Chapter 26: Stunning the Four Seats
Qī Yáo said that on the day of opening, they would open the door and set off firecrackers.
Downstairs, Mrs. Xue stood at the door and said: Today our Cuimiao Building is open for business, welcome to all guests, our hostess Yao has prepared wine and dance performances. After finishing speaking, she went inside to greet the guests.
Cuimicro Building is not a traditional Chuanguan, but also a song and dance hall, where celebrities and scholars taste tea, collect the most complete famous tea products, and the latest poetry collections and paintings. The makeup of the girls is also carefully designed, charming but not vulgar.
Qī Yāo wore a black embroidered robe, holding a round fan in her hand, standing on the second floor. Cui's mother coughed a few times to signal everyone to be quiet and said: The lady in black upstairs is our owner of Cuī Wēi Building, Owner Yāo, our owner has something to say to everyone.
Qī Yāo used a fan to cover her mouth and smiled lightly: My humble name is Yáo Jī, I'm grateful for everyone's kindness and fortunate enough to become the owner of this Cuì Wēi Building. If anyone has any needs in the future, please don't hesitate to tell me, and I'll do my best to help all our guests. I hope you will all come often. Today is the first day of our Cuì Wēi Building's opening, thank you for your kindness. Our building's number one musician, Rú Yān young lady, will personally play a piece on the zither to celebrate with everyone. Rú Yān rarely plays the zither, and she usually only appears once a month at most. You all are lucky to have caught her today. After saying this, she nodded towards Páng Luò Xuě.
Pang Luo Xue's face was wrapped in a half-white veil, revealing only a pair of eyes that shone like stars in the night sky. She gave a slight bow to the crowd and then walked onto the white-curtained stage with Qin Tong's support. The guqin lay quietly on top.
Pang Luoxue walked to the front with a gentle smile, her hands placed on the strings of the guqin. When the first note sounded, Qi Yao only then realized that Pang Luoxue was truly gifted. The sound of the guqin was melodious and elegant, and although the tune itself was not complex, in Pang Luoxue's hands it seemed to be imbued with a rich vitality. The music shocked everyone present, and the noisy hall suddenly fell silent, with only the sound of the guqin echoing through the surroundings.
The music ended, and the crowd was still immersed in the sound of the piano just now. Pang Luoxue had indeed stood up and left the piano platform. Good things are naturally appetizing, and once they are fed to satiety, how can there be any fish willing to take a bite?
Xue's mother hastily came out and said: "Miss Yu's piano sound is truly a heavenly melody, rarely heard in the mortal world. Don't you agree, gentlemen?"
The crowd emerged from the stunning piano sound, with various applause and cheers, shouting to play another piece. Xue Mama already knew the master's intention, so she hurriedly smiled and said: "Miss Ruyan, you only perform once a month, I'm sure everyone has been deeply moved by your music. If you want to hear more, it depends on whether you can move Miss Ruyan's heart." Today, our Cuimiao Building is opening for business, and Miss Ruyan will exceptionally play a piece for one guest alone. The highest bidder wins. The starting bid is 1,000 taels.
As soon as Xue's mother finished speaking, the room erupted into a commotion. Pang Luoxue observed quietly from the shadows, knowing that Qi Ya had just whispered to him that Jin Wang was also present today. She had endured and restrained herself, barely holding back from killing him. Accompanying him were Chancellor Su's son, Su Ou, and Lin Xueshi's son, Lin Qing.
One thousand one hundred and twenty
One thousand three hundred taels
I'll pay 1,500 yuan
Xue's mother was delighted and couldn't help but move her head back and forth with the auctioneer's chanting.
Five thousand taels... A cold voice came in, and Pang Luoxue followed the sound to see that it was indeed from King Jin's private room. She thought to herself, "Hmph, you want to hear me play a tune? That depends on whether you have the good fortune."
Mrs. Xue took the silver ticket from the servant and looked up at Qi Yao, who nodded to her. Mrs. Xue smiled and said, "Today is indeed a lucky day for this young master." The young master sat down for a moment, and Ruyan had already gone to prepare. She then turned to the guests in the hall and said, "Don't be discouraged if you didn't win the auction, everyone. Next, one of our four top courtesans, Yuehe, has prepared a song and dance for you, guaranteed to make you forget your worries." Mrs. Xue clapped her hands, and Yuehe appeared in a rose-colored peony dress, pale pink satin wrapped around her chest, holding a pipa and sitting on the swing on the stage. She was indeed the leader of the four top courtesans, with every move exuding charm and allure. Her narrow, almond-shaped eyes, lazy hair bun, and long crystal earrings that held up her black hair all added to her enchanting beauty. A peach blossom bloomed between her eyebrows, and she sat on the swing with a captivating smile. The other girls wore white peony smoke gauze, their hands and feet adorned with small bells as they accompanied Yuehe in dance.
The moon and the slender white hand gently plucked the pipa strings, with lowered eyebrows and a continuous playing, the clear and crisp sound of the jade plate falling was transmitted. Just at this time, a faint singing voice came over.
Gazing out at the riverbank willows in front of the embankment, plucking flowers with lowered eyebrows, looking at the reflection in the water.
Several times thinking of Lang Yue on eyebrows, light frown and shallow smile is a city-toppling beauty.
A lifetime of love, two difficulties, three looks back, autumn waters broken
That glance, delicate and charming face
The palace and commerce rise, emotions are hard to cut off, heaven is easy to age, hearts are tied together
Snowflakes surround the double buns, leaning against the painted stage for you, Zhuang Zhou also dreams of butterflies coming.
The bright moon is outside the building, guarding the clouds open, returning and coming, green temples decline, red face unchanged.
At first, we didn't see each other or fall in love, how can we make up for lost time?
The rain is like wine, no sunny days but with feelings, the morning sun remains the same
One is quiet, two are happy, three strings have not been composed yet, it's Qing Shang
Hard to meet again, like the moon is incomplete when we meet again
The view is cut off, the sound is intermittent, a thousand peaks are stacked, and clouds and mist cover everything.
Western wind twelve railings, accompany you jumping out of the red dust, Penglai is not far away and the immortal companion does not remember.
The cuckoo's cry shatters the dream of Nanke, unable to return, by the clear water, a person is outside the mountain.
At first, we didn't see each other or fall in love, how can we make up for lost time?
The rain is like wine, no sunny day but with feelings, the morning sun remains the same
Affection is easy to form but hard to break.
Lotus leaf and lotus root, dressed as a rich young master, took out the money bag from his bosom, threw silver onto the stage, and said: "Moon and Miss are singing well, Moon and Miss are talking about a song."
The guests below also rushed to follow suit, throwing silver tickets and silver ingots onto the stage one by one. It took Aunt Xue three trips to collect all the silver and tickets.
The four great courtesans, draped in red gauze dance dresses, stood at the center of the stage and began to perform the Swan Goose Dance they had rehearsed for so long. Petals rained down from the sky as the atmosphere in the entire Cuiwei Building reached an unprecedented level of excitement. The beauties danced with abandon, their bare feet treading on the petals as they twirled and leaped. The enchanting charm of the dance was fully expressed amidst the scattered flowers, captivating the hearts and souls of all who watched.
The people below seemed to be stunned, and the grandeur of this day also solidified the position of Cuimiao Building in the capital city, which no one could surpass.
Inside the private room, Prince Jin held up his wine cup and savored it lightly, with a warm smile on his handsome face. However, this smile did not reach his eyes: This owner of the building is indeed a wonderful person, and with this move, the Smoke Flower Alley in the capital will soon become their monopoly.
The King of Jin was still reminiscing about the tune just now, I think after a while, we can find some answers from that zither girl. Su Ou said with a smile.
