31 The Drunken Old Master (2/2)
The man at the registration counter patted XieRong's head.
”Young miss, the old man goes often to drink at the MeiYing brothel in the east district after his matches. It's no place for a young girl such as yourself. Why don't you go home for today? You can see him tomorrow if he stops by.”
”It's okay mister. I can handle myself.”
XieRong had on her black cloak that fell to her knees and kept to herself. She also wore a veil that she had brought along in case she felt the first young lord Bai and the eighth Prince's presences nearby.
It was still day time so there weren't all that many people around, but she still didn't want her face to be seen.
Every time she would look at a man sidle up to a courtesan in the nearby alleys, she would turn her face away, rubbing her arms, the feeling of being used and dirty invading her senses as she remembered FeiHong's past life.
The East district was filled with many brothel shops and grand restaurants at the front, but the beggars sleeping and loitering about in side alleys did not escape XieRong's notice. There were siren like courtesans trying to lure over customers everywhere on the main road, while there were worn and broken women in rags discarded away in the side alleys. One could see two sides of the world if only they looked to the side, but XieRong noticed that she was the only person who did. Perhaps people were too confident that they wouldn't end up like them? No, that wasn't it. When XieRong observed her surroundings more clearly, she saw people take a tiny glance to the side and march forward with more straightened shoulders and wider strides. Maybe they all did not want to acknowledge that there was a possibility where they could end up like them.
XieRong entered the MeiYing brothel. It was hard to miss as it was the fanciest and biggest brothel in the lane she had seen so far.
She went to the old lanky lady that was showing the customers around.
”Old lady, I'm looking for a drunk old man about a head taller than me that could be here. He would have come just a bit earlier than I have. Can you show me to him?”
”Get lost little girl, this is no place for you. There are many drunk old men that come here everyday, how should I remember all of them that drop by?”
The old lady's polite tone had changed into one full of disdain when she saw XieRong.
XieRong wasn't very surprised. The way she had been coercing customers into paying more and the way there was a small crack in her smiling face when the customer refused had told her enough about the old lady's lust for money.
She took out the pouch of fifty silver taels her aunt had given her before she left and jingled it front of the old lady.
The old lady grabbed for the pouch but XieRong quickly put it back in her ring.
”Not so soon, I'll pay you ten silvers for the information.”
”Fifty.”
”Ten, and no more. I'm sure those rival courtesans outside will be more than willing to give me the information I want for ten silver pieces.”
The old lady growled.
XieRong could tell they were rival courtesans from they way they were trying to pull away customers to their respective brothels, besides the fact that they weren't as well dressed as the courtesan's inside.
A handsome man with chiselled features, wearing expensive clothes dragged a lady, a low ranked courtesan from the looks of it, to the old lady.
”Old lady! I paid for a courtesan and you give me this?!”
He threw the courtesan to the ground as he bellowed.
”Sir, I gave you the best courtesan I could provide you with the little money you gave me.”
”The best? Is this what you call the best?”
XieRong turned to help up the crying courtesan who was pushed to the ground.
While doing so, herhood had come off and the cloak had shifted, drawing the man's predatory eyes to the small portion of the white tender skin of her neck that was exposed. The man thought that she was a little too young, but the thought of making this little girl a woman made him shiver. The servants in his manor had become boring, so had the courtesans. Even if the servants were young, there skin didn't look nearly as enticing as this young miss' and the courtesans just appeased his needs. They didn't fulfill his desires.
XieRong, couldn't dodge the man as came up behind her and put his sturdy arm around her waist and pulled her to him, rubbing himself against her. XieRong let out a small frightened shriek thrashing around to break free.
”As compensation, why don't I take her?”
XieRong forced herself to still, clearing her scared and muddled mind and sharpening it like a knife.
A scary chill entered her eyes as she remembered the anger and thirst for blood she felt for those guards who had assaulted her, no, assaulted FeiHong in her past life. This time, she wasn't so helpless and she wouldn't be as long as she kept her calm and acted logically and swiftly.
'Disgusting,' she thought, as she sprinkled the Tanhuan berry powder on the scum's hand that was snaked around her.
She put her small bottle back as secretly she had taken it out from her ring and slapped the man's arm away.
”Is mister blind? Can't he see that this miss isn't for sale?”
She turned around and glared at the man.
”Don't be difficult, girl. You should be happy this lord is offering to pay you for your company.”
”You're disgusting. Get lost.”
XieRong adjusted her cloak so that it once again covered her fully.
”You dare call this lord disgusting?”
XieRong ignored the fuming man.
”Old lady, look at that man's hand. You shouldn't let him stay here any longer. It's good that he only grabbed that courtesan by her sleeve, otherwise she would have been infected too.”
The man had already begun to itch at the red sores that had begun to develop.
”Sir, you'll have to leave this establishment,” the old lady said, ordering the male servants to show the man out.
”This lord will not forgive this humiliation!” The man yelled as he was thrown into the streets.
Unbeknownst to XieRong, a lady had witnessed everything from the first floor.
'What a clever little girl,' she thought, making her way down to greet her.