Chapter 41: Selfishness: All men in the world are the same.
Nanxiang is the richest place in Huaicheng. No matter when, there are always many nobles and wealthy people strolling through this street.
Today, a large number of people gathered around a clothing store on Nanxiangli Street, no more and no less than usual. At a glance, most of them were young ladies dressed in red and green. People from other places asked and found out that Qiongyifang not only sold new ready-made clothes today, but also offered discounts to all young ladies who came here to buy clothes if they brought a "letter of repentance".
Suddenly, a young servant emerged from the building, holding a gong. He stood on the platform in front of the steps, separating himself from the other guests and striking the gong. The crowd instantly quieted down at the sound of the gongs and drums. The servant announced loudly, "Our shopkeeper has announced! Today, in addition to selling clothes at a discount, anyone buying clothes at Qiong Yi Fang can go upstairs and receive a cloud cape for free!"
After the servant finished speaking, the young ladies on the other side of the long street began to chatter away. A woman dressed as a maid shouted, "Hey! What time is it now? Give me an accurate answer! When can I go in to choose something? My young lady is waiting! How can we keep guests waiting in vain in a clothing shop?"
As soon as these words were spoken, they immediately attracted criticism from the young ladies. The main door of the clothing store was already wide open, so why did they make people wait outside?
The young servant looked embarrassed, and at this moment, a graceful and charming woman walked out. This person was Liu Rutang.
"Today, Qiongyi Lou is honored to have so many guests here. It truly makes our humble home glorious. I'm sure you've received the slips of paper. If you unfold them, you'll see the numbers written on them. Although Qiongyi Lou occupies a large area, we are concerned about the large number of guests coming. Therefore, we ask those holding slips with numbers from one to seventy to enter the building first to choose clothes."
Upon hearing this, the young ladies lowered their heads to unfold the notes distributed by the servants of Qiongyifang.
Although the notes were distributed fairly according to the order of arrival, there was still a risk of someone getting caught. Therefore, Liu Rutang didn't intend to give the guests time to debate. She continued, "Of course, the distinguished guests outside the workshop aren't waiting for nothing. Although the ready-made clothes are displayed on the clothes rack, a clothes rack is still just a clothes rack. Therefore, Liu Niang has specially asked the young lady and the young man nearby to try on the clothes for everyone's consideration."
In such a short time, Zhu Hao and Liu Rutang naturally could not make new dresses. Most of the clothes sold in the shop today were from Fu Yunshang, and the men's ready-made clothes that Liu Rutang mentioned certainly could not have come from Zhu Hao's clothing shop. After all, men's clothing was still in the exploratory stage for Zhu Hao. Therefore, the men's clothing displayed in Qiongyifang were all ready-made clothes that were unsold in the warehouse and were properly preserved, and the fabrics used were of high quality.
Visitors naturally had no interest in trying on clothes, especially men's clothing. Most of the customers who came to Qiong Yi Fang to buy clothes were unmarried young women. Even those who were married had servants hired to tailor their clothes for each room. Why bother with men's clothing? Men just needed to have something to cover their bodies. Wearing colorful clothes all day to attract beautiful women would only cause trouble.
Thinking of this, everyone was about to continue criticizing, but before they could open their mouths, a pair of slender hands suddenly lifted up half of the curtain at the screen door of Qiongyifang, and then a corner of a skirt with silver beads and a red tail swayed out. The young ladies could no longer take their eyes off the corner of the skirt. They saw dark patterns on the brocade, and the snow-white satin was rolled into a ribbon and hung down. The person wearing this skirt was already basking in the spring sun and facing everyone.
Whether it is the dress or the person trying it on, it is hard to find any fault with it.
The last time Zhu Hao faced so many people was when she went to court with You Yan last year. Back then, she was so passionate and unwilling to admit defeat that she had no time to think about so many things. But today, she stood in front of so many people, wearing makeup and neatly dressed, and it was inevitable that she felt embarrassed.
This method was naturally proposed to her by Liu Rutang. At first, Zhu Hao was very reluctant. However, after thinking about it carefully, she realized that at this juncture, there was really no one else in the shop who could take on this task, so she agreed.
Fortunately... she's not the only one...
When I raised my eyes, Song Xieqing had already walked out from the screen door wearing a long robe made of deep blue brocade.
The young man wears a jade crown and has his hair tied up, looking elegant and refined; the young woman has graceful eyebrows, graceful eyes, and fragrant clothes. They stand together on the moonlit platform, looking like a perfect couple.
Zhu Hao quickly glanced at Song Xieqing. She had a feeling that a fierce flame would appear in Song Xieqing's eyes in the next moment...
If Song Xieqing didn't need her help to suppress the curse, given his temperament, he would never agree to try on clothes in public. Moreover, when Zhu Hao came to him to talk about it last night, Song Xieqing stared at her for a long time. Until Zhu Hao secretly felt that there was no hope and turned to leave, the person behind her responded, "Okay."
At this moment, even though Zhu Hao was looking straight ahead, she could clearly feel a burning gaze from the left fixed on her.
If she turned her eyes slightly, she would definitely meet Song Xieqing. With this idea in mind, Zhu Hao only looked up and down, and never looked to the side.
Qiongyifang is opposite Baihualou, and Zhu Hao's eyes met the two people leaning against the window porch——
Yusha, clutching her pipa, looked boredly at the two people on the opposite platform. "Is that Madam Zhu's husband? They are very affectionate."
Lu Jue crossed his arms and glanced at Yi Lou. "Deep love? You probably haven't seen her with her husband before, right? If that's the case, how can you easily draw a conclusion? Besides, everyone in Huaicheng knows that this man and Zhu were married for less than three days before he went out on business, and it seems like he just returned home today? How can this be called deep love? If a grown man truly loves a girl, he would want to be with her every day. Besides, isn't his family quite wealthy? Why would he go on business himself? In my opinion, his business trip is fake, and his keeping a mistress is real."
"Young Master Lu, please forgive my boldness. Although all men in the world are the same, not everyone is like you, Young Master Lu."
Lu Jue was simply amused. After all, this was more than the first or second time she had dared to do so. He was still pondering the deeper meaning behind Yu Sha's words when he heard her say indifferently, "The only thing missing from this man is his eyes on Madam Zhu. The emotion in his eyes is something I've never seen in a brothel. I've only seen it in my mother's and father's eyes."
Yusha sighed and played the pipa leisurely, "Young Master Lu, you have lived in Huaicheng for quite some time, right? The elders in your family can only express their thoughts through a letter..."
Ever since she started working as a prostitute to greet guests, Lu Jue came every day, and she felt bored with him. She was too lazy to even put on a show by smiling.
Lu Jue understood Yu Sha's hidden meaning this time. He smiled and said, "Soon."
…
When Zhu Haoxing went to the second floor to change clothes, he happened to run into Qiao Mei.
Before this, even on the day when Song Xieqing redeemed Qiao Mei, she had never seen Qiao Mei's true appearance.
At this moment, Zhu Hao saw a woman who seemed to have walked out of a painting of ladies, and she was inexplicably certain in her heart that this person must be Qiao Mei.
Her veil dangled over her right earlobe, her eyes as clear as a single dewdrop at dawn. She had spent over a decade in the world of pleasure, yet remained untainted by the dust of the world. Her plain, blue dress alone was enough to embellish her beauty. She cradled a delicate, exquisite guzheng. Seeing it was Zhu Hao, her brows twitched slightly, and she bowed deeply, "Miss Zhu."
Zhu Hao frowned and while helping her up, he stared at the guzheng in her arms.
Qiao Mei gently stroked the guzheng, the sound as soft as a mosquito. "I... have been recuperating for a few days. I should be able to play the first half of the song."
Zhu Hao was silent for a moment, his palm resting on Qiao Mei's hand, which was wrapped around the konghou. "Miss Qiao, I'd like to hear the whole song. When you recover from your injury, would you please come to my house? Your mother owes me a lot of debts. I'd like to ask her beloved daughter to play a little song for me to cheer me up. Is that okay?"
After she finished speaking, she lifted up the veil that had fallen from Qiao Mei's face and fixed it over her left earlobe, once again hiding her extraordinary and bright face beneath the veil. "Miss Qiao, the place you live in is your mother's clothing store, not a brothel. We don't need music here, only your mother's business skills and a daughter who comforts her."
She could have lived a good life in a foreign land with her true appearance unknown to the public. This must have been her mother's wish.
Qiao Mei's eyes were misty. "Miss Zhu is the benefactor of my mother and me."
For years, she had lived peacefully beneath a mask. Qiao Mei had never considered it degrading to show her true face to attract customers. On the contrary, she wanted to maximize her appearance. She was unwilling to be exposed to the public in a worthless manner. What was the purpose? For example, if she showed her true face today while playing the string instrument and appreciating the bamboo, she would probably attract many customers for Miss Zhu and her mother.
Qiao Mei knew that her mother would definitely try to stop her, so she concealed everything, but she ran into Zhu Hao.
Zhu Hao raised his chin, pointing to this building, and said, "Didn't your mother save me?"
Furthermore, if we talk about the benefactor, it must be Song Xieqing.
…
It was dusk, and Zhu Hao supported his chin with both hands and looked at the little girl in front of him with a golden hairpin and a moon-shaped dress.
Zhu Haowen said with a smile: "At noon, a lot of noble young men suddenly appeared in Qiongyi Tower to buy clothes. I asked around and found out that it was Madam Yu who helped them."
Yusha was suddenly amused. How could this be considered a favor? She had simply mentioned her admiration for a new style at Louyifang, and a group of men, protected by their relatives and with only a few bucks, had come straight to Qiongyifang to please her. After all, if all it took was a dress to win a beautiful woman's heart, it was far more worthwhile than spending a fortune! Yusha scoffed. These men would never let themselves go to such lengths for the rest of their lives.
"Why don't you see Master Zhu today?"
Zhu Hao was confused for a moment before she realized who Yusha was referring to. Her expression gradually became unnatural. Could it be that... Song Xieqing had done something disgusting?
"He... didn't Miaoli go to the clothing shop today to help? So, I had to ask my cousin to go out and do some shopping. I guess... he won't be back for a while." Zhu Hao asked, "Why are you looking for him...?"
Yusha shrugged it off, "Oh, it's just a trivial matter."
Hearing this, Zhu Hao breathed a sigh of relief, but the next words made her heart twist and turn.
"Did Mr. Zhu return home on the day of the parade? I wanted to invite him to join me. Mother Chen granted me half a day off that day."
She wasn't sure if he had heard her cursing at him in the corridor that day. She had always been clear about gratitude and resentment, so she went to him to settle the matter.
Yusha continued, "If he's not available, then forget it. I hope Madam Zhu will relay this to me. I'll be leaving today."
Zhu Hao nodded, and with a stiff smile, she sent Yu Sha to the gate. After everyone left, Zhu Hao turned around and bumped into Song Xieqing who was passing by the corridor.
Her lips parted, "Song Xieqing."
It was a very small sound, but every word entered his ears without a single mistake. Song Xieqing's eyes were fixed on her. Zhu Hao stammered for a long time before uttering two words: "Nothing."
For some unknown reason, she became selfish.
Seeing Song Xieqing about to turn into the Chuihua Gate, she shouted loudly, "Song Lang!"
He stopped and frowned as he looked back at the young lady with a complicated expression a few feet away. Zhu Hao had changed into a jade-green gauze dress. Her bun was simple and the silk ribbon fluttered, making her look very lively.
He took a second look.
"I... have something to tell you."
"good."
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The author has something to say: Hug a little, it’s too late T_T
Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!
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