A tall and straight man emerged in the middle of the crowd. His raven - black hair was tied up with a white silk ribbon, and he was dressed in a suit of snow - white satin. A long white silk tassel sash was tied around his waist, with a piece of mutton - fat white jade attached. Over his clothes, he wore a soft gossamer veil.
As the crowd dispersed, Su Mingyu finally got a clear look at the man's face. He was wearing a mask made of an unidentifiable material. Even so, the eyes revealed from the mask were long and cold, indicating that he was by no means an easy person to deal with.
Su Mingyu quickly rummaged through her memory but found no recollection of this man at all.
She frowned and asked in a low voice, "Who is this guy?"
Mei Qing also shook her head. "I heard he's a super - rich young master from the capital. His name is Mo Wenyuan."
Mo Wenyuan? When did such a person appear in the capital?
Su Mingyu stared fixedly at Mo Wenyuan, her face looking rather grim.
She waved to Qingfeng beside her. "Do you know this Mo Wenyuan?"
Qingfeng was borrowed from the Ye Mansion by her. Although Su Mingyu was quite confident in her own skills, just to be on the safe side, she still sought external help.
"Mo Wenyuan is the leader of the rice and oil merchants in the capital. Despite his young age, he started from scratch. In less than three years, he has occupied half of the rice and oil stores in the capital. He's a very wealthy and mysterious person."
Qingfeng knew much more than Mei Qing, but Su Mingyu was still confused. "Why don't I have any impression of this person?"
Logically speaking, as a young lady in the boudoir, she should have at least heard something about such a capable person.
Qingfeng thought for a while and replied, "Maybe it's because Young Master Mo Wenyuan is very mysterious. He never associates with other merchants and rarely shows up in public. Also, I've never heard that he..."
At this point, Qingfeng suddenly stopped.
Su Mingyu looked at him suspiciously. "What's wrong? Keep talking."
"It's rumored that Young Master Mo Wenyuan has no interest in women. Even the servants in his mansion are all men. Some people in the town even say that he's homosexual. Why would he come to this beauty pageant in the brothel?"
Qingfeng's words piqued Su Mingyu's interest in Mo Wenyuan even more.
"I think I might know him," Su Mingyu frowned. This man's figure was so similar to that person. Before, she only suspected, but now, after hearing what Qingfeng said, she was somewhat certain.
"Miss Su... You know him?" Qingfeng was a bit surprised.
This Mo Wenyuan was one of the most mysterious young masters in the capital. No one knew how he suddenly became the industry leader.
No one knew the face behind his mask. Even the Ye Mansion, when it once extended an olive branch to him, received no response. When they tried to investigate him, they hit a wall repeatedly and couldn't get in touch with his back - up forces at all.
All these indicated that Mo Wenyuan was no ordinary person. How did Su Mingyu, a young lady in the boudoir, get to know him?
Ignoring Qingfeng's doubts, Su Mingyu propped her head up. Coincidentally, her gaze met Mo Wenyuan's downstairs.
Instead of avoiding his gaze, Su Mingyu winked at him.
Mo Wenyuan downstairs didn't even give her a side - glance. Amidst the noise and envy of the crowd, he went straight to the second floor and sat down in the best seat.
He seemed to be very interested in this beauty pageant.
The onlookers on the first floor couldn't help but start discussing.
"Even Young Master Mo, who has no interest in women, has come out. It seems that First Fragrance really has something good in store this time!"
"But we've all seen the girls in First Fragrance. Isn't this so - called competition just to let us watch their talents again? What's there to choose?"
"You don't understand. These girls are different. If they perform well and are redeemed by a rich young master, they'll turn into phoenixes from common birds. Do you think these girls won't go all out?"
"Right, right! In that case, this competition is worth watching."
Everyone was showing their best, vying for beauty. It was bound to be a wonderful show.
The chatting men looked at each other and then burst into laughter, their eyes full of lechery.
Su Mingyu watched from afar, her eyes full of disgust. This was the reason why even though Zhizhu had begged her many times, she still didn't want to bring Zhizhu here. That girl was too innocent. She didn't want Zhizhu's eyes to be polluted by these people.
"Bang!"
As a hunched man took the stage and struck a deafening gong, everyone's eyes were drawn to him.
"Dear guests, please take your seats. The competition will start soon."
The hubbub gradually quieted down. The man struck the gong again. "The competition in our First Fragrance is very simple. It's a vote. Each girl on stage will have a number."
"You can vote for the girl you like. From today on, every young master who enters will get a vote. At the end, just write down the number of the girl you like and put it into the box on your table."
The rules were quite simple. Seeing that everyone understood, the man clapped his hands. "Then let's start. Please welcome the first girl, Nian'er."
As the beautiful sound of the guzheng rang out, a girl in plain silk dress walked onto the stage gracefully.
She was performing a dance. As she swayed her waist to the rhythm of the guzheng, her slender figure made many men drool.
"Wow! The first girl is so hot. I'm getting more and more looking forward to it."
Su Mingyu watched from afar, a hint of interest in her eyes. The madam of First Fragrance was quite smart. She knew that the first girl was crucial, so she chose this hot - bodied Nian'er to start the show.
After a passionate dance, the atmosphere in the building was extremely lively. Everyone couldn't help but cheer and laugh.
One after another, the girls took the stage in this atmosphere.
Some sang songs, some played musical instruments, and some showed their talents in poetry and painting. All kinds of girls were there. Mei Qing performed a sword dance.
Her fluttering clothes paired with her strong and powerful postures made her look heroic yet enchantingly beautiful. It was truly an unorthodox approach.
Just like this, the first competition came to a successful end.
Su Mingyu wrote down Mei Qing's number and was about to put it into the box on the table when she suddenly caught sight of Mo Wenyuan in the distance. So she pursed her lips and walked to Mo Wenyuan's table with her note in hand.
"Sir, which girl do you think is the most beautiful?"
Mo Wenyuan seemed to have known that she would come. His eyes under the mask flickered slightly. "Well, which girl does this young master think is good?"