Chapter 60: Young Master Yang, Purple Robe, Calculating

  "I..."

  Her eyes, which had been inverted by the crowd, immediately sparkled with tears as she gazed at Cao Yu Guang. In a low, mournful tone, she said: "The ceremony of combing one's hair is similar to that of marriage; it requires bowing in the hall, treating guests to a feast, and sending the bride into the bridal chamber. As a registered entertainer in the Teaching Bureau, even with your abilities as a public son, you would be unable to remove my registration. I am not allowed to constantly attend to your side, so I can only hope that this ceremony of combing one's hair will serve as my own wedding night, and that I may give my pure and clean daughterly body to you."

  As she spoke, two lines of tears streamed down her delicate face, and with a deeply emotional voice, she said: "From now on, no matter who comes or goes, welcomes or sees off whom, in Ziyue's heart, there is only one man, the only husband, Cao Lang..."

  Zi Yifu's words moved Cao Yugang to tears, his anger dissipating: "What virtue or ability does Cao possess, to receive such deep and sincere feelings from Miss Zi?"

  Cao Yu Guang's anger suddenly dissipated, and his heroic spirit surged forth. He stood up, grasped Zi Gu Niang's hand, and said in a deep voice: "I'm going out now, no matter how many people are watching you tonight, the one who will lift your red veil is definitely me, Cao Yu Guang!"

  Cao Yuguang spoke out a loud and clear words, then held his head high and walked out with a majestic momentum, as if a general who was about to go onto the battlefield, with a heroic and majestic aura.

  His figure had just disappeared at the door, and there was still a faint glimmer of tears in Ziyi's purple clothes, but a sly smile had already appeared on her lips. She stood up, walked slowly to the dresser and sat down, and the little maid at the door knew to come in and start clearing the wine table.

  She pulled out the bright green jade hairpin, and placed it between her lips that were as red as flower petals. Her black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, and her charming face looked even more delicate under the cover of her hair. The purple-robed woman picked up the tortoiseshell comb that had been thrown onto the table earlier, and gently combed out her soft and smooth long hair.

  "This Cao Yu Guang from Jinan Prefecture always has an air of superiority, looking down on others as if they're beneath him. I thought he must have had extensive experience in the pleasure quarters, but it turns out he's nothing special. With just a little trickery, this young lady was able to make him submit and become completely devoted to me."

  Zi Yifu smiled complacently, thinking of Yang Wenyuan, and her slender eyebrows furrowed slightly: "But this Yang Wenyuan is quite different. He's a well-known playboy in Qingzhou, how come he doesn't have any interest in me? A cat not eating fishy smell is too strange."

  Zigongniang slightly turned her face towards the copper mirror that could reflect every detail, and in the mirror appeared a delicate and beautiful face to the extreme, with eyebrows like distant mountains, nose like greasy fat, lips like flowers, charming eyes like a pair of bright black gemstones, and that fair and tender skin, full of elastic youthful vitality...

  "Is my purple dress really not as good as that woman called Ting Xiang?" Zi Gong Nang combed her hair with a huff, thinking to herself: "Yang Wenxuan is not infatuated with me, and if I want to provoke him into competing with Cao Yu Guang in extravagance, throwing away thousands of gold, I must not tempt him with my charm. He indulges his own maid so much that he would buy her freedom just because she's charming; it's clear he's a man who loves beauty and is fond of women. He doesn't have any intentions towards me, but because of Cao Yu Guang's words, he decided to attend tonight's gathering, showing that he's a man who likes to fight and never gives up."

  "In that case, I can show him my weakness and move him with emotions. Then, I'll reveal to him how Cao Yu Guang and Jiang Zhi Qing look down on him. He's determined to win the bet anyway, and after I fan the flames, haha..."

  Xiaoyuan gathered the table, came back to see her sitting in front of the mirror, and hastily approached her side: "Miss, hurry up with your hair and makeup, the other girls have been dressed for almost an hour."

  "What's the hurry?"

  Zǐ yī téng dè le tā yī yǎn, xiàng jìng zhōng de zì jǐ dé yì de yī yáng méi mao: "Dōu shì xiē méi chū xī de, zhǐ zhī dào huān qǔ mèi, běn gū niang lüè shī xiǎo jì, bù dàn zuò dìng le zhè 'jìng huā shuǐ zhào' de tóu pái gū niang, shuō bu dìng hái néng yòu tāmen pīn chū ge dà míng zuì gāo de shēn jià, nà yàng de huà, běn gū niang de míng shēng yí dìng chuán biàn tiān xià, shuō bu dìng hái néng bèi jiào fáng sī diào rù yīng tiān fǔ……"

  Zi Yi Tong hastily tied up her hair into a slightly disheveled bun, inserted the Ma Gu longevity hairpin as a hairpin, and put away the jade hairpin. She looked in the mirror, smiled with satisfaction, and instructed: "Go and see if Yang Wenxuan has arrived. If he has, quietly bring him over, I have something to say."

  "Yes!" Xiaoyuan responded and hastily retreated. Ziyi stroked her cheek, her fingers lightly sliding from the side of her face to her chin, suddenly thinking: "If we compare their character and appearance, Yang Wenyu is far superior to that Cao person... young and handsome, with a heroic spirit... if he wins tonight, it wouldn't be unjust for him to taste this treasure that has been hidden away for 17 years..."

  Thinking of it, her smile is radiant, just like two petals of a peach blossom that have just begun to unfold...

  A steward of the 'Mirror Pavilion' stepped onto the stage, made a low bow and sang in a high-pitched voice: "Ladies and gentlemen, please be patient. The six new brides in our courtyard are busy dressing up and will come out soon. Tonight is a joyful occasion, no matter which gentleman has the good fortune to become the husband of one of our girls, it's all a happy event.

  "My girls are all dressed up, and of course, the highest bidder gets to take them home. You can do whatever you want tonight, but there's one thing - these girls are all delicate and timid new brides, it's their first time, so you gentlemen should be gentle with them too. The girls will naturally try to please you, so if you're a bit considerate, that would be perfect."

  The revelers shouted loudly: "Stop talking nonsense, I've been waiting with my neck stretched out for a whole night, where's the bride? Hurry up and bring her out, if we wait any longer, I'll become a hanging duck..."

  When Xia Liu walked into "Jing Hua Shui Xie", what he saw was such a chaotic scene, and there was also a strong smell of wine in his face, Xia Liu slightly frowned.

  A tortoise came up and asked: "Sir, what's your surname? Are you here with friends?"

  Xia Fu shook his head and casually tossed a few coins to him, instructing: "Arrange a luxurious room for me upstairs, I want some peace."

  "Good and good."

  The old turtle knew that this was a person of status, and hurriedly nodded and bowed to lead him upstairs, smiling and saying: "Just looking at the young master's demeanor, it's completely different from those masters in the hall. Young Master, please follow me, your name is still being reported, tonight all the masters are coming for the purple-robed girl, soon they will be competing to bid on the hairpin, Young Master, show me your name, I'll make sure to reserve a seat for you..."

  Xia Xiao said faintly: "Yang Xu, Yang Wenxuan!"

  "Ah, you're Young Master Yang? Please come in, please come in. I've reserved a seat for you early on, sir. This way, please."

  As soon as he introduced himself, the turtle-faced man's sly smile grew thicker. Yang Wenyuan and a certain Cao Gongzi from Jinan Prefecture were going to flaunt their wealth tonight, competing for the right to take Purple Robe Girl out on a date. The news had already spread throughout Qingzhou Prefecture through the efforts of some interested parties. The pleasure-seekers in the audience, upon hearing that two young and wealthy spendthrifts were betting on a woman, had automatically removed this Purple Maiden from their own lists of conquests. These two raging bulls were going to fight each other blind, who would dare to join them in throwing money around like dirt?

  Xia Liu was led to a private room on the second floor amidst the whispers of the guests, and as soon as he sat down, a cup of tea was brought up but before he could take a sip, a young maid in a green dress quietly walked in, greeted him with a bow, and whispered a few words.

  "Does Purple Girl want to see me?"

  Xia Jiong furrowed his brow, looking at the little girl in front of him and said: "Your family's young lady has not yet put up her hair, and she privately made an appointment with me. This seems... somewhat unconventional?"

  "My young mistress has long had a crush on you, sir. When she heard that you were coming, she was overjoyed and wanted to invite you to meet with her in secret. Please follow me, I'll take you to see her without drawing attention..."

  "It's all right, I'll just sit here, and in a little while, won't I still be able to see her?"

  "Yes, but... however... my missus says..."

  "What she says doesn't matter."

  "What's important is that in this place, what the host says doesn't count, and the guest can take charge!"

  "Servant girl...... Servant girl......"

  That little girl was at a loss, not knowing what to do. Xia Liu lightly sipped his tea and said without lifting his head or opening his eyes: "Go."

  Xiaoyuan saw that Yang Gongzi's expression was cold and distant, and didn't dare to say anything more. She hastily replied with a "yes", bowed and retreated.

  Peng Ziqi, who was eavesdropping outside the door, immediately dodged and hid, thinking to himself: "Strange, a beauty invites him to a private meeting, what a great opportunity to steal a kiss! With his character, he actually refused?"

  Peng Ziqi couldn't hear or understand. This was exactly the result she wanted to see, and she really saw it, but there was a sense of unreality.

  The window of the room directly opposite was pushed open, and two people sat by the window. To his surprise, they were Cao Yuguang and Jiang Zhiqing. As soon as they saw Xia Xun, a look of disdain appeared on their faces. Jiang Zhiqing called out loudly: "Mr. Yang, you're here quite early, are you feeling uneasy in your heart?"

  Xia Jiangyi raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, "This young master has just arrived and sat down, but the two of you immediately pushed open the window to greet me. Weren't you waiting by the window for me to appear?"

  The floor below suddenly burst out laughing, and some of the elegant rooms on either side also had some dignitaries secretly laughing. It really made Xia Jie say that Jiang Zhiqiang's face turned red with anger, and he said: "Yang Xu, don't talk big, your wishful thinking is doomed to fail, we must get it tonight!"

  Xia Xiao smiled slightly: "Each has his own goal, Yang certain will also get what he wants tonight!"

  Yes, he was determined to lose. He didn't want to win today, but rather to lose. Two people made a bet, one with all his heart wanting to win and the other with all his heart wanting to lose. How could it not end in success?

  No one else knew the inside story, but a whiff of gunpowder smell wafted through 'Jing Hua Shui Ge', delighting the old procuress and her staff, who were eagerly waiting to see their clients lose everything in their pursuit of pleasure.

  Among the noise, the sound of silk and bamboo instruments rose, six beauties walked out like willows swaying in the wind, the highlight of the show has arrived!