Volume 6: Dream Record Chapter 398 The Unfortunate Woman in the Brothel
"It's okay, we'll just go in and watch the fun for a while and come out right away!"
"All right!"
After Song Yinzhang and Yinping nodded in agreement, Yuan Xudong took them into the Xiangyun Tower. Along the way, there were carved beams and painted buildings, and the sound of orioles and swallows. There were lighted red lanterns hanging everywhere, and bright red silks and satins used for decoration. The air was filled with a special incense, as well as the scent of women's rouge and powder, mixed with the natural body fragrance of young women. The whole Xiangyun Tower was like a fairyland on earth, a paradise on earth, and there were many ragged and unruly drunkards in it. The young ladies who accompanied them also had a charming look in their eyes , which made Song Yinzhang and Yinping's cheeks flushed and they were very excited.
Listening to the panting and lewd sounds coming from the boxes on both sides, Song Yinzhang and Yinping Yatou followed closely behind Yuan Xudong. Song Yinzhang gently pulled Yuan Xudong's sleeve, raised his head and glanced at him, and said shyly:
"Fan Lang, let's go out..."
"It's okay, I'll be out soon!"
Before Song Yinzhang could finish her words, Yuan Xudong interrupted her. He imitated the guests who lingered in Xiangyun Tower and held the panting Song Yinzhang in his arms and caressed her:
"Let's go see Zhou She. He almost cheated your daughter into becoming your own. If you don't take revenge, you're not a gentleman. I'll teach him a lesson for you!"
"Fan Lang!"
Being held in Yuan Xudong's arms and caressed gently, and hearing him mention how she was almost cheated of money and sex by Zhou She a few days ago, Song Yinzhang thought that Yuan Xudong didn't believe her, so she hurriedly explained:
"Fan Lang, you must believe me. I was not taken advantage of by Zhou She. When I was in the Jiaofang Division, I was either practicing the pipa or studying the music scores of past masters. No other man has ever touched me except you. What I said is true. You must believe me!"
Looking at the somewhat nervous Song Yinzhang, Yuan Xudong said with a smile:
"real?"
"real!"
Looking at the smirking Yuan Xudong, Song Yinzhang swore to the heavens:
"I can swear to heaven that everything I, Song Yinzhang, said to Fan Lang was true. If you still don't believe me, you can ask Yin Ping. She knows my affairs best!"
"Yes, Yinping knows the young lady's affairs best!"
Looking at Yuan Xudong who was holding Song Yinzhang in his arms and caressing him wantonly, the girl Yinping beside him said quickly:
"Sir, when our young lady was still in the Music Bureau, she usually either practiced the pipa or studied the music scores. She didn't know anything about the relationship between men and women. That liar Zhou She didn't even touch a finger of our young lady!"
At this point, Yin Ping paused for a moment, looked up at Yuan Xudong, then quickly lowered her head and said shyly:
"That day, when you bullied our young lady, she didn't know anything. It was you who taught her!"
"Ha ha!"
Looking at the pleasing Song Yinzhang and Yinping girl, Yuan Xudong couldn't help but say fondly:
"That's right, I taught her. Your young lady is known as the best pipa player in Jiangnan. How could she serve others? I should be the one serving her!"
At this point, Yuan Xudong whispered in Song Yinzhang's ear:
"I'm going to spend the night at your place tonight. I'll take good care of you and that bad girl Yinping!"
"Fan Lang!"
Being held in Yuan Xudong's arms and caressed, and whispering about interesting things in his daughter's room, Song Yinzhang looked like he was drunk, his face flushed, his eyes slightly turned, and he said:
"Yin Zhang is weak, please have mercy on me, Fan Lang!"
"Okay, I will take good care of Yin Zhang!"
As he spoke, Yuan Xudong glanced at the girl Yinping who had been following him and said jokingly:
"And Yinping girl, I will take good care of both you and your servant!"
"Thank you Fanlang!"
"Thank you, sir!"
Song Yinzhang and Yinping maid both blushed and spoke with lowered eyebrows.
…
A moment ago, in a private room of Xiangyun Tower, Zhou She was hugging his beloved young lady and having a good time. Zhou She was drunk and his face was red, just like a braised pig's head. He smiled and hugged the young lady in Xiangyun Tower with a smirk on his face:
"Mei Niang, you are so beautiful. If I didn't have so little money, I would really like to redeem you and take you home to be my wife!"
Being held in Zhou She's arms, listening to his disgusting words that couldn't be more fake, the brothel girl called Mei Niang suppressed her nausea and coaxed him to continue drinking in a charming and seductive way, smiling with seductive eyes:
"Mr. Zhou, can you drink with me for another cup, please?"
"Okay, as long as you use a leather cup, I'll drink with you!"
Zhou She was not stupid, and would not be easily fooled by this brothel girl. He continued to test her:
"Mei Niang, I heard that you have saved a lot of money. How about this? You take out all the money to do business, and I will help you double it. All the profits are yours. If you lose money, I will help you cover the bottom line. How about this?"
"Mr. Zhou, where can I get the money?"
Hearing that Zhou She was indeed trying to take her money, the brothel girl called Mei Niang had a flash of contempt in her eyes. Zhou She looked like a decent human being, but his character was so terrible. Brothel girls were originally of low status, and who would want to serve men coming and going every day unless they had no choice?
In brothels, many young and ignorant ladies will be deceived by men with ulterior motives. They will give all the money they earn from selling their bodies to those bad men, and even use their bodies to please them in vain. In order to make more money to satisfy the men's growing appetite, some ladies will even receive patrons at all costs, just for the other party's vague verbal promises, such as waiting for them to make money in the future business, waiting for them to pass the imperial examinations in Beijing, and so on. There are all kinds of excuses. Some silly girls will always really believe in the hypocritical promises that men will never fulfill!
Zhou She was one of them. Last month, Xiao Cui from Baihua Tower next door hanged herself. She was deceived by Zhou She, who said he would redeem her and marry her. He also said that he did not have enough money and his business was tight, so he wanted to borrow some from Xiao Cui. The Zhou family was a wealthy family in Huating County. Xiao Cui did not even think that Zhou She would cheat a brothel girl like her for such a small amount of money. But in the end, Xiao Cui was cheated out of all the twenty-one strings of cash, which included seven strings of cash lent to her by other sisters. She went to the Huating County Magistrate to complain, but the County Magistrate beat Xiao Cui with twenty lashes without asking any questions.
Needless to say, the final result was that the county magistrate sentenced Xiao Cui to false accusation of an innocent citizen. Not only did Xiao Cui not get her money back, she was also beaten half to death. She had to pay Zhou She 21 strings of copper coins as compensation. She suffered such a great injustice and had no one to take charge of the matter. In addition, she had no money to compensate Zhou She or her sisters. She was desperate and could only hang herself. Her body was hastily collected by Baihualou. It was just an ordinary brothel girl who died, not the most beautiful lady. Baihualou did not cause any trouble for Zhou She, and the matter ended here.
However, Zhou She's reputation spread thoroughly among the brothel girls in Huating County. As the saying goes, when a rabbit dies, the fox mourns, and animals of the same kind feel grief for each other. Ordinary people would not care about the life and death of these brothel girls. At most, they would regard them as after-dinner gossip or even a joke. However, as they were all people of low status, these brothel girls instead sympathized with each other even more. Although they could not punish Zhou She, they reminded each other not to let their sisters be fooled by this evil man again!
Mei Niang was thinking about this in her heart. She was just about to continue to force Zhou She to drink and coax him to spend more money, which could also be regarded as helping Xiao Cui to vent her anger. At this moment, the curtain of the box was pulled aside, and a master in brocade clothes and two strong servants rushed in. When he saw Zhou She, he smiled sarcastically:
"Hey, isn't this Mr. Zhou?"
"Hey, Boss Xu!"
Seeing his creditor Xu Fugui coming to his door, Zhou She's face changed slightly, and he quickly pushed Mei Niang away, stood up from the chair, bowed and smiled apologetically:
"Boss Xu, please sit down, please sit down!"
"good!"
Xu Fugui sat down where Zhou She had been sitting before, glanced at Mei Niang standing next to Zhou She and said with a smile:
"This little girl is pretty good!"
After saying that, he looked directly at Zhou She who was standing in front of him with his hands and feet tied, and said with a smile:
"sit!"
"sit?"
After taking a look at Xu Fugui, Zhou She said with a smile:
"Boss Xu, can I sit down too?"
"sit!"
"Okay, thank you, Boss Xu!"
"You're welcome!"
After taking a look at Zhou She who was sitting in front of him, Boss Xu said directly:
"Zhou She, when are you going to pay me back the fifteen strings of cash you owe me?"
When Zhou She heard that he had to pay back the money, he immediately shirked responsibility:
"Boss Xu, please listen to my explanation. It's not that I don't want to pay you back, but my ship carrying Southeast Asian goods has not yet arrived at the port. The ship departed from Guangzhou and arrived at Hangzhou, and can be exempted from paying a full 50% of the port tax. A full 50%. Except for the old house, the maids and servants, all the rest of my property has been mortgaged. Please give me a few more days. Once the merchant ship arrives, I will pay you back immediately!"
"Bah!"
Hearing that Zhou She still had no money to pay back, Xu Fugui changed his attitude immediately. He looked at Zhou She, whose parents had both passed away and whose relatives and elders were all dead, and said with disdain:
"In Huating County, your Zhou family was once considered a wealthy family. At that time, not to mention a mere fifteen strings of copper coins, even one hundred and fifty strings of copper coins were nothing. But you are a loser and have no self-awareness. It's ok to eat, drink, gamble and whore, but you also want to learn to be a maritime merchant. You can be a maritime merchant, but you don't even want to pay the customs duty. You don't even know it when you are about to die, and you still have the mind to drink and have fun in Xiangyun Tower?"
Without waiting for Zhou She to speak, Xu Fugui continued:
"I'll tell you out of kindness. Just two days ago, the imperial envoy Xiao investigated the illegal opening of the sea ban at Hangzhou Port. Zheng Qingtian, the Maritime Customs Commissioner of Hangzhou Port and the Magistrate of Qiantang County, committed suicide out of fear of punishment. Fortunately, the government was merciful and did not punish his entire clan, not even his three tribes. However, all the merchant ships at Hangzhou Port were confiscated, and several merchants who were trading on the spot were arrested. In other words, you were lucky that you didn't go to Hangzhou Port to watch the transactions, but all the South Sea goods you imported are gone, and your Zhou family is completely bankrupt.
This news hasn't spread yet. I know you owe me at least 500 strings of cash. You can't pay it back. I don't care about other people's money. You owe me 15 strings of cash. You must pay me back today. Otherwise, I will chop off your fingers one by one and feed them to the dogs. After chopping off your fingers, I will chop off your toes. If you owe me 1 string of cash, I will chop off one finger. If you owe me 15 strings of cash, I will chop off 15 fingers!"
As he said that, Xu Fugui asked his two strong servants to press Zhou She on the table, spread out his right hand and pressed it on the table. Xu Fugui directly took out a sharp fine steel dagger and stabbed it quickly between the five fingers of Zhou She's right hand:
"Tell me, can you pay me back the fifteen strings of cash you owe me today?"
In this brothel, there were many debt collectors. Even when she saw Xu Fugui taking out a dagger and threatening to chop off Zhou She's fingers, Mei Niang did not make a fuss but just hid aside.
In fact, in her opinion, this Boss Xu was probably bluffing. Even if Zhou She really didn't have the money to pay him back, he wouldn't really chop off Zhou She's fingers, at least not in public. But Zhou She didn't have the courage to do so. When he was frightened by Xu Fugui, he immediately wailed like a pig about to be slaughtered:
"Boss Xu, this is all a misunderstanding. I will pay you back. I will definitely pay you back. Boss Xu, this is all a misunderstanding. I really can't afford it. All my shops have been mortgaged. I will go and get the money right away. Boss Xu, please spare my life!"
Looking at Zhou She who looked like a fat pig waiting to be slaughtered, Xu Fugui revealed his true intentions and said with a smile:
"I want to see the money now. Otherwise, you can mortgage your ancestral home to me. I will give you one day to collect the money. If you still can't pay me back after one day, your ancestral home will be mine. How about that?"
"What, you want my Zhou family's ancestral home as collateral?"
Seeing Xu Fugui, who obviously had bad intentions, Zhou She shook his head and refused:
"No, this is absolutely not possible. It's only one day. If I can't collect 15 strings of copper coins, then my Zhou family's ancestral home will become your Xu family's, right?"
Seeing Zhou She refusing to agree, Xu Fugui thought he was reluctant to give up his ancestral home, but he didn't expect Zhou She to change the subject and say:
"Boss Xu, how about this? I will sell you the ancestral home, along with the maids and servants. In addition to the 15 strings of cash I have to pay you back, can you give me another 15 strings of cash?"
"Bah!"
Seeing Zhou She who could easily sell off his own ancestral home, Xu Fugui couldn't help but say with disdain:
"Zhou She, your parents are lucky to be dead. If they were still alive, they would be pissed off by you. As for your ancestral house, I can offer you at most 20 strings of cash. Do you want it or not?"
"Only twenty strings of cash?"
Hearing that Xu Fugui was only willing to pay 20 strings of cash, and that he would only have 5 strings of cash left after deducting the 15 strings he had to pay back, Zhou She could not run far, so he said anxiously:
"Boss Xu, there are several maids and servants at home. Each of them is worth one guan. Can you give me another six guan?"
"Bah!"
Looking at the shameless Zhou She, Xu Fugui cursed:
"No, I have plenty of maids and servants at home, why would I need to buy your Zhou family's?"
Seeing that Xu Fugui was not convinced, Zhou She turned his attention to Mei Niang who was standing beside him. He smiled apologetically and said:
"Mei Niang, good Mei Niang, I know you have saved a lot of money, you can lend me all the money, and I will mortgage my ancestral home to you, okay?"
Looking at Zhou She who was pressed on the table like a fat pig waiting to be slaughtered, Mei Niang said with a half-smile:
"Mr. Zhou, I am just a prostitute. What use do I have for your ancestral home? Besides, I don't have thirty strings of cash!"
"Good Mei Niang, just fifteen strings of cash will be enough!"
Looking at Mei Niang with seductive eyes, Zhou She smiled apologetically:
"If you don't have enough money, you can borrow some from others. My ancestral home is worth at least 20 or 30 strings of cash. I will definitely not let you suffer any loss!"
If it were an ordinary person, he might actually be willing to lend Zhou She fifteen strings of coins. Just as he said, his ancestral home was worth at least twenty or thirty strings of coins. In any case, he would definitely not suffer a loss.
But Mei Niang was a prostitute of low status, while the Zhou family was a wealthy family in Huating County. There was a huge disparity in their status. Even if they had the promissory note and the land deeds and house deeds in their hands, as long as Zhou She turned around and said that Mei Niang had deceived him, and the county magistrate was partial to her, then black could be turned into white, and Mei Niang would end up hanging herself like Xiao Cui.
Fortunately, Mei Niang is not stupid. She will not take the bait and bite this seemingly tempting bait. Just when Mei Niang was about to refuse, a hearty laugh was heard outside the house. The person had not arrived yet, but the voice had already come in and was still ringing in everyone's ears. Mei Niang's eyes were slightly startled. What a clean and clear voice!
"Mr. Zhou, long time no see, how are you these days?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a handsome young man wearing a golden jade crown, brocade clothes, a white jade hanging from his waist, with red lips, white teeth, sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes walked in. In his arms was a beautiful young lady with bright eyes, white teeth and a beautiful face. Behind him followed closely a pretty girl in green clothes. When Zhou She, who was still pressed on the table, saw the newcomers, he slightly widened his eyes and said in a lost voice:
"Mr. Xiao?"
Looking at Zhou She who looked like a fool, Yuan Xudong smiled and said, imitating the demeanor of the eldest son of the Xiao family:
"Mr. Zhou, long time no see. Why are you so embarrassed today?"
Looking at Yuan Xudong, who was completely different from the first time they met, and Song Yinzhang and Yinping, who had become more tender and attractive, Zhou She's eyes flashed with jealousy and greed, but he smiled a sly smile and said:
"Mr. Xiao, I need your help. Can you lend me fifteen strings of cash?"
"Fifteen strings of cash?"
