Many years later, at the edge of the cliff of that lonely peak, Ning Que recalled the scene when he first saw Mistress Jian. He could not help but look back and sigh for a long time, with a self-mocking smile and emotion on his face.
At that time, he was full of longing as he walked up the stairs. He felt that he was the legendary prostitute with full luck tonight. As he walked, it was as if he could see the beautiful courtesan waiting for him behind the bead curtain. However, he did not expect that when the little maidservant pushed open the red door and lifted the bead curtain, he would see a woman like that.
The wrinkles at the corners of her eyes were very clear, but her figure was maintained to perfection. Her large breasts, slender waist, and plump buttocks were wrapped in a cloth garment, but her forehead was extremely wide, like a smooth sand dune in the grassland. Her eyes were simple and amiable, and there was a layer of extremely light hair below her straight nose and above her thick lips. She wasn't ugly, but she definitely couldn't be said to be a one-in-a-hundred beauty. She had nothing to do with the Courtesan Queen.
He liked beautiful girls of the same age, and he also liked older ladies. Even a charming mature woman over thirty would have her own style. However, Mistress Jian didn't belong to any of these three categories. She was just an ordinary woman over forty with a calm and composed demeanor that was very much like a man.
Ning Que was slightly stunned and immediately felt that his expression was a little impolite. He forced himself to calm down and put on a sincere smile. He bowed to the woman with hands folded in front and asked, "Mistress Jian, what can I do for you?"
"Which family are you from?" Mistress Jian looked at him and asked with a smile.
Ning Que did not hide anything and told her about his background.
"Although there are many places recommended by the Military Ministry this year, you can pass the initial assessment of the Academy. I think you are also a talented person."
Mistress Jian looked at him with approval and continued, "But since you come from the border town, you should not know who I am. You can quickly calm down at our first meeting. Young man, you are really calm."
It took Ning Que a great deal of effort to lower his head. He deliberately avoided looking at her forehead that was wider than the grassland and the light hairs on her lips. He subconsciously said a few words of modesty when he heard these words.
Through the woman's simple introduction and the young maidservant's arrogant embellishment, he finally understood why the people downstairs paid special attention to Mistress Jian's name.
Thirty years ago, when the new emperor of the South Jin Kingdom was crowned, a singing and dancing troupe named House of Red Sleeves won the most applause at the ceremony and became famous all over the world. Three years later, the emperor of the Tang Empire wrote a letter to ask the House of Red Sleeves to move into the Tang Empire because there were many daughters of the Tang Empire in the House of Red Sleeves. The emperor of the South Jin Kingdom could not resist and could only agree.
Since then, the House of Red Sleeves had been staying in Chang 'an. For nearly 20 years, they only danced and sang for the Tang Imperial Court. They no longer participated in the grand events of other countries and gradually lost their fame among the people.
But for the real nobles and officials, this song-and-dance troupe, which was specially summoned by the most powerful empire and stationed in the greatest city of Chang 'an, was undoubtedly the best song-and-dance troupe in the world. Although the brothel they were in did not have a name, it would always be the number one brothel in the world.
Whether it was the envoy of the South Jin Kingdom, the officials from the Yuelun Kingdom who came to pay tribute, or the barbarian princes from the grassland, as long as they came to Chang 'an, they would always come to this brothel to invite the girls from the House of Red Sleeves to sing and dance a few times. It was rumored that after the Crown Prince of the Yan Kingdom was sent to Chang' an as a hostage seven years ago, he relied on the House of Red Sleeves to survive the first two years of his life.
Mistress Jian was not the most popular courtesan in the world.
But she was the leader of the House of Red Sleeves' singing and dancing troupe and had trained countless courtesans in the world.
…
…
"You are just a young boy. Since you want to enter the Academy, your future is naturally promising. Why do you have to learn from those pedantic scholars? It seems that you will never become a famous scholar if you don't go to the brothel a few times."
The smile on Mistress Jian's face seemed to be carved by a knife. No matter if her words were cold, questioning, or persuading, her smile was always calm and tranquil, and there were always so many crow's feet around her eyebrows.
But Ning Que could feel the subtle changes in the mood of the leader. He did not know why she had called him upstairs, but after hearing that he was about to participate in the academy entrance exam of the Academy, the woman's tone subconsciously became stern. This kind of sternness was not hostile, but somewhat like an elder looking at a late learner.
This kind of emotional change made him feel a little helpless and confused. After saluting with his hands folded in front, he softly explained.
"I am from the Yuelun Kingdom, but I have lived in Chang 'an for more than 20 years. Of course, I know what kind of temperament you Tang men have. To put it nicely, you can say that you are generous and generous, but to put it bluntly, you are too enthusiastic and too proud."
Mistress Jian stopped smiling and looked at Ning Que with a frown. Looking at the young and energetic face of the lad, she seemed to see the little green robed scholar who rode a little black donkey and arrogantly walked into the Great Wall many years ago. She said with disappointment,
"Do you know who that young man is? He is the only son of the Master of the Seven Noble Families in Eastern City. He has endless pocket money in his wallet. He can be generous, but what about you? According to the temperament of you Tang people, you must want to return the invitation when you are invited. Even if you are short of money, if you meet him again next time, you must invite him back even if you have to sell all the books in your house. Am I right? "
Ning Que awkwardly scratched his head and secretly admired the woman's way of looking at things. Although he was not a typical Tang person, he still had a bit of Tang style in this kind of thing.
Seeing him like this, Mistress Jian did not know why she was even more annoyed. She took off the ebony beads on her wrist and threw them on the couch. A series of questions came to him like a storm.
"You haven't even fully grown your body and soul back to normal, how dare you walk into this kind of bone-destroying and soul-stealing place!?"
"You are so poor and you still want to spend money everywhere. Have you collected the tuition fees and accommodation fees of the Academy?"
"How is your preparation for the academy entrance exam? Did you buy the real questions? Which ones did you buy? "
…
…
He had wanted to monopolize the Top Courtesan, but he met the mother of the Top Courtesan with a strong sense of morality. He was even scolded by the mother of the Top Courtesan. It was tragic no matter how he thought about it. If it had been another situation, Ning Que might have muttered in his heart, "Even if you, Mistress Jian, have friends with influential people and have a high status, you are not my mother. Why do you scold me as soon as we meet?"
However, Mistress Jian didn't use her power to oppress him. Instead, she behaved like an earnest, nervous, and nagging elder. There was a big "pain" written on her forehead. He was too embarrassed to refute her, so he stammered and said,
"It's my first time in Chang 'an … I was just curious. I just wanted to peek outside the building, but I didn't expect the sisters in the building to make fun of me. I was hot-headed … and inexplicably walked in."
Mistress Jian was slightly stunned. She turned to the little maidservant and coldly reprimanded, "His Majesty is holding a banquet for the return of Her Highness. This is such a big event. He just let those little bitches rest for a few days and practice dancing. Why are they so itchy? They even want to hook up with a young scholar! "
The little maidservant was a yes-man and did not dare to refute at all.
Mistress Jian rubbed her eyebrows tiredly and looked up at Ning Que, who was standing obediently at the door. She suddenly remembered that she had just glanced at the hall by chance and felt that the smell of the lad was somewhat similar to that of the dead man. She could not help but call out to him and ask him a few questions. But she did not know why she lost her temper for no reason.
She did not expect that the lad would not argue or be angry, but obediently let her reprimand him. She could not help but laugh and waved her hand, saying, "Since you are curious, I will let someone take you to have a look. After you have seen it, go home early and rest."
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