Life in the world of film and television

The two sisters chatted for a long time. Looking at the energetic and heartless Yuan Jin'er in front of them, Nie Yunzhu sighed. They both felt that they were beautiful and popular, but who could understand their situation.

Those so-called gatherings of talented people and beauties may be seen as elegant and elegant in the eyes of the talented people. Whoever is attracted by a famous prostitute and becomes a guest at the scene, or wins the heart of a beautiful lady, is regarded as extremely elegant and enviable.

She didn't think it was very elegant, it was just a woman who was anxious about the future, slowly pretending to be herself, enjoying herself in hardship, trying to find a glimmer of light in the dark future.

In Jinfeng Tower, she worked hard to learn music, chess, calligraphy and painting, gained some fame, gained some autonomy, and was able to develop as a poor woman who only sells her art but not her life. But they don’t dare to be too famous, for fear of being noticed by those rich and powerful people, and becoming a tool for men to show their achievements and charm.

It would be better if these people followed the rules. If you don't follow the rules and go all out to get a woman, not many people can bear it.

During those days in Jinfeng Tower, she felt uneasy and trembling every day, fearing that she would become too famous and be favored by powerful people. I am also afraid that if I am too famous, I will lose my autonomy and be forced to sell myself.

Although Jinfenglou's mother is good, she can hardly be called a good person. She just follows the rules.

Those nameless girls, even if there are a few of them who can save their lives, it will be difficult to change the final result through various means.

It was those girls who resisted the most fiercely at the beginning. As time went by, they gradually became numb and adapted, and lived like zombies every day.

There were also those who went crazy and were kicked out directly and became beggars. The ending was quite miserable. Most of them could not survive the winter and died silently.

In those days, she was afraid and worried every day, worried that she would be like this in the future.

While carefully maintaining his reputation, he also trembled not to become too famous.

Finally, she got through it. She saved enough money to redeem herself, met her mother who followed the rules, and escaped from the devil's cave. This elegant place that the talented scholar never forgets.

Nowadays, Yuan Jin'er is facing the same situation. It seems that she has unlimited glory, but in fact, her future is slim. A new generation replaces the old one. She can still be famous for a few years, but there will always be a time when she can't keep herself.

At that time, it is not up to you to decide whether to sell your body or not. The best outcome is that you will be bought back as a concubine and become a tool for showing off.

Nie Yunzhu's thoughts were racing, and he spoke again after a moment: "Jin'er, if you really want to leave Jinfeng Tower, you must make preparations early and don't delay for too long. I will help you then."

Yuan Jin'er nodded: "Sister Yunzhu, don't worry, Jin'er is already preparing. It just depends on when the time is right."

The two discussed for a while, and Yuan Jin'er suddenly smiled and said, "Sister Yunzhu, have you fallen in love with someone?"

Nie Yunzhu's face turned red, and he neither denied nor admitted.

Yuan Jin'er was surprised and said: "Who is it! When will you bring him back for me to see? Jin'er will seduce him then to see if he will take the bait and test it for my sister."

Nie Yunzhu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He stretched out his hand and pinched her pert buttocks: "You little girl, you are talking nonsense."

Yuan Jin'er chuckled and said: "Jin'er is telling the truth. If a person is really good, it is not impossible for Jin'er and sister to serve him together. Sister won't be afraid that Jin'er will take him away."

Seeing that Nie Yunzhu was about to take action again, Yuan Jin'er, the scoffer, quickly dodged away, but was eventually caught up.

After a while, a voice begging for mercy came from the yard: "Jin'er is wrong! Sister Yunzhu, please spare your life!"

……

In the evening, Li Mu took Xiaochan home, and Su Tan'er was still busy.

Although he didn't say it, Li Mu also knew what Su Tan'er was busy with these days. Unsurprisingly, it was to become an imperial merchant.

There are two types of imperial merchants in the Wu Dynasty. One is the compensation to the Liao Kingdom since Tan Yuan and Heishui sued for peace twice. Among them, there is a huge demand for cloth. Although the price is not too high, it can build a relationship with the royal family. , even if it is small profits but quick turnover, it is still good.

The other type is high-end silk that the royal family really needs. Not only is this part very profitable, but if it can open up new opportunities, it will be of great benefit to the Su family's cloth business.

Even the royal family said it was good when it was used. What a good advertisement this is. Do you think it is good or not?

Of these two types of imperial merchants, the first is easier, but the second is more difficult.

There are only two ways to open doors, one is to take shortcuts and find connections, and the other is to be down-to-earth and improve technology.

The Su family has some connections in Jiangning. If they want to be an imperial businessman, they can't do it. They can only improve their technology and compete for opportunities with quality.

Su Tan'er took exactly this path, mobilizing a lot of manpower and material resources, working hard on technological improvement, and striving for opportunities. Although there is an element of luck involved, I don’t know if it will succeed, but as a nineteen-year-old girl, it is very rare to have such great magnanimity and courage.

If this path is taken and the Su family becomes an imperial merchant, Su Tan'er will no longer have any suspense about taking charge of the Su family. Even if the other two families want to cause trouble, they won't be able to make any waves.

In the next few days, Li Mu lived a very ordinary life, teaching, visiting brothels, and watching the oiran competition.

The atmosphere in Jiangning has been very lively these days. Walking on the street, you can see women's performances from time to time. People talk about how a certain talented man is jealous of which girl and fights.

Soon, the first three days passed, and the outstanding women selected from each brothel officially came to Bailuzhou to start the real oiran competition.

The location for the Oiran Competition was also excellent, with mountains and water at its back, and a vast area. Li Mu and Xiao Chan rushed to the place, and the huge venue had already been surrounded.

As floats from various brothels arrived one after another, more and more people gathered, and various snacks and entertainment were placed on the grass, making it very lively.

It's very easy to get into the venue, just spend a tael of silver or a lot of money, buy a flower, and you can get in.

When you meet a girl you like, you can vote with flowers. Whoever receives more flowers will be the oiran in the end.

After selection, there are still more than 100 girls who are qualified to participate in the oiran competition in the next three days.

There are a total of five stages on the stage, namely the boat pavilion, the teahouse and dance hall, the riverside small building, the small inn on the backing, and the round drum in the center.

More than a hundred girls took turns to perform on stage according to the results of drawing lots. In addition to performances, there are also drinks, meals, and various entertainment and rest areas.

Li Mu took Xiao Chan with great interest and watched for a long time before returning happily.

More than a hundred girls competed for two days, and the top 16 were finally selected, leaving one day to decide the real oiran.

It wasn't until the last day that Su Tan'er found time to attend with Li Mu and several little girls.

In the evening, as the sun set, several people arrived in a carriage. The entire venue was decorated with lights and colorful silks, and in the lake opposite, boats were lined up one after another, creating a magnificent atmosphere. It is said that the oiran competitions in Yangzhou and Tokyo were unprecedentedly grand and lively even more than in Jiangning.

Entering the venue, almost all businessmen from Jiangning gathered here. Su Tan'er had to be busy socializing with a bunch of people in the shopping mall. After all, she would be in charge of the Su family in the future, so she would have to deal with them.

Li Mu silently accompanied her and walked around in a circle. Just as he was about to find a place to watch the performance, Puyang Yi, the richest man in the Pu family in Jiangning, came with Qilan dressed in white to meet Su Tan'er and Ning Yi.

Qilan is the head of a very large brothel in the Pu family. She is very famous in Jiangning. Even Xiaochan and the other girls know that she is a popular candidate to win the championship.

Nowadays, the most popular candidates for oiran in Jiangning are Yuan Jin'er who is lively, Feng Xiaojing who is dignified, Luo Miaomiao who gives people a colorful feeling, and Lu Caicai who is often called You Ruorchicao. It is said that he plays the pipa extremely well.

As for Qilan, she has a scholarly air and is said to be good at poetry and writing. She often dresses with a feather fan and a scarf, and is said to have good literary attainments.

News had spread before that everyone in Qilan admired Li Mu's literary talents. Even Su Tan'er had heard about it and made fun of him.

Li Mu didn't take it too seriously. Although he is low-key now, he has a certain reputation among the literati in the entire Wu Kingdom because of his Song style and Slender Gold style.

In addition, he wrote a Shui Tiao song at the Pu Garden Poetry Society of the Pu family, and the two parties had a certain degree of incense. It was an excellent friend for the Pu family who wanted to squeeze into the circle of scholars.

Qilan is the top brothel under the Pu family, and there is news that she is very fond of his literary talent. It is difficult to say whether the Puyang family did this deliberately or Qilan's true intention.

After Qilan saw her, she seemed to be acquainted with Su Tan'er. Naturally, I won’t talk about poetry or anything like that.

Afterwards, they exchanged a few pleasantries. On the one hand, they expressed their admiration for Li Mu's literary talent. On the other hand, they also gave Su Tan'er enough face to be regarded as a good dancer. They seemed to be having a good conversation, but in fact they didn't say much.

After a while, Ning Yi and Su Tan'er took a seat with a few girls and chose the front of the stage. This area was basically filled with merchants from Jiangning City, and they were also the main force in giving rewards.

As the sun faded, the lights gradually turned on and the performance gradually began.

Su Tan'er took a loquat from the table, peeled it open, and handed it to Li Mu. In front of everyone, she played the image of a virtuous wife to perfection.

As night fell, the entire venue was full and the performance finally began.

Amidst the lingering sound of silk and bamboo, the venue became quiet. Luo Miaomiao opened her tail like a colorful phoenix, and several streaks of colorful silk flew out from the audience, attracting cheers from the audience.

Under the bright lights, the music is flowing, the light dancing is colorful, and it is really beautiful.

After Luo Miaomiao was Yuan Jin'er. In the first round of performances, several popular candidates for the Oiran title appeared one by one.

Luo Miaomiao's colorful silk dance is colorful and magnificent, Yuan Jin'er's dance is lively and lively, Feng Xiaojing's dance of birds toward the phoenix is ​​still dignified and grand, and Lu Caicai is as quiet as an orchid in an empty valley.

At the end, Qilan reproduced the ancient dance of Confucius and Lao Tzu in a song. The ink dress had wide sleeves and a leisurely charm. It really felt like the fragrance of ink, and it also brought out the bookish atmosphere in her body to the extreme.

Finally, it’s time to give gifts, and those who receive more than 100 flowers will be announced loudly.

Just listen to the above words read, "So-and-so son sent Luo Miaomiao and everyone 500 flowers; so-and-so son sent Lu Caicai 300 flowers to everyone..."

Su Tan'er saw her and looked at Li Mu with a smile: "Ms. sir, is there a girl you like?"

Li Mu shook his head and said: "I like a lot, like Luo Miaomiao, Yuan Jin'er, Feng Xiaojing, Lu Caicai..."

Su Tan'er smiled half-heartedly and said, "Since my husband likes me so much, why don't we all marry him as my concubine?"

Li Mu pretended to be surprised and held Su Tan'er's little hand: "Since my wife has said so, how can I refuse her husband?"

Su Tan'er pinched him angrily: "If you are able, my husband will redeem their lives for them and marry them home. I will let them be my sisters, and I will not pay for them."

Li Mu said: "Madam, this is what you said."

Su Tan'er felt guilty and said, "I said so, but these courtesans spend money lavishly. Can you afford to support my husband? I won't give you money to support them."

Li Mu laughed loudly: "It doesn't matter whether I can support you or not. My Tan'er is really open-minded. I have thanked my husband."

Su Tan'er rolled her eyes at him: "Ms. sir, do you know how much it costs to be a courtesan?"

After saying that, he waved his hand and called someone. After a while, the stage loudly announced again: "Master Ning Yining is sending Qilan and everyone two thousand flowers!"

When this voice came out, there was another exclamation from the crowd. Two thousand flowers were equivalent to two thousand taels of silver, which was already one of the big gifts tonight.

Looking at Su Tan'er next to me, I'll show you how much it costs to be a courtesan, Li Mu smiled helplessly, you have money, you can have fun if you want.

Puyang Yi also reached over from the other side, showing an appreciative attitude.

In the past two years, the Pu family has obviously wanted to promote Qilan, but in order to make people less gossipy and say that they spent money on it, they have been walking very steadily.

Otherwise, last year's oiran would have been Qilan, not Feng Xiaojing.

After two years of building momentum, Qilan's fame has spread throughout Jiangning City. She has accumulated enough. In addition, she is indeed beautiful and talented. She is good at dancing and has a good sense of communication with others. She will become the oiran this year. There shouldn't be much suspense.

After all, when it comes to throwing money, no one in Jiangning can do it better than the Pu family. He is not called the richest man in Jiangning for nothing.

Next, the competition continued until the last round. Qilan's singing and dancing skills of "Book Mountain and Ink Sea" overwhelmed the crowd. Puyang Yi finally legitimately sent 10,000 flowers to Qilan, who was fluttering in white clothes. Ascend to the oiran's throne.

Many people had expected this result, but Qilan did have this strength. The Pu family delayed doing this for two years, which was considered appropriate.

After the Oiran competition, there was a thank you banquet, which was hosted by the prefect himself and attended by celebrities from all walks of life in Jiangning. Among them were many people who had supported the Oiran competition, such as Li Mu who sent two thousand flowers.

After dealing with it casually for a while, he was about to say goodbye when he suddenly saw Cheng Yong, the fat commander of the Wu Lie Army, holding a wine glass and swaying in front of Yuan Jin'er, insisting that Yuan Jin'er accompany him to drink. .

Yuan Jin'er said a few perfunctory words, and Cheng Yong seemed to be angry. After being persuaded by several famous people in the scene, he returned to his seat, but it seemed that he was not too determined to give up.

Li Mu shook his head. He was planning to find someone to test the life and death talisman recently, but he didn't want to attack innocent people. Now it seemed that he had a target.

(End of this chapter)