In the garden, Huan Qiu raced about. Her steps were quick, her expression stern, and an aggressive aura radiated from her. Understanding her mood, maids and servants who encountered her hastened to step out of her way. Even those who knew her, upon seeing her expression, instinctively shrunk away, silently turning their faces to pretend they did not know her.
Exiting the back garden, she stormed into the building complex on the east side, intending to find Du Yuheng’s courtyard, when she bumped into Liuzhu, the headmaid of Young Miss Du Wangu. As she passed by Huan Qiu, Liuzhu discreetly whispered something only the two of them could hear, "Young Miss Biao was taken out of the State Duke’s Mansion by the second young master, likely headed to the Drunken Flower House in Brothel Lane..."
Huan Qiu felt a pause in her heart, abruptly stopped in her tracks and turned to leave.
Drunken Flower House, undoubtedly a brothel’s name, and a third or fourth-rate one at that. In the Great Jin Nation, brothels had different ranks. First and second-tier brothels were referred to as "halls, inns or pavilions," the top-tier in the business, reserved for princes and rich merchants. But those named "classrooms, halls, buildings, shops", were the lower-level brothels visited by all sorts of people. Privacy wasn’t maintained well there, and even if the Second Lady wasn’t violated there, if seen, there would be no face left to hold up in public.
The Drunken Flower House on Huazhi Alley
It was a small, three-story structure built of green bricks, gray and dim, bereft of jade masonry or cymbidium orchid windows. At first glance, it had no unique features, ordinary and dull, hardly even giving an impression of grandeur. However, parked outside this brothel were over a dozen luxurious carriages.
Although seemingly unremarkable, the Drunken Flower House was certainly unique among brothels in the Great Jin Nation. Here, all the courtesans were young and undeveloped. In addition to that, there were a dozen or so fair-skinned young pimps for the customers to choose from. With these rare features, the Drunken Flower House had become the most famous brothel in the Great Jin capital of late. Many rich and noble men who enjoyed such places would spend lavishly here to indulge and entertain themselves. The ’Drunken Flower House’ deliberately maintained a low profile in its exterior decoration to go unnoticed. Yet, its interior was lavishly decorated, resembling a fairyland in the human world. No man who arrived here would willingly leave.
In an elegant room on the third floor of the Drunken Flower House, Cai Fei woke up groggily. As she opened her eyes, she was greeted by a vision of extravagant bed curtains. The silk and satin and jade pillow were not unusual, but the embroidery on the curtains was.
The floor-length bed curtains of ivory cocoon silk were luxurious and the embroidery work was exquisite. However, it wasn’t decorated with birds and beasts, nor any auspicious objects. Instead, it was embroidered with battling demons. All of them were stark naked; some piled upon one another, others arranged in various complicated positions. It was an extremely bizarre sight.
Cai Fei sat up groggily, rubbing her temples, recollecting the events that had just happened.
During her afternoon nap, she had sent Huan Qiu away and sneaked out of the cloth store alone. Gathering her courage, she ventured to the Duke An Mansion to visit her grandmother briefly before returning.
She knew there were no good people in the Duke An Mansion, but after receiving news of her grandmother’s death the day before, she was scared stiff. Even though her dad explained that her grandmother was safe, his eyes and tone were strange, making her suspicious. After tossing and turning all night, she decided she had to see her grandmother with her own eyes. Otherwise, she would never be at peace, no matter what anyone said. So, she visited the Duke An Mansion with a hopeful heart, planning to see her grandmother once and return immediately. However, instead of seeing her grandmother, she unexpectedly ran into Du Yuheng, the second young master from the main branch of the family.