Chapter 81

"Only a graceful heart can think so deeply. From beginning to end, no emotions should be allowed to waver. A moment of willfulness may turn things upside down, regardless of others' laughter. If someone points it out, the night will turn into dawn, and one will realize that the mystic frost is all at the Blue Bridge."

By the Qinhuai River, on the second floor of a two-story white-walled, blue-tiled flower house, a young girl was practicing her voice by singing a southern tune early in the morning. She was about fourteen or fifteen years old, delicate and charming, holding a stringed instrument. After finishing her song, she gazed at the calm river surface with a dazed look.

An old woman came upstairs and said with a smile, "Yue'er, you've learned to play and sing. It's time to put up the sign."

Yue'er was taken aback and asked, "What sign?"

Without further ado, the old woman pointed to the ink and brush on the table and said, "You can write. Write that at the flower house on Linxi Street, there is a heavenly beauty named Yu Meiren. Anyone who wants to meet her must pay ten taels of silver; anyone who wants her to accompany them for a drink must leave fifty taels of silver; anyone who wants to spend a night with her, the price for a night of spring breeze is the highest bidder."

Yue'er's face darkened. She didn't dare refuse the madam and had to write as instructed. Feeling sad, she wrote a poem at the end.

The moon is dim on the branch of the cuckoo, crying until the third watch, full of sorrow.

Is it tears or blood? The red spots stain my clothes.

I am the daughter of a noble family, fallen into the brothel, suffering and laughing.

Who would have thought that after leaning on the railing, I can no longer see the familiar face.

The old woman, who couldn't read, praised the writing and took the paper downstairs, where she posted it on the front door.

Tears streamed down Yue'er's face as she suppressed her sobs and fell onto the embroidered bed. Just then, a young scholar in his twenties passed by downstairs and saw the line, "I am the daughter of a noble family." He muttered to himself, "That person is searching for a noble family's daughter like a madman. Could this be the one he's looking for?"

Yue'er cried for a while but didn't dare to cry any longer. If her eyes swelled, she would be beaten again. With a sad face, she got up, tidied her makeup, and habitually picked up the stringed instrument to tune it.

Yue'er's real name was Zhang Yueyun, the daughter of the Heqing Marquis and the younger sister of Zhang De. After the Zhang family was sealed by the Jinyiwei, she was sent to the teaching house. Not long after, someone asked if there were any members of the Zhang family. Xu Hao, being inexperienced, the madam of the teaching house knew what was happening and sold her to a broker overnight. After several twists and turns, she was sold to this place for a high price.

Zhang Yueyun, born into a noble family, was beautiful and graceful. The people in this trade treated her as a cash cow, so she wasn't humiliated.

When she first arrived, she refused to lose her virtue and was tied up and sold. The old woman pushed her into the flower house and ordered a beating to break her spirit. Beaten until she bled, the young and pampered Zhang Yueyun couldn't bear the pain. She cried and shouted, "Stop, I'll be obedient from now on."

The madam cut the ropes with a knife, had a little girl strip her naked, washed her with warm water, and locked her in a woodshed, ordering someone to watch her.

After being locked up for five or six days, Zhang Yueyun became obedient. Once her injuries healed, she was released and taught to dance and sing by an old and faded woman. Initially, Zhang Yueyun refused to learn and went on a hunger strike, but she was beaten again.

Thus, Zhang Yueyun gradually gave in to her fate. She would lean on the railing every day, hoping to be recognized by a familiar relative. Once, she was seen by a relative of her uncle's family, but when they reported back, the uncle and his wife, fearing she would claim the family property, gave them two taels of silver and sent them far away to the old home. Zhang Yueyun lost hope and, three months later, learned the skills.

At this moment, someone downstairs read the poem, angering the old woman, who was about to tear it down. However, two constables arrived and stopped her.

One of them pointed at the poem and said happily, "This is really a stroke of luck. All the officials and guards in the capital are searching everywhere. It seems we'll get the reward, ha ha! That's five hundred taels of silver from the Prince of Yan."

The old woman, frightened, hurriedly bowed and pleaded, "Please, sirs, this girl is definitely not the one you're looking for. Even if she is, she earns more than five hundred taels a year. How about giving us fifty taels a month for a year?"

The two constables calculated that it would be six hundred taels a year, a hundred more than the Prince of Yan's reward. They could eat and drink for free at the flower house and sleep with the noble family's daughter a few times. Such a good deal was hard to find. They agreed.

The old woman reluctantly handed over fifty taels of silver, agreeing to let Yue'er serve them in a few days after earning the money for her first night. The satisfied constables left.

Before leaving, they warned that thousands of people in the capital were searching for the girl upstairs. She should be hidden carefully. If someone else found and rescued her, the agreed money would still be owed, or they would destroy the flower house.

The old woman, furious, tore the paper and quickly closed the door, shouting, "Go and lock the cheap slut in the windowless room downstairs. She's cost me a fortune. We'll see about this."

Unwilling to be extorted so much money and fearing Yue'er would be found again, the old woman went to the back alley of the Songguogong residence and found a familiar servant to pass a message inside.

Songguogong Feng Sheng, a lifelong military man, had achieved great military success, second only to Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, and Deng Yu. After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, his contributions were even greater. In the 20th year of the Hongwu era, he was appointed as the Grand General of the Expeditionary Army. At that time, Fu Youde and Lan Yu were his left and right deputy generals, and they defeated the Yuan Dynasty's Grand Marshal Nahan Chulu, capturing over 200,000 people.

Chang Yuchun's eldest son, Chang Mao, was Feng Sheng's son-in-law and was also in the army. However, the relationship between the father-in-law and son-in-law was not good. When Nahan Chulu saw the might of the Ming army and pretended to surrender, Feng Sheng sent Lan Yu and Chang Mao to accept the surrender. During the drinking in the tent, Lan Yu, a proud and arrogant person, took off his official clothes and asked Nahan Chulu to put them on, but Nahan Chulu refused, stammering and hesitating.

Chang Mao, known as "Grandpa Mao," had a fiery temper and saw through Nahan Chulu's false surrender and delay. In a fit of anger, he drew his sword and wounded Nahan Chulu's arm.

Interestingly, because of this sword strike, Nahan Chulu's wife, children, and subordinates, numbering over 100,000, fled in the night. Later, Feng Sheng easily persuaded over a dozen tribes and over 200,000 herders and millions of livestock to surrender without a fight.

Feng Sheng pursued the enemy and won several more battles. However, on the return journey, the rear guard, led by General Pu Ying and 3,000 cavalry, was surrounded and annihilated by the Mongol tribes seeking revenge.

A general was a first-rank official, higher than the six ministers. Worried that the increasingly suspicious Zhu Yuanzhang would use this as an excuse, Feng Sheng reported that Chang Mao had injured Nahan Chulu, shifting the blame to Chang Mao or diverting Zhu Yuanzhang's attention.

As expected, Zhu Yuanzhang was furious and exiled Chang Mao to Longzhou, where he died of illness soon after. His younger brother, Chang Sheng, inherited the title.

However, when Chang Mao was taken away, he was filled with resentment and revealed all of Feng Sheng's misdeeds. It turned out that Feng Sheng had hidden many fine horses and asked Nahan Chulu's wife for jewels. The death of General Pu Ying was because a Yuan prince among the captives had just died, and Feng Sheng forcibly married his daughter, angering the Mongols, who came to his aid and killed Pu Ying.

Zhu Yuanzhang was furious again, revoked all the rewards, and ordered Feng Sheng to go to Fengyang to reflect. From then on, Feng Sheng was either stationed in the northwest or training troops, never commanding a large army again.

Feng Sheng's second son, Feng Tao, grew up in the prosperous and noble Songguogong residence. One day, he was suddenly sent to live in a remote house in Fengyang. Feng Sheng was summoned out the next year, but Feng Tao stayed for five years, leaving a deep shadow in his heart.

Feng Tao, already of a dark nature, became even more cruel and ruthless. Any maid he favored would be tortured to death within a month.

After returning to the capital, Feng Tao didn't dare to continue torturing maids and bribed several madams near the Qinhuai River, harming many prostitutes. One of these madams was the old woman.

When Feng Sheng heard there was new merchandise, he was delighted. Upon learning it was the daughter of the former Heqing Marquis and still a virgin, he was even more pleased. Since the Feng family was wealthy, he rewarded the old woman with 200 taels of gold and several jewels.

They agreed to send Zhang Yueyun to Feng Sheng's outer residence that night, and the old woman returned home, satisfied and full of ill intent.

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