Chapter Twenty: Sparrows Also Want Revolution

  "It's dark and I have to walk at night, I'm afraid but I'll just close my eyes, the worst that can happen is a fall, but still, the road has to be walked."

  Kong Qing was also attracted by this sentence, and he went up to ask, "Your Highness, the sky is originally dark, and you still want to close your eyes and walk. If there's a cliff in front of us, won't we fall to death? Who is so stupid? Can't we just light a lantern?"

  Yuandan wiped the sweat from his forehead, looking speechless. This Qing, who had reacted quickly during the fight, was now almost like a fool when it came to this matter. However, today the king's mood was not bad, and he didn't scold Qing for saying that. Looking at the bottle in Ziyan's hand, Yuandan understood the implication.

  "Kong Qing, quickly hand this over to Yu Mu Gong Zi of Zui Hua Lou." Handing the bottle to Kong Qing, continue to recall every word that Qi Lin said today.

  However, what does "world" mean? It seems that there are still many things that Zilin doesn't know.

  The next morning, Qilin was lifted from bed by Mai Dong, with a panda eye on her face standing in the yard. Yu Mu sat in his usual place drinking tea as always. After a while, Qilin saw Mai Dong carrying a washbasin over, but the water inside was light red. She had long heard that people in this era would add some essential oils to their face washing water for beauty and skin care. Was Yu Mu going to do the same?

  No wonder his skin is so good, it turns out he used this.

  "Go wash your face," said Yu Mu softly.

  Qilin was taken aback, and it seemed like the words were directed at herself. Was she hearing things because she hadn't slept well? But when Yu Mu said it again, Qilin confirmed that he was indeed talking to her.

  She walked over to the washbasin and her face was smeared with something. Would it make a difference whether she washed or not? Why bother arranging things this way?

  Wait a minute!

  Qilin subconsciously touched her own face, she said that to Ziyuan yesterday, and today she got such treatment. Qilin glanced at Yu Mu, smiled slightly, of course understanding the implication.

  Without hesitation, she reached in and expected to feel something strange, but all she felt was the temperature of the water. She boldly wiped her face with it, but as soon as the water touched her left cheek, it started burning painfully. Qilin knew this must be taking effect, so she gritted her teeth and endured it, carefully washing her face clean. After that, she didn't rush to lift her head, instead taking the towel from Maidong's hand and meticulously wiping herself dry.

  When I opened my eyes, I found that the color of the water in the basin was even deeper than before. Presumably, the crimson on my face had faded away. From the reflection in the water, nothing could be seen on my face either.

  All right, recovered.

  Mai Dong stared at Qi Lin, he had imagined that Qi Lin would be very beautiful without this red makeup, but unexpectedly, when the red makeup was gone today, he was still surprised.

  Qilin wasn't the most beautiful person he had ever seen, not even as pretty as Buxiao, but Qilin's beauty was different from theirs, it was like the bright moon hanging in the sky, pure, elegant, and with a hint of arrogance that came from within her bones, just like the white plum blossoms blooming in Meiyuan.

  "Tell me, what should I do?" Qilin was certain that Ziyu had already told Yuemu about the whole thing, so she got straight to the point.

  Elm wood continued to brew tea slowly and asked faintly "What should be done?"

  She slightly furrowed her brow, how could he be so clueless? Qilin glanced at Ren Dong and Mai Dong, they were also perplexed. Qilin walked to Yu Mu's side and whispered "Didn't Zi Yun tell you?"

  "What's up?" Elm slightly tilted his head, a wet lip print immediately appeared on his face, and then he heard the sound of someone falling to the ground, of course, he knew it was Celine.

  Qilin covered her mouth, it was just an accident, but her heartbeat was out of rhythm, and she looked down in slight embarrassment, avoiding looking at Yu Mu.

  "The king just handed this over to me." He took out the bottle that Kong Qing had delivered early this morning and continued, "He didn't say anything else."

  Aren't you close friends? Qilin looked at Yu Mu with confusion, suddenly realizing that Yu Mu's "close friend" might not mean what she thought it meant. After all, Yu Mu was the top courtesan of this Drunken Flower House.

  Wiping away the sweat on his forehead in disbelief, he didn't think that Prince Zi Xun would actually be fond of this.

  Next, Yu Mu took out a letter from his sleeve and handed it to Qi Lin, saying "This is also what the prince instructed you."

  Qilin opened the letter, which surprisingly asked her to win the first round of the Hundred Flowers Competition with her own ability. However, she was not allowed to mention anything related to the royal family or seek help from outsiders, including those outside the Drunken Flower Pavilion. The letter also explained that the bottle contained a medicine made from many poisonous flowers, which could remove the red makeup on her face but would also poison Qilin if she disobeyed the rules. If Qilin broke the rules, her skin would rot and die. And every so often, someone would send an antidote.

  What's the difference if this is being controlled?

  Tore the letter in hand into pieces, then ruthlessly threw it on the ground and trampled on it several times. Sat down as if nothing had happened, drank tea, and said a lot of condensed words, leaving only one sentence behind.

  Sparrows want revolution, and revolution must rely on self-awareness.

  Isn't it just about winning the game? Although she didn't dress herself up as carefully as others in the past, she often watched some gossip stars and occasionally went to listen to concerts. This kind of thing doesn't need anyone's help.

  "Come on Mai Dong, let's go buy some stuff." Dragging Mai Dong away.

  In the yard, only Yu Mu and Qi Lin were left. Qi Lin also let go of her reserve and asked, "Yu Mu, would you please tell me about the rules of the Hundred Flowers Competition? The more, the better."

  "Good." Without asking for a reason, he put down his teacup and said slowly, "There are three steps in total. The first is the selection of appearance, all candidates must be exceptionally beautiful, this round was selected by Bai Xin from Feng Huang City, and then the officials made the final selection, it was already completed a month ago."

  Still a democratic country, not bad, but can't make it in time for this program, what to do?

  "You naturally won't be able to catch up with this round." It seems that Yu Mu knew what Qi Lin was thinking, and continued, "However, as long as you get the recommendation of a member of the royal family, it's not impossible to join midway. Of course, this person can't be Prince Zi Yin."

  But she only knew one Prince Ziyu, and oh yeah, there was that little prince too, what's his name... Ah yes, it was Long Ye. Since Ziyu said Peony was Long Ye's woman in the folk, then Long Ye would definitely come back here again. As long as I get his support, everything will be fine. The key is how to find him? What should I do now?

  After some thought, Qilin asked, "It requires the prince's recommendation, what kind of recommendation is that?"

  "There is a rule for the hundred flowers to bloom in rivalry. No matter how they were born, as long as someone from the imperial family takes a liking to one of the girls, they will give their iris to that girl." Hearing Qi Lin's uneven breathing, Yu Mu continued "Of course, if someone from the imperial family wants to recommend a certain girl, they will give her a plum blossom."

  So that's what it means by going through the back door. Plum blossoms all look alike, how can you tell which one is which?

  "The second round is the current song and dance talent show, this time only the most outstanding ten girls will be selected from everyone. The third round is the emperor personally selecting."

  Why did it sound like it ended up being the emperor choosing a concubine in the end? It's finally clear that on the surface, it seems fair, but in reality, it's just like modern workplaces, where whoever has the strongest connections wins, and in the end, it all depends on the emperor's taste.

  "Of course." A smile played on his lips as he said softly, "This woman must be a virgin."

  What?! Virginity?!

  Qilin was shocked, the teacup in her hand suddenly slipped and fell on the table, the tea water flowed out quickly, flowing along the table to Qilin's skirt. She opened her mouth, how could she not have thought of it? Yumei girl was a jade maiden, wasn't a jade maiden someone who was still a virgin? Thinking back to that night on White Tiger Mountain, she had already lost her virginity.

  Wait a minute!!! Qilin suddenly grabbed the icy hand of Yu Mu, and calmly said "This is Zuihuatang, now Mudan and Buxiao have also joined in, are they too... virgins?"

  She wouldn't believe it even if you beat her to death.

  Yu Mu smiled and then said, "Zui Hua Lou has a rule, the girls who have their own courtyards are not allowed to... Currently, only Peony and Bu Yao meet this condition. Although they are both women of the wind and dust, they are also strictly protected, selling their art but not their bodies."

  "But isn't that...?! Is Peony really Dragon Yan's Little Prince's woman? And besides, Peony has that kind of perverted hobby. Even if I were to be flogged to death and hung on the city gate, I absolutely wouldn't believe that Peony is a virgin."

  Is this also an unspoken rule?

  "But what?" How could Elm not know what Qi Lin was thinking, but being favored by the royal family means being a person of the royal family, and whoever has more power is who decides, presumably Qi Lin also understands this principle.

  Nothing. Qilin shook her head, she had no one to rely on and was not a virgin, in this regard she had already lost, but! She couldn't admit defeat, the soft hands under the wide sleeves tightly grasped the hem of her skirt, how could she lose here?!

  Qilin looked at Yu Mu, who had a smiling face and was biting her lip. She didn't know if anyone else could help her this time except for Yu Mu. She made up her mind to speak out and said "Thank you."

  From the mouth of Yu Mu, Qi Lin learned about the general course of events and began to carefully ponder. Even if she could make a surprise move at the last moment and gain everyone's approval, she would still have to undergo the miserable verification process. Although it was just a drop of Guardian Sand, this kind of thing couldn't be faked.

  So now Qilin can think of people who have a way to get her out of this situation, and there are only two people, one is Yu Mu, he is proficient in medicine, and must have some method to let her muddle through.

  So who is the second person? The woman in front of me, with a plump body but deliberately wearing a low-cut top, with a greasy face but trying to cover it up with makeup.

  The old procuress carefully sized up Qilin, who was still painting a red mole in the same spot on her face as before, looking no different from usual. Although she was surprised that Qilin had come back to find her, the old procuress still invited her to sit down.

  "Speak, what is it?" The tone was slightly impatient, occasionally glancing at his own thick and fat fingers, a satisfied glance, and when his gaze returned to Qilin, it was filled with endless disdain.

  Don't mind these things, what kind of rich woman hasn't been seen in modern times? Aren't they all like this? A professional smile, opening her mouth to say "Ah Xue visited today without an appointment, please forgive me, madam."

  The old madam glanced at Qilin and smiled, "You're quite eloquent. Just say what you want to say, I don't have time to waste on idle chatter."

  The old procuress's tone slowed down, and Qilin poured her a cup of tea, smiling and saying, "I've heard that the madam is knowledgeable and experienced. Today, Ah Xue only wants to ask for one thing, something that can make an imperfect woman perfect again."

  "Slap"

  The old procuress's coarse and fat palm suddenly slapped on the table, just knocking over the teacup. The old procuress didn't care, those eyes full of anger stared fiercely at Qilin, her nostrils shrinking exaggeratedly due to the strong airflow.

  "Do you know what you're saying?" Staring at Qilin's firm black pupils, he narrowed his eyes and said "This is taboo."

  "That's all there is, thank you, madam, for your instruction." Qilin bowed slightly. She knew the old procuress would certainly give it to her.

  She was allowed to stay in the Drunken Blossom House, and no one intentionally bothered her. Even when Yu Mu took her as a personal maid, she didn't ask any questions. She believed this must have something to do with Zi Yin. Since Yu Mu wouldn't say anything, she would go find Zi Yin instead. Although Zi Yin had said not to seek help from anyone related to the imperial family, the old madam wasn't one of them, was she? Perhaps out of consideration for Zi Yin's face, the old madam would definitely help her.

  Sure, here is the translation:

  As expected, the old woman got up and walked over to the dresser, rummaged around for a while, picked up a black bottle and brought it over, placing it in front of Qilin.

  Qilin was about to thank and leave, but then she heard the old madam say something that made her almost want to bang her head against the wall.

  "This can't make you perfect, but it can keep the menstrual period from disappearing. When you see red, of course...". The old procuress slowed down her breath and smiled, "This medicine is called Mei Ren Hong (Beautiful Person Red), also known as the most potent aphrodisiac."