The madam could tell at a glance that she was a wealthy patron. With money in sight, the madam's smile never faded.
"Sir, you can rest assured. Here, we not only offer singing and dancing for your entertainment, but also have beautiful girls waiting to serve you! Come on, take these two sirs to the best private room and let Meiyu serve them well."
As soon as the madam finished speaking, a pimp came up and led Mei Qingxue upstairs. In fact, the decoration of the Fragrance Fading Courtyard was quite elegant. It could not only provide a place for those playboys to have fun, but also attract some literati and scholars who liked to show off their literary talents, or to look for their soul mates.
"Miss! How could you come to such a place! If outsiders find out, how can you ever get married in the future!" As soon as the door of the private room was closed and there were only the two of them left in the room, Yue Ru looked at Mei Qingxue with a panicked expression as if the end of the world was coming.
"What are you afraid of? If someone really wants to marry me, how could they care about the slander from outsiders? Moreover, no one here knows our identities. As I said before, if you don't tell and I don't tell, who will know that we've been here?" Mei Qingxue looked nonchalant. Visiting a brothel was just a thing. If men could do it, why couldn't she? She just didn't believe in this so - called rule!
"Miss, how can you think like this? If the master finds out that I've come to this place with you, the master and madam will definitely break my legs."
Looking at Yue Ru's expression, Mei Qingxue sighed silently. She couldn't forcefully change the ideas of the people here, so she could only comfort her not to think too much. "Don't worry. If our parents really find out and want to blame someone, I won't let you be wronged in the slightest. I'm the one who started this, so I won't let you get involved."
"Miss, Yue Ru doesn't mean that. Yue Ru is just worried about you..."
"Gentlemen, this little one, Meiyu, is here to serve you." Before Yue Ru could finish speaking, a charming voice came from outside the door. The woman deliberately made her voice soft and coquettish, which gave the two people in the room goosebumps.
Besides watching singing and dancing, the most important thing in a brothel was to have fun with the girls. Although Mei Qingxue thought the woman outside was a bit artificial, it was just the requirement of her profession. How could she dislike them because of this?
"Alright, come in."
The door was gently pushed open, and a pungent smell of rouge rushed in with the open door, making people feel extremely uncomfortable.
The woman who claimed to be Meiyu had good - looking facial features, but the makeup on her face was really hard to compliment. Why did she put on so much makeup? Did she think the powder was too cheap and just kept applying it on her face?
"Meiyu pays respects to the two sirs." Her eyes were as seductive as silk. With just a glance, she could captivate people's souls. She was really quite skillful!
"Get up. What are you best at? Singing and dancing or poetry?"
Meiyu walked gracefully towards Mei Qingxue, poured her a glass of wine, and her boneless body instinctively leaned towards Mei Qingxue.
Mei Qingxue was already feeling dizzy due to the increasingly strong smell of rouge as Meiyu got closer. Now that the woman wanted to lean on her, she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable and could no longer pretend to be a graceful gentleman.
Helplessly, she had to move aside a little. She didn't think she could bear the weight of a woman older than herself.
Meiyu had been in this mixed - up place for a long time and had learned how to read people's expressions. After noticing Mei Qingxue's reluctance, she stepped back a bit.
"Meiyu isn't particularly good at anything. Usually, I just play the zither. If the sir doesn't mind, Meiyu can play a tune for you."
"Alright." Mei Qingxue nodded. As long as Meiyu didn't keep trying to lean on her, she didn't mind what the woman did.
"Let go of me! I've said that I only sell my skills, not my body! Let go of me! If you don't let go, I'll call for help!"
"Humph, you're in this place. Don't act so high - and - mighty. I advise you to submit to our young master. Otherwise, you'll suffer!"
"Ah... Let go, let go!"
Mei Qingxue's hand holding the cup froze in mid - air. She was startled by the shouts from the next room. Was there a scene of a rich man forcing a prostitute next door? Why did she encounter so many ridiculous and absurd things today?
Meiyu also heard the voices from the next room. Her hand on the zither suddenly slipped, and a sharp, discordant note pierced into Mei Qingxue's ears.
Meiyu quickly knelt down to apologize. "Sir, please forgive me. Meiyu will play another tune to make amends."
"Get up. I'm not blaming you. We're not saints, so how can we be without mistakes?"
"Thank you, sir, for your forgiveness. Thank you, sir." Meiyu didn't expect Mei Qingxue to be so easy - going. If it were someone else, she would have been kicked out long ago. For women like them, who had no status in society, they could only spend their lonely lives under the contemptuous looks of the world and never receive any equal treatment.
But now, Meiyu had met someone who was willing to treat her sincerely. Unfortunately, that person couldn't save her from the abyss...
"Do you know the girl who was shouting next door?" God, forgive her for this nosy habit. She really couldn't bear to watch a woman being defiled not far from her. So, she wanted to interfere!
"What does the sir mean by this?" Meiyu looked up in surprise. She didn't expect Mei Qingxue to ask her such a question. Could this mean that Meiniang was saved...
"Miss Meiyu should know that if no one goes there, the girl next door will probably lose her virtue." It was really annoying how hesitant she was at this moment!
"Meiyu thanks the sir for your kindness, but the person in the next private room is the eldest son of Lei Dafu, a wealthy merchant in the capital. This man is usually domineering. Sir, you'd better not get into trouble for us lowly women. Meiyu thanks the sir for your kindness here." As she said this, Meiyu knelt down and kowtowed to Mei Qingxue.
Oh, so it was the son of a wealthy merchant. But the son of a wealthy merchant was a bit too bold. The capital was under the feet of the emperor. There were many powerful and noble people in the capital. One day, the person you accidentally bumped into on the street might be your political enemy in the court. A mere son of a wealthy merchant wouldn't dare to act recklessly in this place full of noble people. There must be someone backing him up.
"I'd like to meet this son of the wealthy merchant and see how domineering he is." With that, Mei Qingxue pulled up Meiyu who was kneeling on the ground and walked straight towards the door.
"Sir, don't go!" Yue Ru couldn't stop her in time and could only watch Mei Qingxue's departing back anxiously. She shouldn't have refused when the young master asked her to bring guards today. If something happened to the miss, it would be terrible!
Meiyu didn't know what this young sir, who didn't look very old but exuded an air of nobility, was going to do. But she still obediently followed. Maybe, Meiniang could be saved by this sir.
As soon as Mei Qingxue reached the door of the next room, she hugged Meiyu's waist. Although the choking smell of rouge still made her feel uncomfortable, she endured it. Saving the girl was the most important thing. After hugging Meiyu's waist, she turned around and rammed into the door of the next room.
Meiyu was surprised by Mei Qingxue's action and was so shocked by her sudden behavior that she couldn't react for a moment. She only heard a loud bang, and a gust of wind blew away a lot of the thick powder on her face.
"Hehe, little beauty, you're really so alluring. Just looking at you makes me drunk." After ramming open the door, Mei Qingxue's eyes were hazy, and she looked at Meiyu in her arms with a naughty smile, looking exactly like a dissolute young master.
"Who are you, brat? How dare you barge into my young master's private room? Are you tired of living? Don't you even bother to find out who my young master is? Do you think you, a nobody, can afford to offend him?" A man who wasn't very tall but looked very strong stepped forward to grab Mei Qingxue after he came to his senses.
As soon as Mei Qingxue entered the room, she had a clear look at everyone in it. She could faintly see a figure of a woman thrown on the bed, and the man standing in front of the bed, about to do something immoral, was dressed in gorgeous clothes, with a gold bracelet on his left wrist and a gold ring on his right finger. It was obvious that he was the so - called wealthy young master! There were also a few men looking like thugs standing scattered in the room. Each of them had a lewd expression on their faces as they watched what was happening on the bed.
There were so many of them, and they were all strong men. If she fought them head - on, she would only suffer. It seemed that she had to outwit them.
"Hehe, beauty, beauty... Come and drink with the sir. You can ask for as much silver as you want, and the sir can give it to you!" Cleverly dodging the man's hand, Mei Qingxue quickly stepped to the bedside and pretended to pounce on the beauty on the bed.
In the blink of an eye, Mei Qingxue made a slight misstep with her foot and pounced on the man standing beside the bed. At the moment of falling, she bent her knee and accidentally hit the man's private parts. The man gasped in pain.
"Ah! It hurts so much! Where did this brat come from... Ah..." The man covered his private parts and rolled on the ground in pain, sweating profusely. His awakened subordinates quickly came up to help him up.
"Are you okay, young master? Are you hurt?"
"Quick, quickly catch that stinky brat..." The man's face turned pale as he endured the pain and gave the order.
Mei Qingxue looked at the man being helped up as if just waking up from a dream and said with a confused look on her face, "Huh? Where is this? Why is this young master in my private room? I wonder which friend you are?"
"Humph, stinky brat, don't pretend to be stupid. You've hurt our young master today, and you can't get away with this by acting crazy!" As soon as the words were out, those people all stepped forward to try to catch Mei Qingxue. Mei Qingxue stood there without dodging or flashing. She thought that if worse came to worst, she would show the token symbolizing the Prime Minister's Mansion. The prime minister was so powerful that they wouldn't dare to offend him.