Chapter 13: The Girl

When Jiang Jiu came back from the casino, it was already getting late.

All the concubines were waiting at the door, worried that they would be sold and that Lu Yunyang would not come back.

Sure enough, only Jiang Jiu and Mudan got out of the carriage.

All the concubines cried.

"Madam, the young master..." Did he have no money to redeem it, or was he sent to the government by the young lady...

Mudan just winked at them, and Jiang Jiu ignored her. When he saw Xia Zhi coming back, he went straight back to his own yard.

"Tell me, after a day of investigation, how are the two shops assigned to Lu Yunyang?"

Summer solstice means clear mind and eloquent speech.

"The Lu family gave you two shops. One is in the south of the city. It's a grain shop with a shopkeeper and two waiters. The business is only stable."

Jiang Jiu took out the account book of the granary and found that it was indeed very stable. He only paid five taels of silver every month, not more, and at least a few hundred yuan less.

Jiang Jiu handed the account book to Xia Zhi and said, "Lu Yunyang has only been allocated 50 mu of grain. After distributing it to the tenants and paying taxes, there won't be much left. This is probably all we can get from the monthly operation."

After reading it, Xia Zhi continued, "The other store is in a great location. It sells a lot of different things. It looks like it's divided into several sections."

"The east window sells wine, the west sells cakes, and the middle sells dried fruits. Girl, I suspect the owner has rented out the shop, but the money he pays every month doesn't seem right."

Jiang Jiu narrowed his eyes slightly: "You rented it yourself? Does Madam Lu know about it?"

She also found the account book of another store. Her account book only had a general ledger, which recorded how much money was submitted each month, how much was spent, and how much was left. That was all.

Xia Zhi pursed her lips and said, "Mrs. Lu doesn't seem to know. The master, the mistress, and the young master don't care. From the tone of the shopkeeper, it seems that as long as he can pay the money, the people of the Lu family will almost ignore him."

Jiang Jiu had an idea in his mind: "Since the location is good and other people's business is doing it, we can do it too. Let's go and take a look tomorrow."

Xia Zhi suddenly said, "Miss, the shopkeeper seems to be somewhat related to Madam Lu, so you have to be careful when the time comes."

Jiang Jiu nodded and was about to let Xia Zhi go back to the house to rest. Xia Zhi took two steps forward and handed Jiang Jiu a letter.

"Miss, this is from my wife, please accept it."

Jiang Jiu was slightly startled, and when he opened the envelope, he saw a silver note worth two hundred taels.

He smiled helplessly: "This young wife is quite awkward."

She kept only one, stuffed the other one back and handed it to Xia Zhi.

"Find some time to return the banknote to her and tell her that I appreciate the gift. It's not easy for everyone to make money. It's too much. Just give it as a token of appreciation."

Xia Zhi smiled: "The girl is really considerate. You should know that this is just the three-month commission of the shop girl, which is not much. However, she can think of the girl's marriage and buy makeup. She is grateful."

Jiang Jiu smiled with relief: "We are just helping each other. When she got divorced, she had nowhere to go with her son. Although we took her in, she put more effort into running the store than we did."

"She deserves the silver. One hundred taels is already a lot. You can let her keep the rest for her children's schooling. Her little Shitou should also go to school."

That night, Lu Yunyang still did not come back.

Even Mr. Lu Liu and Mrs. Lu Chen said they were worshiping Buddha and would be back tomorrow.

Early in the morning, after getting up, Jiang Jiu went to Lu Yunyang's two shops.

As expected, one of them was a grain shop, a standard one, with the owner being a man in his thirties who looked honest and hardworking.

The other shop was much busier. Although there was only one shopkeeper, business on both sides was good. Just as Jiang Jiu was about to go into the shop to check the situation.

Suddenly, Xiaohong, the maidservant beside Jiao Niang, came over in a hurry.

"Sister Xia Zhi, Sister Xia Zhi, something bad has happened to Jiao Niang."

Jiang Jiu turned around suddenly: "What's wrong with my wife?"

When Xiaohong saw that it was Jiang Jiu, tears started streaming down her face.

"Early this morning, when Jiao Niang went to deliver rouge to the girls in Hua Man Lou, she was detained by them. They said, they said... a customer liked her and wanted to buy her for two hundred taels of silver."

Jiang Jiu gritted his teeth in anger: "They dare to force a decent woman to buy something? Are they breaking the law? Have you reported it to the police?"

"We can't report it to the police. One of the guests is Jiao Niang's ex-husband. He insists that Jiao Niang is a concubine." Xiao Hong was so scared that she wiped her tears: "Girl, what should we do?"

Jiang Jiu frowned: "Although Jiao Niang eloped at first, they didn't have a contract to sell her. How could they assume that Jiao Niang was a concubine? Moreover, Jiao Niang was driven out by that man's wife..."

Xiao Hong shook her head: "I don't know either. Go and have a look, girl."

Jiang Jiu didn't care about much: "Let's go and take a look."

At this time, Xia Zhi grabbed Jiang Jiu and said, "Madam, are you going to Hua Man Lou like this? Otherwise, change into men's clothes."

Jiang Jiu glanced down at her makeup and found that she was dressed like a young woman. But if she were to dress as a man, what if she was recognized by the madam of Hua Man Lou?

After thinking it over, Jiang Jiu suddenly had an idea.

"No need, isn't the young master still in Hua Man Lou? Let's go find him..."

Huamanlou is the largest and best brothel in Xiang County.

Brothels in ancient times were not all dirty places; they were divided into different classes.

Some girls in Hua Man Lou sell their skills but not their bodies. For example, the girl Nichang, the most beautiful courtesan in Hua Man Lou, is a good dancer and sells her skills but not her body.

However, everyone also knows that she has been supported by Lu Yunyang for many years and is Lu Yunyang's confidante.

Jiang Jiu asked Xia Zhi to take Xiao Hong back first, and she brought Mudan with her.

Mudan followed Jiang Jiu and stood at the door of Huamanlou, feeling a little expectant and a little scared.

"Madam, if we rush in to look for the young master, will we be laughed at? What if the young master refuses to come back with us?"

Jiang Jiu suddenly pulled out a sharp dagger from his sleeve.

"If I can't call the young master back today, either he will die or I will die..."

Mudan was so frightened that her eyes widened and she screamed: "Young Madam..."

Why has it come to this?

But because of this, Mudan also saw Jiang Jiu's determination, and she felt more at ease.

"Madam, Mudan will stand by you."

Jiang Jiu smiled slightly, put the sharp dagger back into her sleeve, held up her skirt, and walked up the stairs gracefully.

"Hey, this lady doesn't look like she's here to play... She must be here to look for someone."

Jiang Jiu stuffed some change into the money to the madam and revealed his identity directly.

"I am Lu Yunyang's wife, and I came to see him..."

"You are...Mrs. Lu..." The madam's eyes changed when she looked at Jiang Jiu, and there was contempt in her teasing.

If she remembered correctly, Lu Yunyang did not go home on her wedding night, and she did not go home last night either. Tomorrow the newlywed lady will return home, and it would be embarrassing if she did not go back.

"Mr. Lu is on the third floor..."

Jiang Jiu smiled slightly and walked up the stairs slowly.

"Is the powder slave's shopkeeper here too? I ran out of powder and couldn't find her. Have you seen her?"