Mu Houchu had grown somewhat impatient, asking himself what was taking so long with dinner. It was a rare half-day of free time he had come by, yet she’d already wasted half an hour in the kitchen. That was enough time for him to have had her a few times over!
Finally, just as Mu Houchu was growing insufferable, Xin He came in carrying dishes. A few maids, including Shulan, also helped carry food in. Their table was stacked high with four dishes and a soup, all favored by Mu Houchu.
Xin He cheerfully sat down, handed him chopsticks and said, "Here, let you taste the affection of your wife."
Mu Houchu, who was initially in a terrible mood due to waiting and the Duan Lan incident, felt an instant surge of pleasantness wash over him. His desolate gaze almost seeming to light up as the corner of his lips twitched upward involuntarily. He looked at her as if he was drowning in admiration, "Mmm, spoil me more often in the future."
——
As night enveloped the town, the hustle and bustle of the Flower Street in Lian’an Town picked up.
A lavish horse carriage slowly strode past Flower Street. Those who could afford to frequent brothels were usually quite well-off, and it wasn’t uncommon to see the rich and affluent here. Hence, a lavish carriage like this didn’t attract much attention.
Rather, it was the man in the carriage whose brows were furrowed tighter the more he looked outside.
"This Flower Street sure is lively," the old man snapped coldly as he got off the carriage.
The follower hastily bowed and agreed, "Of course it is lively."
The old man gave him a cold look. "The liveliness belongs to others only. Yihong Courtyard has seen a fifty percent drop in revenue lately! Do you have the effrontery to bring this up?"
The follower chuckled, "This is because of that Blooming Tower..."
The old man gave him a stern look. "Weren’t you told to learn from them? To have our girls imitate the girls there, what happened? How come business hasn’t improved at all?!"
The follower wiped the sweat off his forehead, hesitated for a while, before finally saying, "I’m not too sure myself."
The owner of the Sun Family, Grandpa Sun, was the old man.
Ever since the Blooming Tower unexpectedly flourished overnight, taking everyone by surprise, he regretted not having any prior information to preemptively sabotage them.
The thought of this only infuriated Grandpa Sun further, blaming the foolishness of these lackeys for not having an eye or a brain!
Currently, the Blooming Tower was outshining Yihong Courtyard by quite a margin, with Yihong Courtyard’s business declining by the day to a fraction of its former glory. Its profit had halved in a blink of an eye!
How could Grandpa Sun not be furious?
Grandpa Sun sneered heavily and walked into Yihong Courtyard.
The girls of Yihong Courtyard were aware of their master’s arrival today and were waiting on high alert.
The madam, upon seeing Grandpa Sun, hastily welcomed him in, blushing and grinning, "Why did Grandpa Sun come here personally?"
Staring at her, Grandpa Sun said, "If I do not come, Yihong Courtyard will fail!"
The Sun Family is a massive business empire with a great number of assets. However, despite this, Yihong Courtyard was the biggest moneymaker, contributing nearly half of the Sun Family’s wealth.
It’s not hard to see just how profitable the business of brothels is. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺
With a major revenue stream in jeopardy, Grandpa Sun naturally started to panic.
The madam’s face contorted into an awkward smile as she replied hesitantly, "this..."
Grandpa Sun took a look at the flock of girls.
Rushing to prove herself, the madam pointed at the girls and said, "Just as per your instruction sir, all of our girls are now wearing these short skirts similar to the ones the girls at the Blooming Tower wear. Look at how short these skirts are, completely revealing their thighs. And even showing off their cleavages."
The girls, being well aware, started flaunting themselves.
But the more Grandpa Sun looked at them, the harder his expression became.
If you didn’t know any better, you’d think they walked out of some low-grade brothel!
In these times, there were two types of promiscuous women. The ones who worked at the kilns, who were basically selling themselves, who didn’t have a clue about poetry, music, calligraphy, or painting and fulfilled only the crudest needs on the bed. They were the most despicable.
However, the courtesans who worked in the established brothels were brought up to be exquisite. They were raised to be ladylike, proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and singing. As you’d expect, they carried themselves in a far more exquisite manner, and as a result, they were much higher in value.
Yihong Courtyard was a conventional brothel that was home to courtesans who exuded a detached worldly elegance. After all, how else could it have become the best-known brothel in Lian’an Town?
But how about now? These bizarre outfits on them, the desperate attempts to draw attention, how were they any different from those women in the kilns?
Quite annoyed, the madam exclaimed, "Our girls wear this as well, yet the guests haven’t returned. They must have some underhanded tactics at the Blooming Tower."
Grandpa Sun’s fury rose again. He grabbed a teacup and smashed it down, yelling, "What are these things?!"
The girls shivered in fear, hurriedly kneeling on the ground.
The madam quickly said, "This is according to Blooming Tower’s..."
"Are the girls at Blooming Tower dressed similarly as appalling?!" Grandpa Sun, being a man, indeed understood what looked good!
"What kind of skirt is this? You think by chopping off a normal long skirt, it would be just like the Blooming Tower’s? Even if it’s the same outfit, how are the girls at Blooming Tower so graceful and noble, yet you lot turn into the cheap goods from the kilns? And you want to compete with the Blooming Tower?!"
Grandpa Sun was so angry that he was trembling. After all, the girls of Yihong Courtyard were groomed since young, which was very expensive. And now, it all seemed like a waste.
Finally, the madam fell to her knees as the girls began sobbing.
Grandpa Sun kneaded his temples. Having been in the business so long, he had learned to maintain calm. However, the situation at Yihong Courtyard was proving to be more complex than he had anticipated.
Applying the Blooming Tower’s methods wasn’t going to be easy.
First off, the dresses themselves. At a glance, they seemed simple enough, but upon closer examination, the process of making them was utterly complex. The incoherent outfits donned by his courtesans was proof of this difficulty.
Secondly, the girls were worlds apart in terms of grace and elegance.
Catching up to the Blooming Tower was turning out to be an uphill battle.
With a deep breath, Grandpa Sun asked with a grim gaze, "The Blooming Tower, still run by the same guy?"
He had his doubts and suspected that there had been secret changes in management.
The madam hurriedly replied, "Master Liu told me the owner of Blooming Tower has been replaced awhile ago, more than a month. However, he does not know who the new owner is, hasn’t even met him, and no news has leaked outside. It’s... it’s hard to dig up details..."
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