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Notes:
花魁(huā kui): the word oiran, courtesans in Japan, comes
from the word 花魁.
It refers to the top or best entertainer of a pleasure house.
Wanhua house: Thousand Flowers house.
老鸨(lao
bo): Female brothel keeper. I used pimp to this.
Chapter 6 Wanniang
The woman who had spoken walked out of the courtyard, and
then someone in the house said: "Hongluan, it's better to apologize
to the Mama and say that you are willing to stay." There was no
reply in the house. After a while, a woman came out of the house and also went
out of the courtyard.
After listening carefully and examining her
surroundings, Shen Wen jumped down from the roof and landed like a leaf on the
ground. She slowly walked to the door and looked in through the gap in the
hidden door. There was no furniture in this room except a table and a chair.
There was a lamp on the table and a few plates stacked on top of each other. On
the floor was a girl, who must have been about ten years old was kneeling
upright.
She was kneeling and her knees were
between the vertical iron cones which were an inch high. The girl could not sit
down or move out of the way, but had to kneel straight up. She had a tray
on her head, her hands were tied behind her back, and her feet were chained.
Shen Wen thought ‘No wonder they can walk away without worrying, the door is
not even locked.’
Shen Wen slightly opened the door,
while she was still standing in the shadows. The girl in the room did not move,
her eyes looked at the ground and did not lift up. Shen Wen asked softly:
"What was your original name?" She suspected that this was the woman
she was looking for.
The girl's eyelids trembled and she raised her
eyes slightly, her body and neck not moving as she rolled her eyes to look this
way. Under the faint candlelight, her eyes sparkled, her beauty was heavenly,
and there was something so breathtakingly beautiful about her that Shen Wen felt
she had found a person.
Shen Wen in the dark shadow, the
girl could not see her, waited for a while and asked: "Who are you?"
Her voice was a little muffled. But the tone was gentle, and there was a moving
charm.
Shen Wen replied, "Passerby."
Shen Wen was only seven years old, and even though her tone
was sophisticated, it was hard to hide the girl's childish voice. The girl
lowered her eyes again and whispered listlessly, "You'd better go, this is
not a good place."
Shen Wen thought ‘just for your words, I would save
you even if you were not the person I was looking for’, and then asked,
"If I save you out of here later, can you work for me as a maid?
The girl didn't say anything and Shen Wen saw this stubborn
look on her face and was busy adding:, "Maid is just a name, otherwise I
will just save you and get out, where could you go?"
A line of tears flowed from the girl's eyes, and with a
choked tone she said, "Little sister, thank you so much. You should go now;
you will be in trouble when someone comes later.”
Shen Wen always cries by herself, still rarely sees others
cry, busy comforting her.
"I know that being a maid has wronged you, don't cry, I
treat you as a sister, you follow me first, when I grow up later and can be the
master, I will definitely let you get out of slavery ......”
The girl's tears flowed even more, and she slowly calmed her
breathing before saying, "Little sister, If you can save my mother and
brother, not to mention that I can work for you as a slave, even as a cow or a
horse, I am willing to do so. If I can't get out of it, then I will definitely
end this life as soon as possible, so that I can repay you in my life!"
When she made such a tragic statement, Shen Wen quickly
said, "Don't say that, I just want someone to help me, I don't want you
for the lifetime, let alone your life. Let's agree on ten years, shall we? For
ten years, you will be loyal to me and do not betray me.”
What's the use of talking about this when people haven't
escaped yet?
The girl now felt that she had met a fool, moved for nothing
for half a day, her tears gone, she bit her lip, sighed and whispered,
"Little sister, it's so late, your family is probably looking for
you."
Shen Wen also sighed: "It seems
that you do not promise, no way, I will save you, who let me like you as a
person ......" childish voice, but partial old-fashioned tone.
The girl almost laughed out, busy
the neck, very slowly turned her face, but still can not see the dark shadow of
Shen Wen, she slowed down the tone and said: "Little sister, thank you,
you remember, my name is Su Wanniang, not some Hong luan or green luan. My Su
family, men do not become servants, women do not become concubines, even if
they die, they can not lose their integrity and innocence, this is what my
father said. He passed away, I dare not forget even more. Little sister, go
away, and do not come here again." In case this child was sent to her by
those people to test her, she remained as before.
Shen Wen was happy: this was exactly
the person she was looking for! Her tone brought out the happiness: "Which
room do you usually live in? You don't sleep here, do you?"
The girl froze, puzzled by Shen
Wen's quick leap, and said with some hesitation, "I live in the north room
in the west courtyard here."
Shen Wen nodded: "Then I'll go first, I'll tell you
what to do in a few days. These days you don't have to get hurt, you don't
fight them so hard, you have to take it easy first. When I come to rescue you,
you have to be able to run." With these words she went away, and in a
flash the black shadow went up the gable wall without a sound. The girl in the
room didn't know whether to hope or ignore the conversation, and for a moment
she was disappointed.
Shen Wen ran relaxly towards Hou Fu feeling happy that she
had finally found the person after spending so many days.
Su Wanniang who was the Huakui of the capital in her
previous life was born in an official’s family. Her father was the head of the
Ministry of Revenue. Su Wanniang grew up as a beautiful and intelligent girl,
loved by her parents, and raised in a deep boudoir where she learned Four
Arts (piano, chess, painting and calligraphy). In the spring of this year, her
father was imprisoned for embezzlement. Her mother fell ill and her brother was
only four years old. Su Wanniang, who was about to turn ten years old, took
over the family business and immediately sold the family's assets to mediate
for her father, But within a month, her father died in prison before the case
was concluded, and then the family's assets were confiscated and the family was
driven out into the streets.
Her father's family was in the south part of the country.
The elders' family had already passed away and couldn't even find a messenger
for the other relatives in a hurry. Su Wanniang's mother, Pan Shi, was
originally the daughter of a low ranking official. She was sick and took her
children back to her parents home, but they didn't even dare to let them in for
fear of being implicated and affecting their official career. Reluctantly,
mother and daughter sold the jewellery on their heads and rented a small room.
Su Wanniang's mother became even more ill and Su Wanniang relied on embroidery
to make ends meet.
After barely two months, when Su Wanniang once went out to
buy medicine, she was seen by the pimp of Wanhua House on her way home. Once
they met, the pimp said that she was naturally beautiful and had a flirtatious
body, and that she wanted to buy her. Naturally, Su Wanniang refused. But the
old pimp brought her people to her house the next day, forcibly sealed her hand
in front of them and threw a few taels of silver to Pan Shi, who was lying in
bed with her, and robbed her.
After entering Wanhua House, Su Wanniang refused to comply
and escaped several times, but was caught. In the autumn of that year, Pan Shi
became more seriously ill. Su Wanniang escaped to see her mother lying in bed
and cried her heart out. When she was caught again, she gave in to the pimp and
asked for only one thing, that she should be paid monthly to support her
family. The pimp agrees. After all, two Guan tales money per month is
not much compared to a Daughter’s night in Wanhua House.
When Su Wanniang had money, she found someone to send
letters to her father's relatives. She wanted them to come and pick up her
younger brother. She also hired a woman to take care of her mother and younger
brother. The woman who had been hired made big promises, but in reality she
resented the fact that Pan Shi could not get up and could be difficult to
serve, while her four-year-old child was of little help to her, so she was very
impatient. Every time Su Wanniang had someone send her money, the people in the
middle took a percentage, and the amount that reached the woman was not much,
so she was even less concerned.
In the autumn of that year, Pan Shi became ill and died.
When winter came, Su Wanniang's brother caught typhoid fever, the woman did not
call a doctor and the child died after a few days of fever. What is hateful is
that the woman did not tell Su Wanniang in order to continue to get the money,
but only had the deceased buried casually in the countryside.
When the New Year came, Su Wanniang begged the pimp and was
finally able to go home for once. When she arrived at the door, the woman saw
her through the window and ran away through the back window. When Su Wanniang
knocked on the door but it didn't open, she panicked. When she found a
neighbour, she found out that her mother and brother had passed away long ago,
and she was still paying the person who indirectly killed them month after
month. Su Wanniang went mad on the spot. She smashed open the door of the house
and rushed in, looking at the empty room she cried out in pain.
Later, when people from Wanhua House came looking for her,
Su Wanniang cried and hugged her mother and brother's remnants and did not want
to go back. But she had used the money from Wanhua House and sued the officials
without any courtesy. So naturally she was pulled back again. Once again, she
was tossed around every day, refusing to learn the art. Soon after, her
father's relatives arrived in the capital and found Su Wanniang. They denounced
her for being degenerate and unfilial to her mother and not protecting her
brother, and for disgracing the Su family's ancestors, telling her that she
would be removed from the family tree.
Su Wanniang didn't cry this time and started learning the
art again, but only requested the pimp: she would not use her stage name from
now on, but her real name. When a woman enters prostitution, she is afraid of
insulting her ancestors. So who would use her real name? The pimp thought it
was because Su Wanniang hated the Su family for wanting to remove her from the
family tree and thus take revenge on the Su family. The pimp didn't care about
this, as long as Su Wanniang was obedient and her real name was good, so she
agreed.
From then on, Su Wanniang studied hard to learn the arts.
Three years later, she became famous for her ability to sing and dance, coupled
with her unparalleled beauty.
Her eyes were so beautiful that a song or dance could make
people so enchanted that they didn't know where they were going. It was once
said that "when Wanniang danced, nine of the ten streets were empty".
At the age of fifteen, she won the title of Huakui of
the capital. In order to auction off her virgin night, the Wanhua House has
arranged an expensive banquet of dance and song, where Su Wanniang will dance
and sing to show off her beauty. This dinner party has become a symbol of
wealth and elegance. Even the Crown Prince admires her and comes in disguise,
and he was assigned to the front row.
On this night, with a dance and song, Su Wanniang showed the
people a beautiful dance and a heart-warming song that should only be found in
heaven. She had made several gestures in front of the Crown Prince's seat,
making people think that she must be interested in him. The old pimp was also
very satisfied and she told Su Wanniang to please the Crown Prince more. Su
Wanniang really obeyed and all those years of cultivation finally paid off.
At the peak of the song and dance, Su Wanniang, who was
dressed in a multi-colored gown, swirls speedily around in a mist of fragrance,
the jade bracelets on her arms tingling. Underneath her feet are layers of
flowers swirled by the whirlwind of her dance skirt, as if she were a fairy
wandering among million flowers.
As the people were mesmerised by the scene, Su
Wanniang pounced straight at the Crown Prince with a bright light object.
Although she moved quickly, she is after all a dancer and has no kung fu
skills. The guard beside the Crown Prince used his sword sheath to block her
and she lost her aim. The Crown Prince sidestepped and Su Wanniang's blade only
cut the Crown Prince's upper arm.
Several men pinned Su Wanniang to the ground. Amidst the
chaos, Su Wanniang breathed out and shouted loudly, her voice was clear and
sharp, as if it could inscribe on metal. She said that the Crown Prince had
instructed someone to frame her father and then kill him in prison. She then
thanked the pimp in a loud voice for raising her and said she regretted that
she had no way to repay him in this life. She had been trained to speak clearly
and quickly and after a few words she bit her tongue before the guards had time
to gag her.
The Crown Prince was furious and ordered that the WanHua
House should be searched and investigated immediately. The pimps and others
were taken to jail and tortured to find out who was responsible for it.
Everyone in the hall held their breath and did not speak. The next day, Su
Wanniang's naked body was displayed to the public and then abandoned in the wilderness,
and the corpse was not allowed to be collected.......
Shen Wen knew that by this time the Eldest Prince, later the
Crown Prince with the help of his future father-in-law, had already started to
move. Su Wanniang's father was in the Ministry of the Revenue, in charge of
gold and silver, and was probably a dissident that the Eldest Prince wanted to
weed out, and it was no surprise that he was killed. The fact that Su Wanniang
was able to find out shows her wisdom. Shen Wen only regrets that she is too
young to be involved in the politics of the imperial court. It took so much
effort to find Su Wanniang, let alone save her father.
Judging by the timing, Su Wanniang had just been robbed into the Wanhua House
and had not yet succumbed in order to cure her mother and support her brother.
Shen Wen decided to do it as soon as possible. She could not directly ask Yang
Shi to redeem Su Wanniang from Wanhua House. There were many spies mixed in the
Hou Fu. If Su Wanniang's father was someone the Crown Prince wanted to remove,
Hou Fu could not take the initiative. If she wanted to save Su Wanniang,
she could only disguise it as an accident.
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