Chapter 14.1 - Caixiu House

Chapter 14: Caixiu House

“Madam Yan, hear me out! Just now Great Doctor Zhang pointed me in the direction of a Great Doctor who can return the dead to the life. I only need to beg for their help and meimei will definitely be alright.” Qing Dai’s tears were streaming down like a torrent of rain at this point. Her makeup mixed with her tears to form powdered rivulets down her face. Both of her hands tightly grabbed at the middle-aged woman’s sleeve, “Just give me the chance to look for the Great Doctor. On my life, I swear I will leave here to follow Zhang Dalang!”

Sure enough, Madam Yan was given pause. She glanced at Qing Dai and replied, “No matter if Zi Xu lives or dies, after you’ve found the Great Doctor, you are to follow my arrangements.”

“I promise, I promise!” pledged Qing Dai, her head bobbing rapidly as if she was afraid that Madam Yan would change her mind.

Ran Yan had a sudden realization. Great Doctor Zhang was the doctor she had met two days ago at Zhoujia village… Meaning, the “Great Doctor” Qing Dai sought was likely her.

No matter how open-minded the Tang Dynasty was, having contact with a prostitute would damage her reputation. However, Ran Yan could not pay too much heed to that right now since she still needed a means of maintaining her autonomy.

Keeping this goal in mind, Ran Yan instructed Wan Lu to hide, gritted her teeth and walked out from the dark alley.

The people in the alley obviously did not expect anyone to be eavesdropping as their expressions promptly turned cold. Madam Yan signalled the burly men to not act rashly. This was not a chaotic time after all; they could not go around casually harming or killing anyone.

Ran Yan had dared to barge in because she knew this full well.

“I can save her.” Ran Yan addressed Qing Dai and Madam Yan. Her gaze rested for a moment on Madam Yan’s face, “Not only can I save her, I can also save you.”

Everyone was startled to a stop. A woman suddenly barging in from a dark alley actually opened her mouth to say something like that.

“Recently, have you noticed any sudden strange growths on your nether region[1]? Are you experiencing pain during urination, sometimes accompanied by blood?”

Madam Yan’s heavily powdered face faintly changed colour, her eyes filled with amazement. She was indeed seeing the symptoms that Ran Yan just described. She had gone to the brothel’s exclusive doctor and taken medications, but there was never any improvement.

“Do you know Great Doctor Zhang?” Qing Dai could vaguely guess Ran Yan’s identity, but also felt this encounter was too serendipitous to be true.

“Fate crossed our paths once.” Ran Yan replied, confirming Qing Dai’s thoughts.

Qing Dai stared blankly for a brief moment. Then, with a bang[2], she suddenly kneeled on the ground in front of Ran Yan. The tears that had just stopped, flowed freely again, “May the Heavens have mercy! My meimei’s life should not end! I am begging Great Doctor to save her. No matter the cost, this Qing Dai will not begrudge the price I have to pay!”

“If you are willing to let me give treatment, naturally, I will not spurn you. The diagnosis fee is 20 taels. Half to be paid up front, the rest paid after the illness is cured. The price is non-negotiable.” While speaking, Ran Yan walked straight to the litter and raised the thin quilt. She found the patient’s face covered in red rashes so dense that it was shocking, some of the red rashes were already festering with pus. Seeing such a sight, some of the men carrying the litter became panicked, their hands couldn’t help trembling slightly causing the litter to shake.

Ran Yan did not seem to notice and continued carefully observing the woman’s condition.

Judging from her facial features, this woman was naturally good-looking with a curvy figure. A stunner that could whet men’s appetite[3].

“What say you?” Ran Yan re-covered her face with the quilt, then turned to the still kneeling Qing Dai.

“Deal! Of course, you have a deal!” Qing Dai was like a drowning person, clutching at anything regardless of whether it was a floating log or a tiny piece of straw.

“She is gravely ill. Can she truly still be saved?” Madam Yan also really wanted to know how Ran Yan’s medical skill stacked up since her own body had recently started having lots of rashes too. Looking at Zi Xu’s condition, she couldn’t help but deeply fear for her future.

“In mild cases, this disease weakens the mind, body and soul[4]. Serious cases can be life-threatening. It will cause your hair to fall out, your nose bridge to collapse in and your skin to grow scab-like sores.” Looking at the rashes on Zi Xu’s body, Ran Yan said, “While her body has some ulceration, overall, it is not yet too late.”

After the examination, Ran Yan stood up. Her gaze fell onto Madam Yan’s arm and added, “Your condition is much better.”

Ran Yan’s meaning was that she was still at the mild, early stages of the disease. After witnessing the previous interaction, Ran Yan could tell that this Madam Yan was something like a pimp. A successful one, at that. She was not as old as Miss Xu, yet she already had a group of young and beautiful prostitutes working under her. Since she did not need to entertain customers herself, if she properly took the right medications and maintained good hygiene, even though there was no cure after acquiring this illness, there should not be any threat to her life.

Ran Yan pondered for a moment, then called out, “Wan Lu, come out.”

From Madam Yan’s behaviour, Ran Yan could tell that she was a careful and meticulous person. If one did not let this type of person grab hold of the opposite party’s weakness, they would not rashly believe a stranger’s empty promises, so Ran Yan decided to set her at ease.

Ran Yan had seen many scenarios in books and television where brothels forced women into prostitution, so as an additional benefit, letting Madam Yan know that her status was not ordinary would also somewhat guarantee her safety.

Wan Lu quickly jogged to Ran Yan’s side before shielding her like a mother hen protecting her chick. With red eyes, she let her protest be known, “Miss is being willful.”

Having been commanded by Ran Yan to stay behind, Wan Lu had remained hidden behind the wall, watching her mistress be so aloof. While facing down a group of prostitutes and 7-8 large burly men, she actually had no trace of panic and even assuredly stated she would be able to cure the prostitute’s serious illness. Wan Lu was both astonished and deeply worried. After warring with herself about what to do for a long time, she suddenly recalled Miss Xing’s teachings. But, just as she was prepared to rush out, Ran Yan called out to her.

“If you want to know my identity, you just need to ask around Zhoujia village.”

Seeing Ran Yan’s “sincerity”, Madam Yan suddenly smiled. While she was indeed afraid of death, she even more afraid of becoming like Zi Xu beforehand, “If that is the case, will Great Doctor please move inside and treat me?”

“I can. However, first and foremost, allow me to state clearly: treating this disease does not mean it is fully eradicated. If you have intercourse with men again, not only can it recur easily, it may also spread to the men. Furthermore, this illness can be passed down to your children, so you cannot give birth while afflicted.” Ran Yan said seriously.

Madam Yan laughed mockingly, “We are all but lowly prostitutes. Any children we give birth to will only be lowly slaves themselves. Why would we want to have a child when all they will inherit is suffering? The two things you have mentioned, I already know. Please, come this way.”

Ran Yan nodded and followed them.

After turning two corners, she saw the entrance to a courtyard. In front of the door hung a pair of red lanterns, painted on them with a brush were the words: Caixiu House[5].

Ran Yan had never researched brothels in ancient times, but such an establishment should have been built in a more heavily trafficed location. How could it be so quiet?

“This is the back door.” Madam Yan explained, as if sensing Ran Yan’s doubts.

Ran Yan lightly made a noise of acknowledgement and followed her into the courtyard.

Once the back door opened, she could faintly hear the sound of music and merriment. The sounds were not very clear so she could tell that the scale of Caixiu House was not small.

Within the courtyard there were flowers and trees complimenting[6] the doors and windows[7]. There were winding corridors, scattered pavilions and flowery engraved walls[8] you could occasionally see through to the admire the beautiful view of the inner courtyard. From time to time barely discernable noises of excitement coming from afar could be heard, further highlighting the peacefulness of the back courtyard. It all gave off the feeling of “cicada songs in the woods transcends quiet[9]”.

It was also Wan Lu’s first time in a place like this. Hence, she was both curious and nervous to the point where her hand holding Ran Yan’s was slightly sweating.

Walking past a corridor hidden by green vines, the main hall came into view. In front of the hall, two full chested servant girls dressed in flowing, flowery ruqun awaited. They bowed slightly and parted the bamboo curtain blocking the main entrance.

“Mama!”

Ran Yan’s foot had not even taken a half-step inside when a messily dressed woman came running towards them in a panic, her breasts half exposed and bouncing up and down with her movements.

The woman looked at Madam Yan and burst into tears, “Mama, someone has died!”

***

T/N: Thank you to alliterativeart for helping edit this chapter!

Edited: 3/01/18

Re-edited: 08/10/18

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[1] 下阴 （xià yīn): euphemism for vagina

[2] 噗通 （pū tōng): the sound of knees hitting the ground abruptly

[3] 识得**滋味 （shi de zī wèi): no idea what the author meant. (also am not sure if the ** are deliberate or a mistake)

[4]损元精，破元气，伤元神 （sǔn yuán jīng, pò yuán qì, shāng yuán shén): there are many words here that essentially refers to the spirit in subtly different ways.

[5]彩绣馆 （cǎi xiù guǎn): literally colour embroidery house/establishment

[6] 掩映 （lǎn yìng): covering each other and setting each other off

[7] 户牖 （hù yǒu): can also just refer to the house.

[8] 镂花的墙壁 （lòu huā de qiáng bì): louhua refers to carvings of flowers. In this case I think it means the walls have gaps through the carvings that you can look through.

[9] 蝉噪林逾静 (chán zào lín yú jìng): probably means that the chirping of the cicadas in the woods make it seem even more quiet than actual silence