Li Meirong regained focus as she felt her body being manhandled by the madam selling her off. When the woman ripped the veil from her face, several shocked gasps emanated from the crowd.
What they saw was a delicate girl with alabaster skin, plump red lips, and big doe eyes slanting slightly upwards with a pitiable frightened expression on her face. She was so young, yet already filling up in all the right places. Her hair appeared to be soft as silk and dark as a starless midnight sky. The true definition of a delicate beauty, one who could grow up and have men chasing after the moon for her...
That would have been the case, at least, if not for the angry red scars covering her cheeks . There were some areas appearing like craters on her skin, damaging her otherwise flawless appearance, deeming her actually quite ugly in a society that considers a woman’s beauty to be her first and foremost asset.
"What a pity..."
"Such a beauty to be ruined like that, tsk tsk."
One of the younger lads laughed heartily and clanked his cup with that of his friend’s. "Good! Good! Very good! How could we have the opportunity to get this kind of girl here, otherwise?!" His exclamation made the other men nearby chuckle and nod in agreement.
Li Meirong hesitantly reached up to cover her face. Whatever they saw, it was clear to her that she was being mocked.
However, her hand had barely made its way to her cheek when the lady running the event by her side grabbed her wrist and held her firmly in place.
Li Meirong winced in pain but didn’t pull away. Her thoughts grew more disoriented by the second. All she could concentrate on at the moment was how she had to find a way to escape!
"As you can see, we got ourselves here a special case! This maid belonged to the royal concubine. As you know, such ladies are bred from very young age for their exquisite appearance and behavior, they are trained in arts and music, and are taught with strict discipline, however-" The lady paused her explanation to heighten the suspense.
Everyone stood silently as they anticipated her next words.
"They say one of the young princes took a fancy to this one, and so the concubine immediately cast her out. The burn on her face is from acid. Punishment of acid for seducing the prince. Luckily only her face is damaged. The rest of her body is polished, beautiful, and still untouched, I assure you!" The lady finished with a winning smile and a light tone.
That girl was a little damaged but could still be sold off nicely, given a suitable advertisement.
Li Meirong who came from modern times, was never considered a great beauty but she had never been humiliated like that either! People here were heartless! Nevertheless, that wasn’t even the most important point.
The most important point is she was being auctioned off in a brothel!
"Let go of me!" Li Meirong exclaimed and tried to push away the woman holding her wrist, discovering to her dismay that she was so much weaker than her owner.
That feeble attempt of a push sent the crowd into a fit of laughter. The lady glared at her and squeezed her wrist tighter. Her long, sharp nails piercing Li Meirong’s skin, drawing blood which trickled down to the floor in small drops.
Tears of frustration welled up in Li Meirong’s eyes, but nobody seemed to care. She kept quiet.
"She’s a bit feisty, as you can see! If you feel the need to exact punishment, please don’t hesitate to do so!" The red dressed madam addressed the crowd with a smile, once she’d subdued Li Meirong.
She signaled for the bidding to begin.
"Ten taels!" A young man in the back raised his hand and exclaimed.
"Fifteen taels." A middle aged military man in the front grunted.
One of the simple garbed gentleman huffed.
"Her face is so ugly even fifteen taels would be a hefty sum despite her being a courtesan. Truly making a dumpling seem like the moon with your descriptions." The young man remarked.
Li Meirong’s face blanched. Not only is she being sold in a brothel, apparently she is so ugly now that she’s not even worth much? Great. Her body was already trembling from the thought of what was yet to come.
Maybe once she was sold, she could manage to knock out the bidder and make a run for it? She was so grateful now for having learned a few self defense moves before she died, because that could be just the thing to get her out of this predicament she seems to have reincarnated into.
"Please good sirs, if not for the scars on her cheeks she would be sold ten times the current price value. Only her face is ugly, the rest is just fine, it’s all fine." The madam chuckled nervously.
The bidders were considering whether or not to bid a higher sum. The military man with the final bid seemed rather cheerful, expecting a good purchase for such a low price.
"50 silver taels." A deep, rough voice echoed from the crowd.