Xia Houshu wandered in front of the gate of Shuyu Pavilion several times. The gorgeously decorated Shuyu Pavilion was right in front of her. The girls greeting guests at the door came to greet them several times. She still couldn't decide whether to go in or not.
Compared with the last time when she pretended to be Father Qiu's daughter and sneaked into the kitchen without any psychological burden, she seemed very cautious this time. Go in, she is a girl's family after all, even if she wears men's clothes, she can't get over this hurdle in her heart; don't go in
Well, there is no way to know who Xia Houyi is dating.
While hesitating, Xia Houshu deliberately walked further away, avoiding the girls who were looking at her like wolves and tigers. While she slapped her palms with a folding fan to relieve her tension, she wandered around in circles, feeling something in her body.
Two villains are fighting, and the winner is hard to decide.
One said: Isn't it just a brothel? It's not like I haven't been in it before. Aren't the girls just dressed cooler and more coquettishly? We are all women, what is there to be ashamed of?
Another said: You only worked in the back kitchen last time, which was very different from the front yard filled with warm and soft jade. You, a serious girl, disguised yourself as a man and visited a brothel. If word spread, do you still have a reputation?
After repeating this process several times, Xia Houshu finally took a deep breath, calmed down, unfolded the folding fan with a "swish" sound, and mustered up the courage to quickly walk towards the gate of Shuyu Pavilion.
Shuyu Pavilion is composed of two giant octagonal attics. The attic on the street is the main body. As soon as you enter the door, you will see an empty hall. In the center is a small stage surrounded by a canal. Lotus flowers are planted in the canal, and there are also
Several lanterns were spinning along the water. There were several maikos in cool clothes dancing on the stage. Their graceful dances attracted endless reverie. Behind the screen next to them sat a musician playing the piano. The sound of the piano was melodious and blended with the dance.
As one, the spectators in the audience were mesmerized. There was a circle of tables arranged at random around the stage, and the guests sitting on them were either drinking and enjoying themselves, or hugging each other, and chatting with the orioles and swallows in red and green.
Flirting and flirting, don't shy away from it.
A little further back, there are two escalators connecting the second floors of the two attics respectively. The second floor is mainly private rooms, some of which are used by patrons who pay more attention to face and privacy, and some of which are bedrooms where popular courtesans receive guests. It is said that there are four seasons in the room.
Like spring, the incense lingers here, making people happy and forgetting about Shu. Many libertines in Beijing often hang out here.
The courtyard behind the main building is the living area for the maids and servants and the kitchen. The entrance is blocked by a huge screen and guarded by four burly men. Outsiders are generally not allowed to enter, and only occasionally maids bring drinks and dishes.
They filed out from inside.
There is an artificial pond between the main building and the backyard. The pond is filled with lotus roots. In season, the lotus leaves are infinitely green and the lotus flowers are red in the sun. Leading to the backyard is a wide wooden corridor built along both sides of the pond.
, partially blocked by lotus leaves, people walking over it feel like they are floating in a lotus pond. A row of bamboos are planted against the wall, hiding the high stone wall from the outside.
As the saying goes, a wife is not as good as a concubine, a concubine is not as good as a prostitute, and the flowers in the house are not as fragrant as wild flowers. Xia Houshu did not expect that Xia Houyi's taste was so unique. He didn't even look at the many famous ladies who longed for him, but he was interested in Xia Houyi.
The vulgar people in Shuyu Pavilion are intoxicated.
The most important thing is that it is still morning! If the news spreads about prostitution during the day, the entire Yue Kingdom will lose face! There are still a large number of people in the same generation who are not married, and they will suffer a lot in marriages in the future!
Before Xia Houshu had time to observe carefully, two women with bewitching makeup immediately came to greet him enthusiastically. They called "Young Master" coquettishly while twisting their waists, which were not tight enough to hold, like water snakes, making people sway.
Dazzled.
Although Xia Houshu often followed Xia Houyi out to fool around in the past, the places she went to were all leisurely and elegant places. It was no harm to eat, drink, listen to music and watch operas. But this was the first time for her to step into the place of fireworks, and she couldn't help but feel a little panicked.
As the two women got closer and closer, she had to quickly close her fan in an attempt to block those sultry wrists.
The two women seemed to be used to seeing an inexperienced protégé like her pretending to be a master. After teasing her for a while, they became more interested in watching her make a fool of herself, and then someone reached out to pull her collar.
Xia Houshu was worried that the girls would accidentally touch something, so he quickly protected his chest again. The girls laughed more happily, attracting several other women, and they worked harder on their hands.
"Stop, stop, stop -" Xia Houshu was so frightened that he screamed repeatedly, attracting the attention of everyone around him. After those people saw what was going on, they laughed it off, and some good-hearted people raised the corners of their mouths with disdain and mocked.
.
Xia Houshu has grown up and has experienced life and death situations many times, but has never been so embarrassed and at a loss. She never imagined that one day she would be teased like this by a bunch of women. She was angry and anxious, and was about to get angry when she heard
A voice came to her rescue.
The madam who had been teasing the guests nearby saw Xia Houshu's embarrassment and immediately came over with a smile. He sent away the group of charming women, squinted his eyes and looked at her, and said: "This young master is very handsome.
But this is your first time coming to our Shuyu Pavilion?" He said and wanted to pull her away.
Xia Houshu finally escaped from the clutches of the clutches. He didn't want to put himself in danger again, so he took a step back without leaving a trace and said calmly: "Exactly."
The old bustard of Shuyu Pavilion, whose real name is Lu, is known as Aunt Lu. It is said that she is exquisite, capable of both sides, and has great skills. She has connections with many officials in the court. Therefore, she is a female stream, but in this complicated network of relationships in the capital,
The welcome and delivery business is booming.
Aunt Lu retracted a round jade wrist, immediately changed her expression, and sneered in a low voice: "Sister, what is the purpose of coming to my place dressed like this?"
Xia Houshu looked at Aunt Lu warily. Was she recognized now?
Xiahou Shu has been dressing up as a man for a long time. Except for those who are familiar with her, she has never been recognized by outsiders. However, Aunt Lu, who met her for the first time, said so. She was not convinced and said: "Your name is
Who is the girl?"
"Don't you even look at what kind of business I am doing?" Aunt Lu rolled her eyes and laughed. Seeing that Xia Houshu was a little nervous, she used her peripheral vision to look around and saw that there was no one else around, and continued: "Don't talk about you
A little girl is a benefactor who comes and goes. I can tell how much he weighs just by looking at him. How can I still not tell whether you are a boy or a girl?"
Only then did Xia Houshu realize that even though she deliberately changed into men's clothes, thickened her eyebrows, and darkened her face, she still couldn't escape Aunt Lu's eyes that read countless people. But Aunt Lu didn't seem to want to be in public.
After exposing her meaning, she no longer refuted, and had no choice but to go down the slope and praise: "Aunt Lu really has good eyesight."
"If I don't even have this bit of vision, how can I still gain a foothold in this capital?" Aunt Lu said with a smile, "Can you honestly explain your purpose now?"
Xia Houshu tried his best to smile, then took out a piece of silver from his pocket, approached Aunt Lu and quietly stuffed it into her hand, and said in a voice that only the other party could hear: "I heard that the second young master of the Duke of Yue is here.
I would like to trouble my aunt to make it easier for you here."
Aunt Lu weighed the money in her hand, raised her eyes and continued to stare at Xia Houshu, half-smiling but not smiling: "Just for this?"
"If not, why would a woman like me come to this place of fireworks?" Xia Houshu said with sincerity on his face.
"It's hard to say." Aunt Lu said with half-belief, "I, Aunt Lu, have been doing business for so many years, what weird things haven't happened to me? I don't say that I will encounter a woman like you who disguises herself as a man and visits a brothel every day, but
I always meet three or four people a month. You people are either the husbands and children at home who are away from home all day long, and you can’t control them so you bring people to arrest them;
The pavilion opens its doors to welcome guests from all over the world, so you are not afraid of these things." As she said this, she glanced at Xia Houshu and said, "I see that you are not old, you have a good temperament, and you don't seem to be traveling with you. And you are looking for the country of Yue.
The second young master of the palace, as far as I know, this second young master is not yet married..."
"Aunt Lu really has good eyesight!" Xia Houshu couldn't help but praise. Seeing that Aunt Lu was still doubtful, she took her to a corner and walked for a while, avoiding the people around her, and then said cautiously: "
The Duke of Yue and Princess Xuanhe now have such a young master. The Duke and Princess have always been worried about his marriage. They are about to discuss the marriage. If people know that he often comes to Shuyu Pavilion, the marriage will be discussed.
It will inevitably be difficult to talk about it. We all want to be decent, and we don't want to make things worse, so we asked Aunt Lu to make it easier."
I don't know if Xia Houshu's tone of voice was too sincere, or if Shuyuge was not afraid of trouble at all, but Aunt Lu quickly changed her attitude.
"You don't need to say more. No matter what you say is true or false, I will believe you for once." Aunt Lu looked sad and sighed, "It's really pitiful for the hearts of parents in the world. Princess Xuanhe is such a fairy-like figure.
There will be such a day."
Aunt Lu felt melancholy for a while, then turned her gaze to Xia Houshu again and warned: "But I have something to say first. I'm open for business, and I don't want anyone to ruin the place."
"Since you are giving me convenience, and I am not the kind of person who doesn't know what is good or bad, just keep it in your stomach." Xia Houshu quickly gave Aunt Lu a reassurance, "Besides, I am also acting under orders, so I will go in and take a look.
, I might as well report back to the master later, and I guarantee that I won’t cause trouble, let alone hinder your business.” Xia Houshu then pointed to the guards scattered in every corner of the pavilion, “Besides, these guards of yours
It’s not easy to deal with, is it?”
Aunt Lu followed Xia Houshu's gaze and looked at the guards who were observing the activities in the pavilion expressionlessly. She smiled with satisfaction and waved to Xia Houshu to follow her upstairs.
Xia Houshu followed closely behind, looked around for a while, and found that although the girls who stayed in the hall on the first floor to accompany the guests were good-looking and graceful, they were inferior in temperament. Xia Houshu could not look down on any of these women from a brothel.
, not to mention Xia Houyi. So she couldn't help but ask again: "Which girl did my young master meet today?"
"Of course it's the new Miss Yingyue." Aunt Lu looked proud, as if Miss Yingyue was extremely noble, and couldn't help but say a few more words, "Miss Yingyue is the oiran of our Shuyu Pavilion this year.
Not only is she beautiful, but her piano skills are also outstanding."
Xia Houshu is also a person who is good at playing the piano. When it comes to the piano, she naturally has a bit of pretentiousness. If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she would not admit that others were better than her, so she was very interested in this rumored court lady.
She was quite interested and said: "Since you praise her so much, then she must not be able to live up to your expectations. I will definitely know her."
Aunt Lu was quite disdainful and said with a smile: "I'm not exaggerating. Our girls from Shuyu Pavilion are absolutely unique in the capital, whether it's playing music, chess, calligraphy and painting, female celebrities' cooking skills, or their talents and looks, even if they are Dukes and Marquises."
I'm afraid I can't compare to the girls in the house." He glanced at her and deliberately emphasized his tone, "How else could your young master get here?"
Xia Houshu curled his lips, feeling displeased, but he said, "Of course it's because my aunt taught me well."
Aunt Lu couldn't help but raise the corners of her mouth slightly when she heard this.
Taking advantage of her good mood, Xia Houshu hurriedly said: "In that case, Aunt Lu might as well inform the identity of the person traveling with my young master in advance. Otherwise, if I rush in rashly, it would be a bad idea to offend someone."
Aunt Lu suddenly stopped and turned to look at Xia Houshu in surprise: "You followed us all the way and you really don't know him?"
"Should I know him?" Xia Houshu frowned. Although she knew something about Xia Houyi's social network, because she was a daughter, most of them only knew his name and never met him.
Aunt Lu shook her head indifferently and continued walking up the stairs. She seemed to say inadvertently: "Have you ever heard of Prince Ling?"
Just hearing this name, Xia Houshu felt her breath suffocate. This was probably the third thunder she received today. Yu Wenke, the crown prince of Prince Ling, was a master of romance in the capital!
When did the two of them get together? This chapter has been completed!