Ling’er was beautiful and knew just how to sweet-talk people.
On the very first day she was sold to a brothel, she talked the madam into putting up a sign saying she would perform, but not sell her body.
Her first client was the renowned Little Prince Zhong of the capital, noble and peerless, gentle and virtuous.
Little Prince Zhong came to the brothel every few days to listen to her play.
Whenever he was troubled, she would gently console him, her lovely brows and eyes always holding just the right amount of tender affection.
Later, that affection went beyond her eyes.
The handkerchief embroidered with Little Prince Zhong’s name, the mournful tunes she played, the sweet words she whispered when passion ran high.
They all showed how she felt about him.
So Little Prince Zhong, unable to turn her down, bought her freedom. Guilt-ridden over her wholehearted devotion, he planned never to marry, and to spend the rest of his life with her as a kindred spirit.
Who could have guessed that on the very first day after she was freed,
Ling’er would “turn on him and deny everything”?
She washed off her heavy makeup and changed into plain clothes that had never been perfumed. She bowed gracefully to her benefactor, Little Prince Zhong. “Thank you for your great kindness, Your Highness. Ling’er will wish you a lifetime of peace and good health from afar.”
Her expression was clear and detached. There was no trace of the coy, clinging woman who had once loved him so deeply.
After thanking him, Ling’er planned to move to Jiangnan with an old friend and live freely as a country woman.
But on the eve of the official boat’s departure for Jiangnan,
her friend waited at the dock for over two hours, yet Ling’er never appeared.
*
Little Prince Zhong, Pei Chengyou, known for his remarkable gentleness and impeccable conduct, claimed to be ill and stayed home, not venturing out for ten days.
Visitors came to inquire after him one after another, but Pei Chengyou turned them all away, citing his poor health.
No one knew what he did during those ten days.
Only the servant who attended him heard faint rustling sounds from the secret room several times.
At times, he could even hear Little Prince Zhong murmur, “Be good, Ling’er. Say you love me one more time.”
Theme: Never give up hope in the face of adversity.
