As night fell as dark as ink, the Jiaofangsi (Imperial Music Bureau) entered its most "lively" time.
Inside the "Heaven" room, incense smoke curled upwards from the auspicious bronze beast incense burner, filling the entire room. The window was half-open, letting in a gentle night breeze that caused the beaded curtains to rustle.
Red gauze curtains hung to the ground. On the canopy bed, Qin Wen, completely naked, had tears in her eyes. Her hands were bound by the man's belt and raised above her head.
The man had a square face and a fierce look. His muscles were as hard as steel, especially his hands, which were covered in thick calluses and were as rough as sandpaper.
At this moment, those rough hands were caressing Qin Wen's fair and smooth neck without any pity, then wandering down her neckline, as if trying to pull her whole body into their arms.
Qin Wen had been pampered by her family since childhood and had never suffered such rough treatment. Her skin was incredibly delicate, like the finest silk, and a light touch would leave a mark. Yet now, these rough hands were like those of a wild beast, ruthlessly ravaging her body.
Qin Wen was filled with fear and humiliation, but she dared not utter a sound.
She knew that if she resisted, the man might become even more vicious. So she could only silently endure the pain, hoping that it would all end soon.
This wasn't the first time this man had come. Every time he came, he wanted to try something different.
Because he paid a lot of money, the madam Chen Qin turned a deaf ear to these matters.
The canopy bed creaked and swayed for a long time.
Only when the wall of flesh on her body collapsed with a thud, and she fell into a deep sleep from exhaustion, did Qin Wen painstakingly use her teeth to bite open the belt binding her hands and move her aching legs with difficulty off the canopy bed.
The moment her legs touched the ground, her body began to lurch forward uncontrollably. She reacted quickly, grabbing a low table beside her to avoid a face-first fall.
Despite the humiliation and discomfort, Qin Wen slowly walked to the Yangfei couch and lay down on it with a heart full of despair.
In the lobby on the first floor, guests continued to arrive, their faces lewd as they selected their "prey" for the night.
As Qin Wen listened to the vulgar language coming from upstairs and downstairs, she thought about her experience when she first arrived at the brothel.
Qin Wen was already exceptionally beautiful, and her temperament and talent made her stand out among the many women. Since arriving at the brothel, she quickly replaced the former courtesan Liu Yan, becoming the most popular and eye-catching presence there.
"Hmph, this isn't the first time, so why are you still pretending to be a virtuous woman!" Madam Chen Qin spat angrily at Qin Wen. At that moment, Qin Wen's arms were tightly gripped by two strong thugs, rendering her unable to move.
She was wearing a pair of tightly bound pants on her lower body, as if to bind her body.
Tears streamed down her face as she sobbed, "Aunt Chen, you promised me you wouldn't let me solicit customers!"
"That was before! I thought you could bring me a lot of wealth, but now? You got pregnant not long after you came to the brothel, and it's a bastard child! Do you know that when you miscarried, the food you ate, the water you drank, and the bed you slept in were all bought with my money!" Chen Qin gritted her teeth fiercely, her tone full of resentment.
"Now that a rich young master is finally willing to take you in, you're acting all coy with me! Don't forget, you're a criminal! A criminal! Beat him!"
Before she could finish speaking, the thugs waiting nearby raised their whips high and lashed at Qin Wen's legs.
"Ah—ah—" Qin Wen let out a shrill scream, accompanied by "meow—meow—" the two sounds intertwined and carried outside the door, reaching the ears of Liu Yan, who was standing at the door watching the commotion. The corners of her mouth turned up slightly, revealing a contemptuous smile, then she twisted her slender waist and turned to leave.
This kind of suffering was not unfamiliar to Liu Yan. When she was first sold to the brothel, she suffered the same torment for refusing to entertain guests. At that time, she was scratched all over her body by the sharp claws of a cat, suffering unbearable pain and enduring great hardship.
Now, seeing Qin Wen suffering the same torment, Liu Yan couldn't help but feel a surge of pleasure.
In less than half an hour, Qin Wen gave in, crying and begging for mercy, "Aunt Chen, I'll take it, I'll take it, okay! Please, stop! I really can't take it anymore."
Upon hearing this, Chen Qin lazily rose from her pearwood armchair, clapped her hands, and the thug reluctantly put away his whip, scoffing, "If you had listened earlier, you wouldn't have had to suffer like this."
After this experience, Qin Wen learned her lesson. She no longer went against Chen Qin's wishes in everything.
Because she was keenly aware of a reality: in the brothel, a useless woman's fate was worse than that of a dog.
On the canopy bed, the man's snoring, sometimes loud, sometimes soft, pulled Qin Wen back to reality. She wrapped her gauze robe tighter around herself, still feeling a chill. This chill stemmed from the despair she felt for the future; it was a bone-chilling cold.
Qin Wen was wide awake. She got up from the chaise longue, took an outer garment from the wardrobe next to her and put it on, then opened the window and stared coldly at the first floor.
Suddenly, she was drawn to a figure.
"No...it's impossible..." she murmured.
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