When he came back from jogging the next morning, the sun was shining brightly from the east. It was not too hot these days, but the weather was good, so it felt good.
In the Top Courtesan Competition last night, the assassination that Ning Yi had expected did not happen. The gaze that he had glimpsed earlier was probably an illusion. After watching the dance and dance on different stages with Xiaochan, he went home. It was a peaceful night. When he went out for jogging in the morning, he heard Nie Yunzhu talking about what happened last night.
"Last night, Jin'er and I saw Liheng behind the stage. At that time, Liheng was standing in front, eating a big pancake in his hand. Jin'er laughed to death. She said that you did not care about your image and did not look like the number one scholar. When she went out to dance, you were still eating the pancake. When you came back, you said with a smile that if there was a scholar eating a pancake while she was dancing in Golden Wind Restaurant, it would be very interesting … "
Only then did Ning Yi remember that Yuan Jin'er had a late performance last night. He was hungry at that time, so he did eat a pancake while watching the whole performance. He said with a smile.
"But Jin'er is a strange girl. Since she knew you yesterday, if she saw you again tonight, she might come out to make trouble for you. Liheng, you have to be patient …"
After jogging back home, Su Tan'er had already washed up and was waiting for him to have breakfast. "Just now, Wen Fang and Wen Ding came to thank Husband for helping them yesterday. But now they have an appointment, so they ran away early. They are really not sincere at all …"
Su Tan'er said with a smile. Ning Yi shook his head. "I just met them. I did not help much."
"Husband, you have to be modest again. Just now, when Juan'er and Xing'er went out, they heard those servants talking about Husband. They said that Chen Jiwen did not dare to write poetry last night. He just sat by the side, and Chen Jiwen did not dare to write poetry. He was high-profile before, but now he lost all his arrogance. Hee, it is a pity that I was not there last night and did not see it … "
"How did it spread so fast …"
Su Tan'er smiled and said, "And just now, Wen Fang and Wen Ding said that Miss Tang entered the top 16 of the Top Courtesan Competition because of Husband's words …"
The latter was a rather magical thing. Ning Yi touched his nose and said, "That has nothing to do with me."
To be honest, it was hard to say whether they were related or not. In last night's Top Courtesan Competition, Tang Jing was not a popular contender. She was not very famous now and was far from Qi Lan, Lu Caicai, and the others who were good at dancing. Although her dancing and appearance were good, she was still a little nervous and inexperienced.
Previously, no one was optimistic that she would enter the top 16. However, when the rankings were announced, she actually entered the top 16 at the very end, so everyone was shocked. Then, the matter of Ning Yi intimidating Chen Jiwen at the top of the Tower of Literature and Ink and Ning Yi and Li Pin praising her dance as "very beautiful" was discussed by some people. Before that, it had already spread far and wide. At this time, it was even more magical.
Let's talk about how many poems other gifted scholars have written, but this Ning Yi only used five words, 'The dance is very beautiful', and then passed on the phrase, 'Precious is a piece of sincerity', to make other people unable to criticize a poor poem. Later, some people also talked about it. It was said that after hearing Ning Yi say "very beautiful", the young master of the Puyang family, Puyang Yi, actually gave Tang Jing five hundred flowers in passing, so that she could enter the top 16.
Although 3000 people was not a lot, and what was announced later was only a part of it, in short, the reason why Miss Tang Jing entered the top 16 became the most interesting story on the first night of this year's Top Courtesan Competition, with the twists and turns. For a moment, Ning Yi also felt a little helpless.
During the day, there were still classes, and Jiangning was still noisy. In the evening, when he and Xiaochan went to the vicinity of Egret Island, the layout of the venue had changed.
Last night, there were a total of five stages. The people who went in to watch the performances were actually relaxed, but tonight it was official. At this time, the ingenuity of the location could be seen. A large stage was set near the river bank, and most of the front was a slowly rising hill. At this time, many seats had been set up. On one side of the river, there was a small building not far away, which was also a viewing point. Behind the stage, there were some large and small tents distributed in the open space as the background, which was prepared for each building.
There were a total of 16 girls, and tonight, each of them would perform twice. In the surrounding spectator seats, a little bit in front of them was actually also divided into areas. The best viewing position of the ship was specially for the dignitaries. The 16 brothels also marked some seats for their supporters, and most of these seats were better. On the other side of the ship, there was a small building near the empty space in front of the stage. Some would prepare a banquet, and even if there were no tables, they would arrange for some girls to carry delicious snacks to serve.
Ning Yi and Xiaochan only bought the most ordinary flower, which was probably a seat in the middle or at the back. However, it was not a big problem, and anyway, Xiaochan had a lot of snacks in her arms. However, when the two found a seat with a slightly better view and sat down, they found that the problem was not so simple.
First, Su Wending, Su Wenfang, and Tang Jing and a group of people came over. Tang Jing thanked Ning Yi, and then the mother in the building began to invite Ning Yi to sit in the front. After rejecting, a scholar that he knew from before also passed by. "Brother Ning, why don't you sit in the front row?" Not long after, Puyang Yi also came over, sat at the side, and chatted with him for a while. This time, he did not say anything to invite Ning Yi, but only left after confirming that Ning Yi wanted to watch the show in peace.
Then, Li Pin also noticed him and came over to say something.
This time, Li Pin sat over to cheer for Lu Caicai, but she also knew Ning Yi's character. Once he sat over, even if there was a lot of social interaction, she naturally did not try to persuade him.
In short, the seats in the front were mostly occupied by some famous people. Occasionally, people would talk, and people could be seen pointing over, but not many, probably talking about the incident with Tang Jing last night. Occasionally, when people came over, Xiaochan sat at the side and watched without saying a word, desperately eating snacks, like a greedy mouse, and then asked, "Young Master, why don't you go to the front?"
"Do you want to go to the front?"
"No." She smiled sweetly. "Xiaochan thinks it's fine here."
Xiaochan knew more about this competition than Ning Yi. When she was free, she told Ning Yi about the grand occasion of the competition when she came to play with Miss, and some interesting things. During this period, Ning Yi saw that Yuan Jin'er again. She must have come out to thank those supporters before the performance, pacing back and forth in front, and then looked over here … Theoretically, she and Ning Yi had not been introduced in a formal occasion, so they could not be considered as "acquaintances", and naturally would not come over. Not long after Yuan Jin'er returned, Ning Yi also saw Nie Yunzhu's figure poking her head out from the shadows. Yuan Jin'er smiled and pointed in this direction, then smiled and pulled Nie Yunzhu back.
"Young Master Ning." At the last moment before the competition officially began, an acquaintance came over. This was Lu Agui, who followed beside Kang Xian. After greeting, he pointed in a certain direction of a pleasure boat. "Old Master is over there, seeing that Young Master Ning and Miss Xiaochan seems to be a little disturbed here. If there is no need to entertain, you might as well go to that boat to watch. That boat is the property of the Princess Residence. The second floor is filled with idle people, the most casual, and the location is not bad. "
Ning Yi looked over there. The location of the pleasure boat was indeed good, and there were not many people on the second floor. He looked at Xiaochan, then smiled and nodded. The two of them followed Lu Agui all the way to the second floor of the pleasure boat. As expected, there were not many people on the second floor. The people gathered here were all young people, and some maids and servants were busy. Lu Agui arranged for him and Xiaochan to sit in front of a window. There were all kinds of fruits on the coffee table beside them. Compared to the crowd below, the top floor seemed a little empty and cold. Lu Agui smiled and said, "If you have friends, you can invite them up to have a seat. The place is big. If there is anything you need, just tell the servants. Oh right, Old Master is over there. "
Kang Xian also had some social engagements. Right now he was on the main ship where the high-ranking officials and dignitaries were gathered, separated by a pleasure boat. As Lu Agui spoke, the other side also looked over, smiled and nodded in acknowledgment.
Next to Ning Yi and Xiaochan, there were two unidentified men sitting by the window. When they saw Ning Yi and Xiaochan come up and sit down, they cupped their fists and smiled at Ning Yi. Then, they said something to Lu Agui, probably asking about Ning Yi's identity. Xiaochan occasionally looked at them. After a while, she moved her chair and leaned against Ning Yi's side. Only then did she feel at ease and prepared to watch the performance.
On Ning Yi's side, there was a pair of siblings. The older sister was probably younger than Xiaochan, probably thirteen or fourteen years old. However, her expression was rather serious, like a little adult. Originally, she had turned her head to look at Ning Yi's side. When Ning Yi looked over, she naturally turned her gaze to the stage. However, when Ning Yi turned his gaze away, her gaze turned back again. It was as if she had curiously intended to look for five seconds, but only looked for four seconds. When she was discovered by Ning Yi, she turned her head back. At this time, she still had to openly make up for one second. The younger of the siblings was about eleven or twelve years old. He sat there looking left and right curiously. When the performance began, he pulled his chair and leaned over, as if he wanted to tell Ning Yi a secret.
"Hey, are you that Ning Yi, Ning Liheng? The Ning Liheng who wrote the Shuidiao Getou and the Green Jade Case? I have a few questions to test you. If you can answer them … "
"No."
"Huh?" The little boy was slightly surprised.
Ning Yi mysteriously lowered his head. He covered his mouth with the back of his hand and whispered, "I'm not Ning Liheng."
"… Oh."
The little boy was stunned for a while. He resentfully dragged his chair back to his sister's side. Then, probably to report the result, the sister lowered her head and said vaguely, "He lied to you …" The rest was unknown.
Just as Lu Agui had said, no one would come up to disturb them. The performances below were enthusiastic. Occasionally, there would be thunderous cheers. Ning Yi and Xiaochan watched as they ate. In the gaps between performances, the number of flowers that so-and-so had presented to so-and-so girls would be revealed. There were also scholars who had made masterpieces. After some celebrities had seen their works, they would also be read out to boost the momentum. The dignitaries on the ship actually had women who supported them. Occasionally, one could see the girls going up to thank them after their performances. The main officials of the Jiangning region, including Chen Yong and Song Xian, were also on the ship. However, Ning Yi did not have the same thoughts as he did last night. He naturally watched the show in peace.
After a few performances, Xiaochan went to the side to get a set of Go. She and Ning Yi set it up on the small fruit table. Under the changing lights below, she and Ning Yi played five-in-a-row. The atmosphere was comfortable, relaxed, and interesting. After a while, the little boy next to her dragged his chair over again. He rested his chin on his hand and quietly watched the game. After a while, he said, "That's not how you play Go …"
It was also during this time that a woman walked past the crowd below the pleasure boat. She raised her head and looked at the main pleasure boat for a moment. Then, she disappeared into the crowd again.
Under the night sky, the festive and auspicious atmosphere on the riverside was still increasing as the atmosphere of the night deepened and the song and dance continued …
*****
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