Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 224

Gonggong Hall is the most important hall in the peasant community. By leveraging this "most important" status, regardless of whether anything succeeds, there will definitely be disciples of Chiyou Hall who dare to cause trouble for Tian Hu.

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In Guangling City of the Chu State, as time passed, the weather gradually turned from hot to cold.

Inside the city, the newly appointed King of Chu, Xiong Qi, and General Xiang Yan both understood that the Qin army would eventually arrive. Compared to their previous defeat in open battle, they were better prepared this time: by utilizing the city's defenses and the terrain of the river network, they might be able to hold out against the Qin.

If the Chu state of Guangling could repel a single Qin attack, it could establish its reputation and gradually reclaim its former territory.

Now, Guangling has the original Xiang Yan army of tens of thousands, plus naval soldiers and newly recruited troops, with a total strength of about 200,000. Although Wang Jian brought 600,000 Qin troops to Chu, some of them had to be sent to guard the newly occupied towns in the rear and ensure the smooth flow of supplies. It is conservatively estimated that the number of people who can attack Guangling is at most 400,000. Even though such a difference in strength is still huge, it is not hopeless.

According to the latest intelligence, the Qin people have gathered a large number of ships in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, while the army in Shouchun is also assembling. It is not difficult to conclude that they intend to launch a two-pronged attack.

A group of Chu knights-errant attempted to burn the Qin ships to relieve pressure on Guangling, but they were all killed before they could even get close to the Qin vessels...

The Qin people's strict precautions proved that they had made ample preparations. The civilian strategy of burning ships was not feasible, so they could only rely on the Chu navy to block the Qin navy.

Xiong Qi and Xiang Yan were quite confident about this: the overall quality of ordinary soldiers in the Chu army might not be as good as that of the Qin army, but the navy was undoubtedly an exception.

As the storm brewed and the wind howled, on a certain day when war was about to break out again, a simple convoy left Guangling City through the north gate and headed towards the State of Qi.

The caravan consisted of only one carriage, protected by four wandering knights dressed in hemp clothing.

Their journey was to first enter the territory of Qi, then pass through Daze Mountain into the former territory of Wei, and finally reach Zuimenglou in Licheng, which was renamed by the Qin state.

The two women in the carriage were Hua Ying, the most beautiful courtesan of Zui Meng Lou, and Mi Lian, the eldest daughter of the King of Chu.

The fate of the upcoming battle is uncertain. The reason why Xiong Qi recalled Hua Ying, who was running a farm, before returning to Guangling City was to send his family to a safer place.

Originally, the Queen and her youngest daughter Mi Xin should have evacuated as well, but the Queen was resolute and determined to stay with Xiong Qi. She stood firmly in the city with her daughter in her arms, and could inspire the soldiers' morale just as she had in Chen Ying, so she refused to leave.

After the Queen stepped forward, Mi Lian became relatively useless and was ordered by Xiong Qi to follow Hua Ying north.

"Lian'er, after this battle, if Chu wins, you can come back immediately. If we lose, I will bring your mother and sister to reunite with us in a safe place."

"Yes." Trusting her father's promise and harboring a deep-seated fear of the impending war, Mi Lian nodded in agreement to leave.

She seemed to have gotten used to this constant travel from one place to another:

From Xianyang to Chenying, from Chenying to Guangling, and now from Guangling to Licheng, nothing much has changed except for the increasingly worse circumstances.

However, compared to previous trips, this one was particularly bad: everything from the standard of daily life to the maids who took care of us was gone.

The carriage was of far inferior quality to the comfortable motorized carriages of the past, and the bumpy ride on the road caused the delicate eldest daughter of the king to turn pale and look extremely uncomfortable.

Having worked outside for many years, Hua Ying had suffered more hardships. Therefore, although her complexion was also not good, she was still able to reach out and gently stroke Mi Lian's back, channeling her shallow internal energy to make her as comfortable as possible.

"Thank you, Sister Huaying." Giving a grateful look to the person her father had entrusted her to, Mi Lian leaned her head against Huaying's chest and drifted off to sleep.

The journey was too arduous, and she couldn't do anything well, so she was in a semi-conscious state for almost the entire time.

Fortunately, after entering the territory of Qi, they were out of danger and were greeted by Zhu's trusted confidants. They could also use the farmhouses along the way, which slowed their pace slightly, but the journey was no longer a complete ordeal.

After entering Daze Mountain, Mi Lian met her herbalist teacher, Zhu Jia. After exchanging pleasantries and getting a good night's rest, the group finally arrived in Licheng the following evening.

In fact, given the environment and treatment that Shennong Hall could provide, supporting a young girl would not be a problem. However, Xiong Qi's order was for his daughter to go to Zuimeng Tower. Moreover, considering that Shennong Hall, despite its power, was also easily coveted, it would be very troublesome if the true identity of Mi Lian, who received special treatment, were discovered.

"So, it's acceptable to allow the eldest daughter of the King of Chu to mingle among dancers and musicians, letting her reputation be damaged?"

Looking down from the restaurant diagonally opposite, Ji Yan watched as Hua Ying, surrounded by women, led a girl who seemed a little older than herself into the Drunken Dream Pavilion. Ji Yan imitated Lu Wei's gesture of touching his chin and said calmly.

"Who knows what those powerful and influential people are thinking? Lord Changping claims to be a righteous man against Qin, but judging from his behavior, he is no different from that scoundrel King Wei." Mei San Niang, who was accompanying Xiao Yan'er, had a fiery temper. Ever since the former leader of the Pijiamen and her master were killed by King Wei and powerful and influential people in the court, Mei San Niang had never had a good impression of those so-called nobles.

“Third Sister is right, but Brother Hall Master wants to obtain the elite talents after the fall of Chu.” Withdrawing the deep gaze from his pupils, Ji Yan said expressionlessly, “We should help Brother Hall Master take this eldest daughter of the King of Chu back.”

Ji Yan, who was meticulously planning and carrying out the scheme to incite the Chi You Hall, suddenly received an order from Lu Wei a few days ago. When she learned that the target was another girl of similar age to herself, Ji Yan's mind immediately became very active.

Her first thought wasn't whether she could complete the mission, but rather that the girl named Mi Lian looked remarkably similar to herself:

Both were born into high nobility, but the other princess's status was even higher than hers.

Both Chu and Wei were equally powerful in their efforts to attract and retain talent within their respective states.

This guy might become my future rival? But now I have to bring him back myself?

Xiao Yan'er's face darkened; the person most likely to threaten her position had appeared.

“Miss Yan is right. This is an order from Hall Master Lu, so we must be careful. If anything goes wrong, it will be difficult to explain to the Hall Master.” Mei San Niang, with her personality, certainly couldn't see through this. Although she noticed that Miss Yan's expression wasn't as gentle as usual today, she couldn't figure out why. In fact, Mei San Niang didn't even think about the reason, focusing instead on the mission:

"Drunken Dream Pavilion is Shennong Hall's territory, but there aren't many experts here. Let's take advantage of the darkness tonight and tie her up and take her back."

"Don't rush, Third Sister, that's a last resort. If that's what Brother Hall Master thought, he definitely wouldn't have sent me to do this." Ji Yan shook her head and refused. She had to think about why Brother Hall Master would send her to do this. "I'm going to see what kind of person this eldest daughter of the King of Chu is first."

Regardless, this mission must be completed, even knowing that the other party's surrender will threaten my position.

You can confirm what kind of threat Mi Lian will pose before completing the mission, without hindering the mission's progress.

"Miss Yan wants to?" Mei San Niang didn't understand Ji Yan's meaning. She was older than Ji Yan, but she was always straightforward in her actions and words. Her advantage was that she was loyal and willing to do things for Miss Yan.

"I'm going to the Drunken Dream Pavilion to find out about this Miss Mi Lian myself, so I can personally investigate her background for my brother, the Hall Master." With that, Xiao Yan'er took out a folding fan from her waist, opened it, and held it in front of her chest, gently fanning herself.

Since that person has entered the Drunken Dream Pavilion, they are now part of the performance girls there. If I don't take advantage of this opportunity now, I won't have another chance once that guy enters the backyard of the Gonggong Hall.

Chapter 253 Playing with

Mi Lian had learned complete aristocratic etiquette and was impeccable in her daily interactions with others, but she was still somewhat unaccustomed to the environment of Zuimenglou.

Dancers and musicians both fall under the category of playthings. As playthings, they must know how to please the audience and those who can decide their fate.

Hua Ying is the most popular courtesan and owner of Zui Meng Lou. She has the authority to do anything to the other people in Zui Meng Lou, so she is naturally the main person the dancers and musicians usually try to curry favor with.

The other girls could easily see how much Hua Ying valued the 'Qi refugee girl' she brought back from her trip, and of course they all tried to curry favor with her.

Mi Lian's surname was too conspicuous, so she gave herself an alias: Lianyi.

The name is a homophone of "涟漪" (liányī), which comes from the Book of Songs: "坎坎伐檀兮，寘之河之干兮，河水清且涟漪" (kǎnkǎn fá tán xī, zhī zhī hé zhī gān xī, hé shuǐ qīng qiě liányī). It originally means ripples on the water surface caused by a gentle breeze, and she really likes this word.

In Xianyang, Mi Lian, as the daughter of Lord Changping, received a lot of flattery, which she got used to, but all of it was full of aristocratic elegance and refinement.

The 'rude and direct' expressions of goodwill from courtesans like those at Zuimenglou actually frightened her.

People of such lowly status have no right to speak to her, let alone offer her any advice, whether in Xianyang, Chenying, or Guangling City, where she briefly stayed.

But now Mi Lian has to spend every day with them, and on the surface, his status is still equal to that of these women.

This made Princess Wang feel very uncomfortable, and she even felt somewhat wronged.

Hua Ying paid close attention to Mi Lian's emotions: including arranging a separate room for her, providing her with food of the same standard as her own, and giving her the privilege of never having to perform on stage despite being a dancer in name only.

However, the operation of Zui Meng Lou required Hua Ying to keep a close eye on it from time to time, so she couldn't keep an eye on this eldest daughter of the Wang family all the time.

Her unusual circumstances and her frequent visits to Yi Er during her free time had already begun to subtly fill the Drunken Dream Pavilion with some unsafe talk.

Especially at times like these, Huaying should not interfere too much, otherwise it would only make things worse and could easily trigger unimaginable discussions behind the scenes.

Although Licheng is near Daze Mountain, it is still Qin territory. Because it borders Qi, many of the guests are Qin intelligence agents. These guys are very good at making assumptions. Even if they don't immediately think of the Chu princess, once the seed of suspicion is planted, it will become a hidden danger.

For the sake of merit, they don't care whether their suspects are innocent or not. Anyone who can be suspected has details that need to be investigated, and if Mi Lian is investigated, there will be more and more flaws.

Fortunately, her stay here is only temporary. As long as the war in the south improves, Mi Lian can return to Chu and continue to be the high-ranking princess.

But if the war in the south goes badly... there still can't be any risk of exposure here...

Hua Ying had previously made connections with Wang Li, the eldest grandson of the King of Qin, who had come here. If Wang Li were still alive, all the trouble could have been avoided by using the name of the Wang family. However, later, when Wang Jian attacked Chu, both Wang Li and Wang Ben of Daliang were recalled to Xianyang, and this connection was severed.

...

Zuimenglou usually opens at 5 PM, and business is particularly good on this night, with a large number of customers arriving early to enjoy the music and dance.

However, Hua Ying sensed something was amiss about the composition of the group: there were too many Qin people, and several centurions from the garrison camp had also arrived.

This was a rare opportunity to gather intelligence on the Qin army, but the risks involved were equally significant.

Mi Lian remained in her room, preoccupied with her own affairs. How could someone of her noble status dance for those lowly people?

However, this arrangement, which had gone smoothly for several days, was exposed by a guest who intentionally wanted to cause trouble:

"I heard that Zui Meng Lou recently adopted a girl named Qi. She's petite and adorable, and quite popular with Miss Hua Ying," a drunkard shouted as he staggered from the private room into the corridor, clutching a wine jug.

"She's been offered extremely high treatment, yet she's never performed a dance for anyone to see. She's so charming! Today I'm offering ten taels of gold to invite this Miss Lianyi to make her debut and dance in front of everyone. What do you think, Miss Huaying?"

The conversation of the patrons leaning on the armrests could be heard throughout the entire first-floor lobby. Someone was paying for dancers to perform in public, which was naturally a great thing and immediately drew cheers.

The guests in the other private rooms also became interested after hearing the drunkard's description.

When Hua Ying rushed over and saw this scene, she was shocked, but she had to put on a bright smile to appease the drinker who had made the suggestion.

The drunken guest was the youngest son of a local wealthy merchant. He was known for his womanizing and was a regular at the Drunken Dream Pavilion. After confirming his identity, Hua Ying felt a little relieved: no one was deliberately trying to cause trouble.

There are too many guests with sensitive identities today; we need to smooth things over.

He subconsciously glared at the dancer who was supposed to be with this regular customer, then personally helped her back to her private room and comforted her for a while before going back outside to explain to the guests on the first floor that 'Miss Lianyi's dancing skills are not yet proficient and she is still learning' and so on. Fortunately, this little episode of the night did not cause too much of a stir.

Mi Lian heard about this the next day and looked displeased, but there was nothing she could do.

Now she is living under someone else's roof... It's not just her; Hua Ying, like the entire Zui Meng Lou, is living under the Qin Kingdom's roof. Some things are unavoidable, and there's no way to resist them; one can only endure them.

However, the following evening, a guest mentioned the name 'Lianyi' again in the Drunken Dream Pavilion, putting Huaying in a difficult position once more.

The person who brought this up was a young boy, about thirteen or fourteen years old. He claimed to be a passing merchant who had heard that there was a girl named Lianyi at Zuimeng Tower with an extraordinary temperament, and was willing to spend thirty gold coins to meet her.

"Even if you don't know how to dance, you can still play the zither, play chess, and talk." The fair-skinned young man, who looked like he came from a wealthy family, smiled and fiddled with his folding fan as he made his request to Hua Ying in the private room.

"This price is well worth it for a Qi-style female dancer. If Miss Huaying continues to refuse, I can only go outside and sigh that Miss Lianyi is worth a hundred gold pieces and is not someone an ordinary person can meet."

The boy's regretful sigh made Hua Ying's heart sink.

If this news were to get out, Mi Lian would become infamous in the small city of Licheng, and the trouble that would follow...

"Young Master Tian is willing to pay thirty gold coins just to see my Lianyi. Zuimenglou will certainly not disappoint you."

Hua Ying smiled broadly, showing no sign of forcing a smile: "Hua Ying will go and give Lian Yi some instructions, and will play music for the prince later."

"Well, I hope I won't be disappointed with the thirty gold coins spent." The handsome young man smiled and beckoned to the musician beside him, "You should have met Miss Lianyi before, right? Introduce this 'Thirty Gold Coin Girl' to me."

"Come with me later, so we don't accidentally mistake some maid for Miss Lianyi and make a fool of ourselves."

Upon hearing this, Hua Ying, who had just stepped out of the private room, stopped abruptly in her tracks; her pre-planned scheme instantly became impossible to execute...

She could no longer give instructions to the musicians inside the room. After frowning and rubbing her forehead for a long time, she had no choice but to step forward and go to the real Mi Lian's room: it was risky to kill this young merchant, so she should try to let him sleep peacefully for one night.

However, this means Mi Lian still has to make an appearance.

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Just as Ji Yan, disguised as a man, was showing signs of growing impatient while waiting in the private room, a maid finally came to invite her to move to another seat.