nucmednet Chapter 642 The Hall of Heroes and the Ninth Prince
Chapter 642 The Hall of Heroes and the Ninth Prince
Liu Ye kept a low profile on this trip, only bringing Yan Guang, Qin Tian, and Shimazu Chiyo to avoid being recognized and causing unnecessary trouble. Since Wen Tiren had arranged to meet at a brothel, all four of them disguised themselves: Liu Ye dressed as a playboy, the other three as his followers, and Shimazu Chiyo dressed as a man.
Liu Ye sized up Shimazu Chiyo and laughed, "What a handsome young man, he even outshines the old man."
A rare hint of shyness appeared on Shimazu Chiyo's usually stern face as she replied in a low voice, "How could Chiyo dare to compare herself to her master?"
Liu Ye laughed and waved his hand: "Come on, let's go to a brothel!"
After Liu Ye and the others boarded several sedan chairs that had been prepared in advance, several people emerged from the darkness after leaving the alley and followed them furtively.
The group arrived at the brothel Wen Tiren had mentioned, called "Hall of Heroes," a rather unexpected name. Liu Ye stood under the signboard, looking at this name that had nothing to do with a brothel, and almost laughed. Why not call it "Hall of Nightingales"?
Stepping inside, Liu Ye finally understood the meaning behind this unconventional name.
The lobby on the first floor was bustling with people, but unlike typical brothels, it lacked the usual courtesans and women. Instead, it was filled with men, arms around each other, drinking and playing drinking games. Liu Ye froze instantly. Could it be that this place didn't sell prostitution, but only engaged in homosexuality?
Yan Guang, with his rich experience in the martial arts world, was the first to notice something amiss. Pointing to the shorter men, he warned, "General... sir, it seems that these are all women disguised as men..."
Liu Ye quickly looked closely and, sure enough, among these men, the shorter ones all lacked Adam's apples, and with delicate features and fair skin, they were clearly not men. He breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, it was just some kind of perverse pleasure, not actual homosexuality. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to handle discussing business in this environment. Imagine drinking and chatting while a charming man is giving you flirtatious glances—the unpleasant feeling is not something most people could bear.
A man in tight-fitting clothes approached silently and said in a low voice, "Lord Pingnan, I am from the Wen family. The master is waiting for you in the private room. Please come with me."
Led by the man, the group headed towards a private room on the second floor. Along the way, they encountered a group of slightly tipsy people coming downstairs. Following the principle of avoiding trouble, Liu Ye and the others stopped and stepped aside to let them pass.
As the handsome young man at the head of the group passed by, he noticed Liu Ye, who was noticeably taller than the people of this timeline, and gave him an admiring look, glancing at him twice. When his gaze fell upon Shimazu Chiyo, who was dressed as a man, his eyes lit up, revealing a greedy expression. He reached out and touched her face, clicking his tongue in praise: "Such a beautiful girl, truly pitiful to behold, she outshines everyone here..."
With Shimazu Chiyo's skill, how could she possibly let him touch her face? She gently leaned back and avoided the touch.
The handsome young man's interest grew even stronger, "So agile, and she's even a wildflower, not domesticated..."
Upon hearing this, Liu Ye couldn't help but cough a few times, reminding him, "Friend, we don't want to cause trouble; these flowers already have an owner."
The handsome young man chuckled and said, "Hehe, so what if she's taken? There's nothing money can't buy. Name your price, how about you give her to me?"
Liu Ye sized him up, then said with a strange expression, "I don't lack money, and I certainly wouldn't sell my woman. Besides, even if I gave her to you, you could only look at her, not eat her. Are you going to buy her as a decoration?"
The handsome young man's face darkened, he snorted, and turned to leave.
Liu Ye watched his retreating figure as he went downstairs and chuckled, "This brothel is strange. It's one thing for the girls to dress as men, but the clients are also women..." This handsome young man, like the girls downstairs, had no Adam's apple, a slender waist, narrow shoulders, and fair skin—clearly a woman as well. Could it be that everyone here is cross-dressing and engaging in prostitution?
Upon arriving at the private room, Liu Ye looked up at the room's name—"Red Cliff"—shaked his head, and pushed open the door with a belly full of questions.
Wen Tiren had been waiting for a long time, and when he saw Liu Ye come in, he stood up to greet him.
"Zhiwen is here, please have a seat."
As the Grand Secretary, he commanded a vast number of officials in the entire Ming Dynasty, few of whom were worthy of his respect and greeting. Liu Ye was undoubtedly one of them. It wasn't Liu Ye's title of Earl of Pingnan or his official rank of Right Commander-in-Chief of the Five Military Commissions that made him bow down, but rather Liu Ye's ambition and potential were so great that he could only look up to him; he couldn't be underestimated. Given time, who knew who would sit on the dragon throne in the Golden Palace? Although Wen Tiren dared not delve into this possibility, it was a mature politician's duty to plan ahead and leave himself a way out.
After a few polite exchanges, Liu Ye sat down opposite Wen Tiren. Before getting down to business, he couldn't help but inquire about the strangeness of this brothel.
"Your Excellency, how can there be such strange places in Beijing? It's one thing for girls to dress up as men, but how can there be female clients dressed as men coming to patronize girls?"
Wen Tiren chuckled as he listened to his description of Shimazu Chiyo being "harassed." After personally pouring him a cup of wine, he explained, "The owner of this brothel is a very distinguished person. He likes this kind of thing, and he didn't open the brothel entirely to make money. However, many sons of noble families do enjoy it here: most of them are uneducated, their knowledge is not as good as the courtesans and top girls in other brothels. Watching scholars and girls compose poems and listen to soft tunes is uncomfortable; it's far more enjoyable to befriend girls dressed as men here, drink, and play drinking games..."
Liu Ye stared in disbelief, and after a long pause, he finally said, "Could it be that the girls here don't know anything about music, chess, poetry, or painting, but they can drink and play drinking games?"
"Exactly, the girls here may not be as beautiful as flowers, but they can all drink, play drinking games, and some can even ride horses and accompany guests on hunting trips..."
With a "pfft," Shimazu Chiyo couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Seeing everyone staring at her, Shimazu Chiyo blushed and bowed repeatedly, saying, "I'm so sorry, Chiyo couldn't help herself. It's just that I've never heard of such a thing before. In Japan, such a thing would never happen..."
Liu Ye smiled; it wasn't easy to make this stubborn, cold beauty laugh. He explained to Wen Tiren, "This is my concubine, and also my personal bodyguard. She comes from Japan, has practiced martial arts since childhood, and knows nothing about needlework or cooking. I hope you'll forgive her, Your Excellency."
Wen Tiren suddenly realized, slapping his forehead: "No wonder she was chosen. In this place, women with such agility are especially popular. And you said that young master is a woman, could it be the Ninth Young Master himself?"