Power outage, just sent the first update now, sorry. The second update should arrive on time. Hey, continue to ask for pink votes PK votes.

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  At this time, Wei Luo already knew that in the eyes of many poor people, becoming a songstress had too many benefits. Not only could they appear in various luxurious attire at the mansions of high-ranking officials, but lucky ones might even become consorts or concubines, and young men might become favored ministers or nobles, leaping to become powerful and wealthy.

  So, when the poor children hear that a wealthy family's entourage is looking for someone, they rush over from thousands of miles away, scrubbing their kids clean with all their might, determined to get them noticed and taken in by the noble family.

  So in that long, endless queue, there were no tears, only anticipation and longing.

  Unlike later generations, the wives of kings and nobles in this era were indeed not a few who rose from being small singing girls. The background of women's lives was valued in some places, but in some noble families it was not worth mentioning.

  Although poor people yearn for their children to become geishas, some well-off young men and women are absolutely unwilling to join this group in this way. However, the poor because of malnutrition from an early age, clothes that do not cover their bodies, and parents who are not excellent, so their children's ordinary level is not high, just a pretty face, it is difficult to have one in a hundred. And having a pretty face with no obvious physical defects is even more rare, one in a thousand.

  In this case, the poor provided fewer young men and women than the team required. The team would then buy some nobles who had become slaves due to defeat in battle, and the crying young men and women in the donkey cart came from this source.

  In the din, the tender voice of the 16-year-old girl came from time to time: "Four, eleven years old, a young girl, with a mole on her ankle, take."

  "Five years old, ten years old, boy, scratch on back, can go, take."

  In her singing voice, all the boys and girls in front of her had taken off their clothes and stood naked in the cold wind to let Sixteen Girl examine them.

  And in front of the sixteenth girl, 100 meters away, there was another group of people, and Zhan Yi was among them. Those children didn't need to undress, Zhan Yi and others just examined the children's facial features, and those who were elegant could pass the first round.

  The children of the poor, which one is not beaten out? So it's far from enough to just pass the test. After passing through the occupied place, the children come to the 16th girl's place for the second test, and only after passing this second test can they join the team.

  And the task of the sixteenth young lady was to select from among the children those with very small scars, or those whose scars would disappear on their own as they grew up.

  The sixteen girls watched very slowly, and when they approached, there would be ten children taking off their clothes with the help of their parents.

  This is the coldest winter month!

  These children, once their clothes were gone, their thin bodies shrank into a ball in the cold wind. However, at this time, neither their parents nor the people in the sedan chair seemed to feel that they might get sick or die from it. The people in the sedan chair were indifferent, while the children's parents were anxiously watching the sixteenth young lady, waiting for her announcement.

  Wei Luo watched for a while before feeling bored, knowing that this kind of selection would last all day. She turned around, hid the wooden sword in her sleeve and walked towards the forest behind the city gate.

  This forest is three or four miles away from the troops, and this distance of three or four miles, which took Wei Luo two hours to walk three months ago, now takes her less than a quarter of an hour.

  Arriving in the forest, he hung the silk thread with copper coins on the branches as usual. After taking a deep breath, Wei Luo swiftly stabbed at the silk thread with his sword.

  When the wooden sword is drawn out, the wind whizzes by.

  The sword tip was still an inch away from the silk thread, but the thread felt the approach of the sword wind and began to shake violently.

  Just as the sword tip pierced the silk thread, Wei Luo's hand paused, and the wooden sword stopped in mid-air.

  Withdraw the wooden sword and strike out with another one.

  For Weiruo, every time the wooden sword hits the silk thread, that's nothing. Every time the sword edge hasn't even touched the silk thread, and the silk thread is blown by the sword wind, it doesn't count as anything either.

  She suddenly found out in these three days that this thread has become brittle!

  Just the day before yesterday, that thread suddenly broke after a night of practice, and the new thread changed yesterday also broke! And the hot flow between the heart and abdomen appears more frequently. Before, it only appeared once at noon, now it will flash through the heart and abdomen at midnight.

  She had also managed to lift the copper sword and was able to wield it. Although she couldn't do it for more than a moment before her hands started to ache and her wrists felt swollen, Wei Luo was still very happy.

  The swordsmen's moves were simple, just a few chops and slashes, mostly straightforward without any fancy moves. Their moves were simple, so Wei Luo found it easy to learn. In just three months, Wei Luo felt that she had already mastered their moves.

  Of course, what Wei Luo had been learning all along was only their superficial framework, those inner things, she had never touched.

  Wei Luo continued to practice until evening. During dinner, she heard someone say that after divination, the weather for the next few days would be fine and spring-like, so the procession would stay in Che Shui City for three days, until they had selected enough people before setting off.

  Tonight's moon is a crescent, the earth is misty and silvery, and the light is soft. Wei Luo practiced until almost midnight before walking to his carriage, drenched in sweat.

  The team outside the city gate was unusually quiet, and the high-ranking people had already moved into the city, leaving only low-ranking donkey riders and miscellaneous workers outside.

  Under the moonlight, Wei Luo picked up a copper pot from the storage room, fetched a pot of water from the river 500 meters behind Che Shui City, and quietly entered his own carriage.

  After making preparations, she stuck her head out and took a look around. Seeing the torches swaying in the convoy, the faint sound of people's voices, and no one else walking on the official road, she shrank back, quietly untied her outer garment, wetted a hemp cloth with water, and began to wipe herself from her arm.

  In the carriage, only a faint light mixed with moonlight shone through the gap in the curtains. A faint, extremely small glow fell on her half-exposed skin, which was as white as snow and dazzling to behold.

  Gently wiping one arm clean, Wei Luo hastily put on the sleeve. Then she took off the other sleeve and started to wipe it down.

  Wei Luo was focused on wiping, but at this moment, a faint rustling sound of footsteps entered her ears!

  Someone is coming!

  Wei Luo's face turned pale, she hastily tightened her hemp clothes, while dressing she secretly prayed: Hopefully he isn't walking in this direction, hopefully he isn't walking in this direction!

  But those footsteps were coming this way! And getting closer and closer!

  Weiluo's cloak was only half-fastened when the man stopped outside the carriage. At the same time, a slightly shy male voice came over, "Weiluo, little one, are you asleep?"

  It's Cheng Xi!

  Good heavens! It's actually Cheng Xi!

  Wei Luo's face turned pale, her mouth moved a few times, and before she could think of how to respond, Cheng Yi outside had already let out a snicker. "Don't pretend, I could still hear the noise and water sounds earlier. Am I right, you were taking off your clothes and bathing?" The last four words were spat out with almost audible rolling of his Adam's apple.