cold clothes

Lengyi is going to make osmanthus cake for Yunmei!

Yunmei's birthday is three days before the Mid-Autumn Festival, on August 13th.

With a heart full of excitement, Leng Yi spent several days in the kitchen researching how to make beautiful osmanthus cakes. It was a birthday present, so it naturally had to be special. After thinking for a while, she decided to make a mold with cloud patterns and add some rose powder—"Evening clouds dyed red, a thousand mountains draped in evening charm." Hehe, after just over a month in ancient times, this science and engineering girl could even compose a few lines of poetry.

However, Nongyue immediately pointed out where her rhyme was wrong...

With the festival approaching, the entire Fengxiang Pavilion has been very busy these past few days. According to tradition, on the Mid-Autumn Festival, all the "entertainment venues" in the capital (I prefer to call them that) will hold a beauty pageant on Xiuyun Lake. There are limited spots available, and the girls from Fengxiang Pavilion who want to participate in the competition must be selected by Madam Hu.

Yunmei had no interest in beauty pageants. In Lengyi's eyes, Yunmei was as elegant as a chrysanthemum. However, she had recently become somewhat haggard, like the "frowning eyebrows" described in the book. Therefore, Lengyi really wanted to make her happy on her birthday.

"Ningbi'er, get up quickly, the selection competition is about to begin!"

On August 5th, Lingcao woke Lengyi up early in the morning so that she wouldn't miss the once-a-year grand event at Fengxianglou.

The competition was held at Jingya Pavilion. As soon as Lengyi arrived, she was amazed by the gathering of handsome men and beautiful women. Most of the beauties and handsome men from Fengxiang Pavilion were there, including the four top courtesans, thirty-three second-class girls, and handsome men from Langxuan Pavilion.

Leng Yi couldn't help but glance at the handsome men. Since the male prostitutes' quarters, Langxuan Pavilion, were separated from the female prostitutes' quarters by a wall, and the male prostitutes rarely ventured into the women's quarters, handsome men were a rare sight. A quick glance revealed that the number of handsome men was no less than the number of beautiful women; all wore white robes and had fair complexions. Leng Yi couldn't help but mutter: "No wonder they're called pretty boys."

Mother Hu announced the start of the competition. The first group to appear were Juanxin, who was skilled in playing the pipa, and Yulian, who was skilled in dancing. A pipa tune stirred the fish and dragons, and a dance with wide sleeves swayed in the breeze of the jade palace.

The competition was held in groups of two to five people, featuring both singing and dancing, with harmonious vocals. Leng Yi was completely immersed in the wonderful audio-visual feast, her mind drifting away, oblivious to the passage of time.

The sixth group made their appearance at Langxuan Pavilion. Two handsome men walked slowly out of the crowd, their lips like peach blossoms and their eyes bright and spirited. One carried a zither, and the other carried a sword.

Wow, I never dared to dream of such a handsome man.

Shouts of "Huai Lou! Qing You!" came from outside the arena, while a soft exclamation rang out beside Leng Yi: "Ah, Huai Lou, Qing You, oh my god, how handsome they are!"

As soon as Leng Yi turned her head, she saw Ling Cao's infatuated face.

Lingcao composed herself and explained to Lengyi, "Huailou is the top qin player at Langxuan Pavilion. Even in the entire capital, you might not find anyone whose qin skills surpass his! Last year, he even performed for the Emperor at the palace and received a three-foot-long red coral tree as a reward. And Qingyou, on the other hand…"

"Zheng——"

A clear, sharp sword cry interrupted Lingcao's words, and at the same time, the arena fell silent, with only the distant echo of a hand plucking the strings of a zither.

The wind stopped for a moment, and the next second, the sword whistled and the wind howled, and a hidden dragon emerged from the abyss.

Leng Yi didn't know how to describe it. In fact, Qingyou's sword dance didn't have any fast or dazzling moves, but her body was extremely graceful and agile, soaring like a startled swan and crouching like a perched crane, blending perfectly with the vast and distant sound of the guqin.

If the beautiful older sister's singing and dancing is like leading people into a garden of flowers, then the music and swordplay of Huai Lou and Qing You make people transcend the mundane world.

The moment Qingyou sheathed his sword, Lengyi's gaze lingered on him for a long time, while Lingcao was speechless at his handsomeness, and the other girls also looked on with admiration.

They deeply realized the importance of the wall between Nuanfeng Pavilion and Langxuan Pavilion.

There were no more performances after that, and Langxuan Pavilion only had one group, which shows that Huai Lou and Qing You had overwhelming strength, and no one else dared to compete for them.

Finally, everyone held their breath, awaiting Madam Hu's evaluation. Surrounded by four courtesans, Madam Hu possessed both beauty and authority, her face solemn. After three breaths of silence, Madam Hu spoke in a deep voice:

"Apart from Huai Lou and Qing You, no one else is qualified to participate in the Xiu Yun Lake Conference!"

These words created an oppressive atmosphere, as if death were imminent.

"It seems that your skills have not improved at all during this period of neglecting your discipline. I am truly disappointed! Those who are not up to standard should go to Granny Qin and Granny Liu to receive their punishment."

The girls immediately turned pale and answered tremblingly.

Mrs. Hu left with a cold face, leaving everyone feeling dejected. Although she wasn't being criticized by Leng Yi, Leng Yi was still frightened. In her eyes, her sisters sang like nightingales, danced like birds, and played beautiful music. Wasn't all of this pleasing to Mrs. Hu?

Leng Yi and Ling Cao returned to their room in shock. Yun Mei, after learning what had happened, smiled and said, "The Xiu Yun Lake Gathering brings together the most beautiful courtesans in the capital. What Madam Hu wants is not to compete with other brothels, but to outshine everyone else. Actually, the choice has already been decided, and we can't escape a scolding every year."

"Aunt Hu is so strict." Leng Yi felt like crying. It wouldn't be easy to work under a boss as decisive as Aunt Hu. The thought of working at Fengxianglou for the rest of her life made Leng Yi feel hopeless.

Yunmei's birthday was getting closer and closer, and Lengyi and Lingcao were so eager to surprise her that they were almost internally injured. Finally, on Yunmei's birthday, Yunmei was feeling a little uncomfortable because of her period and stayed in her room to rest. This made it inconvenient for them to decorate the room. Juanxin came up with an idea: "How about I send Yunmei away? I'll use the excuse of... rehearsing a new dance and have Yunmei give me some pointers from the side."

"Okay, we'll come over tonight once we've finished decorating."

Lengyi and Juanxin hit it off immediately. After Juanxin pulled Yunmei out of the room, Lengyi and Lingcao got to work!

Following the modern custom of birthday parties, Leng Yi surprised Yun Mei by decorating the room with flowers and silk, and hanging flower slips with questions written on them on the magnolia by the bed, waiting for Yun Mei to guess the riddles and win prizes, including osmanthus cakes made by her own hands.

These creative ideas amazed all the older sisters, who asked Lengyi how she came up with such brilliant ideas. Lengyi could only explain that this was how birthdays were celebrated in her hometown.

Aunt Chu and Sister Xiangyu brought over the prepared dishes; everything was ready. Outside the window, the setting sun shone brightly, and the sky was filled with vibrant clouds.

"Sister Lingcao, let's go quickly and call Sister Yunmei over!" Lengyi couldn't contain herself and jumped up, her face beaming with excitement. Seeing that Lengyi's small frame barely reached her shoulder even when she jumped, Lingcao laughed too, taking Lengyi's hand and saying, "Let's go!"

The two arrived at Tianxiang Pavilion but did not see Juanxin and Yunmei. The sisters practicing dance in the pavilion said that they had gone to the front courtyard. Just as the two were about to turn around, Juanxin returned.

Juanxin's brows furrowed with worry: "Yunmei has been summoned by Lord Liang."

"Oh no, what are we going to do? I wonder when Yunmei will be back," Bellflower said dejectedly.

"Isn't Yunmei on her period? How can she still go to meet guests?" Leng Yi became anxious and forgot about pretending to be a child.

But Juanxin didn't notice any change in her, and comforted her, "It's alright, Lord Liang is a gentleman, and Yunmei knows her place."

The carefully prepared surprise was ruined, and Leng Yi was quite disappointed, but she could only wait in her room for Yun Mei to return.

Leng Yi waited and waited, until the sun set and darkness enveloped the night, until the longevity noodles turned cold, until the candle burned halfway, but Yun Mei still did not return.

Leng Yi was alone in her room, feeling very miserable.

She thought to herself, feeling wronged, "If only I had let Yunmei know that a birthday banquet was being prepared for her, I could have finished dealing with Lord Liang as soon as possible and returned home."

Reaching out to stroke the rose petals, Leng Yi was feeling down when she suddenly heard some running sounds outside the door. Because it had been so quiet before, the sudden commotion gave her a bad feeling.

Leng Yi opened the door and went out, only to find many doors open, but no one inside.

what happened?

Lengyi wanted to run to the front courtyard to find out what was going on, but she saw Lingcao running towards her.

"Azure!"

"Sister Bellflower! What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

Lingcao, panting heavily, collapsed in front of Lengyi. Lengyi looked closely and saw that Lingcao's eyes were red.

“Ningbi…Yunmei, she…”

"What's wrong with Yunmei? What's wrong with Yunmei!" Leng Yi was extremely panicked, but Ling Cao couldn't even utter a complete sentence. Yunmei bit her lower lip and ran towards the front courtyard.

"No, don't go out!" Lingcao cried out from behind, but Lengyi didn't care about anything else. All she wanted to do now was run to see Yunmei.

As they ran towards the back gate, they found a large group of people standing there. Guards blocked the girls from leaving, and upon seeing the running guards in cold clothes, they shouted, "Stop! You're not allowed to leave!"

Leng Yi charged forward recklessly. The guards hadn't expected a little girl of only a few years old to have such strength, and because Leng Yi was too short, they couldn't stop her for a moment.

After passing through the corridor that Yunmei had led her into the backyard, Lengyi arrived at the bright and magnificent front courtyard, where music and dancing filled every seat.

Leng Yi was as anxious as if she were on fire. She looked around blankly, not knowing which private room Yun Mei was in. She only paused for a second before running upstairs. Her hurried figure disturbed the ongoing singing and dancing.

"Who is it? How dare you!" the old woman shouted angrily at Leng Yi, who then slammed open the door, startling Hu Mama and Lord Liang, who were both in the room, into looking at her.

Everything around was gone; all that remained was the naked, bloodstained, and wounded figure lying on the bed…

"Yunmei..."