readytorunbook Chapter 553: Madam Qingwan
Chapter 553: Madam Qingwan
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During the Lantern Festival, the streets are lined with colorful lanterns.
The lights flickered and the crowd was bustling. The second son of the Minister of Personnel held his little sister's hand tightly, fearing that they would be swept away by the crowd.
My father attaches great importance to etiquette. Even though my younger sister Li Qianqian is still a child, my father insists that unmarried women should not show their faces in public. He even refuses to let my younger sister go out for the Lantern Festival.
The second son, Li Jinghuai, felt sorry for his sister and claimed that he was not feeling well and needed to recuperate at home. He would not go out to watch the lantern festival with his father, brother and mother.
After they all left, Li Jinghuai immediately went to his sister's yard. He took his sister to the backyard, stuffed Xiao Qianqian into the dog hole, climbed over the wall, flipped over and jumped out, and grabbed his sister's hand from the other side of the wall to pull her out.
A set of movements, flowing smoothly.
"Chuckles..."
Finally it came out, Xiao Qianqian giggled.
"Shhh."
Li Jinghuai was worried about being discovered, so he signaled his younger sister to keep her voice down and ran with her, away from the street in front of their home. He only felt relieved when he ran to the main street.
"Wow, there are so many lights, so beautiful~"
Xiao Qianqian's eyes are sparkling. She rarely goes out and is curious about everything around her.
Li Jinghuai carried his sister on his shoulders and took them to the lantern festival. His sister was laughing and he was happy too.
"Brother, I want that."
"Okay." Li Jinghuai held the rabbit lantern he had just bought for his sister and carried his sister to the stall selling sugar paintings.
"Here, take it." After paying the money, Li Jinghuai bent down slightly and let the little sister take the sugar painting from the vendor herself.
The little girl was holding a butterfly-shaped sugar painting, and she was reluctant to eat it. She was happy just looking at it. Qianqian smiled with her eyes curved, and her voice was out of tune: "Thank you, Erguo."
The younger sister was happy, and Li Jinghuai was happy too. As soon as he stood up straight, he saw his father's figure across two stalls.
Seeing that they were buying osmanthus cake and didn't notice this side, Li Jinghuai quickly put his little sister down, bent down to hide himself, and wanted to leave with his little sister.
The sounds of gongs, drums and string music came from afar.
"It's the Oiran who has arrived."
"Which family?"
"To parade the courtesan with such a big fanfare, it must be the Baihua Tower or the Lichun Courtyard."
The crowd gradually gathered towards the center of the street. Li Jinghuai, who wanted to escape with his sister, was surrounded by the crowd and was squeezed to the front row.
As the sound of stringed instruments got closer, several maids holding lanterns slowly appeared in everyone's sight. They were dressed in brocade dresses and walked lightly, leading the way. Then, an exquisite flower carriage slowly drove in, decorated with flowers and surrounded by glass lanterns, shining brightly.
In the center of the float sat the courtesan from Baihua Tower.
She was wearing a pink silk dress embroidered with gold thread, a light gauze veil on the outside, and a pearl and jade hairpin on her head. Her eyebrows were like distant mountains, and her eyes were like autumn water. She held an exquisite round fan in her hand, waving it gently with an elegant posture.
"Wow, so beautiful."
The little girl liked bright colors the most and thought the courtesan in Baihua Tower was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. There was a lot of noise and someone behind her was talking: "The courtesan Qingwan in Baihua Tower is known for her talent and is proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. As expected of a lady from a wealthy family, her demeanor is indeed extraordinary and different from the other courtesans who are dressed up in flashy clothes."
"I think Miss Qingwan's title of the most beautiful courtesan in the capital is not worthy of its reputation. I have seen Miss Liuying, the courtesan of Lichun Courtyard, before. She is more charming and seductive than the others."
"Well, that's not the case. In terms of appearance, Miss Qingwan may not be the most beautiful, but her talent and bearing are unmatched by ordinary women." At this point, the man lowered his voice mysteriously: "It is said that even the Ninth Prince is Miss Qingwan's lover."
The mysterious man attracted the little girl's attention. Xiao Qianqian pricked up her ears to eavesdrop, and then asked her brother seriously: "Second brother, what is the guest of honor?"
"Ah? Join the staff... the meaning of staff." Li Jinghuai's attention was all on the back of the crowd. He was worried that his father would find out that he had secretly brought his younger sister out. He had no time to pay attention to what his younger sister was saying. He just replied randomly and was about to pull his younger sister away.
"Humph, you are willing to degenerate."
The little girl was reluctant to leave, but she heard her father's old-fashioned voice in the crowd. Her eyes widened and she turned around in surprise. But she was too small and too short, and there were people behind her, so she couldn't see anything.
At this time, Li Jinghuai had already met his eldest brother's gaze, and he turned away guiltily, not daring to look directly at him. Li Jingze was standing behind the crowd, and in fact he couldn't see his younger sister, but seeing the guilty look of his second brother, he immediately understood what was going on.
Li Jingze glared at his second brother, then calmly took a step forward to block his father's sight, and signaled with his eyes that Li Jinghuai should take his younger sister away quickly.
The float moved forward and the crowd followed it. Li Jinghuai bent over and carefully walked back with his little sister.
After walking out of the crowd, I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw my father and brother no longer in sight. I wanted to continue shopping with my younger sister, but I saw my eldest brother's personal servant chasing after me.
It turned out that he was assigned by the eldest brother to watch them go home to prevent them from staying outside any longer.
Li Jinghuai sighed and reluctantly pulled his little sister home.
Qianqian's trip was not long, but she gained a lot of experience. The courtesan was so beautiful that she left a deep impression on the child's young heart.
It was a long, long time later that little Li Qianqian unexpectedly learned that the courtesan Qingwan was actually Yu Mo, the eldest daughter of the Yu family who had indulged in depravity and lacked the character of a scholar as her father had described.
Li Qianqian's father was a classmate and good friend of Yu Zi, the former assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue. They passed the imperial examination in the same year, one entered the Ministry of Revenue and the other entered the Ministry of Personnel. If it weren't for the case of embezzlement of military pay that came out later, that lady Yu would have been her sister-in-law.
When Yu Mo first entered the brothel, Qian Qian's father thought that after two years when no one was paying attention to her, he would find a way to redeem her, change her name and send her to the village, so that she could be a peasant woman and live a good life.
Who would have thought that within less than a month, Baihua Tower would publicly auction Miss Yu's virginity.
Yu Mo lost her innocence, took on a nickname, and became Miss Qingwan. Li's father was unwilling to save her, but instead despised her for having no integrity and being self-degrading.
Li's mother also tried to persuade her that it was difficult for women, and that in that environment, it might not be what she wanted. Li's father glared at her, as if she had said something extremely treasonous, and shouted so loudly that the servants in the courtyard could hear: "Who let her in? When the soldiers raided the house and arrested people, she should have been hanged with a rope, and she could still keep her good name. Isn't it because she is greedy for life and afraid of death, and she is willing to degenerate..."
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After the first episode was aired, Liu Min’s divorce was on the hot search list. The ratings were not too bad, but not great either.
Liu Min was not particularly charismatic when she was at her peak, not to mention that she has been out of fashion for several years. Zhang Ziyun did not appear in the first episode, and if there were no netizens who came to watch the fun, the ratings might have been even worse.
However, the response from netizens was quite good. The costumes were in line with the dynasty background and not perfunctory. The rhythm was comfortable and it was worth watching.
The only thing that everyone criticized was that Liu Min, the courtesan, seemed a little too old and not pretty enough for a courtesan.
Zhao Qin was not particularly worried about this.
As the head courtesan, Liu Min is indeed a bit older, but this is just a foreshadowing. When Liu Min appears again later, Yu Mo will be upgraded to the "mother" in the brothel. It is just right to change her makeup photos at this time.