Chapter 40: The Evil Courtesan (22 End)
In the end, only about one-third of the prostitutes chose to leave.
Many handymen, guards and hairdressers were willing to stay.
Under Shisui's arrangement and command, everyone worked together to clean up Yuejianlou after the fire.
They demolished the dilapidated fourth floor, leaving only the first to third floors. They repaired what could be repaired and replanned and arranged what could not be repaired.
Although the work was arduous on a snowy day, the prostitutes chatted and laughed, and once they moved around, they didn't feel the cold. With no one supervising them and everything being voluntary, they felt a freedom they had never experienced before.
Let food and clothing be as they are, and you will naturally be happy.
Skills that were once only allowed to be learned by would-be courtesans are no longer hidden away. As long as one is willing to learn, the masters are willing to teach.
What was rebuilt, besides the house, was also their hearts...
After nearly two months of hard work, the reconstruction of Yuejian Tower was finally completed and it is scheduled to reopen to the public on the day of the Beginning of Spring.
Unlike its previous decadent and luxurious style, the Crescent Moon Pavilion is now decorated in a quiet and elegant style, truly a breath of fresh air in the Yoshiwara corridor.
Youshi (evening time).
To build momentum for the reopening, Yuejianlou sent out 10 prostitutes to parade on the Huaxiaodao, a street reserved for the Yoshiwara courtesans.
The first to take the lead was none other than the current OP of Yuejian - Tokiho.
She was wearing a dark red kimono with large furisodes and embroidered flowers, 30-centimeter-high wooden clogs, and was walking at the front of the team in a very formal manner, following the inward-toed goldfish step that she had learned from Xiangyu, the style used by the courtesans.
The Lycoris radiata tattoo on her face looked even more red under the illumination of dozens of lanterns in front and behind.
Tonight, she is the top courtesan of Yuejianlou.
She is considered an evil courtesan by other arcade owners in Yoshiwara.
The reconstruction of Yuejian Tower has not been smooth sailing in the past two months.
On the contrary, Tokiho was ostracized by the traditional patriarchal forces in Yoshiwara and was threatened and harassed in various ways every day.
Although she fought back against all of them one by one, she still felt a lot of anger accumulated in her heart.
So today she must stand up and stand at the forefront.
She just wanted to make it clear to the entire Yoshiwara that the time had come for her to rule Yoshiwara!
Yoshiwara has never had such a special parade. Among the layers of curious onlookers, there is a familiar face... Xiangyu is back.
She kept her promise with Tokiho, and in the spring, accompanied by Matsuyama, she set foot in Yoshiwara again and witnessed the tremendous changes in Tsukimiro with her own eyes.
But now, apart from her bright face and extraordinary temperament that are still dazzling, she has become an ordinary woman in the crowd.
Songshan jokingly asked her, "It was you who originally walked on this flower path. Do you feel a little regretful now?"
Xiangyu asked earnestly, "Do you think the chickens, geese, and ducks sold at the market would feel proud if they were sold at the highest price?"
Songshan pulled Xiangyu into his arms and hugged her tightly.
There is no winter that will not pass, and no rain that will not stop.
The snow has melted and the spring breeze has begun to blow.
…
Yuejianlou, which broke the traditional business model, did not have a smooth journey when it first resumed business.
The slander and suppression from peers and the contempt and disdain from customers caused Yuejianlou to be in a loss-making state where its income was not enough to cover its expenses.
The turning point happened after Heisaburo's father visited...
On a warm spring evening, Heisaburo's father, dressed in casual clothes and accompanied by only a few followers, rode in an inconspicuous carriage and arrived at Yuejianlou under the cover of darkness.
Although he was as low-key as possible, he was still recognized by the sharp-eyed Madam Ya as soon as he entered the door.
Madam Ya immediately invited him into the small room.
Shisui also hurried over soon after.
Heizaburo's father sat upright with a serious expression, looking at Tokiho with the sharp eyes of a high-ranking official in the capital examining his political enemies.
Shisui didn't dodge, what was coming would come.
She guessed that this father who had taught his son poorly was not here to ask for punishment today, otherwise he would not have dressed as a commoner and would not have brought only a few followers with him.
She poured him a glass of wine.
After two cups of rice wine, Heisaburo's father reluctantly said, "I once considered making you pay for your blood debt with blood."
Shisui's inner thoughts: Are you sure you have this ability?
"But I later changed my mind." Taira Saburo's father's expression softened. "I sent several groups of people to investigate and discovered that the Tsukimi-ro you rebuilt is quite different from the one Saburo had run before. The fact that someone redeemed his sins is also a merit..."
Tokiho was not trying to atone for Heisaburo's sins.
But she didn't argue, she just filled his empty glass over and over again.
This high-ranking official, who dared not even show his grief too obviously in his own house because of the face of his wife who came from a prominent family and in order to maintain his own dignity, now needed an outlet for his emotions.
"I always thought he was useless, but the reason Sanlang ended up like this is all because of my negligence in discipline!"
As the alcohol took effect, Ping Sanlang's father couldn't help but burst into tears.
Unfortunately, it's too late.
Their fate in this life is shallow, and they can only hope that in the next life, they can be an ordinary father and son...
…
After Heisaburo's father returned to the capital, with the idea of helping his son pay off his sins, he introduced some business to Yuejianlou.
Taking this as an opportunity, Yuejianlou's business conditions gradually improved and got back on track.
The subsequent development of the situation in Yoshiwara was just as Tokiho had expected. Under her instigation, prostitutes escaped and rebelled in many brothels, forcing the government to step in and establish laws to manage this gray area.
As the leader of the Yoshiwara bosses, Tokiho was never at a disadvantage in negotiations with the government, and won reasonable interests and dignity for the prostitutes. Human trafficking, imprisonment, arbitrary killings and other such evils no longer existed.
The prostitutes in Yoshiwara took to the streets to celebrate...
The matter was accomplished, and Shisui decided to return the body to the peasant girl.
Two years.
When the peasant girl regained consciousness, two years had passed since she fainted from the pain in the tattoo shop in Songshan.
Her jaw dropped as she took in what Tokiho had done with her body during this time.
Tokiho promised to help her turn her life around, but unexpectedly she turned into a hero of Yoshiwara!
This is too big a step!
"I trust you."
Before leaving this world, Shisui left a last message in the farmer's mind.
"The reason I chose you to possess is not because I feel sorry for you, but because I am impressed by your courage and perseverance."
"Yoshiwara's story is not over yet. Its ultimate outcome is its complete demise, so that women no longer have to rely on selling their bodies to survive..."
...Nongnu took over the baton from Shisui and devoted her life to promoting women's rights.
When later generations talk about her, they always describe her like this: "The most beautiful evil courtesan in Yoshiwara who came from a farming family."
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