Chapter 779: The Consort of Hailing

“It does give a sense of conquest,” Song Qingshu casually agreed.

He was well aware of the Jurchen customs, which differed greatly from those of the Han people. Chastity was not highly valued among them, so a w0man like the Fifth Princess—who had passed through the hands of several men—was not seen as diminished but rather more alluring.

Song Qingshu himself hailed from a later era and held far more liberal views on such matters than the people of the Song Dynasty, so he didn’t find it particularly noteworthy.

Wanyan Liang was pleased with his reaction. “To be honest, I’ve long admired this Fifth Princess. But compared to a beauty, I value heroes even more. So I intend to present her to you, Brother Tang Kuo, as a gift. Moreover, you suffered an undeserved calamity because of me this time, and you’ve also helped me become wary of future assassins. For that, I must thank you.”

Song Qingshu smiled wryly. “Your Highness, how could a gentleman take what another treasures? Besides, I didn’t really help much in this matter.”

“How could you say that? You allowed me to learn of the assassin’s methods in advance—that’s equivalent to saving my life! How could I not repay such a debt? If you keep refusing, Brother Tang Kuo, might it be because you find this gift too meager?” Wanyan Liang deliberately adopted a teasing tone.

“Your Highness jests. Since that’s the case, I’ll humbly accept your generous gift.” In truth, Song Qingshu also wanted to interact with this Fifth Princess to gather information about her sisters in the Laundry Courtyard.

“Don’t thank me too soon, Brother Tang Kuo. Though I’m determined to obtain this Fifth Princess, there’s no telling if some troublesome figure might emerge to compete for her. If things don’t go as planned, I hope you won’t hold it against me,” Wanyan Liang said with a laugh.

“I wouldn’t be so ungrateful. Your Highness worries too much.” Song Qingshu found it strange—Wanyan Liang was making promises with something he didn’t even possess yet. If he failed to deliver, wouldn’t that only earn him resentment? A man as shrewd as Wanyan Liang shouldn’t make such a basic mistake.

Noticing Song Qingshu’s expression, Wanyan Liang chuckled. “No need to worry too much, Brother Tang Kuo. Barring any mishaps, you’ll soon enjoy the company of that beautiful Fifth Princess. But if something does go wrong, accompany me back to my residence. Aside from my consort, any woman in my household will be yours to choose from—as my apology.”

Song Qingshu’s heart skipped a beat.

The women in a prince’s household weren’t just maids and servants… (G: clarification: Prince is their status, King is their title.)

As a prince with real power, Wanyan Liang surely had countless concubines and consorts besides his primary wife. From the sound of it, if he wanted, he could even sleep with one of Wanyan Liang’s secondary consorts? What kind of joke is this?

“Your Highness, you exaggerate. As the saying goes, ‘What is gained is fate, what is lost is fortune.’ How could I dare demand an apology from you? Let us speak no more of this.” Song Qingshu refused with utmost seriousness.

Wanyan Liang looked at him with an amused expression. “Brother Tang Kuo, could it be that you don’t dare to choose a woman from my household? Hahaha! I consider you a friend, and among friends, gifting concubines is a common practice. Don’t overthink it.”

“This…” Just as Song Qingshu was about to refuse again, Wanyan Liang casually waved his hand and gestured below. “The contest for the courtesan queen has begun.”

A still-charming madam took the stage and began explaining the rules of the competition, then proceeded to extol the courtesan’s unparalleled beauty, along with her unique background and experiences—much as Wanyan Liang had described earlier.

Song Qingshu paid little attention to the madam’s words, focusing instead on Wanyan Liang’s behavior tonight. No matter how he thought about it, the prince’s actions were highly suspicious. Whether it was recklessly making an empty promise or suddenly bringing up the gifting of concubines, everything reeked of something unnatural.

His gaze swept over the private boxes around them. Though he couldn’t see who was inside, those who could reach this level were undoubtedly nobles or the extremely wealthy.

Wanyan Liang held considerable power, but after spending so much time in the capital, Song Qingshu knew there were many in the court whose rank and authority surpassed his. How could Wanyan Liang be so confident he would win this bid? And why would he risk offering his own concubines as compensation? The gamble seemed far too reckless.

“……”

Suddenly, a realization struck Song Qingshu. He finally understood the whole scheme—Wanyan Liang wasn’t certain he would win the bid for the courtesan queen. On the contrary, he was likely sure he wouldn’t win, all to create a plausible reason for gifting his concubines!

To modern sensibilities, giving one’s own women to another man might seem unthinkable, but in this world, aside from a principal wife, concubines held no status. It was entirely normal for masters to casually gift them away.

Take the great poet Su Shi, for example—on one hand, he could pen lines like “Ten years apart, one living, one dead” for his deceased wife, moving millions with his apparent devotion. Yet on the other hand, he treated his concubines with shocking cruelty, often giving them away on a whim, even if they were pregnant…

If even Su Shi, a man of the Song, behaved this way, then Wanyan Liang, a Jurchen noble, would certainly care even less about his secondary consorts and concubines. But unlike Su Shi, Wanyan Liang’s status was loftier. Though he might not value those women, to others, they still carried the title of prince’s consort—and that alone made them far more enticing than ordinary concubines.

If an average man were offered one of Wanyan Liang’s women, wouldn’t he be overwhelmed with gratitude, his loyalty instantly maxed out? Unfortunately, Song Qingshu was no ordinary man. He wouldn’t be so easily bought. Moreover, he suspected Wanyan Liang wasn’t merely trying to win him over—there was likely another motive at play.

Although there was no concrete evidence, Song Qingshu’s intuition told him that Wanyan Liang’s ultimate goal might very well lie with Tang Kuo Bian’s wife, Gebi.

Song Qingshu still remembered reading a legendary book in his past life titled The Dream of the Red Chamber. In it, the Prince of Beihai used a similar tactic—he first invited Jia Rong to his residence, then instructed his favored concubine to seduce him. Afterward, he turned hostile, holding Jia Rong accountable while producing evidence of his corruption and bribery to coerce and threaten him. Terrified, Jia Rong stepped right into the trap laid out for him and had no choice but to offer up his wife Qin Keqing to beg for the Prince’s mercy…

‘Who would’ve thought that reading a book like that would come in so handy today? Heh, for an experienced old hand like me, what kind of tricks haven’t I seen?’

Song Qingshu couldn’t help but sigh in amazement.

The cunning of the noble folk truly knew no bounds. Although he didn’t yet know what exact methods Wanyan Liang planned to use, they likely wouldn’t differ much from those employed by the Prince of Beihai.

Glancing at the private rooms not far away, Song Qingshu even suspected that Wanyan Liang wanted to use this flower competition to instigate a conflict between him and some powerful noble, thereby forcing him to lean toward Wanyan Liang’s faction.

“Madam, what’s the point of all your fancy words here? You might as well just bring out the Fifth Princess so we can see whether she’s truly as stunning as you claim,” someone below finally lost patience with the procuress’s long-winded speech and shouted, sparking a round of echoed agreement.

“I know everyone’s been waiting eagerly. I’ll have the Fifth Princess come out to greet you all now.” As she finished, the procuress clapped her hands. Responding to her signal, the thick curtain on the second floor was slowly pulled aside. Immediately, a refined melody from a zither floated through the air.

A group of men craned their necks to peer upstairs, where a graceful silhouette sat behind a beaded curtain, playing the zither. Exclamations of admiration followed one after another:

“She really is a celestial beauty!”

“No wonder she once bewitched the Second Prince so completely.”

“I must be the one to share her bed tonight!”

“In your dreams! Do you even see how many noble sons are upstairs waiting? Like you’d stand a chance.”

“Hmph, tonight’s rules say the highest bidder wins. If nothing else, I’ve got money to burn!”

“…”

With his keen eyesight, Song Qingshu could clearly make out the courtesan’s features even through the layer of beads. She looked to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. Even with his now highly discerning standards, he had to admit she was a rare beauty. Perhaps it was due to her noble background—despite years of hardship, she still carried a trace of innate pride, which made her stand apart from the usual courtesans steeped in worldly dust.

Hearing the vulgar remarks of the nouveau riche below, her elegant brows furrowed as if on the verge of anger, but the expression quickly melted into sorrow.

Song Qingshu didn’t know why a mere movement of her brows could stir so many thoughts in him, but somehow, deep down, he felt he hadn’t misjudged her feelings in this moment.

“She truly stirs pity at first sight,” Wanyan Liang couldn’t help but sigh in admiration. “Brother Tang Kuo, are you satisfied with this gift I’ve prepared?”

Already having a rough idea of Wanyan Liang’s scheme, Song Qingshu replied calmly, “She is indeed very beautiful.”

Noticing the astonishment on everyone’s faces, the procuress seized the perfect opportunity and loudly announced, “Gentlemen, I won’t waste words. The starting price is five hundred taels of gold. Whoever bids the highest tonight will be the one to share a bed with the former Princess of the Northern Song!”

As the procuress spoke, Song Qingshu observed the Fifth Princess with her head lowered. Her expression was blank, but the tightly clenched, pale fists under the table betrayed her fury and helplessness.

“Let them fight among themselves for a while. Once things settle, I’ll step in,” Wanyan Liang said with a smile.

Clearly unwilling to tarnish his dignity by competing early with the crowd, he stayed quiet while the auction below heated up. Soon, the price soared past a thousand taels. Song Qingshu was inwardly speechless—this was gold they were bidding with! That kind of money could buy out half the courtesans along the Qinhuai River, and yet here it would only purchase a single night. Judging by the current momentum, the final price would surely be far higher. Indeed, her identity as a Song Dynasty princess made her an extraordinary prize.

Once the bid reached three thousand taels of gold, the number of bidders was cut in half. After all, spending that much money for a single night was excessive. Many who couldn’t afford it quietly backed out.

“Five thousand taels!” The obese man who had earlier claimed to be filthy rich wasn’t bluffing—his bid nearly doubled the price at once.