nashuaworldcup Chapter 514: Strike first to gain the upper hand
Chapter 514: Strike first to gain the upper hand
This time, Liu Ye didn't make a big fuss like he did at Meilou last time; he only brought Shimazu Chiyo and the sword-drawing squad.
Even though Liu Ye didn't particularly like Li Xiangjun, she was, after all, the woman Liang Xiaoming had his eye on. Liu Ye didn't want to go too far. It wasn't like he couldn't afford the ransom money. Bringing too many people along would make it look like a kidnapping, which would be unnecessary.
Upon arriving outside Meixiang Tower, Liu Ye left the Japanese samurai from the sword-drawing team outside to wait for orders, and only took Liang Xiaoming and Shimazu Chiyo inside.
Upon entering, a pimp immediately greeted him: "Sir, do you know any girls?"
Whether in the future or in this timeline, Liu Ye always had attendants to deal with these pimps when he frequented brothels—in the future they would be called lobby managers—but now he was accompanying his brother to ransom someone, and he was trying to keep a low profile. The only man he had by his side was the reserved Liang Xiaoming, and he couldn't very well let him handle the negotiations. Even if Shimazu Chiyo was fierce, she was still a woman, so Liu Ye had no choice but to roll up his sleeves and take matters into his own hands.
"I'm looking for Li Xiangjun, the girl from your area."
The pimp was taken aback, quickly assessing the three men's attire: the two men wore fine silk, were tall and ruddy-faced, clearly pampered and wealthy—guests worthy of meeting a top courtesan like Li Xiangjun. But what was the woman beside them all about? The pimp had seen wealthy young women disguised as men out of curiosity, but he'd never seen two men bring a woman to a brothel, especially one dressed as a Japanese woman!
He replied hesitantly, "Miss Xiangjun is currently seeing guests and it may be inconvenient for her. Would you like to see another lady, sir?"
Upon hearing this, Shimazu Chiyo glared at him, placed her hand on the hilt of her sword, and shouted, "Damn it, didn't you hear what my master said? I won't see anyone except Li Xiangjun."
Liu Ye patted Shimazu Chiyo's shoulder, signaling her to calm down, and then said to the pimp, "You can't make the decision on this. Your madam's name is Li Zhenli, right? Call her here, and I'll talk to her directly."
It was clear that these guests had come prepared, with a clear purpose, and were not easily dismissed. The pimp, being sensible, didn't say anything more and nodded, saying, "I'll go and call Mother Li right away. Please come up to the private room upstairs, gentlemen."
After settling into the private room, the pimp poured tea and then left the room, gently closing the door slightly behind him.
Liu Ye glanced at Liang Xiaoming, who seemed somewhat nervous, constantly sipping his tea. He then looked at Shimazu Chiyo, who sat upright, her eyes fixed intently on the doors and windows, seemingly wary of anything amiss. Liu Ye shook his head slightly, realizing he had nothing more to say to the two of them. He then picked up his teacup and drank, waiting for Li Zhenli to arrive. The room fell silent.
Just then, footsteps sounded outside and stopped at the window. A woman said, "Good sister, there's no one here. Please tell me quickly, what exactly happened with the selection of concubines?"
Another woman replied, "Sister Lian, I've only heard this secondhand, so take it with a grain of salt. It's said that a father-in-law of the emperor has come to the capital. He's the father of Consort Tian in the palace, and he's come to Jiangnan specifically to select concubines for the emperor. All the most popular girls on the Qinhuai River are on his shortlist..."
Upon hearing this, Liu Ye felt the plot sounded familiar, so he perked up his ears to listen.
The woman who spoke first asked in surprise, "Really? Sister, do you think I'm lucky enough to have this opportunity?"
“Sister Lian, I’m afraid you won’t have a chance. I heard that Emperor Tian only picks young, beautiful, talented girls who are still virgins. Chen Yuanyuan from the Peking Opera, Dong Xiaowan from Suzhou, and Li Xiangjun from here are all candidates…”
Upon hearing this, Liang Xiaoming, who had been silently drinking his tea, widened his eyes and stood up to speak.
Liu Ye grabbed him and put his index finger to his lips to shush him, signaling him to calm down and listen to what he had to say.
The young woman named Lian said somewhat dejectedly, "So, I have no chance. But Li Xiangjun might not have a chance either—wasn't Young Master Hou here to style her hair today? After tonight, she'll be a withered flower, just like me, won't she?"
Another woman laughed, "I heard that a military officer has taken a liking to her and is coming to redeem her these next few days. That's why Young Master Hou hurriedly scraped together the money to get her married, trying to beat him to it. This is what they call 'gaining in one place but losing in another.' No matter what Young Master Hou is like, he's just the son of a former minister. How can he compare to the Emperor..."
The two found their balance and walked away chatting and laughing.
Liang Xiaoming finally couldn't hold back any longer: "Did you hear that? That Young Master Hou wants to strike first. If we don't hurry up and redeem them, won't we end up with nothing?"
Liu Ye chuckled: "Weren't you being quite dramatic before we came? Now you're getting all worked up?"
Liang Xiaoming pulled him by the hand and led him outside: "Let's not talk about anything else, let's get down to business first. You can criticize me however you want later."
Liu Ye reluctantly let him pull him along, saying as they walked, "We don't even know where they are, what's the rush? We can't just go from room to room and bang on doors, can we? It would be a sin to disturb those lovers' lovemaking!"
The group quickly walked to the corner of the corridor and saw two young women walking side by side. Liu Ye stepped forward and asked, "Ladies, could you please tell me where Miss Li Xiangjun is?"
The two women turned around and saw a tall, handsome, wealthy young man. Their faces immediately lit up with a blush. One of them replied in a coquettish voice, "This young master doesn't come here often, does he? How can you look for a girl like this? It's like going to Zhang San's shop but asking about Li Si's shop. Do you think Zhang San would be happy?"
Another person winked and said, "Young master, Sister Xiangjun is busy right now. How about we? We'd like to keep you company. We're just as good as her; we can play all sorts of instruments and sing..."
Upon hearing the voices, Liu Ye recognized them as the two women who had been discussing outside the window. He smiled and changed his approach: "Both ladies are exceptionally beautiful and have excellent figures. I've taken note of them and will definitely come to visit you later for drinks and conversation. Now, I need to speak with your madam, Li Madam. May I ask where she is?" Since they were dealing with the top courtesans, the madam must be present. Finding Li Zhenli would naturally lead him to Li Xiangjun.
The two women exchanged a delighted glance. One of them pointed to the backyard: "Mother Li is in the backyard right now. Young master, remember what you said! My name is Xianglian, and hers is Cui'er. We'll be waiting for you in the front yard!"
"Definitely, definitely." After seeing the two off, Liu Ye led Liang Xiaoming and Shimazu Chiyo to the backyard.
Meixiang Tower is a courtyard with three entrances and two courtyards. At this moment, Hou Fangyu is leading a group of friends in the backyard to prepare to comb Li Xiangjun's hair.
The term "梳拢" originally referred to a prostitute's first time serving a client. Newly debuted prostitutes would braid their hair and then style it into a bun after receiving a client; this process was called "梳拢". Later, it came to mean that if a client was fond of a particular prostitute, he could pay for a grand ceremony and a large sum of money to the brothel, and that prostitute would then serve only that client; this procedure was called "梳拢".