Xin He was sitting under the oil lamp, threading the needle, intending to make a set of clothes for Mu Houchu, fearing that if she didn’t, he would feel upset.
Xiaoyu entered the room, saying: "Madam, Sun Yaowen has left the residence, judging from the direction of his horse carriage, he’s probably heading to Hua Man Lou (the brothel)."
Xin He didn’t seem surprised at all, and continued sewing calmly: "Keep an eye on him."
"Yes."
Xiaoyu nodded and hurriedly left.
Shulan kept her head down and quiet, her heart slightly uneasy. Wasn’t her lady’s tactic of going with the flow meant to lure the enemy in?
Qiao Qiao had already been "sold", leaving Yi Ling the most active one in Hua Man Lou. Now that young Master Sun was rushing to the brothel in the middle of the night, it was clear that the real traitor was probably Yi Ling.
"It seems Yi Ling is the most likely culprit then. I can’t understand why she would do this - although she hurt Qiao Qiao but what benefit does it bring her? She has her own way blocked now. I don’t understand why she would do such a self-destructive thing," Shulan scratched her head.
Xin He chuckled and shook her head: "Since she’s willing to do it, there must be benefits that she is after. Don’t think too narrowly. People have their own motives. Do you think she only has the path of being a prostitute? Perhaps her ambitions are higher than you think."
Shulan widened her eyes: "How does Madam know this?"
Xin He only replied with a smile. She knew Yi Ling’s actions had shut the doors to her continuing to be a prostitute, but there must be some other advantage that she sought. At the moment, Xin He couldn’t figure out exactly what it was.
However, she wasn’t in a hurry. Now that the other party had shown their true colors, she didn’t mind waiting and seeing what unfolded.
——
Hua Man Lou was bustling at this time, with guests flooding in. However, the business was noticeably worse compared to previous days. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
It seemed that the new girls at Yihong Courtyard had indeed made an impact, especially Jinghua, who had attracted many customers, even overshadowing Yi Ling.
Furthermore, Yi Ling wasn’t entertaining guests today. She had been locked in the firewood room for half a day and was traumatized. On top of that, she was upset about Qiao Qiao’s situation, so she was taking a day off to recover.
Madam Chen understood that Yi Ling had been wronged and hurt, so she agreed to give her a break.
But in her room, Yi Ling didn’t show any signs of depression. Instead, she looked radiant and delighted. Her maid, Xiaohong, felt nervous seeing her like this, worried it was a sign of her cracking under pressure.
"Miss, you should rest since you’re not feeling well," Yi Ling played with her hair, glancing outdoors, and replied irritably, "How can I rest with all this noise? You go out; don’t bother me."
Xiaohong was more than happy to oblige and quickly left the room.
Yi Ling took a deep breath and scoffed. "Qiao Qiao, I never thought you’d come to this. What a pity, I won’t be able to go to the dental line personally and witness your downfall."
A prostitute, when sold, had an even more unfortunate fate ahead. With a background in prostitution, large families wouldn’t want them as maids. Especially someone as beautiful as Qiao Qiao, which mistress of a wealthy family would want such a servant to steal the show?
Her only options would likely be being bought as a plaything for some perverse man or becoming a lowly prostitute.
Low prostitutes in the kilns suffered much more than the girls in the brothels; they barely had the chance to wear clothes and lay like fish on display all day long, being abused and used by men until their deaths. They were the lowest class of women, with almost no rights, or rather, people didn’t even consider them human.
Those who visited the kilns were usually commoners; with low prices, the quality of goods was naturally poorer. No one with wealth would lower themselves to seek pleasure there. Now in that kind of place, Qiao Qiao wouldn’t even dream of moving up in status. To put it bluntly, she was doomed to suffer humiliation until her death.
On the other hand, girls in the brothels were mostly raised like respectable ladies, exhibiting an air of nobility. From a young age, they were educated in the Four Books and Five Classics, as well as various arts. Even the most scholarly men found them great conversationalists, not inferior to the young ladies of high society.
Otherwise, why would Ah Lian be both the top prostitute and top female scholar of the capital city?
Thinking of Qiao Qiao’s current predicament, Yi Ling couldn’t help but sneer. Since Qiao Qiao dared to oppose her, she deserved today’s outcome!
As she thought about this, she heard someone tap her window with a small stone.
Yi Ling carefully turned her head to glance at the door, and seeing no movement, lightly walked to the window and opened it.
Sun Yaowen climbed up the prepared ladder and entered with an annoyed expression on his face, "Why do I have to climb through a window? I could’ve just come in through the front door. Am I not able to pay for you?"
Yi Ling had interacted with Sun Yaowen for a while now and had a good understanding of his personality. He was a fool who never thought things through. If it weren’t for her cooperation to help him this time, he would probably still be in the countryside, waiting for his miserable life to end.
At this critical juncture, even though Qiao Qiao had been dealt with and the owner had chosen to trust Yi Ling, if Sun Yaowen openly sought her out, wouldn’t that arouse suspicion?
However, she couldn’t tell him the truth just yet. Sun Yaowen was a foolish, arrogant man, and she worried that telling him so directly might offend him.
Hiding her disdain, she responded playfully, "Isn’t it more exciting to sneak in through the window?"
Amused, Sun Yaowen’s face lit up with a lewd smile and he looked Yi Ling up and down. "You’re right, Miss Yi Ling."
As he spoke, he reached to embrace her.
Yi Ling quickly dodged his advance and pretended to be shy, "I will be yours sooner or later, Sun Yaowen. There’s no need to rush. Please don’t forget what we agreed upon."
It was better to keep him on the hook for now. Although they had an agreement, she still worried he might renege.
Yi Ling was very clever.
Feeling a mix of anticipation and restraint, Sun Yaowen recalled the huge favor Yi Ling had done for him, and readily promised, "Of course! As soon as everything is settled, I’ll buy out your contract, bring you home, and make you my honored concubine!"
Yi Ling’s smile grew even brighter: "It’s my fortune that you remember your promise, Young Master Sun."
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