Rescue of a Courtesan
After eating, He Yan leaned on the railing as she went upstairs.
The dishes were naturally delicious, but to eat till not a single grain of rice was left, even if it was a delicacy, was difficult to swallow. After finishing the meal, she was given the permission to eat tomorrow accompanied with a glance by the second young master of Xiao, who lightly ridiculed her saying, “Sure enough, you’re not a human being.”
If he did not say that the food shouldn’t be wasted, would she have made a joke of herself in the full view of the public? The other diners were staring at her and He Yan felt embarrassed.
She was so full that she really didn’t want to talk to Xiao Jue, so she went upstairs with the waiter. Fei Nu didn’t even follow, nor did He Yan bother to care. As soon as she entered the room, she laid down on the bed.
It was really hard to walk.
He Yan’s body felt soft and comfortable and she couldn’t help but roll on the bed thinking it’s good to have money, one can enjoy even outside. Xiao Jue’s room was next door. She pricked her ears against the wall, wanting to hear what Xiao Jue was doing there, but perhaps the wall of the room was too thick as she wasn’t able to hear anything.
While trying to listen, He Yan fell asleep.
After the long journey today, it was hard not to fall asleep upon returning to such a comfortable bed and having plenty of food and drink. When He Yan woke up, the sun had completely set, and the moon had come out. She opened the window, the lantern downstairs was lit and a singer’s singing came from the restaurant not far away.
He Yan rubbed her eyes, drank a glass of water, got up to open the door, walked to Xiao Jue’s room, and knocked on the door.
After a while, someone in the room said, “Come in.”
He Yan walked into the lit room, Fei Nu was standing by the door and Xiao Jue was sitting near the table, reading with a scroll in his hand.
Does this person not feel sleepy? I didn’t see him working so hard in Xianchang Hall, but now he’s working hard. He Yan felt ashamed in her heart, looking at him thinking that this is what people call endlessly learning. She craned her neck to see what Xiao Jue was reading and saw the man close the scroll together and nothing could be seen.
He raised his eyes, his gaze was very cold. “What’s the matter?”
He Yan said, “General, what are you doing tonight?”
“Not doing anything.”
“Aren’t you going out?”
He said, “What do you want to say?”
“I want to say,” He Yan smiled, “If you have nothing to do, I want to go out and have a stroll. It’s the first time I have come to Liangzhou City. I want to see if there are any interesting things around.” She continued babbling, “If I come across something suitable, I’ll buy something and bring it back to my fiancée.”
Xiao Jue didn’t seem to be interested in her affairs, and said indifferently, “As you wish.”
He Yan was overjoyed and said, “That’s great. General, I’m leaving now!”
She almost leaped downstairs. After she left, Xiao Jue said, “Fei Nu.”
The guard had long understood and said, “Master, I will follow him.”
“Don’t follow too closely,” he said, “Be careful not to be found.”
“Understood.”
…
He Yan rushed out the door.
Yuan Baozhen hadn’t yet arrived in Liangzhou so they were staying in an inn for the next few days. They came to the city in advance without telling the magistrate. In addition to repairing the zither, Xiao Jue probably had some other business to deal with. But He Yan didn’t plan to follow. At least for the moment, Xiao Jue had no intention to trust her at all, so why bother sticking onto his hot and cold ass. She didn’t want to read in the inn like Xiao Jue. This would remind her of the terrible memories of when she first entered school in Xianchang Hall.
The night was just right, so she took advantage of this time to walk around. Although Yuan Baozhen had not yet arrived in Liangzhou, there was more than one way to find out more about the He family. Wherever there is a tavern or a teahouse, she could just go and boast by saying “I know General Feihong…” leading to countless conversations. It’s not that she was really boasting, but in her most famous years, there were many local storytellers who talked about her every day, referring it as General Feihong’s life book.
Of course, they also talked about General Feng Yun along the way.
At night in Liangzhou City, there were not as many people on the street as there were in Shuojing, but it was not deserted. The roadside vendors were selling local products. As she walked along and watched, having only the one silver coin she got during the fight for the flag.
Although Xiao Jue was her “uncle”, he didn’t have the intention to give her money. Fortunately, He Yan was already full at this time and didn’t want to spend money, so she just looked and didn’t buy anything.
A dozen steps behind her, Fei Nu was following closely.
Xiao Jue suspected that He Yan’s identity was different, so when he brought her to Liangzhou City this time, he had to keep an eye on her at any time to see if she secretly contacted Xu Jingfu or his people. Fei Nu followed with dedication, but he was still a little puzzled.
The young man came all the way to watch the fun, as if he had never been out before, and everything was novel to him. He said he wanted to buy some presents for his fiancee, but he didn’t buy any after seeing so many. Or could he be a miser who was even reluctant to give his girl a box of powder. Either that or he must be lying to cover something up.
He Yan turned around a street and walked into an alley. Fei Nu remembered Xiao Jue’s words well, so he dared not go too close to him. When he estimated that He Yan was almost at the end of the alley, he followed him in. He was taken aback as he entered. There were only a few lanterns hanging in the wind in the empty alley. Where did the person disappear to?
Fei Nu’s suddenly felt anxious, so he quickly stepped forward and walked to the end of the alley. At the end of the alley was an avenue with crowds on the left and right, and the young man was nowhere to be seen.
He clenched his hands, thinking not only was he discovered but also lost the person.
Meanwhile, He Yan flung her sleeves and walked forward.
Liangzhou City was not as calm as it seemed, because of the many robbers here at night. She was followed from the time she arrived, even before she set foot on the ground. The other party has been following her all the way, though He Yan believed that she hadn’t offended anyone until now. Most of them just wanted to take advantage of the situation. It’s just that since she was under Cheng Lisu’s identity and Xiao Jue was still in the inn, it was best not to mess around. So she didn’t do anything — didn’t even fight with others — just silently shook away the people behind her.
Without being followed, it was easier to stroll around. But wandering like this was not a solution. He Yan stopped a passer-by on the side of the street and smiled, “This brother, do you know where the biggest tavern in the city is?”
The man looked at her up and down, and saw that He Yan appeared wealthy and was dressed in expensive clothes. So he guessed she must be some family’s young master. His tone became particularly good as he said, “The biggest tavern is the Wanhua Pavilion.”
“Thank you,” He Yan asked again, “How should I get to Wanhua Pavilion?”
“It’s not far. You can walk along this street until you reach the end, and you’ll see a rice store, turn to the left, and you will see it after walking for a while.”
“Thank you, Brother.” He Yan gave him another bow and then walked forward with a smile on his face.
It’s exactly the same as the person just said. It really didn’t take long to walk along the left side of the rice store, and she could hear someone playing a pipa. There were also many well-dressed gentlemen walking towards the other side. Needless to say, it was naturally Wanhua Pavilion.
He Yan also followed the people in.
Before reaching the door, she felt gusts of fragrant breeze coming in. She paused, feeling a little strange. At this time, a red and fragrant wind rushed in front of her for a while, and a snow-white and delicate arm climbed onto her shoulders. The woman’s smile was a bit sultry. “You look new to me. Is this the first time you’ve come to our Wanhua Pavilion?”
He Yan, “…”
Didn’t she ask about the biggest tavern? Can anyone tell her why the Wanhua Pavilion that the man said was actually a brothel!
He Yan said, “I didn’t want to come here.” She tried to pull the girl’s hand down, but when the girl heard the words, not only was she not angry, but pressed herself on her even tighter. He Yan’s arm touched a soft ball, and she suddenly became embarrassed.
Even though they were both women, this was too intimate!
The girl in red hugged He Yan and walked in, saying, “Now that you are already here, you should just come in and take a look. Our Wanhua Pavilion is fun.”
The other party was a woman, and couldn’t be dealt with the same way she does with men. He Yan had no choice but to say, “Girl, I have no silver, I am very poor.”
The woman glanced at her dress from head to toe, giggled, and said, “The son is really good at joking. You don’t need to be so stingy. Even if you’re stingy, it will be fine. Yun Yan invites the son to drink today without charging any silver. Is it okay?”
The perfume on her body was heavy and pungent, making He Yan dizzy. Just when she wasn’t paying attention, she was dragged into the Wanhua Pavilion by this woman named Yun Yan. As soon as she entered, she felt a warm and fragrant breeze. There were a lot of beautiful women on the stage, wearing thin clothes, playing the zither and singing. A crowd of gentlemen was sitting under the stage, applauding, throwing money, and drinking.
There were people everywhere, and He Yan hadn’t seen such a scene for a long time. She stopped for a while, not knowing where to go. When Yun Yan saw this, she covered her mouth and chuckled, and then pulled He Yan’s arm, “This son, let’s go upstairs, there are too many people here, my son is so handsome, I’m afraid someone else will grab you.” she said as she touched He Yan’s face.
He Yan only felt shivers, like a rabbit entering the wolf cave, uncomfortable all over. This Yun Yan was enthusiastic. No matter how He Yan’s expressions have changed, she still pulled He Yan upstairs.
There were several floors in the Wanhua Pavilion. The bottom floor was the long stage, where the girls from the brothel play songs and dance and upstairs was the elegant room, which required more silver as it was used to entertain the distinguished guests. Further up, was where the girls live.
Yun Yan’s appearance was not outstanding in Wanhua Pavilion, and there were not many benefactors who came to take care of her. It was not so easy to catch a rich young master like He Yan at the door, so she wasn’t willing to let him go so easily. Looking at He Yan, who appeared very handsome. If such a person is seen by other girls, he will inevitably be snatched by others. There were too many monks and less porridge, of course, the only way is to start first and lock him up in her own room.
She kept holding onto He Yan without letting go as He Yan wondered how to get away naturally, and when she walked upstairs, he would never see the benefactor who hugged the girl again.
“There’s no one up here?” He Yan asked.
Yun Yan smiled and said, “It’s not that everyone can enter a girl’s boudoir, son, now you don’t have to behave stingy and innocent.”
The girls were so aggressive and bold, and He Yan didn’t know how to parry. When passing by a room, suddenly, the door of the room opened, and a woman with loose hair rushed out but before he could even reach the door, she was grabbed by her hair and dragged back. Before He Yan could take a closer look, the door slammed shut, almost hitting her nose and knocking her fan into the air.
All this happened so quickly that He Yan was also taken aback for a moment. Yun Yan quickly stepped forward and asked, “Are you okay? Did you get hurt just now?”
He Yan shook her head, bent over to pick up the fan, and turned her head to look at the closed door. Her ears were outstanding, and she heard the cry of a woman faintly inside, followed by the sound of a matron swearing.
“Here…” He Yan stretched out her hand to push the door.
“Master, you can’t!” Yun Yan stopped his movements, “What are you doing?” There was a trace of defensiveness in her eyes.
He Yan thought, and when she raised her eyes again, her eyes were full of curiosity, “Who was inside here? What did they just do?”
It was her first time coming to the brothel, and she didn’t know anything. Yun Yan passed a trace of contempt in her heart, but smiled on her face, and hugged He yan’s arm again, “It’s the new girl in our building, she didn’t understand the rules and accidentally ran into the guest so mother is teaching her.”
“There are still girls in your building who don’t understand the rules?” He Yan said calmly, “I thought they were all as considerate as you are.”
Yun Yan smiled happily, and remarked, “This son can really do some sweet talk. We grew up in the brothel, so if we didn’t understand the rules, we would be getting no food. Naturally, we didn’t dare to run into the guests. But some people are different. They have never been tortured before, and even if they suffer some changes, they still think they are the same arrogant and self-willed young lady. So they inevitably suffer. If they get punished a few more times, they will understand.”
He Yan raised his eyebrows: “It turns out to be from a good family.”
“Young Master,” Yun Yan pretended to be angry, and lightly hammered He Yan’s chest while saying, “Are you looking down on our brothel girl?”
He Yan smiled softly, “How could it be? Compared to wild cats with paws, of course, a well-behaved girl is more attractive.”
She was born beautiful. Wearing Cheng Lisu’s fancy clothes, she looked like a graceful young man. If she deliberately pretended to be more romantic and suave, she could easily fascinate a large group of beautiful women. Sure enough, Yun Yan was also a little stunned by her smile, and unconsciously said a little more.
“Still, there are some people who like this kind of temperamental wild cat. Don’t look at the people in this room, they don’t understand the rules. The young master of our prefect of Liangzhou has asked for her today. I don’t know where her luck came from.” At this point, she was feeling a little jealous.
“The young master of the Prefect’s house?” He Yan’s heart thumped a thousand times, but in her expression, there were no loopholes. She only looked at her in surprise, “The girl in the room is so impressive, even the young master of the Prefect house comes here?”
“Nothing impressive,” Yun Yan disapproved. “This girl just came to our building, and mother asked her to serve the guests, Young Master Sun. Who knows that she was not good. Not only did she not serve the young master, but also used her hairpins to stab him, causing injuries to Young Master Sun’s arm.”
“Master Sun is the only son of Prefect Sun Zhixian. How can one leave this matter alone? So mother is training her for a few days, and would send her off once she is obedient.”
Yun Yan walked forward and said, “It’s just that this girl is also a spineless girl. It’s been three days and she’s still the same. In Wanhua Pavilion, it’s really been a long time since we saw such a sturdy girl.”
“What can we do?” He Yan shook her fan, worried: “If she can’t train her well, how would you all deal with Master Sun?”
“You do know how to joke. There is no girl in Wanhua Pavilion who cannot be trained well. No matter how stout the girl is, after some drugs, she naturally can’t do anything. I think this girl is just asking for hardship. If she is obedient, after serving the young master and coaxing him well, maybe he will make her his concubine. Now, even if she could get to the bed of Young Master Sun, I am afraid that it would be difficult to get his heart. I don’t know how miserable the end will be.”
As she said, she felt a little sympathetic and also jealous.
“Maybe she will figure it out in the next few days.” He Yan was relieved, “There is no need to worry too much.”
Yun Yan shook her head, “I’m afraid that there is no time. Soon, Master Sun’s people will come to pick her up. Just now they must be putting makeup on her.”
He Yan did not speak.
Yun Yan seemed to have noticed that she had said too much, and she showed the charming smile she had at the beginning and pulled He Yan to a room at the end while pushing her in, “Look, why are we even talking about others? Son, why don’t you come and talk about us.”
This was a woman’s boudoir, not very big, with some rouge gouache on the dressing table, with red curtains hanging on the bed, making people feel spring nights are short-lived.
She grabbed He Yan’s neck with her hands again.
He Yan got goosebumps, but she still had to act like a gentleman, so she smiled, “There is a beautiful woman in my arms, it naturally feels good, but don’t you think that there is something missing?”
Yun Yan asked, “What is missing?”
“Of course it’s a good wine. You and I hit it off right away. In this situation, we should have a drink together.” She thought about the scene where He Yuanliang played with the maidens in the manor before, and she lightly tapped Yun Yan’s nose, “Didn’t you want to invite me to drink? Or is it possible you were llying to me?”
A handsome young man flirted with her, even if she was from a brothel, she couldn’t help but feel fluttered. Yun Yan stomped and said, “How could I? Wait, I will go get the wine now, tonight… I’ll take a rest with you after getting drunk.”
She winked, twisted her waist, and went out. After He Yan waited for her to leave, she sat down on the chair, and then heaved a sigh of relief. Pretending to be a man and going to the brothel. Whether it was in the past or in the present, this was really killing her. It’s even more terrifying than entering Xianchang Hall to study.
She flicked her sleeve again and rolled out a small ball of paper from the sleeve.
When passing by that room, someone suddenly rushed out and was caught back. In that very short time, a ball of paper was thrown out. She was afraid of being discovered by Yun Yan, so she dropped her fan and covered the paper ball. When bending over to pick up the fan, she also picked up the paper ball.
For the fear of being discovered by Yun Yan, she didn’t dare to take it out until now. The paper ball was crumpled and wrinkled, He Yan unfolded it and looked at it, there were only two words written on it.
Help me.
It was written with eyebrow dye, and was a bit vague. The person who wrote this should be very nervous. Even so, you can see that the small letters written were exceptionally beautiful.
There was a girl locked up in that room.
Although Yun Yan made sound elegant, in the end, it was nothing more than forcing the one to be a prostitute. She was now by Xiao Jue’s side. She shouldn’t care about these things to avoid attracting trouble. But since she knew about it, her heart felt heavy, and it became difficult for her to just stand by and watch.
He Yan put the paper ball away again, stood up, pushed the door and left.
When Yun Yan returned with the wine, the room was already empty. She stayed in the same place for a while, stomped and cursed, “Liar!”
…
The night gradually deepened.
The singing in Wanhua Pavilion became more and more sultry and ambiguous, men and women huddled together, talking and laughing intimately. It was difficult to tell whether it was a how or a delivery of true feelings.
The moon here was not as clear as it was in the guardhouse, probably because there were no mountains and rivers, having less space with a bit more of mist.
In the teahouse opposite Wanhua Pavilion, the young man in a brocade was sitting drinking tea.
Reluctant to use that ingot of silver, He Yan pulled a button off Cheng Lisu’s clothes. This button was also inlaid with gold, and He Yan used this button to buy a cup of tea, the cheapest one.
The owner of the teahouse probably has never seen such a wonderful work in such a beautiful dress, but the owner was pulling out the buttons to pay, her eyes were somewhat unspeakable, and she said, “Brother, you can keep this button for yourself. Well, this cup of tea is free for you, I’ll not charge you.”
He Yan, “…many thanks.” She put the button in without tucking it, thinking about waiting for a while before sewing them back to Cheng Lisu’s dress. Why after a while? Naturally, it was because she had to go out on the streets for these few days. What if she had to drink tea again? After sewing, she might have to pull it out a second time.
If Cheng Lisu knew that He Yan had this idea, he would probably regret lending her the clothes.
The deeper the night, the more lively Wanhua Pavilion was and the more guests coming to the pavilion and the fewer people returning to their homes. Having jade and beauty in arms, naturally one will linger. At this time, someone came out of the Wanhua Pavilion and saw it very clearly.
A carriage stopped in front of Wanhua Pavilion.
Two fat ladies helped a woman out, and the woman had half of her body leaning on one of the ladies, as if drunk. He Yan glanced intently. It didn’t look like the ladies were supporting her, but rather they were dragging her.
She was probably the strong-willed girl Yun Yan said that Young Master Sun fancied.
The girl was put on the carriage, and the carriage drove her away. In addition to the coachman, there were two guards who followed it, like escorts. He Yan spat in her heart, they were really openly treating people as goods.
She put down the teacup in her hand and followed them silently.
There were not many lanterns on the street in Liangzhou City, and the night looked very deep. Several times, He Yan felt that the carriage almost merged with the long night.
The two guards were sitting on the rut of the carriage, talking.
“Today, she’s a lot more obedient, and didn’t even make a sound.”
“After entering Wanhua Pavilion, will there still be any good fruits to eat? This girl is too ignorant of current affairs. If she had been obedient earlier, she wouldn’t need to suffer these tortures.”
“Didn’t she say that she is a lady of a well-known family? It’s not uncommon for her to think like that. But this is just right, if the young master does not like her, after tonight, maybe it will be a bargain for us.”
The two looked at each other, and their laughter was incredibly dirty.
As they were talking, suddenly, the carriage plunged forward, almost knocking them both off their feet, and one of them cursed, “Hey! What’s the matter?” while looking up.
But they saw a man sitting under the low eaves of the carriage. He was dressed in a brocade, with his hair tied, half of his face was covered with a scarf, only a pair of eyes were exposed, it vaguely looked as if he was smiling, but because the night was blurred, nothing could be seen clearly. He was tossing a few stones up and down in his hand, and the reason the carriage stopped right now was precisely because a stone pierced the wheel and the carriage couldn’t move.
“Who are you?” the guard shouted sharply after getting out of the carriage.
“Are you out of your mind?” The man spoke. His voice was low and vague, but he couldn’t hide the arrogance in the words. He pointed to himself, “I’m all dressed up like this, of course, I’m here for robbery.”
Robbery?
In broad daylight, no, okay, it’s dark and windy, but in Liangzhou city, they haven’t heard the word for a long time. The important thing was that there were still people in Liangzhou who dared to rob them?
“I think you are tired of living!” The guard sneered, “Do you know who we are?”
“I know.” The man said lazily, “Prefect Sun’s family.”
“Knowing that you still dare to…”
“How dare you!” His words were interrupted. The next moment, he saw the man rushing down from the eaves.
At the moment, the time was late, and the road was empty. The coachman was so scared that he had already thrown away the carriage and ran far away. The two guards couldn’t stop there, and the three of them fought together in an instant.
The sound outside seemed to alarm the people in the carriage, and suddenly a rustling came out from inside, someone seemed to be trying to get out, He Yan said loudly, “Stay inside. Don’t move!”
Suddenly, the sound disappeared, and there was no movement. One of the guards suddenly realized, “You are her lover! Wow, what robbery? It turns out that you are in cahoots!”
“Are the brains of Sun family’s people are all made of shit?” He Yan exclaimed, punched him in the face, and threw him to the ground, making him unable to get up for a long time.
The other person rushed over with a knife. Unfortunately, though his strength was enough in front of ordinary people, it was not in front of He Yan. He Yan smiled slightly, and as soon as she grasped his wrist, the man only had time to let out a scream, the knife in his hand fell in response, and He Yan kicked him a few meters away.
Although these two people said they were the guards of Young Master Sun, He Yan really felt they were not powerful at all. Probably it was just a matter of picking up people, so they just randomly sent two people here. Who would have thought that there would be someone so bold and undaunted in the Sun family’s turf?
She bent down and picked up the knife that had just fallen from the ground.
The two guards were beaten and could not fight back. Seeing the masked man approaching step by step, they subconsciously retreated, and one of them said, “Let’s talk. Don’t be impulsive, hero? Hero!”
This was a soft talker, and there was another person who was not even afraid, just doesn’t know if he was stubborn. He looked at He Yan sneered and said, “Smelly brat. HOw courageous of you to dare to touch the people from the Sun family. You should know that tonight you have intercepted people and so it will be your turn tomorrow. You… You have gotten yourself in big trouble!”
He Yan didn’t even look at them, and approached step by step. When both of them turned pale, she slashed at the rope that was connected to the carriage and the horse.
“Do you think I’ll be afraid?”
After that, she directly stretched out her hand and pulled out the person in the carriage. The woman was drugged, unable to move at all, staring at He Yan with wide eyes.
He Yan helped her on the horse, followed by riding on it, raised the whip, and disappeared into the night very quickly.
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