pear blossoms, and the door is tightly closed……”
“……”
The music ended, and the guqin’s sound ceased.
The water outside rippled, and the moon seemed to have disappeared.
The crowd below was stunned for a moment before erupting into applause.
……
Unlike ordinary courtesans who could be “bought” with money, Yang Liu, as a top courtesan, or the leading ladies of various establishments, often had a mutual selection process with their clients.
This process was usually referred to as “drinking tea” or “enjoying flower wine.”
The specific selection methods varied, but most involved playing matching games or flying flower cards. Some even liked playing dice or tossing pots, but it was clear that such games wouldn’t be suitable for today’s “high-end” gathering.
Of course, it would be difficult to get these ignorant young masters to recite poetry.
At this moment, the literati beside them were put to use.
Just like now, a scholar with a carefree hairstyle was reciting a poem for his master.
“Mountain… this character is too simple!”
“Mountain light shines with a gentle spring breeze, don’t take it lightly and think of returning!”
“Good!”
Someone immediately cheered, and the scholar sat down proudly, then listened to the next person recite a poem:
“Returning, both sides of the hair are scattered, seeing the painting still remembering the past year!”
“Year… I also have one!”
“In the year, the willow and the swallow are together, willing to worry for others, but not coming!”
“…”
The sound of reciting poems continued, but it was just a form of self-entertainment among the literati.
Because everyone was very clear that Yang Liu’s poem would not be decided by this, and it wouldn’t determine who she would sleep with tonight.
If it weren’t for deepening Yang Liu’s impression of him, this kind of thing was actually unnecessary.
For example, Wei Changtian didn’t participate.
The Wei family also kept several literati, but he thought it was too silly to find someone to recite poems for himself.
As for taking the stage himself… sorry, he didn’t know a single poem in this world.
Unbeknownst to them, the flying flower令 had already gone through several rounds, and the round moon outside the window had also gradually inclined to the west.
Just when the sound of the shore representative’s drumbeat started, Yang Liu also lightly waved her hand and beckoned a maid to her side, whispering a few sentences.
From noble mtl dot come
Everyone immediately fell silent, and then listened to the maid’s crisp voice saying:
“Gentlemen, my mistress says it’s been a long time since she’s heard new poems, and she wants to give you a topic. Please, gentlemen, come and compose a poem, and see how you do?”
“Let the little lady give the topic!”
“With poetry to determine the winner, how elegant!”
“Quickly give the topic!”
Everyone responded, and in their hearts, they knew it was finally time to “decide the winner”.
They had been preparing for this, not only bringing the most talented literati from their families but also having some people who had already written poems about the Mid-Autumn Festival, just waiting to take them out and astonish everyone, and finally win the beauty’s heart.
However, the topic given by the maid made them pause.
“The Mid-Autumn Festival is too cliché…”
The maid smiled sweetly: “My mistress is so beautiful that even Chang’e might not be able to compare, so why not… take my mistress’s beauty as the topic?”
“This…”
“Ha ha! Good!”
“Exactly!”
Upon hearing this topic, some people looked embarrassed, some were calm, and some were delighted.
But Wei Changtian was a bit surprised.
This topic was definitely given by Yang Liu, only using the maid as a mouthpiece.
Letting others write poems to praise her beauty… was this fox spirit so narcissistic???