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With nothing better to do, and for lack of entertainment in the county town, I decided to go.

The dancer was a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl. She had sparkling eyes and alluring features, truly a rare beauty. I was somewhat intrigued.

When I asked her if she wanted to come with me, to my surprise, she flatly refused. She was rather forthright.

I laughed it off. After all, I was not lacking in female companionship, especially not beautiful ones.

However, when I returned to the Prefecture City, the girl appeared in my residence.

Obviously, I understood what happened: my subordinates had brought her. Her parents must have agreed to it as well.

But, I didn’t really mind. These kinds of incidents were all too common, all the concubines in my back garden came to me this way.

Later, whenever I held banquets for the generals, my feast was enlivened by the addition of a little dancer. She was not the best dancer, nor the most beautiful, but among them all, she was the most spirited.

Seeing my fondness of her, my subordinates meant for her to share my bed. Thus, one night, they dolled her up and led her into my bedroom.

Leaning on my bed, looking at her charming figure, I beckoned her over.

The girl stopped a few feet from my bed and asked seriously, “If I sleep with you, will you let me go?”

I laughed. This was the first time anyone had made such a request to me. What a fearless, naive child she was.

“No,” I said with a grin. “You were a gift from your parents to me. Unless your parents ask for you back, you must stay here in my residence.”

The girl’s face fell. “My dad said I’m a dancer in your residence, here only to dance. If you can’t let me go, why should I sleep with you?” With that, she turned and left.

I fell silent. Hearing that someone tried to stop her outside, I loudly commanded them to let her go.

I had plenty of concubines in my residence, most of whom I’d never touched. A wave of my hand would bring a bevy of beauties flocking to me. So with this girl, as much as I admired her courage, I was also somewhat annoyed.

So I treated her as a dancer. Every time I held a banquet, I would summon her to liven up the event.

Many of the warriors took fancy to her, attempting to take advantage of her. In response, she dumped a plate of food over their heads and loudly accused me of going back on my word and bullying a child.

All eyes at the banquet fell on me. What could I do? I pacified the soup-soaked warrior and ordered Chen Ying to stand under a plate for ten hours as a punishment.

Ten hours later, when the sky was already bright, I saw the girl standing straight beneath a tree in her red dress.

She was cunning. Although standing, she was leaning against the tree and had fallen asleep.

The plate still balanced on her head, secured with a silk ribbon.

Amused, I approached and prodded her on the head.

The girl woke with a start. Seeing me, she didn’t look guilty at all. Instead, she asked, “Has ten hours passed?”

I ignored her query and walked off.

I’d been busy lately. Bandits were frequently appearing in the vicinity, some of them in groups of five to eight hundred. If not eradicated, they would undoubtedly become a serious problem.

Two months later when I returned, I hosted another banquet to reward the warriors.

Once again, I invited the girl to dance. By now, none of the warriors dared to provoke her.

Casual teasing still took place, but she didn’t mind it.

In the blink of an eye, a year had passed. The girl had grown taller and more beautiful.

Every time she walked past the warriors, she attracted all eyes.

Of course, my heart was moved too.

The desire to seek beauty is human nature, so I summoned her once again.

She stood in front of my bed, asking the same question, “If I sleep with you, will you let me go? My foster parents are suffering in the countryside. I want to go see them.”

I pulled her into my arms and kissed her, holding her close, “If you sleep with me, how can I let you go? But I could have someone check on the situation of your foster parents and give them some silver coins.”

The girl nodded, then vigorously shook her head, pushing me away, “Then…we can talk about it when we know the situation of my foster parents. I…I can’t sleep with you now.”

Resisting my grip, she turned and ran off.

I closed my eyes, and it took a long while for my anger to subside.

At that moment, I truly wanted to disregard all consequences and take her into my room, but reason told me I couldn’t force her.

She was a stubborn child. From what I’d learned about her family, she was a fearless little firecracker.