Chapter 37

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Chapter 37:

Most of the Qin Lou Chu Guan in the entire Shengjing City are concentrated in Pingkang Alley, also known as the "North District". The buildings here are simple with black-grey roofs, red pillars, and white or beige walls lining the streets.

Even in the lively city of Daliang, common people couldn’t easily use red walls and green tiles.

The two walked along the intersecting streets in the neighborhood. Li Chunzhou looked up at the courtyards with plaques reading "Qin Feng Family", "Tu Liu Family", and "Xiang Shan Family". These were mostly second-tier brothels, with the plaques displaying the stage names of the leading courtesans or the proprietress’s names.

Mi Hongbao enthusiastically led Li Chunzhou towards one of the courtyards.

Entering the spacious courtyard, a group of young people were sitting under a tree. Hearing the noise at the entrance, many turned around. A young lord greeted Mi Hongbao with a smile, "Brother Mi, you’ve come?"

A gentle breeze carried the scent of gardenias. Li Chunzhou lifted her veil, and the sunlight in the courtyard illuminated her porcelain-like face with snow-white skin and exquisite features, resembling a delicate piece of art ready to break at any moment.

Everyone was stunned, until Mi Hongbao started to clear his throat loudly in annoyance, then most people snapped out of it.

It was quite common for scholars to visit brothels together in Daliang, and as soon as Mi Hongbao showed up, a group of friends surrounded him and pulled him to their table with a lot of noise.

Li Chunzhou handed the headscarf to the maid who came to greet her, and looked around the brothel. Although the outside was plain with white walls and black tiles, the inside of the courtyard was beautifully decorated with three entrances and exits, fragrant flowers in the courtyard, well-placed ornamental rocks and basins, elegant pavilions with hanging curtains, luxurious embroidered couches, all in a unique style.

It was probably only Mi Hongbao who would boldly visit a brothel accompanied by people from other families.

The brothel provided the young gentlemen gathering for drinking and merrymaking with the necessary venue, furniture, food and drinks. The gentlemen only needed to relax and begin their banquet, but each table had to pay a certain fee.

Mi Hongbao exchanged pleasantries with his friends and then politely led Li Chunzhou to their seats. As the food and drinks were served, Li Chunzhou took only a sip before setting down her chopsticks. She looked around at the girls accompanying the gentlemen, most of whom had braided hair. Li Chunzhou realized that most of the companions here were courtesans.

Virgins in the brothel only braided their hair, and after their first customer, they would wear their hair in a bun, known as "shu’long".

This second-class brothel could have more than ten courtesans on stage at the same time, which was considered good. Establishments like the Spring Flowers Tower, where hundreds of beauties would often appear, were famous attractions in the capital city.

One of the gentlemen at the same table threw some gold taels and asked the maid to bring out their top courtesan. After a short while, the sound of jingling bells was heard, and the top courtesan, dressed in bright clothes and noble adornments, appeared with several maids surrounding her.

The top lady of this brothel is named Yanyan. As she slowly walked out from the backyard, the guests at the table all slightly lowered their heads. Even in the brothel, there is a clear hierarchy among the girls, and the top lady has the right to discipline the ordinary ones.

Only Li Chunzhou lifted her head and observed Yanyan without flinching. When Yanyan’s gaze passed over her face as beautiful as a spring flower, she couldn’t help but pause, and then kindly avoid eye contact.

Yanyan’s looks were not outstanding. Qi Leyuan withdrew his gaze, thinking that not to mention compared to Li Chunzhou, Yanyan’s appearance was far below Gu Lingfan’s.

But soon, Qi Leyuan understood why Yanyan was the top lady in this brothel.

At the banquet, there was a tradition called a drinking game, where a series of steps were specified, and everyone had to follow the rules. Those who performed well received praise, while those who did poorly would be mocked and punished.

Since it involved law enforcement and punishment, a special judge was needed – the "banquet adjudicator," who would be responsible for all judging tasks at the feast.

Most of the well-known top ladies were skilled at being banquet adjudicators.

Yanyan picked up the command flag, took a sip of wine, established the rules of the game, and the gentlemen at the table took turns performing according to her rules. After each completed designated task, Yanyan used the flag to indicate the next person to act. If someone violated the rules or made a mistake, with a snap, a bamboo chip would fly out, and the person in charge of keeping records would step forward and pour a cup of wine as a punishment for the mistake.

It was not an easy task to play the drinking game for real. Most of the participants were highly self-aware literary talents, so giving commands, accusations, or punishments required clever, witty, and eloquent language that was beautiful and reasoned.

Laughter and chatter filled the banquet hall.

This kind of thing is a specialty of geishas. Li Chunzhou, who grew up in Spring Flowers Tower, is very familiar with it. She remembers that the most outstanding person in hosting banquets is Gu Lingfan. Gu Lingfan always shows her talents gracefully, whether it’s resolving disputes or casual conversations. Especially in front of others, when a talented man recites a poem on the spot, she can always quickly pick up the rhythm and improvise a poem in response.

Li Chunzhou noticed someone speaking to her out of the corner of her eye. She came back to reality and realized that a young man had suggested that she host the next round of banquets.

No matter how talented someone is, beauty can still captivate hearts. Putting Yanyan’s excellent management skills in front of this group is like casting pearls before swine. Li Chunzhou quietly chuckled to herself, but her face showed nothing. With a glance around, she paused for a moment on the young men before smiling brightly and agreeing in a clear voice.

The game started quickly, and all the men who met Li Chunzhou’s gaze were eager to participate, unable to conceal their desire to impress.

For those who are often immersed in romantic affairs, it’s easy to tell if a man is interested in you. When a man is enchanted by beauty, he often fails to show any other qualities because sweet words can cloud his judgment.

During the game, Li Chunzhou did not show favoritism by focusing solely on someone when speaking. When the person she glanced at appeared nervous, she would smile lightly, innocently blinking her eyes at them.

However, the person who interacted with her the most was still Mi Hongbao. In such a setting, among many competitors, Mi Hongbao showed a side that he rarely revealed to Li Chunzhou. He was sociable, articulate, and enjoyed being the center of attention. When Li Chunzhou’s gaze shifted to others, Mi Hongbao instinctively compared himself to them.

As the future heir of the Northern Marquis Mansion and the only son born to a princess, Mi Hongbao naturally displayed a strong presence in social situations, despite his usual laid-back demeanor. In the noble circle of Shengjing, apart from a few princes, no one had a more distinguished status than Mi Hongbao, so everyone naturally avoided stealing his spotlight.

The young men watched as Mi Hongbao alone caught the attention of the beautiful girl. They were so jealous that they gritted their teeth, but there was nothing they could do. When Li Chunzhou saw that Mi Hongbao was showing off, she smiled lightly and suggested not to hog the limelight in the next round, so that everyone could have fun.

She moved from her original seat to sit next to Mi Hongbao, who immediately became quieter. Then they started bickering, and most of what they said was nonsense, showing jealousy and possessiveness. It was just like young love.

Li Chunzhou wanted to playfully tease him.

"It’s strange, it’s been a long time since Young Master Zhang from the Zhang family visited me," Li Chunzhou asked Mi Hongbao, "Do you have any idea what’s going on, A’bao?"

"N-no… I have no idea," Mi Hongbao avoided eye contact nervously, hesitating in his response, wondering why she suddenly asked him about this. After a moment of silence, and seeing that Li Chunzhou didn’t say anything further, Mi Hongbao became impatient and asked, "Do you care about him?"

"A little bit," Li Chunzhou answered with a smile.

Mi Hongbao’s expression darkened as he subtly criticized Young Master Zhang, "…Maybe he’s changed his feelings, men are like that."

Wanting to avoid hearing about other people from Li Chunzhou, Mi Hongbao changed the subject, pointing to the pastries on the table and saying, "Lady Chun, try this, it’s quite tasty."

Li Chunzhou calmly ate her Lotus Root Cake, while Mi Hongbao stared at her intently, offering her his portion once she finished her plate, "Do you like it? I have another one here."

On this sleepy afternoon with the scattered tree shadows, sunlight peeked through the branches and fell on Mi Hongbao as he watched Li Chunzhou eating pastries like a squirrel. When their eyes met, Mi Hongbao suddenly smiled, reached out to brush off crumbs from her mouth, and said, "If it tastes good, I’ll have the servant bring you more."

In the swaying sunlight, Li Chunzhou suddenly noticed that Mi Hongbao seemed to be shedding his youthful innocence and taking on a more mature look. Compared to the boy she remembered from the past, he had changed a lot without anyone realizing.

Seeing the two of them getting along so well, even those who were close to Mi Hongbao in the past couldn’t help but be surprised. They marveled at how things had changed so quickly. Mi Hongbao and Li Chunzhou used to clash and have many conflicts, so how did they now get along so harmoniously?

As a child, Mi Hongbao idolized his second cousin, Liang Changfeng. After the late emperor’s death, the elders around him warned him to stay away from Liang Changfeng, the Second Prince, saying he was unreliable and unfit to succeed the throne. But Mi Hongbao stubbornly believed in his cousin and thought that it was the people around Liang Changfeng who had led him astray.

At that time, Liang Changfeng favored Li Chunzhou the most, a fact well-known throughout Shengjing City. Mi Hongbao, on the other hand, didn’t like Li Chunzhou at all. One night, after drinking with his friends, they agreed to visit Spring Flowers Tower to see the seductive courtesan who had caught Liang Changfeng’s attention.

Even before reaching Spring Flowers Tower, Mi Hongbao had planned how to ridicule her, hoping to make her cry and repent.

However, upon seeing Li Chunzhou, Mi Hongbao couldn’t help but blush and was nudged by his friends to remember why they had come to Spring Flowers Tower in the first place.

He stuttered as he tried to say the provocative words he had planned.

Just after saying them, he began worrying that his words might have been too harsh. What if the young lady in front of him started crying? Should he comfort her if she did?

If he tries to appease, wouldn’t his grand statements at the banquet and today’s actions become a joke? But if he doesn’t appease, letting the beauty cry in front of him, what hero is Mi Hongbao then?

Unexpectedly, Li Chunzhou was not angry or in tears, but instead playfully teased back.

After Mi Hongbao returned dazed that day, he felt increasingly uneasy, getting up in the middle of the night and running around the courtyard in the mansion in anger.