Chapter 550: Nangong Wan’er and Nangong Yu! The Brilliant Wei Wenzhong! The Gold-Devouring Insect!
“The head of the household instructed us to attend to your daily needs. We hope you will take pity on us. Our lives have been like drifting weeds. If we could serve someone like you, that alone would make our lives complete.”
The young beauty who spoke just now continued, carrying the gentle charm of a southern Jiangnan woman.
The sisters’ surname was Nangong. The elder was Nangong Wan’er, and the younger was Nangong Yu.
The Nangong family had once been a prominent scholarly household in Jiangnan Prefecture, producing numerous top-ranking scholars. They could be said to be a scholarly and refined family.
But later, the family was caught in political strife and exiled. The two Nangong sisters were at one point to be sent to the brothels as courtesans. By chance, a dispute between a monk practicing silent meditation and a tantric lama[1] in Jiangnan Prefecture intersected with the escorting party, allowing the sisters to escape and drift north to Donglin Prefecture.
Fate, however, remained unpredictable. By coincidence, they came under the employ of the famous Madam Yun of Jiangnan Prefecture as entertainers. Madam Yun was a legendary courtesan, once the top beauty of Jiangnan, admired by nobles and wandering heroes alike. Her singing and dancing were unmatched, renowned throughout the prefecture.
But she fell in love with a young Daoist, whose swordsmanship was peerless and who slew demons and demons. The romance angered his sect, which immediately recalled him, forbidding him from leaving the sect forever.
Stories of the Daoist and the courtesan spread widely among the people. Madam Yun retired and became a manager, training women skilled in singing, dancing, and arts like qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Her disciples became highly regarded for their talent and grace.
The Nangong sisters, wandering through the world, were taken in by Madam Yun. Later, the wealthy Donglin magnate Wei Wenzhong spent a fortune to acquire the two enchanting twins.
Wei Wenzhong intended to present them to nobles to curry favor. Thus, the sisters came to the Wei household. This was now their second day there.
Wei Wenzhong was delighted. Women of such beauty and talent were rare, and these were twins, skilled in singing and dancing, trained by the famed Madam Yun herself. He didn’t assume that merely presenting them would win over Li Yanchu, but if Daoist Master Li accepted them, it would create goodwill; if not, he could gift them to other nobles.
When Nangong Wan’er spoke of this, Li Yanchu paused thoughtfully, then allowed the sisters to enter. Here was a young, handsome, peerless Daoist, a figure of prominence; it was an opportunity the sisters could not let pass.