Chapter 27: Chu Liuxiang's Eccentricity

Except for Xu Shanquan, the rest of the girls followed Chief Steward Yu out of the grand hall. Soon, four flamboyant women were led in. Lingran watched them enter with cold eyes, thinking, “They’re not even as pretty as us noble ladies! What are they showing off for!”

“Chief Steward Yu, what should we do with the one the Prime Minister didn’t want?” a young servant asked.

“Wait until tomorrow and ask Young Master Hongxiao for instructions,” he replied.

As they spoke, the hall suddenly brightened—the lights inside shone even more radiantly. Lingran turned her head and saw that the curtains inside had been drawn up by the four courtesans who had just entered. To her surprise, the window panels were fitted with glass, not white paper—you could see everything inside perfectly clearly.

Chief Steward Yu announced, “The Prime Minister orders you all to watch and learn. Why are you just standing there?”

Learn what? Lingran glanced at the bed inside without thinking and was instantly so shocked that her face flushed crimson and her mind went blank.

The four courtesans were gathered around the bed, expertly removing their robes until they were completely naked, then moving forward to help Chu Liuxiang and Young Master Hongxiao undress…

This was far too indecent! They were actually going to give a live performance!

Some of the other girls screamed at the sight, some hastily covered their faces. Lingran closed her eyes, but Chief Steward Yu scolded them to watch and learn carefully from the side…

Unable to resist, she opened her eyes again and saw Chu Liuxiang, tipsy and languid, casting a lecherous glance at Xu Shanquan, who stood at the bedside, trembling and hugging her arms tightly.

Lingran saw Chu Liuxiang mouth something, but through the glass she couldn’t hear what was said. Two of the women had already turned their attention to undressing Xu Shanquan.

Xu Shanquan twisted and struggled, but to Lingran, the resistance seemed half-hearted. Soon, she too was stripped bare.

This girl’s figure was truly stunning—even Lingran, as a fellow woman, was consumed with envy.

But the problem was, the scene inside grew ever more explicit. If she kept watching, she’d surely go blind! When she saw Chu Liuxiang personally undressing Young Master Hongxiao, Lingran could only resort to crossing her eyes until everything blurred, cursing Chu Liuxiang’s ancestors in her heart.

The other girls were forced by Chief Steward Yu to watch in utter silence; no one knew what they could possibly be thinking.

After a while, Li Tangmei suddenly covered her face and squatted down, crying. Two young servants hurried over to drag her up, but she refused to move and they couldn’t budge her.

Seeing this, Chief Steward Yu strode over and kicked her; no one knew where she was struck, but she immediately froze, allowing the servants to press her face against the window.

Wow! Even Chief Steward Yu was a trained fighter!

Lingran saw Li Tangmei’s face pressed against the glass, tears streaming down her cheeks in abject misery. Curiosity piqued, Lingran risked another glance inside.

Heavens above!

It was enough to make one’s nose bleed. Chu Liuxiang was clearly an exhibitionist—doing such things and making others watch. Judging by how blasé Chief Steward Yu and the others seemed, they must be used to this kind of spectacle.

Within the red silk canopy, Xu Shanquan was already pinned to the bed by Chu Liuxiang, who was crawling over her. Two of the courtesans knelt beside them, caressing Chu’s chest and back, while the other two practically draped themselves over Young Master Hongxiao. Fortunately, Hongxiao’s lower body was still covered by a thin silk sheet…

Cross my eyes, cross my eyes!

Lingran, though a modern woman, was hardly liberal enough for this. Chu Liuxiang was truly a piece of work.

This couldn’t go on. If that old fox Chu sobered up tomorrow and came looking for her, discovering she was a fake ugly girl, what would become of her? Besides, it made no sense for Liu Yongcheng to send him a cross-eyed beauty! She’d acted recklessly in the moment; tomorrow, disaster might strike!

She glanced at the pale-faced Biqing and Yuan’er. It seemed only she could take a chance now. If they all got stuck here, there would be no way out. Judging from tonight’s events, at least those two wouldn’t be in any immediate danger.

She had long since tossed aside everything Liu Yongcheng and Peng Lun had instructed her to do. In her heart, she cried, “I’m sorry, sisters—I need to find a way to escape! Heaven help me, let Chu Liuxiang forget all about me by tomorrow!”

She quietly pulled the gold hairpin from her hair, slipped off the chain, and suddenly knelt by Chief Steward Yu’s side, clutching at his robe and thrusting the hairpin and bead chain into his hands, wailing, “Chief Steward! I’ve eaten something bad—I need to go to the latrine… Please, have mercy on me!”

Chief Steward Yu, being so close to the Prime Minister, had little interest in such trifles, but on second thought, the Prime Minister had already said he didn’t want this cross-eyed girl. Letting her go would be a convenient favor.

He eyed Lingran, intending to let her leave, but suddenly something felt off. His expression darkened. “When you first arrived, I clearly didn’t see you were cross-eyed. Were you making a fool of the Prime Minister just now?”

Lingran burst into tears, covering her face. “Chief Steward, you don’t understand! I’m not always like this. I was gravely ill as a child—now, whenever I’m nervous, it happens… Please, have pity!”

Chief Steward Yu thought: This girl seems clever enough. If she doesn’t wish to serve the Prime Minister, keeping her around might only cause more trouble.

Without betraying his thoughts, he slipped the items into his sleeve. “Very well. Even if you didn’t have this problem, the Prime Minister wouldn’t want you. Go to the front courtyard and report to Madam Li, who brought you here. Tell her I said to assign you to some remote garden as a menial maid.”

Lingran hadn’t expected him to be so accommodating; he immediately freed her from her predicament. She thanked him profusely and hurried away, feeling a pang of guilt for Biqing and Yuan’er, but she simply dared not remain. Gritting her teeth, she didn’t look back.

Moonlight sifted through the leaves as Lingran followed the forest path, desperate to put as much distance as possible between herself and the grand hall.

She finally reached a small wooden gate, but when she tried the latch, she found it locked from outside. In the dead of night, she didn’t dare bang on the door, so she skirted along the wall, searching for another exit.

Who knew the garden would be so vast? She wandered in circles and soon became hopelessly lost. She looked up and saw a small hill rising in the woods. If she climbed up, perhaps she could see where the courtyard was and find her way there by dawn, if necessary.

Resolved, she found the stone steps and began to climb.

The little hill was planted with fruit trees, and clusters of jasmine bordered the path on both sides, perfuming the summer night with a heady fragrance. If not for being trapped on that pervert Chu Liuxiang’s estate, Lingran might have lingered to enjoy the scene.

She finally reached the top and was about to breathe a sigh of relief when she suddenly caught sight of a man in white standing atop a projecting boulder, hands clasped behind his back.

His long hair flowed freely, sleeves billowing in the wind—he looked like an immortal exiled to the mortal realm.

Could he be lost too? Or… was she about to meet a spirit in the dead of night?

Lingran rubbed her eyes.

The man in white slowly turned his head.

In that instant, Lingran was struck dumb for the Nth time that night.