Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

When the dance ended, the dancers came forward to greet Jia Lian. It was only at this moment that Jia Lian began to understand the origins of these beauties.

However, she couldn't remember everyone, only that they were all famous courtesans invited by salt merchants from nearby prefectures. The furthest one had even come from Hangzhou, but happened to be in Nanjing to participate in the courtesan competition, so she was "invited" by the Bai family.

In terms of age, the youngest was fourteen and the oldest was nineteen. This age range was also the golden years for all the famous courtesans.

Jia Lian had been invited by Prince Bei Jing to visit the Prince Bei Jing's residence.

The Prince of Beijing's mansion was also nearly depleted; otherwise, the Prince of Beijing would not have inherited the title when he was just over ten years old.

However, although the Prince of Beijing's mansion had few masters, it had just as many people as the Jia family, especially women, including many beautiful women and concubines.

That's true. As the most prestigious princely mansion outside the royal family, it wouldn't be fitting if it weren't a bit extravagant. Besides, Shui Rong is a handsome and charming prince.

Shui Rong was also very generous, openly displaying the beauty and skills of the dancers and musicians in the mansion to Jia Lian. At the time, Jia Lian did not show it on his face, but he couldn't help but feel a little envious.

After all, the kind of life where one keeps a bunch of beauties in the mansion for their own amusement and enjoyment is indeed the dream of every man.

Therefore, having the opportunity to see so many beautiful women, not all of whom are both beautiful and talented, but at least beautiful and each with superb skills, Jia Lian naturally did not hesitate to appreciate them to pass the time.

Moreover, Jia Lian felt that the beauties here were far superior in appearance and quality to those in the Prince of Bei Jing's residence.

Even if Prince Bei Jing were of noble birth and knew how to enjoy life, he wouldn't go so far as to send people to Jiangnan to abduct a group of top courtesans. Only powerful figures like the salt merchants of Yangzhou could gather so many famous courtesans here at once.

"I just heard that some of you are skilled in Chu opera and others in Qin opera. I have long admired these two vocal styles, so I would like to ask you ladies to sing a song for me."

Upon hearing Jia Lian's words, the beauties skilled in this art went down to prepare with great excitement.

Putting aside the fact that they were already required to meet Jia Lian's demands, Jia Lian's status, appearance, and refined manner of speaking alone were enough to make these usually proud and arrogant courtesans willingly perform for him.

Even if they don't catch Jia Lian's eye this time, just receiving a word of praise from him is something to be proud of. It might even become their protective charm.

For these courtesans, there are few things that can protect them. The most important thing is to gain the praise of certain powerful figures, or even to establish some kind of entanglement with them. This will make others think twice before they dare to be disrespectful to them, wondering if it is worth offending those people for the sake of a courtesan...

Shen Pan'er had no idea that Jia Lian actually liked listening to songs. Her specialty was dancing, and she was secretly anxious as the other sisters stole the spotlight from her.

She considered herself to know Jia Lian the most among them, knowing that he was not a lustful man. This was also the reason she was determined to follow Jia Lian; after all, if Jia Lian were a lecherous man who would forget righteousness for the sake of beauty, she would not dare to offer herself to him so easily.

Therefore, she felt that someone like Jia Lian would certainly value his reputation. Even if they all behaved very well tonight, it was unlikely that Jia Lian would take them all away; otherwise, he might be branded a lecherous man!

Therefore, it's possible that it's just a one-night stand, and no one will be taken away at all.

If Jia Lian really doesn't want any of them, then there's nothing she can do. If he only intends to choose one or two, then Gu Qingyi will definitely take one spot. If someone skilled in singing takes her spot now, her chances will be even slimmer.

Just as the sisters finished singing two of their most famous songs from the Chu and Qin opera styles, drawing praise from Jia Lian, they saw the ship about to pass under an arched bridge. Shen Pan'er seized the opportunity to ask Jia Lian with a smile, "I've heard that you are a learned man, sir. Do you know of this bridge?"

She moved to Jia Lian's other side, her slender fingers pointing forward.

Jia Lian glanced at it; he was unfamiliar with Yangzhou, so what did he know?

Shen Pan'er wasn't really testing Jia Lian; seeing his expression, she immediately smiled sweetly and said:

"Green hills faintly visible, waters stretching far and wide; autumn ends in Jiangnan, yet the grass remains green. On the night of the bright moon over the Twenty-Four Bridges, where is the jade maiden teaching the flute?"

This is a famous poem by Du Mu of the Tang Dynasty. I wonder if you, sir, have ever heard of it?

Looking at the graceful and alluring beauty who uttered this poem with her lips slightly parted, Jia Lian was momentarily at a loss for words.

How could Jia Lian, such a high-ranking official, not know this poem? He knows it all too well!

Not wanting to voice his true thoughts, he feigned curiosity and asked, "Oh, could this be the famous 'Twenty-Four Bridges' of Yangzhou, which has been celebrated for nearly a thousand years?"

Shen Pan'er was delighted to see that she had indeed attracted Jia Lian's attention.

"Whether it is the Twenty-Four Bridges that has been praised for nearly two years or so, I don't know. After all, so many years have passed, and it is no longer possible to verify which of the Twenty-Four Bridges was mentioned in Master Du's poem. But, this one in front of me is indeed called 'Twenty-Four Bridges,' and it is the most famous bridge in Yangzhou at this time that is named after it."

Jia Lian smiled. It seems that no matter when or what era, there is always something that can benefit from the fame of a famous person. Clearly, there is more than one bridge called Twenty-Four Bridges in Yangzhou.

"But in any case, tonight is a fine night, and in this setting, would you not like to follow the example of the ancients and listen to a tune on the xiao flute?"

You must know, we have a true master of the xiao (vertical bamboo flute) here! Sister Qingyi's performance on the xiao not only captivated countless talented scholars of Jiangnan, but even the renowned scholar Gong Tingjiu, a contemporary vocal master residing in Suzhou, former provincial education commissioner of Jinling, and a prominent literary figure of his time, was astonished upon hearing it, praising Sister Qingyi as the foremost xiao player of her time!

Upon hearing Shen Pan'er's words, Jia Lian subconsciously glanced at Gu Qingyi below.

Gu Qingyi stood up and bowed to the two of them: "Sister Pan'er, you flatter me. It was just that the old master took pity on us courtesans and specially praised us."

Jia Lian was also somewhat curious: "It's one thing to talk about her, but why do I see you so animated when you pick up the flute? Could it be that you're also skilled in this art?"

"This servant dares not compare to Sister Qingyi, but I can accompany her in a dance. A duet of xiao and qin, or xiao accompanied by dance, is a very good and appropriate combination."

Shen Pan'er looked slightly embarrassed, and many of the others also grimaced, clearly seeing through her little scheme.

Jia Lian was naturally unfazed by her advances; in fact, as she smiled charmingly, she drew closer and closer to him, almost leaning against him. The air was filled with her unique fragrance, and his eyes were drawn to her exquisite figure…

As a dancer with exceptional skills, Shen Pan'er has a slender figure and a very graceful posture, especially her long, jade-like legs hidden under her gauze skirt, which are very eye-catching just from the outline.

Jia Lian had also been admiring the beauty for a long time, and after satisfying his eye candy, he couldn't help but have some other thoughts. So he deliberately turned his head to look at Shen Pan'er and said with a light laugh, "Just now, seeing how proud you were when you were reciting the poem, I thought you also had the 'unique skill of teaching the flute,' but who knew that you were just trying to use her as a pretext to curry favor. It's a great disappointment."

Upon hearing this, Shen Pan'er became anxious: "My lord, please don't underestimate me. Although I admit I'm no match for Sister Qingyi, I have still practiced this skill diligently. If you don't mind, I can play a tune for you!"

"Oh, really? It's possible now?"

"Now is..."

Shen Pan'er frowned slightly. She had initially thought Jia Lian was asking a pointless question, but when she saw the meaningful look in his eyes, she suddenly understood.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she couldn't help but roll her eyes at Jia Lian, as if to say, "So this is what you're like, a grown-up."

So she returned to normal and said in a sweet voice, "If you mean the flute that Sister Qingyi played for you when you came, then it can be done now. If you mean something else, hehehe, you're being too impatient. Even if you don't wait until you've taken her in as a concubine, you should at least give up all the other sisters first."

As she spoke, she deliberately gave Jia Lian a playful smile.

Hearing her say that, most of the other beauties blushed as well.

Those who frequented brothels were mostly aware of the romantic connotations of playing the flute. None of them had expected Shen Pan'er to be so bold as to say such things in public, which confirmed that she truly hadn't served Jia Lian.