Chapter 38: Throwing Gold "My wife withheld gold and silver, and I am afraid she would kneel on the washboard."
"Good luck! You need to explain to me what's going on between you and Song Xieqing? Didn't you divorce? Even though you two live together, why is he willing to help you and Liu Rutang redeem her? And besides! Isn't his business failing, and he's running low on money? Where's the money coming from to redeem Liu Rutang's daughter now?"
Fang Xuyin kept asking questions like beads pouring out. Seeing that the young lady sitting opposite her looked uncomfortable and didn't dare to look her in the eye, Fang Xuyin felt like she was in a frying pan and was in great pain.
Earlier, Fang Xu was helping Fu Yunshang to pack clothes, and Zhu Hao only told her that the shop would be moved recently, but he had not yet told her the details until Fu Yunshang welcomed an unexpected visitor - Liu Rutang.
As she entered, she scanned the surroundings, pointing at the furnishings in the shop and at a few dresses in the corner, gesturing and commenting. Finally, she uttered a single sentence: "Change! Everything needs to be changed!"
Fang Xuyin didn't understand what was going on. She had always had a good temper. Although Liu Rutang's words made her more or less unhappy, Fang Xuyin still calmed down and asked the reason in a gentle tone.
After Liu Rutang told her everything and her and Zhu Hao's plan, Fang Xuyin took a long time to recover.
Compared to the cooperation between Liu Rutang and Zhu Hao, Fang Xuyin was more surprised that she referred to Song Xieqing and Zhu Hao as husband and wife.
Fang Xu was distracted the whole day after hearing about this. When she finally got some free time, she went straight to Zhu's house.
Zhu Hao twisted her fingers together. "Yes, Song Xieqing and I did divorce, but..." She watched Fang Xuyin's expression, her voice trailing off. "Xuyin, I wanted to tell you right away. I know you're worried, but that's why I don't know where to begin. We divorced last year because he couldn't be with me properly. Now, he's back, and he promised me he wouldn't travel far again. So... naturally..."
She paused, not saying the whole story. Fang Xuyin already knew what she meant, so Zhu Hao continued, "As for the ransom, he himself is indeed short of money, but his family is rich..."
Having said that, what else does Fang Xuyin not understand?
"Pianpian, Song Xieqing is a man after all. How can you let him go there? You two have reconciled, but he visited the brothel under your husband's name. What if you two are slandered for this?"
"Xuyin, don't worry. We've also thought about what you're thinking about. Every day before entering the brothel, he would find someone from the underworld to disguise himself, making it impossible for anyone to recognize him. Only after leaving the brothel would he reveal his true appearance. Do you still remember the disguise he used during Lord Pei's trial? Oh, no one recognized him, right? If anyone asks, Song Lang will just call himself 'Zhu' and pretend to be my distant cousin. Now the most important thing is to redeem Liu Rutang's daughter from the brothel. We can open a clothing store, right?"
Fang Xuyin wanted to give her some advice, but the door of Zhu's house was pushed open from the outside. The person who came in was wearing a snow-blue robe with cloud patterns. Fang Xuyin only took a glance and saw the trick from the exquisite Xiang embroidery with cloud patterns.
Song Xieqing was always indifferent. Zhu Hao and Fang Xuyin were muttering around a small table in the inner courtyard, but he did not disturb them. Instead, he walked around them, passed through the hanging flower door, and entered the main house, which was Zhu Hao's "boudoir".
Fang Xu felt a lump in her throat when she saw how skilled he was. She turned around and wished him well, but the young lady's eyes were still fixed on the hanging flower gate.
She pinched Zhu Hao's nose and said with dismay, "You treat him like a treasure. On the one hand, you send him to a brothel to redeem him, and on the other hand, you use his clothes to hint that he has a partner."
Zhu Hao got excited when he heard this. "Xu Yin, stop talking nonsense. I made this robe in my spare time. He wore it this morning..."
Actually, there was nothing wrong with the long gown that Song Xieqing wore in the morning. Moreover, he had a handsome face and was not particular about clothes. Zhu Hao had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "He was dressed casually today. I saw that there were no clothes of his left at home. It was a good opportunity to try out the thread of the straight gown, so I asked him to try it on. I originally wanted to let Chunsheng try it out, but he suddenly went to Kyoto. However, since it's just a try-on, it doesn't matter who wears it." This excuse could fool Song Xieqing, and surely it could also fool Fang Xuyin.
Fang Xu was momentarily dazed upon hearing Shi Chunsheng's name. When she came to her senses, she gently tapped Zhu Hao's forehead with her fingertips. "Do you really think I'm stupid? I just measured Shi Chunsheng's clothes a few days ago, and only yesterday did you send the finished spring shirt to him in Kyoto. If you knew his height beforehand, why did you measure him again? Besides, Shi Chunsheng isn't this tall, yet you made the gown so long. It's obvious at a glance that this shirt was tailored to someone else's measurements."
"Come to think of it, Pianpian, haven't you ever carefully measured the length of Song Xieqing's clothes? The rest of it fits, but the sleeves are a little off..." Fang Xuyin changed the subject, "Men are very good at talking, and the sons of rich families are the worst. Just look at him..." She paused for a moment, "Who knew Song Xieqing was such a good man? Pianpian, if he still doesn't treat you well, we can just abandon him, okay?"
Zhu Hao nodded vigorously, "Mother Fang is absolutely right."
Fang Xuyin pinched her nose again, "Who can do anything to you?"
…
After Fang Xuyin left, Zhu Haofang went to the main house.
As soon as she opened the door, she saw the man leaning on the beauty couch with his eyes closed. Zhu Hao moved closer quietly, leaned over slightly, and then simply squatted on the ground. Zhu Hao called him twice softly, but Song Xieqing didn't move. She bravely moved closer and sniffed at the front of Song Xieqing's clothes.
Apart from the scent of spikenard that he had always had, he could not smell any other scent.
Zhu Hao felt it was strange. In a brothel, a place full of beautiful women, even if Song Xieqing had not done anything heroic, there would still be some smell of powder and alcohol. It was strange that he was so clean.
Therefore, Zhu Hao moved closer. At such a close distance, she could hear Song Xieqing's slightly rapid heartbeat and steady breathing. At this moment, Song Xieqing's eyelashes trembled suddenly, and he bumped into her.
Zhu Hao took two steps back and took the initiative to attack, "I want to see if the clothes I embroidered are dirty..."
After saying that, Zhu Hao turned and left. She inexplicably closed the door, then opened it wide again after a moment. Zhu Hao stood outside the door and asked from a distance, "How is everything today?"
Song Xieqing remained silent, staring at her with an increasingly serious expression. Seeing this, Zhu Hao's heart sank. She trotted forward, frowning as she asked, "What's wrong?"
Song Xieqing's eyes were filled with a hint of smile, but his tone was flat, "There's nothing wrong."
Zhu Hao's brows relaxed, and he immediately gouged out Song Xieqing's eyes. Is it fun to tease her?
…
The gold-throwing contest to select the winner at Baihua Tower is scheduled for noon every day.
It was a rare occasion for Lu Jue to get up early. The main building's guest seats were not yet full, but he had already yawned as he sat down on the cushioned armchair that the madam had placed there as a token of her courtesy.
On the high platform, there were no longer graceful dancers, but six ordinary courtesans playing music with stringed instruments. The women wore skirts as thin as cicada wings, revealing their snow-capped peaks half-exposed.
Today, except for the top musician Qiao Mei, no guests threw silver at the other top musicians. The guests gathered in the lobby not only to admire the charming faces of the prostitutes playing the stringed instruments, but also to see the majesty of the young master Lu Jue. Everyone couldn't help but wonder how much silver Lu Jue would give to beat Qiao Lekui today.
A sweet voice from the main gate reached the ears: "Thanks to the arrival of the young master, the flower house is bright and glorious!"
All the guests looked sideways. The person who came was none other than Mr. Zhu, who had won over Qiao Lekui by paying a broken copper coin to Lu Jue yesterday.
Lu Jue crossed his legs, holding an ivory fan. He pointed at Song Xieqing from a distance and asked, "Brother Zhu, how much silver are you willing to pay today?"
Song Xieqing walked to one side, keeping a distance from Lu Jue who was surrounded by guests. "The noble ones should go first. The young master will throw the silver first. Any amount is fine."
"Oh?" Lu Jue pushed aside the bone fan. "Brother Zhu, are you implying that Miss Yu Qiaomei is already a sure winner? Okay, I'll go first."
In an instant, the hall was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Everyone was waiting for Lu Jue to speak, but he was deliberately keeping everyone in suspense. Lu Jue glanced at Song Xieqing and said sarcastically, "Ten thousand taels."
When the last word came out clearly from between the teeth, even the breathing around them stopped and the music came to an abrupt end. The prostitute playing on the high platform was so frightened that she seemed to have been pinched in the blood and could not move.
...Ten thousand taels?! Even if it was just to win the first prize for a day, even redeeming the first prize wouldn't require ten thousand taels! Everyone was stunned. He was indeed the nephew of the Imperial Concubine, a man who spent a fortune! What a spoiled and extravagant young man! Did the Lu family know that Lu Jue had lavished ten thousand taels on a prostitute? If they didn't know, what would they do when Lu Jue's extravagant act became known?
Song Xieqing said nonchalantly, "I'll give it to you."
Huh? Let?
Lu Jue pondered for a moment and asked, "Brother Zhu, aren't you determined to win Miss Qiao Mei? Why don't you continue to pressure her?"
Song Xieqing sighed, "My wife withheld gold and silver. Ten thousand taels of money, I am afraid I will kneel on the washboard."
If a client wins the bid, he must first pay the corresponding amount of money before he can be confirmed. Most of the men who come to this building to seek pleasure are from noble families. Therefore, the wives they marry must be of equal status. Many of these clients are under the supervision of their wives. Even so, what man does not cheat? Everyone has long been accustomed to it.
"Just now, I was trying to test Brother Zhu's spare money. Tsk, how could I carry such a huge amount of money with me when I'm just leaving home?" Lu Jue snorted, "I'll give you 500 taels of silver."
The madam's heart was in turmoil following Lu Jue's words. Who knew that this young man was just a bluff?
She smiled stiffly and warned, "My two lords, once you've said the money, you can't take it back. I beg you to think twice before you act. Mr. Lu's promise just now was just a joke. Don't do it again."
Lu Jue waved his hand and didn't take it seriously.
The fair-skinned beauty brought a royal chair to Song Xieqing. He did not sit down, but continued, "Five hundred and one taels."
Lu Jue sneered, "One thousand taels."
Song Xieqing: "One thousand and one taels."
Lu Jue's face was filled with black lines. He gritted his teeth and said, "One thousand three hundred taels."
Song Xieqing did the same as before, only putting an extra ounce of silver on it.
On the high platform, the lingering sound of music can be heard, while below the platform, the sound of ridicule can be heard everywhere.
Who doesn't have a fortune? Whose son-in-law bets ounces at a time? Yesterday, he even won the title with a single copper coin. No wonder everyone laughed at him.
Lu Jue stood up from the armchair and threw the ivory fan to Xiao Wu. "Brother, go and play with the beauty by yourself."
He walked out of the brothel without looking back, and Xiao Wu chased after him, "My dear! Where are we going now?"
"I'll find a young lady from the clothing store on an auspicious day to have some fun with, and I don't have to spend any money."
Lu Jue's abstention today was unexpected to the madam. She turned to Song Xieqing, whose eyes were as sharp as ice, and said kindly, "Sir, are you going upstairs to look for Qiao Qiao now?"
Song Xieqing stared at the direction where Lu Jue left. After a while, he took out a few banknotes and threw them to the madam, then went upstairs.
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The author has something to say: The young couple in the ambiguous period
Ahhhhh, I'm going to become a social animal! I'll update as fate dictates T^T and I won't cheat T^T
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