The carved wooden doors of the training room were tightly shut, leaving only the crack in the middle as a prime piece of real estate fought over by dozens of pairs of eyes.
Through that crack, they could see Scholar Xu, who usually spouted literary jargon, lying on his stomach. He propped himself up with his hands, tightened his waist and abdomen, and then thrust upward with force. The movement looked nothing like practicing martial arts or studying; rather, it resembled a certain blush-inducing bedroom activity.
"Oh my, this posture..." Xiaohong covered her mouth, feeling her cheeks burning hot. She lowered her voice and whispered into the ear of Yunniang beside her, "Even when those patrons back at the Xiaoxiang Pavilion got drunk, they never tossed about like this. Young Master Xu looks so refined, why is he practicing such a shameful skill?"
Yunniang clutched a handkerchief in her hand, but her eyes couldn't bear to blink even once. She stared intently at Xu Zijin's flushed red face and his continuously rising and falling back and waist, and spat lightly, "You said it yourself, those were drunk patrons. He is wide awake. I heard this is called... hip thrusting or something. The Eldest Miss said it is to train out that masculine hormone."
"What is a hormone?" Asura squeezed at the very top. Being tall, she had the clearest view. Looking at the pathetic state of the normally arrogant scholar, an inexplicable sense of pleasure arose in her heart. "Whatever it is, look at his legs shaking. I am afraid he will not be able to hold on much longer."
The muffled groans inside the room grew heavier. It was suppressed panting, mixed with the sound of a bamboo stick whipping the air.
Just as the women were watching with great relish, wishing they could pluck out their eyeballs and stick them to the crack in the door, a mild dry cough suddenly sounded from behind them.
"Ahem!"
This sound startled everyone in the quiet corridor.
The huddled crowd instantly exploded, jumping back in panic. Xiaohong slipped and almost knocked over the two maids behind her.
Everyone turned around and saw that Li Sheng was standing at the end of the corridor, though no one knew when he had arrived. He did not hold his intimidating cudgel; instead, with his hands behind his back and his head tilted, his beady eyes shone with a half-smile as he cast a sidelong glance at this group of disheveled peeping toms.
"Is it a good show?" Li Sheng walked over slowly, his steps steady and measured. "Should I have someone tear the door down for you, so you can bring in a chair and sit inside to watch?"
"Mercy, Manager!"
A few timid girls were already scared out of their wits. The servility carved into their bones surfaced again, and their knees gave way as they prepared to kneel on the ground.
"Hey! Stand up straight, all of you!" Li Sheng shouted loudly, terrifying the just-bent knees into stiffening straight up again. He walked up to the crowd, waved his finger in front of them, and his face overflowed with disgust. "The first rule of the Xu Residence is no kneeling! What, it has only been a few days, and your memories have been eaten by dogs?"
Yunniang braced herself and took a step forward, head bowed, her fingers twisting the corner of her clothes. "Manager, sir, we... we were just passing by, heard a loud noise inside, and got curious for a moment..."
"Curious?" Li Sheng sneered, adjusting his washed-out collar, putting on a profound look of someone who had seen the world.
"Curious is right. I am not afraid to tell you, that is the signature dish of our Hundred Flowers Pavilion music workshop. You all better tighten your skins today, because in three days, the Hundred Flowers Pavilion will officially open to welcome guests!"
Welcome guests.
These two words made the heart of every woman present sink.
The excitement of watching a man make a fool of himself just now vanished instantly. Yunniang's face turned deathly pale, and she subconsciously reached out to cover her neckline, a habit formed in the brothels. Asura's tall body also trembled slightly, a flash of fear passing through her eyes.
Were they going back to those days again? Faking smiles, letting men reeking of alcohol grope them all over, getting beaten and scolded for the slightest displeasure, selling their dignity for a few copper coins...
Li Sheng looked at their half-dead expressions, and his brows twisted into a knot again.
"Look at how pathetic you are!" Li Sheng put his hands on his hips, spit flying. "Who are you showing those bitter faces to? Do you really think my Young Lady spent a fortune to redeem you just so you could go back to your old profession and sell your bodies?"
Yunniang looked up, her eyes full of confusion. "Not... not selling our bodies? Then what..."
"No drinking with customers either!" Li Sheng interrupted her, his tone arrogant. "Listen closely. The girls of our Hundred Flowers Pavilion, first, do not sell their bodies, and second, do not accompany guests for drinks. You only have two tasks—"
He held up two fingers, his gaze sweeping across every face.
"Be musicians, and be masters of ceremonies."
"Masters... of ceremonies? To thank the guests?" Xiaohong asked stutteringly, completely unable to understand this new term.
Li Sheng turned sideways, pointing at the wooden door behind him that was still emitting muffled groans, a playful smile curling on his lips. "Do you see those grown men inside? They are the flowers who will be looked at and rewarded on stage. And you—"
His finger turned back, pointing at the group of women in front of him. "You are the leaves responsible for playing tunes, beating drums, and controlling the reflection of the copper pipes offstage!"
The women looked at each other in dismay, their minds in a tangled mess.
Since ancient times, it had always been women posing and preening on stage to please the men below. Now the manager was saying it would be reversed?
"Manager, sir, are you saying..." Yunniang's voice was trembling, "You want us to play accompaniments for those stinky men? And... and watch them..."
"What else?" Li Sheng snorted coldly, pulling out a thick stack of papers from his chest and slapping it into Yunniang's hands.
What was drawn on the paper was not the traditional musical notation they were familiar with, but some strange tadpole-like characters and numbers. It was the simplified musical score that Xu Qinghuan had stayed up all night to translate.
"Those noblewomen who enter will have spent hundreds of taels of silver to buy a ticket!" Li Sheng pointed at the stack of sheet music. "They come in for a good time, to watch those men sweat, not to watch you group of bitter faces crying and weeping! The pipas and zithers in your hands used to play decadent, soft, and weak tunes for patrons."
He paused, his eyes turning fierce. "From now on, change all of that! These tunes must be played loud and fast! You have to make those men's waists twist to the sound of your instruments!"
Yunniang held the stack of sheet music, her hands feeling a bit heavy. She glanced down and saw a few large words written at the very top of the score: General's Command - Berserk Edition.
"Berserk?"
"Asura!" Li Sheng suddenly shouted.
The tall woman of Western Regions descent shuddered all over. "Here!"
"You are big and strong." Li Sheng pointed to the cowhide war drums in the corner of the courtyard. "Those drums are yours. When the time comes, no matter how Scholar Xu dances, your drumbeats cannot be messy. Every strike must smash right into people's hearts, do you understand?"
Asura looked at those drums that were thicker than her waist, and the fear in her eyes slowly receded. Weren't these drums much handier than those flimsy round fans?
"Yunniang!" Li Sheng turned to the pipa player. "You are the lead. Stop playing those timid, half-hidden, sour melodies on your pipa. What I want is the sound of armored steeds and clashing weapons, the decisiveness of slaughter! If anyone fails to keep up with the rhythm of those men thrusting their waists inside, or plays the wrong note and ruins the atmosphere, don't blame me for being ruthless—I will dock your monthly wages directly!"
Dock your monthly wages. Those words worked better than any household rules. The women immediately straightened their backs and tightly gripped the sheet music in their hands; after all, that was their new livelihood.
Just then, with a creak, the door to the training room was pushed open from the inside.
Xu Zijin walked out, supporting himself against the doorframe. His once relatively neat inner garments were now completely soaked, clinging tightly to his skin and outlining his still faintly twitching body. Even more wretchedly, his sleeve had been torn open during the struggle, revealing an arm covered in black and blue bruises—marks left by bamboo sticks used to correct his movements.
His hair bun was a mess, with a few damp strands plastered to his face, and his legs, having just finished frog leaps, were trembling uncontrollably.
Seeing the courtyard full of women, Xu Zijin instinctively tried to raise his sleeve to cover his face—the last shred of dignity for a scholar. But as soon as he lifted his hand, he realized his sleeve was already torn to shreds. His bare arm was exposed for all to see, making him look even more comical.
"Ah..."
He opened his mouth, wanting to scold these women to avert their eyes from what was improper, but his throat could only let out a hoarse croak. The lofty arrogance and pride that belonged to a scholar had long been ground away by an entire morning of hip-thrusting training, leaving behind only the numbness and shame of utter devastation.
However, this time.
The women in the courtyard did not shyly lower their heads as they usually did, nor did they scatter in a panic to avoid him.
After hearing Li Sheng's shocking theory about the reversal of yin and yang, the way they looked at Xu Zijin had completely and utterly changed.
It was no longer the awe reserved for a high and mighty scholar, nor was it the fear of facing a strange man.
Yunniang narrowed her eyes slightly, her gaze unabashedly sweeping from Xu Zijin's still-trembling thighs to his sweat-drenched chest, before finally landing on his flushed face.
That look was like inspecting a piece of merchandise she was about to work with, even carrying a hint of pickiness and novelty.
"So..." Xiaohong muttered softly beside her. Her voice was not loud, but it clearly pierced Xu Zijin's ears. "This is the flower we'll be accompanying from now on? He looks weak... but he's actually quite sturdy."
Xu Zijin's body swayed, and he nearly planted his head right into the door threshold.
