I am the villain in the book

One beautiful figure after another came and went on the stage. Wei Changtian watched while listening to Yang Liushi explain the inside story.

For example, the sharing of the reward money, and the rights and obligations after being named the Oiran, etc.

Overall, it's similar to the live streaming industry in my previous life.

After earning money, the official government, equivalent to the live streaming platform, has to take a portion, and the brothels, equivalent to the guilds, have to take another portion. In the end, only one or two tenths are left in the hands of the "streamer".

Wei Changtian roughly calculated that the flower rewards he had seen since he arrived added up to more than two hundred, worth more than ten thousand taels of silver.

At this rate, the government could probably earn tens of thousands of taels in one night.

Thinking of the skinny county magistrate in Zhongling County who couldn't even scrape together money to suppress bandits, Wei Changtian couldn't help but feel a burst of emotion.

It really is a big world, with different skies every ten miles.

......

The flower ranking continued.

After being told by Yang Liushi that "even if you get multiple embroidered handkerchiefs, it is impossible to sleep with several girls at the same time", Wei Changtian completely lost interest in giving rewards and just sat and watched the excitement.

Although the flower girls were all charming and lovely, one would get tired of seeing too many orioles and swallows.

After all, these women were inferior to Yang Liushi in all aspects.

To put it artistically, it's like—a gem is in front, and ordinary stones are hard to match.

To put it poetically, it's like—having seen the sea, other waters are nothing; except for Mount Wu, other clouds are not worth seeing.

To put it simply, it's like—is that all there is?

It's just that Yang Liushi can't go on stage, otherwise she would directly dominate.

"...Miss Xiangling, a total of thirty-seven flowers! Ranked twenty-second on the Flower Ranking!"

Another woman came down from the stage, and the pimp counting the votes shouted loudly, placing a small wooden sign with the words "Xiangling" on the corresponding position on the Flower Ranking, while the people ranked below her collectively retreated one place.

For example, Miss Yu Meng, who had fallen from fifty-three to fifty-four.

There's even a real-time ranking...

Wei Changtian took a sip of tea with nothing to do, and turned to look at Liang Zhen.

The two men looked at each other, and it could be seen that the latter was a little anxious.

Although these women were good, they obviously couldn't catch Liang Zhen's eye.

Wei Changtian had seen Liang Zhen's wife, Liang Qin's biological mother.

Putting aside everything else, just that size was enough to look down on all the beauties.

The two of them became more and more bored, and at this moment, a burst of extremely enthusiastic cheers suddenly erupted from the audience.

"These legs, this waist... reward!!"

In just an instant, dozens of peony flowers were thrown onto the stage, and the voices of the pageboys reporting the names rang out.

"Yonglong Pawnshop, Shopkeeper Liu, rewards Miss Su Yu with three peony flowers!"

"Duan Family, Young Master Duan Long, rewards Miss Su Yu with two peony flowers!"

"Lushan Hermit, Song Zhengming, rewards Miss Su Yu with one peony flower!"

"..."

This was the first time Wei Changtian had seen someone receive flower rewards as soon as they came on stage, so he couldn't help but raise his eyes to look at Miss Su Yu.

She wore a scattered flower and misty green grass pleated skirt, a light blue gauze dress, and a hollow gold hairpin with a little red jade inserted diagonally in her hair.

Her appearance and temperament were indeed first-class, especially her slender waist, which easily made people wonder in their hearts whether it could withstand certain strenuous exercises.

But to be honest, Wei Changtian didn't have the same amazing feeling as when he first saw Yang Liushi.

Because this one was indeed not as good as Yang Liushi, at most she was at the same level as Lu Jingyao, barely stronger than Liang Qin.

"Thank you, young masters and lords."

Standing in the pile of flowers, Su Yu gently curtsied, her gentle gaze sweeping over the flower throwers one by one: "But there are still sisters waiting behind, why don't I draw lots and perform first."

"Let them wait! We just want to see you!"

Someone shouted loudly, immediately causing a burst of agreement.

"That's right! The position of Oiran must belong to Miss Su Yu! It doesn't matter if others compete!"

"Don't compete with me, everyone! I even brought the house deed and land deed from home! Miss Su Yu must be mine tonight!"

"Hmph! Young Master Peng is so arrogant!"

"..."

Listening to the messy sounds, Su Yu ignored them, just smiled and put her small hand into the wooden box for drawing lots, and soon took out a small piece of paper.

A pimp took the paper and glanced at it, then shouted loudly:

"Miss Su Yu drew... painting! A portrait!"

As the name suggests, the requirement of this topic is to paint on the spot.

Compared with other assessment items, "painting" should be the most difficult one, but Su Yu did not show any worry or panic, obviously she was very confident in her painting skills.

Pageboys and maids had already prepared pens, ink, paper and inkstones on the stage, and since it was a portrait, there must be a model.

A group of onlookers scrambled to put on all kinds of poses that they thought were the most handsome and romantic, hoping to be favored by Su Yu and become the person in the painting under the fairy's brush.

However, after Su Yu's beautiful eyes turned around, she focused her gaze on Wei Changtian, who was drinking tea with his legs crossed.

"This young master..."

Her red lips parted slightly, and her soft voice entered his ears: "I wonder if I can paint while looking at you?"

If you want to paint me, just say you want to paint me, why do you have to use such an ambiguous statement...

Wei Changtian sighed in his heart that it was really difficult to keep a low profile when he was too handsome, and then shook his head seriously.

"No."

"..."

The embroidered building was suddenly silent, and countless eyes looked at Wei Changtian, as if looking at a big fool.

Some people thought he was out of his mind, some people thought he couldn't see, and some people thought his trick of playing hard to get was too bad.

However, Wei Changtian didn't care what others thought. After refusing, he continued to drink tea by himself, as if he didn't care about it at all.

Fortunately, Su Yu had seen the world, she just froze slightly and immediately bowed apologetically:

"It was I who was abrupt, please don't blame me, young master."

"It's okay."

Wei Changtian waved his hand and ignored her, and Su Yu also knew that if she looked for another man at this time, it would be inappropriate, and it would be a bit like using others as a substitute.

After thinking for a while, she simply asked someone to bring a bronze mirror and said softly to the audience: "Since it is a portrait, why don't I paint myself."

Paint herself?

When everyone heard this, their eyes lit up and they agreed loudly:

"That's a good idea!"

"A beauty paints a beauty in the mirror! Wonderful!"

"Hahahaha, if this matter spreads, it will definitely be a good story!"

"..."

Seeing that most people agreed, and that painting herself was not against the rules, Su Yu smiled softly, and soon began to paint on the rice paper while looking in the mirror.

Such a scene of "a beauty painting herself" was indeed fresh enough, and for a time countless peonies fell on the stage.

However, no matter how much others threw, it was destined to be in vain, because Su Yu had already been decided by Liang Zhen tonight.

"Lord Liang, you can throw as many peony flowers as you want, I will cover all the money for buying flowers!"

Seeing that the opportunity was about right, the fat county magistrate beckoned a few pageboys carrying flower baskets, his face full of flattery.

Of course, as the "organizer" of this flower ranking, Anyi County Yamen certainly didn't need to pay for throwing a few peony flowers. The reason why he said this was just to make Liang Zhen owe him a favor.

"Master Chen, I don't understand these things either."

Liang Zhen knew it like a mirror in his heart, but he still had to pretend on the surface.

"But this Miss Su Yu's painting skills are indeed superb, and it is worth rewarding her a little, as for how much..."

He looked at the pageboys and asked, "How many flowers are there in total in these flower baskets?"

"Returning to your lord, there are a hundred or so."

"Hmm..."

Liang Zhen nodded: "Since that's the case, then throw them all up!"

"This..."

The pageboys were stunned in an instant, but the fat county magistrate reacted quickly and immediately urged: "Didn't you hear what Lord Liang said? What are you still standing there for?!"

"Yes, yes..."

The servants didn't dare disobey, and immediately ran to the edge of the stage. Then, under the gaze of the crowd, they lifted the flower baskets and shook them upwards...

More than a hundred delicate and enchanting peonies scattered across the sky, as if a rain of flowers was falling.

Everyone in the embroidered building was dumbfounded. Even Su Yu stopped painting, her small mouth open in surprise as she turned her head.

"From Shuzhou, Lord Liang, a gift of one hundred and eight peonies to Miss Su Yu!"

According to the situation before the flower ranking, giving five flowers was already considered a lot.

Even though Su Yu was the most likely contender for the title of Flower Queen, the most anyone had given her so far was only twenty flowers.

And that was split into four times.

After all, giving flowers multiple times meant having your name announced multiple times, which was equivalent to showing your face more often.

But now, Liang Zhen directly increased this record fivefold with a single move!

One hundred and eight flowers, worth five thousand taels of silver!

Many people present had this much wealth, but no one would spend so much money to sleep with a woman.

Especially since it was only for one night.

After a brief silence, a burst of surprise and discussion erupted in the embroidered building, mostly discussing the background of this important figure who needed the county magistrate to accompany him personally.

Liang Zhen didn't care about this and sat there calmly as before.

Anyway, as long as the fat county magistrate didn't say anything, no one would recognize him as the General Commander of Shuzhou.

Even if this matter really spread in the future, it wouldn't be a big deal. At most, his wife left in the capital would write a letter to mock him.

Wei Changtian looked at Liang Zhen's calm appearance and thought that this was probably the "internal account" of the live broadcast platform. He wondered if some fool from above would jump out to "mutually刷".

And seemingly to prove that there were people in any era who "would risk their lives for face", before the thought even faded, he saw several servants holding flower baskets heading straight for the stage, emptying all the peonies almost identically.

"From Anyi, Peng Family, Young Master Peng Benzhi, a gift of one hundred and twenty peonies to Miss Su Yu!"

"Wow!"

There was another uproar under the stage, and everyone's eyes focused on a young master in white.

However, compared to Liang Zhen's calmness, this Young Master Peng was obviously forcing a smile, his face even a little pale.

Wei Changtian didn't know how much power this Peng family had, but some people in the embroidered building did.

"The Peng family? The one that does cloth business? I remember their business isn't that big..."

"Hey, didn't you hear Young Master Peng say just now? He secretly brought the house deeds and land deeds from home this time, vowing to enter Miss Su Yu's boudoir tonight."

"This... Wouldn't the Peng family head be furious when he finds out about this?"

"Who knows..."

Everyone whispered, looking at Peng Benzhi's eyes with neither admiration, and even with disdain.

Peng Benzhi, however, couldn't care less about how others saw him. His eyes were fixed on Liang Zhen, seeming somewhat angry, but also with a hint of begging.

He was already at the end of his rope, not only using the money for purchasing goods for his business, but even mortgaging several houses in his home.

If Liang Zhen raised the price again...

"Lord Liang, why don't you give a few more flowers?"

The fat county magistrate glanced at Peng Benzhi from afar, turned his head to Liang Zhen and said flatteringly, "In my opinion... why not just make it two hundred?"

"Well, then we'll do as Lord Chen says."

Liang Zhen nodded indifferently. Soon, several servants threw a few more baskets of peonies onto the stage in Peng Benzhi's despairing eyes.

Everyone was numb to this. Su Yu was even holding a brush blankly, not knowing what to say at this moment.

"From Shuzhou, Lord Liang, another gift of ninety-two peonies to Miss Su Yu!"

Two hundred flowers, ten thousand taels of silver, one thousand gold!

"Plop ~"

Along with this shout, the originally elegant young master in white suddenly collapsed to the ground.

Some kind people helped him up. When they got closer, they heard Peng Benzhi mumbling something in his trembling mouth.

"Money, money... I can still raise money..."

"Miss Su Yu must be mine tonight... must be mine..."

...

The flower ranking continued in a rather strange atmosphere.

Although Peng Benzhi said he could still raise money, he didn't actually do anything, and just sat at the table like a lost soul, looking very miserable.

Perhaps influenced by this "battle for the ranking", the latter half of Su Yu's self-portrait clearly declined in skill, but overall it was still a superior work, and it was not difficult to see that she did have some talent.

As for how many peonies she got in the end... four hundred and seventy-six, ranking first by a landslide.

"Thank you all for the flowers."

"Thank you, Lord Liang, thank you... Young Master Peng."

Su Yu glanced at Peng Benzhi, who was still neither human nor ghost, sighed softly, and moved off the stage.

The girls who followed knew that they had no chance, so they all voluntarily shortened their time on stage, and completed all the "main event" in less than a quarter of an hour.

The ownership of the Flower Queen was very clear. Now, only the last procedure remained before the end of the entire "Flower Ranking"—picking the flower.

A large flower cluster, gathered with a hundred kinds of fresh flowers, was sent to the stage. The highest point was the peony, known as the King of Flowers.

Su Yu needed to choose a man to come on stage and pick the peony for her, which not only symbolized that she had won the title of Flower Queen, but also represented that she had chosen the owner of her "first night" after becoming the Flower Queen.

The madam, who was acting as the "host", babbled a few nonsense words such as "all the beauties are competing for beauty, the peony is the head", and the beauty, who had been re-dressed, took the stage again.

A red dress trailed on the ground, with gorgeous and intricate patterns embroidered on the wide hem. Her long hair was tied into a bun, and jade hairpins were loosely inserted, with a golden step-shaker inserted on top.

Compared to the plain dress just now, Su Yu's current outfit was almost like a bride to be.

"Hiss ~"

A sound of inhaling cold air rang out in the embroidered building. The madam waited for everyone to watch for a while before smiling and saying, "Miss Su Yu, quickly point out your sweetheart!"

"Yes."

Su Yu lowered her head slightly and slowly turned her body in Liang Zhen's direction.

This result was expected by everyone.

Although there was no clear rule that the person who gave the most rewards must be selected, if you didn't let the person who spent the most money sleep with you, it would be too unreasonable.

"Lord Liang..."

Su Yu on the stage had already opened her mouth, and Liang Zhen also sat up slightly.

But at this moment, someone didn't know when he had walked to Peng Benzhi, who was almost fainting, and suddenly shouted:

"Miss Su Yu! Wait!"

"Huh?"

The sudden change instantly attracted everyone's attention, and soon someone recognized who the speaker was.

"Song Zhengming? Master Song?"

"What? Is this the Lushan Hermit, Song Zhengming?"

"Absolutely right! I happened to see him giving lectures in Luzhou City a few months ago!"

"But what is he going to do?"

"..."

This Song Zhengming seemed to be quite famous in Luzhou, but everyone didn't know why he suddenly interrupted Su Yu.

"Young Master Peng..."

Song Zhengming looked at Peng Benzhi and sighed softly, "Alas, although you and I do not know each other, I received the kindness of your father more than ten years ago."

"... Forget it, today I will help you, which can be regarded as repaying this favor."

After Song Zhengming said these words, everyone thought he was going to pay for Peng Benzhi.

But for the things of literati, mentioning money is vulgar.

He suddenly took out a piece of paper from his arms, and then said to Su Yu word by word in a loud voice:

"I will give this poem to the girl on behalf of Young Master Peng..."

"To抵千金!"