Chapter 416
Chapter 416: Chapter 416, buying the Peach Blossom House
Everyone in Chang ‘an knew the name of Spring Wind Street. Qiao ruoyi had known about Spring Wind Street since she was a child, but she had never set foot in Spring Wind Street.
After entering the imperial court, her colleagues often went to spring wind street when they gathered at the government office. Qiao ruoyi only asked her subordinates to attend social events for her.
However, Qiao Ruoyi had heard of the name of Spring Wind Street. There was a curfew in Chang ‘an, but Spring Wind Street was an exception. It was brightly lit throughout the night.
A river separated the inner city from Spring Breeze Street. The river was filled with pleasure boats, and the wide stone bridge was filled with men and women, all wearing silk.
Qiao ruoyi could smell the smell of Rouge coming from the other side. She could not help but sigh. “This place is really lively.”
Fu Lu said, “Now that the world is peaceful and prosperous, this place is naturally lively.”
Qiao Ruoyi did not dare to take even half a step into Spring Wind Street since she was a child. If it was not for Princess Fu Lu beside her, she would have entered as well.
After walking across the bridge, one could see many gorgeous courtyards. In front of them were beautiful women dressed in cool and lead powder who were welcoming guests.
“The two young ladies are here to look for their husbands in Spring Wind Street?”
“These two young ladies are so beautiful, yet their husbands are still here in Spring Wind Street? Are they here for Miss Miaoxue?”
“Today is Miss MIAOXUE’s first time receiving customers. Everyone says that Miss Miaoxue is the best courtesan in Spring Breeze Street for ten years. I think the two ladies are even more beautiful than Miss Miaoxue...”
Qiao ruoyi frowned and said, “How dare you!”
The girls of Spring Breeze Street dared to compare them with the girls of brothels. This was too much!
Fu Lu held Qiao Ruoyi’s hand and said, “Don’t be angry. I came to this courtesan auction once with Prince Rong when I was young. It was a real waste of money. I remember that the first time the courtesan was receiving customers was 10,000 taels of silver!”
Qiao ruoyi said, “But I’m not good at polishing the mirror. Why would I spend 10,000 taels of silver to buy that woman’s Night?”
As for giving the courtesan Belle to Xie Yun, it was absolutely impossible. Since she was married to Xie Yun, she absolutely would not allow other women and children in Xie Yun’s residence.
This had nothing to do with feelings. It was just that after the other daughters of the Qiao family got married, there was no husband taking in concubines. Her surname was Qiao, so she naturally could not break this rule.
Fu Lu thought for a moment and said, “Most of the famous courtesans in Spring Breeze Street are also proficient in zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting. You can spar with her in literary talent. Most importantly, you can spend Xie Yun’s Silver!”
Qiao ruoyi vaguely felt that it made sense.
Miss Mi Xue was a girl from the Peach Blossom House. The Peach Blossom House was a famous brothel in great Tang that only high-ranking officials and nobles could enter. When the Madam saw the two girls coming, she thought that they were here to look for her husband, she was afraid that they would ruin Miss Meng Xue’s Big Day, so she asked someone to chase them out.
It was still a tortoise-like official who said, “Madam Madam, one of these two is the female assistant of the Ministry of appointments, Lord Qiao, and the other is Princess Fu Lu.”
When the Madam heard this, she immediately went forward and smiled, “Princess, this crown prince Qiao has never set foot in my peach blossom brothel. You Won’t be able to catch him today!”
Fu Lu snorted. “My Ah Lu is a clean person, so he naturally won’t come here. Today, we are here to be Miss Mi Xue’s first benefactor. We will definitely not cause trouble. You can rest assured.”
When the Madam heard this, she retreated. “Yes.”
When Miss Mi Xue came out, everyone below was full of praise. They all sighed at Miss Mi Xue’s excellent appearance. Miss Mi Xue’s dance was even more stunning.
However, there was no light in Miss Mi Xue’s eyes. This was because she knew that after today, she would be a prostitute in a brothel.
When Qiao Ruoyi saw Miss Mi Xue dancing, her eyes were filled with a sigh. If Mi Xue’s appearance, bearing, and dance were born in a wealthy family, she would be praised by all the madams.
Unfortunately, she ended up in a brothel.
Qiao ruoyi suddenly had an idea. A way to spend all the money and save this woman from Spring Wind Street.
“Madam, name a price. I want to buy your peach blossom brothel.”
Fu Lu heard Qiao Ruoyi’s words and said, “You’re not joking, right?”
Qiao ruoyi shook her head and said, “The women here are really pitiful. It just so happens that Xie Yun has money...”
The madam said with difficulty, “Lord Qiao, don’t joke around. Peach Blossom Tower has a master behind it. I Can’t make the decision here!”
“Who is your master?”Qiao ruoyi asked, “I will definitely take over peach blossom tower today.”
The madam said, “I have never seen who the master behind it is. Lord Qiao, please don’t make things difficult for me!”
Qiao ruoyi replied, “It’s not difficult. Miss MIANXUE’s graceful dance on the stage is one of the best even in the academy. She shouldn’t be reduced to the plaything of the people below the stage in the future.”
Qiao ruoyi thought that if a woman had never studied before, it would be fine. But if she had studied, how could she be willing to be the plaything of a man for the rest of her life.
The Madam was after all afraid of Qiao Ruoyi’s identity. Not to mention the madam, even those officials in the imperial court whose ranks were not as high as Qiao Ruoyi turned their heads and did not dare to enter when they saw her here.
..
Xie Yun knew that Qiao Ruoyi had followed Fu Lu out and had not seen Qiao ruoyi return to the manor. He then looked for Lan Xin and asked, “Has she not returned yet?”
Lan Xin replied, “The secret guards have come to report that the princess has brought Madam to Spring Breeze Street. I don’t think she will be back so soon.”
Xie Yun frowned. “She is still pregnant. Why would she go to a place like Spring Breeze Street?”
As soon as she finished speaking, the servant beside Xie Yun hurried over and said, “Master, there is news from Peach Blossom House. It says that Lord Qiao wants to buy Peach Blossom House.”
“Lord Qiao?”Xie Yun asked, “Which Lord Qiao?”
“That’s madam...”
Xie Yun said, “Then let her buy it!”
Qiao ruoyi drank about an hour’s worth of tea, the madam came over and said, “Lord Qiao, my boss has already said that this peach blossom house will be sold to you. However, our peach blossom house usually receives close to a thousand taels of silver... how much do you plan to offer to buy the Peach Blossom House?”
Princess Fu Lu said, “Don’t lie to me. How Can Your Peach Blossom House earn a thousand taels of silver a day?”
The madam said, “I really didn’t lie to you. Our Peach Blossom House has the best business on Spring Breeze Street. Even the poet scholar Mingyue from Chang ‘an wrote that where there are beautiful sights in Chang ‘an, there are ten miles of Spring Breeze Peach Blossom House.”
Qiao ruoyi took a sip of tea lightly and said, “In that case, how much do you want to offer?”
The madam didn’t dare to offend Qiao ruoyi, so she followed the owner’s price and said, “200,000 taels of silver.”
Qiao ruoyi said, “That’s not appropriate. Since scholar Mingyue is writing poems for the Peach Blossom Restaurant, 200,000 taels of silver is not enough. I’ll offer another 200,000 taels of silver, a total of 400,000 taels of silver, as a favor to scholar Mingyue.”
Fu Lu:”...”
Fortunately, Qiao Ruoyi was no longer the daughter of the Qiao family. Her bargaining skills were really top-notch.