Chapter 3 - The First Bowl of Soup (2) - Euphoria Airlines

14-17 minutes

Translator: Ashlyn Rose

Editor: hngyxn

Proofreader: Florencii

Warning: mentions of violence and abuse 

After calming down, Qinghuan watched the Bao Mu, who was wearing a big hairpin, come over. 

She pinched her small chin, moving it left and right, nodded and praised, “It’s a good seedling.1TL: (苗子/miao zi) can also mean sapling or young successor…” In time, she was afraid that Yi Xiangyuan would have to rely on this girl. 

After finishing her evaluation, she said to Qinghuan with a pleasant tone, “Girl, your parents don’t want you anymore. You will follow your new mother, me, in the future, okay? Here, you will have a lot of beautiful clothes to wear, and there are many sisters to accompany you. Everyone who comes here will like you. What do you say?”

Qinghuan was stunned. She didn’t expect that the cold and mean Bao Mu from Qiqi’s mouth would have such an amiable side. The original Qiqi was stubborn and insisted on going home with her father. The Bao Mu’s patience was worn to shreds and she found that Qiqi was only obedient after a severe beating from her. After that, any seduction technique taught by madam, no matter if it was in a woman’s physique2TL: (身段/sheng duan) can also mean woman’s figure or posture on stage or in expression, had to be beaten into her. Only then would she learn. Over time, although the madam still regarded her as a money tree3TL: (摇钱树/yao qian shu) literally tl to shake money tree. A legendary tree that sheds coins when shaken. An idiom for a source of easy money. Can translate to the ENG equivalent of cash cow., she did not treat or serve her preciously. In the heart of the Bao Mu, this Qiqi was just a miserable wretch4TL: (贱骨头/jian gu tou) literally translates to cheap bones. Can also mean contemptible individual. It did no good to coax her nor offer good food or drink; you had to severely beat her for her to learn the lesson. 

Qinghuan doesn’t know how much suffering and pain she had to endure when she was still alive but she was now in Qiqi’s body, and naturally, she can’t let it suffer any damage. Although she was not any kind of royalty5TL: (金枝玉叶/ jin zhi yu ye) idiom translating directly to golden branch, jade leaves. Means a person of royal lineage, she was still a young miss from a wealthy family. 

She had the elegant poise and good temperament of a noble miss. Later, she was taken in and cared for by her benefactor and thus, became even more knowledgeable. But even so, she had never been to a brothel and didn’t know what a prostitute looked like. 

At that moment, she can only behave like a child as much as possible, “Then… I won’t go hungry? When I am at home, I often don’t have enough to eat.”

This was the truth. Qiqi was from a poor family. In order to have a son, her cruel parents gave birth to five daughters and sold them all. Since she was a child, she never knew when her next meal would be, so she was malnourished and sickly6TL: 面黄肌瘦 (mian huang ji shou) an idiom which translates to yellow face, emancipated body. However, even if she is malnourished, her facial features were still refined. One can imagine how beautiful this girl would be if she was raised properly. 

Qinghuan often went hungry as a child too. At that time, her di7TL: Dishu is an important legal and moral system in ancient China. To ensure the birth of a male heir, nobleman often took on more than one wife. The men were allowed to take on one Di wife (official wife) while the secondary wives (the concubines) were called Shu wives. Di offsprings held much higher social statuses than compared to Shu offsprings. A kinda similar comparison would be: Di = legitimate Shu = illegitimate sisters bullied her and sometimes, she was hungry to the point where she ate the grass on the ground to elevate the hunger pangs. She lived like that for a long time and would have died if she hadn’t met her benefactor.

When the Bao Mu heard her words, she was startled at first, smiled and with a wave of her flagrantly scented silk handkerchief, said, “If you listen to me obediently, you can eat whatever you want. The girls in Yi Xiangyuan, which isn’t adorned in gold or silver? You look to be a clever girl. As long as you study what mother teaches you, you will naturally live comfortably!”

Qinghuan smiled. “Then I want to stay!”

In the blink of an eye, several years had passed, and Qinghuan was twelve years old. In the past five years, no matter what the Bao Mu taught her, she earnestly learned it. Compared with her other sisters, she learned the fastest and the best. In addition, she was gentle and considerate. She was likeable to the point where even the Bao Mu almost regarded her as her own daughter. Unlike Qiqi, who had a strong and stubborn character, Qinghuan had endured pain, so she knew that everyone in this world had unspeakable difficulties. Just like her sisters in Yi Xiangyuang. Which of them had voluntarily sold their own bodies to Yi Xiangyuan? No matter if they were tricked, betrayed or captured by bad guys, once they stepped their foot in the door, don’t even think of leaving. 

In the past, while following her benefactor, Qinghuan had studied the four arts8TL: (琴棋书画/ qing qi shu hua) the four arts are comprised of zither, Go, calligraphy and painting, the feminine arts9TL: (女红/ nu gon) means needlework and also learned what her mother taught. Although many10T/N: this would be referring to others in her household which could include servants, other concubines, and her shu & di siblings called her tomato11TL: (面红耳赤/ mian hong er chi) meaning flushed with anger or excitement. Exceedingly eager, she gritted her teeth every time. Over time, she didn’t even feel ashamed to let her sisters see her lingering with her benefactor in public. 

Qinghuan was sensitive, with a shy and innocent temperament, so the Bao Mu did not force her to see any live erotic acts.  But for a woman of Yi Xiangyuan, no matter if she was beautiful, talented or educated in the four arts, it was all to better serve a man. Only when the men were serviced well did they have money to maintain their delicate skin and beautiful appearance. Although the Bo Mu was fond of Qinghuan, she still wanted to put her up for bidding12T/N: Ahem. Sell her virginity basically. This girl was pure and unsullied13TL: (出淤泥而不染/ chu yu ni er bu ran) an idiom that translates: “to grow out of the mud unsullied”. Means to be principled and incorruptible. Wasn’t that precisely men’s favourite? 

In society14TL: (染缸/ ran gang) translates literally to dye tank. A metaphor for a dirty society. Society is like a big dye tank; it’s easy to be infected by good and bad things, especially the bad. It’s easy to lose direction after entering., a clean orchid that blooms from the earth/dirt is just like a little white rabbit surrounded by a pack of hungry wolves, easily arousing the compassion and possessiveness of a man. Qinghuan was especially trained to exude the elegance of a noble lady while her eyes tactfully expressed a sweet and coquettish charm. She also possessed an enchanting allure that tempted man to no end. The Bao Mu had already checked Qinghuan’s body as early as when she was still recuperating from malnourishment. The girl’s body was a rare, seen once-in-a-century commodity. With a sleek front and tight holes15T/N: I’m not too familiar with 18+ things in mandarin so…. I just gave a vague translation… When literally translated, the raws says her front is (白虎龙珠) = white tiger dragon bead. White tiger is slang for hairless female genitalia. I’m assuming the dragon bead refers to the clit. And her back is (玉涡风吸) = jade whirpool manner suck in/absorb/inhale Basically her her jade like holes would suction in a whirlpool like manner TLDR: hairless, prominent clit, tight holes …. There was no man in the world that could resist. Though the girl looked soft and weak, she was born with such a beautiful body! 

To put it bluntly, if you have such a physique and you don’t have the luck of entering the palace to serve the monarch, you should naturally be a prostitute: a pillow for a thousand people to taste and experience.  

However, even though she thought that way in her heart, the Bao Mu still cared about how Qinghuan thought, fearing that she would be arrogant and unable to recognize her own status because of her beauty and talent. Thus, the Bao Mu taught her accordingly. She was worried Qinghuan would be like everyone else, holding thoughts of freedom16T/N: 从良 (cong liang) means to marry and leave one’s trade of being a prostitute in her heart. They were prostitutes… Even if they were prostitutes for just a day, one will be a prostitue for their life. This identity of theirs was carved in their bones and could not be erased. 

As a result, when she told Qinghuan she was opening a bid for her three days later, the girl accepted very calmly. “Mother raised me for many years, gave me food and clothing, and taught me to read and dance. I was sold into this place and will always be a person of Yi Xiangyuan. Mother can rest assured that this daughter will not follow the other sisters and threaten with death.”

In the past few years, Qinghuan had been quite considerate towards her mother. Even though the Bao Mu had the mentality of raising a cash cow, she had really taken care of her. How many parents would be this favourable towards their child? 

Ghost Qiqi had a stubborn personality that never gave in. The Bao Mu naturally did not humour her,  and Qiqi suffered a lot of pain. This was all fate. 

Hearing Qinghuan’s words, the Bao Mu was very happy and treated her even better.

On the day of the bidding, Qinghuan soaked in goat’s milk for a long time. Since she entered the Yi Xiangyuan, the Bao Mu had been using goat’s milk to treat her skin. Now Qinghuan’s skin can be said to be tender17T/N: The idiom (吹弹可破) It seems that it will be broken with a blow or a bomb. Describes that the skin on the face is very delicate; it breaks when you breathe in or bounce on it. Here it refers to the thin and tender skin, which is generally used to describe the skin of young girls. and white as snow. In this brothel, all the girls dressed in revealing clothes. Here, there was no decorum, no San Cong Si De18T/N: Couldn’t think of a good english interpretation despite all the CNs I read (三从四德) means Confucian moral injunctions for woman: obey the father, husband and son & the four virtues of morality, yet Qinghuan still wore a white dress19T/N: Basically, despite the brothel being an ‘immoral’ place, Qinghuan still wore a white dress which is traditionally associated with purity. The white clothes set off her snowy skin and beautiful appearance, which was truly indescribable and refined. She had the perfect combination of scholarlish air to her body and a charming glint in her eyes which were especially fascinating.

A splendid orchid suddenly sprouted amidst the darkness and filth…. Who wouldn’t be moved? The tighter she wrapped herself20T/N: The more she bundled herself up in clothes, the more she stood out from the other girls.

Her long black hair was let down to frame her small face, big eyes and red lips. 

Here, twelve-year-old girls did not have the right to grow up. Some of them began at an even earlier age21T/N: The raws (承欢) means to cater to someone to make them happy. Basically, the girls started prostituting at ages even younger than 12 and from then on, sank into a lifetime of depravity. 

When the curtains were pulled apart, Qinghuan was sitting quietly on a soft couch with her pure white skirts spread around her and her fine black hair fluttering gently in the wind. Her whole person seemed like a goddess, ready to fly away to the heavens at any second. 

A commotion tore through the room of bidders, many letting out gasps at the stunning visage, and the price quickly soared to two thousand taels of gold.

Not surprisingly, the qualifications for Qinghuan to bud22T/N: The raws literally say for Qinghuan to open bloom. Basically, to be plucked/virginity taken still fell on the elderly landlord. He stared into Qinghuan’s eyes as if he were an old wolf that had just spotted fresh meat and the feelings he gave off were cruel and sinister. 

Qinghuan has been a prostitute here for five years. She had no chance to go out, let alone see Jun Wuya, so she can only be auctioned quietly like Qiqi had been, and use this landlord as an opportunity to let Jun Wuya play hero-save-beauty.

In her past life, Qinghuan’s temperament matured over the course of five years of training. The torture she suffered had long turned her into a hard-hearted person. The only reason she cared so much about Qiqi on Naihe Bridge was because the other person reminded her a little of her past self. 

The landlord brought Qinghuan back to his residence. Seeing how innocent Qinghuan was, he coaxed her to take off her clothes but immediately changed face  when the task was accomplished and found a rope to bind up her four limbs. He then procured a whip from god knows where and to use on her body. 

The landlord was very old and though he wanted to sleep around, his body wasn’t willing23T/N: The idiom (心有余而力不足) means having the will but not the strength/ the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.. The more he lacked something, the more he wanted it, which is why he preferred young girls. Sometimes, he wouldn’t let boys go if they caught his eye. 

Qinghuan endured the pain in her body. In the past five years, the little girl’s voice never rang in her mind again, leaving her to fumble around this world by herself. Qinghuan has already resigned herself to the fact that she was alone and firmly believed that she could finish her mission. She once got her breasts cut and sewn back together, she could endure this whipping. In order to look even more miserable later, she even deliberately exposed her soft abdomen and chest, now stained with blood. The old landlord was particularly callous towards her. 

Just as Qinghuan felt that she might actually be beaten to death, Jun Wuya finally arrived. He leaped in from the window, brimming with anger at the old landlord. However, he didn’t deal with the landlord right away. Instead, he took off his cyan robe and draped it on Qinghuan to cover her scarred, unclothed body.

At that moment, Qinghuan seemed to understand why the ghost Qiqi fell in love with this man.

Translator’s Corner 

Oh ho ho, we’re finally meeting one of the many males of this arc. Seems to be the gentlemanly and noble type. What do you think? 

Also, would you have been more like Qinghuan or Qiqi if you were sold to the brothels? I think I’d definitely be more like Qinghuan – I was super meek as a child so I definitely would not have had the willpower or guts to rebel as long as Qiqi did.