Illustrating a Lover and a Love. The Stars Separate. (Part 1)

An enormous holiday boat was gaily painted on Qinhuai River. Qinhuai River had been an illustrious scene for millenniums and always had to be associated with the cluster of luxury boats that literally covered the entire body of water, the brilliant men and beauties. Despite the romantic atmosphere under the moonlight and presence of flowers, the enormous boat was still the centre of attention, because Nanjing's biggest brothel, Heavenly Fragrance Garden, owned the luxury boat - Ethereal Beauty Boat.

Had it not occupied a place on Qinhuai River's waters, the temptress of Jinling wouldn't be considered one of the standouts among the paradises of beauties. There was no way that a brothel personally established by the Emperor wouldn't have a branch on the waters.

Ethereal Beauty Boat was constructed by Heavenly Fragrance Garden with a hefty sum. It was made by connecting twenty other boats together. It was made so well that it would feel no different to walking on flat ground when aboard the ship. The elegance, scenery and sensual vibe around came together as one on board, thereby being deemed the favourite boat of nobles and officials in the city. As such, while it was considered a branch, it was the business that earned the most among all of Heavenly Fragrance Garden's branches. In the last three most recent days, its business had shattered all previous records, as a beauty from the capital had gone there as a courtesan.

With Miss Juese's presence known to be there, Master Wangsun rushed to the place to meet the beauty, but she calmly sat before her mirror on her own, combing her hair in an unfettered manner.

It came as no surprise that money could allow one to have their way at places such as Heavenly Fragrance Garden. Nevertheless, considerable power was also necessary. Ming Suwen's identity was special, not to mention that she was in contact with the former patriarch of Gold and Silver Sect. Hence, she easily managed to induct Huo Qing'er into Heavenly Fragrance Garden. Choosing to be a courtesan, however, was a totally different manner.

Arranging for Huo Qing'er to take on a fake identity was but a human resource delegation issue. However, suddenly declaring herself a courtesan earned the jealousy and resentment of the girls at Heavenly Fragrance Garden. Heavenly Fragrance Garden had three branches in the capital. Besides the headquarters and the boat, there was one other place. They had eighty if not a hundred top-ranking beauties. As for famous beauties, the top-ranking beauties at the three branches were girls who strictly performed artistic feats and participated in no form of prostitution. They, too, were girls so beautiful that one would think they walked out from a picturesque painting.

The moment a courtesan was promoted, it meant that the courtesan was disregarding the top ranking girls and getting in their way of earning money. The top-ranking beauties knew Master Wangsun from the city very well and possessed an impressive amount of resources. Should they be offended, the brothel known as Heavenly Fragrance Garden, a front for an information network ground, would be faced with trouble, as well. Consequently, Huo Qing'er's induction into the group of girls and Ming Suwen's announcement to be a courtesan couldn't be announced on the same day to avoid offending the top-ranking girls. But nonetheless, Ming Suwen did so anyway.

On the day Ming Suwen explicated her intention, she walked straight up to the person in charge at Heavenly Fragrance Garden and made clear her intention for coming. However, with a single gesture from her, the person in charge dropped a significant number of IQ points. Could you blame him when he was a man?

Truly, the gesture Ming Suwen performed was very insignificant. All she did was gently remove her face veil, revealing her gorgeous clear face of a fairy. There was none present who weren't swept off their feet by the stunner. Thus, her courtesan status was established from the second she removed her face veil.

Had the young masters and masters witnessed her beauty that transcended the realms of human imagination, they would have to redefine their definition of what it meant to possess beauty that could capture cities and fell nations. Compared to Ming Suwen's ethereal beauty, the beauties they once held in their arms paled in comparison. Those girls would be considered nothing more than artificial beauty achieved thanks to heavy make-up. However, Miss Juese wouldn't bless them with so much as a smile.

A decade ago, she was a young girl who had yet to turn twenty. In spite of that, though, men devoted themselves to her at the sight of her beauty, let alone the new mature beauty she was now bestowed with. By no means was it an exaggeration to say that they were comparable to weeds from her viewpoint.

She rose to become the highest-ranking girl in Ethereal Beauty Boat faster than any before her, and became the first courtesan to be promoted through Heavenly Fragrance Garden. Unfortunately, besides playing one song every night and chatting for her own entertainment, she didn't meet with any outsiders. Despite that, the number of men who boarded the boat for just a single glimpse of her beauty was almost enough to sink the boat.

Ming Suwen sat before the mirror in her room by herself. She had just taken a bath with fragrances added. She combed her wet hair that grazed her gorgeous body and cheeks. A tinge of loneliness could be seen in her beautiful reflection in the mirror.

Her almost transparent white skin resembled the highest quality suet jade. Even if one were to split hairs, they would not be able to find a single blemish on her. Below her elegant neck was a flowing white shirt. What should've been a flat surface were two mounds that perked her shirt up. They could qualify as two snowy peaks.

Although the shirt was made by skilled weavers, nobody dared to wear it in the year plus that it had been on the boat. It was evident that the weaver possessed profound skills, and they had taken into account one's body lines to accentuate the best of the wearer by loosening the chest region and tightening the waist area. As a result, it was extremely hard to find someone who could fit it perfectly. As if that wasn't enough of a challenge. Due to the white colour, any blemishes on the wearer would be highlighted. The chest region was thin, thereby making breasts appear small. The wide waist region made the wearer's hips look distended. You could say a tiny bit too much would be excessive, while a tiny bit too little would be missing too much.

Hence, not even the highest ranking girls at Heavenly Fragrance Garden would dare to see customers or guests in those clothes, fearing that it would hide their gifted bodies, thereby leaving their customers and guests displeased. In the line of brothel work, they say that a girl should reject three times before giving the man the honour of meeting her, but when she does meet him, she should cover her face as a way of playing hard to get. Supposedly, it was the way to capture a man's heart. It wasn't to be misunderstood as revealing one's weaknesses.

The set of clothes required one with a very well-endowed breasts and a narrow torso to look good in. Ming Suwen, however, literally gave everyone at Heavenly Fragrance Garden a big face slap hard enough to spin their head the other way when she wore it on.

You could make the argument that their clothes were made tailored to her. Ming Suwen had a tall physique with the perfect proportions. Her belly was firm and tight, legs long and slender. There was no one who could compare to her in any facet. That was not to mention her round and perky breasts with a bounce that would leave everyone in awe. Only with such a figure was she able to have the clothes that were soft stand up with the curves on her body. There was no other in Heavenly Fragrance Garden who would look better in it than her. One would wonder if her face and body was woven by God to create a definition for the word 'stunner' and bless the men of the world. Even when she was in bland and unadorned clothing, men couldn't resist their desire to rip her clothes off and realise their fantasies on those snowy mountains.

She had long gotten used to men ogling her, and thus, disliked men. Perhaps her breathtaking beauty was one of the two unwanted inexorable things in her life. Having said that, she didn't hate all men in the lands, for there was one whom was always on her mind. Sadly, he was the other thing in her life that was doomed to never be hers. He was a man with a heart that she couldn't capture.

She fell for her childhood friend, who was also her martial grandniece. It was an open secret on Mount Daluo. Few wouldn't be able to see through the atmosphere between the two, let alone Mount Daluo's patriarch and the other leaders. Nobody ever explicated it, as nobody knew how to deal with it. What sort of situation would a senior of a sect being in a relationship with a disciple be? Thus, nobody dared to mention it or speak about it in private. Even Ming Feizhen's junior brothers faintly felt that their senior brother had a crush on their martial grandaunt. However, it was a relationship that was doomed to never come to fruition. Having said that, to make it up to their senior brother, they always did their best to help the two meet up.

Seniority and background was a hurdle for Ming Feizhen as it was for Ming Suwen. In spite of her high status and her juniors not daring to voice their opinion on the matter, she grew up on Mount Daluo, lived off Mount Daluo and learnt Mount Daluo's arts.

Ming Huayu raised Ming Feizhen. Hero Shenzhou raised Ming Suwen. She couldn't pursue her own interests while tarnishing her cousin's Mount Daluo. If she did, it would result in everyone in the pugilistic making a joke out of Mount Daluo.

Consequently, she never professed her love to Ming Feizhen. As a result, the two spent year after year guessing each other's thoughts. Their relationship was akin to that of a married couple. They were close enough to make the most intimate couples jealous. Ming Suwen cared about Ming Feizhen to willingly die for him without any hesitation, and she believed he would do the same. But alas, it was impossible for them to become a couple.

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