Chapter 24

After half an hour, Zhao Hongrun and his group came out of a rather exquisite curio shop on Chaoyang Street. Now that they had money, their backs were straighter.

Exactly six hundred taels, who would have thought that the landscape painting by the Sixth Prince, Zhao Hongzhao, would fetch such a high price from the shopkeeper?

Even so, Zhao Hongrun could still infer from the shopkeeper's words and attitude that he had been taken advantage of.

Later, Zhao Hongrun learned that his sixth brother, known as the "Qilin Child," had been famous throughout the capital since childhood, admired for his elegance, talent, and extensive knowledge. Countless scholars and young ladies in the capital vied to attend Zhao Hongzhao's poetry gatherings, and many unmarried young ladies dreamed of marrying him.

Unfortunately, Zhao Hongzhao's "Elegant Wind Poetry Gatherings" were not open to just anyone. Even the sons and nephews of high-ranking officials would not be invited if they lacked sufficient talent.

Because of this, the literati and beauties in the capital considered being invited by Zhao Hongzhao to the Elegant Wind Pavilion to attend his poetry gatherings and personally appreciate his calligraphy as the most elegant thing in the capital. They praised him so much that Zhao Hongzhao's calligraphy became highly renowned and sought after by wealthy people.

However, Zhao Hongzhao, being the most favored prince of the current Emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty, neither lacked money nor wanted his works to be tainted by the stench of copper. Therefore, apart from gifting a few paintings to close friends, his works were rarely seen in the market, causing their prices to rise year by year.

To put it bluntly, Zhao Hongrun was definitely at a disadvantage, because the painting he had secretly taken out was stamped with his sixth brother Zhao Hongzhao's seal. It would easily fetch a thousand taels of silver. If he were lucky and encountered some wealthy and pretentious officials, the price might be even higher.

However, Zhao Hongrun was already very satisfied with the six hundred taels. After all, how much was his monthly stipend as a prince? According to the ancestral rules of the Great Wei Dynasty, unmarried princes enjoyed five-tenths of the treatment of a prince, and after adulthood, they enjoyed the full treatment of a prince. The monthly stipend of a prince was one and a half times that of a first-rank official, which was about seven-tenths of a first-rank official's monthly stipend, or about five hundred taels of silver, with an annual stipend of about sixty thousand taels.

For ordinary people, this was undoubtedly an astronomical figure. After all, a family in the capital's annual living expenses were only about a hundred taels of silver. Sixty thousand taels of silver would be enough to support them for six hundred years!

However, for princes living in the palace, five hundred taels of silver a month was not much. After all, even a small tip to a palace eunuch would cost five to ten taels, or they wouldn't do the job. In addition, there were expenses for maintaining the palace, purchasing items, buying new clothes, and maintaining their own guards. All these miscellaneous expenses added up to about five hundred taels of silver a month, which was why princes in the palace generally needed financial support from their mothers to maintain their "dignity."

Six hundred taels of silver, even in the largest fifty-tael ingots, would amount to twelve ingots, equivalent to the weight of a six- or seven-year-old child. Therefore, Zhao Hongrun exchanged some of the silver for five-tael and ten-tael ingots, and only took a few twenty-tael and fifty-tael ingots.

Firstly, five-tael and ten-tael ingots were the most commonly used in the market, and secondly, they were easier for the guards to carry. Otherwise, if Lü Mu had to carry six hundred taels of silver, it would be like carrying a six- or seven-year-old child around, which would be exhausting even for a young and strong man.

After the division, each guard carried a few dozen taels of silver, greatly reducing Lü Mu's burden.

"Shen Yu, you are from Daliang. Do you know where the most famous... place is?"

'The most famous brothel?'

Although Shen Yu was reluctant to lead his prince to such a place, since Zhao Hongrun had decided, he had no choice.

He thought for a moment and said, "On one side of the Dujiang Canal, there seems to be a rather well-known one."

The Dujiang Canal was a man-made canal in Daliang, the capital of the Great Wei Dynasty, which brought water from a nearby river into the city. The river was called the "Dujiang," and the canal was called the "Dujiang Canal."

The Dujiang Canal had many uses. It connected the moat outside the city and was also the main source of drinking and daily water for most of the city's residents, making it of great importance in Daliang. To protect the water, the Ministry of Justice of the Great Wei Dynasty had even enacted relevant laws.

For example, it was forbidden to throw dirty things into the canal or to bathe or play in the water.

"Dujiang Canal? I know where it is."

Mu Qing was eager to lead the way, but Zhao Hongrun stopped him.

"Not yet." Zhao Hongrun waved his hand and said meaningfully, "Let's wander around the city first and shake off any tails."

The guards were taken aback and instinctively looked around.

During this time, Shen Yu whispered, "Your Highness, are there people from the Inner Palace Supervisors following us?"

"Hmm."

Zhao Hongrun smiled faintly. Although he wasn't sure if there were people from the Inner Palace Supervisors following them, he thought that since it was their first time out of the palace, his father, the current Emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty, would likely have sent people from the Inner Palace Supervisors to secretly follow and monitor their activities.

If the current Emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty found out that they had gone to a brothel, it would be a disaster.

"Let's go through the alleys."

Shen Yu, who seemed to be the leader of the guards, whispered, and the guards understood. They quickly led their prince into a small alley.

Sure enough, as soon as they left, several men dressed as ordinary citizens appeared on the opposite side of the street. They all looked delicate and lacked the ruggedness of men, clearly eunuchs from the Inner Palace Supervisors.

"..."

The older eunuch frowned and looked at the empty alley, then ordered, "Search separately."

The young eunuchs nodded, some going forward or backward on the main street, and others following the alley.

About half an hour later, Zhao Hongrun and his group emerged from another alley and mixed into the crowded main street.

"If someone was following us, they should be gone now, right?" Shen Yu muttered, though he wasn't entirely confident, as tracking and counter-tracking were not their strong suits.

"Better to be cautious," Wei Jiao whispered.

As they spoke, the other guards frequently looked around, their eyes sharp, as if trying to spot the eunuchs from the Inner Palace Supervisors in the crowd.

Their strange behavior drew the attention of the people on the street, and Zhao Hongrun rolled his eyes and said irritably, "Alright, the more you do this, the easier it is for us to be found... Calm down."

The guards then retracted their sharp gazes.

To be cautious, they continued through several busy streets and quiet alleys, and only when they felt they had shaken off the eunuchs did they head toward the brothel by the Dujiang Canal that Shen Yu had mentioned.

As they walked, Zhao Hongrun gradually noticed a change in the crowd.

Earlier on Chaoyang Street, the crowd had been diverse, with people of all ages and genders. Now, the street was mostly men, including elegant young nobles and wealthy officials, with almost no young women in sight.

As they walked further, Zhao Hongrun was surprised to see a pavilion that seemed to be half-built over the Dujiang Canal. The pavilion, accompanied by the gentle breeze from the canal, emitted a faint fragrance.

"Such a nice smell, what kind of flower is it?" the more robust guard, Chu Heng, sniffed and asked in surprise.

'Flower? No, this is... the scent of rouge.'

Smelling the refreshing, faint scent of rouge, Zhao Hongrun felt an inexplicable excitement.

With this excitement came a vague sense of restlessness.

'This is... what I have always yearned for...'

Zhao Hongrun, who had been locked in the palace for fourteen years, was so moved that he almost shed tears. He felt that this faint scent of rouge had instantly restored his distorted physiological and life views, which had been gradually warped by the environment in the palace.

"Shen Yu, Mu Qing, Lü Mu, follow me. The rest of you enter in batches."

Because their group of eleven was too conspicuous, Zhao Hongrun only took Shen Yu, Mu Qing, and Lü Mu, while the others followed Wei Jiao's instructions.

"Let's go."

After making the arrangements, Zhao Hongrun led Shen Yu, Mu Qing, and Lü Mu toward the place he had always yearned for but never had the chance to visit.

'A waterside pavilion?'

Seeing the sign of the building from a distance, Zhao Hongrun was somewhat surprised.

He had expected such a place to be called something like "Xuan Yuan" or "Xuan Ge," but it had such an elegant name.

— A small note due to character limit —

First, let's explain the term "qinglou." Originally, "qinglou" referred to a luxurious and elegant house, and also to the residences of the wealthy and powerful.

Therefore, only high-end places could be called "qinglou." Although the meaning is similar, it is of a higher class than "yanhua liuxiang" (brothel). It can be understood as a high-end entertainment venue.

Next, let's explain the difference between "chang" and "ji."

The character "chang" is composed of "nü" (woman) and "chang" (prosperous), which refers to a bustling street. Therefore, "chang" refers to women who stand on the street to solicit customers, implying sexual transactions.

The character "ji" is composed of "nü" (woman) and "zhi" (branch). At first glance, it may not make sense, but if "zhi" is understood as half of "ji" (skill), it becomes clear. Simply put, it refers to a woman with skills. Note: "ji" means skill.

In other words, "ji" is of a higher class than "chang," referring to women skilled in arts. These skills are not about sexual techniques but about music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. This is why some people refer to women in brothels as "miss," a term originally used for wealthy young ladies.

If this is still unclear, you can search for famous courtesans from the Song Dynasty. These courtesans were often skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, but unfortunately had difficult fates.

To summarize, in a brothel, if someone is attracted to your "talent" and sleeps with you, they are a "ji." If someone is attracted to your "wealth" and sleeps with you, they are a "chang."

— End of note —