Tang Xiaobei was the nineteenth to take the stage.
By this time, the first day’s events were more than halfway through, and it was mid-afternoon. Many spectators, baked by hours of sun, had retreated to the shade to cool off, leaving the scene much quieter than at the start.
However, thanks to Jin Feng’s poem, when Tang Xiaobei stepped onto the stage, the scholars showed great enthusiasm, and some common folk joined in the excitement, warming up the atmosphere.
“Sir, a servant came to ask if we should give Miss Xiaobei a reward?” Tie Chui entered the tent. “What should I tell him?”
Jin Feng thought for a moment and said, “Give her a hundred taels of silver.”
“Sir, we’re not really trying to make Miss Xiaobei the flower queen. Why give a reward?” Qing Mulian asked.
“If we’re putting on a show, we must go all the way. Since I wrote a poem for Xiaobei, it wouldn’t look right if we didn’t reward her now,” Jin Feng said helplessly.
When he wrote the poem for Tang Xiaobei, he only wanted an excuse to meet her alone, but he overdid it. Even though he chose a poem he thought was ordinary, it still skyrocketed Tang Xiaobei’s popularity. In just a few days, she went from a debutante to one of the top contenders for the flower queen.
This was why every courtesan hoped to meet Jin Feng. If he could make Tang Xiaobei famous, he could do the same for them. Regret was useless now, so he had to follow through.
“You’re right. Under normal circumstances, you should reward her at this point,” Qing Mulian said, understanding.
Tie Chui went out with the silver note, and Tang Xiaobei’s performance was nearing its end. As soon as it finished, the cheering official shouted excitedly, “Mr. Jin from Jinchuan, rewarding five hundred taels of silver!”
“Huh? Didn’t we only give a hundred taels?” Guan Xiaorou quickly recounted the remaining silver notes.
Jin Feng was stunned for a moment but soon realised, “No need to count. The other four hundred taels must be from Chunfeng House.”
Five hundred taels was the largest reward of the day, causing a stir. With Jin Feng’s fame, many others followed suit with their own rewards.
Tang Xiaobei performed a dance, decent enough, highlighting her figure well, but it wasn’t particularly outstanding, only above average. However, once a person’s influence is established, everything they do seems right. In his previous life, some celebrities couldn’t even memorise lines, yet a little charm could send fans into a frenzy. Tang Xiaobei was the same. Though her dance wasn’t exceptional, her rising fame, boosted by Jin Feng’s name, earned her nearly two thousand taels in rewards, second only to Green Willow and slightly more than the first performer, Qingluo.
As the audience marvelled, red rashes suddenly appeared on Tang Xiaobei’s face at a visible speed, spreading to her hands and arms.
“It’s starting!” Jin Feng’s eyes sharpened in the tent.
Tang Dongdong clenched her fists nervously. Success or failure hinged on what came next.
“Look, what’s wrong with Miss Xiaobei?”
“Why is her face so red?”
“My goodness, could she be a night demon?”
“No way!”
“Why not? There was a night demon in our village once, and she looked just like this when it flared up!”
“If she’s a night demon, why didn’t Chunfeng House notice before?”
“Who knows? Night demons only react under sunlight. You can’t tell otherwise. Some react after a short time in the sun, others need half a day.”
“Now that you mention it, it makes sense. Miss Xiaobei is Chunfeng House’s treasure. The madam wouldn’t let her stay in the sun long, but today’s flower queen contest forced her to perform in the sunlight, so it triggered!”
“Night demons are bad omens. No one will dare visit her now.”
“Such a pity for a fine girl who could’ve been the flower queen. How did she turn out to be a night demon?”
“What a shame.”
A popular star turning into an ill-omened night demon was explosive gossip for the entertainment-starved crowd. Though Tang Xiaobei left the stage quickly, the audience by the shore was in an uproar. By tomorrow, the whole city would know, thanks in no small part to Jin Feng’s planted agitators. Sunlight allergies were rare, and most people wouldn’t connect rashes to night demons without deliberate prompting.
“Brother Feng, will Xiaobei be alright?” Tang Dongdong asked anxiously.
“Don’t worry. Once the medicine wears off, she’ll be fine,” Jin Feng said.
“Sir, that potion you made is incredible. It looks so real,” Qing Mulian said, giving a thumbs-up as she recalled Tang Xiaobei’s appearance.
“It wasn’t my potion. Old Tan taught me,” Jin Feng said with a smile.
After marrying, Jin Feng had been trying to cure Guan Xiaorou’s sunlight allergy and consulted Old Tan, a barefoot doctor who didn’t know how to treat night demons but shared a recipe for herbs that could mimic their symptoms when applied. Jin Feng had scolded him at the time, but now the recipe proved useful.
“Brother Feng, won’t Chunfeng House find out?” Tang Dongdong asked, still worried.
“Rumours spread easily, but disproving them is hard. Even if Chunfeng House figures it out, it’s too late. The only concern now is the madam taking it out on Xiaobei,” Jin Feng said.
The people of Dakang were highly superstitious. No matter how famous or beautiful Tang Xiaobei was, being linked to a night demon would make her untouchable, just like Guan Xiaorou.
“What do we do? Is Xiaobei in danger?” Tang Dongdong panicked.
“Don’t worry. I’ll visit her now. The madam wouldn’t dare mistreat her in front of me,” Jin Feng said. “You all head back. I might not return tonight.”
“Go quickly!” Guan Xiaorou nodded.
Jin Feng left with Tie Chui, heading to Chunfeng House’s nearby tent. By the time he arrived, Tang Xiaobei had been brought ashore by boat, and the tent was in chaos. The madam, flustered, was ordering maids to fetch water to wash Tang Xiaobei’s face.
Seeing Jin Feng, the madam forced a smile. “Mr. Jin, what brings you here?”
“I came to check on Miss Xiaobei,” Jin Feng said, feigning concern.
“The doctor is checking her pulse. It’s probably something she ate or a minor illness. No need to worry, Mr. Jin. A dose of medicine will fix it,” the madam reassured.
As she spoke, the tent curtain lifted, and an old doctor with a medicine chest emerged.
“Sir, how is Miss Xiaobei?” the madam asked quickly.
