Chapter 101 Acquaintances

Jiang Baozhu stood up and walked around the room with her hands behind her back.

Most of the private rooms at Zuifenglou were suites. The main hall was for the girls to accompany their patrons for drinking and merrymaking, while inside was a luxurious bedroom for the patrons to stay overnight.

"Brother Jiang, is Granny Feng trying to fool us because we're newcomers?"

Granny Feng judged the two by their appearance, thinking they were just inexperienced kids who couldn't resist the girls and had never seen the world, so she just randomly picked someone to make up the numbers and dismissed them.

Jiang Baozhu nodded. Although she had never been to such a place before, she had heard the servants in her household mention it.

Her and Lin Yuesha's private room was at the very end of the corridor, and it was noticeably simpler than the other rooms they passed by.

Lin Yuesha wanted to speak with Jiang Baozhu alone, but Liu Xu was sitting opposite them, glancing over from time to time, which was quite annoying.

“Miss Liuxu, here is two taels of silver. You can take the silver and go. My brothers and I will sit for a while.”

Lin Yuesha took out a piece of silver and threw it on the table, hoping that Liu Xu would be perceptive.

"Young masters, Liu Xu really can't leave!"

There are many people tonight, and Granny Feng is too busy to handle them all. This is Liu Xu's first time receiving guests, so she has to keep her here no matter what, otherwise she will anger Granny Feng and not only go hungry but also get beaten.

Liu Xu knew how ruthless Granny Feng was, and her eyes were filled with terror.

Jiang Baozhu was very impatient. Liu Xu's punishment was Zuifenglou's own rule, what did it have to do with her? She came here to gather information, not to be a good person.

"How come you only know one little tune, and such a mournful one at that?"

Liu Xu refused to leave, and Lin Yuesha had no choice but to try her best to extract information from her.

“I used to have a teacher who sang folk songs, but I hadn’t been learning for more than a few days when she was redeemed by a wealthy man and left Zuifeng Tower.”

Liu Xu remained silent for a long time before answering truthfully.

Since arriving here, her fate for the rest of her life has been basically sealed; she has long been homeless.

The women at Zuifeng Tower all have some tricks up their sleeves. Liu Xu has a good voice, so she was assigned by Granny Feng to be looked after by Hua Mei.

"Teaching a disciple can starve the master; no wonder I taught you such a melancholy tune."

The brothel was rife with intrigue and backstabbing; where there are many women, there is much gossip. Could the master Liu Xu mentioned, who was redeemed by a wealthy man, be Hua Mei?

"It's Sister Huamei."

Liu Xu defended Hua Mei, saying that Hua Mei was kind and gentle, and while everyone else disliked her for being stupid and clumsy, Hua Mei never did.

"I requested this little tune. Sister Huamei said that our patrons didn't like it, so I begged her repeatedly before she finally agreed."

After Liu Xu finished speaking, she lowered her head and remained silent. Originally, Hua Mei's life was somewhat better at Zui Feng Lou, but after Hua Mei left, Liu Xu had long been ignored by Granny Feng.

"Meow meow meow..."

A chubby tabby cat swaggered into the room and meowed at Liu Xu.

"Where did this fat cat come from?"

Lin Yuesha was startled. In this day and age, people can't even get enough to eat, but the cat is well-fed and strong, and it's not afraid of strangers. It seems that it came here specifically to ask for food.

"Tiger, get out of here."

Liu Xu stood up and skillfully stroked the cat's head. The fat cat immediately lay down and rolled over, exposing its big belly.

"When Sister Huamei was around, she often fed the leftover food from her clients to stray cats, and Tiger was one of them."

The willow catkins and the coachman agreed that people who love small animals must be kind-hearted.

Using this as an excuse, Liu Xu talked about eyebrow painting.

"It was very sudden that Huamei was redeemed by the rich man. The rich man took a liking to her on his first visit. I don't know why, but Huamei left with that man."

After Liu Xu finished speaking, she sighed deeply, feeling very reluctant to part with her painted eyebrows.

Women in brothels, having seen their share of gossip and intrigue, are still wary and won't easily go with someone unless they know them well.

"To be honest, we came here because we heard that Zuifeng Tower had two great voices, Magpie and Thrush."

When Lin Yuesha brought up the magpie, Liu Xu's expression clearly changed. She lowered her head and remained silent, not answering.

Jiang Baozhu observed carefully and noticed a hint of resentment in Liu Xu's eyes. She understood something and decided that she could use Liu Xu as a starting point to find out something.

"I'm going to the restroom."

Lin Yuesha stood up and gave Jiang Baozhu a wink. The two of them couldn't come for nothing, so they split up to gather information. She would go out for a stroll, keeping a low profile, hoping to bump into someone in the know.

The magpie's son was raised at Zuifenglou, but he worked as a handyman in the main kitchen. It is said that a few years ago, someone poisoned two scholars who had achieved academic success in the kitchen of Zuifenglou.

The incident caused a huge uproar in the city, leading to a complete overhaul of the kitchen staff at Zuifenglou. All the chefs hired signed life-long contracts, as Feng Mama was worried that something else might happen.

Despite spending a lot of money, Granny Feng was still no match for the angry scholars. For a long time, Zuifeng Tower was deserted until two years ago when Ziyuan came and things started to improve.

"I envy not the immortals, but the mandarin ducks. Miss Mandarin Duck, keep me company tonight, and you'll be rewarded handsomely!"

A fat man walked towards them, holding a delicate girl in his arms, and almost blocked Lin Yuesha's way.

"A good dog doesn't block the way. Who's blind enough to interrupt my pleasure?"

The fat man, quite drunk, shifted his gaze to Lin Yuesha.

Normally, if Lin Yuesha had encountered someone like this who was looking for trouble, she would have already confronted them. But now, she silently lowered her head and took a step back.

"Oh dear, Master Xuan, don't be angry. He's just a handsome young man who's probably here to try something new."

The girl called Yuanyang winked at Lin Yuesha and snuggled closer to the fat man.

This scene was absolutely outrageous. It was a twist of fate that Lin Yuesha unexpectedly ran into Master Xuan at Zuifeng Tower.

Fortunately, the other person was quite drunk and only gave her a suspicious look before walking away with Yuanyang in his arms.

Lin Yuesha smoothed her chest. She needed to be even more discreet, since she was doing business in town and had become a familiar face to many people.

If her mother finds out that she came to visit a brothel, she'll skin her alive!

Having avoided the familiar Master Xuan, Lin Yuesha continued walking towards the kitchen. Just as she reached the corner of the stairs, she heard a noise behind her.

"Master Xuan, a moment of bliss on the night of passion is worth a thousand pieces of gold, why don't we..."

Yuanyang nestled in Master Xuan's arms, groping him and stirring things up, trying to lure him into her room.

Although Master Xuan is fat and ugly, he is very generous. If she is a step too slow and the other girls steal the prize, the reward money for tonight will be wasted.

"Oh my darling, don't worry, I think I just saw someone I know."

When Master Xuan saw Lin Yuesha, he thought he had drunk too much. He would recognize that treacherous little brat even if she were ashes.

I've never heard of any other siblings in the Xiao family. How could this little girl come to Zuifeng Tower?