The music tinkled melodiously, accompanied by light songs and graceful dances.
Su Tan wore a misty purple gauze dress scattered with floral patterns, trailing on the floor. Her shoulders were as if carved, her waist as slender as a tied ribbon.
She danced with a supple waist upon the high stage, her movements flowing like the wind and swirling like snow, exuding endless charm and allure.
As the young woman turned her head, her eyebrows resembled distant mountains, her eyes clear as cut water, and the light veil covering her face slowly slipped away.
Everyone in the pleasure house held their breath simultaneously, gasping in awe.
The lean man who had just exclaimed at the high price of five hundred gold murmured to himself, “Forget five hundred gold—if I could spend a night with such a beauty, I would gladly give up all my wealth!”
With just that fleeting glance, the men below the stage were left staring, their minds utterly captivated.
From skin to bone, they felt as if they had melted into fine, scattered fragments.
After the initial astonishment came a surging desire for conquest and possession. Waving their silver notes, they sought only to win a smile from the beauty.
Su Tan stood composedly upon the flower-adorned stage.
Wherever her gaze fell, she saw nothing but greedy desires and stares.
Sticky, naked, and scorching gazes that seemed eager to devour her whole.
Despite countless mental preparations, Su Tan still felt the urge to vomit.
For now, she could only dig her nails into her palms, clinging to the last shred of her dignity.
On the other side of the high stage, the white-robed qin player met her gaze for a moment before they both tacitly looked away.
Inside the curtained private booth, Cheng Yue murmured, “How can this courtesan be so breathtakingly beautiful…”
His tone held no lust, only genuine admiration for beauty.
Qi Qingheng smiled meaningfully and turned to look at Shen Xiuwang.
The Military Governor’s lips curled into a slightly more pronounced, frivolous smile as he leisurely poured himself a drink.
Mama Yue, beaming with joy, stepped onto the flower-adorned stage, waving her perfumed handkerchief as she began flattering the patrons to drive up the bidding.
To make a stunning debut on her first night and secure a high price for her maiden night, Su Tan had kept her face veiled for eight years.
Everything gained tonight revolved around two things: money and beauty.
Bids rose one after another, creating a wave of voices.
“One thousand gold!”
“Fifteen hundred gold!”
“Two thousand gold!”
…
“Oh my, are there any higher bids?”
Mama Yue trembled with delight, the powder on her face flaking off.
Su Tan felt a chill in her heart, but her expression remained unchanged.
Suppressing her disgust, she cast a gentle, lingering gaze toward the young master Lin, dressed in a stone-blue robe.
Lin Sheng, whose lustful heart was matched only by his foolishness, was the key figure in Su Tan’s plan to escape tonight.
According to the custom of Fragrant Pavilion, the patron who won the courtesan’s maiden night could take her aboard the Yan River Painted Pleasure Boat for a night of springtime bliss.
This was also the only opportunity in eight years to leave the pavilion.
As expected, the beauty lowered her eyes.
Lin Sheng, emboldened, puffed out his large belly, waved his folding fan, and shouted, “Three thousand gold!”
“Th… three thousand gold.”
Like boiling water poured into an anthill, the bidding men were both shocked and resentful.
“Four thousand gold!” came another bold bid.
Su Tan’s gaze shifted to the man, her fingers digging into her palms within her sleeves.
Yang Qian, the illegitimate son of Chancellor Yang.
With a rat-like appearance, his vile methods of torment were feared by the girls of Fragrant Pavilion.
He never stopped until blood was drawn.
As a member of an official’s family, the chances of escaping from him were slim.
She frowned, looking pitifully once more at Lin Sheng.
The beauty seemed on the verge of tears, stirring Lin Sheng’s heart with unbearable pity. Gritting his teeth, he raised the bid again.
“Five thousand gold!”
Mama Yue clapped her hands and laughed, exclaiming repeatedly, “Five thousand gold! Young Master Lin bids five thousand gold. Does anyone offer more?”
Her words were directed more at Yang Qian.
Though an illegitimate son, Chancellor Yang had always indulged him, including in matters of money.
But anything above five thousand gold would indeed draw too much attention.
Yang Qian’s eyes darted around, fixed on the beauty on the flower stage who was almost within his grasp, seething with frustration.
With a furious curse, he drew the barbed whip from his waist and slammed it down heavily.
Crack! The elmwood table instantly split apart.
Those nearby shrank their heads in fear, scrambling backward.
Lin Sheng felt that if he continued to argue, the whip would land on his own head, so he reluctantly tucked away his folding fan.
Yang Qian glared hatefully at Lin Sheng, grinding his teeth before spitting out, “Five thousand eight hundred gold!”
No one dared to raise a bid from below.
Five thousand eight hundred gold was already twice the price of any courtesan’s first night in previous years.
No matter how wealthy one might be, no one could possibly offer more.
Moreover, in the hierarchy of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, merchants ranked last. There was truly no need to compete with the prime minister’s illegitimate son.
Su Tan swayed slightly, a chill shooting from the soles of her feet straight to the crown of her head.
To fall into the hands of someone like Yang Qian—if she couldn’t escape, it would be better to die.
Death.
The thought of that word brought a sharp pang to her heart.
She had endured and persevered until today, not for the sake of dying.
Driven by the will to survive, she could only cast her gaze toward Lin Sheng once more, but the other man shamefully lowered his head.
In contrast, Yang Qian stood tall and proud, his narrow, squinting eyes shamelessly roaming over Su Tan from head to toe.
He couldn’t wait to drag her into the Painted Pleasure Boat, strip her bare, grip her soft breasts and slender waist, and mercilessly crush her beneath him.
Su Tan felt uncomfortable under his gaze, as if a venomous snake were coiling around her.
“Mama Yue, five thousand eight hundred gold,” Yang Qian raised his chin, signaling his servant to present a thick stack of silver notes.
Mama Yue took the notes, her fingers flying as she counted, her eyebrows dancing with delight.
Yang Qian stroked his chin and strode straight toward the flower stage, the glossy, slick whip hanging at his waist, its barbed tip sharp and menacing.
When it struck delicate, snow-white skin, it would surely paint a vivid scene.
He let out a lewd, slimy laugh, his face dripping with lust: “Miss Mei Wu belongs to this young master tonight.”
With that, he spread his arms, ready to grope her right then and there.
Su Tan wrinkled her nose in disgust, taking half a step back.
Yang Qian lunged and missed, catching only a wisp of soft sleeve gauze between his fingers.
The fragrant, soft sensation made his mouth water and his blood boil.
Behind Su Tan was the carved railing of the flower stage—there was nowhere left to retreat. Her lower back pressed against the cold, hard wooden railing, a faint sense of despair creeping in.
If he acted like this in public, once she boarded the Pleasure Boat with him, it would take immense effort to escape unscathed.
The white-robed zither player pressed his hand against the instrument’s head, his tense face on the verge of erupting with anger.
Su Tan’s eyes darkened slightly, signaling him not to act rashly.
Yang Qian closed in with sinister, forceful intent, his purpose blatantly clear: “Beauty, don’t be afraid.” I’ll treat you well…”
Su Tan had nowhere left to hide, watching as his filthy hand was about to touch her.
Whoosh—
A wine cup suddenly flew from afar, thudding accurately against Yang Qian’s knee. The lustful worm immediately cried out in pain and knelt.
The outstretched filthy hand narrowly missed, and Su Tan only heard the crisp sound of shattered porcelain beside her ear.
Then, a man’s clear, languid voice drifted over.
“What kind of toad is this, so noisy?”
Everyone in the building turned to look.
The curtain of the innermost private booth slowly drew open.
A young man in purple robes sat in the main seat, distinguished and extraordinary, casual and unrestrained.
His right hand propped up his temple as he lounged lazily in his chair, as if boneless.
His left hand idly toyed with a string of bright red, perfectly round coral beads, tap-tap-tapping rhythmically.
Someone gasped in a low voice, “It’s Military Governor Shen!”
Shen Xiuwang lazily lifted his eyelids, his shimmering gaze drifting toward the flower stage.
Su Tan froze for a moment, her eyes halting.
Their gazes met.
In just an instant, Shen Xiuwang lightly shifted his gaze away.
Yang Qian fell flat on his face, scrambled to his feet with a resentful glare, and fumed, “Shen Xiuwang, you… you just called me a toad? That wine cup was you…”
Before he could finish, Shen Xiuwang’s terrifying gaze forced him to swallow the rest of his words.
His father had repeatedly warned him.
Shen Xiuwang was no longer the spoiled young marquis from eight years ago. The tiger cub had grown into a fierce beast, even more ruthless than before.
Shen Xiuwang let out a disdainful chuckle. “Good, at least you have some self-awareness.”
A toad lusting after swan meat—he should take a good look at himself.
Cheng Yue and Qi Qingheng exchanged a helpless smile.
Well, this lord’s sharp tongue wouldn’t be resting tonight.
Shen Xiuwang straightened slightly, adding another jab: “Fifty-eight hundred gold. Old Man Yang will skin you alive for that, won’t he?”
Even the current prime minister was nothing but an old man in his eyes—such arrogance.
Yet, the previously overbearing Yang Qian was left speechless by his retort.
He could only grind his teeth in silent fury, not daring to utter another word.
Finally, his pent-up rage shifted as he turned to glare at Mama Yue. “Old madam, have you finished counting the fifty-eight hundred gold? I’m taking—”
But then, a leisurely voice suddenly spoke from the other side: “Ten thousand gold.”
Yang Qian’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. “You!”
First insulting him, then hitting him, and now stealing his woman!
Ten! Thousand! Gold!
Mama Yue felt dizzy, her grip on the banknotes loosening instantly as she shoved them back at Yang Qian.
In the clumsy exchange, the banknotes fluttered down like snowflakes.
“You damned old madam!” Yang Qian cursed in a rage.
The money-grubbing Mama Yue offered an awkward apology—after all, the highest bidder wins.
Moreover, she knew how to weigh the importance between the powerful Military Governor Shen and a useless illegitimate son.
With that, her legs immediately moved like wheels, “whooshing” straight toward the god of wealth.
“Ten thousand gold, Military Governor Shen! Mei Wu is yours tonight!”
The spectators below buzzed with discussion, while the girls of Fragrant Pavilion watched with envy, their eyes red and teeth clenched.
Who was Shen Xiuwang?
Even without spending a single coin, just a crook of his finger would have girls lining up to climb into his bed like schools of fish crossing a river.
Amidst the many admiring gazes, only one girl in an apricot-yellow gauze dress, with a gentle and graceful face, looked deeply worried.
Su Tan’s heart trembled. Her delicate hands clenched the carved railing within her sleeves as she lifted her gaze to the peerlessly arrogant man.
No joy, only worry.
She wasn’t even confident she could handle the outwardly fierce but inwardly weak Yang Qian.
This Military Governor Shen, whose emotions were unreadable and motives unclear, was even more terrifying.
Today was, at most, only their second meeting. Why would he spend ten thousand gold so lavishly?
Was he infatuated with her?
Did he want her body?
Not entirely.
Shen Xiuwang raised a hand, signaling his attendant to hand over the banknotes.
As he lifted his gaze, the beauty on the flower platform met his eyes from afar.
Her watery eyes held a smile, but it didn’t reach their depths—more like caution and fear.
Still, her disguise was decent; others wouldn’t notice the flaw.
Hah, interesting.
He shook the string of crimson coral beads into his palm, rubbing them thoughtfully.
Mama Yue clutched the banknotes, beaming with delight as she bowed and scraped. “Military Governor Shen, Miss Mei Wu will accompany you onto the Painted Pleasure Boat right away. We guarantee your satisfaction.”
Shen Xiuwang remained seated, giving a faint hum as he cast a disdainful glance at Su Tan.
Some people were simply born with an imposing aura.
Even though Su Tan stood high on the flower platform at that moment, she seemed several feet lower than him.
Mama Yue urged anxiously, “Mei Wu, come quickly and pay your respects to the Military Governor.”
Su Tan pressed her lips together and took a difficult step toward him.
Tonight, would she still be able to escape?