The Sixth Lady thinks that her life might be no more than gossips in an after-dinner conversation .
She was born in a good family with a father who was a well-known doctor and a gentle mother who ran her household nicely .
As the only daughter, she had a happy life before she turned ten - a well-to-do family, loving parents, and a peaceful household .
In the year that she turned ten, her father made a mistake when treating a patient who later died .
It seemed the patient was from a powerful background so the second day a group of people came and smashed her father’s clinic as well as his arms and legs .
Her father didn’t make it and passed away . Her mother, whose world was her father, couldn't take it and hanged herself in a cold September night .
Orphan girls are the most vulnerable group since ancient times .
Her remaining family wealth was divided by her vicious relatives when she was kept in the dark and sold by them .
She was moved around a lot and was finally sold to Pingjing, to a man who lost one ear in a small yard .
There were a lot of girls like her in that yard .
The man gave them food, a shelter and asked them to call him Old Pa . He also gave each girl a name .
The Sixth Lady got a name, Li Ge (Translator's note: Li Ge means farewell songs in Chinese . ), a perfect name for a girl who was sold to a man like Old Pa, since no respectable family would give its daughter such a name .
Li Ge was afraid of Old Pa who gave her a feeling that he was looking at a commodity that would fetch a good price instead of a person when he looked at her .
Later, it turned out she was right . Old Pa got people to teach the girls operas, to sing and dance . . .
Born with a good voice, Li Ge was a good singer so she was kept there .
Others who got to stay were girls who were talented in some fields .
Those who didn't were sent away over time .
Only years later did Li Ge learn that the girls that were sent away were actually sold by Old Pa .
Those who were lucky became maids in wealthy families . However, few girls were since there wasn't much money for Old Pa .
Most were sold to wealthy old men as concubines or worse, brothels .
Li Ge heard from the elder girls that few of the latter two groups of girls led a good life .
She was afraid . She practiced desperately in order not to be sent away .
She was better and better at singing . As she grew up, she was more and more beautiful .
Then, she became Old Pa’s favorite “daughter” .
She knew that many girls in the yard envied her .
Many of them not only had to practice but also need to “take care of” Old Pa .
Many of the girls’ first man was Old Pa .
However, Old Pa never touched Li Ge .
Several times, she felt Old Pa's sticky and disgusting looks fall on her, however, he didn’t do anything to her .
From time to time, she heard Old Pa tell her smugly:
“Li Ge, you are my best girl . Someday, you will become the most famous singer in Pingjing . ”
She only felt frightened .
She didn't want to become famous in Pingjing . She just wanted to leave, find a small town and an honest man, have one or two kids and have an ordinary life .
But she was never in a position to decide for herself .
When she turned 16, Old Pa took her to a place called “Sleepless City”, the most luxurious place of entertainment in town, where wealthy men of Pingjing had a good time and hunted for beauties .