The Tiantang House was in Chang City, and that city was the capital of the Si Long Empire. The Empire was a large land where humans lived in peace, and the eight kingdoms within the empire were ruled by their King.
All the kingdoms under the Kings bowed before the Imperial Palace led by the Emperor, and it could be said that even the Kings were powerless when compared to the Emperor and all the officials in the Imperial Palace.
And the reason for that was because the Emperor as well as the officials in the Imperial Palace were not only rulers in Si Long, but they were also protectors of all land and water in Si Long.
Everyone who lived outside the Imperial Palace was normal humans with no spiritual power, but the ones living in the Imperial Palace were dragons who had protected the empire for hundreds of years.
That was why the power of the people in the Imperial Palace was absolute, and humans could only listen to them under any circumstances.
Powerless humans were usually hesitant of going to the Imperial Palace for several reasons, but the most popular reason was that the dragon aura was too much for them.
However, it was still an honor when the Tiantang House was invited to entertain the Emperor and the officials in the Imperial Palace, and everyone in Tiantang would definitely look forward to the opportunity.
Xia Qiao was one of the courtesans in Tiantang who was looking forward to the opportunity, but perhaps the reason was not the same as the other girls in the place.
"Xia Qiao! Where is Xia Qiao!"
Someone suddenly shouted from outside the dressing room, and Xia Qiao knew that it wasn't He Ehuang because the girl in red was still standing in front of her with an arrogant expression on her face.
A voice coming from outside caused the two of them to turn towards the door, and they could see how another girl in purple seemed to be struggling to breathe as if she had just run from a faraway place.
Maybe the girl did run before coming to the dressing room, but Xia Qiao was sure the girl only ran from the hall of Tiantang because she saw the girl there when she performed on the stage earlier.
The girl in the purple hanfu had long brown hair that reached her back, and when her light brown eyes saw the person she was looking for, she suddenly gasped before walking toward that person.
"What are you doing here, Xia Qiao? Don't you know that the hall is in chaos right now? A middle-aged man suddenly said that he wants to buy you, and he is talking to our boss now. I was asked by our boss to call you! Let's go back to the hall immediately!" The girl in purple explained the situation frantically, and Xia Qiao widened her black eyes upon hearing that.
"Haiz! What's new about that, Ah Wen?" He Ehuang calmly asked the panicked girl while crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Our guests always say that they want to buy us, but at best, they just want us to accompany them to drink. Maybe they'll ask us to sing, dance, or play some instruments too, and that's no big deal."
The girl who had just come to the dressing room was called Lei Wen, and she was the same age as Xia Qiao. She was young like Xia Qiao, and that was why He Ehuang also treated her unkindly because of her jealousy.
"I think tonight is not the same as usual, Ehuang jiejie," Lei Wen replied to the senior. "The man said that he was willing to pay with all the gold coins in his fat pocket, and he said that he wanted to take Xia Qiao home and asked her to take off her veil."
He Ehuang raised an eyebrow upon hearing the information which was quite shocking to her, while Xia Qiao remained silent even though she was quite nervous because of what she had just heard from Lei Wen.
Tiantang House was different from other brothels in the empire because they had different principles all those years ago, and one of the principles was that they wouldn't sell prostitutes in their place because they didn't see the girls as commodities.
That was the reason why Xia Qiao decided to join Tiantang a month ago, but now when a rich man suddenly wanted to buy her, she was nervous that her boss wouldn't be able to refuse the temptation of the gold coins.
"I really don't understand why a guy would want to buy a girl like this," He Ehuang spoke arrogantly as she looked at Xia Qiao from head to toe. "Her body is good, but it's not the best. She does have a talent for singing and playing musical instruments, but that is her only strength. What's so good about a girl who doesn't even want to show her face? I'm sure she's very ugly under the veil, but a stupid rich man is even willing to pay just to remove her veil? That's ridiculous."
Even in this situation, He Ehuang still took the time to insult Xia Qiao, but Xia Qiao remained silent because she was still thinking about her fate tonight. Her arched brows furrowed uncomfortably, but a hand suddenly landed on her shoulder to break her reverie.
"Let's go to the hall now," Lei Wen was the one who had just patted Xia Qiao's shoulder and voiced her suggestion. "If you don't get there soon, we'll both be in trouble. You know how scary our boss can be when she's angry, right?"