"They're here again?" Tang Huan hissed. "They treat this place like their own home, coming here every few days."

Even if it's for business purposes, this is coming far too often.

However, considering that the two female merchants came from the capital and had a very large business, and that they were escorted by more than two hundred professional experts when they left last time.

There must be a powerful backer above them.

Maybe we can count on it.

He then quickly had Li Da Kui arrange for the two of them to meet at the entertainment center.

Wu Lanxi and Lin Wan'er had just arrived at the inn, booked their rooms, and hadn't even settled in when Li Da Kui took them away.

When Wu Lanxi was leaving last time, she knew that an entertainment center was about to open.

But at the time, she was eager to return home and had no time to appreciate it.

I didn't expect to have the opportunity so soon.

However, it's late at night, and the darkness is so thick, it's probably not going to be very interesting to see.

But as soon as I got to the door, I saw that the inside was brightly lit.

Not only were all the shops open and lit up, but there was also a constant stream of people coming to play, making it just as lively as during the day.

Wu Lanxi walked forward curiously and saw all kinds of vendors on both sides of the road.

There were ring toss games with prizes, fortune telling, vendors selling glow-in-the-dark beads, sugar figurines, and even a number of street performers...

Even in the capital, Wu Lanxi and Lin Wan'er had never seen such a lively scene.

Because in any given area of ​​the capital, there might only be one street performer, and they would often be driven away by officials after only a short time.

Here, however, you can buy and play as you please.

Every three steps there's a juggling act, every five steps a magic trick; you can easily stop and watch for a long time.

Lin Wan'er couldn't help but exclaim, "Living here is so wonderful!"

If it weren't for the fact that she couldn't bear to leave His Majesty alone in the palace, she would have stayed in Qihuai County and never left.

But as they walked, Wu Lanxi and Lin Wan'er noticed some girls on the street who were dressed very strangely.

They had strange hairstyles, wore revealing dresses, and even wore strange makeup. The things they held in their hands were things they had never seen before.

Although it looks novel and beautiful, it is really unsightly!

Lin Wan'er couldn't help but say, "Li Da Kui, didn't you say that your superiors don't allow prostitution in Qi Huai County? What's wrong with those girls? Dressed so provocatively at night, they're even more terrifying than brothels!"

Li Da Kui glanced at them and realized they were some girls in cosplay.

He immediately started grumbling, "You're making a fuss over nothing. They're just doing cosplay."

Lin Wan'er was indeed confused: "What is it?"

"Oh dear, you wouldn't understand even if I told you. They're cosplaying characters from cultural products unique to our Qihuai County. You've never seen them, so how would you know?"

"But don't worry, our superiors said no to prostitution, and that means no! If anyone violates this rule, the superiors will deal with it severely, either kicking them out or giving them jobs and making them do all sorts of performances."

Lin Wan'er snorted: "Dressing like that for a proper job? You're kidding me. What respectable girl would be so shameless?"

Li Da Kui shook his head: "You're really rude. Our superiors said that in Qi Huai County, everyone can wear whatever they want. As long as you're not afraid of being seen, and as long as you're not doing business to make money, it doesn't matter if you run around naked. That's called freedom."

Lin Wan'er's eyes widened. "This can be free too?"

Li Da Kui said matter-of-factly, "So what? Our superiors said that girls in Qi Huai County can expose themselves however they want, but while girls can expose themselves, men cannot look at them or make any unwanted advances. Otherwise, they will be punished for hooliganism."

Bullshit!

Young women dress revealingly, but men aren't allowed to look at them.

Wouldn't that gouge out the man's eyes?

Wu Lanxi didn't believe it either.

But when she saw the confident smiles on the faces of those scantily clad girls, she couldn't help but be skeptical.

They certainly didn't have a trace of sleazy air about them; on the contrary, they exuded a vibrant confidence.

This is not something a courtesan, who is tormented by men every day, could experience.

Soon, she was taken to a bathhouse.

"Go inside, the adults are already waiting inside."

Wu Lanxi lifted the curtain and entered the room, only to see Tang Huan lying on the bed with his upper body naked, looking quite pleased with himself.

Her cheeks flushed, and she immediately turned her face away.

"Lord Tang, please have some self-respect!"

When Tang Huan saw Wu Lanxi come in, she immediately waved to her: "Don't be shy, sit down wherever you like. By the way, would you like to get cupping done too?"

Wu Lanxi said angrily, "Tang Huan! Get dressed right now! How can you be so revealing in front of a young woman like me? What kind of behavior is this!"

Forehead……

As soon as she said that, everyone in the room looked at her with incredibly strange eyes.

It's just showing the upper body, what's with the exposure?

Moreover, Lord Tang is a man.

"Sir, where did this girl come from? Isn't that too feudal?"

"Exactly, she grew up with bound feet, right? She can't even handle this much?"

"People outside are so pitiful, they're so bound that they have no freedom at all. Alas, how pitiful."

Wu Lanxi's face immediately turned even redder.

Tang Huan is clearly the one who's abnormal, so why is she the one who should be blamed and scolded in these people's eyes and mouths?

Only Tang Huan resigned herself to having the cupping jars taken down, put on her outer robe, and stood up, saying, "Alright, alright, if you keep talking, she'll start crying."

Wu Lanxi took a deep breath and almost couldn't resist throwing a punch.

She started fighting on horseback when she was a teenager, battling the enemy for days and nights, seeing countless corpses, mountains of corpses and seas of blood flowing by. What storms hadn't she weathered?

She never cried, even when faced with dire circumstances.

Do you really think she's one of those sheltered young ladies who only know how to compose poems and songs?

Would you cry over something so trivial?

Isn't this an insult to her?!

However, she couldn't reveal this experience, as doing so would only expose her identity as an empress to her ministers.

The thought of her disheveled appearance back then, which her subjects knew about, filled the Empress with an indescribable sense of shame and anger.

He could only hold it in, his face turning red and then white.

Tang Huan walked to her side, put his hands behind his back and said, "I was originally thinking of letting you enjoy a massage, cupping and scraping, but it seems you're not so lucky. Oh well, I'll just take you to a hot pot restaurant instead. Come with me."

hot pot?

What is that?

Wu Lanxi was quite curious and followed behind Tang Huan.

Just as the two walked out, Xie Wu came out of the sauna next door.

As he ate his egg, he asked curiously, "Where is Lord Tang?"

Someone answered, "A female merchant came from the capital. Lord Tang just went out with her, saying they were going to eat hot pot?"

Xie Wu rubbed his stomach: "Hot pot? Great, I'm hungry too, perfect timing to mooch a meal."

He followed with a smile and immediately saw Tang Huan walking side by side with a girl.

He then raised his hand in greeting.