Liu Qiaoer followed Gu Mubai to a brothel with a rather plain facade. She looked around and if she hadn't been led here by someone, she would have thought it was the house of some wealthy family.
"Will there be any guests in such a quiet place at night?"
Gu Mubai pointed to the hooks on the wall and said, "At night, red lanterns will be hung at the door and on the wall. As long as there are lanterns, it means they are open for business."
"Your young master used to be a frequent visitor here. This music hall became famous throughout Fengxin because of your young master."
Speaking of Lu Yunzheng, Liu Qiaoer curled her lips and said, "Lu Yunzheng, if he came here dressed as a woman and pretended to be an otaku, I'm afraid he would be even more famous."
"Ah? Let your son be the courtesan?" Gu Mubai's mind immediately flashed with a picture of a stunning beauty. His eyes lit up and he gave a thumbs up, "Very good, very good."
"It's just that he hates people talking about his appearance. If you can convince your master one day, I, Gu, will definitely bow down to you."
Liu Qiaoer burst out laughing. This was really not easy.
As he spoke, Gu Mubai knocked on the door of Zui Le Fang.
The impatient voice of the servant came from inside: "Sir, it's not time to open the door to welcome guests yet."
Unexpectedly, Gu Mubai knocked three times and shouted, "I'm here to see Miss Nishang."
Although Liu Qiao'er was a little surprised, she didn't ask. Instead, she heard the servant inside running over hurriedly and opening the door respectfully.
"It's Mr. Bai. Please come in."
Could it be that only a regular customer could receive such treatment? He could come at any time of the day. Gu Mubai was so poor, he must have spent all his money on this.
Things are not as simple as Liu Qiaoer thought.
After closing the door, the servant quickly went to report to his daughter, Miss Nishang.
Gu Mubai took Liu Qiaoer to visit the music hall leisurely.
It is not very similar to the music halls in TV dramas. Every flower, grass, pavilion and stage here exude exquisiteness. Passing through the front yard, there is a circular stage in the middle and two-story audience stands around it. The decoration here is quite gorgeous and appealing to both the elite and the masses.
After crossing the stage, they came to the backyard, where the space suddenly became larger. There were rockery, flowing water, and winding corridors, connecting various courtyards, pavilions, and waterside pavilions. When Liu Qiaoer walked in, it was as if she had entered a painting, with the corridors winding and meandering forward.
"This place is so beautiful. No wonder men never want to leave after coming here. The scenery is beautiful, the people are beautiful. If I were a man, I would want to live here forever."
Gu Mubai chuckled and shook his head: "It's nothing. The music hall in the capital is bigger. We can only make it more exquisite in the limited area here."
Liu Qiaoer blinked in disbelief: "Don't tell me that you designed this yard, right? You are really thoughtful."
Unexpectedly, Gu Mubai raised his eyebrows mysteriously at her: "I am a participant, but not the main designer. Who do you think it is?"
Liu Qiaoer's head froze for a moment, and she thought of him.
"Lu Yunzheng?"
Gu Mubai smiled and nodded: "Can you imagine that your son was only twelve years old at that time?"
"Speaking of this, we have to mention Yue Nishang's life story. The Minister of Rites was retaliated against because he did not arrange a place for the imperial concubine in the sacrificial ceremony. Miss Nishang's family was raided when she was only seven years old, and she was sent to the music house in the capital."
"Miss Nichang is smart and good at playing the zither. She became Xiaoyuexian's apprentice and became famous with one song at the age of twelve. I don't know who she offended, but she was driven here."
"Zuiyuefang was originally a government-run music house. When Miss Nichang first arrived here, she was admired by everyone but suffered a lot of grievances. Your young master accidentally heard Miss Nichang's music and liked it very much. He then hired her for the whole year and announced to the public that Miss Nichang only sells her art and not her body. If you want to listen to her music, the starting price is one hundred taels."
At that time, Zui Le Fang was not as exquisite as it is now. Lu Yunzheng came more often and had people slowly transform it into what it is now. It instantly feels a lot more upscale and majestic.
Although Miss Nishang was protected, the business flow of the music house decreased a lot, because most of the girls who came here were selling their art but not their bodies, and most of the men were vulgar after all, so they were gradually snatched away by the Zuixianlou across the street.
Although all the businesses in ancient times were owned by the government, each building was run by its own business. Apart from paying taxes to the government, they operated their businesses independently, and of course the more money they made, the better.
Liu Qiaoer looked at the layout of the yard and found it hard to imagine that Lu Yunzheng was only twelve years old when the yard was renovated. He was indeed a child prodigy who even knew so much about gardening.
"Is the young master here?"
Liu Qiao'er was admiring the scenery with Gu Mubai when she suddenly heard a sweet cry and saw a beautiful woman walking out of the corridor not far away.
If Su Xueying is as beautiful as a rose, then the beauty in front of him is even more beautiful like a crabapple.
She was wearing a light blue double-breasted dress and a pleated long skirt of the same color. She had a slender waist and moved like a willow in the wind. Although she walked quickly, the hairpins on her crescent-shaped bun swayed only slightly.
When he got closer and saw Gu Mubai and Liu Qiaoer, his dark eyes revealed a look of disappointment without disguising it, but he still politely bowed to Gu Mubai.
"Long live Mr. Bai."
Liu Qiaoer looked at Yue Nishang, then at Gu Mubai, and she suddenly understood. Everyone knew that Lu Yunzheng was dead, but Yue Nishang did not believe it. When she heard their secret code, Yue Nishang was full of surprise and hurried over, but she only saw Gu Mubai.
She was so disappointed that she didn't even bother to hide it. Her gentle and beautiful face sank and gradually became cold.
Fortunately, Gu Mubai didn't mind and was just about to ask Liu Qiaoer to give her the music score.
But he saw Liu Qiaoer stepped forward and stared at Yue Nishang infatuatedly.
"You are so beautiful, young lady. I heard that you play the piano well. Today, I begged Mr. Bai to bring me here to listen to music."
Yue Nishang simply glanced at Liu Qiaoer, her long eyelashes half covering her cold eyes: "I'm sick, so I won't be receiving guests for the time being."
After saying that, Yue Nishang turned around and was about to leave.
But Liu Qiaoer easily blocked his way.
"No, if the girl is willing to play a song for me, I will also play a song in return."
As she spoke, Liu Qiaoer took out a silver note of 100 taels from her sleeve pocket and stuffed it into Yue Nishang's arms: "If I really want to make friends with you, I will definitely not let you suffer any loss."
Yue Nishang didn't even look at the banknote and wanted to refuse, but the music house's madam arrived in time, snatched the banknote and tried to persuade her.
"Miss, if you don't think about the deceased Mr. Lu, you should also think about the other girls in the music house. If the Lu family is gone, the court will definitely send someone else to be the county magistrate. At that time, we will still have to pay taxes to the government."
"We have been paying compensation for two or three months since the Lu family got into trouble. Do you want us to suffer together with you, or do you want the government to take back the music hall?"
When talking about Lu Yunzheng, Yue Nishang's eyes turned red. She lowered her head and tears fell down.
The madam pulled her aside and continued to persuade her: "I know that the girl has deep feelings for Mr. Lu. The girls in the cola shop are all under the protection of Mr. Lu. Since the girl has feelings for Mr. Lu, she should continue to take care of the girls in the music shop. Otherwise, Mr. Lu's efforts will be wasted."