Chapter 5 (5) Spending a Huge Amount of Money at Chunfenglou
No. He had to save the child.
Bai Kang walked back to the wing room, his mind still on the boy. He didn't see the boy's face clearly, but he just thought he was an innocent and pitiful child.
The steward's mention of the prefect might be related to the prefect's plan tonight. Let's wait and see.
The prefect was still waiting for him. Seeing him return, he stood up and invited him to the private room on the second floor. Bai Kang pretended to have just sobered up and woke Chang Yuzhu. The three of them went out together. A servant led them to the corridor with the widest view on the second floor and served them a pot of fine tea.
The sound of stringed instruments wafted from downstairs, and behind the veil, one could see graceful dancers. At first glance, it looked like a place of elegance, but in reality, it was a place where innocent young men were being forced to fleece.
It turns out that the capital city's regular crackdown on brothels is right. Places like this shouldn't be allowed to operate!
Bai Kang took a few sips of tea, but the prefect didn't take any further action. He was getting impatient waiting until the dancers downstairs finished their song and left. A young man in red came up on stage.
The young man raised his eyes, a look of resentment in his eyes. Bo Kang recognized him instantly; he was the young man from before. The moment he sat down and began to play the zither, all the guests in the building suddenly erupted in cheers, and some even threw coins and flowers onto the stage, scattering them all over the floor.
"Your Excellency, take a look at him. What does he look like? Does he resemble a human being?" the prefect asked with a smile.
Bai Kang stared at the boy's face and wondered, who does he look like?
I can't tell.
Seeing that he remained silent, the Liangzhou prefect assumed that he had been moved by the sudden sight of someone resembling an old friend, so he explained, "Her name is Lianzhi, and she's the most popular courtesan in Chunfeng Tower. Because of her resemblance to that old friend, she's quite famous in Liangzhou City. If you're interested, sir, I'll redeem her and give her to you. Is that okay?"
He emphasized the boy's name and mentioned that person again. Even if Bo Kang didn't recognize him, he knew who he was talking about. Combined with the rumors circulating about him and Chen Fenglian, he almost wanted to laugh.
I felt so helpless that I wanted to laugh.
It wasn't that he was shortsighted. Although Lianzhi looked like Chen Fenglian, she wasn't quite the same. Compared to Chen Fenglian, Lianzhi's facial features were more three-dimensional, with a high nose bridge and deep eye sockets. She was also more gorgeous than him, more like someone from Liangzhou, like Chen Fenglian grown up.
Compared to Lianzhi, the three Lians and Jiang Yong's facial features all resembled Chen Fenglian more. Having seen these four people so often, it was normal for Bai Kang not to notice Lianzhi.
The thought that this young man would suffer such hardship simply because he looked like Chen Fenglian, and that he would be used by the Liangzhou prefect to curry his favor, intensified his anger. He leaned back decisively and said, "Don't bother the prefect. I'll redeem him."
I really like it. This move was the right one.
The Liangzhou prefect smiled even more and ordered the steward to come over. When the steward saw Bai Kang, he was shocked. He didn't expect that this man was the nobleman from the capital that the prefect had mentioned. He regretted it so much.
"I want to redeem him now. Do you agree?" Bai Kang chuckled.
"I agree, of course I agree." The steward smiled. He held up a finger, motioning for Bai Kang to take out the money. A vein in Bai Kang's forehead jumped: "One hundred taels?"
He guessed the prefect was going to extort money from him, and he also guessed that since the young man was of high status, redeeming him would cost more money. After all, it was because of his own rumors that he had been innocently implicated and targeted by the Liangzhou prefect.
The steward shook his head and said with a smile, "It's one thousand taels."
One thousand taels!
Where could he get so much money?
One thousand taels of silver was his three-year salary. Bai Kang really wanted to summon his men right then and there, shut down the brothel, and send the manager to the government office for torture. But the young man's tearful, innocent eyes reappeared before him, and he gritted his teeth: "...I'll have someone send it to me when I return to the capital."
"The Minister is kind-hearted and willing to give him his freedom. If you don't mind, please consider it your share." The Liangzhou prefect spoke at the right time and said to the steward, "You can go to my house to get the silver."
The manager immediately beamed and agreed. Bai Kang was about to write an IOU, but the Liangzhou prefect stopped him and gave him a meaningful look.
He had paid out a thousand taels of silver just to please him. The Liangzhou prefect's wealth was indeed far greater than his. Although Bai Kang came from a humble family, he had some savings after serving as an official in Beijing for several years. But it still hurt to pay out a thousand taels of silver.
The steward returned quickly, and the music downstairs had stopped, as someone else had gone upstairs to play. The steward leaned over, leaning against Bo Kang, and respectfully handed him a paper deed: "Young Master Lianzhi is in the room. You may take him away."
Bai Kang let out a breath, unwilling to continue playing along with the Liangzhou prefect. He snatched the indenture and tore it to pieces after leaving the corridor.
Chang Yuzhu had sobered up when the steward quoted the one thousand taels, but he wasn't fully awake yet, listening to their conversation in a drowsy state. Now that Bai Kang was leaving, he naturally followed. Seeing Bai Kang tearing up the indenture, he opened his mouth wide: "I bought it for one thousand taels of silver, and you're just going to tear it up like that? What if they turn the tables on you, or the person you sold doesn't obey you?"
"What do you mean by 'serve'? Do you think I'm someone who serves others?" Bo Kang tutted his words. "When I paid him, I intended to set him free. This is a noble and upright act. You don't understand."
"Lord Bai is so righteous." Chang Yuzhu said with a smile, "Then let's go. I'll go back and write a letter home as soon as I can..."
He talked for a long time, but there was no sound behind him. When he turned around, he saw Bai Kang walking in the opposite direction. He was stunned. Bai Kang said, "We can't just leave him there. I'll bring him out and we can go together."
Still concerned. Chang Yuzhu smiled, not exposing Bai Kang's words. He had heard it all. That courtesan seemed to be someone who looked like the late emperor.
It was strange that stingy Bo Kang was willing to spend a fortune to redeem an actor. So the root of the matter lay here. He felt he had found the key and returned to the inn first.
The bustle inside the building continued. Bo Kang searched for the room the steward had mentioned. The door was open, and he felt relieved, assuming the young man had left. As he went downstairs to return, he heard a quarrel from the stables. The voices were strangely familiar; he had heard them before, exactly the same.
It seems that even the people quarreling are the same group.
Are you stuck in a maze?
He walked over suspiciously and saw several servants surrounding a young man in red clothes and cursing at him. He walked up to them and shouted, "What are you doing?"
The young man looked up at him, tears streaming down his face. He quickly rushed over and hugged his waist, crying pitifully, "Master, save me!"
It was obvious that a few people were bullying the weak boy by relying on their numbers. Bo Kang patted him on the shoulder and drove the people away: "It's no use for a large group to bully a small group. Get out of here, or I'll take you to your supervisor. Get out of here!"
The people around him were stunned. Yuqiao's face still bore bloody scratches from Lianzhi. If Bo Kang had looked closely, he would have seen that the others' faces were covered in bruises, clearly having been severely beaten. But he had a preconceived notion that Lianzhi was outnumbered and innocent, so he naturally sided with her. Furthermore, the darkness made him even less inclined to pay attention to them.
Yuqiao hadn't expected Lianzhi to be redeemed by a nobleman. She'd been living in the building for a few months, enjoying the limelight, and now, redeemed by a nobleman again, she was about to live a good life. The nobleman must have been very fond of him, willing to pay a thousand taels of silver for him.
Why does this kid Lianzhi get all the benefits?
He was so angry that he called a few actors from Chunfeng Tower who also disliked Lianzhi, intending to give him a good beating before he was taken away by the noble. Unexpectedly, Lianzhi, who looked young and weak, fought back without mercy, and who knew where she got the strength to grab them and beat them.
There were clearly five of them, yet Lianzhi pinned them to the ground and beat them all alone. What a shame and humiliation! Now that the nobleman has arrived, they're actually taking him seriously. How unfair!
Yuqiao was so angry that her teeth itched. She could only watch Lianzhi leave with the nobleman. Only after they walked out of the alley and could no longer see Chunfeng Tower behind them did Bai Kang say, "Go home."
As soon as he finished speaking, the young man behind him lunged at him again, wrapping his arms around his hands. Bo Kang tried to climb onto the carriage in front of him, but the young man held on tightly. With the heavy weight on his back, Bo Kang didn't dare to shake him off, so he could only freeze in his place.
"I won't leave! Those people have always hated me. Thanks to you, my noble friend, for saving me. Otherwise, they would have beaten me to death!" Lianzhi's face was covered with two tears that were squeezed out of him. His arms were covered with red marks from his own nails. If he didn't cover them with his sleeves, they would disappear. He clung to Bo Kang like a koala. "Your noble friend, you redeemed me. From now on, I will follow you!"
"You should go back to your own home..." Before Bo Kang could finish his words, the young man in front of him had already let go of him and climbed onto the carriage with his hands and feet: "I will serve you! My lord, I will spread the blanket for you and make you some tea. Please get in the carriage quickly!"
At this moment, Bai Kang finally felt that something was wrong.
Why does it feel like I'm being entangled?
He blinked, glanced at the simple and innocent face of the boy in front of him, and blinked hard again.
...Could it be that this young man and the Liangzhou prefect set a trap for him?
That shouldn't be the case.
Finally, Bo Kang sighed helplessly, got on the carriage and sat by the window, but instead of asking the young man to make tea, he said, "I'll take you home. Wherever your home is, I'll drop you off. Don't bother me anymore."
If the young man insisted on following him and was afraid of the people in Chunfeng Tower, he could even temporarily hire a guard for him.
Unexpectedly, the young man blinked his long eyelashes and said in a trembling voice: "I... I am an orphan. I have no home."
Bai Kang was stunned, then helpless. The young man said sadly, "I was picked up by the owner of Chunfeng Tower. From now on, you, sir, will be my closest relative. Please don't abandon me!"
He must go back to the capital, he must go back there.
Therefore, even if the prefect of Liangzhou did not say it, he would try his best to hold Bai Kang back and let him take him back, even if that was the Bai Kang he once hated.
In order to go back and get revenge, he would do anything.
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