Chapter 22: Emerald Plate Crumbles, Lipstick Fragrance Remains

  Mr. Mo hurriedly welcomed him and said with a smile: "Ah, ah, our esteemed guest has been waiting for a long time! Our esteemed guest has arrived today, and the Smoke and Rain Pavilion is radiant. I don't know if our guest prefers to listen to opera or music, or perhaps wants to enjoy singing and dancing, or appreciate small tunes? Our girls here are all talented and artistic, please choose as you like."

  Old Mother Luo arrived, hobbling on her bound feet, and said with a smile: "Young Master is certainly refined and cultured. Our girls here are not only skilled in singing and dancing, but also proficient in playing the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Which one of these does Young Master enjoy?"

  The sisters of the Smoke and Rain Pavilion have been trained in various skills since they started eating this bowl of accompanying smile rice, as long as they don't have a special talent like Yu Xi's qin art or Yuan Yang's singing voice, they must learn some piano, chess, calligraphy, and painting to cope with those who love to follow the fashion, playing chess is something everyone can do, I saw Peach Blossom and Crystal sisters betting on a nine-headed phoenix hairpin awarded by a patron in a game of Go not long ago!

  "Oh?" The young master's phoenix eyes, with slightly raised corners, swept across the sisters in the flower hall and smiled: "This young master doesn't have many requirements, but since the Smoke Rain Pavilion is so famous, this young master, being from Western Frontier, came to the capital and wanted to take a look. Who would have thought that there's only one customer, which is me, and all the sisters are surrounding me? It's truly an honor. In that case, why not let the girls recommend themselves, wouldn't that be better?"

  It turned out that this young master was an outsider, new to the place and didn't know about the Smoke Rain Pavilion.

  The girls, upon hearing this, naturally became spirited and eager to show off their skills. Among them, Ruo Xi stood out, proudly proclaiming: "Young master, I may not dare boast about other things, but since childhood, I have learned to play the zither and can play a few tunes." She then summoned her maid to bring over the zither and began to play.

  Unexpectedly, the Northern Luogu girl, notorious for her violent temper, rushed out on horseback and said proudly: "Young master, don't have time to watch you show off your mediocre skills. When it comes to elegance, that girl is not inferior in any way. What's there to see? Isn't it just about looks and figure? Young master, with eyes so bright, can't you make a choice yourself? Do you need me to shout here?"

  Although Beiluo's daughter didn't have any remarkable talents, just in terms of appearance, she was the most outstanding among all the girls in Yunyu Pavilion. Shen Shangshu wrote a poem to prove it: The lotus is drunk and dancing in the clear wind, the peach blossoms are swaying in front of the creek, I thought I met a fairy in wine, but it's actually Beiluo's daughter with a faint smile.

  Enough to see Beiluo's beautiful and outstanding appearance.

  While Ruo Xi was also a beauty, she was after all several years older than Bei Luo who was only 28. According to Shen Shangshu, compared to Bei Luo, Ruo Xi had more charm but less innocence.

  The young master smiled and said: "Miss has a point, so let's line up one by one, and I'll choose one by one." The junior apprentice asked to be excused.

  The rest of the sisters couldn't wait to compare themselves, each thinking they were absolutely stunning and never afraid to be compared. They naturally swarmed around the young man in green and the child, surrounding them completely. For a time, the room was filled with the sweet songs of orioles and the gentle hum of conversation that seemed endless.

  Mr. Mo was very satisfied and smiled: "That young man in green clothes is very open-minded, calm and composed, and it can be seen that he is a frequent visitor to the brothel, naturally his family background is not bad, this time, it's good or bad, can make a deal."

  As expected, the young master in green chose Beiluo and said astonishingly: "Since it's hard to refuse such a grand sentiment, I'll be staying at this Smoke Rain Pavilion for a while. Spring is the best time to appreciate flowers, so arrange for me some carriages and painted boats. I want to take Beiluo on a tour of the capital, appreciating the flowers and scenery..." He then stretched out his slender fingers to lift up Beiluo's pointed chin, smiling lightly: "And appreciating beauty."

  That young man in green clothes was handsome, and even the mischievous smile that revealed a hint of evil intentions looked elegant. Beifeng's daughter, who had seen her fair share of romantic affairs, actually blushed and lowered her head.

  The rest of the sisters, who had not been invited to go out and enjoy the scenery since the beginning of spring, naturally looked like defeated fighting cocks, with their feathers ruffled and their faces gloomy. The one who looked the worst was none other than Ruoxi, who had just volunteered earlier. She flung her sleeve and stormed off, her face puffed up with anger. The little slave girl hastily followed behind her, carrying the zither in a state of panic. Ruoxi seemed to have shifted her anger onto the little slave girl, and with a flick of her hand, she knocked the zither to the ground, saying: "What's the point of keeping this stupid thing around now!" She then turned around and stormed back into her room.

  The little slave hastily picked up the zither, but saw that a piece of lacquer had fallen off the paulownia wood at the tail of the zither, and could only put it away and follow back.

  If the creek girl's popularity was too strong, she had few sisters who got along with her. At this time, many sisters used handkerchiefs to cover their mouths and giggled, while others seemed to have vented their anger and completely forgot their unhappiness at not being easily chosen by the young master, applauding and congratulating each other.

  I couldn't help but sigh, it seems that little slave is going to suffer again today.

  Mr. Mo let out a hum of air from his nostrils and said, "The first to stick one's head out gets rotten, this creek also needs someone to take charge." After finishing speaking, he quickly put on a smiling face and hurried over to the young man in green clothes, saying, "Young master has good taste, on a spring outing, it's necessary to have beautiful women as companions. I don't know how to address you yet? I'll get started on making arrangements right away."

  The young man smiled and said: "My surname is Bai, my name is Peiran. You have come from afar, Mr. Mo, of course I won't keep you waiting." As he spoke, he beckoned to the servant boy, who immediately took out a few gold leaves from his luggage and handed them over to Mr. Mo.

  Mr. Mo has been running the Smoke and Rain Pavilion for decades, so he's naturally used to seeing big spenders throwing money around like dirt. But because business has been slow these past few days, the drop in income is too great, and when he sees the gold leaf, his eyes light up: "Young master, you're being very generous, I'm deeply grateful on behalf of the entire Smoke and Rain Pavilion, we'll definitely arrange for your stay to be comfortable and enjoyable, we won't disappoint your expectations of us!"

  He nodded and smiled, "Sir, you're too kind. Let's just have some refreshments while we wait for the carriage." He then took Beiluo's hand and went back to their room to prepare tea while waiting for the carriage. The other girls couldn't help but feel envious and jealous, staring with wide eyes at Beiluo who was radiant with joy, her eyes sparkling with delight.

  Yun Shu frowned and said: "Although we have crushed Ye Creek's arrogance, I still can't stand the complacent look on Bei Luo's face. It's a petty person who has succeeded."

  Yu Xiuniang sighed and said: "Who made them able to earn and grab, after all, they are better than us who have thin faces and eat well."

  Yexiang young lady coldly smiled and said: "I'll just watch her be proud for a while, anyway that white gentleman has already settled in, let's ride the donkey to watch the show, walk and see, whoever can snatch that fat meat will be the one with the skill."

  The flower hall suddenly became a battlefield, with smoke filling the air and swords drawn.

  Only Yuanyang girl smiled and said, "Look at you all with your shallow eyelids. That white gentleman is a hot potato, whoever gets involved will be resented by others, why bother to fight for this windfall."

  The young woman said: "We don't have your good temper, it's okay if it's someone else, but you just can't stand the decline of the Northern Dynasty!"

  "Even if this time the young master chooses someone else, I'm afraid you'll still have to say that to someone else!" said Yuanyang with a smile.

  "It's not necessarily the case," said Yu Xi, warmly linking her arm with Yuan Yang's: "I don't believe anyone else, only Flower Master."

  "I? I'm old and faded, but I don't have the energy to compete with you young sisters who are just blooming." said Yuanyang girl with a smile.

  Yu Xiang hurriedly said: "If the Mandarin Duck sister doesn't come, it's naturally better. Anyway, Bai Gongzi wants to stay, so you just watch how we eight immortals cross the sea and show off our magical powers, and compete for that white gentleman!"

  Alas, this scene is so similar to that day when Jinzhu and Ruoxi were fighting over the brocade clothes, it's making me break out in a cold sweat.

  "Didn't you guys just see Ruoxi's flustered appearance? Haha, it's really a case of 'a phoenix that has lost its feathers is not as good as a chicken'. Have you guys heard, the brocade robe she fought with Jinzhu for last time was probably burned in the flood that time and can't be found no matter what. Isn't that bad luck?!" Yunque's expression was very satisfying. Xuanlongjie

  "You're just like little kids," said the Mandarin Duck girl, and she also went back. Mr. Mo was busy ordering the servants to prepare the carriages, food, and drink, and didn't even have time to pay attention to his sisters' angry words.

  I suddenly realized that the strange fragrance from just now was gone, and my nose was once again filled with the familiar scent of incense.

  Mr. Mo looked at me still in a daze, and hastily shouted in a loud voice: "Mei Cai, what are you doing? Quickly call your father to make the best pastries, Bai Gongzi is obviously from a wealthy family, we must choose the most delicate ones, and make them look beautiful too. That thing that looked like 'Wind, Flowers, Snow and Moon' when Zhang Zhuangzhu came of age last time was very good, you know?"

  I hastily agreed and rushed home to call Dad to get ready, and didn't have time to think about the origin of that strange fragrance again.

  Father heard that he wanted to make some desserts for the noble guests, so he worked hard with his brothers to make rose eight-treasure chrysanthemum pastry and honey sesame sugar glutinous rice sweet dates open-mouth smile and three fresh soup steamed buns.

  The girl saw it and smiled and asked: "Is today a big customer? The smoke and rain pavilion was flooded, or the sky was opened for the first time. What does that big customer look like?"

  I hastily told Mother everything I had seen and heard today, and Mother clapped her hands and laughed loudly: "I didn't expect that the Smoke and Rain Pavilion would be in a commotion over this benefactor today, it's really a fresh thing."

  That white young master indeed settled down in the Smoke and Rain Pavilion, and the gold leaves in the small child's luggage seemed to never run out. All that was seen of the white young master was that he spent his days neither reading books nor doing business, but rather indulging in pleasure and leisure, traveling through mountains and rivers, spending money like water, and losing or winning large sums with a flick of his wrist when playing cards with the sisters. The Northern Luo girl who accompanied him every day also made a fortune, and her demeanor became increasingly arrogant.

  The sisters of the Smoke and Rain Pavilion made every effort to make themselves more charming, taking turns to perform with the white young master as a honor, sometimes offering dances and sometimes offering songs. Moreover, some clever sisters even sewed sachets with spring flower petals for the white young master, but the white young master's body was filled with strange fragrances that overwhelmed the scent of the sachets.

  The good girl with a keen sense of smell asked what kind of fragrance Bai Gongzi was using, it was so strong. Bai Gongzi only said that he was born with it and others couldn't imitate him.

  That girl just thought of him as a white-haired boy and teased him, who would have thought that someone was born with a strange fragrance, it's good that she vomited up a mouthful of air.