Chapter 246: Where to Find a Kindred Spirit in the World

Pei Mianman, in her private room, couldn't help but sigh to herself, "Behind this woman's enchanting appearance, there's actually such a soft heart. I truly don't want to be enemies with someone like her."

In the private room on the other side, Xie Daoyun quietly wiped away the tears from her eyes. Gazing at the graceful figure behind the distant pearl curtain, she let out a soft sigh. "Purely in terms of zither playing technique, perhaps I might even be slightly better than her. But when it comes to infusing emotion into the music and moving people with it, I am far, far inferior to her."

Xie Xiu also couldn't help but exclaim, "Over the years, I've heard many famous courtesans play the zither. I used to think they were quite good, but now I realize that compared to her, those people aren't even fit to carry her shoes."

Immediately, he changed his tone. "However, sister, you don't need to worry about this. You grew up in comfort and luxury, in a warm and happy environment, and your emotional experiences are like a blank slate. It's no shame to be inferior to her in this regard. She's been through so much in a place like this. On the surface, she still looks like a fresh, young girl, but in reality, her heart is already riddled with holes."

His tone contained not a hint of disdain, but rather was full of admiration: "Only someone like her can infuse such emotion into a musical piece."

Xie Daoyun looked at her brother in surprise, not expecting him to have such insight. Father often scolded him for being idle, but it seems he was mistaken.

When the song ended, everyone in the hall felt a sense of loss, completely unaware that their faces were already wet with tears.

"Bravo!"

No one knew who stood up to applaud first, then a group of people also began to cheer, as if a quieter voice would make their goddess look down on them.

Qiu Honglei also stood up from the zither table, walked gracefully, and approached the railing.

Two pretty maids had already pulled the pearl curtains aside.

A charming and captivating face appeared before everyone. She curtsied slightly and smiled, "This humble woman is Qiu Honglei. Greetings, everyone."

As she stood by the railing, everyone noticed that her arms were covered by a layer of snow-white gauze as thin as a cicada's wing, with a pair of fair, delicate arms faintly visible.

"This woman certainly knows how to use her physical advantages," Pei Mianman saw through the trick with just one glance.

Unfortunately, the men below were not as discerning as she was. Witnessing this scene, one by one, their breathing quickened. They felt extremely parched, wishing they could pull Qiu Honglei into their arms, tear off her snow-white gauze dress, and then mercilessly ravage her beneath them.

Unfortunately, these were only fantasies. In plain sight of everyone, who would dare to provoke public outrage, and who even had the power to do so?

Zu An curled his lips. Mr. Lu Xun was indeed right. People's imaginations are truly boundless. They see an arm and immediately think of nudity. He didn't expect it to be the same in another world.

At this moment, Chen Xuan stood up boldly. "I am Xuan Cheng. Greetings, Miss Qiu."

He lived a life of danger, so his courage was naturally much greater than most. He didn't have as many scruples as others, and he spoke while brazenly sizing her up.

*This face, this chest, this waist, this derriere... All the women I've taken before combined can't even compare to her little toe! I must have this woman!* A certain voice kept echoing in his mind.

Sensing his aggressive gaze, Qiu Honglei remained unfazed. She had seen too many similar gazes over the years and had long since grown accustomed to them.

A faint, subtle smile appeared on her face. She curtsied slightly. "Greetings, Young Master Xuan."

Xuan Cheng laughed heartily. "I never thought I'd hear someone call me 'Young Master' someday. I detest such effeminate titles. If anyone else called me that, I'd guarantee to twist their head off. But when you, Miss Qiu, call me that, it sounds incredibly pleasant."

The others glared at him angrily, all feeling offended.

However, at this crucial moment, no one had time to pay him attention. One by one, they eagerly stepped forward to strike up a conversation, trying to leave a good impression on Qiu Honglei:

"I am Du Chunfeng. My family deals in furs. Greetings, Great Master Qiu."

"I am Zhao Dezhu. My father is in the city..."

He hadn't finished speaking before he was drowned out by the voices of others:

"I am Yuan Junhui. Greetings, Miss Qiu."

"Hello, Miss Qiu. My name is Wuyun. My father is Wugang."

Introductions rose and fell one after another. Many were even pulled back by those beside them before they could finish a sentence, so everyone strove to leave the deepest impression in the shortest amount of time.

Someone even intentionally smashed a teacup, hoping to attract Qiu Honglei's attention. Unfortunately, having been a courtesan queen for so many years, there was no attention-grabbing trick she hadn't seen, and she remained completely unmoved. Furthermore, the scene was too noisy, and the sound of the broken teacup was quickly covered by the continuous self-introductions.

Even aristocratic young masters like Wang Yuanlong and Chu Hongcai were no exception. One by one, they flushed crimson as they pushed forward to introduce themselves.

Chu Yucheng even roughly pushed aside the buxom woman who had just been clinging to him affectionately. He continuously squeezed forward with his ample flesh, while squeezing and loudly introducing himself.

Zu An watched, secretly scornful. *Who was it just now who said they liked plump and sturdy women and disliked slender ones?*

Although Qiu Honglei's chest could be called plump, her overall figure had nothing to do with being fat. A bit more would be too plump, a bit less too thin. Yet, a figure like this would absolutely be considered "stick-thin" in Chu Yucheng's eyes on a normal day. *Who knew he would act like a madman now? In the end, it's all about looks.*

Zu An was filled with disdain.

"Young Master, why don't you go introduce yourself?" Leng Shuangyue, beside him, blinked her eyes and asked, a little curiously.

After they had just re-seated themselves, the few women naturally returned to the guests they were assigned to accompany.

"This isn't an introduction; it's a monkey show," Zu An curled his lips in disdain. "Look at Qiu Honglei. On the surface, she's smiling charmingly and nodding repeatedly to these people, but in reality, she doesn't care about them at all."

"Each of them claims to be here at the brothel to choose girls to amuse themselves with, yet why does this scene look more like the girls are choosing *them* to amuse themselves with?" Zu An's tone was full of contempt. It wasn't that he had any issues with Qiu Honglei, but rather that he looked down on this group of men who acted as if they'd never seen a woman before.

*They're truly shaming us men! Even if she's beautiful, do you really need to grovel like this? Like me, even if I'm a kept man, I'll eat my soft rice with grit! Learn from me!*

Leng Shuangyue was unaware of his internal thoughts. She merely thought he was displeased with Qiu Honglei. She glanced at the second floor and explained softly, "Actually, it's not easy for Miss Qiu either. While she may not necessarily care about these people, she generally tries to remember everyone's name. Other girls in the establishment find it hard to do that."

Zu An was taken aback and couldn't help but exclaim, "Indeed, to become a courtesan queen, beauty alone is not enough."

Leng Shuangyue nodded with a shared understanding. "That's right. Our profession is never short of pretty girls, but becoming a courtesan queen isn't easy, let alone someone like Miss Qiu."

Zu An looked at her curiously. "It seems you're quite familiar with this Qiu Honglei."

"Not really that familiar," Leng Shuangyue hurriedly explained. "It's just that we're all in the same establishment, and we often see each other, so we hear things."

"Oh." Zu An didn't think much of it. "By the way, since you're all from the same establishment, you must know quite a bit about her, right? Tell me about it."

"I don't actually know much... What would Young Master like to ask?" Seeing that he was no longer pestering her about studying body structures, Leng Shuangyue secretly breathed a sigh of relief. But she was also afraid he might remember later, so if she could distract him by answering questions, that would naturally be ideal. As for questions she couldn't answer, she could just claim ignorance.

"You'll definitely know what I'm asking," Zu An chuckled. "Did she ever have a boyfriend?"

"Boyfriend?" Leng Shuangyue blinked, not reacting for a moment.

"A lover, I mean," Zu An clarified.

"Of course not! Miss Qiu is a well-known pure courtesan. How could she have a lover?" Leng Shuangyue was startled and quickly waved her hands.

"Don't be afraid. It's just the two of us here, so there's no risk of her reputation being affected." Zu An was still a bit skeptical.

Leng Shuangyue hastily replied, "Truly no! I can swear on my life, Miss Qiu has never had a lover, and she has always been a virgin..."

"Is that so?" Zu An couldn't help but glance at the graceful figure on the second floor. This was somewhat odd.

At this moment, Pei Mianman on the second floor was observing the scene below. After noticing the undignified scramble of men vying for attention, she secretly felt scornful. *Men are good for nothing; they only deserve to be toyed with by women.*

Suddenly, her heart stirred, and she turned her head, looking for another figure. When she saw Zu An leisurely sitting there, not running off to embarrass himself like the others, she couldn't help but nod in satisfaction. *He didn't disgrace Chuyan, unlike those uncultured smelly men.*

However, her smile had only just begun to form when she suddenly noticed Leng Shuangyue peeling grapes and feeding them to him one by one. Zu An ate with juice dripping from his mouth and didn't forget to tease her, making her tremble with laughter. Pei Mianman's smile involuntarily turned cold, and she snorted.

"Men truly are good for nothing!"

At this moment, Qiu Honglei parted her red lips slightly. "Thank you for your kind appreciation, everyone. However, recently, Honglei feels her zither skills have reached a bottleneck, so I would appreciate it if you could offer some pointers and see where the problem lies."

Upon hearing her speak, the previously boisterous hall instantly fell silent. No one wanted to displease her. After listening to her words, one by one, their spirits lifted.

*It's finally here!*

Everyone had previously speculated that Qiu Honglei would use her zither performance to secretly test the attendees and choose someone she favored. Now, it had indeed begun.

"Miss Qiu, you jest. Just now, I, Zhao, listened to your piece, and it truly lingered for three days, the echoes never fading. Such zither skill has reached a pinnacle; how could there be any problems?" one person named Zhao Dezhu hastily said this. He had been interrupted halfway through his introduction just now and was looking for a chance to save face.

"Idiot!"

Everyone shared the same opinion. Qiu Honglei clearly intended to test everyone; what good was endlessly flattering her?

Sure enough, Qiu Honglei smiled faintly. "Young Master flatters me. However, I am more interested in hearing some specific opinions to remedy my shortcomings." After speaking, she turned to the others, her eyes full of encouragement and expectation. At the same time, from the corner of her eye, she subtly surveyed the private rooms upstairs, a silent sneer forming in her heart.