Wealth and honor

"Come here and let Aunt Rong take a look," Aunt Rong said, circling around her and unable to hide her smile. "It's so much better to live at Mr. Zhang's residence than at Huayue Tower."

"Look, your face has gotten all chubby."

Feng Yue's smile remained unchanged, but she lowered her eyes slightly and said, "Aunt Rong, please don't always tease me."

"Tch," a slightly sarcastic voice came from upstairs, "So what if you're doing well? You'll still end up back in this shabby building."

The voice was unfamiliar, and Feng Yue couldn't help but look up.

It was indeed an unfamiliar face.

She had a very delicate oval face, unlike the other girls in the building. She was very beautiful, the kind of pure and refined beauty, like a fallen noblewoman.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that Aunt Rong's expression changed slightly, but she didn't say anything.

The smile in Fengyue's eyes deepened. This must be Asu, the new top courtesan of Huayue Tower, who had been the talk of the town a few days ago.

After all, no one has ever dared to act arrogantly in front of Aunt Rong. This woman not only acted arrogantly, but Aunt Rong did not reprimand her, so her status must not be low.

"She is..." Aunt Rong began to introduce her to Fengyue, but Fengyue smiled and said, "A-Su."

"Hmm? You know?" Aunt Rong's face showed a hint of surprise.

"I've heard Mr. Ji mention it." Feng Yue's smile deepened, but her words were rather intriguing to others.

Everyone in the entire Huayue Tower knows that when she's not at Huayue Tower, she's always at Zhang Chenglin's house. But when she hears about things happening outside, she says, "I heard Mr. Ji mention it." It's obvious that she not only has a special relationship with Zhang Chenglin, but also with Ji Yuxing.

With these two powerful backers in place, Aunt Rong's scales naturally tipped completely in her favor. What could Asu do even if she tried to cause trouble?

Asu wasn't stupid either. After hearing her words, she stamped her foot, snorted coldly, and turned to go upstairs.

"Hurry up, hurry up, you haven't been back for so long," Aunt Rong said, not even sparing Asu a glance, and called to Fengyue, "Go to your room and rest first, I'll have the kitchen make you something you like to eat."

“Okay,” Fengyue replied with a smile, “Thank you, Aunt Rong.”

At the end of the second-floor corridor, Asu stood there, watching as Aunt Rong treated her like some rare treasure as she and Fengyue entered the room together.

His heart burned with jealousy, and he dug his newly made red nails into his flesh without feeling a thing.

She had heard that Fengyue was very popular with Aunt Rong in this building. Since Fengyue had not been in the building since she arrived, Aunt Rong had been very fond of her. She thought that was all there was to it.

But now that she had actually witnessed Aunt Rong's attitude towards Fengyue, she realized what it meant to "show favoritism to many people, but you can only have one precious daughter in your heart."

“Sister Asu,” Xianglan said with a smile as she came up from downstairs, “why are you standing here?”

"Oh dear, it's so cold and the window is still open," Xianglan said, quickly walking around to the back of Asu to close the window. "They're already wearing so little, aren't they afraid of catching a cold?"

"What are you doing here?" Asu's face was not friendly; she didn't like anyone in this building.

Today, Xianglan wore a light purple tulle dress that was completely different from her usual style, and she wore very light makeup.

It's not good-looking.

Asu made no attempt to hide his feelings when he made that judgment.

In the past, when I saw her, she always wore very heavy makeup and bright red or other bright clothes. Although she wasn't particularly attractive, she could still be considered a beauty "made up" by her clothes.

This sudden change in style makes it seem like all her flaws are jumping out at the top of her head; she looks absolutely hideous.

I don't know how someone like that managed to stay at the Flower Moon Pavilion.

“Sister Asu,” Xianglan’s gaze swept across her face, seemingly oblivious to the obvious disdain in her eyes, and she still spoke with a smile, “In this building, if you want to do well, you always have to have your own ideas.”

“Look how much Aunt Rong likes you…” Xianglan said, with a hint of regret on her face: “As soon as she came back, Aunt Rong took back all the favoritism she had shown you.”

"What do you want to say?" Asu frowned, feeling very uncomfortable. The anger that he had just suppressed suddenly surged up again.

"I didn't mean to say anything," Xianglan's regret instantly turned into a smile: "I just came to chat with you, what could I possibly say?"

“However…” Xianglan saw that Asu’s expression changed, and first mocked him in her heart for being so unable to control his temper, before coaxing him to speak: “I heard that Mr. Huang Mingxu will be coming over tonight. This Mr. Huang has been lusting after Fengyue for a long time, but he has never dared to say it because of Mr. Zhang’s face.”

"This Mr. Zhang is one of the most influential people in Zaozhuang. If Fengyue hadn't been so disrespectful to him, wouldn't we sisters have received some small favors?"

“Some people are just petty and narrow-minded…” Xianglan said, then quickly covered her mouth with her hand: “What am I saying? We are all sisters in the Flower Moon Pavilion, and we all have our own considerations when it comes to matters of the heart.”

After saying all that, Xianglan left without caring what Asu thought.

She clearly presented Asu with two paths—

One method was to use underhanded means to get Huang Mingxu to have sex with Zhang Chenglin, so that she would be disliked by him. After that, Huang Mingxu would often come to the Flower Moon Pavilion, and they would always receive some favors.

One way is to use any means necessary to get herself into Huang Mingxu's presence, where she can enjoy endless wealth and luxury.

Regardless of which path it is, it all tests whether Asu's methods are tough enough.

Xianglan came and went, but Asu remained standing there, her delicate face burning with jealousy that threatened to consume her.

A moment later, Asu turned and walked back to his room.

Xianglan watched as she went back to her room to get something, and then went into the kitchen.

A cold smile flashed across Xianglan's face as she waited for Asu and Fengyue to both suffer heavy losses.

Even if it doesn't result in mutual destruction, Asu's good days are over...

"Asu".

As soon as Aunt Rong entered the kitchen, she saw Asu acting suspiciously, seemingly searching for something.

Hearing someone call her, Asu instantly stood up straight, quickly hiding what she was holding behind her back, her expression quite unpleasant: "Aunt Rong."

"What are you looking for?" Aunt Rong's face was full of sternness, as if she wanted to see right through her: "Sneaking around like this."

"No...no." Asu stammered because she was nervous: "I'm a little hungry, I'm looking for something to eat."

Seeing that Asu had lowered her eyes, looking both guilty and obedient, Aunt Rong spoke up sharply, "What are you holding in your hand?"

"N-nothing." Cold sweat was almost dripping down Asu's face when she heard Aunt Rong say, "I don't know what rumors you've heard. As for Fengyue, she's not someone you can touch right now, nor is she someone I can touch."

"You may not know, but a few days ago, two of the Kuomintang's most important strongholds were taken down in a single day. It was Zhang Chenglin who did it, and he did it blatantly, without trying to hide it from anyone."

"If you think you can handle someone like that, then go ahead and make your move on Fengyue. I won't stop you, but don't blame me if something happens to you."

"What I fear is... if you really get involved in romantic affairs, my Flower Moon Pavilion will have to be buried with her."

Upon hearing Aunt Rong's words, Asu's expression turned pale instantly, and the arrogance she had shown in Fengyue was gone.

“I told you before, in the Flower Moon Pavilion, the only way out is to obey.” Aunt Rong put away her cold expression and softened her tone before speaking: “But that doesn’t mean you have to listen to everyone. This place is a mixed bag, and there are far more people who want you dead than who want you alive.”

“You’re so beautiful, maybe one day you’ll meet a boss who truly likes you, and you’ll enjoy endless wealth and luxury for the rest of your life.” Aunt Rong said, then changed the subject, sounding both threatening and comforting: “But if you touch someone you shouldn’t, no one in this building can protect you.”

After a long while, Asu finally nodded: "Wealth and glory... are they like the pleasures of the world?"

“Go look at the other sisters, don’t focus on her. She has the means to survive in this building, but none of you can.” Aunt Rong’s words were so decisive that they made everyone lose face.

“Don’t be jealous. You all have the potential to be liked by the boss and taken away as wives or concubines. She’s different. Mr. Zhang can’t give her a home.” Aunt Rong’s eyes were clear, as if she was scrutinizing Asu once again. “So this building is her refuge. She has never thought of relying on Mr. Zhang to leave here.”

"Why?" Asu frowned, not understanding why Aunt Rong would speak so confidently.

"I've been in this building for so many years and I've seen countless people. Many of them tasted success here and left with the boss. Then they desperately tried to erase the label they had on the building and wished they could never have anything to do with each other again."

“But Fengyue, she was clearly better off at Zhang Chenglin’s residence, but she still came back today. Not just today, but in the past, whenever she had time, she would always come back to Zhang Chenglin’s residence.”

"So she's never been the type to rely on men to get what she wants. She can earn everything she wants on her own. She's the first and only one I've met in all these years."

"Stop focusing on her. You can't touch her. She has a million ways to make you die silently in this building."

The cold sweat that had been hanging over Asu's forehead finally fell after hearing Aunt Rong's words, and he watched as Aunt Rong turned and left the kitchen.

She said that Fengyue had a million ways to make her die silently in the building.

Asu looked down at her aphrodisiac, gave a bitter laugh, and didn't know whether to be glad she had survived or to pity herself for being helpless.

After Aunt Rong left the kitchen, she met Xiang Lan, who was hurriedly turning around and going downstairs, at the top of the stairs on the second floor. A cold glint flashed in her eyes, but she said nothing.