Pei Zhi wasn't that stupid. She admitted to Shang Huai that she had come to see a male prostitute.
No matter what, she cannot admit to this.
Shang Huai glanced at Pei Zhi twice, then waved his hand, ordering the soldiers to take the shopkeeper away.
The female shopkeeper was not about to let go of this lifeline so easily.
These officers put it nicely, saying they would close the shop for a few days and let them investigate themselves.
Who knows, what if closing the store for a few days turns into a ban on business?
Moreover, her profession is inherently dangerous.
If the authorities don't want her to open, they can easily fabricate some crime against her, and there's nothing she can do about it.
"Miss, didn't you say you were going to redeem the two male prostitutes in our brothel?"
"You helped me this time, so I'll treat those two people to you as a free gift."
The female shopkeeper was so excited that she spoke quite loudly.
Many officers and soldiers around looked over, so Pei Zhi could only turn her head away and not interrupt.
Are you dead?
Shang Huai angrily said, "You can't even hold one person back? I think you're all going to get a beating."
As soon as Shang Huai uttered his slightly intimidating words, the soldiers stepped forward and forcibly took the shopkeeper away.
Pei Zhi breathed a slight sigh of relief, and Shang Huai then walked up.
"Are you done shopping?"
"I'll be here for a while. Once I'm done, will you come back with me?"
Pei Zhi nodded slightly, "Can this building still be opened in the future?"
Shang Huai explained, "Once we've checked and found no problems, we can operate normally."
Pei Zhi feigned curiosity, as if she had never been there before.
"It looks quite interesting."
Shang Huai responded casually, "Some married ladies like to come here for some fun."
"There are also some women in their boudoirs who would rather die than stay away from these male prostitutes."
"Is that so?"
"The government handles these kinds of things all the time, just like in brothels."
In brothels, many ladies would also bring their servants to the door.
Some people, concerned about their reputation, will do it behind the scenes.
"Didn't you go out shopping but not buy anything?"
The maids and guards behind Pei Zhi were all empty-handed.
"Oh... I heard from the maid that I listened to a storyteller in a teahouse for a while."
"I came over because it was so lively here, and I didn't expect to see you here."
Shang Huai glanced at the area and said, "Let's go, I'll show you around some more."
Upon hearing this, Pei Zhi followed behind Shang Huai.
The northern part of the city is crowded now, and the streets are bustling with activity.
"You grew up in the northern part of the city?"
Pei Zhi heard that Shang Huai's father had been stationed in the northern city since he was a child, and so had Shang Huai.
"Mm," Shang Huai responded.
"In the first few years after my birth, I was taken care of by the current Empress Dowager in the capital."
"When I got a little older, I came to the North City."
Pei Zhi immediately said, "Then you must be very familiar with Beicheng, right?"
Pei Zhi pressed further, "What are some fun things to do in the north of the city? And which of these street vendors has the best food?"
Shang Huai pondered for a moment, then finally shook his head. "I really don't know."
"After I returned to Beicheng, I spent most of my time in the army."
"I don't usually like to go out."
Shang Huai spoke cryptically, but Pei Zhi understood him perfectly.
It's not that they don't like to go out, it's probably that they don't have the time.
As the only son of a merchant family, the heavy responsibility of the Zhenbei Army rests on Shang Huai's shoulders.
Shang Huai could neither resist nor evade these responsibilities; they were all his duty.
There was a stall selling candied hawthorns, and Pei Zhi stood on tiptoe to choose the biggest one.
After Pei Zhi took it, Shang Huai paid for it voluntarily.
Pei Zhi took a bite; the candy was a little hard, and it tasted sweet and sour.
Pei Zhi held the candied hawthorn to Shang Huai's lips, "Try it."
Shang Huai wanted to say that he didn't like sweets.
But he looked at the candied hawthorn that Pei Zhi had already taken a bite of, which he was holding to his mouth.
Seeing that Shang Huai kept staring at the bite mark she had made, Pei Zhi wanted to withdraw her hand.
Shang Huai grabbed Pei Zhi's wrist and bit off the hawthorn that Pei Zhi had taken a bite out of.
After Shang Huai imported it, he frowned slightly. Shang Huai didn't like sour or sweet foods.
However, Pei Zhi and Shang Huai each ate the entire string of candied hawthorns in one bite.
The two continued walking forward, and Pei Zhi smelled the aroma wafting from the restaurant.
I'm a little hungry.
Shang Huai was surprised to find that it was already past lunchtime.
"Eat at home, or eat here?"
The waiter saw Shang Huai and Pei Zhi stopping at the door and came over to greet them.
Pei Zhi was so engrossed in the aroma that she could hardly move. "Let's eat here."
Although it was a bit past lunchtime, the restaurant was still quite lively.
"I'd like a private room."
The waiter said with difficulty, "Unfortunately, all the private rooms in the restaurant are already occupied."
"How about we eat in the lobby?"
The restaurant owner happened to come out of the storeroom. He looked up and saw Shang Huai's face, and immediately rushed over.
"General Shang, what brings you here to dine at the restaurant today?"
Shang Huai usually doesn't like to go out.
But in the northern part of the city, who doesn't know Shang Huai?
The restaurant owner chased away the waiter: "Go away, go attend to other people."
The restaurant owner explained solicitously, "I'm sorry, this waiter is a new hire, not from the local area."
"You want a private room, right? Come on, I'll show you the way."
Shang Huai said with pride, "There is an elder."
The restaurant owner led the way, and Shang Huai and Pei Zhi followed him upstairs.
As for the guards and maids, they can just have their meal in the lobby downstairs, and the bill will be settled later.
As I went upstairs, just then, some guests came down from upstairs.
The staircase wasn't wide, so Shang Huai reached out and took Pei Zhi's hand, gesturing for her to move closer to him to make way for people coming down the stairs.
Once Shang Huai shook hands, he never let go.
The restaurant owner pushed open the door to the private room and turned to invite the two inside.
The restaurant owner's face lit up with even greater joy when he saw the two clasped hands.
"It seems that General Shang is about to have good news."
Shang Huai glanced down, smiled, and didn't refute.
The restaurant owner personally served us until we took our order before leaving.
Pei Zhi shook her hand: "Addicted to holding hands? Not letting go?"
Shang Huai bluntly said, "You bastard, you're not going to take advantage of this opportunity. You didn't even tell me to let go."
Pei Zhi glared at Shang Huai, and Shang Huai let go of her hand.
Shang Huai's hands were covered in calluses, looked unsightly, and had some scars.
Pei Zhi pointed curiously to the scar on Shang Huai's thumb, "This doesn't look like a scar, how did you get it?"
Shang Huai glanced at Pei Zhi's hands; they were white and delicate.
"I had just joined the army then. In the winter, no matter what I did, it was all cold water. I had never experienced that before, and my hands got frostbite."
Upon hearing this, Pei Zhi couldn't help but frown.
Why are you looking at me like that?
Shang Huai said nonchalantly, "A real man doesn't need to suffer like this."
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