You Don’t Understand The Pain Of Being Popular

【I don't understand, but I am deeply shocked. Does anyone come to a place like this?】

【Rich people aren't fools. Why would they come to such a shabby place?】

【Is the production team that poor? They don't even have a somewhat decent building.】

Such questioning comments appeared quickly in the barrage.

However, as the plot progressed, everyone soon realized they had oversimplified things.

The truly powerful and affluent nobility wouldn't come to this kind of brothel.

The "honored guests" here were mostly low-ranking attendants, small vendors, or even laborers covered in sweat and dirt after work.

Their spending power wasn't high, and they wouldn't engage in romantic discussions with the ladies. Most of them paid a small fee and immediately focused on fulfilling their physical needs without any subtlety.

The environment inside the brothel was worse than imagined, with the lower-class courtesans constantly busy with customers. They had no freedom, redemption was difficult, and the risk of contracting diseases was high.

"A lowly woman like you, clearly born to sell yourself, and you still try to act like a virtuous woman?" At this moment, a sharp voice rang out in the dimly lit room, and the camera showed the face of the brothel's madam.

Her face was lined with wrinkles, her eyes gleamed with a fierce light, and her eyeballs slightly bulged, as if a demon had crawled out from hell.

The woman suspended by her was barely breathing, lying half-dead on the floor amidst pools of blood.

Other women stood in corners, some numbly observing, while others cried softly in fear.

The female lead also stood among them.

Like the other women, she wore ragged clothes, her eyes filled with terror.

The atmosphere in the entire space was stifling, except for the madam's curses and the sound of the whip cracking. No one dared to speak.

The female lead also stood among the women, dressed in a worn-out dress with dirt that hadn't been cleaned off yet. She wasn't conspicuous in any way, only her thick eyelashes drooping to conceal the anger and fear in her eyes.

【Oh my, this brothel is so horrifying.】

【Sisters, this seems to be the most realistic portrayal of a brothel. 99% of the courtesans experience no romantic indulgence, only endless torment.】

【The immersion is so strong I'm already feeling scared.】

【I just imagined what it would be like if I fell into such a situation and how I could save myself, only to realize there was no way to escape...】

The reason the madam was beating someone was simple. The new woman couldn't bear the life in the brothel and wanted to escape. Unfortunately, she had no place to go as a woman with no money, alone in a foreign land.

Before long, she was captured again, leading to the scene that had just unfolded.

After beating the woman, the madam left. This show of force served its purpose well, as some women had become numb and filled with fear.

【It's so tragic. Coming into the brothel, there's no way to escape once trapped there.】

【This madam is truly inhuman. Does she have a conscience?】

【Sobbing... It's like calling to the heavens with no response, and seeking help from the earth to no avail. The female lead should try to escape this hell and go to a higher-grade brothel.】

The woman who attempted to escape was barely conscious.

After the madam and the other girls left, the female lead and her companions approached the injured woman, offering her food and water and tending to her wounds.

"Wash the wounds with water so that it won't get infected."

Every courtesan had survived like this, enduring the beatings and having to bow to reality.

They were the lowest-ranking courtesans. If they didn't help themselves, no one in this world would be willing to save them.

Today, they were helping someone else, and they may need others to help them in the future. Surviving in this cruel society left them with no other choice.

As the plot unfolded layer by layer, the girls' characters gradually developed.

The top courtesan, who had been sold into this place by her husband, was a jealous, selfish woman. But she had a conscience and boundaries. Faced with enormous threats, she ultimately didn't betray her sisters.

The girl who attempted to escape was named Xiaoxin. She saw herself as noble and looked down upon the other prostitutes, including the female lead. However, she also displayed loyalty and resilience and was willing to sacrifice herself for the greater good.

The female lead's companions were timid, but they mustered the courage to stand up at critical moments despite their inner fears.

Each of them had their flaws; they weren't perfect victims. However, they were all human beings with emotions.

They shouldn't have suffered this way.

When viewers saw the sisters help one of their own plan and successfully deceive the madam to escape and evade payment, tears welled up in their eyes.

【Ah, I was so scared just now. They almost got caught by the madam.】

【The female lead is really clever, using this method to deceive the madam. Not only did the girl escape the brothel, but the madam didn't get any money either.】

【Intelligence level: over 9000.】

【That girl is really lucky. Her mother showed up, and she had a few sisters willing to help. That's how she escaped this misery.】

【Haha, the madam's expression is so unsightly.】

As the instigator of this plan, the female lead suffered a beating like never before.

However, she felt an unusual sense of satisfaction. Seeing the madam's livid face, she believed it was worth enduring all the beatings.

Of course, while helping others, she never gave up hope herself.

Among them, an older woman learned poetry and music from her closest companion and even managed to create a simple pipa (a musical instrument), practicing it in secret.

For women like them, the only path to move up was through such means.

Low-ranking courtesans had to entertain too many clients each day. Under the intense "work," they struggled to survive, and any slight oversight might lead to death.

Only by becoming high-ranking courtesans could they find a way to survive.

However, the plot quickly took a sharp turn.

The woman who had the closest relationship with the female lead and had been teaching her musical theory contracted a venereal disease.

Given the limited medical technology of the time, not to mention the madam's personality, spending money on a doctor's treatment was impossible.

Having such a disease meant death was not far off.

The infected woman was initially popular among clients, with significantly more appointments than others. Consequently, she received better meals than many, sometimes even meat.

But now, with the disease, everything changed drastically.

Her treatment and status plummeted. Not only that, she was forced by the madam to continue entertaining clients.

【Sigh, if I remember correctly, over ninety percent of courtesans will contract venereal diseases.】

【Falling into this kind of place, let alone saving up enough to buy their freedom, it's already challenging to live past thirty.】

【Most courtesans don't even survive to old age; they die much earlier...】

【Those men won't even spare a woman who's sick. Disgusting.】

The female lead brainstormed many solutions for her, even intending to use her meager savings to find a doctor, but the woman stopped her.

After contracting the disease, there was hardly any chance of salvation. The woman knew this, and she understood that hope had left her.

She spoke candidly to the female lead about many things. It was at this time that everyone learned about her background.

As it turned out, she used to be a top-ranking courtesan at the Tianxiang Pavilion.

【Wow, she was at the Tianxiang Pavilion before? How did she end up in such a situation?】

【I already guessed it. How could an ordinary woman know so much and teach the female lead about poetry and music?】

【This plot doesn't make sense. They forced a top-ranking courtesan to fall to a lower-grade brothel just to give the female lead a golden finger.】

Someone raised a question, but it was quickly answered.

Like most top-ranking courtesans, this woman had engaged in ambiguous relationships with literati and scholars, discussing poetry and indulging in elegance. However, her clients gradually diminished as she aged and lost her youthful allure.

Due to severe exploitation, many courtesans could not save enough money to buy their freedom. In order to survive and continue to sustain themselves in the brothel, they had to compromise their dignity and accept more clients.

Thus, she went from being a top-tier courtesan to a second-tier, then a third-tier, and was eventually sold and degraded.

Now, she had become part of the lowest rank.

A high-class courtesan falling to the lowest tier could take as little as ten years.

Her story wasn't an exception; rather, it reflected the fate of many high-ranking courtesans.

【Incredible, I feel so powerless.】

【The concept of "buying freedom" feels like a pie the madam is dangling in front of the courtesans. Without drawing them a pie, how can they be "motivated to work"?】

【The 996 office workers are also being offered pies by their bosses daily... It's moving to tears.】

【Not just top-ranking courtesans, even a flower chief (highest rank) could face a tragic end if they gets old or falls seriously ill and can't make money anymore.】

The woman with the disease was in her thirties, the long-lasting suffering leaving wrinkles and scars on her face. She had no way to find a way out for herself.

However, the situation was different for the female lead.

She was still young, in her teens. She hoped to fight for a glimmer of opportunity in this desperate situation.

The diseased woman started to devise plans for the female lead, and the little sisters who had been previously helped by her also offered assistance to the best of their abilities.

Finally, the female lead seized a rare chance. Leveraging her knowledge and talents, she caught the attention of a madam and sold herself into a high-class brothel.

The diseased woman died that winter.

Unable to attract clients, the madam naturally wouldn't support someone who couldn't bring in money. She eventually succumbed to the dual torment of hunger and illness.

The last time she saw the female lead, she couldn't eat the food brought by her.

She merely held the female lead's hand and told her—

"Live well."

The plot of the first eight episodes was tightly woven. The female lead teamed up with her sisters to confront the madam, with multiple twists and turns, culminating in thrilling climaxes.

Each of them had their own story. Despite the miserable and painful lives, enduring endless humiliation and torment daily, the female lead never gave up struggling, nor did she surrender to resistance in the face of difficulties.