Chapter 803 Let Me Broaden Your Horizons

Durian Girl had nothing to say.

“We live by our own hands. If we have too little to eat, we eat tree bark. You ask why the government doesn’t care?” Song Chunxue sneered. “Do you care whether the pigs in the pigsty are eating well or not?”

"Obviously not, they don't eat pig feed, right?"

"..." Liu Niang didn't expect her to be so indignant, so she didn't know whether to answer or not.

She knew her words sounded somewhat cynical, but they were all from the bottom of Song Chunxue's heart, and she just wanted to get them off her chest.

After a moment, she looked at Liu Niang and said, "I'm sorry to have made you laugh. Apart from saying a few unpleasant truths, there's nothing I can change."

She was able to escape from seemingly endless misery thanks to God's mercy, which allowed her to meet her senior brother and change her luck.

Yet there are still countless others like her, desperate and helpless, forced to work day and night without a moment's rest, wishing they could worship the crops in the fields as their ancestors, struggling in dire straits.

Having lived a long life and seen much, Song Chunxue realized that spiritual cultivation is the best path; only by cultivating one's nature and destiny can one find peace.

Otherwise, who would start a spiritual practice when they have no worries about food and clothing and have everything handed to them?

This path, without trials and tribulations, is one that few can clearly understand what they want to cultivate themselves on.

Of course, there is another type of person: those who are precocious and exceptionally gifted, born into wealthy families.

At a young and innocent age, one can see all kinds of injustices in the world at a glance. Unable to accept the different classes of people in the family, and unable to tolerate the family members who rely on the protection of their ancestors to act arrogantly and indulge in pleasure, one awakens early to become a monk.

"You've gotten to where you are today entirely on your own, and you've even managed to get your four sons married and settled down. Eight or nine out of ten people in this world aren't as good as you," Liu Niang asked softly. "When you saw that monk, you must have been more angry than happy, right? I don't know what those men were thinking, that they actually thought you would be happy."

"Let's not talk about that. How are you feeling? The poison in your body hasn't been completely eliminated yet, has it? Don't you feel uncomfortable?" Song Chunxue said with a smile. "You're amazing too. Raising your child alone without remarrying must have been very difficult for you all these years."

Liu Niang bought two skewers of roasted mutton from a street vendor. The aroma was so enticing that she could smell it from afar, and the meat was still sizzling with oil when she held it in her hand.

She handed Song Chunxue a string of coins, saying, "It's not that difficult. I'm Wen Ding's daughter, and there are plenty of men who would marry into the family, but I don't like any of them. Besides, Yu'er doesn't need me to take care of her. She can marry a maid or a servant, and I don't need to be with her all the time."

"If there's anything difficult about it, it's that I'm getting old and I envy other old married couples. So I didn't remain chaste for Huoxiang. I did consider choosing a son-in-law to live with me, but I found out he frequented brothels. I figured all men are the same, so I didn't want a stranger to become part of my family."

That's true.

The two of them wandered aimlessly down the street and soon reached the end.

"Would you like to come with me for a night of drinking and womanizing?"

Song Chunxue almost dropped the pastries in her hands. "Going to a brothel?"

Is that what she meant?

“Let’s go, it’s rare for the two of us to be together. The men and women on this street are all very rich. Those who can hide here and live a life of luxury are not ordinary people. There are as many dancers as male prostitutes in that brothel. Let me broaden your horizons.”

As she spoke, Liu Niang put her arm around Song Chunxue's shoulder and walked towards the brothel in front.

Before Song Chunxue could refuse, she could already smell the perfume and alcohol.

"I'm not going. This experience isn't something I absolutely need to broaden my horizons. Let's go back." Song Chunxue grabbed Liu Niang's arm. "You can go by yourself. I'm going back first."

"You really don't want to see it?" Liu Niang asked seriously. "Most men have been to these kinds of occasions, and Lord Xie should be one too. You really don't want to take a look?"

Song Chunxue shook her head, but her heart was already wavering.

Just take a look.

"Come on, kid, stop pretending with me."

Liu Niang pulled her along and quickly got to the tune, then said to the plump woman who came to greet them, "Arrange for a few pretty girls to come to my room to sing songs, or even perform sword dances."

"Alright, please wait a moment, sir, it'll be right there."

The plump woman's face was almost frozen from smiling.

Song Chunxue was dragged by Liu Niang into this bustling world of fame and fortune. The guests coming and going here were all rich and noble. At a glance, apart from the sycophantic male prostitutes and young and beautiful women, it was rare to see anyone slender.

Soon, Song Chunxue was laid out on a soft couch, with fine wine and delicacies laid out in front of her.

"Don't be nervous, relax. Just think of it as coming here to drink with me. I didn't bring you here to pick up male prostitutes, otherwise your senior brother definitely wouldn't let me off the hook."

As they spoke, Liu Niang leaned against her, watching her dreadful posture as she hesitated to sit too still, and couldn't help but chuckle.

She fed Song Chunxue two grapes, saying, "Don't worry, I won't make things difficult for you."

Song Chunxue thought to herself, "Sitting here makes me feel uneasy, though I don't know why."

"Do you come here often?"

“Of course, I don’t have a husband, so I don’t need to uphold wifely virtues for anyone. Besides, I’m one of the owners here, so even if my father knew, he wouldn’t care.”

Song Chunxue was inwardly astonished, but her face remained calm.

"Does your father come often?"

Liu Niang was amused by her question, "You're quite the questioner. There are several clean women in his courtyard, so it's not appropriate for them to come here often."

Song Chunxue wanted to ask more, but then felt it was inappropriate and stopped asking.

"Why aren't you asking anymore? I also have two clean-looking young men in my courtyard. I'm just here for the fun of it all. Maybe there will be some newcomers who I'll take as my own."

“…” Song Chunxue could understand each word individually, but when put together, she felt that her brain was not enough.

In front of Liu Niang, Yao Man was relatively reserved when drawing the fluttering moth.

However, Liu Niang was truly open and carefree; she simply lived like most men, genuinely disregarding worldly conventions.

Durian Girl has this ability.

Soon, three young men came in from outside, each carrying a musical instrument.

Pipa, guqin, and erhu?

Song Chunxue liked the erhu, and turned to ask Liu Niang, "If I want to listen to erhu dirges, no one will laugh at me, right?"

Now, everyone who comes here is here to have fun.

"Of course not, who cares about you."

Liu Niang held the wine cup, shoved the wine pot into her hand, and nestled herself on the soft couch.

"Come on, do whatever you want. We hit it off right away, so there's nothing special to offer you. You'll be leaving in a few days, but besides me, no one else will probably bring you to a place like this, so make yourself at home."

At this point, she added with a smile, "Of course, if you want to do anything to them, don't worry about me. Usually when I come with my maids, they sit in my lap."

"clear."

Looking at their faces, which were as young as her own son's, Song Chunxue thought to herself, "It's really amazing to be rich and powerful. No wonder this place looks barren and desolate, yet the streets are so bustling."

"May I ask, sir, what kind of funeral music would you like to hear?" A man dressed in a pale green robe stepped forward.

"Either is fine, you can play it however you like." Song Chunxue thought to herself, she had never had anyone play a piece for her before, she would leave after listening to this piece.