As the two chatted idly,
a wave of cries from the guests suddenly came from outside.
Chen Gui's gaze shifted. He listened briefly, then showed a hint of surprise and said with a smile, "Brother Wu, we're in luck today. Miss Yanluo, Tingxue Pavilion's leading courtesan, rarely makes an appearance. A single tune from her is worth a thousand gold and nearly impossible to obtain. Who would have thought that on such a fine day, Miss Yanluo would happen to come out and play for us? We've run into quite a treat."
With that, Chen Gui eagerly pulled Wu Ming out of the private room and led him all the way to the courtyard outside Tingxue Pavilion. By then, quite a few people had gathered there in twos and threes. Most were young masters dressed in silks and brocades, all born into wealth. They found seats in the various pavilions and raised their heads to look upward.
Wu Ming mixed among the crowd as well. Seeing the way Chen Gui and the others behaved, a trace of curiosity rose in his heart.
Just then,
a gauzy curtain on the third-floor pavilion of Tingxue Pavilion was drawn open. A figure quietly appeared behind it, and a gentle, pleasing voice said, "You gentlemen have waited long. Yan Luo greets you."
The moment those words fell, the previously bustling courtyard abruptly fell silent. The gathered young masters all stopped what they were doing and looked up at the figure behind the third-floor curtain. Even Chen Gui beside Wu Ming went blank-eyed at once, his face revealing intoxicated yearning.
Wu Ming also looked up at the curtain on the third floor. He could not make out what the woman behind it looked like, yet for some reason, a single glance through that curtain made