Xin Zizhao watched Wei Shuxuan's hooligan - like behavior expressionlessly, saying nothing.
However, Ying'er's refusal was well within Wei Shuxuan's expectation. She put an arm around a girl on each side, and with her other hand, she boldly draped it over Ying'er's shoulder. "Miss Ying'er, please take pity on us two brothers. It's our first time here. And look at my brother. He's so good - looking. Keeping him company won't do you any harm, right?"
As soon as Wei Shuxuan finished speaking, she somehow produced a gold ingot and twirled it in front of Ying'er a few times. Ying'er's eyes followed the gold ingot intently.
Her watery eyes flitted for a moment. Ying'er gritted her teeth, turned her head, and whispered a few words to the maid behind her. When she looked back at Wei Shuxuan and Xin Zizhao, a sweet smile had already graced her lovely face. "Since the two young masters have said so, Ying'er will accept your kind invitation. The two young masters must come to our Green - Sunny Brothel more often!"
Looking at Ying'er's face that changed expressions so quickly, Wei Shuxuan couldn't help but mutter to herself. Whether in ancient times or modern times, money was truly omnipotent!
Xin Zizhao and Wei Shuxuan were invited to the elegant private room on the second floor.
As they were going upstairs, although Wei Shuxuan had a smile on her face, her eyes were quietly sizing up the general layout of the brothel.
The Green - Sunny Brothel had three floors. The first and second floors were presumably for entertaining guests. In the center of the first - floor hall, there was a gorgeous stage, and around the stage were the auditoriums. The second floor seemed more refined than the first and was probably for receiving high - ranking officials and nobles.
As for the third floor, Wei Shuxuan guessed it was the living quarters for the girls in the brothel and the madam. At this moment, there wasn't a single servant boy walking around on the third floor with tea or water, which was in sharp contrast to the first and second floors. It was very likely the place where the girls rested.
Wei Shuxuan tilted her head slightly and happened to meet Xin Zizhao's eyes. She gave a little look towards the third floor. Xin Zizhao just glanced at her indifferently and then averted his gaze.
In the Jade - Stacked Chamber on the second floor, Wei Shuxuan asked Ying'er to sit beside Xin Zizhao and attend to him. Xin Zizhao frowned and pulled back the corner of his robe that Ying'er had pressed on with a look of disgust. Ying'er looked at Wei Shuxuan helplessly. Wei Shuxuan rubbed her forehead. Why was this guy so uncooperative? There was a beauty right beside him! Was he going to be as upright as Liu Xiahui?
"Miss Ying'er, my brother is a bit introverted and easily shy. It's normal for him to be like this on his first visit. How about you come and keep me company first? After my brother gets used to it, you can go back to him, okay?" Wei Shuxuan grinned and took out a silver coin from her sleeve and placed it on the carved wooden table.
No one would be a fool not to take such a big silver coin when it was right in front of them. Ying'er quickly stuffed the silver into her sleeve and immediately sat beside Wei Shuxuan to pour her wine. "Young Master Wei, please have some wine."
Seeing Ying'er get such a big silver coin, the other girl was unhappy. She tugged at Wei Shuxuan's sleeve and complained coquettishly, "I'm not happy! Sister Ying'er got such a big silver coin, but Young Master Wei didn't give me anything!"
"Alright, alright. Everyone will get one."
Saying that, Wei Shuxuan generously took out another silver coin from her sleeve and put it on the table. Xin Zizhao sat there quietly sipping his wine, watching Wei Shuxuan act as if he had nothing to do with it.
Wei Shuxuan thought her drinking capacity was quite good, but the girls in the brothel were no ordinary people. After a few rounds of drinking, Wei Shuxuan already felt a bit dizzy. However, years of accumulated vigilance made her not dare to get drunk casually.
Moreover, she hadn't found out any clues yet, so she couldn't afford to fall down!
It seemed that Ying'er and the other girl were also a bit tipsy. Xin Zizhao glanced at the wine jars on the table and on the ground and couldn't help but be amazed. This person could really hold her liquor!
While she still had a bit of consciousness, Wei Shuxuan quietly reached under the table and pinched her thigh hard. The drunken look in her eyes was immediately dispelled a lot, revealing a glimmer of clarity.
She picked up her wine cup and, half - drunk and half - sober, leaned towards Ying'er. "Miss Ying'er, I was just wondering. Why isn't your madam here? I have a big business deal I want to discuss with her!"
Ying'er already had a good impression of the generous Wei Shuxuan. Coupled with Wei Shuxuan's pleasant - sounding words and the fact that she was a bit tipsy now, Ying'er had no defense against her at all and immediately fell into Wei Shuxuan's trap.
"Hey, usually at this time, the madam must be out 'stocking up', looking for some new 'goods'!"
Stocking up? New goods? What kind of goods could a brothel stock up on? Did the madam really need to go out herself to buy daily necessities? She could just send a few servant boys to do it!
So, there was only one explanation. That Madam Zhang must be out scouting for new girls to bring into the brothel. So, those two men were probably human traffickers.
Wei Shuxuan remembered that she had found some silver on those two men at that time. It was probably given to them by Madam Zhang. They must have been conducting the transaction in the inn room before they were killed.
Looking at Wei Shuxuan, who was lost in thought, with her cheeks flushed abnormally from the alcohol, Xin Zizhao put down the wine jug. "Hey, aren't we leaving?"
"… Huh?" Wei Shuxuan, who was called, was obviously still in a daze and didn't react at first.
Then, Xin Zizhao motioned her to look at the two drunk girls. She nodded. "Then let's leave quickly."
She had already gotten what she wanted. There was no reason to stay any longer!
Seeing Wei Shuxuan stagger as she got up, as if she was about to fall to the ground at any moment, Xin Zizhao was a bit helpless. Although he originally didn't want to help her, he still walked over and let her lean on his shoulder so that she wouldn't fall so easily.
Fortunately, when they left, it was the busiest time in the Green - Sunny Brothel. The songstresses on the stage were wearing revealing clothes, dancing gracefully. The men downstairs who had come for pleasure were all focused on the stage and didn't notice Wei Shuxuan and Xin Zizhao quietly leaving.
Seeing that Wei Shuxuan was very drunk, Xin Zizhao had no choice but to take her to a nearby inn and rent a room. He unceremoniously threw the sleeping Wei Shuxuan onto the bed in the room. If Wei Shuxuan were still awake, she would definitely complain that he didn't know how to cherish a beauty.
Just as Xin Zizhao was about to leave, something on the bed caught his eye.