In the main hall of Lichun Courtyard, celestial music drifted through the air, and hidden fragrance wafted about.
Phoenix Luan Birds trailing seven-colored tail feathers circled and danced above the stage. In harmony with the music and singing, they let out pleasant cries from time to time.
Hanging from each Phoenix Luan Bird's neck was a vermilion lacquered plaque bearing a name, each representing one of the thirty-six singers participating in tonight's Red Sleeve Workshop Singer Gathering.
"Caiyue!"
"Xiao Qiao!"
"Jiaojiao!"
The guests seated in private rooms upstairs and downstairs, as well as in the main hall, kept tossing out flower hairpins.
The Phoenix Luan Birds corresponding to those names immediately dove down, deftly and accurately snatching up the hairpins before swallowing them into their crops.
Phoenix Luan Birds had oval crops on their necks, endowed with an innate storage ability.
Wild Phoenix Luan Birds used their crops to store food, while these domesticated ones were used as voting tools.
Once all the singers had finished performing, the one who received the most flower hairpins would become that season's Courtesan Queen!
And the more hairpins a Phoenix Luan Bird swallowed, the higher it flew.
The rankings were obvious at a glance.
There were many guests at Lichun Courtyard that evening to watch the competition. Quite a few were patrons of these singers, spending large sums of Spirit Stones to buy flower hairpins and hurling them out one after another.
All so that the singer they favored could claim the luan's crown alone!
As one singer after another took the stage in full makeup, the atmosphere grew increasingly heated. More and more flower hairpins were thrown out, leaving the Phoenix Luan Birds almost too busy to pick them all up.
But that was only a minor issue, because flower hairpins came