The Rebirth Of The General Who Always Sees Himself As A Replacement

Chapter 60: Have You Ever Been To A Brothel?

In Kangping Square, there were brightly lit and exquisitely ornamented buildings that harbor such ‘types’ of women. While on the lake, there were decorated boats which concealed beautiful women, who, with a song of red silk, made young men compete with each other to win their favors.

Once the four arrived at the destination, they saw the bustling streets that stretched for kilometers. The atmosphere was buzzing with laughter, games, dancing and endless music.

Wen Heyin stammered: “It, it turned out to be a brothel….”

“To simply say ‘it’s a brothel’, is to have a limited idea of what this place really is.” Pei Hantang smiled and hugged Wen Heyin by the shoulders. “This music, these songs, these dances, these boat rides on the lake, all of this is the flourishing rise of a profound, unordinary kind of art and literature.”

Wen Heyin twisted his mouth and said: “Anyway….. anyway, this is a place of leisure and lewdness!”

Pei Hantang winked at him and said: “Isn’t there a saying that says; ‘A man who doesn’t enjoy the pleasures of life is worthless’?”

Wen Heyin: “Hands off!”

Pei Hantang was startled and withdrew his hand: “Yoo, why so fierce?”

The moment Wen Heyin went to stand next to Mu Zhiming, Pei Hantang’s eyes fell on Mu Zhiming. Upon seeing that Mu Zhiming was curiously looking at the tall pavilions and both sides of the street, Pei Hantang smiled and asked: “Since Lord Mu has lived in the Capital all his life, this shouldn’t be the first time you have visited Kangping Square, right?”

Mu Zhiming smiled and said in a clear loud voice: “Of course….!”

Gu Heyan intensely stared at him.

Mu Zhiming: “….This is my first time coming here.”

Gu Heyan silently withdrew his eyes.

Mu Zhiming added: “When I was young, my family was quite strict and it was explicitly stipulated that I couldn’t visit or be near the lecherous streets. Later, when I became an Official, it was required for me to follow the law in the Imperial Court that states that Officials above the 3rd rank aren’t allowed to have sex with the prostitutes. So yeah, this is indeed my first time visiting this kind of place.”

Pei Hantang praised him: “Lord Mu performs with the virtue of a righteous gentleman.”

Mu Zhiming smiled and saluted: “Lord Pei, you’re being too generous in your praise.”

Gu Heyan: “Let’s go investigate the case.”

—

Although the four men came to Kangping Square knowing that they should look for clues, there was an innumerable amount of brothels in this place, so it was a real headache to know where to start.

After some thought, in the end, they could only choose the dumbest option. They went to find the Madames and ask them, one by one, if any of the prostitutes had gone missing lately. Or, for that matter, if they knew of any girl who was good with the zither or pipe, who hadn’t returned to Kingping Square in three days.

However, even after inquiring in five different places, they were unable to find any clues. Fortunately, the Madames were rather cooperative, so they didn’t waste too much time. Although, in reality, it was all due to Pei Hantang. As soon as Pei Hantang showed his Capital Prefecture waist token, the Madames would shout ‘Lord!’ and hurried to answer all the questions they were asked.

The sixth place they visited was a seven-story Pavilion that stood right in front of the blue lake, with eaves as heavy as a bird’s wings, decorated with red silk, and filled with the fragrance of wine. When the four men arrived at the door of the place, they sensed that it was different from the rest. While the other brothels had beautiful women standing at the entrance to attract customers, this place appeared to be quieter and more elegant.

“This place has a high reputation in the Capital.” Pei Hantang bowed his head and sighed softly. “I heard that the girls here are good with the zither, chess, calligraphy and painting. I also heard that they are as beautiful as Heavenly Fairies, so this place is often frequented by many Dignitaries, Princes and Nobles.”

Wen Heyin asked: “Have you been here before?”

Pei Hantang smiled and asked: “Do I look like someone who has been here before?”

Wen Heyin nodded: “You do.”

Pei Hantang said with some helplessness: “….Little one, you seem to have some kind of misunderstanding about me.”

Once the four of them stepped into the building, the first thing they noticed was an overwhelming fragrance of warm incense. They heard melodious and pleasing music, then saw a few realistic paintings hanging on the vermilion wall. It was as if they had entered a fairyland.

When a gracefully dressed girl came up to welcome them, Pei Hantang pulled out his waist token and said: “I’m Pei Hantang, the Shaoyin of the Capital Prefecture. We‘ve come here to investigate a case. No need to make it public, just go ask the Madame to come and talk to us, please.”

“Oh….” The girl was somewhat surprised and frightened, so she stammered as she spoke: “L-lords, wait, wait a moment. Sit, sit down and wait a moment…..”

As soon as the girl finished speaking, she hurried away. Not long after that, they were approached by a female steward dressed in dark reddish-purple clothes with a red belt and braided hair. She invited the four men to sit on the 1st floor, behind a jade screen carved with a snow-covered Kunlun Mountain, to enjoy the performance of The Drunken Consort. She also ordered someone to bring them tea and a fruit platter to show their courtesy.

As they waited, Pei Hantang felt bored and looked around, inspecting the exquisitely beautiful furniture in the pavilion with his eyes. Everything around him felt dazzlingly beautiful, when all of a sudden, Pei Hantang’s eyes fell on a specific spot. It was as if he had seen something strange, and he stared at it for a long time.

After that, Pei Hantang approached Gu Heyan and whispered: “Yuyi, look at the third painting of pretty prostitutes hanging on the wall to your left.”

Gu Heyan turned his head to look at said painting. At the same time, he heard Pei Hantang ask him: “So, do you think she looks similar?”

“What?” Gu Heyan wasn’t understanding what he meant.

“Look closely.” Pei Hantang insisted. “Those eyebrows and those eyes, don’t you think she bears a certain resemblance to…..”

Gu Heyan was still quite confused: “To who?”

Mu Zhiming suddenly interrupted their conversation: “To me.”

Startled, Pei Hantang looked up at Mu Zhiming, who was looking at them with a smirk on his face. Since Mu Zhiming had already heard what they were whispering about, Pei Hantang clenched his fist in embarrassment and said: “Lord Mu, I apologize for being disrespectful. I wasn’t trying to compare Lord Mu to a Prostitute.”

“No, no. Lord Pei was simply telling the truth.” Mu Zhiming replied like he didn’t care.

“What comparison are you talking about? Who is similar to whom?” Wen Heyin also turned his head to look. When he did, he was so stunned that he shouted: “Young Master! That girl in the painting looks just like you! But isn’t she one of the girls from the Pavilion?”

Mu Zhiming politely smiled and said: “I’m really curious as well. Why don’t we find someone to inquire about her?”

Wen Heyin: “Yes, yes!”

Right at that moment, it just so happened that a girl dressed in green passed by where they were, so Mu Zhiming called out to her and asked her about the girl in the painting.

The girl said: “Ah, she used to be the Queen of Flowers1 in our Pavilion. Half a year ago, a Nobleman fell in love with her and redeemed her. Since then, she has been living in that Nobleman’s Residence, and no one has ever seen her again.”

Footnotes

花魁 huā kuí; It has multiple meanings, such as: the most beautiful flower, unparalleled beauty, and was also used to refer to the most popular courtesan/prostitute.