When the commoners below the stage heard that each flower cost ten taels of silver, they couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath. You know, ten taels of silver was enough for an ordinary family to live on for half a year. If they were thrifty, it could last a whole year! This wasn't just asking for money; it was practically asking for their lives!
However, ten taels of silver meant nothing to those wealthy and powerful nobles.
"The first performer today who will feast everyone's eyes is Miss Xueyu from the House of Red Delights. She will present a lute piece for you," the middle - aged woman announced and then stepped down.
Before long, a beautiful woman in a sheer silk dress, holding a pipa, sashayed onto the stage coyly.
As soon as the woman appeared, the people below the stage started to hoot and holler, making the woman on stage even more shy. Even when playing the lute, she made several crucial mistakes, which made the madam of the House of Red Delights anxious backstage. She cursed the woman under her breath for being useless. How could she mess up a piece she had practiced for so long? If she didn't win the title of the top courtesan, the madam would surely punish her later!
The Jade - faced Gentleman had been sitting quietly below the stage. Since many people recognized him and kept chatting with him, he didn't pay much attention to the performance on stage. If it weren't for Mei Qingxue asking him to come, he probably wouldn't have come to such a place. He had been seeing performances like those on stage since childhood and was already bored. Those women simply couldn't arouse his interest. Moreover, Mei Qingxue had gone somewhere and hadn't come back yet, so he could only chat aimlessly with some irrelevant people.
Most of the people who chatted with him wanted to get his paintings, which made him a bit disgusted. If it weren't for his promise to Mei Qingxue to help her, he would have left long ago.
"Miss, why do you want so many little braids?" Yue Ru frowned as her hands got sore while doing Mei Qingxue's hair. Her hair was already long, and now she had to braid the whole head. She wasn't sure if they had enough time.
"That's why I told you to hurry up, didn't I? Can't you hear the commotion outside? It means the competition has started. We're going out under Madam Mei's name. We can't let her down, do you understand?"
"Okay, Yue Ru believes that Miss definitely has the ability. But Miss, isn't this dress a bit too..."
Hearing this, Mei Qingxue looked down at her outfit. To make the dress look better, she had taken off her moon - white undergarment. Under the self - made bra was a slightly form - fitting snow - white sheer dress through which one could faintly see the water - blue bra. Over the sheer dress was a fiery red V - neck cropped top that just covered her budding curves, leaving an alluring arc at the V - neck. Her lower body was paired with a red skirt that reached to her ankles. She had someone stick a lot of shiny scales on both the red skirt and the fiery red cropped top, which sparkled in the sunlight, making her look like a fairy who had secretly descended to the mortal world.
While they were preparing non - stop here, the competition on the stage was still in full swing. The performances of the top courtesans from each house were actually quite fast. Each performance made the people below salivate with desire. They wished they could immediately go up and take the girl away!
A top courtesan who had just finished a long - sleeve dance walked off the stage gracefully. Next was Mei Qingxue's performance. Madam Mei had drawn the last lot when drawing lots. Fortunately, it was the last one, otherwise, they might not have had enough time to prepare!
Mei Qingxue was waiting backstage at this moment. The lively music gradually sounded. After giving Yue Ru a reassuring smile, Mei Qingxue covered her face with a veil and gently swayed her waist as she twirled onto the stage. Since the music she used was something no one here had heard before, the people below the stage were quickly attracted by this lively music.
No one expected someone to appear in such a way. Her nimble swaying waist and her seductive eyes. Every move seemed to hit the men right in their hearts. Before this, no girl had dared to dance such a bold and alluring dance. Listening to the dynamic music, many people couldn't help but start to sway their bodies.
Mei Qingxue naturally expected such an effect. This Xinjiang dance was not only hot and sexy but also unprecedented for the people here. As she danced more and more vigorously, she didn't realize that the straps in front of her cropped top had started to loosen. If she made a bigger move, the whole cropped top would come off.
Sure enough, after a backbend, a rise, and a twirl, the fiery red cropped top suddenly came undone on its own. Her beautiful chest was revealed to everyone through the snow - white sheer dress in the sunlight. Mei Qingxue frowned slightly but quickly reacted. Just then, the music gradually stopped. She turned around and faced her back to the audience, constantly twirling as she made her way backstage.
After reaching backstage, Mei Qingxue let out a soft gasp. It was really too close. She had almost been seen wearing her modified bra. Although she had worn a bikini on the beach in her previous life, this was ancient times, not modern times.
As soon as Mei Qingxue returned to the backstage, the audience in the venue went completely crazy. The Jade - faced Gentleman, who had also been attracted by Mei Qingxue's dance, was now clenching his fists tightly for some reason, with his chest heaving violently.
If, if he hadn't misseen just now, that purple butterfly on her chest... It was her, it must be her! In this world, no one else but her would have that fluttering purple butterfly on her chest!
He must find her. The last time he woke up, she had already left. This time, he would never let go of the opportunity to find her again!
"Miss, your dance just now was simply amazing! You don't know how mesmerized everyone was. Many of the girls who performed just now were swaying their bodies to your tune!" Yue Ru looked at her miss excitedly. She was so proud to serve such a miss. Not only was she beautiful, but she was also kind - hearted and talented! Any man who married such a miss in the future would be extremely lucky!
"Yeah, now you know how amazing your miss is. Okay, the Jade - faced Gentleman is still waiting for us! Let's change clothes quickly." She had been away for so long and didn't know what the Jade - faced Gentleman might be thinking. Oh well, if he asked, she would just say she had been flirting with a girl backstage!
"Okay, okay. It might take a while to untie these braids, miss."
"Then stop talking so much nonsense and hurry up and go with me..."
"Okay, okay, I know..."
"Dear guests, now it's time to vote. Please put the blue flowers in your hands in front of the basket of the girl you prefer. Later, we will calculate which girl is the number one this year."
The men with flowers in their hands had already started to line up voluntarily to drop their flowers in front of the corresponding girls' baskets.
Half an hour later...
"Jade - faced Gentleman, I'm really sorry. Just now I was so entranced by the beauties that I forgot you were still here. It was really impolite of me. I apologize to you here," Mei Qingxue said as she trotted up to the Jade - faced Gentleman after changing her clothes. Since her long hair was curly after the many little braids were undone, she asked Yue Ru to put up a hair bun and tie it with a jade hairpin and a ribbon to avoid attracting attention.
The Jade - faced Gentleman was actually the sixth prince, Du Gu Qing, the most beloved son of the current emperor. He didn't really care about Mei Qingxue's arrival or what she said at first. So when he heard Mei Qingxue's voice, he just glanced at her casually. But this glance made him have some doubts in his heart, and his mood became excited.
Because he noticed that there were a few shiny scales that should have been on the dancing girl's dress just now were now stuck on Mei Qingxue's current clothes, and the places where they were stuck were quite hidden. If it weren't for the reflection of the sunlight, he might not have noticed.
There were only two possibilities for these shiny scales to be there. One was that "he" had been in close contact with the last dancing girl just now. The other was that she was the dancing girl... That is to say, the person in front of him who claimed to be Luo Fan was the person he had been looking for!
Du Gu Qing seemed to casually notice the shiny scales on Mei Qingxue's body. The corner of his mouth under the jade mask curled up into a nice arc, and his heart was beating faster and faster. "Brother Luo, did you just go to see the top courtesan who danced that hot dance?"
"Huh? What?" Mei Qingxue was completely confused by Du Gu Qing's words and didn't know what he meant.
"I mean, Brother Luo, do you want to buy the top courtesan from the Fragrant Courtyard?"
"Oh, does the Jade - faced Gentleman also take a fancy to that woman?" Mei Qingxue finally understood. She had thought this Jade - faced Gentleman was a gentleman! Unexpectedly, a dance with an exotic style had revealed his true nature!
She couldn't show any flaws now. She had to buy more time for Madam Mei. It seemed that Madam Mei and the others should be able to get out of the city gate in about half an hour. Now Yue Ru was still in Madam Mei's room pretending to be her. If the person who bought the pretended Madam Mei was someone else, Yue Ru would be in big trouble!
Even if the person who bought her was the Jade - faced Gentleman, it was still not okay. Not to mention whether he would expose her plan, just the fact that he had seen Yue Ru before was a big problem!
She had to nip the Jade - faced Gentleman's interest in the bud! Otherwise, all her efforts might be in vain.
"This young master thinks her dancing skills are outstanding and the music style is novel. She is quite to my liking."
Looking at the half - smiling look in the Jade - faced Gentleman's eyes, Mei Qingxue always had a feeling of being seen through. Could it be that this guy had noticed something wrong?
There was no other way. It seemed she had to use her trump card!