The two sisters chatted for a long time. Looking at the energetic and heartless Yuan Jin'er in front of them, Nie Yunzhu sighed. They both felt that they were beautiful and popular, but who could understand their situation.
Those so-called gatherings of talented people and beauties may be seen as elegant and elegant in the eyes of talented people. Someone is attracted by a famous prostitute and becomes a guest of the house, or wins the attention of a beautiful lady, which is regarded as extremely elegant and enviable.
She didn't think it was very elegant, it was just a woman who was worried about the future, slowly pretending to be herself, taking pleasure in hardship, trying to find a glimmer of light in the dark future.
In Jinfeng Tower, she worked hard to learn music, chess, calligraphy and painting, gained some fame, gained some autonomy, and was able to develop as a poor woman who only sells her art but not her life. However, she did not dare to become too famous for fear of being beaten by those rich and powerful people.
It has become a tool for men to show their achievements and charm.
It would be better if these people followed the rules. If they didn't follow the rules, not many of them would be able to bear the risk of risking their lives to get any woman.
During those days in Jinfeng Tower, she felt uneasy and trembling every day. She was not only afraid that her fame would be too great and she would be favored by powerful people, but she was also afraid that her fame would be too little and she would lose her autonomy and be forced to sell herself.
Although Jinfenglou's mother is good, she can hardly be called a good person. She just follows the rules.
Those girls who are not famous and have no reputation, even if there are a few of them who can save their lives, it will be difficult to change the final result through various means.
It was those girls who resisted the most fiercely at the beginning. As time went by, they gradually became numb and adapted, and lived like zombies every day.
There were also those who went crazy and were kicked out directly and became beggars. The ending was quite miserable. Most of them could not survive the winter and died silently.
In those days, she was afraid and worried every day, worried that she would be like this in the future.
While carefully maintaining his reputation, he also trembles not to become too famous.
Finally, she survived. She saved up enough money to redeem herself, met her mother who followed the rules, and escaped from the devil's cave. This elegant place that the talented scholar never forgot.
Nowadays, Yuan Jin'er is facing the same situation. It seems that she has unlimited glory, but in fact, her future is slim. A new generation replaces the old one. She can still be famous for a few years, but there will always be a time when she cannot keep herself.
At that time, it is not up to you to decide whether to sell your body or not. The best outcome is that you will be bought back as a concubine and become a tool for showing off.
Nie Yunzhu's thoughts were racing, and he spoke again after a moment: "Jin'er, if you really want to leave Jinfeng Tower, you must make preparations early and don't delay for too long. I will help you then."
Yuan Jin'er nodded: "Sister Yunzhu, don't worry, Jin'er is already preparing. It just depends on when the time is right."
The two discussed for a while, and Yuan Jin'er suddenly smiled and said: "Sister Yunzhu, have you fallen in love with someone?"
Nie Yunzhu's face turned red, and he neither denied nor admitted.
Yuan Jin'er was surprised and said: "Who is it! When will you bring him back for me to see? Jin'er will seduce him then to see if he will take the bait and test it for my sister."
Nie Yunzhu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He stretched out his hand and pinched her pert buttocks: "You little girl, you are talking nonsense."
Yuan Jin'er chuckled and said, "Jin'er is telling the truth. If a person is really nice, it's not impossible for Jin'er and sister to serve him together. Sister won't be afraid that Jin'er will snatch him away."
Seeing that Nie Yunzhu was about to take action again, Yuan Jin'er hurriedly dodged the joker, but was eventually caught up.
After a while, a voice begging for mercy came from the yard: "Jin'er is wrong! Sister Yunzhu, please spare your life!"
…
In the evening, Li Mu took Xiao Chan home, and Su Tan'er was still busy.
Although he didn't say it, Li Mu also knew what Su Tan'er was busy with these days. Unsurprisingly, it was to become an imperial merchant.
There are two types of imperial merchants in the Wu Dynasty. One is Tan Yuan. Since Heishui sued for peace twice, he has paid compensation to the Liao Kingdom. Among them, there is a great demand for cloth. Although the price is not too high, it can build a relationship with the royal family.
, even if you make small profits but quick turnover, it is still good.
The other type is high-end silk that the royal family really needs. This part is not only highly profitable, but if it can open up doors, it will be of great benefit to the Su family's cloth business.
Even the royal family said it was good when it was used. What a good advertisement this is. Do you think it is good or not?
Of these two types of imperial merchants, the first is easier, but the second is more difficult.
There are only two ways to open doors, one is to take shortcuts and find connections, and the other is to be down-to-earth and improve technology.
The Su family has some connections in Jiangning. If they want to be an imperial merchant, they can't do it. They can only improve their technology and compete for opportunities with quality.
Su Tan'er took exactly this path, mobilizing a lot of manpower and material resources, working hard on technological improvement, and striving for opportunities. Although there was an element of luck in it, I don't know if it will succeed, but as a nineteen-year-old girl
, it is rare to have such great magnanimity and courage.
If this path is taken and the Su family becomes an imperial merchant, Su Tan'er will no longer have any suspense about taking charge of the Su family. Even if the other two families want to cause trouble, they won't be able to cause any trouble.
In the next few days, Li Mu lived a very ordinary life, teaching, visiting brothels, and watching the oiran competition.
The atmosphere in Jiangning has been very lively these days. Walking on the street, you can see women's performances from time to time. People talk about how a certain talented man is jealous of which girl and fights.
Soon, the first three days passed, and the outstanding women selected from each brothel officially came to Bailuzhou to start the real oiran competition.
The venue for the Oiran Competition was also very good, with mountains and water at its back, and a vast area. Li Mu and Xiao Chan rushed to the place, and the huge venue had already been surrounded.
As floats from various brothels arrived one after another, more and more people gathered, and various snacks and entertainment were placed on the grass, making it very lively.
It is very simple to enter the venue. Spend one tael of silver or a lot of money, buy a flower, and you can enter.
When you meet a girl you like, you can vote with flowers. Whoever receives more flowers will be the oiran in the end.
After selection, there are still more than 100 girls who are qualified to participate in the oiran competition in the next three days.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! The stage is set up in five places, namely the boat pavilion, the teahouse and dance hall, the riverside building, the small inn against the mountain, and the round drum in the center.
More than a hundred girls, based on the results of drawing lots, took turns to perform on stage. In addition to performances, drinks, meals, and various entertainment and rest spaces were also provided.
Li Mu took Xiao Chan with great interest and watched for a long time before returning happily.
More than a hundred girls competed for two days, and the top 16 were finally selected, leaving one day to decide the real oiran.
It wasn't until the last day that Su Tan'er found time to attend with Li Mu and several little girls.
In the evening, as the sun set, several people arrived in a carriage. The entire venue was decorated with lights and colorful silks, and silks and satins were flying. In the lake opposite, boats were lined up one after another, creating a magnificent scene.
It is said that the oiran competitions in Yangzhou and Tokyo were unprecedentedly grand and lively even more than those in Jiangning.
Entering the venue, almost all businessmen from Jiangning gathered here. Su Tan'er had to be busy socializing with a bunch of people in the shopping mall. After all, she would be in charge of the Su family in the future, so she would have to deal with them.
Li Mu silently accompanied her and walked around in a circle. Just as he was about to find a place to watch the performance, Puyang Yi, the richest man in the Pu family in Jiangning, came with Qilan dressed in white to meet Su Tan'er and Ning Yi.
Qilan is the head of a very large brothel in the Pu family. She is very famous in Jiangning. Even Xiaochan and the other girls know that she is a popular candidate to win the championship.
Nowadays, among the most popular candidates for courtesans in Jiangning, Yuan Jin'er is lively, Feng Xiaojing is dignified, Luo Miaomiao gives people a colorful feeling, and Lu Caicai is often called Youruo Lancao. It is said that he plays the pipa extremely well.
As for Qilan, she has a bookish air. It is said that she is good at poetry and calligraphy. She often wears feather fans and scarves. It is said that she has good attainments in literary talent.
News had spread before that everyone in Qilan greatly admired Li Mu's literary talents. Even Su Tan'er had heard about it and made fun of him.
Li Mu didn't take it too seriously. Although he is low-key now, he has a certain reputation among the literati in the entire Wu Kingdom because of his Song style and Slender Gold style.
In addition, he wrote a song titled "Shui Tiao" at the Pu Garden Poetry Club of the Pu family, and the two parties had a certain degree of mutual affection. It was an excellent friend for the Pu family who wanted to squeeze into the circle of scholars.
Qilan was the top brothel under the Pu family, and there was news that she was very fond of his literary talent. It was hard to say whether the Puyang family did this deliberately or Qilan's true intentions.
After Qilan saw her, she seemed to be acquainted with Su Tan'er because Su Tan'er was there. She was acquainted with her. Naturally, she wouldn't talk about poetry or anything like that.
Afterwards, they exchanged a few pleasantries. On the one hand, they expressed their admiration for Li Mu's literary talents. On the other hand, they also gave Su Tan'er enough face to be considered a good dancer. It seemed that they were having a good conversation, but in fact they didn't say much.
After a while, Ning Yi and Su Tan'er took a seat with a few girls and chose the front of the stage. This area was basically filled with merchants from Jiangning City, and they were also the main force in giving rewards.
As the sun sets, the lights gradually light up, and the performance gradually begins.
Su Tan'er took a loquat from the table, peeled it open, and handed it to Li Mu. In front of everyone, she played the image of a virtuous wife to the extreme.
As night fell, the entire venue was full and the performance finally began.
Amidst the lingering sound of silk and bamboo, the venue became quiet. Luo Miaomiao opened her tail like a colorful phoenix, and several streaks of colorful silk flew up from the audience, attracting cheers from the audience.
Under the bright lights, the music is flowing, the dance is light, the colors are colorful, and it is really beautiful.
After Luo Miaomiao was Yuan Jiner. In the first round of performances, several popular candidates for the Oiran title appeared one by one.
Luo Miaomiao's colorful silk dance is colorful and magnificent, Yuan Jin'er's dance is lively and lively, Feng Xiaojing's dance of birds toward the phoenix is still dignified and grand, and Lu Caicai is as quiet as an orchid in an empty valley.
At the end, Qilan reproduced the ancient dance of Confucius and Lao Tzu in a song. The ink dress had wide sleeves and a leisurely charm. It really felt like the fragrance of ink, and it also brought out the bookish atmosphere in her body to the extreme.
Finally, it’s time to reward gifts, and those with more than 100 flowers will be announced loudly.
Just listen to the above reading, "Master XX gave Luo Miaomiao 500 flowers to everyone; Master XX gave Lu Caicai 300 flowers to everyone..."
Su Tan'er saw her and looked at Li Mu with a smile: "Ms. sir, is there a girl you like?"
Li Mu shook his head and said: "I like a lot, like Luo Miaomiao, Yuan Jin'er, Feng Xiaojing, Lu Caicai..."
Su Tan'er smiled half-heartedly and said, "Since my husband likes me so much, why don't I marry them all as concubines?"
Li Mu pretended to be surprised and held Su Tan'er's little hand: "Since my wife has said this, how can I refuse her husband?"
Su Tan'er pinched him angrily: "If you have the ability, my husband will redeem their lives for them and marry them home. I will let them be their sisters, and I will not pay for them."
Li Mu said: "Madam, this is what you said."
Su Tan'er felt guilty and said, "I said so, but these courtesans spend money lavishly. Can you afford to support my husband? I will not give you money to support them."
Li Mu laughed loudly: "It doesn't matter if I can support you or not, my Tan'er is really open-minded. I have thanked my husband."
Su Tan'er rolled her eyes at him: "Ms. sir, do you know how much it costs to be a courtesan?"
After saying that, he waved his hand and called someone. After a while, the stage loudly announced again: "Master Ning Yining is sending two thousand flowers to everyone in Qilan!"
When this voice came out, there was another exclamation from the crowd. Two thousand flowers are equivalent to two thousand taels of silver, which is already one of the big gifts tonight.
Looking to the side, I'm going to show you Su Tan'er, who spends a lot of money to be a courtesan. Li Mu smiled helplessly, you have money, you can have fun if you want.
Pu Yangyi also handed over from the other side, showing an appreciative attitude.
In the past two years, the Pu family has obviously wanted to promote Qilan, but in order to make people less gossipy and say that they spent money on it, they have been moving very steadily.
Otherwise, last year's oiran would have been Qilan, not Feng Xiaojing.
After two years of building momentum, Qilan's fame has spread throughout Jiangning City. She has accumulated enough. In addition, she is indeed beautiful, talented, good at dancing, and has a good sense of communication with others. She will become the oiran this year.
There shouldn't be much suspense.
After all, when it comes to throwing money, no one in Jiangning can do it better than the Pu family. He is not called the richest man in Jiangning for nothing.
Next, the competition continued until the last round. Qilan's singing and dancing skills of "Book Mountain and Ink Sea" overwhelmed the crowd. Puyang Yi finally legitimately sent 10,000 flowers to Qilan, who was fluttering in white clothes.
Ascend to the oiran's throne.
Many people have expected this result, but Qilan does have this strength. The Pu family delayed doing this for two years, which is considered appropriate.
After the oiran competition, there was a thank you banquet, which was hosted by the prefect himself and attended by celebrities from all walks of life in Jiangning. Among them were many people who had supported the oiran competition, such as Li Mu who sent two thousand flowers.
After dealing with it casually for a while, he was about to say goodbye when he suddenly saw Cheng Yong, the slightly fat commander of the Wu Lie Army, holding a wine glass and swaying in front of Yuan Jin'er, insisting that Yuan Jin'er accompany him to drink.
.
Yuan Jin'er said a few perfunctory words, and Cheng Yong seemed to be angry. After being persuaded by several famous people in the scene, he returned to his seat, but it seemed that he was not too determined to give up.
Li Mu shook his head. He was planning to find someone to test the life and death talisman recently, but he didn't want to attack innocent people. Now it seemed that he had a target.