Chapter 43: Whirling Dance

  Dong Ling's hands and feet were dancing, his body retreated, one foot stepped on the toe of Hu Ji, who was in pain and let out a soft cry. Dong Ling was shocked and quickly turned around to hold onto the wine jug in her hand, saying: "Be careful, this is worth 100,000 coins! If it breaks, I'll make you pay for it!"

  Na Huji was shocked, and she quickly hugged the wine jug tightly in her arms, putting on a heroic appearance as if to say that as long as the jug was safe, she would be safe too.

  "Madam, I think... let's just forget it. A bottle of wine isn't worth all this fuss." Meanwhile, Liu Junfan, who had just swaggered onto the stage, took advantage of everyone's attention being focused on the elegant room to slip offstage and sidle up to Mrs. Yao, whispering words of caution in her ear.

  Madam Yao ignored him, glaring fiercely at Tian Ai Nu, clenching her fists and shouting: "One hundred twenty thousand taels!"

  Unfortunately, she raised the price by 20,000 yuan all at once, but there was no excitement in the whole room. Everyone held their breath and stared at that luxurious private room, waiting for the girl to raise the price again. The girl did not disappoint everyone, and her crisp voice rang out again: "Two million yuan!"

  The whole scene was still quiet, not because the price wasn't high enough, but because of the excessively sudden jump in price, which left everyone momentarily stunned.

  Tian Ai Nu was not afraid to bid, this fine wine was hers to begin with. Even if she shouted out a price of ten million dollars, her total loss would only be the five hundred dollars she paid to Dong Zhuangui. What did she have to fear? Madame Yao's face changed greatly, and her straightened waist slightly slumped.

  The whole room was in an uproar, and the noise spread like a tornado throughout the entire house. It's unclear who knocked over the wine jug, who knocked over the wine cups, and someone stood up to look around, but lost their footing and fell onto the screen, knocking it to the ground.

  In the city of Luoyang, it was not uncommon to see people competing with each other in wealth. It is said that on a hot summer day, a young nobleman was cooling off by the Luo River and casually plucked a bright pearl from his waist and threw it into the river, ordering his Kunlun slave who was skilled in water to dive in and search for it. The Luo River was deep and turbulent, and the pearl was not easy to find after entering the water. Out of ten pearls, nine were basically impossible to retrieve.

  It's just a rumor after all. Now 200,000 yuan for a pot of wine is something I've seen with my own eyes. What's the difference between this and throwing pearls into the water?

  Tian Ai Nu smiled slightly and ordered: "Ke'er, go get the wine."

  Ke'er was the young maid in green clothes that she had hired. The girl's figure and appearance were still quite pleasing, but her intelligence seemed to be a bit... lacking. As a result, no one was willing to hire her to do anything. Tian Ai Nu actually liked having her by her side, as she didn't understand things and wouldn't cause any trouble. She treated her like an ornament, and when discussing matters with Yang Fan, she didn't need to be overly cautious.

  Ke'er responded with a sound, walked onto the stage, took the wine jug from Hu Ji's hand who was saying "it is better to be shattered jade than to remain unbroken pottery", and walked back. When she got off the stage, she surprisingly jumped down with a thud, making the surrounding customers nervous, fearing that if she tripped, the 200,000 yuan would be gone.

  Mrs. Yao was so angry that her face turned pale and her lips were white, trembling with rage.

  Liu Junwen accompanied a smile and persuaded: "Madam, is a pot of wine worth 200,000 yuan? Why must we see eye to eye with such people..."

  "Get out! You're so annoying and hateful!"

  Mrs. Yao vented all her anger on him, slapping him in the face and making Liu Junwan see stars, Mrs. Yao said with a sullen face: "Get out and stand outside, I'm disgusted every time I see you!"

  "Uh... okay, don't be mad, I... I..."

  Liu Junwen slunk away in disarray, the scene that had just occurred in the private room was drowned out by the clamor of the entire wine house, so only a few customers sitting directly opposite the stage and Dongling's shopkeeper as well as Hu Ji saw it. Even so, seeing their strange gazes, Liu Junwen still felt deeply ashamed.

  He stood at the door of the room, dressed in a way that was not like a servant, but had to slowly move his body, pretending to go left and right, as if he wanted to leave for a moment to relieve himself, so as not to arouse other people's curiosity.

  Ke'er brought the wine jug back to the room, Tian'ai Nu took the jug in her hand, gently lifted it up, pulled out the stopper, and suddenly the fragrance of the wine filled the air. Tian'ai Nu poured the fragrant grape wine into two cups, handed one to Yang Fan, who took the cup in his hand, smelled it carefully, and felt that the aroma was overflowing, slightly sweet, and indeed very pleasant.

  Tian Ai Nu gently swirled the wine glass, sniffed the fragrance in the cup, took a sip of wine, closed her eyes to savor it for a moment, and then drained the glass in one gulp. She smiled and said, "Indeed, good wine!"

  Yang Fan looked at him with a flash of his eyes and saw that he was staring at himself, so he raised an eyebrow and said, "Why aren't you drinking?"

  Yang Fan smiled and said: "This one mouthful down, is several hundred coins gone, can't bear to drink."

  "Is it expensive?"

  "Isn't it expensive?"

  "Not expensive!"

  Tian Ai Nu shook her head slightly, narrowing her eyes as she said, "In the past, a bowl of rice porridge was hard to come by, and now, after traveling thousands of miles to bring back a jug of fine wine from the Central Plains, twenty thousand coins is expensive? Not at all! Come, let's drink! This is my first time drinking with someone, and also the first time I've asked someone to drink with me. Let's finish this jug of wine!"

  "Golden Hairpin Drunk" shopkeeper Dong Ling sold a jar of expensive wine, and he couldn't help but feel delighted. Seeing Mrs. Yao's anger, he ordered the music and dance to be prepared quickly to ease the atmosphere. After a short while, the drums and music started playing loudly, and a Hu boy wearing a pointed hat and a fine woolen coat came onto the stage carrying a green lacquer tray.

  A green lacquered disk, three feet in diameter, like a large lotus leaf, was placed on the ground. The young man, with a nimble movement, jumped onto the disk and began to dance to the urgent sound of the drum.

  This young man, fifteen or sixteen years old, had skin as white as jade and a nose sharp as an awl. He hooked his hands, swung his sleeves, tossed his head, twisted his hips, lifted his knees, and jumped up, sometimes leaning to the east and west, sometimes circling around quickly, every movement in time with the drumbeat, full of rhythmic beauty. But no matter how beautiful his dance was, his feet never stepped out of the circle one step.

  Those who know their liquor and have seen such a magnificent "Hu Teng Dance" can't help but cheer.

  Yang Fan and Tian Ai Nu then watched the dance, then drank wine. A jug of wine was quickly drunk by the two of them, more than half gone. The grape wine that Tian Ai Nu drank had a strength at least twice that of ordinary wine, with a long aftertaste. At this time, the effects of the wine began to subtly emerge, and on Tian Ai Nu's jade-like clear cheeks, a faint flush rose like a layer of rouge.

  Yang Fan had never seen her drink before, and he couldn't believe how easily she downed the liquor. Without needing any encouragement, she drained cup after cup, a true female drunkard. He couldn't help but say: "Don't drink so hastily, this wine is indeed sweet and strong, but the shopkeeper just said that its potency exceeds that of the best wines in other shops by two times, don't get drunk."

  Tian Ai Nu held the cup in her hand, with a silly expression, and said: "Such a small amount of wine, how can it get me drunk. This wine has been opened for some time, without being stored in an ice cellar, it won't take long to turn sour, let's just finish it off." She said, then smiled slyly at Yang Fan, saying: "What, a big strong man like you, can't even drink as much as me, a mere woman?"

  She turned her head and gazed at Yang Fan, her eyes seemed to have a thread of silk that was captivating. Yang Fan was still in his youthful years, and he couldn't help but feel a jump in his heart. He raised his cup and said: "Alright! Although I don't often drink, my drinking capacity is not inferior to yours. If you want to indulge, I'll accompany you. Cheers!"

  Two people clinked their cups together from afar and drank in unison until they were empty.

  The Hu'er finished her dance and withdrew with a green lacquered tray amidst thunderous applause, and several other Hu girls fluttered onto the stage.

  What is the most popular dance in Luoyang nowadays?

  Of course it's a whirlwind dance!

  Who dances the best in the world?

  Of course it's Hu Ji!

  Who loves watching hula dance?

  Of course it's a man!

  That's just how men are.

  Then, six lip-glossed and slender Hu girls stepped onto the stage, immediately bringing a burst of applause.

  Tian Ai Nu had drunk quite a bit of wine, but the more she drank, the brighter her eyes became. She stared intently at the six Hu girls singing and dancing on stage. Yang Fan couldn't help but tease her, saying: "Are you looking at people or are you looking at the dance?"

  Yang Fan came back to his senses and said, "I wasn't looking at anyone or the dance, I was thinking that although we showed off our wealth in front of Liu Junwan today, how can we take it further? It's not easy to make it seem natural."

  Tian Ai Nu's mouth curled up and she said: "So you were worried about this, you're a man, so you think it's difficult, but for me, it's as easy as turning my hand over!"

  Yang Fan said: "What clever plan does the mountain man have?"

  Tian Ai Nu drained the wine in her cup and gently placed it on the table, saying "You watch me!" With a light flick of her sleeve, she walked out.

  Yang Fan was wondering where she wanted to go, when Tian Ai Nu had already stepped onto the stage. The wine guests who were watching the dance around her suddenly became spirited and knew that this female guest had become excited from drinking and wanted to get on stage to dance.

  Just now, some wine guests have seen her appearance, only to feel that she is lovely and charming, tender and beautiful, like a flower swaying in the wind. As for her appearance, although the several foreign women on stage have an exotic flavor, they are still obviously inferior to her. Some other wine guests only knew that the woman in this elegant room was generous with her money, but it wasn't until now that they saw what she looked like.

  The lady's singing and dancing can be seen every day, but for a young woman from a wealthy family like her to perform with such extravagance is not easy, unless she gets drunk today. That's why all the guests are cheering loudly. Just now I've just watched a scene of competing in wealth, now watching one of the hosts showing off her dance moves, today is really worth coming.

  Six Hu Ji saw the female guest climb onto the stage, and they tacitly retreated to the back while dancing, clearing out a large space for her. Tian Ai Nu seemed to be unable to hold her liquor, her feet slightly floating, Yang Fan couldn't help but feel some concern, Tian Ai Nu steadied herself, turned around, saw his worried gaze, and her eyebrows involuntarily rose slightly, that spirited and lively appearance was indescribably charming and lovely.

  She swayed slightly to the beat, waiting for the next section of music to start. The accompaniment of this Huayin dance was a fast-paced and powerful rhythm, composed of percussion instruments such as drums and cymbals. Seeing the guest on stage, the musicians on the side also joined in, suddenly starting an interlude, and the Huayin dance music started again.

  The heart responds to the strings, the hand responds to the drum.

  The strings sounded, and Tian Ai Nu's sleeves fluttered up high as she raised her arms.

  Jade sleeves slipped down, revealing half of a fair wrist.

  Before anyone could clearly see her slender and charming wrists, Tian Ai Nu's body had already begun to flutter and dance like a whirlwind.

  The dance is beautiful because of its movement, and the heart flies because of the dance.

  Her body swayed gently like a snowflake in the air, and sometimes it danced like a dandelion welcoming the wind. The enchanting curves of her figure were perfectly revealed as she twirled around.

  Everyone, please cast your recommendation votes. Don't forget to vote for Sanjiang. Thank you all for your hard work. Today is Friday and the voting will end by the weekend:)