Fresh air! People! Ling'er twirled around like a crazy person, her arms above her head as if she was praising Buddha. Strangers on the street stared at her like she was insane but she didn't care!
Finally, she could step out of her room and explore this new world of hers! How exciting!
And as she soon as she crossed into the main street, she realized this new world came with one thing = SMELLS!
The smell of unwashed human, freshly skinned animals with blood slowly coagulating, defecating donkeys and horses pulling carts, and just overall stink from lack of hygiene.
When it hit her in the face like a ton of bricks, she nearly vomited right then and there. How could she forget that most people in ancient times had no sense of personal hygiene and that her nose was still "modern"?
Covering her nose with her sleeve, she quickly sidestepped into a store, trying to get away from the smells.
"Young Master, welcome! We have the best beauties for you! As delicate as plum blossoms, as pure as lotuses, you will not find any others like our beauties here in this pleasure house!" a gaudily dressed woman with big roses in her updo latched her claws onto Ling'er's arm and she couldn't pull away no matter what she did.
"I'm not interested in whatever you're selling," Ling'er replied coldly, trying to use her RBF¹ to scare away this auntie. But this brothel Madame had years of experience being shameless and kept pulling her further inside.
"Of course you are, handsome master! Why else would you step into our Heavenly Flowers pleasure house? You found the right place to come, to me Madam Gui! Don't be shy, young master! Our gorgeous beauties will take good care of you!" said the Madame as she continued to pull Ling'er into the main floor, motioning to a servant to bring wine and snacks.
She promptly plopped Ling'er on a stool in front of a stage platform where numerous other lecherous men gazed upon the dancing women with exposed arms and bellies. Soon two other young "maidens" sat beside her, plying her with wine and giggling like crazy even though she hadn't uttered a word.
/Is this what passes for "gorgeous" maidens nowadays?!/
The one on her right slowly killed her with her inane chatter and bad breath, hitting her arm playfully every few minutes as if she actually responded to her "flirting" in a bad show of "skinship." Every time she laughed, she brayed like a donkey with teeth to match.
The one on the left desperately needed an A.A. (Alcoholics Anonymous) meeting pronto because she secretly drank every cup that was refused by Ling'er. A mostly liquid diet caused the one on the left's face to be completely bloated with bloodshot eyes and dark circles from lack of nutrition.
Neither could've passed for "maiden" as they looked more like "hard knocks auntie." Looking around at the female companions at the other tables, it didn't seem like the other customers fared any better and yet this place was packed full of men!
/I do not understand ancient standards for beauty...at least there's a show I can watch/
Ling'er returned her gaze back to the stage and watched the dancers gyrate to the music while she nibbled on the snacks. At the very least, it did not smell like an overly flowing latrine mixed with rotting garbage on a hot summer day inside the brothel.
So she decided to stay, but little did she know what kind of malicious gossip she caused being seen entering into a brothel in broad daylight as the famous Young Master Fang...
A enticing floral scent wafted into the room, Ling'er unconsciously closed her eyes to enjoy it thoroughly before the music suddenly stopped.
She opened her eyes to see the stage empty of dancers with light silk curtains hanging from the ceiling that hid a solitary figure in the middle of the stage.
"Masters! Gentlemen! Finally, what you have all been waiting for is here! Miss Zi Wei²!
As the curtains slowly pulled back one by one, notes fell like clear droplets of water from the guqin² being played by the revealed figure dressed in lavender. Silence reigned as the audience hungrily drank in the enchanting figure playing on the stage.
Ling'er herself was mesmerized.
Never have she seen such a beautiful person in real life, male or female.
The delicate slender fingers slowly dance out each beautiful note on the strings of the classic guqin.
The willow-like figure in lavender silk with fitted bodice and an ornate waistband tie with detailed embroidery hinting at pale white moths flying under moonlight.
The slightly open standing silk collar framing the long elegant neck like unfurled flower petals, lightly held together by an elegant amethyst flower with pale green leaves at the soft dip where the collarbone met the neck.
Long lustrous hair simply adorned with pale lilac flower tassel hair pins and flowing purple silk ribbons that danced among the raven-black silk strands of hair.
The delicate willow brows framing limpid almond shaped eyes with lashes long enough to brush the tops of the cheeks as they focused on playing the guqin.
Although a thin lavender silk veil hid the lower half of the face, one could still see a faint outline of the perfectly dainty shaped nose, and a pair of soft lips with a perfect cupid's bow lightly pressed together looking like an exquisite cherry blossom begging to be plucked...
/Holy moly! What am I thinking?!/
Even Ling'er, as straight as an arrow, could not help but fall for this epitome of beauty that played skillfully on the stage, let alone all the other men that were already lustful in the first place.
When Ling'er thought back of all the beautiful actresses that portrayed famous "beauties" of ancient China, not a single one could even hold a candle to this figure on stage. The beautiful classical music from the guqin only heightened the feeling of eternal yearning in the heart and soul to possess this ethereal ancient beauty forever...
Too quickly, the song ended and the dead silent audience roared back to life with standing ovations and yells of "Magnificent! Wonderful! Perfect! Miss Zi Wei, marry me!"
Miss Zi Wei gracefully laid her hands back on her lap and turned her head bashfully to the side as pink blush slowly effused her cheeks.
At this point, ten burly rough looking bodyguards immediately stepped out to guard Miss Zi Wei from all the madmen who could not stop themselves from trying to storm the stage for a closer glimpse at this immortal fairy descended from heaven.
Even so, Miss Zi Wei had to immediately leave the stage because the men were not beaten back, so desperate they were to get to her.
Ling'er could only shake her head in appreciation. Even when she had all those surgeries to alter her entire body, it was not even 1/100th of the beauty of Miss Zi Wei.
However, all Ling'er could only think about was how she could recreate Miss Zi Wei's outfit so she could have a little tiny bit of ethereal beauty as well. As one who loved all things beautiful, of course she would hang onto this otherworldly beauty for as long as she can!
/If only I can meet her! And ask her for the contact info for her designer! And her hairdresser! And her makeup artist! And her nutritionist because no way she can be that skinny and have such perfect skin without a special diet...and her manager...and her.../
Ling'er mused silently over the details of the dress, completely ignoring the two ladies who finally huffed away angrily to find another customer who would give them tips.
/He must be half blind or dumb to ignore our mesmerizing beauty!/
Ling'er heaved a huge sigh of relief and stretched her arms as she cracked her neck. The dancers were back but she was bored and decided that this was enough for today.
Matriarch Fang might catch her leaving the home if she didn't go back soon, so she stood up and made her way to the door.
"Young Master! Young Master! Did you forget something?" asked Madam Gui, with a sickly sweet smile.
--
¹RBF = Resting B*tch Face - self explanatory
²Zi Wei = Crepe-Myrtle, a very pretty purple flower but also mostly because it was an important character from Huan Zhu GeGe (My Fair Princess) and reflects the elegant beauty of this character.
³Guqin = Chinese zither