Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 138 Hundred Flowers Shy

When the woman gracefully and charmingly stepped into the hall, all the lights lost their luster.

Her hair was not tied up, but rather let her golden hair fall loosely. Her eyes were languid and carefree, yet they could easily steal one's soul.

Compared to the shadowy figure, the shadowy figure's features are perfect, and their combination is impeccable. Individually, however, none of this beauty's features can be considered perfect.

That is precisely why she is so uniquely beautiful, so incomparably beautiful.

The uninvited guest's gaze perfectly blended aloofness, sharpness, and allure, without a single discordant element. In comparison, even the fairy-like aura of the shadowy figure seemed rather thin.

Zhuoying had never met Yan Shuai Zhen Ranyu before, and this was the first time in her life that she had seen a beauty more stunning than herself.

Her beautiful eyes also became serious.

"May I ask this lady's name?" Zhuoying composed herself and said, "I have never heard of anyone named you in the Xihe Sect."

"Ah." The woman raised her head, brushed her hair aside, and fully revealed her elegant, graceful, and stunningly beautiful face.

People from the Western Regions rarely have such beautiful faces.

Tian Jun was somewhat annoyed. When she inherited her mother's high nose and deep-set eyes, which were as if sculpted by an axe, she also inherited the broad forehead and square face common among people from the Western Regions; otherwise, Tian Jun could still compete with Duan Hongyan and Zhuoying in terms of beauty.

"She joined the Xihe Sect three days ago, do you think it's not good enough, little sister?" The stunning beauty scrutinized the figure with her lake-blue eyes, raising her chin with an air of unparalleled composure.

Chuo Ying remained outwardly calm, but inwardly she was experiencing a storm of emotions.

If a girl's family were truly struggling to make ends meet, what girl would willingly come to prestigious establishments like Mount Tai and Xihe?
All those who joined the sect, regardless of gender, had to sign a contract of servitude. With this contract, they sold all their dignity and rights as good people and were reduced to a lowly status.

The status of "lowly status" is extremely difficult to remove and may even be passed down through generations, just like the most vicious curse: "Sons will be slaves for generations, daughters will be prostitutes for generations!"
Zhuoying herself ended up in Baiyun Temple because her father was implicated in a treason case. In the past, Cao Zixiu, the former leader of the Taishan Sect, even asked Liu Yanzhang, the deputy leader in charge of the Zhenyi Alliance, to help Zhuoying get rid of her lowly status. Liu Yanzhang then bribed important people in the court with a large sum of money to make the matter happen.

Why would such a stunning beauty personally jump into such a fiery pit?
The other party clearly saw through Zhuoying's thoughts: "Sister Zhuoying must be thinking about this, right?"

She pulled out a deed of sale from her person, tossed it into the air, and handed it to a maid beside her. Burning it was useless; her status as a brothel owner was already on the government's records, and even if she redeemed herself, she could never escape her lowly status.

The most extreme example is Huo Xiaoyu in the Tang Dynasty legend "The Story of Huo Xiaoyu". Her father was the Prince Huo, a member of the royal family, but her mother, Zheng Jingchi, was just a lowly courtesan.

Huo Xiaoyu was not only forbidden from using the surname Li, but could only use her father's title as her surname. She was also forced into prostitution. Although she was a princess by her father's lineage, she could only follow in her mother's footsteps and serve men with her beauty and sensual pleasures!
Not only Chuo Ying, but everyone on the scene couldn't understand why this beautiful woman could talk about selling her husband's identity so casually.

"Rules and ranks are only taken seriously by the weak. What do the truly strong have to fear about being in the dust and grime of the world?" the woman said, raising her eyes.

She clearly didn't respect anyone present.

Yet everyone couldn't help but be captivated by her.

If Yang Xingmi were here, he would surely recognize that this stunningly beautiful woman with blonde hair and blue eyes was none other than the Flower King of the Ming Cult who had come to Mount Tai with him.

The Flower King lifted her green sleeve to partially cover her jade-like face, then chuckled softly, "I suddenly remembered, I haven't told her her name yet."

"Sister Zhuoying's secular surname is Liu, and she was originally the daughter of the magistrate of Lantian County. Before she entered the Daoist path, her maiden name was probably not what it is now." The Flower King covered his sleeve and laughed, and in an instant, a rich fragrance filled the room: "It is difficult to meet and difficult to part. The east wind is powerless and the flowers are withered, so let's call her 'Baihua Xiu' (meaning 'shameful flowers')."

Her unparalleled charm had made all the men in the room go weak in the knees.

Her words, however, were filled with unbridled pride.

Her words implied that the flowers withered and faded because of her beauty. "The person that Lord Yang Xingmi told me to be wary of is probably her." Zhu Wen was the only one who remained calm in the face of such stunning beauty.

He whispered to Tian Jun, "The visitor is not friendly."

With clear, bright eyes, her gaze met that of "Baihua Xiu": "It is my great honor to meet Sister Baihua Xiu. However, the Xihe performance, 'Floating Wine Cups on a Winding Stream,' is scheduled for tomorrow during the daytime."

"Who said we were going to perform 'Floating Wine Cups on a Winding Stream'?" Baihua Xiu raised her eyes: "This time, the program of the Xihe School is the 'Rainbow Feather Garment Dance' passed down by Emperor Xuanzong and Consort Yang."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room changed color.

This is because the "Rainbow Feather Garment Dance" has long been lost.

When the great poet Bai Juyi was young, he witnessed this dance in the palace of Emperor Xianzong and wrote the following lines of praise: "In the middle of the dance, the first beat of the 'split-bar' is like autumn bamboo poles cracking and spring ice breaking. The dancers twirl and spin lightly like swirling snow, and gracefully move like dragons in flight. Their hands droop gently like willows, and their skirts sway as if clouds are about to rise. Their eyebrows are slightly furrowed, unable to contain their charm, and their sleeves rise and fall as if they are full of emotion."

That was also the last time the "Rainbow Feather Dress Dance" appeared in the Tang Dynasty.

"Although I am not talented, I know that the Rainbow Feather Dress Dance consists of thirty-six sections, divided into three parts: the prelude, the middle section, and the finale. Each performance requires thirty people, with ten people rotating in each part..." Although Zhuoying did not know what the real Rainbow Feather Dress Dance was like, she had memorized the descriptions of the dance in Bai Juyi's poems since she was a child.

Baihua Xiu didn't take it to heart: "There's no time for rehearsals due to the short notice, so we can only make some cuts. The dance and music can be left to me. Just have the nine Xihe disciples accompany them on stage and keep the beat along with the songs."

She had absolute confidence in the overwhelmingly beautiful Tianque Xianwu.

Even though she had only joined Xihe three days ago, there wasn't enough time to systematically rehearse with the female disciples. Even though the female disciples saw the details of the "Rainbow Feather Dance" which had been lost for more than fifty years, they couldn't learn much in such a rush.

But according to Baihuaxiu, she alone could overpower the combined beauty of the Taishan Sect!

The audience, captivated by the vibrant colors of the flowers, were also filled with curiosity about the lost "Rainbow Feather Dress Dance".

"The Song of Rainbow Feathers and Feathered Robes" was actually composed by Emperor Xuanzong for Taoism, and the dancers portrayed Taoist immortals and deities from traditional Chinese culture. A blonde, blue-eyed woman from the Central Asian region should have been completely out of place with this song.

But Baihuaxiu's appearance and temperament had already amazed the entire audience. Everyone had absolute trust and expectation in her performance of this piece.

Lan Suting snapped out of her daze and looked down at Zhu Wen, saying, "Do you think such a capable woman would get involved in something like the Five Peaks Incense Gathering?"

"I don't know." Zhu Wen raised an eyebrow. "Yang Xingmi didn't even tell me her identity. If the court has such a powerful figure, we shouldn't be completely unaware of her."

Huang Chao's intelligence network was quite formidable, even possessing incriminating information about the military governors of the three Hebei towns. Zhu Wen, during his last trip to Weizhou, used this information to employ a scheme of using someone else to do his dirty work, getting Han Jian, the military governor of Weibo, to help him deal with Wang Jingchong, the military governor of Chengde.

This stunningly beautiful golden cat was not mentioned at all in Cao Jun's records.

Even though Ming Shiyin tried his best to conceal his existence after surrendering to the imperial court, there are still some traces of him in Huang Chao's archives.

Therefore, this woman did not hold any official position in the imperial court.

What was her stance on wanting to prevent the Taishan Sect from winning at the Five Peaks Incense Gathering and even wanting to deal with Zhu Wen?
Zhu Wen knows nothing about this at the moment.

He found the challenge quite interesting.

Yang Xingmi's warning to him was already quite righteous. He couldn't expect Yang Xingmi to spill all the enemy's intelligence like beans spilling from a bamboo tube.

Besides, that would be too boring.

(End of this chapter)