Flower Pavilion
"Oh my, young master has arrived..."
"Please come in, please come in..."
"Young Master Huang hasn't visited in so long, I've missed you terribly..."
"..."
As night falls, the long street is brightly lit and bustling with activity.
Jiang Yi stood in front of the Mirror Flower Water Moon gate, feeling very curious. This was indeed the largest brothel in the capital, living up to its reputation!
Several brightly dressed, graceful girls stood at the door waving handkerchiefs to attract customers. Among them, one girl was the most enthusiastic. She had a large red flower tucked behind her ear, her face was covered in white powder, which fell off every time she spoke, and her lips were coated with a thick layer of lip rouge, making her look as if she had sucked blood. She wore a dark red dress, which made her look even more like a ghostly, man-eating spirit. If she were to walk at night, she would surely make children cry and passersby scream...
Based on experience and intuition, Jiang Yi guessed that she was the madam in this illusory world.
Xia Zhi quietly tugged at her sleeve, and Jiang Yi turned around and gave her a reassuring look, indicating that she should not be afraid. At this moment, both of them were dressed as men, having removed their women's makeup and deliberately made their eyebrows and eyes look more handsome. If you didn't look closely, you wouldn't be able to tell that they were two girls in disguise.
Jiang Yi fanned herself rapidly with her paper fan. Although she was trying to comfort Xia Zhi, she was also a little nervous. It was her first time entering a brothel, and she could only pray that she wouldn't get caught. If she was unfortunately caught, she could just ask He Lin to bail her out!
Since we're already here, we have to go in and take a look no matter what!
The madam stared at her for a few seconds, then hurriedly waved her bright red handkerchief and ran down the steps, smiling as she said, "This young master looks unfamiliar. Is this your first time here?"
As she approached, a pungent fragrance wafted towards her. She didn't know what kind of perfume powder it was, but it smelled rather unpleasant. Jiang Yi fanned herself even more vigorously, trying to dispel the smell.
"Yes, this is my first time here."
Upon hearing Jiang Yi's words, the madam grinned and greeted her, "Oh, what are you all standing here for? Come in and have a look! You lot, hurry up and welcome our distinguished guest in!"
"They're here..."
"Please come in, young master..."
"..."
Several girls suddenly grabbed her, which startled Jiang Yi. She quickly pulled her arm away and said, "I, I can walk by myself."
The madam covered her mouth and chuckled, "You guys have made the young master shy. Alright, alright, I'll lead this young master inside. You all attend to the other guests."
The flower pavilion was as bright as day, filled with the fragrance of flowers. It had three floors, with a large circular platform in the center, shaped like a drum, surrounded by a pool of water, with various flower petals floating on the water...
Jiang Yi looked up and around, and found that the structure of the building was very similar to that of a Tulou (earthen building), with circles extending upwards. Each floor was like a large circle, enough to accommodate hundreds of people. The railings of each floor were entwined with lush vines, and from a distance, it was truly a unique sight.
As they walked, the madam introduced Jiang Yi: "...Our Mirror Flower Water Moon is different from those ordinary brothels outside. The first floor is a place for entertainment and games, and the second and third floors are for guests to enjoy the scenery. Young master, since this is your first time here, how about I take you to the second floor first? There will be a spectacular flying performance later."
Jiang Yi's eyes were incredibly bright, like a little fox venturing into a new world for the first time, full of curiosity about everything new. She nodded repeatedly, "Okay, let's go."
Led by her, Jiang Yi and Xia Zhi found an inconspicuous corner to sit down, and soon the table in front of them was piled with fruit, pastries and tea.
Jiang Yi took out a gleaming silver ingot from her purse and placed it on the table. The madam's face immediately lit up with a beaming smile, and she grabbed the silver ingot and vigorously wiped it with her handkerchief.
"Young master, please eat first. If you need anything else, just tell the girls here, and we'll make sure you have a great time."
"Okay, you can go now."
"Alright!" The madam gave a wink, signaling a woman in purple with a white veil covering her face to serve the man well, and then swayed away.
"Small……"
Xia Zhi instinctively wanted to call Jiang Yi "Miss," but as soon as she uttered the word "Miss," she suddenly realized that someone was present and quickly shut up, saying, "Young Master, let's sit for a while and then leave. I'm a little worried."
"It's alright, we're already here, staying a little longer won't hurt. I'm keeping track of the time, I should be back before curfew." Jiang Yi took a sip of the flower tea. It was a little bitter at first, but it was quite pleasant after a while, with a sweet aftertaste that lingered on her lips and teeth.
"Sister, who are all the people sitting on the third floor here? Can I go up and take a look? Oh, this is my first time here, I'm a little curious."
The woman in purple poured her another cup of tea and smiled, saying, "Young master, you may not know this, but the third floor is for high-ranking officials and nobles. Ordinary people cannot go up there easily. Even we servants are divided into different ranks and are not qualified to serve you. However, watching the dance on the second floor is quite nice. Please."
Jiang Yi's round eyes darted around as she said, "You mean, if you're very rich or have a high social status, you can go up to the third floor, right?"
"Young master is wise, that's what I mean."
Jiang Yi chuckled inwardly. A membership system? Sure enough, as the old saying goes, money makes the world go round! No matter where you are, money can get you anywhere! It has been like this since ancient times.
"Knock knock knock—"
A series of drumbeats came from the first floor. Jiang Yi looked in the direction of the sound and saw a red cloth hanging straight down from the roof in the center of the hall. A large drum had appeared on the round platform at some point, with one end of the red cloth hanging over the drum. There was only the drum, but no one. Cheers rose and fell from upstairs and downstairs.
The woman in purple softly reminded him, "Young master, the flying performance is about to begin."
Her voice trembled slightly, a result of her excitement. Jiang Yi turned to glance at her and noticed that the woman in purple had bright, sparkling eyes, as if she was even more excited than Jiang Yi about the performance to come.
The railings on the second and third floors were packed with people, all looking down. Even the spaces between the tables were crowded with onlookers. If you looked up from below, all you could see were heads, like dumplings being dropped into a pot, one after another...
After a burst of rapid drumbeats, there was a sudden silence. In the stillness, the sound of a flute began to rise from somewhere. Just then, a rain of flower petals began to fall from the round platform, scattering everywhere.
Jiang Yi couldn't resist reaching out and catching a petal in her palm. Looking down, she saw it was a rose petal, and she became even more excited for the performance to come.
The sound of the flute was melodious and graceful. Although she didn't understand music, she knew it was beautiful, and the person playing the flute must have been very musically talented. Then, the drums joined in, and a dancer in red appeared out of thin air, landing steadily on the large drum on the round platform amidst the sounds of the flute and drums and fluttering flower petals, her bare feet showing.
Clapping and cheers filled the air. Even Jiang Yi, a modern person, stared wide-eyed in disbelief. This dancer in red hadn't used any wires; she simply wrapped the red cloth around her arm and then... just floated down gracefully like that?!
Are you kidding me! Does she know the legendary light-body skill?
Like the woman in purple, the dancer in red also wore a veil over her face, which made Jiang Yi suspect that they might be part of some mysterious organization. Then, thinking back, Xia Zhi had told her that the women in "Mirror Flower Water Moon" had tattoos on their faces, which was why they wore veils all the time. Thinking of this, she couldn't help but sigh silently. Feudal thinking was truly harmful. These young ladies were all so beautiful; why would they be so foolish as to ruin their appearance? It was simply insane!
The performance that followed was purely a visual treat. To the perfect harmony of the flute and drum, the woman in red danced gracefully on the drumhead, her lithe figure like a butterfly poised for flight. The red cloth wrapped around her arm seemed both to support her wings and to bind her…
People on the second and third floors are throwing silver and gold down.
After watching the performance, Jiang Yi was deeply moved, her heart filled with mixed emotions. The dance was extremely beautiful; it would take at least ten years of practice to achieve such a level. If these people lived in modern times, they would have achieved great success. But now, they were only there to entertain these high-ranking officials and nobles. If the performance was good, they would be rewarded with a few coins; if the performance was bad, anyone could go up and hurl insults at them.
She knew perfectly well that she couldn't help anyone here, including herself!
"...Young master, wasn't the performance good?"
"No, it's very beautiful."
The woman in purple seemed quite satisfied with her answer, a bright smile spreading across her face. She said, "Red Butterfly is the best dancer here. She's very talented and learns everything quickly."
Jiang Yi asked, "Are you very familiar with her?"
The woman in purple chuckled softly, her beautiful eyes gazing at the figure downstairs. "Yes, she is my sister."
Jiang Yi nodded and took out two silver ingots from her purse and placed them on the table.
“I see that your guests here like to tip. I don’t have much silver on me. Here, take one and give the other to your sister. Her dancing is extremely beautiful.”
The woman in purple was stunned for a moment. By the time she came to her senses, Jiang Yi and Xia Zhi had already gotten up and gone downstairs.
As Jiang Yi and Xia Zhi descended the stairs, they bumped into a familiar face. It was Wu Wenpin, the one who had recently argued with her at the East Palace. They had heard that he had been beaten up by He Lin. Had he recovered so quickly? And now he was out having fun at a brothel.
He and several young men swaggered toward the stairwell entrance, clearly habitual offenders who frequented this place.
Not wanting to be recognized, Jiang Yi pulled Xia Zhi to the other side and went around to the back of the crowd, making way for the group of idle young masters.
"Miss, what's wrong?"
"Shh, we've run into a bad omen. This way."
As Jiang Yi brushed past Wu Wenpin, she heard a sleazy whistle: "Hey little girl, missed me?"
More and more people gathered, most of them wanting to catch a glimpse of the woman in red. Although they didn't know where the voice came from, Jiang Yi felt nauseous and wanted to vomit. What kind of scoundrel was this? Unbelievable! Even gutter oil couldn't compare to him!
Finally, after leaving the illusory world, she could breathe some fresh air. Before leaving, the madam waved her handkerchief and called out in a drawn-out voice, "Come again next time..."
Jiang Yi dragged Xia Zhi along, running wildly, so engrossed that she forgot the time. The General's Mansion was about to lift its curfew; if the First Madam found out, she'd be in for a beating! Oh no, oh no, oh no…
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