The Overlord of the Red Mansion

Chapter 286 Booking the Wanhua Tower

Wanhualou, the first state-owned brothel in Suzhou.

There are salt tax, iron tax, tobacco tax, and of course, tax on brothels.

Although it is state-owned, Jia Rong never takes his family and things seriously.

As dusk fell, lanterns had been lit in the building, and the warm yellow light shone through the carved window lattices, casting mottled shadows on the ground.

Jia Rong specifically called a rickshaw to come over, and specifically at around four o'clock in the evening.

You can't save money at this time. There is a big difference between having a car and not having one.

Parking, late.

Jia Rong stood in front of Zuixian Tower and looked up at the gilded plaque.

The next time you come out, it may be dawn, dusk, or noon.

But it won’t be today!

"Sir, this is Wanhua Tower. The total is sixty coins."

The driver saw that Jia Rong mentioned the famous Wanhua Tower in the city as soon as he opened his mouth, and he also saw that Jia Rong had an accent from another place and was dressed in ordinary clothes, so he quickly opened his mouth and quoted a price.

Jia Rong wanted to pay, but was put in a bad mood.

There is absolutely no integrity in this era, especially in some low-level professions, where the idea of treating people differently is written on their faces.

Although I know that these people have a hard life, what does it have to do with Jia Rong?
Jia Rong quickly took out a silver coin.

The driver's eyes were immediately fixed on the mixed metal silver coin engraved with a dragon head.

Although it is not pure silver, no one cares about that.

"No need to look for it." Jia Rong threw it back to his men who were lying in ambush nearby.

The silver coin was thrown out quickly and fell onto the stone floor in front of the driver in front of him.

"Thank you, sir, for the reward!" the driver shouted quickly, then ran over happily to pick up the money.

Jia Rong was generous and magnanimous, and was soon noticed by several men welcoming guests at the door.

"Sir, please!" Someone quickly came over to greet this young and wealthy sucker.

Jia Rong walked in calmly, but his brows were furrowed.

Many people say that we are in a prosperous era now, so why are most of the people we meet along the way scammers?

"Sir, please come in." An old procuress dressed in brocade came forward. This woman, about 28 or 29 years old, had a smile on her face and her wrinkles were covered with powder. "You look unfamiliar. Is this your first time in our Wanhua Tower?"

Jia Rong nodded and followed her across the threshold, where the rich scent of cosmetics filled his face.

This madam seemed to be a beautiful woman when she was young, but now that she is old she can only do respectable jobs.

At the age of twenty-eight, you know the ups and downs of life, you have a plump figure and are good at cooling down your temper. But everyone hates yellow-faced women, so eighteen-year-old girls are still better.

Among the customers who come to places like brothels, the wealthiest are wealthy businessmen and literati. Most of these people come to brothels to find a confidant in order to escape from their old wives at home. They really look down on this experienced woman.

The same goes for Jia Rong.

There were more than a dozen round tables in the lobby, where quite a few guests were already seated. Amid the clinking of glasses, the sweet laughter of women could be heard from time to time.

The madam smiled at Jia Rong and said, "Sir, do you know any girls, or have any friends introduce any girls to you? Many of them come here because of their reputation. Tell me which girl you came here for, and I will tell you about her."

Jia Rong said casually, "Just an ordinary one will do."

This is a bit awkward. The brothel owner came to greet you personally, and you want an ordinary one?

The madam was a person who had seen the world. She smiled and said, "Young Master is really good at joking. I think you are definitely not an ordinary person. At least you are a talented person! How can an ordinary girl catch your eye~"

Jia Rong took out a handful of gold and silver coins from his pocket, at least nine gold and ten silver coins.

The madam's eyes lit up, knowing that she was not mistaken, she had definitely met a low-key young man from a wealthy family!
If I can't get this money, it would be a shame for my twenty years of working in this brothel!
Just when the madam was overjoyed, Jia Rong untied the extremely elastic waistband with one hand and poured all the money in his hand into his pants.

“Hahahahahaha!” Jia Rong laughed wildly. “If you’ve got the guts, come and get it!”

It was the first time that the madam had seen such an arrogant young man.

You've made a mistake. This kind of person is definitely not a scholar or talent. He's just a spendthrift dude who doesn't know how hard it is to make money!
Jia Rong's provocation seemed ridiculous to the madam. "Sir, you underestimate us. Let me tell you, no man who enters my Wanhua Tower can leave without taking off his pants at least once!"

Looking at the horny middle-aged woman, the woman in her twenties moved closer as she spoke.

Jia Rong said with a smile: "Just call out your capable men!"

"Young master, don't worry!" The madam took Jia Rong directly to a room with a better budget.

On both sides of the corridor are elegant rooms with beaded curtains hanging on the doors. People can be vaguely seen inside and there is also a lot of laughter.

On the contrary, there was no sound as expected. Maybe most of the people who came here were not that anxious, or maybe it was still evening, not night.

The madam pushed open the door of a room, which was elegantly decorated with a few calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall and an incense burner on the desk, from which wisps of green smoke rose.

After bringing Jia Rong into the house, the servants and maids around them quickly began to clean the house, light a fire for heating, and serve tea and water.

The madam smiled and said, "Sir, please take a seat. May I ask your name?"

After Jia Rong sat down, he took out a fake certificate from his pocket and said casually, "Forget about music, chess, calligraphy and painting. I hate this the most. Arrange a few beautiful women for me who are about 17 or 18 years old or in their early 20s. They must have big breasts and not be ugly. If you call an ugly woman and lie to me that she is a beauty, I will report you for forcing good women into prostitution when I get home!"

When the madam saw Jia Rong's medical qualification certificate and heard this shameless threat, she instantly had a lower bottom line for this man who threw money into his pants.

Immoral!

The madam quickly said, "Don't worry, sir. There are all beautiful girls in Wanhua Tower. If Master Huang is not satisfied, we can change them. How dare I offend an official? Besides, we have good girls who have been raised since childhood in Wanhua Tower. We definitely don't force good girls into prostitution."

Jia Rong doesn't care about these things. All the people in the Jiaofang Bureau are forcing women of good families into prostitution. Jia Rong has no moral response.

The boss thought Jia Rong wasn't the kind of person who cared about these things, and he just had high expectations for girls.

"The most famous person in our Wanhua Tower is last year's courtesan Qin Wan'er."

The madam was flirting with Jia Rong and showing off her charm while mumbling to herself.

"Miss Wan'er is proficient in everything, including music, chess, calligraphy and painting, especially her pipa playing, which has even been praised by the musicians in the palace. A few days ago, the son of the prefect waited for three days to hear her play a piece."

Jia Rong cursed, "I've already said I don't want to play with this kind of woman. If you, old bitch, recommend someone to me again, I'll call my brothers in the army to come and get you in trouble! I'm telling you, my family has been military doctors for generations! Grandpa's fists are much more useful than his mouth!"

The madam hurriedly said, "Sir, calm down, sir, calm down, there are plenty of beautiful women, I will go and call a few more for you right away!"

Jia Rong scolded the madam, "You need to be healthy and have a good figure! Get out of here, you slut!"

The scolded madam felt that this young man was very difficult to deal with. "Don't worry, young master. The girls are here."

The madam said this and clapped her hands.

Soon, more than a dozen women came in and filled a row in front of the door.

Maybe because it was the New Year period and because we came early, there were more girls.

The leading woman was wearing a lavender silk dress, with beautiful features. She bowed and said, "My name is Qiuyue, and I am honored to meet you, sir."

"Ms. Qiuyue is the most considerate." The madam introduced, "If you have any troubles, talk to her and I guarantee you will feel better."

Jia Rong smiled and said, "Okay, okay. Come and sit down. I like girls who are considerate and considerate."

Miss Qiuyue breathed a sigh of relief. She had arrived early and only heard the young man swearing at the door.

"I offer a toast to you, you are a handsome man, may I know your name?" Qiuyue slowly came over and sat down, and then began to toast after sitting next to Jia Rong. "Hahaha!" Jia Rong laughed and threw the fake certificate on the table, "Everyone introduce yourselves, and those who are ready can stay!"

The madam also breathed a sigh of relief and became more confident.

No matter how difficult the customer is, or how harshly he scolds, as long as the beautiful girls under his command come out, the anger will most likely subside.

Men are all like this.

"Hurry up and introduce yourselves to Master Huang. Be proactive." The madam quickly hinted to the girls in a row, "Master Huang is a military doctor, a ninth-rank official, and his family has plenty of money. Serve him well and don't act arrogantly. Otherwise, if you anger Master Huang, I won't protect you!"

The girls roughly understood what was going on with this handsome but bad-tempered man.

The second woman was wearing a red gauze dress, with a heroic look in her eyes: "My name is Hongxiu, and I am best at sword dancing."

"Miss Hongxiu's sword dance is amazing." The madam laughed, "She performed at the prefect's birthday banquet a few days ago, and even the prefect was full of praise for her."

Jia Rong frowned. Who is this prefect? Why does he have so frequent dealings with brothels?
Let's teach him a lesson in a few days, and consider it as getting rid of a harm to the people!
The third woman was wearing a plain long skirt, with a cool temperament, and said calmly: "My slave Yuzhi, I know a little about poetry."

Qiuyue smiled and said, "Sister Yuzhan is a talented woman in our Wanhua Tower. Many candidates come to discuss poetry with her and benefit a lot from it~"

The madam hurriedly said, "This young master doesn't like it, let's go to the next one."

Just now everyone heard that Jia Rong doesn't like women with literary talent, so everyone thinks that Jia Rong definitely doesn't like this woman.

In fact, Jia Rong is not that annoying. He just wants to lose his temper so he doesn’t care about your business.

Now that I'm angry, I've forgotten about that and don't care much about it.

Yuzhan originally didn't want to receive this guest, but when she saw Jia Rong's nonchalant expression, as if he didn't treat the guest as a human being at all, she suddenly had an idea.

Yu Zan said charmingly and quickly: "Your Excellency, I am best at composing lyrics and music that make people happy. Everyone praises me for my powerful tongue~"

Jia Rong looked at her grandmother and said with a smile, "Then stay. Let's see who is better at talking, you or me!"

The madam smiled and said, "This is really rare. Usually Yuzhan is very arrogant and refuses to receive customers. This is the first time she has taken the initiative. She must have been attracted by your good looks and promising young age!"

Jia Rong laughed and said, "Spring comes every year. I don't know how many times she has been tempted by love. She went to find two virgin girls to accompany her."

"Okay!" The madam was about to choose a man from the girls when she suddenly heard the sound of a pipa coming from next door. The sound was clear and melodious, like crying and complaining, which made people's hearts tremble.

"This is Wan'er practicing the piano." The madam said with a smile, "If you want to see Qin Wan'er, you'll have to wait until March or April after the New Year."

"Her private rooms have been fully booked these days. Even the rooms after the New Year have been booked. Many people have booked rooms but don't show up, just to let Wan'er have a good rest."

"There is a young man who has spent several thousand taels of silver. I really don't know who will win the prize this year!"

Jia Rong didn't care about any of this.

Yuzhan held the wine glass and looked at Jia Rong, and found that this young man really had no curiosity or ideas at all. It seemed that he came here just to have fun, instead of thinking about the top courtesan.

At this time, Hongxiu, who was good at sword dancing, handed Jia Rong's false certificate to Yuzhan.

When Yuzhan saw that it turned out to be a doctor who could deliver babies, she immediately showed a puzzled expression.

I thought he was a rich young man, but I didn't expect him to be just a young doctor.

Just as the madam was introducing the girls, a pimp came running in quickly.

"Mother Kou! Soldiers are outside, they have surrounded the entrance! They have even surrounded the windows and the back door!"

Yuzhan, Hongxiu, Qiuyue and others looked at the door in confusion.

Mother Kou frowned, and the welcoming smile she had just had on her face was gone.

Jia Rong laughed and said, "Where did the soldiers come from? From the county government, the prefectural government, the city patrol, the militia, or the local soldiers? I know them all."

Mother Kou immediately breathed a sigh of relief. In this line of work, you never know when you’ll meet a noble person.

"It's good that you know him, sir!" Mother Kou said charmingly, "It could be a misunderstanding. This is a state-owned brothel under the jurisdiction of the Jiaofangsi. It is absolutely a first-class and law-abiding business. It must be a misunderstanding!"

"Please help us, sir. I will ask Miss Wan'er to come out and thank you later~"

Mr. Gui said anxiously, "It's not those. They are said to be the Jinyiwei Conglong Army under the supervision of the Inspector General. They all carry muskets! And they are wearing armor!"

Mother Kou and the others were all horrified.

Although I don't know what the Conglong Army is, just hearing the name tells me that it is not an ordinary army.

Moreover, everyone was holding a gun and wearing armor... This was definitely not an ordinary matter!

"boom!"

There was a gunshot from below.

The girls were shocked and their faces turned pale.

When Jia Rong was eating, he suddenly saw the girl with red sleeves beside him fall off the stool to the ground. She seemed unable to stand up and even wet her pants.

Jia Rong asked curiously, "What's wrong with her? Can the sound of firecrackers scare her like this?"

Yuzhan's face turned pale and she had no mood to answer such a question.

Qiuyue said hurriedly: "It's not the sound of firecrackers, it's the sound of gunfire! Yuzhan, Hongxiu and many other sisters were confiscated and ended up here. They are most afraid of this."

Jia Rong asked curiously, "What about you?"

At this time, Kou's mother had gone out to check the situation, and the women in the room also ran out to pack their things.

Only Hongxiu, who could not run, and Qiuyue and Yuzhan, who were sitting next to Jia Rong, did not move.

Yuzhin knew that she couldn't run away.

Qiuyue sighed and said, "My ancestors for three generations were all prostitutes. Even if something happened, at most I would be transferred from a prostitute to a prostitute. It's nothing."

Jia Rong laughed and said, "Do you want to escape from your lowly status?"

Qiuyue smiled bitterly, "Of course I have thought about it, even in my dreams, but I have given up on it a long time ago."

As soon as she finished speaking, Qiuyue looked at Jia Rong in surprise and doubt, thinking that Jia Rong had a solution.

Jia Rong smiled and said, "Let's eat. Who cares what they do outside? As long as I don't do anything wrong, I won't be afraid of ghosts knocking on my door! I'll be gone after the New Year. I'm as capable as you and I'm not afraid of anything!"

Qiuyue gave up again. This man didn't seem reliable at all and was definitely not someone she could trust.

At this time a maid ran in.

"Miss! The prefect's son has been beaten to death! There are hundreds of people outside, and the whole street has been blocked. Whoever gets close to them will be shot! Only men are allowed to go out now, not women!"

After hearing this, Qiuyue said to Jia Rong, "Sir, since you can let the man go, you should leave this place of trouble as soon as possible."

Jia Rong laughed and said, "I'm not satisfied yet, what am I going to do outside? Besides, I came here alone, and if I leave here, I'll have no place to sleep."

Qiuyue showed a surprised expression, "But... those soldiers outside... all carried guns, and they even dared to kill the son of the prefect."

Jia Rong laughed and said, "I've already said that I don't know many officials, but I'm sure it's OK if I'm a soldier. My family has been military doctors for three generations. Besides, I'm not going against those people. I just visited a brothel. It's not against the law."

Soon all the men in the brothel ran away in a hurry.

The woman also wanted to run, but the soldiers guarding the gate would not let her and would shoot if she dared to talk nonsense.

Ten minutes later, Jia Rong booked the entire Wanhua Tower.

(End of this chapter)