The night fell, and the lanterns were just lit.
The Musical House, located in Liufang Alley on the East Street of Chang 'an, ushered in the busiest time of the day. The faint sounds of singing and dancing flowed out of the alley, just like the Rouge River at the end of the east side of Liufang Alley. It was like this day and night, with people singing and dancing, which made countless men yearn for it.
Li Mu, who was a beginner, entered Liufang Alley under the guidance of Zheng Cunjian, the "guide".
Liufang Alley was deeper and wider than the Pig-Herding Alley. The street was thousands of meters long, which could accommodate four carriages with eight horses running side by side. The ground was paved with large black bricks of the best quality, which fit seamlessly. On both sides of the street were pavilions of various sizes made of earth and wood, all of which were exquisitely crafted and hung with red or pink lanterns of various colors.
There were many pedestrians on the street, including armored soldiers on horseback and scholars driving carriages. Most of them were dressed in luxurious clothes.
The pavilions on both sides of the street had different names, such as the Yi Cui Pavilion, the Soft Jade Pavilion, the Guanmiao Pavilion, and so on. The inscriptions on the plaques were written by some famous scholars in Chang 'an, which was very impressive. There were also young women in chest-length skirts standing on the balconies of the pavilions, waving at passers-by and giggling.
The sound of their giggles and soft voices, set off by the fragrance of wine that wafted out of the pavilions from time to time, would indeed stimulate the secretion of hormones.
The Musical House was just a general name. It was the place where the brothels were managed by the government, and it was divided into different brothels, just like the listed companies on Earth might have different industries. On the way here, Li Mu saw the Yi Cui Pavilion, the Soft Jade Pavilion, and so on, which all belonged to the Musical House and each had its own specialty. According to Zheng Cunjian, there were popular girls in each of them.
As Li Mu walked, he watched and listened to Zheng Cunjian's explanation, which was quite an eye-opener.
He couldn't help but admit that it was no wonder that countless men yearned for such a position. There were indeed too many beautiful and youthful women. Along the way, he saw many breathtaking faces.
"In the entire Liufang Alley, there are a total of 37 brothels, all of which belong to the Musical House. There are also some brothels that cooperate with the Musical House in this alley. But the most famous ones are the Miaoyu House, the Flying Sky Pavilion, and the Holy House at the end of the alley. Young Master, which one do you want to go to?" Zheng Cunjian asked tentatively.
Riding on the horse, Li Mu said, "Take your pick."
As a beginner, he gradually had stage fright.
However, this was a normal phenomenon. Any virgin who came to such a place would inevitably blush.
"If that's the case, let's go to the Holy House. It's built along the Rouge River. Several of the girls there used to be from noble families. They're good at singing and dancing, and they're still single. If Young Master takes a liking to one of them, it won't be a disgrace to your literary reputation," Zheng Cunjian said.
Nowadays, Li Mu's Epigraph of My Shack had spread all over Chang 'an, and his literary reputation was flourishing.
Since ancient times, famous scholars and beautiful women had always been a match made in heaven. Especially in the brothels, literary fame was even more popular among the girls than martial fame. After all, a romantic scholar's poems and songs would spread all over the world. If a girl could win a famous poem, she would immediately become famous overnight and her social status would double.
After half an hour.
Li Mu and Zheng Cunjian sat in the hall of the Holy House.
Heartless Scholar had a special status. He could be regarded as a celebrity in Chang 'an City, and he was very familiar with the Musical House. He could get in just by showing his face. The madam of the Holy House, a great beauty who seemed to be barely 30 years old, came to greet him in person with a smile.
The two originally wanted to send them to the best private room, but Li Mu refused.
He just came here to feel the atmosphere, not to do anything. So, sitting in the hall would make him feel more real.
"Young Master, make yourself at home. If you need anything, just call me at any time." The madam named Bai Xuan said with a smile.
In fact, Bai Xuan was only in her thirties. She was plump and slender, and her skin was as fair as jade. Her facial features were extremely exquisite, and her temperament was also as white as snow. She looked otherworldly. It was really hard to associate such a beautiful woman with a madam of a brothel. It would not be an exaggeration to say that she was a noble lady of a big family.
Li Mu nodded with a smile and did not answer.
Bai Xuan then went to greet other guests.
Of course, there were not many guests who deserved to be greeted by her in person.
When they left Li Mu and Zheng Cunjian's table, Bai Xuan was still speculating in her mind about who on earth that young-looking young man was. How could he have Zheng Cunjian, a popular figure in the magistrate's government, accompany him? And judging from his appearance, his status was even higher than Zheng Cunjian's. What was more, the young man did not keep long hair. Instead, his short hair made him look like a monk, which made him look heroic and full of confidence. Judging by his temperament alone, Bai Xuan guessed that he must have a powerful background.
Bai Xuan had been running the Holy House for many years. Her ability to discern people's thoughts and expressions had reached the point of perfection. So, at first glance, she recognized Li Mu's extraordinariness.
She called several trusted maids who were in charge of the order of the hall on the first floor to one side and whispered a few words into their ears, telling them to pay attention to Li Mu and treat him well in case they offended him. Only then did Bai Xuan feel a little relieved.
She secretly memorized Li Mu's appearance.
Because she had a hunch that this young man would be a great figure, and he might come again in the future.
But Li Mu did not notice so many details.
After he took a seat, he pretended to be calm and looked around at the layout of the Holy House.
Just as Zheng Cunjian said, the Holy House was a clean house. No rouge or powder could be seen, and the decoration was very elegant. It was like a library, exuding a kind of elegant and refined scholarly atmosphere. The manservants and maids around were also dressed like scholars, with gentle smiles on their faces, which did not seem to be vulgar at all. Instead, they could easily make people's hearts race.
The Holy House was divided into three floors.
The dome of the third floor was like a huge transparent glass bowl. At this time, the moonlight had gradually deepened. The two moons were hanging high in the sky. The white moonlight shone down through the glass and sprinkled on the hall on the first floor, like a layer of white frost, which added a sense of holiness and purity.
The hall on the first floor was like a restaurant, with 56 mahogany tables of similar size. At this time, it was almost full. Like a restaurant, there were good wine and delicious food, and there were singing and dancing performances on the stage in the middle.
On the stage, all the young and beautiful girls below the age of sixteen were like fairies from the Jade Lake. Their performance style was extremely elegant. The moonlight shone down on the stage, making these beautiful girls look like fairies from the moon palace, making people's hearts beat faster.
Of course, these were all regular performances.
According to the rules in the Holy House, the performers only sold their skills, not their bodies. In fact, almost all the girls in the Holy House were like that. Unless it was voluntary, there was basically no such thing as forcing a girl to entertain a guest. Bai Xuan's background was also not small.
Time flew.
Around eight o 'clock in the evening, the entire hall was finally filled with people. It could be said that it was full. Some of the guests who came late had no seats and could only stand in the hall.
"I've asked around. It turns out that tonight is the opening day of Miss Hua, the top girl of the Holy House, which happens once every ten days. That's why so many people are here." Zheng Cunjian took a walk in the hall and came back to tell Li Mu.
The Miss Hua he mentioned was the top girl of the Holy House. Her stage name was Hua Xiangrong. It was said that she used to be the eldest daughter of a royal merchant. Her real name was Shangguan Yunyu. She was born with a peerless beauty, and her body had an exotic fragrance that could attract butterflies. She was a famous beauty far and wide. Moreover, she was gifted with intelligence and proficient in poetry, which made her quite famous. Unfortunately, she had a hard life. When she was 14, the Shangguan family was involved in a political storm and their property was confiscated. Her parents and brothers were either exiled or beheaded. Unfortunately, she was used as an official prostitute and fell into the hands of the Musical House. Fortunately, she was taken in by Mrs. Bai Xuan of the Holy House, so she did not lose her virginity. In recent years, she became famous and was one of the figures who could compete for the title of Top Beauty in Chang 'an City.
"Three months ago, for some unknown reason, Miss Hua, who has always sold her art but not her body and only danced to one song every day, suddenly announced that she would open her window three times a month. She did not ask for gold, silver, jewelry, or skin, but only asked for poems. She announced that as long as a talented man could make a poem that could move her heart, he or she could enter her boudoir and spend the night with her." Zheng Cunjian added.
The so-called opening of the window was somewhat similar to the opening of the brothel, but it was not exactly the same. The opening of the window meant that the day when a girl got married was the day when she began to accept customers and ended the days of selling her art but not her body. She had to accept some arrangements of the brothel within certain conditions. However, the opening of the window was up to the girl herself. She could choose her guests according to her own will, and it was not necessary that she would give herself to the girl. She might drink tea, chat, dance, or compose poems.
To put it simply, it was up to the girl to make friends first. If the girl fell in love with the girl, she could even have sex with the girl. But it was all up to the girl, and the brothel could not force her to do so.
But no matter what, once a lofty goddess opened her window and let another man into her boudoir, people would always have the feeling that the goddess might have been slept with and was no longer as pure as before. Therefore, many of the most popular girls in the brothel would not choose to open the window before they got married, because that would only lower their status.
"It has been three months since Miss Hua opened her window, but no one has ever moved her with a poem to enter her boudoir." Zheng Cunjian said with a smile, "Young Master, your talent is unparalleled. Maybe you can give it a try tonight."
Li Mu rubbed his nose and smiled.
"Unparalleled talent my ass! That Epigraph of My Shack was copied by the sages on Earth, okay?"
He just came to the brothel to have a look. Such a scene was totally out of his league because he had no talent in that field. Therefore, Li Mu did not plan to participate in the so-called competition tonight.
However, because of Zheng Cunjian's remark, a man at the next table mocked him.
"Humph, unparalleled talent? How dare you boast like that? You really overestimate yourself. "
"Nowadays, everyone dares to boast regardless of the occasion."
A young man in brocade clothes and jade ornaments at the next table even cast a direct look at Li Mu. Seeing that Li Mu was very young and dressed in ordinary clothes without any expensive ornaments, the young man thought he was a poor scholar who hoped to gain fame by attending this event. So, without any scruples, he directly responded with sarcasm. "You are just a kid. How dare you boast about your unparalleled talent on such an occasion? You really have no sense of shame."
-----
As for the talk about getting married and opening the window, Dao made it up entirely. I can guarantee that I have no knowledge about the brothel. Please believe me.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
