"Congratulations!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"If you are not busy, could you please sit down and chat?" asked Mother Hong.
Zhao Xiaofei nodded in agreement, and the three of them went to a private room. Mother Hong had the eunuch bring a pot of tea, which she poured for Zhao Xiaofei herself and said, "Master Zhao! I have something to discuss with you! Can you please take Miss Sisi with you and leave this building... to me? This Misty Rain Building, without her little building, what is the name of it!"
Zhao Xiaofei thought to himself: I only want the small building, not the girl! But then he thought, if he did that, Miss Sisi would be so embarrassed that she might even commit suicide! Don't look at the girl who can only make a living by performing in this brothel instead of selling her body. But what if word got out that the girl wanted to marry someone, but the man only wanted the house and not the girl? She would become the laughing stock of the whole capital. If he didn't do anything, no one would blame him, and they would even praise him.
"Mother Hong! I want this person, and I want this building too! How about this! To make up for your loss, I will give you another 5,000 taels, how about it?" Zhao Xiaofei said.
"Mr. Zhao! I understand that you are a reasonable person! But this Yanyu Tower is not owned by me alone. There are several shareholders behind it. Should I discuss it with them?" asked Mother Hong.
"Okay! The day after tomorrow, I will come to marry Miss Sisi!" Zhao Xiaofei said and left.
Mother Hong was extremely anxious. She went downstairs again to discuss things with Li Sisi. When she got downstairs, she heard Xiaohong and Sisi talking. She heard Xiaohong say, "Miss! Why did you signal him not to come up just now? You have to ask him if he is the legal wife after he marries you?"
"What are we like? How can we have such delusions? We just hope that he will marry a wife in the future and treat me well. Getting married is like gambling, and no one knows what he will be like after marriage. I can see from his poems that he pities us women from the bottom of his heart, and that's enough!" said Li Sisi.
"Miss! I heard from Wei, the Grand Secretary who came here, that in their place, women can rule the country and men and women can serve as officials in the same palace! Why can't we fight for it? Who says I can only be a concubine?" Xiaohong said.
Mother Hong smiled inwardly: In our line of work, marrying as a concubine is a good fate, but you still want to be the main wife? In the past and present, Liang Hongyu was the only one who made great contributions to the Southern Song Dynasty by beating the drum to repel the Jin army, and Zhao Gou issued an edict to make her the main wife. Which other prostitute could be the main wife? What good things are you dreaming of? She coughed downstairs and came upstairs with a smile.
Li Sisi and Xiaohong immediately stopped talking when they heard someone coughing. Li Sisi stood up and saluted when she saw Mother Hong. Mother Hong said, "Congratulations! My dear daughter! I've known for a long time that you are a blessed person! I asked someone to find out, and this Mr. Zhao is single and hasn't married yet. I guess you will be the one who makes the decisions at home when you go there. He just said that he will marry you the day after tomorrow. I really don't want you to leave. We have been together for two years. You know how I have treated you in the past two years!"
"Thank you for your care over the past two years, Mom! Sisi would like to thank Mom for her kindness here!" said Li Sisi.
"You can marry him! But you have to give him this small building too. This is not appropriate! What is the point of calling Yanyu Tower if it has no building? You should persuade him. I want to keep this small building even if I give him more dowry. Do you understand? That's all I have to say. Think about it yourself." Mother Hong left after she finished speaking.
Li Sisi and Xiaohong sent her downstairs. As she walked away, Xiaohong said, "Miss! This building is yours. How can you let her live? How are you going to explain to the young master when the time comes?"
"Mother Hong is quite generous. The Duke's Mansion is behind the Misty Rain Tower, and we can't do anything about it. The people should not fight against the officials. I will go back and persuade Mr. Zhao." Li Sisi said.
Today, Wei Zaode didn't go to the Misty Rain Tower, but instead stayed at home writing. The Chongzhen Emperor had shown him great favor, promoting him so quickly from a top scholar to Minister of Rites, a feat unprecedented in the history of the Ming Dynasty. He was incredibly confident in his own abilities, believing he could rise to the position of Prime Minister.
Just as he was thinking and writing, someone outside the door said, "Master! Xiao Dezi sent a message. Today, the envoy from Nan'ao Kingdom went to Yanyu Tower and wrote a poem to win the heart of Miss Li Sisi. Miss Li agreed to become a concubine for this Mr. Zhao."
Upon hearing this, Wei Zaode paused writing. He called out to the outside, "Got it! Leave!" He sat in his chair, feeling angry, or perhaps jealous. It wasn't that he really liked Li Sisi, but the fact that he, with all his talent, had been defeated by a foreign envoy was a huge blow to his pride.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
