Chapter 1: Charm
May.
In the capital it happened to be the beginning of the unwelcomed rainy season, and the patter of rain on the red bricks was incessant, day and night.
The sky was just beginning to brighten, and Gu Jiuniang hadn’t even sat up when she vaguely heard the congratulations of the young servants outside.
Gu Jiuniang slowly put on her clothes and slowly opened the door.
At a glance, she saw a fine yellow pear wood box.
On the box, several large characters were clearly written – the Count of Cheng’an’s Mansion.
Gu Jiuniang raised her eyebrows and said to the maid beside her, “Did the people from the Count of Cheng’an’s Mansion come just now?”
“Replying to Jiuniang, these items were all sent by the young servants of the Count of Cheng’an’s Mansion. The young servant said that he hoped Jiuniang would not dislike the small amount, and that some of the gifts were not yet ready. They would send someone over again at this time tomorrow. And he also said that the Count of Cheng’an had specially left a message for you.”
“Oh? What message?”
“The Count of Chengan said that if he could see Wu’er before the coming-of-age banquet, he would double the gifts he gave you today.”
Gu Jiuniang sneered and said nothing.
She had long been accustomed to such high-sounding words.
These powerful people are the best at manipulating people’s hearts.
Saying they’ll send her tomorrow is just a way to gauge her appetite!
There are so many people who want to see Tang Wu, is it possible to see her just by leaving a message?
Who is Tang Wu?
She is the top girl of Junmeng Garden, the money tree that Gu Jiuniang has carefully cultivated for four years!
If he really saw Tang Wu, it would be like lifting the veil of the Peach Blossom Spring in front of everyone, losing its mystery, and the price would naturally not go up.
Gu Jiuniang raised her hand, gently stroked the stray hairs on both sides, and twisting her waist, she said softly, “Well, send someone to reply to that little servant, saying that Jiuniang really can’t move the rules of Junmeng Garden, and can only wait for the good news from Lord Count.”
The gifts are accepted, but the person is not to be seen.
In terms of places of entertainment, there are many in the capital.
There are the gentle girls of Xiangsi Pavilion, and the unparalleled tunes of Dengtian Tower, all of which are excellent places for the powerful people of the capital to embrace warmth and enter dreams.
But none of these places of entertainment can compare to Junmeng Garden.
But if you want to talk about why Junmeng Garden has become a place that even the government dares not easily touch, then you have to talk about the ability of the boss of Junmeng Garden to do business.
Other people’s restaurants would love to hang their girls on the city tower for people to choose, but she does the opposite, hiding her girls.
In Gu Jiuniang’s words, Junmeng Garden can appreciate the moon, recite poems, listen to music, and gamble, but it will never open a private room for anyone.
As soon as such a rule came out, many people scoffed at it.
But no one expected that the more it was like this, the more prosperous the business of Junmeng Garden became, and even the price of a plate of peanuts would be three times higher than outside.
Every night when the lights are bright, many scholars in the capital begin to shake their heads and sigh.
They sighed that in this world, true elegance is worthless, while false elegance is hard to find even for a thousand pieces of gold.
——
After the people around her had retreated, Gu Jiuniang slowly opened the box sent by the Count of Chengan.
Her slender fingers, calloused from work, rubbed back and forth on the gold inside the box, recalling the words her sister had said to her when she was on her deathbed.
She said, Jiuniang, in the capital, having only money is useless. If you don’t have power to rely on, you will forever live on the edge of a cliff…
How could Gu Jiuniang not know this?
So she desperately sent her girls to the back houses of the powerful, but what was the result? They either died or were sold off by the mistress.
It was too difficult to find someone with both superior looks and skills, so she could only buy girls everywhere, hoping to cultivate them from scratch.
Gu Jiuniang remembered very clearly that the day the human trafficker brought Tang Wu, it also happened to be the rainy season.
When the sack was untied, the obedient girl inside could barely reveal half her face, and before she could take a closer look, she couldn’t help but gasp.
That timid yet captivating gaze, she still remembered it clearly.
The human trafficker from Suzhou didn’t lie to her; this was indeed a rare treasure.
Gu Jiuniang could tell a girl at a glance. She could see through the clothes to the body, and also see through the body to the bones.
Eyes, nose, lips, teeth, chest, hips, waist, legs.
Only if every aspect was top-notch could they truly catch Gu Jiuniang’s eye.
And this fallen beauty happened to be, top-notch among the top-notch.
After that day, this Tang Wu from Suzhou became a jade person that Gu Jiuniang was afraid of dropping even in her hands.
No one could touch her or see her.
Gu Jiuniang raised Tang Wu as a “pearl in the palm of her hand,” pampering her to the point that it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she was a biological mother to her own daughter.
The exquisite meals that were shocking every day, the gold, silver, and jade that made people envious. Anyone who didn’t know would really think she was a young lady from a wealthy family.
Gu Jiuniang leaned against the imperial concubine’s couch, closed her eyes, and concentrated, recalling the details of what she had given over the past four years.
Her slender index finger landed on the table beside her, tapping twice lightly, and she slowly spoke to the outside of the door: “Ningzhi, go and call Wu’er for me.”
Everything at the moment was as smooth as Gu Jiuniang had expected, but she knew that the closer it got to this point, the more she had to keep a close eye on Tang Wu.
She had paid too much for this coming-of-age banquet, and Junmeng Garden was already on the cusp of a storm.
She absolutely could not allow the slightest mistake, and she would never allow anyone to dare to ruin Gu Jiuniang’s reputation.
In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Gu Jiuniang heard a gentle knock on the door.
“Jiuniang, Wu’er is here.”
Tang Wu’s voice was what Gu Jiuniang liked the most. Gu Jiuniang often joked with her, saying that if Tang Wu was willing to call out “Master” a few more times, men would probably be willing to give her their hearts.
Gu Jiuniang, with a smile on her lips, responded and signaled her to come in.
Tang Wu was extremely beautiful. People often say that beauty lies in the bones, not the skin, but she possessed both. Her small face was so delicate that it seemed water could be squeezed out of it, and her waist was so slender that it could be held in one hand.
It was as if she was born with the three words “restless[mfn]Restless is 3 words in chinese — Bu an fen[/mfn]” closely connected to her.
Restless, restless.
But it was such a restless face, a restless body, that heaven, with a stroke of a divine pen, added a pair of extremely pure eyes for her.
When she looked at you, her eyes were filled with water, sparkling and radiant, as clear and bright as a deer.
Without even reddening her eyes, she already made people feel affection and unwilling to speak harshly.
She seemed to have perfectly blended the beauty and charm of this world together.
Gu Jiuniang, as usual, affectionately waved to Tang Wu, then patted the bed and said softly, “Wu’er, come here.”
At this moment, Tang Wu looked at Gu Jiuniang’s affectionate appearance and felt a mix of emotions.
She knew why Gu Jiuniang doted on her, and she was always clear about her own identity, but whenever she thought that she might be sent to the licentious Count of Cheng’an, she couldn’t help but panic.
Everyone in the Flower Alley knew that the Count of Cheng’an’s mansion was not to be entered, because girls had died there.
In the capital, the unsavory affairs of the powerful and wealthy families’ backyards were as eye-catching as the most popular scenes in the theater.
The Count of Cheng’an had just gone to Yangzhou to buy a slender horse[mfn]Or Skinny horse— refers to a practice in ancient China where young girls were trained in arts and etiquette to be sold as concubines or entertainers.[/mfn], and the news spread everywhere.
It was rumored that the Count of Cheng’an favored the Yangzhou beauty very much, and even sent away several concubines for her.
But just when everyone thought that this wealthy and licentious master of the capital was going to change his ways.
The beauty passed away.
A death occurred, and things naturally couldn’t be resolved easily.
But the Count of Chengan claimed that she died of illness, and the indenture was in his hands, so in the end, it was left unresolved.
But compared to the beauty’s tragic death, what was truly terrifying was that when the girl was carried out, she didn’t even get a decent burial.
She was carried by two old women, who used straw mats to wrap her again and again. But when she was buried, they still couldn’t cover the bloodstains between her legs, or the gold bead chain that was half-hidden inside her body and half-exposed outside…
Thinking of this, Tang Wu’s little face turned deathly pale, and golden tears were about to gush out.
“Oh, oh, what’s this act you’re putting on today? Tell me, who made our Wu’er upset?” Gu Jiuniang reached out her arm and pulled Tang Wu to her side.
Tang Wu knew very well that some things couldn’t be said outright. Asking about official clients was a big taboo, and she was no exception.
“The coming-of-age banquet is just around the corner. Wu’er just can’t bear to leave you, Jiuniang.” Her voice was so soft and delicate, like a kitten Gu Jiuniang once raised, particularly endearing.
“Silly girl, just relax. Jiuniang will definitely choose a good home for you, okay?”
Choose a good home?
Tang Wu felt like an object. Everyone knew she could be acquired by whoever paid the highest price, so where was the ‘choosing’ in that?
In fact, it wasn’t that she was so ambitious, but she just couldn’t agree with the “good home” Gu Jiuniang spoke of.
Was a count with a flock of wives and concubines her good home, or was the old man from the Wang family in the capital with one foot already in the grave her good home?
Tang Wu suppressed the hundreds of thoughts in her heart, lowered her eyes, and said obediently, “Of course Wu’er trusts you, Jiuniang.”
Having seen everything over the years, Gu Jiuniang knew what was going on with Tang Wu’s subtle expressions in a single glance.
She then sneered and raised her voice, “What, are you still thinking about the shopkeeper of Jinyu Pavilion and wanting to become his ‘shopkeeper’s wife’?”
As soon as Gu Jiuniang mentioned Xu Duo, Tang Wu’s heart couldn’t help but tremble.
She didn’t know how many men Gu Jiuniang had at her feet. But she did know that if she really dared to have anything with Xu Duo, Gu Jiuniang had the ability to skin him alive.
Tang Wu quickly shook her head, bit her lip, and said in a sweet voice, “Jiuniang, how could Wu’er have such an idea? You’ve truly wronged me!”
The moment her words fell, Gu Jiuniang was instantly amused by Tang Wu’s drawn-out, melodious “wronged.”
It turns out that the tricks she personally taught this girl were being used back on her.
Her voice was just as her name, Wumei[mfn]Charming [/mfn], which means charming and captivating.
