Chapter 2

Holding a heavy purse of 500 coins, Jiang Xia walked to the front hall with a tray of wine and dishes.

The front hall was a completely different world from the backyard. The backyard was quiet but dirty, while the front hall was noisy yet opulent. Jiang Xia headed straight for the Narcissus Pavilion where Young Master Zhao was staying.

Young Master Zhao and Young Master Ma, who had taken possession of Yuehong, were regular customers at the Qunfang Pavilion. In Jiang Xia's memory, Young Master Zhao was usually generous and never made things difficult for the staff, a high-quality customer. However, he didn't expect him to be so irritable today.

Sigh... Love makes people lose their reason, love changes people's temper, love is a devil. While sighing, Jiang Xia walked to the door of the Narcissus Pavilion.

The door was slightly ajar. Jiang Xia pushed it open and called out, "Young Master Zhao, the wine and dishes you asked for..."

"Bang!" Before he could finish, a teacup suddenly flew toward Jiang Xia. Fortunately, Jiang Xia reacted quickly and dodged it, and the teacup shattered against the wall. The thin, pale-faced Young Master Zhao, with a fierce expression, shouted, "You didn't even knock before entering. Is there no more respect? When did I ask for the wine and dishes, and why are they only here now? Do you want to starve me to death? Or are you afraid I don't have the money to pay? Let me tell you, I have plenty of money, plenty of money!!!"

Jiang Xia closed the door behind him and said with a smile, "Young Master Zhao, I apologize, I lost my manners. But please calm down, Young Master. Otherwise, if the girls see you like this, it might ruin your image as a handsome, elegant, and noble young master in their eyes."

"Do I need a little servant like you to remind me of my image? I think you're asking for a beating." Young Master Zhao slammed the table and stood up, ready to hit Jiang Xia.

Jiang Xia didn't panic. He smiled faintly and said, "Young Master, you just want to see Yuehong, right? I have a way, no need to get angry."

"What? You have a way?" Young Master Zhao immediately calmed down, looking at Jiang Xia with suspicion.

Jiang Xia said confidently, "Young Master, I wouldn't dare to lie to you even if I had a thousand hearts. But if I go to call Yuehong, there might be some risk, and I might even get beaten up. This..."

Hearing this, Young Master Zhao immediately understood that Jiang Xia was asking for a reward. In a hurry, he grabbed a handful of "Da Ming Bao Chao" from his pocket and said, "As long as you can bring Yuehong here, all of this is yours."

Jiang Xia's eyes lit up. The "Da Ming Bao Chao" was the official paper currency issued by the Ming Dynasty, equivalent to money, and could be used to buy goods in Shuntian without exchange. Counterfeiting the "Da Ming Bao Chao" was equivalent to counterfeiting official documents, punishable by death.

Jiang Xia reached out and took the money from Young Master Zhao, then chuckled and said, "Young Master Zhao, please wait a moment. I will bring Yuehong to you right away."

"Good. I'll wait here. If you dare to lie to me, hah, I, Zhao Yitong, won't hesitate to buy you and beat you to death." Zhao Yitong said fiercely.

"Rest assured, Young Master Zhao. I'll go now. If I'm late, Young Master Ma might take advantage of the situation, which wouldn't be good." Jiang Xia said with a smile.

Zhao Yitong agreed, nodding and saying, "Exactly, exactly. Go quickly, go quickly."

After leaving the Narcissus Pavilion, Jiang Xia ran straight to the Red Moon Pavilion where Yuehong was. When he reached the door, he listened carefully. He heard Young Master Ma saying, "Yuehong, we've had the wine and eaten the dishes. As they say, a moment of spring is worth a thousand pieces of gold. I'm already eager, let's get started."

Phew, if I had been any later, it would have been too late. Jiang Xia took a deep breath and pushed the door open, rushing in.

Young Master Ma was startled. Seeing a servant from the brothel, he immediately started cursing, "You dog, you..."

Jiang Xia, panting, said, "Young Master Ma, it's terrible, it's terrible. I was just feeding the horses for a guest when I saw Master Qi Qingran get off his carriage. Master Qi said, 'I heard Yuehong at the Qunfang Pavilion is very skilled. I must try her today.'"

"Father-in-law?" Young Master Ma's face turned pale with fear. He was at a loss, trembling and saying, "What should I do? What should I do?"

Jiang Xia, inwardly disdainful, thought, What a coward. But given the situation, he had to remind him, "Young Master Ma, what are you standing there for? Run out the back door before Master Qi comes up. I'll leave the back door open for you."

"Run, oh, right, right." Young Master Ma grabbed his hat from the table and prepared to run. Before leaving, he didn't forget to take out a string of copper coins and give them to Jiang Xia. "You did well this time. I'll reward you well next time. I'm leaving now."

Young Master Ma then said to Yuehong, "Miss Yuehong, I'll come to see you another day."

"Please don't keep me waiting too long, Young Master." Yuehong stretched her neck and said to Young Master Ma.

"Don't worry." Young Master Ma's voice echoed from far away.

Seeing Young Master Ma leave, Jiang Xia smiled lightly. He turned to Yuehong and said, "Let's go, Young Master Zhao has been waiting for you for a long time."

"Young Master Zhao? Not Master Qi?" Yuehong was slightly stunned, then she realized. She pointed at Jiang Xia and laughed, "Jiang Xia, you little servant, you have a lot of nerve to deceive Young Master Ma."

Jiang Xia, slightly taken aback, said with a compassionate look, "Sigh... It's easy to find priceless treasures, but hard to find a true lover. I saw Young Master Zhao drinking alone in his room, so I couldn't help but feel sorry for him and decided to help him. Yuehong, to have such a sincere and handsome young master who is deeply in love with you, what more could you ask for? You must cherish this, to make my efforts today worthwhile."

"Yitong he..." Hearing Jiang Xia's sincere words, Yuehong was deeply moved, her eyes welling up with tears.

Jiang Xia couldn't help but urge her, "Why are you still standing there? Go see Young Master Zhao quickly."

"Jiang Xia, thank you..." Before leaving, Yuehong took out a piece of silver from her waist and gave it to Jiang Xia, "Jiang Xia, I need to save money to buy my freedom, so I don't have much extra. Don't think it's too little."

Jiang Xia's face darkened, and he handed the silver back to Yuehong, "Sister Yuehong, what are you doing? Although I'm just a little servant, I'm still a man. We're all poor people, and earning money isn't easy. How can I take your money? Go quickly, don't keep Young Master Zhao waiting. I hope he can buy your freedom soon, and you can have a good future."

"Jiang Xia..." Yuehong was deeply moved and hugged Jiang Xia. After about five or six seconds, she hurriedly ran out of the room to the Narcissus Pavilion.

Watching Yuehong run out, Jiang Xia couldn't help but mutter to himself, "This girl, why did she suddenly do that, catching me off guard. But to be honest, although she's not very pretty, her chest is quite impressive." He touched his chest, "Sigh... She really hurt me."

After saying this, Jiang Xia felt the phrase "hurt me" sounded a bit awkward. Thinking about the other meaning it contained, he couldn't help but shiver and get goosebumps all over.

After resolving Young Master Zhao's issue, Jiang Xia returned to the backyard. He found a place to hide and counted his earnings. This time, he got 500 coins from Ma Datian and... Jiang Xia counted the money from Young Master Zhao and couldn't help but exclaim, "Oh my, ten taels?" Jiang Xia took a deep breath and then counted the reward from Young Master Ma, which was exactly 1000 coins.

Earning eleven taels and 500 coins in a short time made Jiang Xia very excited. It seemed the day of buying his freedom was not far off.

After hiding his money in his room, Jiang Xia went out to continue sweeping the leaves in the backyard.

He had only swept halfway when the head servant, Han Yu, led someone to the backyard. Seeing Jiang Xia, Han Yu asked, "Hey, are you Jiang Xia?"

Jiang Xia turned around and nodded, "Yes, Master Han, my name is Jiang Xia."

Han Yu was different from ordinary servants. He was the head servant in charge of the enforcers and was the right-hand man of the Qunfang Pavilion's owner, Mother Kang. That's why Jiang Xia was so polite to him.

Han Yu looked at Jiang Xia and nodded, "You are quite clever. Alright, follow me, Mother Kang wants to see you."

"Yes!"

Han Yu turned and walked away, and Jiang Xia followed him, dropping his broom.

Jiang Xia followed Han Yu to the front hall and then up to the fourth floor. Only three people lived on the fourth floor: Mother Kang and the two courtesans.

The term "courtesan" and "top courtesan" have the same meaning.

Many people confuse the red card and the top courtesan in a brothel, thinking they are the same. However, they are not. A red card refers to a girl who has a high customer rate and many repeat customers. A top courtesan, on the other hand, rarely takes customers and charges exorbitant prices when she does. Such girls usually don't have a sign in the shop, so Jiang Xia didn't even know the names of these two top courtesans, only that it cost hundreds of strings of coins just to hear them sing a few songs.

Shixin, Nian Nu.

As Jiang Xia passed by, he glanced at the nameplates of the two top courtesans and softly read them. This scene was noticed by Han Yu, who had stopped and turned around. Han Yu looked at Jiang Xia in surprise, "Strange, can you read?"

Jiang Xia bowed slightly and replied, "Master Han, my father was originally a scholar in the village, but he later fell ill and died. To bury him, I sold myself into servitude. I learned to read and write from my father when I was young."

"Strange, a little servant who can read, I never thought I'd see such a thing. I apologize, I apologize." Han Yu bowed to Jiang Xia with a polite face.