WARNING: MTL
Volume One: If Life Were Only as It First Met
The Fair Lady of Qinghe
The first female protagonist makes a grand entrance
In the late spring season, the scenery in Jidu is at its peak. Beside the Qing River, there is a building named Suyuan Tower. This building spans the Qing River and is constructed by digging three feet into the riverbed. It often gathers people from aristocratic families, eunuch families, and famous merchants.
Known as a teahouse, it provides a place for people to enjoy the scenery, taste tea, and appreciate poetry and songs. In reality, it is a place of romance and elegance, with eighteen performing women inside. Among them, the leader, Hong Yuan, is renowned for her mastery of the zither, xiangqi (Chinese chess), calligraphy, painting, poetry, and music, and is acclaimed as the number one beauty by the Qing River.
Although she is the courtesan queen, Hong Yuan performs only one song each day, does not accompany guests for drinks, and does not entertain guests. She has always sold her art, not her body.
On this day, Suyuan Tower was bustling with people, and cheers rose one after another. Suyuan Tower has six floors in total, with thirty-six elegant rooms. The central hall on the first floor is intricately designed, taking river water as its pool and named “Four Directions Elegant Stream.” The center is laid with a red carpet, where songs and dances are performed.
The sound of music and dance was like a startling swan, with seven performing women dressed in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, dancing gracefully. It was as if seven fairy maidens had descended to the mortal world, enchanting the audience and drawing rounds of applause.
After the dance ended, the crowd suddenly began to call out, “Hong Yuan! Hong Yuan! Hong Yuan!”
Only to see the pearl curtains on the top floor fall, and suddenly a long ladder extended from the air. Then, the small ringing of bells could be heard, and a burst of fragrance wafted through the air, refreshing the heart and mind.
The entire audience held their breath in rapt attention.
Atop the long ladder, a woman gracefully stepped out. She held a jade zither in her arms, each step as if blooming lotus flowers. Beneath the green gauze dress was her slender and graceful figure. She looked down upon the crowd, walked to the center of the Four Directions Elegant Stream, and gently placed the jade zither down.
Her slender jade hands plucked the strings, the music flowing like jade water, the melody melancholic and lingering.
The crowd was entranced by her zither music and even more captivated by her beauty. Between her eyebrows, a jade flower had just bloomed, her lips were like red clouds, thin as flower petals.
When the song ended, Hong Yuan rose and bowed, her cold eyes like water. It is said that since Hong Yuan arrived at Suyuan Tower, no one has ever seen her smile. Who this ice-cold beauty will melt for remains unknown.
She was courteous and was about to take her leave, but the crowd was still unsatisfied.
“One more, one more,” a drunken man was about to cause a scene, drawing strange looks from the crowd.
“Why are you all looking at me… I spent so much silver and can only listen to one song, what a joke.”
This was clearly an outsider, unfamiliar with the rules of Suyuan Tower and ignorant of who Hong Yuan was. She paid him no heed and gracefully turned away.
“Miss Hong Yuan, don’t leave. I can give you as much silver as you need, just play one more song, just one more,” he said, pulling out a stack of silver notes from his robe and flaunting them.
The crowd sneered. Those who could come to Suyuan Tower were either wealthy or noble; who would care about his little bit of money?
Hong Yuan paused, and the young man thought she was moved and agreed, immediately becoming elated. But she merely flicked her sleeve, and it was as if he was struck by an invisible force, falling lightly into the stream pool like a floating duckweed. He got up in a sorry state, half-sobered by the incident. Looking up again, Hong Yuan had already vanished from sight.
“Cause trouble again, and you’ll be thrown out of Suyuan Tower.”
Suyuan Tower has four main guards, each armed with a sword. It is said that the owner, He Xi, spent a large sum of money to hire these martial experts specifically to protect Hong Yuan.
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No one dared to cause trouble in Suyuan Tower, let alone offend Hong Yuan, or perhaps they simply didn’t want to tarnish her ethereal beauty. If no one could have her, everyone was content to admire her from a distance, but who in all of Jidu wouldn’t want to get close to her?
Hong Yuan returned to Ziyun Pavilion, gently placing her zither down. She went to the warm pool, undressing. Ziyun Pavilion was her private suite, and apart from her, only her close maid, Muxin, was allowed inside. However, she rarely let Muxin serve her. Her daily simple meals and tea were delivered directly to her room. This was a rule she had established: no one was allowed to step into her boudoir without permission, especially the guests.
The water in the warm pool was surrounded by light mist. Hong Yuan removed her clothes, completely unguarded. Her feet touched the pool water, and the small bells on her toes rang softly. Before long, she was lying back in the warm water, relieving her fatigue.
Outside Ziyun Pavilion, it was a world of debauchery, but inside her boudoir, Hong Yuan was as still as a virgin. She was otherworldly and elegant, with a plain but cold face, enjoying her solitude in the warm pool.
Suddenly, the warm pool began to churn, and something unusual appeared in the water. On the other side of the pool, a person emerged, gasping for breath, completely drenched.
Hong Yuan quickly leaped out of the water, lightly touching her toes on the ground, and swiftly moved behind the screen, grabbing a long robe to wrap around her body.
“Who dares to come here?” Her voice was cold as ice, as if it could freeze the surroundings.
“I…” The person started to speak but was stunned by her appearance. Her intelligent and spirited eyes seemed to see right through him.
Such offense and rudeness were intolerable to Hong Yuan. She immediately struck out with her palm, but the person dodged swiftly. She then gracefully turned and executed a move called “Dragonfly Touches the Water” straight at him, but he caught her wrist firmly.
“Miss, calm down, I am not a rogue.” He gazed into Hong Yuan’s eyes, which flickered with an indistinct light. Meanwhile, Hong Yuan took advantage of his distraction, striking with her other palm directly at his chest, but felt a softness.
“A woman?”
She awkwardly withdrew her hand, noticing blood at the corner of his mouth. In an instant, the green robe he wore was stained with fresh blood.
Her palm had struck right where a sword wound lay beneath her collarbone. Taking a closer look at her form, the outer robe that previously hid her female figure clung to her body because of the water, revealing the contour of her breasts, which were tantalizingly visible.
Suddenly, an unusual airflow was sensed from outside the window. Both, with their innate martial instincts, became alert. Hong Yuan’s palm carried a gust of wind, extinguishing the candle flame, plunging the boudoir into silence. Apart from the faint, rapid breathing from the wound, only the low murmur of the night wind outside the window could be heard.
Ziyun Pavilion faces the river, and outside the begonia-shaped curtain window, the moon casts shadows on the wind-blown lotus leaves, causing ripples on the water.
The light-footed movements, which seemed to step on air and float on water, indicated a master of qinggong.1 Moments later, the unusual searching sounds outside the window vanished, and Ziyun Pavilion returned to its tranquility.
“Thank you, miss.” Her voice was as faint as a whisper, yet her breath was fragrant like orchids. Hong Yuan could feel the temperature emanating from her body, a mix of coolness and warmth.
“Knock knock,” suddenly, there was a knocking sound at the door.
“Miss Hong Yuan, are you alright?”
It turned out to be Mo Feng, one of the guards of Suyuan Tower. Seeing the sudden extinguishing of the light in her room, which was unusual, he couldn’t help but worry.
“Nothing’s wrong. Do not come again tonight.”
“Yes, I shall obey.”
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Hong Yuan’s cold demeanor was enough to chill anyone. Her breathtakingly beautiful face always seemed to be covered in a thick layer of frost.
Looking at the person again, it was clear that she was severely injured. Her body could no longer support her, and she must have endured immense pain while soaking in the water. Moreover, Hong Yuan’s precise palm strike just now had worsened her wound.
“Are you… alright?”
“Thank you, miss, for showing mercy. I can still survive.” She squinted her eyes, clearly in immense pain, yet still pretending to be relaxed.
Hong Yuan did not respond. She fastened her own clothes and took out a medicine box from the cabinet, reaching out to undress her. Instinctively, the woman retreated, looking at Hong Yuan with an air of dignity that commanded respect and even fear.
“Does the miss wish for her body to be scarred in the future?” Hong Yuan’s expression remained cold, but her tone softened slightly.
What woman would want her body to be covered in scars? Hong Yuan’s words indeed moved her.
The woman gazed at Hong Yuan. Such a beautiful person stirred ripples in her heart, and she gradually let down her guard, accepting Hong Yuan’s help in bandaging her wounds.
Her face had turned slightly pale. Underneath her outer garment, the appalling wound lay on her shoulder, further aggravated by soaking in the warm pool, leaving the flesh torn and exposed.
“Bear with it,” Hong Yuan said calmly, sprinkling medicinal powder on the wound. The woman let out a muffled groan, enduring the excruciating pain.
Hong Yuan wrapped her wound with gauze. In such close proximity, the faint fragrance from Hong Yuan’s body was clear and intoxicating.
The woman looked at Hong Yuan and for a moment was lost in thought, forgetting her pain. She suddenly understood why men competed to come here, just to catch a glimpse of her beauty.
That aloofness, which kept people at a distance, instead stirred ripples in her heart.
After finishing the bandaging, Hong Yuan put away the medicine box and said indifferently, “You should leave.”
“Could you help me find a set of men’s clothing?” she asked, her breath heavy, her chest rising and falling, revealing her weakness and pain.
Drops of water beaded on her fair skin, indistinguishable as sweat or water. Her lips were dry, her complexion dull, but her deep eyes remained bright.
Hong Yuan said nothing more. She immediately took a set of plain white men’s clothing from her wardrobe and tossed it to her.
The woman endured the pain, moving with great difficulty. Each movement caused pain throughout her body. She struggled to remove her soaked outer garment. Hong Yuan glanced at her and said, “How can you change clothes without taking them off completely?”
With that, she took out a set of undergarments and helped her change. The night enveloped them, the flickering candlelight creating a slightly ambiguous atmosphere. Hong Yuan helped her remove her clothes. Her figure was well-proportioned, her breasts full, with strands of hair slightly covering her eyes. A blush rose on her cheeks. “I can do it myself.”
But when she raised her hand slightly, the pain was unbearable.
Hong Yuan remained silent, draping the clothes over her and gently helping her put them on.
“Thank you,” she said, feeling a wave of warmth in her heart. Though she was accustomed to being attended to, she had never felt such joy.
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She neatly put on the white robe, her hair rearranged into a bun, appearing extraordinarily handsome and noble. Despite living in Jidu for so long, Hong Yuan had never seen a woman with such outstanding beauty.
“The medicine has been applied, and the clothes have been put on. Go back to where you came from,” Hong Yuan finally spoke.
“You may seem cold on the outside, but your heart is warm. I will repay this great kindness,” she said with a bright smile, her radiant teeth making people feel at ease.
She walked to the window, glanced back at Hong Yuan with a slight smile at the corner of her mouth, and left leisurely.
As the night drew near to dawn, Suyuan Tower gradually quieted down. The drunken guests were properly settled, and the indulgent nobility also left one by one. Four guards and eighteen courtesans returned to their respective rooms, opened secret compartments, and descended underground. Only a few sentries remained on the lookout at Suyuan Tower.
Suyuan Tower has three grand courtyards, exuding luxury and splendor. However, no one knows that ten feet underground, there is a secret chamber. It houses weapons, nightwear, and a large amount of gold and silver treasures.
Once everyone had gathered, they stood in two orderly rows. Before long, a woman in a red robe appeared, sitting elegantly on the glass throne, exuding an unrivaled cold beauty and an imposing presence.
“Greetings, Tower Master!” the crowd bowed.
Hong Yuan’s beautiful eyes slightly opened, and she raised her slender hand gently. “No need for formalities.”
Footnotes
- “Qinggong” (輕功, qīnggōng): a form of martial arts that emphasizes light and agile movements, often described as the ability to walk on water or glide through the air.
