Chapter 93

Chapter 93: A Really, Really Big One. As soon as they entered, a waiter immediately came forward to greet them politely. Gan Qiongying was drawn by a burst of cheers from the main hall and saw a massive high platform set up right in the center of Phoenix Tower. Standing on the platform at that moment was an ordinary-looking old man. He raised his spotted hand, lightly covering his mouth. As the cheers died down, Gan Qiongying heard a cheerful chirping of birds. In the middle of the night, with such a noisy crowd, where did the bird sounds come from? A moment later, Gan Qiongying understood—the sound came from the old man on the stage. The bird chirps soon turned into dog barks, then into the neighing of horses, and finally even into wolf howls. Gan Qiongying widened her eyes in amazement. Manyue had already settled things with the waiter, who scurried off to notify the accountant. “He’s here, he’s here!” Manyue was even more excited than Gan Qiongying. She immediately leaned in and said, “The Consort is here, currently in the back checking accounts with the accountant. I’ll take the Princess to the private room on the second floor first, then go fetch the ginseng soup from the carriage!” Hearing this, Gan Qiongying felt a surge of joy—finally, no more running around. She nodded and, supported by Manyue and guided by another waiter, headed toward a private room on the second floor. But her eyes never left the old man on the stage. His wolf howls transformed once again, this time into the calls of a monkey. Cheers from below the stage rose wave after wave. Some people threw silver onto the stage, requesting various animal sounds. Each time, the old man would quickly switch to the animal sound based on who threw the most silver. Then, with a loud clang, a large silver ingot landed on the stage. A still-youthful voice called out, “For me, imitate the voice of the courtesan Wan Niang from the Autumn Moon Pavilion!” As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd burst into laughter, accompanied by whistles and jeers. Gan Qiongying happened to be at the corner of the second floor and turned to look toward the commotion. She saw the person who had stood up from a seat in the main hall and thrown the silver ingot at the old man, demanding he imitate the courtesan’s voice. Gan Qiongying narrowed her eyes and saw the dark, patterned python robe he wore. Her heart sank in shock—wasn’t that Gan Li?! The old man on the stage was clearly taken aback, staring at the large silver ingot on the floor without moving. The crowd below was in an uproar, all jeering and urging him on. Gan Li, acting every bit the spoiled noble, kept raising the stakes, throwing one silver ingot after another onto the stage with loud clangs. A really, really big one. Gan Li, that wasteful fool, threw so much silver that Gan Qiongying’s eyelids twitched. She wished she could replace him and go up there herself to imitate the voice of that Autumn Moon Pavilion courtesan. Sure enough, the old man couldn’t withstand this bombardment of money. After a brief pause, he covered his mouth again, and a soft, seductive voice drifted from the stage. “Esteemed guests, Wan Niang greets you all.” As soon as the voice fell, the entire hall erupted into a frenzy. Cheers surged like tidal waves, one louder than the next. The crowd turned into a pack of monkeys, hooting and pounding their chests. “Princess?” Gan Qiongying, who had unconsciously stopped in her tracks, was nudged twice by Manyue before she continued walking upstairs. Even after entering the private room, Gan Qiongying was still marveling at the performance in the main hall. And then there was Zhongli Zhengzhen, who in the original plot should have been the most innocent and youngest of the male leads, rising to prominence precisely because he was the epitome of a loyal, puppy-like character. According to the storyline, he should have been doing everything possible to get close to Wen Xueling at this point—first calling her "sister" for two years, then seizing the opportunity when she was heartbroken by Zhongli Zhengzhen to make his move. Why was he fooling around here instead, and how did he even know about someone like Wan Niang from the Autumn Moon Pavilion? "Chen Wa is right outside the door, Princess. Please wait here for a moment. The Consort is currently in the backyard, and the waiter has already gone to inform him. I’m sure he’ll be here soon. This servant will go fetch the ginseng soup from the carriage!" Manyue was beaming with joy, as if she could already see her doubled monthly allowance. Gan Qiongying nodded, and Manyue practically dashed out of the room as if she had grown wings. Once the door to the private room closed, Gan Qiongying should have been thinking about how to coax her "God of Wealth," but her mind kept drifting back to the elderly performer on stage earlier. Gan Qiongying wasn’t shocked by the old man’s abilities. Coming from the internet-saturated 21st century, she had seen plenty of exceptionally skilled individuals. But this was the first time she had encountered such a talent in ancient times. It truly seemed that, whether in ancient or modern times, masters often hid among the common folk. And this old man could not only imitate animal sounds but even mimic human voices... Gan Qiongying had only been sitting for a short while before she got up and went to the door. Chen Wa was standing guard outside and immediately bowed with clasped hands upon seeing her emerge. Gan Qiongying beckoned Chen Wa with a finger, and he followed her back into the room. As soon as the door closed, Gan Qiongying whispered, "Send a guard with some silver to politely approach the old man performing ventriloquism on stage after the show ends. Find out everything about his background." Chen Wa didn’t understand why Gan Qiongying was interested in a shabby old man. When they were heading upstairs earlier, Chen Wa, following behind Gan Qiongying, had naturally seen the old man’s performance. But such ventriloquism wasn’t particularly rare. Many traveling performance troupes that came to Yindu had members who could imitate animal sounds. And those performers were often handsome young men, some specifically trained for such skills—naturally, to add excitement in the bedroom. Chen Wa initially thought Gan Qiongying was planning to add another young man to her collection, but the thought of that wrinkled old face on stage made his eyelids twitch. Nevertheless, Chen Wa never questioned any of Gan Qiongying’s decisions and immediately nodded before stepping out to relay the order. Being skilled at imitating animal sounds wasn’t unusual, but being able to mimic specific people’s voices—if anyone could do that, it would have immense utility. As Gan Qiongying sat by the table deep in thought, Manyue hurriedly returned with the food box, placed it on the table, and immediately rushed over to pour tea for Gan Qiongying. "Princess, on my way back, I ran into the waiter who went to deliver the message to the Consort. The Consort said he’s still handling the account books and asked the Princess to wait a little longer. He’ll come over once he’s finished." Gan Qiongying let out a questioning "Hmm?" before snapping back to reality, picking up her teacup to take a sip, and replied, "Alright." But by the time Gan Qiongying had nearly finished an entire pot of tea, her bottom had gone numb from sitting, and her stomach was uncomfortably full, Lihua still hadn’t arrived. Manyue suggested that Gan Qiongying go directly to find the Consort, but Gan Qiongying shook her head and said to her, "No one should disturb anyone while they are working." Especially since the Consort's work was akin to that of a modern-day domineering CEO, where a mere flick of the finger could involve "billions." No matter how oblivious Gan Qiongying might be, she wouldn’t run to Lihua—the domineering CEO—during his "meeting" to chatter about trivial matters. No rush, just wait. The performance in the main hall had already ended. As the hour of You had passed, many people began heading out of Phoenix Tower. The clamor faded as the crowd dispersed, and most of the guests staying overnight returned to their rooms upstairs. At this hour, Lihua still hadn’t come!