“Wow, what a beautiful pavilion.”
Mu Xueshi stared at the lavishly decorated building before him and could hardly believe it was a brothel. Eight enormous golden stone pillars stood on either side, while all four walls were carved from white stone bricks. Glazed roof tiles flashed brilliantly in the sunlight. A massive plaque hung in the center, bearing several sweeping characters: Changxin Courtyard.
After growing used to the solemn buildings and proper dress inside the palace, Mu Xueshi found the riot of color and brightly dressed people here overwhelmingly exciting.
Hearing the commotion from the second floor, Mu Xueshi looked up and saw more than twenty beautiful women waving dance fans and smiling openly at the nobles and officials by the entrance without a hint of shyness. Mu Xueshi watched them for a while and began smiling right back, visibly delighted.
Wu Cai looked at Mu Xueshi, whose expression was even more roguish than his own, and clicked his tongue. Mu Xueshi had not noticed Wu Cai’s displeasure at all and had kept his head tilted upward the entire time, so Wu Cai mocked him. “This is all your fault. If you hadn’t talked nonstop beside me, we would have arrived long ago. Just look at all those firecracker scraps on the ground. The courtesan-queen selection is already over.”
The smile slowly froze on Mu Xueshi’s face. He rubbed his aching neck, turned toward Wu Cai, and said, “Listen, I was going easy on you earlier. While we’re here, you’d better give me some face, or I’ll seal your acupoints!” He raised two fingers with an arrogant expression.
Before Wu Cai could respond, a burst of noise rose around them and everyone looked toward the second floor. The newly selected courtesan queen stood there beside the brothel’s proprietor.
The courtesan queen had delicately drawn brows, eyes full of spring, skin smooth and luminous as warm jade, and vivid cherry-red lips. She looked almost untouched by the mortal world. The proprietor beside her looked nothing like the wrinkled, vulgar madams Mu Xueshi had imagined. Her black hair was piled high in an elegant beauty’s coiffure, adorned with a jade dragon-and-phoenix hairpin. A gauzy emerald robe threaded with gold draped around her alluring figure. Though a thin veil covered her face, her peach-blossom eyes alone were enough to ensnare the heart and invite endless imagination.
While young dandies, nobles, and officials surged noisily into Changxin Courtyard, Mu Xueshi remained outside staring stupidly, completely entranced and oblivious to everything around him.
Wu Cai narrowed his phoenix eyes and shot Mu Xueshi an intensely disgusted look, signaling for him to hurry inside. Mu Xueshi finally came back to himself. He shook out his robe, deliberately put on a masculine swagger, and strode into the brothel beside Wu Cai.
“Waiter! Bring a few jars of your finest wine and the prettiest girls you have. This master…”
Before Mu Xueshi could finish, Wu Cai covered his mouth and dragged him upstairs. The proprietor, Li Gui, was Wu Cai’s sworn elder sister, and Changxin Courtyard was practically his second home. It was precisely his association with Li Gui that had given people so much material for gossip about him.
Changxin Courtyard was the largest brothel in the imperial capital. Every guest was someone of consequence, including powerful court officials and members of the imperial clan. Space was limited, so anyone below a certain rank was not even admitted. Without Wu Cai, Mu Xueshi would not have qualified to enter at all.
As Mu Xueshi climbed toward the second floor, he watched the singers performing in the center of the hall. This was clearly an extremely high-class establishment; even the performances avoided looking vulgar. Many areas upstairs were labeled with official ranks. Every important patron had a private place for entertainment and designated courtesans or male companions, and no one else was allowed to enter.
When they reached a private room upstairs, Mu Xueshi again saw Proprietor Li Gui, whom he had been admiring from below. She sat gracefully on a small carved redwood folding chair, holding a white feather fan, every movement indescribably charming. The moment she saw Wu Cai and Mu Xueshi, she rose with a bright smile.
Instead of speaking to Wu Cai, Li Gui walked directly to Mu Xueshi, brushed his cheek with elegant fingers, and spoke in a soft voice.
“So you must be the person admired by the most beautiful man beneath heaven.”
Mu Xueshi froze before realizing she meant the Third Prince. The word “admired” struck him like a warning bell. He hurriedly said, “Greetings, Sister. My name is Mu Xueshi.”
“I know. I saw you long ago. You simply seemed to have a different face then.” Li Gui continued smiling.
Mu Xueshi immediately scratched his head and said awkwardly, “Yes… the Third Prince fixed this face by putting a kind of facial mask on me…” He had been about to explain that a thin layer was still attached to his face, but remembered the Third Prince’s warning and stopped himself.
His earlier courage vanished. Mu Xueshi discovered that the moment he faced a beautiful woman, his knees went weak. He kept looking left and right as though trying to find something to do, but whenever he noticed Li Gui watching him, all he could manage was to roll his wide eyes around and force the occasional stiff smile.
“How adorable!” Li Gui could not resist touching Mu Xueshi’s cheek.
The touch made Mu Xueshi tense all over, and the Third Prince’s dark expression immediately appeared in his mind. Every time his thoughts wandered toward someone attractive, he felt as though the Third Prince were secretly watching him. Taking a deep breath, Mu Xueshi forced himself to become serious. “Proprietor, I came here because I have something to ask of you.”
Even Mu Xueshi did not know how he still had the self-control to remember business under these circumstances. Perhaps the unease in his heart had never truly disappeared; he feared being caught and dragged back before accomplishing anything. Besides, everyone here was a stranger and he had only known Wu Cai for a few days. Mu Xueshi still had enough sense to know he should not linger.
Hearing this, Li Gui stopped moving her fan, slowly stood, and took Mu Xueshi by the hand. “Come with Sister into this room. And from now on, you don’t need to call me Proprietor.”
Mu Xueshi felt almost drunk from happiness. Never in his life had a woman treated him with such easy intimacy. In the past, women had barely wanted to look at him; since coming here, he had been constantly beside the Third Prince and had never had much opportunity to become close to a woman.