Chapter 34 [VIP]
After walking for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, we arrived at a street at the corner of the south side of the city. This place was equivalent to the red-light district in ancient times, with seven or eight restaurants and brothels of all sizes lined up together, with brightly colored signs hanging above them, as if afraid that others would not be able to find them.
The three stood at the entrance of Qiuyuefang, their gazes resolute as if they were about to join the army.
Wang Ying asked the person next to her, "Hey, have you been here before?"
Chen Qingyan said seriously, "Of course I've never been there. How could a gentleman go to such a place?"
"Isn't that the kind of place that literati and scholars love most, where they can write poems for their confidantes, enjoy the moon and flowers, drink wine and play music, and so on?"
"Pah, that's what a shameless old lecher would do. Prostitution is prostitution, there are no excuses."
Wang Ying gave him a thumbs up. It's rare to see such a young man with such awareness; he's righteous in his evil ways!
After much hesitation, the three of them finally stepped inside, standing at the doorway like greenhorn recruits, unsure of what to do.
Unlike what you see on TV, there were no flamboyant madams coming to solicit customers.
The first floor is the lobby, with six or seven tables. It's noon now, and two tables of guests are having lunch.
The only difference from ordinary restaurants was that there was a girl holding a pipa and singing a folk song. She sang a proper ancient tune from Nanyuan, and her voice was melodious and moving.
Wang Ying wondered if she had gone to the wrong place, but when she looked up, she found several scantily clad women standing on the second floor.
A waiter came up and asked them if they were going to eat or go upstairs for some entertainment.
Chen Qingyan, as if facing a formidable enemy, immediately said, "We're here to eat! We're here to eat!"
The waiter led them to a small table and handed them a menu.
The menu was just a wooden board with about ten dishes written on it in calligraphy. The names of the dishes were quite elegant, but it was impossible to tell what they were made of. Wang Ying randomly pointed to three dishes, and the three of them sat down nervously.
"Sister-in-law, is it possible for us to run into that person?"
"I don't know, let's try first, and if we can't find it, we'll try another one."
There are only two well-known brothels in the city. If Fang Kun really treats the brothel as his home, as outsiders say, he will definitely run into it.
After waiting for about 15 minutes, the dishes were served. "Yangchun Baixue" was just a plate of tofu with scallions? "Lvsi Tiao" was a cold cucumber salad, and "Tingshan Hai" was a cold braised pig's ear salad... So they ordered three cold dishes on such a cold day?
No wonder that guy was looking at me strangely earlier, without even giving me a heads-up.
At least the staple food was hot; each person had a bowl of millet rice, and with the mindset that we shouldn't waste the money we paid for, we buried our heads in our food and ate.
While we were eating, I suddenly heard the waiter next to me shout loudly, "Second Master, you've arrived! Please come in quickly, we've reserved a private room for you on the second floor!"
The three of them looked up at the same time and saw a fat man walk in through the door. Judging from his clothes and the way he looked like he had been emptied out by wine and women, he was most likely Fang Shen, Fang Erlang!
Lin Qiu nearly fell over in his nervousness, and Wang Ying quickly steadied him, whispering, "Don't keep looking, or someone will notice."
He then looked away, glancing at the man out of the corner of his eye while eating.
Fang Shen was clearly a regular at this brothel. As soon as he entered, he walked upstairs as if he knew the way well, but he paused when he passed by the singing girl.
"This girl looks unfamiliar, is she new?"
"She was just sent from Guazhou a few days ago. She has a wonderful voice. Li Niang, please give her regards to Master Fang."
The young woman stood up and softly greeted, "Greetings, Second Master."
"Oh my, this little noise is enough to make anyone swoon. Alright, I won't go up here today. I'll just listen to you sing a couple of songs from down here." As he spoke, he took out a piece of silver from his pocket, stuffed it into the woman's clothes, and casually pinched her breast.
The young woman blushed but dared not refuse, and continued to play and sing while holding her pipa.
Lin Qiu looked away, this time unable to even shed tears. Only one thought remained in her mind: It would be better for him to die than to marry this person.
Chen Qingyan's chest heaved with anger. Her uncle was utterly absurd, actually marrying his son to such a person, and even saying that Fang Shen was not as bad as outsiders said, but even worse than the rumors suggested!
Fang Shen sat down at the table next to him, and soon two more drinking buddies arrived. The group drank and told dirty jokes that were impossible to listen to.
Wang Ying was about to pay the bill and leave when the other party suddenly mentioned Uncle Lin.
"How's that young master from the Lin family, whom Second Master mentioned last time?"
"It's almost done, isn't that just a matter of a word?"
"Have you seen that young man?"
"I saw him once, and his waist was so slim, it made me so lustful. If he weren't so handsome, I wouldn't have gone to such lengths for him."
"Second Master is truly blessed. When the time comes, we brothers will also enjoy the good fortune with you~" The man grinned broadly, and Fang Shen also laughed heartily.
Unbeknownst to others, Fang Shen had a perverted fetish: he liked to have his friends have sex with him. His previous wife had committed suicide because she could not bear the humiliation, and somehow the rumor spread that he had beaten her to death.
"Second Master, are you really planning to give the Lin family a shop after the wedding?"
"That's just talk. My older brother manages the shop. I have no right to give it away."
"He's really blinded by greed."
"There's nothing we can do. That old man has a mistress on the side, and I heard she just had a son last month. He's really short of money..."
Chen Qingyan clenched his fists and trembled all over. Wang Ying held him down tightly from below, urging him not to act rashly! The marriage could be discussed later. Fighting here would ruin his cousin's reputation, and that would be a loss.
"Hey buddy, the bill's due!"
"Hey, here it is. It's 230 coins in total."
These few cold dishes cost over two hundred coins? Wang Ying was too lazy to haggle with him, so she took out the money, handed it to the waiter, and pulled the two of them out.
No one spoke on the way back. Wang Ying never expected that her third aunt's husband would do such a thing. No wonder he was so determined to send his son to the Fang family. It turned out that he had planned this all along.
When I got home, Chen Rong was making lunch. "Did you get everything done?"
Lin Qiu ran back to the west room without saying a word.
"You child, I'm asking you a question."
Wang Ying pulled her third aunt aside and asked, "Is your husband home?"
"He went out."
"That's perfect. Let's not cook yet. Qingyan and I have something to tell you!"
Seeing his solemn expression, Auntie San quickly put down her work, extinguished the fire on the stove, and went into the house with him.
Wang Ying and Chen Qingyan recounted everything that had happened that morning to Chen Rong, word for word.
After he finished speaking, seeing that she was still in shock, Chen Qingyan took Chen Rong's hand and said, "Third Aunt, don't worry, your nephew is here. I'll support you if anything happens."
Chen Rong leaned against the wall to avoid slipping, gritting her teeth fiercely, her face contorted with hatred.
"No wonder, no wonder... no wonder you treated my Qiu'er so badly, it turns out you already had a bastard child outside! That beast, worse than a dog!"
Chen Rong rushed out to look for someone, but Wang Ying quickly stopped her. "Third Aunt, don't get agitated. Even if you confront Uncle, he won't admit it. The most important thing is to appease your cousin. When he came back, I saw that his expression was off. I hope nothing bad has happened."
Just then, a scream came from the west room, "Big brother, what are you doing!"
The three were startled and immediately ran over. In the west room, Lin Qiu was holding a pair of scissors and stabbing himself in the neck. The first stab was a little off-target and didn't hit a vital spot, but he bled a lot. Lin Sui grabbed his arm to stop him from stabbing himself a second time.
Lin Qiu's eyes were resolute. "Mother, I don't want to marry that man. Let me die!"
Chen Rong screamed and snatched the scissors from his hand, hugging her son and crying uncontrollably, "You've killed me! I'll go with you, I don't want to live anymore, let's go together..."
Lin Sui, standing to the side, was so frightened she couldn't move, her hands covered in blood, and she started crying too.
With tears welling up in her eyes, Wang Ying pulled the two apart. "Third Aunt, stop crying! Quickly wrap your cousin's neck with a bandage!"
Chen Rong realized what was happening and quickly covered his wound with a handkerchief. Chen Qingyan carried Lin Qiu on his back and ran outside. Uncle Chen and Dunzi came over to help and ran together towards the clinic in the city.
Upon arriving at the clinic, the doctor removed the handkerchief, and everyone couldn't help but hiss in shock. His neck, which had been perfectly fine, now had a half-finger-long gash from scissors, the flesh twisted and grotesque. It was clear that my cousin had gone there with the intention of dying.
Wang Ying felt a tightness in her chest and went outside to get some fresh air.
I ran into Cao Kun again at the door. He was helping a worker over to get his foot checked because he had accidentally dropped it while unloading goods.
"What a coincidence, Manager Wang, we've met again."
"Boss Cao."
Is someone in the family sick?
"Yes, my cousin got a minor injury and is receiving treatment inside."
Cao Kun didn't ask any more questions. He helped the shop assistant into the house and unexpectedly saw the taciturn young man again.
Compared to the morning, the boy was terribly pale, as if he had lost his soul. He sat blankly on the wooden stool, letting the doctor stitch up his neck.
I don't know how he injured his neck, it looks really creepy.
He had tried using the crochet hook before. A few years ago, he was delivering goods and someone chopped off his arm. Even he, a grown man, couldn't help but scream when he was getting stitches, but this young man didn't utter a sound. He couldn't help but feel more curious and respectful.
After stitching up the wound, the doctor instructed, "How did the injury get so bad? It'll probably leave a scar. Don't eat spicy food these next few days, and eat less meat, otherwise the swelling will be hard to treat."
"Why."
The doctor prescribed another formula to stop the bleeding and reduce inflammation, and Chen Qingyan took it to get the medicine.
Wang Ying came in and paid the bill. Chen Rong helped Lin Qiu up and said, "I was in a hurry when I came out and didn't bring any money with me. Your aunt will give it to you when we get back."
"Third Aunt, please don't say such things. The most important thing is for my cousin to recover from his injury."
"well."
Several people helped Lin Qiu out, and Cao Kun followed, saying, "Manager Wang, please wait."
"What's wrong?"
Cao Kun hesitated and scratched his head, saying, "I have some medicine that is specially for treating external injuries. People who work as porters are bound to have bumps and bruises when they are out and about. It is better than the medicine in the clinic. When you have your servant deliver something later, take a bottle back with you."
"Oh, how could I possibly accept this?"
"It's nothing, it's worthless, just don't forget it." After saying that, he went back inside.
Wang Ying couldn't help but sigh, "This Boss Cao is a kind-hearted person."
Back at the Lin family home, Dunzi hitched up a horse-drawn carriage to deliver goods to the porters' shop. Wang Ying saw Chen Qingyan standing at the door with a livid face and went up to shake his hand.
Chen Qingyan: "As a father, one should protect one's children. Even tigers don't eat their cubs, yet he could do such a despicable thing!"
"Sigh... It's no use talking about this now. Auntie's temper is definitely not going to be hidden. When Lin Changbin comes back later, the two of them will definitely fight."
"Shouldn't he have been beaten? He deserved to be beaten to death! It's only because my father isn't here. If he were alive and knew that my aunt had suffered such injustice, he would have beaten this shameless man to death with a stick long ago."
"That being said, he is, after all, my cousin's biological father. We can't make the decision on this matter; we have to see what my third aunt thinks."
Just then, Third Aunt came out of the west room and said, "I've made up my mind. I want to divorce him and take Qiu'er and Sui'er with me."
"Third Aunt," Wang Ying stepped forward to help her up, "How is my cousin?"
"She's asleep. All the sharp weapons in the room have been put away. Sui'er is watching over her."
Chen Qingyan asked, "Has Aunt made up her mind?"
Chen Rong's voice choked with emotion, "I've made up my mind. If I don't divorce Qiu'er soon, he'll drive her to her death!"
"Since you've made up your mind, then come home with your nephew!"
"No, I still have some of the dowry I had back then. It was originally meant for Qiu'er and Sui'er as dowry, but I'll use it to rent a house for the three of us to live on our own."
Wang Ying frowned. "Third Aunt doesn't want to go back to live in town?"
Chen Rong shook her head, "If it were just me, it would be fine, but I have two children with me. Going back would only cause you trouble..."
"How can you say that?" Wang Ying grabbed her hand and said, "Even outsiders would help out in such a situation, let alone you, Qingyan's own aunt. Your father-in-law passed away early. If he were alive, he would never have let you suffer such injustice. He would have taken you home long ago."
Upon hearing the name of her eldest brother, Chen Rong could no longer hold back and burst into tears, crying, "My dear brother... why did you leave us so soon... who will take care of your sister now that you're gone?"
Chen Qingyan cried and sneered, "I'll take care of you! My third aunt is just like my father; as long as I'm alive, I'll take care of you!"
A note from the author:
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
