2 THE BLACK JADE

All the important guests at Tiantang House applauded enthusiastically as the girl in black finished her performance on the small stage. She put down her pipa before bowing at the guests who even had to pay an entrance fee before they could see her performance tonight.

The Tiantang House was indeed an exclusive place in Chang City, and not everyone could enter the building. Only men were allowed into the building, and the men had to have fat pockets or perhaps high status in the palace if they wanted to get a chance to see the beautiful women in Tiantang House.

Tiantang House was indeed a place like 'that.' The place provided beautiful and talented women who could sing, dance, or maybe play an instrument to produce beautiful music.

If a man only paid for the entrance fee, then all he could get from Tiantang House was a show from the beauties, but if he dared to pay more, then he would get more entertainment from those women.

It seemed that Tiantang was no different from other brothels in the Si Long Empire that sold women's bodies every night, but that wasn't true. Tiantang House had its own principles, and its main focus was selling art.

It was true that the guests could pay for more services, but Tiantang's beauties mostly only accompanied them to have a drink or play xiangqi[1], and at best, those women would only let the men touch their hands or maybe their thighs.

That was the only service that Tiantang House sold as the most exclusive place within the Si Long Empire. They didn't want to lower their class to the level of other brothels in the empire, and they didn't plan to change the rules that had existed in Tiantang House since half a century ago.

For fifty years, Tiantang was known for their art, and it was still the same today when they managed to produce a song that was loved by most people in Chang City.

That was why they deliberately arranged a performance with the veiled girl tonight. That girl was the one who should be getting praise for the popular song, and tonight was the time to reveal her to the public.

The girl had finished her performance, and she didn't bother to say anything before rushing toward another room where the other yiji[2] were getting ready for their show.

It was a changing room, and the girl positioned herself on a chair before setting her pipa on the table.

"Hey, Xia Qiao! Why did you run off the stage before introducing yourself to our guests? Didn't our boss tell you to at least show your gratitude and say your name after you finished performing?" A girl in red suddenly approached the girl called Xia Qiao, and she immediately reprimanded the young girl.

The girl wore a hanfu that was sexier than Xia Qiao. Her bright red hanfu covered her breasts to the ankles, but it had a thigh-high slit that allowed the hungry men to see her long legs for free.

Even if Xia Qiao's black hanfu also looked seductive because it was thin and even semi-transparent on the upper chest as well as the shoulders, the cloth still covered her entire body, and perhaps people would only focus their attention on the areas that were only covered by the semi-transparent cloth.

Her breasts were in perfect size and shape, and even if the black hanfu looked less seductive than the red one worn by the other girl, her sexy cleavage could still attract men's attention.

"It's my first time performing, and I'm nervous, Ehuang jiejie[3]," the girl wearing the black hanfu calmly replied to the older girl's scolding.

"Tch!" The girl named Ehuang immediately showed a mocking expression upon hearing Xia Qiao's reply. "I heard how some guests who watched your performance earlier said that you might become the next Tiantang star because of your talent, but maybe they have too high expectations for a useless girl like you! You'd better stay in your room all day to make some songs, and you can let the other girls in Tiantang sing them. You don't have to perform anymore."

"..." Xia Qiao chose to remain silent instead of replying to the girl's rude remark.

The girl in red was a senior courtesan in Tiantang House, and her name was He Ehuang. She was already thirty years old, and it could be said that she had almost lost her prime at this time.

That was the reason why she kept looking for trouble with a young courtesan like Xia Qiao. Xia Qiao was indeed new and fresh at Tiantang House. She was only twenty-three years old, and perhaps she still had seven years before she started to lose her prime like He Ehuang.

"You don't even dare to take off your veil ever since you arrived at Tiantang House, and I'm sure you have a hideous face behind your ugly veil," even if Xia Qiao decided to keep her lips into a thin line, He Ehuang continued to verbally abuse her, but she still didn't react after hearing the insult.

Xia Qiao joined Tiantang House a month ago, but instead of immediately being able to perform in front of the guests, the boss asked her to train her skills first. During that time, she even composed a song that eventually gained fame in Chang City.

She also continued to wear a black veil to cover her face, and not even a single person in Tiantang House had ever seen her face.

People in Tiantang only knew her as 'The Black Jade' because she always wore black clothes every day, and even her long hair was black.

"The Lantern Festival is drawing near, and I heard that the Emperor would choose Tiantang House to perform in the Imperial Palace. However, I'm quite certain that you will not be chosen to perform at such an important event, Xia Qiao."

Xia Qiao finally showed a reaction on her face when she heard He Ehuang's next statement. She didn't care even if other courtesans continued to speak ill of her right in front of her, but for the first time, she really cared about what He Ehuang had just said.

'There will be an event at the Imperial Palace? I must be able to perform in the palace.'

---

Footnote:

[1] Xiangqi: also called Chinese chess or Elephant chess, is a strategy board game for two players.

[2] Yiji: a high-class courtesan. They are initially not involved in the direct sex trade, but rather are entertainers who perform music and arts, such as poetry, music, and singing.

[3] Jiejie: older sister (not always biologically)