Chapter 593: Chapter 378 Crescents Apart: 2 minutes of bright moon, leaving and returning to Gui
Before the incense burned out, inside the Tian-numbered private room on the third floor of Zuixian Building.
Two groups of people stood on either side.
On the left were twenty Li won in white, each with outstanding looks and different temperants.
The woman standing in the forefront was a palace-dressed lady with a faint mole at the corner of her mouth, dignified and graceful.
She stepped slightly to the back, behind her stood a beautiful and voluptuous woman with enchanting and seductive eyes, even her plain white dress carried an air of innocence, her aura a mix of both purity and seduction.
Behind the palace-dressed lady and the beautiful woman were eighteen Li won in white, all unified in dress and makeup.
On the right side of the private room, before the viewing platform, stood a tall and burly middle-aged man dressed in a blue satin python robe, standing alone with his hands behind his back, looking down at the first-floor hall, seemingly indifferent to the group of divine Li won on the other side of the room, his gaze unwavering.
Inside the Tian-numbered private room, all was silent.
“At last, the gentleman has arrived,” a female voice sounded inside the room after Moon Mother respectfully knocked and entered the room.
Afterward, the room fell silent once again.
With her hands in front and eyes cast down, Moon Mother stepped forward without lifting her gaze, yet she was aware of who had spoken.
Moon Mother approached the person who had spoken.
It was one of the two won leading this gathering of divine Li won, the beautiful woman.
Moon Mother raised her hand and drew a strange gesture over her chest:
Her slightly bent fingers together, she lightly tapped her forehead, right shoulder, and left waist in succession.
The resplendent woman from Zuixian Building bowed her head, the insolent smirk that used to play across her face had now vanished without a trace, replaced with an indescribable color of devoutness as she whispered softly:
“A bifurcated bright moon, departed and returned, ah,”
As these words were uttered, except for Moon Mother, the other eighteen white-dressed Li won who had stood silently behind the palace-dressed woman and the beautiful lady also bowed their heads uniformly, whispering devoutly:
“A bifurcated bright moon, departed and returned, ah.”
At the sa ti, they too raised their hands, touching the red forehead makeup on their fair brows with two fingers—the strange flower decal makeup. They also touched their right shoulder and left slender waist.
However, their white clothes concealed these areas, leaving one to wonder if similar red patterns adorned their right shoulders and left waists beneath their white skirts.
Upon closer inspection, this odd hand gesture made over the chest resembled a crescent moon, although incomplete, the moon phase suggested a trend from waxing to full…
After performing the crescent moon gesture, Moon Mother waited, with subdued eyes, for instructions from the two leading won in front.
At that mont, her eyes earnestly watched the ground, daring not to glance carelessly anywhere inside the room.
In Li Territory, there has long been a saying:
The most beautiful won of Li land are all within the Music Workshop.
What place is the Music Workshop?
Originally founded by Empress Dowager Du Guli of the reigning dynasty, its main purpose was to provide refuge for holess Li girls and those sold by their parents, aiming to reduce the trafficking of Li won.
It enabled them to survive without dying young, and as they reached adulthood, it ultimately granted them so degree of choice for their future…
Empress Dowager Du Guli had an agreent with the Emperor of Great Li that she would govern the Music Workshop with full authority, without interference from any other powers.
Later, as Empress Dowager Du Guli’s power grew, under her governance, the Music Workshop’s influence began to expand within the Li Dynasty’s court, and its purpose and nature underwent a radical transformation.
Today, the Music Workshop is a coveted destination for all impoverished Li girls and noble won unwilling to live ordinary lives dependent on n, only girls who have not yet co of age can join.
Within it, they can live comfortably and grow, and if they possess ambition and talent, they might have the chance to rise through the ranks, maybe even soaring high.
And according to one of the rules set by Empress Dowager in the early days, the Music Workshop is comprised solely of Li won.
It is governed only by Li won themselves, forbidding the involvent of any man.
Furthermore, the Music Workshop has always fervently propagated beliefs like the identity of Li won as descendants of the Moon Palace Goddess, which also contributed to their strong cohesion.
After years of governance by Empress Dowager Du Guli, as the adopted orphan girls of Li land grew up, the Music Workshop has now developed into an independent and insular system of female officials, separate from the officialdom of Great Li.
Its influence over the upper and lower echelons of the Li Dynasty’s court and field is profound.
At present, looking around from within the Music Workshop, one would see tall and slender Li won in white.
However, even among them, there is a hierarchy of ranks.
The most outstanding and divine among the white-dressed Li won are known as the Crescent Moon Li won.
The selection for them is extrely strict. Besides eting the requirents in talent, character, and appearance, and possessing special skills, they must also have a clean background.
Most of them entered the Music Workshop as young girls with mories just beginning to form and are highly loyal.
Moreover, Crescent Moon Li won must remain pure and unblemished by any romantic affair, possessing an unwavering and devout belief in dedicating themselves wholeheartedly to the bright moon…
Such stringent requirents rendered the Xianyue Li won both noble and mysterious.
Their adornnts were uniform, with tassels draped over their temples and distinct red floral ornantation adorning their foreheads, right shoulders, and left waists, complinted by their snow-white chiffon dresses…
The Music Workshop also had a unified Xianyue Ceremony.
The ancient maxim long circulated in the Li Territory, “In two parts, the bright moon wanes, returning to whence it ca,” beca the creed of the Xianyue Li won. This was no longer a secret in Great Li, as many citizens firmly embraced a similar belief…
The status of a Xianyue Li woman was not fixed; if they violated ironclad rules, such as engaging in romantic affairs, or for other reasons losing their status as Xianyue Li won.
Then all traces of them would be thoroughly erased by the Music Workshop, ensuring that those serving the bright moon as Xianyue Li won remained pure and flawless, untainted by any stain.
Those with this identity also served as female officials within the Music Workshop, forming the current female official system of Great Li, which represented their external identity and status in the court.
The Xianyue Li won obeyed only the first beauty in the hearts of the Li people, the wise Empress in the minds of the court officials, and the rumored reincarnation of the Goddess, the Dugu family.
All the Xianyue Li won, or rather the Great Li female officials, were headed by the Chief Musician, who aided the lonely Empress Dugu in managing the Music Workshop, serving as her absolute confidant, second only to her in authority and above thousands.
Beneath the Chief Musician, there were three important official positions: the Palace Chief of Feng Yi Palace, the Ritual Music Master, and the Historian of Colorful Attire, each holding significant roles.
The Palace Chief of Feng Yi Palace was responsible for administering the court affairs of Great Li, managing thousands of palace maids, and accompanying the Empress Dugu at all tis.
The Ritual Music Master’s role leaned more towards the original mission of the Music Workshop, specializing in training and selecting young Li won. Their jurisdiction encompassed all of Great Li’s singing halls, dance venues, breweries, and other bustling establishnts.
For example, the current Zuixian Building in Xingzi Town where Yue Niang is located, falls under the governance of the Ritual Music Master and her subordinate Xianyue Li won.
As for the Historian of Colorful Attire, this is the most secretive and low-profile Xianyue Li woman within the Music Workshop, seemingly responsible for tasks such as gathering intelligence and supervising the court. This existence has always been elusive.
Even her na, apart from the Empress Dugu and the Chief Musician, is unknown to anyone else.
This outlines the Music Workshop’s main areas of jurisdiction in the Great Li.
As for the other Xianyue Li won, they are all under the managent of the Palace Chief of Feng Yi Palace, the Ritual Music Master, and the Historian of Colorful Attire, aiding them in the governance of the Music Workshop.
And now, the identities of the twenty sudden apparitions of fair ladies in white in front of Yue Niang were self-evident.
At that mont, she began to speak with an expression of reverence:
“Chief Musician, Master of Rituals, and all the female officials. Regarding the matter of the Pure White Cold Palace, that gentleman Zhao has already listened to every word, but from his expression, this servant could not tell if he was intrigued.
“However, that rather handso maid he brought with him seed quite interested in our Li Territory’s special Famous Furnace and asked nurous questions. So of them were difficult for this servant to answer, but I replied to the best of my ability, based on what you, my superiors, have told about the Famous Furnace. Hopefully, there were no omissions.”
Yue Niang paused for a mont, cautiously catching her breath. Seeing that no one spoke, she continued:
“It is likely they were intrigued. That gentleman Zhao has now taken the guests from the Xuan-character suite downstairs.
“The arrangents at… at the Luo Xiu official’s place have also been set. Once Zhao and his company are seated on the first floor, she will take the stage and perform as we ticulously planned beforehand.”
Yue Niang’s voice trembled subconsciously, not daring to raise her eyes, focusing instead on the floor-length dress of the voluptuous beauty before her.
She never imagined witnessing so many important figures all at once:
The head of the Music Workshop, the Chief Musician, the Master of Rituals directly above her, and eighteen esteed Xianyue female officials.
The man in the blue satin python robe to her side, if not mistaken, would undoubtedly be Li Mingyi, the Regent King of the current Great Li court, a Martial God, whose domain bordered the neighboring county, a stature comparable to a Martial Artist of the Golden Core Realm, existing on the sa level as the Chief Musician…
And there’s also the elderly man with purple-golden pupils next door in the Di-character suite—Yue Niang recognized him—he’s Chen Er, the Pavilion Master of Ziwei, Old Immortal Chen.
It was the sudden grand entry of that Fairy Su that brought her personally upstairs, but Yue Niang didn’t know what the two from Ziwei Pavilion discussed in private in the adjoining suite.
Yue Niang, subordinate to the Music Workshop with no high-standing, was like most ordinary Li won of the Music Workshop. She cherished the kindness of the Empress Dowager of the Dugu family, yearning once to beco a Xianyue Li woman and serve Her Majesty the Empress Dowager.
But ultimately, she ca to terms with reality, steadfastly traveled to Xingzi Town, and dedicated herself to managing the Zuixian Building earnestly…
Now, although she had not seen these influential figures who could affect the court politics of Great Li before, and they had been visiting for two days consecutively, awaiting their turn in the Tian-character suite,
Standing here, Yue Niang couldn’t help but feel a faint trembling in her heart and calves.
At this ti, after the speech of the richly dressed woman ended, a deep forest-like silence returned to the room.
“You have worked hard,” the voluptuous woman who had spoken earlier said with a smile.
She had an elegant na, Xue Can.
Yue Niang, amidst her joy mixed with apprehension, quickly waved her hands, “It’s no trouble at all. Serving the Empress Dowager and the officials is the greatest honor for this servant.”
At that mont, the one at the forefront, who had been silent the whole ti while scrutinizing Zhao Rong downstairs, spoke out:
“Did she leave any words behind in the end?”
This question was sowhat abrupt, yet for an unknown reason,
The ones inside the Tian-character suite, including the beautiful Xue Can and the eighteen Xianyue Li won with their indifferent expressions, all turned their gaze towards Yue Niang at once.
Caught off guard, she imdiately grasped the implication.
The Chief Musician was inquiring about that ‘Luo Xiu’ Fairy—no, it should be ‘Luo Xiu’ official…
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