The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

"A flower in a vase, a moon in the sky."

"The flowers fall and the moon goes back to the sky, the wind blows the snow all over the ground."

The guest from Luochuan leisurely chanted two lines of poetry.

The boatman couldn't help but let out a hiss, and looked at the guest from Luochuan with more and more hesitation in his eyes.

But the guest from Luochuan simply added an explanation: "Sixteen years ago, the two top prostitutes in Yuping Pavilion and Tianwu Pavilion were famous. Even though I was young and still in seclusion at that time, I often heard the servants and maids talking about them from time to time. I couldn't help but be curious. After I grew up, I more or less collected some rumors and stories about them, and hid them in books and ink, as a miscellaneous note."

"Sister Xiaochuan also writes books?" Lu Weiyuan said in a pleasantly surprised tone, "My uncle also writes books."

Luochuanke smiled and said that he was still collecting materials and had not yet written it down.

"That's already very impressive... Ouch, I shouldn't have interrupted you, please continue." Lu Weiyuan raised her sleeve and gently covered her lips. From the corner of her eye, she saw that more and more small boats were coming onto the river. To avoid collisions, the boatman slowed down the speed of the rowing.

"What I want to tell you is the story of the most beautiful flower in the Jade Bottle Pavilion and the bright moon hanging high above all the flowers in the Heavenly Dance Pavilion. It is just an anecdote that is hard to tell true or false. I will just tell it for the time being and let you listen to it for the time being..."

"At that time, everyone in Tongzhou knew that Xi Fangfei, the flower girl in Yuping Pavilion, was a rare and stunning beauty in the world. Although she was only seventeen years old, she won the title of the most beautiful flower in the annual Flower Boat Festival in Tongzhou Water City. For a time, Yuping Pavilion was crowded with visitors, no matter they were peddlers or high-ranking officials, they all became Xi Fangfei's guests and servants. Yuping Pavilion relied on her beauty to monopolize 70% of Tongzhou's flower business..."

When someone is proud, someone else will naturally be frustrated.

Several brothels that could only compete for the 30% of business that came from Yupingguan and barely make ends meet got together and came up with an idea.

They wanted to find a woman who was as beautiful as Xi Fangfei, train her carefully, and after she was trained, they would join forces to suppress the reputation of Xi Fangfei in Yuping Pavilion during the Flower Boat Festival next year. As long as they could present their own top courtesan, they would not have to worry about not being able to snatch customers back from Yuping Pavilion.

"......So, those people searched for young women all year long, and either bribed, coerced, or kidnapped them to bring beautiful girls into the city, where they trained them day and night, waiting until the day before the Flower Boat Festival to pick out the best one and make her the Oiran."

"For this reason, before the Flower Boat Festival, they spared no expense to invite the most romantic and famous young master of the Qi family to write poems and paint for Tianwu Pavilion. They then asked him to meet the woman they had finally chosen alone and paint a portrait of the beauty, which was included in the most prestigious beauty album of the young master of the Qi family."

"Beauty album?" Lu Weiyuan asked curiously, "Is this young master of the Qi family the one who disappeared in a forest a few years ago, and his family only found a few pieces of bloodstained clothes and bones?"

She thought carefully: "What's his name Qi Jibai?"

"This man was best at painting beauties, especially beauties in places of entertainment. After he finished painting, he would circulate his paintings among his relatives and friends. Many people would copy his paintings or make engravings out of them because they liked them, and then sell them. In the end, they even compiled them into a catalog of beauties. All the women in this catalog would become famous in the entertainment industry, and everyone would flock to them."

Luochuanke nodded: "It's him."

After he finished speaking, there was a hint of sarcasm on the corner of his lips: "The last woman selected from Tianwu Pavilion is named Yue Mingye. As for her real name, it has been forgotten for a long time and there is no place to check it."

"That year, Qi Jibai painted a picture for a moonlit night. It was also the last picture of a beauty he painted. Not long after, he was killed."

"But it is precisely because of this that she first beat Xi Fangfei at the Flower Boat Festival and won the title of Oiran. Later, she became known as the beauty that the young master of the Qi family painted at the end. Yue Ming Ye's name became more widespread and famous than Xi Fangfei's. Countless distinguished guests even came from outside the state just to spend a night with her and have sex with her."

Luochuanke's voice was very pleasant when he was telling the story, with ups and downs, as if pulling people into the troubled time before rescue. Lu Weiyuan was listening intently when a frivolous laugh suddenly sounded in his ears.

"This girl looks young, but how come she knows so much about the romantic affairs from more than ten years ago? Could it be that she is also..."

The two people on the boat turned their heads at the same time.

However, they saw that a black-sailed boat had caught up with the small boat at some point. This black-sailed boat had pushed aside the other small boats and was sitting close to Lu Weiyuan and the other person. Two men in brocade clothes were sitting on the bow of the boat. One of them was wearing a green robe and a silver crown, holding a folding fan in his hand. He was fat, and it was he who made the noise just now.

The other man was wearing a grey dress embroidered with gold thread, which was low-key, but not too low-key. The golden crown on his head was inlaid with a big pearl, and there was a red pompom stuck underneath, which trembled with his movements.

Lu Weiyuan only took a quick look at the two men and said, "Oh, it's not strange that a green-skinned toad came out of the river, but how come a black-haired rooster also went into the water?"

"You!" Upon hearing this, the green-clothed man widened his eyes and folded his fan in his hand. "Little girl, you should be more polite."

"The toad is angry. I have always been polite to humans, not to beasts like you who wear human skin but don't speak human words." Lu Weiyuan was born delicate and cute. Although her face had not fully grown, she already had the most dazzling smile on the river.

This smile was neither timid nor shy, but rather unbridled.

The green-skinned toad was stunned for a moment, and was about to continue to be angry, but was stopped by his gray-clothed companion. The gray-clothed man said, "I am really sorry, ladies, my friend spoke out because he heard you talking about my brother."

"My brother?" Lu Weiyuan gave him a look, "Qi Jibai is your brother?"

The man in gray nodded and said, "Exactly. My name is Qi Shaofeng, and he is my fourth cousin."

"Even if he is your biological father, your friend shouldn't say such rude words." Lu Weiyuan's smile did not fade, "Otherwise, I would have thought that he was some uncultivated monster that was just about to take on a human form and was eager to come ashore, flattering everyone and asking for scolding, just to satisfy his special interests."