Chapter 229 228. I followed you when I was 18
Prostitutes sell their art and their bodies.
The situation of a prostitute is slightly better, as they only sell their art but not their bodies. However, if they become famous, the madam may wait for a price and force them to sell their bodies to become a prostitute.
Lei Jingsheng only found out about this a few months ago when he followed the lady sister to Chu Pavilion.
A Qingguan must have a skill, such as singing, playing the piano, reciting operas, or playing chess well. Without it, it would be difficult for him to survive in the Chuguan and he would easily become a Hongguan.
There is no need to say what happened to the prostitute.
Most of the people who go there are men.
The Da Chu Pavilion was filled with pot-bellied merchants, wealthy masters wearing gold and jade, young and playboys, and scholars and literati who claimed to be romantic but were actually obsessed with sex and were disgusting.
The Xiao Chuguan was a mixed crowd, including rickshaw drivers, laborers, vendors, waiters, hooligans, bullies, poor scholars, from white-haired old men to teenagers.
Women like the noble lady and Lei Jingsheng also went there.
However, most of them were secretly communicating to avoid being seen, wearing a mask or a veil to cover their faces, entering from the side door of the Chu House, and going directly to the private rooms on the second and third floors.
The madam, who understood the lady's intention, had already prepared several young men waiting in the box, some plump and some thin, each with their own merits, for the lady and Lei Jingsheng to choose from.
The lady is familiar with the route.
Lei Jingsheng is reserved and immature.
The lady teased Lei Jingsheng and pointed to a quiet and lovely young prostitute.
The young prostitute named Qingzhi sat beside her in such a charming manner, with her body slightly leaning, half leaning against her, and her faint and elegant fragrance was like a pair of soft hands gently teasing Lei Jingsheng's nose.
The slender fingertips were pink as they held a green porcelain teacup. Thin silver bracelets hung on the two delicate white wrists, and the silver rings jingled when they lifted the teacup.
A pair of bright eyes glanced at her shyly, and the voice was soft and gentle.
"Please, please have some tea..."
Lei Jingsheng's face and neck turned red in an instant.
"That young man had a miserable life. His parents died young, so his uncle and aunt sold him to the Chu House. He was able to stay in the house because of his excellent tea-making skills and his ability to play the long flute."
Lei Jingsheng twisted her handkerchief in her hands, her pretty face flushed slightly. "Besides, he's only eighteen, so young. When I think of my younger brother Zhou Zhou at home, I can't bear to leave him there..."
"real?"
Lei Li glanced at her with a smile, as cunning as a fox. "Isn't it just because you feel sorry for him? Did you two do something else to make your faces so red?"
“…”
Lei Jingsheng looked away embarrassedly.
She twisted the handkerchief in her hand a few times before nodding gently and saying vaguely, "Sister Guizhi said that since we're here, we'd be sorry if we didn't do something..."
That's what they did.
It's not that boys can't have intercourse with girls, but they can't make girls pregnant - which is actually an advantage in some situations. On average, boys are also inferior to men in terms of physical strength and endurance.
But most of the boys are meticulous and careful, gentle and considerate, and they also smell good, which makes many wealthy single women prefer to keep boys as their lovers.
For example, the lady named Guizhi.
Madam Guizhi was a regular customer of that brothel. She would order someone to serve her every time she came. The madam of that brothel naturally knew about this and prepared the beauty she liked for Madam Guizhi.
Before entering the box, those young prostitutes were threatened and bribed by the madam, and knew exactly what they had to do and how to do it.
Qingzhi had been in the Chu House for nearly ten years, and had been influenced by the environment. She had already realized this. It was better to give her first time to a pretty, gentle and friendly sister than to be abused by those pot-bellied, bald old men.
That night, Qing Zhi used all her skills to try to please Lei Jingsheng in a childish way, like a childish little animal that only knew how to use its claws, gently and shyly applying force bit by bit.
Lei Jingsheng experienced the joy of love for the first time.
The experience is excellent.
She looked at the handsome and well-behaved young boy, who lowered his eyes as he put on her clothes and shoes, and smiled shyly when his gaze met hers, and she couldn't help but feel pity for him.
——Or lust?
This young prostitute lost his virginity that night, and he would no longer be a pure prostitute but a prostitute. If she didn't redeem him, he would have no choice but to serve other women who came to seek pleasure, or to entertain those men.
"So you redeemed him?"
Lei Li smiled playfully, propping up his chin with one hand, and said lazily and nonchalantly, "If you didn't bring it back, it means you're keeping it outside. Let me guess... you bought a house in the county before, right?"
"I've been going to the county town a lot these past few months. I've been going to Guizi in the west, Fuzi in the east, Pingzi in the south, and Jizi in the north. I think I'm going to find something quieter. I think I bought a house in the area around Lao Guihua Alley in the south, right?
"Brother, can you guess this?"
Lei Jingsheng was stunned.
Lei Li laughed heartily and said cheerfully, "I was kidding. It was Sanliuzi who was delivering food from the Sichuan restaurant over there. He happened to see you going there a few times, and he mentioned it to me."
Then, pretending to be sad, he joked, "I thought my sister had grown up and found the children at my brother's house too noisy and didn't want to be with him and his wife."
"How come?"
Lei Jingsheng quickly took Lei Li's arm, smiled affectionately, and said coquettishly, "I love my brother and sister-in-law the most, so I don't want to move out. Even if my brother and sister-in-law think they want to kick me out, I won't leave!"
"Beat whoever drives your brother away."
Lei Li chuckled and said cheerfully, "Who would have thought that the little girl has grown up and knows how to hide people outside, and has learned the trick of hiding a beautiful woman in a golden house?"
"oops……"
Lei Jingsheng blushed with embarrassment, gently hit Lei Li twice, and then said, "I bought a yard on Lao Guihua Street and kept Qingzhi there. I only go there once every two or three days, or sometimes five or six days."
"Sister Guizhi's pets are so spoiled, they ask for everything from rouge, powder, silks and satins. But Qingzhi is very well behaved and doesn't ask me for anything."
"Um?"
Lei Li raised his eyebrows and smiled, "So you really won't give me anything? I've been with you since I was eighteen, a beautiful and tender age."
"How can that be possible?"
Lei Jingsheng hummed playfully, and said with a bit of pride and shyness, "Just buy him rouge, powder, and gold and silver jewelry. He dresses up beautifully, and I am happy every time I go to see him~"
"You're the only one who'll enjoy it."
Lei Li pinched Lei Jingsheng's nose, causing Lei Jingsheng to snort in dissatisfaction, "I'm not Sheng Jiang or Xiao Zhou Zhou, brother, you're pinching my nose like a child..."
"Who was acting like a spoiled brat to me just now?"
Lei Li said with a smile, "When you have something to do, you act like a child and act like a spoiled child. When you have nothing to do, you act like an adult and don't want my brother to pinch you. Lei Jingsheng, you've learned bad habits..."
Lei Jingsheng chuckled and shook Lei Li's arm. "I don't dare tell my parents about Qing Zhi yet. Brother, can you help me talk about it when you have time?"
"Let my parents know that I went to the Chu House and bought a young prostitute to raise secretly..."
Liu Ye'er and Lei Dashan are simple and kind-hearted. Knowing that Lei Jingsheng secretly went to Chu House, they certainly would not think that she was indecent and decadent like others did, but they would be worried about her.
After all, the Chu House was a place of prostitution, and most people who went there were not decent people. Lei Jingsheng was a girl, and if she ran into a bad guy, she would be drugged, raped, kidnapped, and sold...
Wouldn’t the two elders be frightened every day?
They can't know.
"A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall. You can never go to a place like Chuguan again."
Lei Li said, "We should always be on guard against others. Sister Guizhi, be careful and don't go out with her alone. What if she's in cahoots with those brothels? If she knocks you out and sells you somewhere else, I won't even know how to save you."
"I know."
Lei Jingsheng nodded quickly. "I only went there once with Sister Guizhi. I never went again even if she asked me to. I also had tea with other people. She's a merchant from out of town, so I don't know her background. I'll be more careful."
"That's good to know."
Lei Li said a few more words, promised Lei Jingsheng that she would help her tell her parents about Qing Zhi, and then let her go.
But when he told Zhou Yi about it afterwards, after much thought, he decided to ask Meng Sange, who was now the county magistrate, to investigate whether those brothels were involved in human trafficking.
As for the boys and girls who were forced to be sold into brothels, we must find some way to restrict them. At least, we cannot allow the people in the county to sell them whenever they want and dispose of underage children at will.
As for those who have been sold to such places, even the government cannot intervene.
Because the laws of the Daiyu Dynasty were imperfect, parents had the right to exercise rights on their children, elders had the right to exercise rights on their children, and guardians had the right to exercise rights on their children. In addition, the existence of indentures was recognized, so it was impossible to prohibit such things.
Zhou Yi also sighed for Qing Zhi's matter.
Qingzhi was in a relatively better situation here. He had a skill, so he became a prostitute and did not suffer from murder at a young age.
Later he met Lei Jingsheng, who was kind-hearted and redeemed him.
To put it bluntly, even if Lei Jingsheng changes his mind and no longer likes Qingzhi in the future, their Lei family will not treat Qingzhi unfairly. They will return his indenture contract, give him sufficient compensation, and let him return to his good family and leave.
He has skills, so he should be able to live well even without relying on others.
No matter how bad it is, it is better than staying in Chuguan.
He was once a soldier of the people, fought against floods and rescued people from danger, and lived in a legal society where everyone is relatively equal and human trafficking is absolutely not allowed by law.
But this is the Daisuke Dynasty.
Even if he really wanted places like brothels to disappear and did not want human trafficking to exist, he could do nothing about it because he was just an ordinary citizen and society would not change because of his wishes alone.
——Unless he is the emperor.
"Unless the emperor amends the laws and improves the relevant laws and regulations, so that they can be followed by the lower ranks."
Zhou Yi said, "There will certainly be many obstacles at the beginning, but as long as the emperor, who holds absolute power, persists and there is some public opinion, this business trend will definitely be completely eliminated in time."
"Indeed."
Lei Li nodded thoughtfully. "Don't those scholars and literati boast of their noble character and love of saving prostitutes? They're also very good at talking. If I can inspire these scholars, and then they can inspire the whole world..."
"If the government follows the trend and the people support it, the laws on human trafficking will naturally be abolished."
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