Chapter 13

Great Xia Dynasty.

Jing'an Fang.

In a secret passage, Gu Jinnian and others walked in a line.

Qingyue Tower was not a proper place, and if these nobles came openly, they would be easily discovered.

It wasn't that they were afraid of being scolded by their elders, as the elders also enjoyed coming to such places and might even bump into them if they were lucky.

The main reason was that some old conservatives in the court would cause trouble.

They were already old and naturally had no interest in such matters, so they required the young to stay away from these places as well.

If the news reached these people's ears, they would certainly be scolded to some extent.

It would be impossible for the matter to reach the court, as such trivial matters were insignificant compared to state affairs, but the impact would still be negative.

Therefore, these taverns were smart and built several back doors along with the main entrance to facilitate the visits of some special nobles for entertainment.

Gu Jinnian's purpose for coming here was simple; he just wanted to take a look.

After all, in ancient times, there were few entertainment facilities, and such taverns were essentially where all the nobles would come, just in different settings.

However, this trip also cost Gu Jinnian a lot of persuasion.

At first, the steward Wang insisted on coming along, but eventually, after Gu Jinnian's various arguments, he chose to leave.

Otherwise, if the steward came along, it would be embarrassing, and Old Master Gu would definitely not allow it.

So, this was a covert visit.

Of course, Gu Jinnian also promised to return in an hour, or he wouldn't have been able to come out at all.

There was no way around it; in ancient times, one had no freedom before the coming-of-age ceremony.

Rich second-generation loafers who idled around, eating, drinking, and playing, as seen in TV dramas, were generally not nobles.

Proper nobles had to stay at home or go to school before they came of age.

Family discipline was strict, and who would want their children to idle around outside?

After passing through the hidden passage, they arrived at a building entrance, climbed up, and quickly went upstairs. Led by a plump, good-looking woman, they entered a private room.

Apart from Gu Jinnian, Wu An, and Li Ping, the other five were visibly nervous, their bodies trembling slightly.

Clearly, it was their first time in such a place.

This made Gu Jinnian recall his own first time, when he was just as nervous, but gradually calmed down with the staff's reassurance.

Now, having lived two lives, Gu Jinnian was naturally not nervous and was instead curious, taking in everything around him.

Qingyue Tower had five floors.

The decoration was excellent, using high-quality wood, and the whole place had a fresh scent. Incense burners were placed in the corners, emitting a soothing aroma.

The overall color scheme was not bright but elegant.

As expected of a high-end tavern, it lacked the vulgarity and instead gave a feeling of a place for tea and conversation.

Upon entering the private room,

The room was spacious, with dozens of armchairs and three tables filled with various pastries. Six young and beautiful maids welcomed them.

After everyone entered, a pleasant voice rang out.

"Welcome, young masters."

The clear, pleasant voice, accompanied by shy glances, instantly made the young men flustered.

Their faces turned slightly red, but to show their sophistication, they remained silent, nodding solemnly, though their eyes occasionally glanced over.

They looked like first-timers at a brothel.

The most natural were Wang An and Li Ping.

Wang An sat directly in the main seat.

Li Ping took out a stack of silver notes, each worth ten taels, and there were about a dozen of them.

"Red Sister, have the kitchen prepare some delicacies and give each person in the room a reward. These are all my good friends, so don't let it get out."

Li Ping appeared casual as he tossed the silver notes over.

The woman named Red Sister smiled and took the silver notes, thanked Li Ping, and then gave a signal to the maids in the room.

Everyone immediately bowed to Li Ping.

"Thank you, Young Master Li."

The clear voices made Li Ping feel elated.

He then casually pinched Red Sister's buttock and invited everyone to sit down.

Red Sister left with a smile, not disturbing them.

Soon, the six maids served everyone wine.

The maids' gazes often fell on Gu Jinnian, clearly the most handsome among the eight, whom they had noticed from the start.

"Brother Jinnian, how is it? Not bad, right?"

Li Ping invited Gu Jinnian to sit down and also asked the others to sit, his face full of smiles and a hint of pride.

"Handing out over a hundred taels at once, you're really rich."

After sitting down,

Gu Jinnian couldn't help but smile.

The currency in the Great Xia Dynasty was mainly copper coins and silver taels.

One hundred copper coins equaled one silver tael, and ten silver taels equaled one gold tael.

The purchasing power of one silver tael was roughly equivalent to about 100 yuan in the modern world.

In other words, Li Ping had just casually given out nearly 10,000 yuan.

The maids naturally beamed with joy.

Qingyue Tower was indeed a high-end tavern in the capital, but there weren't many wealthy young men like Li Ping. To be precise, the nobles in the capital were more dispersed, and the capital wasn't just home to Qingyue Tower.

"Brother Jinnian, you're teasing me."

"My grandfather is in business, and we have some silver at home, which he's willing to let me spend. But who am I, Li Ping? If I have silver, I won't spend it alone; I'll share it with everyone."

Li Ping smiled wryly.

His father was the commander of the northern gate of the capital, a fifth-rank official with considerable power, but compared to Wu An, let alone Gu Jinnian, he was insignificant.

The family gave him silver to smooth things over and build good relationships, which would benefit both him and his elders, essentially using silver to pave the way.

Otherwise, with just his father's position, Li Ping wouldn't have the right to hang out with them.

"I know your intentions, just teasing you a bit."

Gu Jinnian smiled.

He was very clear that Li Ping was smart and had no issues with social graces, being very smooth.

At that moment, Wu An's voice rang out.

"Jinnian."

"Zhang Yun is quite disrespectful. In half a month, the study will be over. Should we brothers teach him a lesson?"

As Wu An spoke,

The others immediately chimed in.

"Right, right, Brother Jinnian, Zhang Yun is disrespectful. We should teach him a lesson."

"The study is about to end; we should find a chance to get him."

"Right, let Zhang Yun suffer a bit. He shouldn't think he can do whatever he wants just because he's good at reading. I've been annoyed with him for a long time."

The others spoke up, but mainly because the maids were there, and they didn't know how to show off. Now, they seized the opportunity to speak up, each trying to appear impressive to attract the maids' attention, though it was rather ridiculous.

Gu Jinnian saw through their thoughts at a glance.

Feeling a bit awkward, he shook his head and said,

"No need."

"His father is a great scholar. If we really go after him, we won't have a good outcome either."

"Alright, since we're here to have fun, let's relax."

"Brother Li Ping, what are the activities here? Tell us, we can't just drink wine, right?"

Gu Jinnian asked skillfully, inquiring about the activities at Qingyue Tower.

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent again, their eyes filled with anticipation.

"Brother Jinnian, the activities here are simple."

"Later, there will be performances, both literary and martial. The literary performances involve music and dance, but they are all courtesans. If you like one, you can ask the staff to bring her to a private room for drinks and conversation. Of course, the courtesans have the right to refuse, and we don't force them."

"The martial performances are similar, but after inviting them to a private room, you can also watch some performances, which will cost more silver."

Li Ping smiled as he explained.

Upon hearing this, everyone's breathing quickened, especially when Li Ping mentioned the martial performances, his expression changed slightly.

"How much silver?"

Gu Jinnian asked curiously.

He didn't plan to delve too deep; otherwise, if the news got out, no one in the Gu family could protect him. He was just curious.

"There are different tiers: 98 taels for a bronze token, 198 taels for a silver token, 298 taels for a gold token, and 398 taels for a jade token."

Li Ping smiled.

"So expensive?"

Gu Jinnian was taken aback.

Good grief, the cheapest is 98 taels. No wonder the capital is the capital; outside, it would be at most three taels.

The most expensive Gu Jinnian had encountered before was 100 taels.

198 taels? Price gouging?

Even in ancient times, there was competition?

"Brother Jinnian, that's nothing. If a courtesan agrees, it starts at 500 taels."

"Moreover, Qingyue Tower isn't the most expensive. The most expensive places in the capital are Huaman Tower, Chang'an Si, and Linglong Nunnery, where 100,000 taels of silver can't buy a night with the top courtesan."

Li Ping said nonchalantly.

Upon hearing this, everyone was taken aback.

100,000 taels for a night? Poverty really limits imagination.

Can we charge by the hour?

Gu Jinnian thought to himself.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door.

A servant then entered with a tray covered in a red cloth. After the servant left, Li Ping lifted the red cloth.

Instantly, several gold ingots appeared before everyone.

Clearly, this was prepared by Li Ping.

The six maids looked at the gold ingots with wide eyes.

One gold ingot was ten taels, or 100 silver taels. The tray contained twenty ingots, totaling 2,000 silver taels.

To the maids, this was quite generous.

"Li Ping, why did you bring so much gold?"

Someone asked curiously.

"Brother Zhou, you don't know. Cash transactions are safer; silver notes can be traced."

"This is for the brothers."

Li Ping replied, making the others blush.

"I'm just here to look; I won't touch anything."

The person stuttered, still feeling uncomfortable with others around.

Li Ping didn't mind and just smiled.

Soon, the sound of a zither attracted everyone's attention.

Gu Jinnian looked over and saw a woman on the stage, with a beautiful appearance and wearing a slightly thin dress, dancing gracefully.

Everything was quiet, with no loud shouting or cheering.

After watching for a while, Gu Jinnian lost interest.

For him, this was nothing special, and it was far from open.

He came here mainly out of curiosity and to see if there was any opportunity to gather some resentment.

Since it wasn't interesting,

Gu Jinnian moved to the wine table and continued to study the ancient tree.

A maid refilled his wine glass and subtly touched him.

Gu Jinnian didn't mind, but he was deep in thought and had no interest in interacting with her.

After a few sips of clear wine,

Gu Jinnian felt a bit bored, picked up a gold ingot, and examined it. After all, the Chinese had a strange obsession with gold.

The half-pound gold ingot felt heavy in his hand.

It was smooth to the touch, with "Great Xia Mint" engraved on the bottom.

The feel was quite good.

"Li Ping, I'll take some of your gold ingots and pay you back later."

Gu Jinnian said, thinking it was always good to have some on hand.

After all, before the coming-of-age ceremony, noble families generally didn't give silver to their children, fearing they would misbehave.

But just as Gu Jinnian held the gold ingot in his hand,

In an instant, the gold ingot seemed to vanish, and a golden light appeared in his mind, merging into the second branch on the right of the ancient tree.

At that moment,

Gu Jinnian was stunned.

A gold-charging ancient tree?