My wife has a secret

Chapter 96 Listening to Music on the Hook
Nanny Wu, who had been trying to get close to Xu Qing, was delighted when she heard Xu Qing's nonchalant answer.

She immediately decided to do everything she could to please this noble man, so she turned her head and winked at the crowd behind her.

"Did you hear that? The young master wants the most famous and beautiful girl in our building... Go back and think about it for yourselves. Bring all your best daughters to Hongli Pavilion. Got it?"

"understood."

The group of maids behind her saw that Madam Wu half-closed her eyes and they understood what was going on.

They saluted in unison and hurried to the areas they were responsible for.

Nanny Wu turned around and said with a smile, "Sir, please follow me to Hongli Pavilion. Once the maids have finished screening the people, they will naturally take them there."

“What does it mean to sift people?”

Xu Qing could be considered an old hand who had visited brothels before, but the shape and scale of this Wangyue Tower was indeed completely different from that in Suzhou, which made him vaguely curious.

According to his impression, shouldn't he sit down at the table and ask the other person to come out and drink with him by name?

Maybe the courtesan is a little more arrogant and demanding, so you need to pay more money.

"Sir, you are a stranger in the capital, so you may not know much about Wangyue Tower. Qinrenfang is located near the southwest corner of the East Market, covering an area of ​​600 acres, and our Wangyue Tower occupies 400 acres alone."

When introducing the specifications of Wangyue Tower, Nanny Wu was full of confidence.

Looking around the entire Da Qi, is there any red building courtyard that can be as large as Wangyue Tower?

The Moon-Watching Tower, which has attracted countless dignitaries, poets and talented scholars to linger and become immersed in it, must have its own unique features.

"Such a large courtyard is naturally divided into different areas, each managed by a different maid... Each maid has 30 to 40 prostitutes under her command."

"Looking at the number just now, there seem to be quite a few prostitutes in the building?"

"Sir, there are nearly 3,000 prostitutes in Wangyue Tower. All of them are talented and beautiful... They were all trained by the tower from a young age and carefully selected after passing multiple levels of assessment."

Nanny Wu wanted to seek Xu Qing's protection, so naturally she did not hide any matters in the building, big or small, and told Xu Qing everything.

But seeing Xu Qing's thoughtful look, she did not dare to interrupt him again. It was not until Xu Qing came to his senses that she smiled and led him to Hongli Pavilion.

"This Hongli Pavilion is named after the fragrance of red lychees in the wind, the intoxication of golden lilies in the dew, and the shadow of the Milky Way hanging from the pearl bowl."

Nanny Wu swayed her slim waist and wide hips as she walked and said, "So when Hongli Pavilion was first designed, they specially introduced the Luo River in the capital and made it into the shape of a galaxy."

Nanny Wu is good at introductions. With just a few words, she can arouse people's yearning for Hongli Pavilion.

However, before Xu Qing reached Hongli Pavilion, he vaguely felt many unknown eyes watching him in the dark.

He raised his head and looked around, only to find that the corridors on both sides of his path were bustling with activity. He could see countless young girls reflected through the glass.

But these people seemed to be afraid of him, and no one dared to come out of the building.

The sharp-eyed Aunt Wu saw all this and was about to shout to the aunts in each area to come out and manage it, but Xu Qing smiled and waved her hand, saying, "It's okay, just let them watch if they like."

"Okay, I'll listen to what you say, sir."

Look at the two people on the road walking farther and farther away, and the crowded and colorful crowd in the corridor disperses to the surroundings.

One of the young girls, who was wearing a light blue skirt, pointed at the tip of the other's nose and cursed: "You bitch! Everyone is peeking, why are you secretly touching my chest?"

"slightly."

The woman whose nose was pointed stuck out her tongue and said with a smile, "You are afraid that my sister will miss a man. After all, it has been three days since the boss closed the building. My sister must be very lonely because her favorite man didn't come."

The woman in the aqua blue skirt didn't blush at all, but instead widened her eyes and scolded, "Bah! Did you know that the young man downstairs was brought in by Nanny Wu herself? When have we ever seen the host do it personally like this to entertain people... If I couldn't help but yell just now, I would have been scolded by Nanny."

Because they had lived in the world of prostitution, they were already used to related matters, so they did not have the shyness of girls from decent families.

On the contrary, the girls in the building like to joke about this.

"What are you afraid of? Sister, are you afraid that if you are put in solitary confinement, Mr. Shang will look for other girls to relieve his sexual desire? Poor sister, when she was secretly sleeping last night, she was still using that wooden hairpin to call out her lover's name."

"I beat you to death!"

Amid the laughter of several people, there was a woman standing by the window in a daze.

She had a pretty face, and was wearing a light purple open-necked gauze dress and a milky white jade bracelet on her hand.

"Stop it."

This woman obviously had great prestige among the crowd, and with just one sentence she quieted down the quarreling women.

"Do you feel that the man's figure and outline are somewhat familiar... like the benefactor from two years ago?"

"A patron from two years ago?"

The woman in the aqua blue dress helped analyze the situation, saying, "That's unlikely. The high officials and royal relatives in the capital, the boss remembers them better than we do... How could he not recognize them?"

"That young man was not received by Nanny Wu personally at that time, and the Nannies see many people every day, so it is normal for some to be missed."

In response to the purple-clothed woman's words, the other women looked at each other, wondering which patron from two years ago could have left such a deep impression on them.

After all, these women have been in the entertainment industry for many years and have had sex with countless people. Every time they did it, they just acted according to the circumstances. How could they remember a man who had not appeared for a long time?

The mischievous girl stuck her head out again and asked in a low voice, "Sister Miao Fu, are you missing a man too? You imagine a handsome man from two years ago showing up to pick you up and living a shameless life with him day and night."

Miao Fu rolled her eyes and was about to turn away and ignore the man when she suddenly had an epiphany and her body trembled.

She thought of the identity of the patron. His surname seemed to be Xu, the same as the current empress dowager.

……

When Xu Qing and Nanny Wu arrived at Hongli Pavilion, the sun was at its highest point.

The water in front of the pavilion sparkled. Although there was an occasional cold breeze, the fragrance of the flowers placed beside the pavilion was overwhelming.

Combined with the reliefs in the Hongli attic and the murals on the outer walls, one really feels like the fragrance of Hongli wind and the intoxication of Jinxuan dew.

"Sir, it's not bad."

"The flowers beside the building are quite fresh, especially the osmanthus flowers that are blooming against the season. The fragrance is rich, which is really not easy to come by."

Xu Qing had been to the four courtyards of the Xu Mansion and could tell the origins of these flowers at a glance. He deliberately asked, "Who is the gardener who cultivated these flowers? Can he come and meet me?"

"Uh……"

For the first time, the eloquent Nanny Wu was speechless and didn't know how to answer the question from the young man in front of her.

These flower pots were actually decorations that Qin Shuying had kept next to the house for the past two days. After receiving the news from the Ministry of Rites, she swallowed her pride and begged them to lend her these things to save face.

Qin Shuying's identity was sensitive, and the news of the palace coup yesterday was confusing. Now no one knew which big shot was in power. She didn't dare to tell anyone the information Qin Shuying left with her. After all, the notice of arresting Qin Shuying in the city had not been removed, and the terrifying soldiers wearing black masks were searching for people door to door. Who knew if Wangyue Tower would be implicated.

"It's okay, I'm just asking out of curiosity. I'll go sit inside."

Xu Qing saw the difficulty that Nanny Wu was in, and did not force her. He opened the door and walked into the house.

Although the decorations and ornaments in the pavilion are of high quality, they are still a level lower than those in the palace. Fortunately, the charcoal in the stove is warmer than that in the palace, and when the windows around are sealed, it feels like the warm spring sun.

"Son..."

"Go down, and let those Kabuki come up on their own."

Nanny Wu was about to say something but Xu Qing waved her away.

She had no choice but to nod and bow, then retreat from Hongli Pavilion.

Since Xu Qing walked into Hongli Pavilion, the outside was already filled with beautiful and gorgeous prostitutes.

They have delicate makeup and the clothes they wear vary in style, but they are all new styles of dresses that have been popular in Beijing in the past two years.

Almost everyone has slender fingers, fair skin without a trace of dust, and is equipped with a silk fan to cover their face.

"Boss, the leading actresses in each district are basically selected here."

Seeing Nanny Wu coming out, the oldest nanny in charge of miscellaneous matters in the building stepped forward and said, "Several of them were previously selected by the Minister of Rites as candidates for the most beautiful lady on Shenwu Street during the Lantern Festival."

Today is the third day of the Chinese New Year, and the Lantern Festival will be in a few days.

According to the custom in the capital, the Ministry of Rites would select the lowly women on the list of the Jiaofangsi, and pick out the beautiful women from each red building, and parade them on floats on Shenwu Street that night.

The woman who receives the most tips and is the most popular will also be selected as the most beautiful woman of the year.

This courtesan is not like the courtesan in Zuiyuan Pavilion in Suzhou. She is a real courtesan recognized by the Ministry of Rites. She will also receive preferential treatment based on her place of origin, and no extra silver will be paid when redeeming herself.

For the Honglou brothel, this is a good thing to raise the value of the girls.

For ordinary people in the capital, this is their only chance to appreciate the appearance of the courtesan without spending any money.

For the government, the competition for the courtesan would bring a considerable amount of silver to the national treasury, which was a good thing that killed three birds with one stone.

The nanny mentioned this matter because she was afraid that today's service would ruin the preparations of Wangyue Tower.

After all, it is not easy to train a prostitute with good looks and many fans. What's more, the Ministry of Rites will send people to verify the identities of the candidates before the festival to make sure that all the candidates are innocent.

If the young man in this pavilion were to act beastly, Wangyue Tower would not only lose the qualification to compete for the oiran, but would also seriously offend the Ministry of Rites.

"The Minister of Rites is an official of the fourth rank, and he is directly responsible for matters related to the Jiaofangsi. If he fails to complete the task of the Lantern Festival every year, he will definitely bear a grudge against Wangyue Tower."

Nanny Wu is good at manipulating official circles. How could she not know things that her subordinates could see clearly?

Just because of Qin Shuying's matter, Wangyue Tower had to bow its head and behave itself.

The case of the fire in the main building was suspended only because of the sudden death of the Dali Temple Minister. When the martial law in the capital is lifted in the next two days, the officials from the Dali Temple who are investigating the case will naturally go to the Wangyue Tower to find out the truth.

Wangyue Tower made great efforts in both the prior publicity and the subsequent blocking of the door.

By then, the Dali Temple can send you to jail with just a quick investigation.

"With all the chaos outside, how can we care about the Lantern Festival?"

Madam Wu put her hands on her waist and ordered the colorfully dressed attractive women in front of her: "Today, whoever can make the young master in the building happy will be rewarded handsomely by Madam Wu... and you can only do what this patron wants. If anyone offends her, I will break her legs and she will never be able to show her face again."

Under normal circumstances, Nanny Wu would never yell at her.

After all, these beautiful prostitutes who are quite popular in the capital are the cash cows of Wangyue Tower.

But today is different from the past.

"Yes."

The girls nodded their heads in response and prepared to line up to enter Hongli Pavilion.

It was useless for the maiden to mention the courtesan competition just now. It seemed that there was indeed someone in the room who could not be offended.

……

Xu Qing lay on his side on the cushion and found a relatively comfortable position.

Not long after Nanny Wu left, a group of women came in from the half-open door, lined up in a row, bowed to him, and knelt on the ground.

"Are you guys the most popular people in Wangyue Tower?"

The orange-dressed woman standing on the far left replied in a gentle voice, "Sir, yes... the five of us are all candidates for the top flower of this Lantern Festival, and we were among the top in the building in terms of reward last month."

Being able to rank among the top among more than 3,000 people in Wangyue Tower is indeed a good result.

However, Xu Qing had never heard of the Lantern Festival, so naturally he had no idea what being a candidate for the oiran meant.

"Look up, let me see."

The five girls looked up obediently, revealing their facial features.

They were all dressed up very exquisitely in the building. Apart from the deviations in style, each of them was a beauty in the eyes of ordinary people.

Especially when the girls placed the Luo fans on their chests, their fresh, elegant and pitiful appearance almost melted Xu Qing's long-held Taoist heart.

Now that my aunt is in power, it’s time to eat some meat and enjoy some life.

"Hey... the one in the middle, get up and dance. You rub my shoulders, you rub my legs, you rub my back... the rest of you, sing a song."

Xu Qing originally wanted to make some more outrageous requests, but he had lost his memory of his previous life and forgot how to use the jargon in the brothel.

If he said it directly, it would be contrary to his noble status and would make him look rude.

So Xu Qing chose to proceed step by step, starting with watching the dancing massage.

The five women were not slow at all. After hearing Xu Qing's instructions, they cleared the space in the middle, giving the woman in the colorful feathered dress enough space to display her skills.

As a cappella tune sounded, the woman in the middle, dressed in gorgeous silk, danced like a rainbow.

Nanny Wu did not exaggerate to Xu Qing. The woman in front of her was spinning like the wind, her skirt like clouds, as if she had regarded the entire pavilion as her natural stage.

In just a short while, Xu Qing was attracted by her graceful figure, and even forgot that there were several pairs of delicate hands gently kneading her body.

(End of this chapter)