Chapter 553: Choosing the Young Star and the Great Benefactor

“Shopkeeper Lin, there’s still a little over an hour before we choose the young star and the great benefactor. Have you had dinner?” Lou Wanshan asked.
“I’ve already eaten. Just bring some pastries!” Lin Dong joked with Lou Wanshan as soon as he entered. The reason was that although Li Xun wasn’t Lou Wanshan’s son, he truly loved Prince Qingliu. Out of affection for him, Lou Wanshan often went to Lin’s Inn to check on Li Xun, avoiding the queen in the process. Over time, their relationship had evolved beyond what it was when Lin’s Inn was at Qiufeng Mansion or in the Jiale Restaurant. That’s why Lin Dong didn’t hold back with Lou Wanshan.
“Okay, I’ll save you a good seat later,” Lou Wanshan nodded.
Lin Dong hesitated for a moment before nodding. He had originally wanted to get a seat for Yun Lan, but decided against it—having a servant sit with their master could arouse suspicion.
“Yun Lan, sit down!” Lin Dong called out cheerfully after Lou Wanshan left.
“Let’s wait until the pastries are brought in first!” Yun Lan shook her head, clearly annoyed. “You make me act as a servant just like that—how can you feel so at ease?”
“I have no choice. Otherwise, can you stand being pulled around by a bunch of girls?” Lin Dong felt wronged. Only by acting as a servant would the girls of Wanshan Tower ignore him.
Yun Lan was speechless; she had no argument.
“Come on, little Yunzi! The master is giving you a seat. Anyway, it’s you who’ll open the door later, so you’ll have to get up anyway,” Lin Dong said cheerfully.
Lacking the composure of a peak warrior, Yun Lan rolled her eyes at Lin Dong before sitting down beside him.
Before long, there was a knock at the door. Yun Lan rolled her eyes at Lin Dong again and got up to open it. Platters of pastries were brought in, and after the maids left, Yun Lan sat down again. The two ate and chatted. Though over an hour was quite long, they had plenty to talk about, and they never lacked topics for casual conversation, so it passed fairly easily.
Knock, knock, knock…
With few pastries left, there was another knock at the door.
“Lord Wang, it’s time to choose the little red star and the great benefactor,” Lou Wanshan’s voice came through.
“I’m coming!”
Lin Dong replied and left with Yun Lan.
“Lord Wang, I’ve saved you a good seat. If you find anyone you like, let me know. After we finish here, tonight too…”
As Lou Wanshan was speaking, he stumbled and almost fell to the ground.

“This floor… I’ll replace it tomorrow…” Lou Wanshan originally thought the floor was broken. Wanting to eliminate any potential risks, she was about to say she would replace it when she turned around and saw the floor was perfectly fine, leaving her speechless.
Not understanding what was going on, Lou Wanshan didn’t realize it was Yun Lan’s way of giving her a light punishment. Not daring to ask further, she changed the subject and said, “Sister Xian, what’s the deal with choosing a ‘minor top performer’ and a ‘great benefactor’?”
“Well, it was actually conceived by Ling, the wastrel of Fenglin Restaurant,” Lou Wanshan said with a smile. “Choosing a ‘minor top performer’ and a ‘great benefactor’ means that every night, at a set time, aside from the girls with red cards and those who have been chosen, all the other girls in our Wanshan Tower take turns being shown off to the benefactors. Whoever likes a particular girl can bid how much silver they’re willing to pay. If no one bids higher, that girl spends the night with that person. The one who bids the most becomes our Wanshan Tower’s great benefactor for that night—enjoying many benefits and guaranteed respect. As for the girl who gets the highest bid, she becomes the second-highest performer in our tower after those with red cards, and we also give her generous rewards to encourage her to urge regular customers to compete to become great benefactors.”
“I see. It’s similar to bidding battles!” Lin Dong said with a smile.
“Yes, it’s similar to bidding battles. After trying it a few times and seeing good results, I’ve used it ever since,” Lou Wanshan said with a smile. “Later, once Manager Lin beats Jiang Huan, he can just keep Miss Lanxiang here, so I don’t have to find an excuse to explain why Manager Lin left suddenly. That way, it’ll also be easier to cover things up…”
One last word was missing. Lou Wanshan staggered again. Turning around, she saw the floor was still smooth and intact.
“What’s going on?” Lou Wanshan was confused.
Lin Dong suppressed his laughter and said seriously, “Sister Xian, your steps seem unsteady. It’s probably because of insufficient energy. Let’s go to Lin’s Inn instead. I’ll have Ma Chun prepare some elixirs to replenish your energy and blood.”
“Thank you so much, Manager Lin,” Lou Wanshan said, unaware of the trick. Believing Lin Dong’s words as those of a strong person, she immediately thanked him. After thanking him, she added, “Regarding staying overnight, what does Manager Lin think…”
This time, Lin Dong didn’t want Lou Wanshan to stagger again, so he interrupted, “Sister Xian, forget about it. You know well that martial artists must avoid women’s charms. If they get involved, it will only ruin their future. I’m not sure if the girls in your Wanshan Tower can resist such temptations.”

“That’s true!” Lou Wanshan, somewhat pleased with herself, gave up the idea of trying to forge a closer relationship with Lin Dong. She had full confidence in the girls from her own family. Moreover, she understood that those who practiced martial arts should not get too close to women, otherwise, they might lose focus on their training and, as Lin Dong had said, ruin their own futures. Lou Wanshan had personal experience with this—once, she had made the King of Qingliu fall deeply in love with her, unable to extricate himself. If not for the incident of the young prince being stolen, which left the King of Qingliu filled with regret and guilt toward his queen, and if she hadn’t considered his feelings back then and failed to urge him to restrain himself, he likely would still not be among the strong ones today.

The group arrived at the staircase and descended into the corridor suspended between the first and second floors. In the corridor, instead of beautiful women playing music and singing, there were square tables laden with fruits, snacks, tea, and wine. Approaching one table slightly off-center from the main viewing area, Lou Wanshan whispered, “With so many people around, it’s not convenient for me to greet everyone. Manager Lin, please go ahead as you see fit.”

“Mm!” Lin Dong nodded and sat down in the chair. Yun Lan helplessly picked up the teapot, filled a cup for Lin Dong first, fulfilling her role as a servant, then stood straight behind him.

Lin Dong took a sip with a smile, glancing around the corridor surrounding the Wanshan Building, his gaze stopping on a square table about ten meters away. Sitting there was Jiang Huan. On his lap, like most of the guests at the square tables, was a beautiful girl. The two were joking around, feeding each other small drinks.

“Quite leisurely!” Lin Dong smiled, then looked down at the empty first floor.

In the first floor, where the tables and chairs had been moved, there was a viewing platform made of wood covered with pink silk. Behind the platform was a passage also covered with pink silk. It went without saying that the girls from the Wanshan Building would enter through this passage later.

Before long, Lou Wanshan was the first to enter the viewing platform through the passage. After smiling at the guests in the corridor above, she said, “Thank you all for your support. Tonight’s star performer and our most generous guests are now officially here.”

Cheers rang out, clearly showing their satisfaction with Lou Wanshan’s concise opening remarks. Lou Wanshan quickly stepped down from the platform. Moments later, a girl dressed in a pink dress, with a slender waist, emerged from the passage.

“I am Hong Xiang. It’s an honor to meet all of you, guests.”

She bowed in all directions one by one. The girl named Hongxiang, with her fingers shaped like orchids, gently held the hem of her skirt as she slowly spun around. Her faintly visible figure, combined with her charming expression, made her utterly alluring.

“Two taels of silver!”

“Five taels of silver!”

“Six taels of silver!”

Calls for bids arose quickly and then subsided just as fast. Though Hongxiang was beautiful and her order of appearance was chosen randomly, she didn’t hold a high rank in the Wanxian Tower, so she didn’t cause much excitement.

When the bid reached fifteen taels of silver, the bidding stopped.

Below in the stands, a slave quickly wrote down the table number of the highest bidder and handed it to Hongxiang. Taking the number, she gracefully stepped back into the corridor.

Just a few seconds after she entered, another girl came out, following the same routine—bowing first, then spinning a few times. After the highest bid was made, she took the table number and went to find her patron in the corridor.

As time passed, over twenty girls appeared one after another. Lin Dong still hadn’t heard anyone call themselves Lanxiang, nor had Jiang Huan shown any signs of activity; he was too busy flirting with the girl on his lap, growing impatient. He glanced down at Lou Wanshan.

As if sensing Lin Dong’s gaze, Lou Wanshan looked up and smiled at him. Lin Dong realized then that it wasn’t that Lou Wanshan had forgotten to arrange for Lanxiang to appear first—it was intentional. If she appeared too early, the atmosphere wouldn’t be intense enough to provoke Jiang Huan’s competitive spirit.

After that, Lin Dong calmed down.

About half an hour later, as he had expected, the atmosphere in the Wanxian Tower grew increasingly intense. Those who hadn’t secured their desired girls began to bid more fiercely. As for those who had, aside from a few who hurried back to their rooms to enjoy themselves, most stayed in the corridor—either to show off the girls they’d gotten or to join in the excitement and cheering.

Finally, a girl in blue combat attire, looking vigorous and attractive with her full breasts adding to her allure, stepped forward.

“I am Lanxiang, at your service, gentlemen.”

Her words shocked Lin Dong, and even Jiang Huan stopped, clearly excited as well.

“One hundred taels of silver!”

Lanxiang wasn’t the prettiest girl in the Wanxian Tower, but upon hearing her bid, many realized she had met a wealthy patron who admired her temperament.

“One hundred… five taels of silver.”

Another bid came quickly—clearly from someone who also liked Lanxiang’s style. One hundred taels wasn’t an unattainable exorbitant price for those present.

“One thousand taels!”

Jiang Huan promptly offered a new price, staring coldly at the middle-aged man with a potbelly who was competing with him for Lan Xiang, his eyes filled with disdain. The middle-aged man, caught in Jiang Huan’s gaze, grew annoyed, opened his mouth, but ultimately chose to remain silent. One thousand taels of silver? He thought it wasn’t worth it—no point in fighting over such a trivial matter. With just a glance, he had defeated his opponent; Jiang Huan’s gaze grew even more arrogant. After scanning the entire room, he felt a sense of superiority as if all others were insignificant in comparison.