After sending him off, Chai Xiaomi slipped back into her seat.
Looking up, she met the smiling eyes of the courtesans. Every one of them had their eyebrows slightly raised, their lips curving into knowing and teasing smiles.
Her face instantly burned hot.
"Why... why are you all staring at me like that..."
It made it seem as if she had done something shameful behind the screen.
She had obviously just kissed him on the cheek.
Among these courtesans, some were older and some were younger, but Xiaomi had a pair of round, clear, and bright almond eyes that shimmered with moisture, and her face was as white and soft as a freshly steamed glutinous rice cake, making people unconsciously want to dote on her like a little sister.
Especially right now, with her face flushed red and her eyes darting around while pretending to be calm, she looked even more tempting to tease.
"Xiaomi, did you just secretly kiss your little gentleman?" someone deliberately dragged out her words.
"Nothing of the sort!" She hastily grabbed the tablecloth, lowering her head to study the embroidery on it.
Hmm, the embroidery technique was not bad, and the pattern was quite pretty.
"Oh~~~ Then why is the rouge on your lips a shade lighter in the middle?"
"Oh my, that is truly hard to guess~"
"Xiaomi, is this tablecloth really that beautiful? You're about to stare a hole right through it."
"Alright, alright, stop teasing her," a gentler courtesan finally couldn't watch anymore and smilingly pulled Chai Xiaomi, who was about to shrink under the table, upright. "If you keep teasing her, our Xiaomi is really going to turn into a fully steamed glutinous rice ball."
As she spoke, she reached out to tidy up her slightly messy hair at the temples.
Chai Xiaomi, having been pulled upright, puffed out her cheeks and deliberately put on airs. "Exactly, I have a temper too!"
But her voice was soft and sweet, and her eyes curved into crescents; even her anger seemed coated in a layer of sugar frosting.
Not only did it fail to intimidate anyone, but it also made the whole room of courtesans laugh even harder.
The gentle courtesan from earlier lightly pinched her cheek. "Yes, yes, yes, our Xiaomi has a huge temper. Whenever she gets angry, her face turns as red as a little lantern."
Another person chimed in, "We need to prepare some candied fruits to coax her."
Surrounded by their joking, Chai Xiaomi's eyes rippled with light, and the corners of her lips couldn't help but curl up.
She cleared her throat, trying hard to pull the topic back.
"Alright, alright, let's talk about serious business. Ziyan, that old matter you brought up earlier, what exactly happened?"
She looked at the courtesan who had started the topic.
"Yes, yes, Ziyan, hurry up and tell us!" The other courtesans also pricked up their ears to listen.
Ziyan collected herself. This matter had to start with a certain person.
"Xiangyun, Xiaomi, you know her, right? A famous musician in the pavilion, an expert at playing the zither."
Speaking of Xiangyun, Chai Xiaomi had specifically gone looking for her this morning.
She had originally promised to do her makeup first, but Xiangyun had been in a panic at the time, looking as if she was urgently searching for something. She only hurriedly said, "Next time," her expression full of apology.
Only then did Chai Xiaomi turn to call number one, but who knew that shortly after, number two, number three, number four... all came swarming in.
"That girl Xiangyun is still young, not yet of hairpin age. She came to the Phantom Sound Pavilion a year ago. I heard her father was a farmer in Willow Alley at the west entrance of the southern part of town. He was a widower who raised her all by himself. After her father died, she was sold here by her aunt. When she arrived, she cried heart-wrenchingly, tugging at her aunt's trouser leg and refusing to let go, but her aunt didn't even turn her head back; she just took the silver and left."
Speaking of this, a trace of gloom swept across the faces of the courtesans.
Many of them had also been pushed into this world of sensual pleasures by fate without any explanation.
"When she first came, she refused to say a single word and went on a hunger strike all day, determined to die. Fortunately, Madam Liu heard that she played the zither exceptionally well, so she allowed her to be a musician. Musicians don't have to receive clients."
"But she still wouldn't speak and didn't interact with anyone. At that time, we all privately called her Little Mute."
"Who knew that not long after, another mute actually came to the pavilion. That girl wore a red dress and looked extremely beautiful, but she also didn't say a word. She looked a few years older than Xiangyun, so we quietly called her Older Mute."
"Older Mute was different. She came on her own and chose the path of a courtesan. She had a pair of naturally affectionate eyes that were best at stirring people's hearts, and there wasn't a single patron who wasn't infatuated with her. However, there are those who love mature and understanding women, and naturally, there are also those who prefer the green and tender ones."
"One night a few months ago, a distinguished guest we couldn't afford to offend came. He got dead drunk, bumped into Xiangyun playing the zither in the corridor, and actually carried her into a room without a word. She, who never made a sound, screamed so loudly that the whole corridor could hear her, but Madam Liu just turned her face away. Who would dare to stop him?"
"Caixia and I happened to be passing by at the time. We saw with our own eyes the blind man who emptied the chamber pots stumble into the room. He grabbed a vase and was about to smash it in the direction of the sound. Fortunately, Older Mute suddenly lunged over and stopped him, preventing a major incident. In the end, the blind man took Xiangyun away, and Older Mute voluntarily stayed behind to serve the distinguished guest. Anyway, that distinguished guest was so drunk and muddled that he couldn't tell people apart."
"Ah? That night Older Mute took the place of Little Mute?" someone immediately chimed in. "I thought Xiangyun had escaped a disaster on her own."
Another person said suspiciously, "It seems like Older Mute quietly disappeared after that. Last time I asked the manager, he said she was redeemed by some master from a noble family."
"Not at all!" Ziyan said indignantly. "That distinguished guest usually had many tricks and played wild. At that time, he was so drunk he didn't know his own strength, and Older Mute, she..."
At this point, her words suddenly came to an abrupt halt.
"What happened to her?" Chai Xiaomi furrowed her brows tightly.
Everyone already had a bad premonition.
"Only Caixia, the manager, and I know about this. Madam Liu strictly forbade the two of us from speaking out, but I don't want to hide it anymore."
Ziyan paused and said, "She died."
"Before the sky was fully bright, she was rolled up in a straw mat and quietly thrown into the lake out back. The lake connects to the river channel outside the city, so I'm afraid she's long drifted off to who knows where."
The whole room was silent, leaving only a long and heavy sigh hanging in the warm, fragrant air, refusing to dissipate for a long time.
For some reason, when hearing this story, a familiar face kept appearing before Chai Xiaomi's eyes.
Loved wearing red clothes...
A pair of naturally affectionate eyes...
"That Older Mute you mentioned." She paused, a faint guess forming in her heart. "What was her name?"
"The day she came in, Madam Liu gave her a stage name."
"She was called Hongxiao."
At this moment, a sudden clamor arose outside the window. Several people ran bustling past on the street, shouting about where there was a spectacle to watch.
Chai Xiaomi's heart skipped a beat.
Worried that Wu Li had caused trouble, she hurriedly followed them.
In front of a melon stall by the street.
Wu Li casually picked up a few watermelons, lifting them to his ear one by one and lightly tapping them twice with bent fingers.
Amidst the muffled, solid echoes of the melon rinds, he finally selected a satisfactory one.
Just as he was about to weigh it and pay, the melon seller, Granny Wang, hurriedly shoved the steelyard into his hand. "Young man, weigh it yourself, three coins a pound."
Before her voice had even faded, she had already taken to her heels and squeezed toward the bustling crowd ahead.
Things were getting quite rowdy over there.
A woman's cursing exploded in the crowd, throwing around insults like "vixen" and "cheap wench" left and right.
Wu Li didn't even bat an eyelid. Minding his own business, he picked up the steelyard and steadily weighed the melon.
He slid the weight along the rod until it stopped at the mark.
It came out to twenty-four coins.
Just as he was about to fish out the money, a few young women shuffled over to the stall. Half-hiding their faces behind round fans, they cast shy, darting glances at him.
"Young master... may I ask how you are selling these melons?" a voice asked with timid bashfulness.
Wu Li tightened his grip on the melon he had so painstakingly selected, his eyes full of wariness. "Not for sale."
Right at that moment, the sound of hurried footsteps rushed to his side.
Chai Xiaomi was slightly out of breath from running. With no time to explain, she blurted out, "Give me one of your clothes. Quick!"
Wu Li froze for a second. Seeing her frantic expression, he didn't ask any questions. He simply raised his arms, stripped off his outer robe, and handed it over, leaving his upper half clad only in a black Miao-style inner shirt.
Chai Xiaomi snatched the garment, turned on her heel, and ran.
The young women were all stunned. He wouldn't sell his melons, but he was selling something else?
One of them stared at his lean, powerful waist and broad shoulders, unconsciously swallowing hard. She probed in a timid voice, "Young master, how... how much do you charge for this?"
"Get lost."
He couldn't even be bothered to spare them another glance. Hugging his melon, he took off, chasing after the girl's retreating figure.
He left behind nothing but an empty melon stall and a few bewildered faces staring at each other in dismay.
