HLnovel Chapter 92 Courtesan Contest 8
Chapter 92 Courtesan Contest 8
Chapter 92 The Courtesan Contest Part 8
"Hmm?" Liu Rushi frowned.
Wang Wenzhou said quickly, "Xu Yingjie saw the two of us outside the window, he'll definitely come in later. If you kiss me, I can swindle tens of thousands of taels of silver from him, and we'll split it evenly!"
In the Ming Dynasty, courtesans were similar to modern-day female celebrities; they mostly sold their art, not their bodies. Although they occasionally did sell their bodies, the prices were very high, and they weren't just anyone who could be bought with a small amount of money.
Especially for courtesans like Liu Rushi, who were top-tier courtesans, they essentially had complete personal freedom, and the concept of a "contract of servitude" simply didn't exist. Furthermore, the Ming Dynasty government opposed the keeping of slaves. While wealthy families did have servants, their contracts were similar to those of "long-term laborers."
Liu Rushi disliked Xu Yingjie. Seeing that Wang Wenzhou had set a trap for Xu Yingjie, she smiled slightly and nodded in agreement.
"Quick, he's here!" Wang Wenzhou quickly moved his face closer.
Liu Rushi frowned, but as she recalled the evil deeds Xu Yingjie had committed, she still offered her lips and kissed Wang Wenzhou's big face.
"Ruru, kissing is even more effective!" Wang Wenzhou whispered.
"Dream on!" Liu Rushi said irritably.
Xu Yingjie walked over with a livid face. When he saw Liu Rushi turn around, his expression changed, and he smiled slightly, saying, "Master Liu, you're here too? I haven't had breakfast yet, let's eat together!"
Xu Yingjie sat down without any hesitation.
"Xiao Jie, that's too much! Who told you to sit down? Go find a seat and eat. Don't get in the way!" Wang Wenzhou said sarcastically.
"Bo Xin is getting more and more witty. Today, I'll treat you to dinner." Xu Yingjie wasn't angry at all; he was very well-mannered. He waved to the waiter and ordered a few snacks.
"Ru Ru, shall I propose to you tonight?" Wang Wenzhou said, looking at Liu Ru Shi with deep affection.
"Propose marriage?" Liu Rushi didn't understand; this word didn't exist in the Ming Dynasty.
"A marriage proposal means I'm asking you to marry me!" Wang Wenzhou said with a wicked grin.
"Okay, if you propose to me in front of so many people, I might consider marrying you." Liu Rushi smiled knowingly, knowing that Wang Wenzhou was setting a trap for Xu Yingjie.
"Pfft..." Xu Yingjie felt a pang of heartache! Miss Liu, how could you treat me like this!
"I'm full. I'll go back and rest for a bit. I have to participate in the competition tonight. You guys continue eating, no need to see me off." Liu Rushi got up to take her leave.
"Xiao Jie, I'm full too. You ordered so much food when you first arrived, don't waste it, eat up." Wang Wenzhou also stood up, ready to leave.
Just as Xu Yingjie was about to stand up, Wang Wenzhou pressed him down on the shoulder and made him sit back down on the stool. "Waste is shameful! Xiao Jie, do you know how many people go hungry and toil every day just for a bite to eat?"
"Yes, Young Master Xu, please eat. We'll be going now." Liu Rushi smiled slightly, successfully adding insult to injury.
Xu Yingjie felt like crying. Why was Miss Liu suddenly being so nice to that fat man? No! He absolutely couldn't let Miss Liu marry that fat man!
On the way back to the inn with Liu Rushi, Wang Wenzhou asked, "Rushi, why do you hate Xu Yingjie so much?"
“One of my sisters died because of him,” Liu Rushi said sadly.
Wang Wenzhou pressed for details, but Liu Rushi did not answer. Wang Wenzhou imagined it: it was probably like in later times, a rich second-generation heir seduced a female celebrity, then ruthlessly abandoned her with a gun, and the female celebrity, heartbroken over love, committed suicide.
Upon arriving at the entrance of Yuelai Inn, Liu Rushi said, "Alright, I've arrived. No need to see me off!"
Wang Wenzhou smiled and shamelessly said, "Ruru, I think we should kiss goodbye!"
"Dream on!" Liu Rushi turned around, took Shuiyu's small hand, and walked away without looking back.
"I kissed you goodbye on an empty street, letting the wind laugh at my inability to refuse; I kissed you goodbye in the chaotic night, my heart waiting to welcome sorrow..." Wang Wenzhou sang "Kiss Goodbye" for a while, but seeing that Liu Rushi did not turn around to look back, he could only sigh and walk away.
“Miss, Wang Wenzhou’s singing is quite nice. Have you heard it before?” Shuiyu asked softly.
Liu Rushi shook her head. Wang Wenzhou was indeed a talented man; even the tunes he hummed were beautiful. But why was he so lecherous?
……
In the evening, the Flower Queen Competition was underway at the Hanshan County Gymnasium.
Sheng Lan pointed to the five girls on the stage and said, "Now comes the most exciting moment. Someone, light some incense."
Yuhan picked up an incense stick, lit it, and placed it in the incense burner.
Sheng Lan began, "This year's Flower Queen Contest will end in about an incense stick's time. Now, each girl can say one sentence to earn her a certain number of flowers."
Sheng Lan pointed at Tian Xiangying and said, "Now, please welcome Miss Tian, who is currently ranked fifth. Miss Tian, what would you like to say?"
Tian Xiangying took a step forward, instantly removed her clothes, bowed deeply, and said, "Thank you everyone for your support!"
"Yingying, I like you!"
"Go Yingying!"
Soon, Tian Xiangying's fans excitedly shouted and went on stage to present her with flowers.
Sheng Lan smiled and greeted her best friend, "Ya Jing, what do you want to say right now?"
Li Yajing thought for a moment and then said, "I'll sing a few lines of a little tune!"
"Shh..."
Please, stop singing!
Wang Qiang quickly sent someone forward to present flowers, but he was unable to appreciate the "out-of-tune king's" singing.
Helpless, Li Yajing still sang a few lines a cappella, though it was still a wailing, howling sound.
Sheng Lan asked Zhao Fengmin, "Miss Zhao, what do you want to say?"
Zhao Fengmin was dressed in a maid outfit today. She adorably ran a few steps and said sweetly, "Thank you, Young Master Ma, thank you, Young Master Yang, thank you, Young Master Lin, thank you, Young Master Sun, thank you to everyone who supports Minmin. Minmin loves you all!"
Below the stage, the four young masters quickly sent people forward to present flowers.
Sheng Lan glanced at the statistics sheet sent by the judges and said, "I just received the results from the judges. Soy Sauce Girl is currently ranked fifth, Tian Xiangying is temporarily ranked fourth, Li Yajing is temporarily ranked third, Liu Rushi is temporarily ranked second, and Zhao Fengmin is temporarily ranked first. Miss Liu, what would you like to say?"
Liu Rushi was still dressed as a scholar today. She smiled slightly at Wang Wenzhou and called out softly, "Wang Wenzhou!"
"I'm here!" Wang Wenzhou excitedly ran towards the judges' table and whispered a few words to Geng San.
Geng San walked onto the stage with the silver notes and said, "Because there are not enough flowers, we will use an equal amount of silver to represent the number of flowers today. The number of flowers presented by Wang Wenzhou and Lord Wang just now was 500 million."
"Pfft..." Xu Yingjie nearly vomited blood upon hearing this! He had prepared a total of 30,000 taels of silver notes today, but unexpectedly, the fat man had actually contributed 50,000 taels. No way! He couldn't let that fat man get cocky!
"Brother Zhang, I'm sorry, could you lend me some more silver notes?" Xu Yingjie asked his brothers for money again.
"Why bother? Fifty thousand taels of silver, what couldn't you do?" Zhang Shize advised.
"You didn't see it! This morning, Lady Liu kissed that fatso! My heart is broken! I must fight that fatso to the end!" Xu Yingjie said, his voice trembling with tears.
"That's right! Lady Liu can let anyone sleep with her! Just not that fatso!" a young master said passionately. "Brother Xu! Here, these are all the silver notes I have on me, you can have them all! No need to return them!"
"What a good brother!" Xu Yingjie exclaimed.