Chapter 94 Part 5: Brothel

“Go in?” Tong’er looked at the front in astonishment. Ahead of them seemed to be the courtyard door of an ordinary family, nothing special could be made out. Tong’er said: “…… miss, isn’t this other people’s house? If we go in, where are we going? Does Miss know the people inside?” She thought, how could Jiang Li know people in Xiangyang. Aside from the Ye family, Jiang Li had never had any dealings in Xiangyang.

“It’s not someone’s house,” Jiang Li replied unexpectedly. She said: “This is the backdoor of Xi Hua Lou.”

“Xi, Xi Hua Lou1?” Tong’er asked stutteringly: “What kind of place is this? Is it a restaurant?” She vaguely felt that this name didn’t seem very decent.

Jiang Li smiled and said: “It’s the most famous brothel in Xiangyang.”

Tong’er and Bai Xue were thoroughly dumbfounded.

……

“Master, Jiang second miss went into Xi Hua Lou.”

When this sentence came out, inside a building, Lu Ji, who had not swallowed his tea, “puff”, spat it out.

Opposite him, the beauty in red clothes had quick hands and “snap”, unfolded his fan at once, slapping back the tea that Lu Ji had spewed. A trace of disgust flashed in his eyes.

Poor Lu Ji, choked on his own saliva, and also got his face poured by the tea slapped by Ji Heng’s fan. Half of his body was dripping wet, how pitiful. Thinking how the confident, elegant and free blue clothed scholar had fallen to this point, if Kong Liu, that uncouth fellow, was present, he would certainly have had a good laugh.

But at the moment, Lu Ji didn’t bother how he had cut a sorry figure, rather he closely questioned Wen Ji: “Is what you said true? She went into Xi Hua Lou?”

“It’s true.” Wen Ji said steadily: “Not only that, Jiang second miss entered through the backdoor of Xi Hua Lou.”

“What’s the difference between the backdoor and the main entrance?” Lu Ji was puzzled.

“Xi Hua Lou is the most famous brothel in Xiangyang, the customers frequenting it are all the nobility of Xiangyang. Those nobles go in from the main entrance, but the wives and children from the nobles’ residences who are looking for people in Xi Hua Lou would enter through the back door,”

It suddenly dawned on Lu Ji, so it was like that, I understand. Simply said, the men went in from the front door, the women looking for their husbands to return home would go in through the back door to preserve their man’s face.

“But how does she know to enter from the back door?” Lu Ji asked: “Did the Ye family tell her about it? Aren’t the people of the Ye family honest and clean and do not go to brothels? Furthermore, as a young lady of an influential family, why did she mention the matter of brothels with the people of the Ye family? Isn’t her relationship with the Ye family still very unfamiliar?”

Lu Ji was truly baffled, he couldn’t understand no matter how he thought about it. It’s not surprising, who could understand that the first thing the chief assistant’s daughter did when she returned to Xiangyang was to go to the brothel. Moreover, she knew the rules of entering through the back door. No matter how they looked at it, it was inconceivable.

Ji Heng didn’t bother with Lu Ji and merely asked indifferently: “Who did she go with?”

“Jiang second miss and her two servant girls, no one showed the way.”

Ji Heng: “Then based on your observation, did she intentionally go or did she pass by unintentionally?”

“Replying to the master, this subordinate thinks that she purposely went there.” Wen Ji hesitated for a while, but he still said what was in his mind: “Jiang second miss didn’t seem unfamiliar with the streets in Xiangyang. Li Zheng Tang is not that close to Xi Hua Lou, but she still managed to find it. She didn’t go anywhere else along the way until she reached Xi Hua Lou.”

“This…….” Lu Ji tried to find a suitable explanation for Jiang Li’s action. He said: “Jiang second miss’s memory is always outstanding. During the six arts examinations, her etiquette came in first position. It’s safe to say that she had just returned to the capital and did not have many days to study. It’s hard to say, but she might have a highly retentive memory.”

“That’s not right.” To one’s surprise, Wen Ji actually denied it. Wen Ji said: “Even if she had a retentive memory, from Yanjing to Xiangyang, a newcomer strange to the surrounding place would show vigilance and caution; there will also be a feeling of unfamiliarity. But Jiang second miss totally didn’t seem to. She was bold and very relaxed, seemingly very familiar and at ease with Xiangyang.”

When Wen Ji talked about this, he couldn’t help recalling the scene when he was following Jiang Li and hid in a secret place. Jiang Li didn’t go out by herself, there were still two servant girls. Precisely because of these two servant girls by her side that particularly contrasted Jiang Li. She almost blended in the streets of Xiangyang, just like someone who had grown up in Xiangyang . This kind of familiar and dear feeling was more distinct than when she was in Yanjing.

“She is even aware of the rules of Xi Hua Lou’s back door. Of course we cannot underestimate her.” Ji Heng laughed: “Jiang Li has been looking for a way to return to Xiangyang, probably because of this. Wen Ji,” He calmly and leisurely opened his mouth: “Tell your person to closely watch Jiang Li. See what she is actually doing in Xi Hua Lou and who she meets.”

“I also very much want to see, this Jiang second miss, what kind of nice surprise she would bring for us.” He said with a smile.