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Chapter One Hundred Ninety-Two: A Visit to the Brothel
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The Southern Xiongnu Empire Palace, having been rebuilt after the extensive plunder of gold and silver from the Huaxia Nation, was now a far cry from its former self. It sprawled over an astonishing area of 810,000 square meters, with a total of 8,118 halls adorned with glazed ceilings and decorated with gold, silver, and jade. The surrounding walls were impressively tall, reaching a height of 49 meters, stretching 1,200 meters from north to south and 800 meters from east to west. Even outside the palace, Xuan Ziming had commissioned the digging of a moat that was 49 meters wide and 4,500 meters long, creating a complete defense system.
If Ye Huan had not visited before, he might have found it hard to believe that what lay before him was indeed the Southern Xiongnu Empire Palace, which he had once reduced by one-fifth with his Dongfeng III. Beside him, the members of Dragon Hall, who had traveled overnight, appeared extremely fatigued. Among them, Yang Guangyao looked particularly bewildered as he stared at the wide moat in front of him and asked Ye Huan, “Young Master, are you sure about this? Are we really going to attack here?”
As he spoke, Yang Guangyao pointed at the towering walls of the Southern Xiongnu Empire Palace, almost ready to dismiss Ye Huan's plan to eliminate Xuan Ziming given the current situation.
Furrowing his brow, Ye Huan had not anticipated that Xuan Ziming would invest so heavily in the palace's reconstruction. He felt a twinge of hesitation; little did he know that Xuan Ziming's lavish spending was largely due to the chaos Ye Huan had previously caused—after all, no emperor would want to sleep on a battlefield.
After a long silence and sensing the impending arrival of a formidable enemy, Ye Huan ultimately made up his mind. He glanced at the sun hanging high in the sky and instructed Yang Guangyao, “Yang Guangyao, send word for everyone to find a place to rest for now! It’s noon; I want you all to be in peak condition before nightfall. Is that clear?”
“Young Master,” Yang Guangyao replied seriously, “can I go visit a brothel?”
Ye Huan was so infuriated by Yang Guangyao's suggestion that he felt like throttling him. However, on second thought, he realized that since arriving in this world, he had never been to such a place himself. Suddenly intrigued, what would have been a reprimand turned into: “Fine, but you have to take me with you…”
“…”
After arranging for the members of Dragon Hall to rest and setting a rough timeline for their actions, Ye Huan followed closely behind Yang Guangyao as they headed toward every man's dream destination. Beside him, Lo Shaobin heard they were going to a brothel and insisted on tagging along with Ye Huan as well, sporting an eager expression.
After walking for a while under the blazing sun in early spring March, beads of sweat began to form on Lo Shaobin's forehead. He anxiously called out to Yang Guangyao leading the way ahead of them, “Hey Yang Guangyao, can you even find this place?”
"Yes, the Purple Spring Pavilion has branches all over the Nine Provinces Continent, so we should be able to find one..."
Without looking back, Yang Guangyao quickened his pace, drawing a new wave of complaints from Lo Shaobin. However, his words reminded Ye Huan that the Purple Spring Pavilion indeed had a certain reputation. If he remembered correctly, there was such an establishment right across from the Han Residence in Flame Sun City. At that time, Ye Huan had even coincidentally seen Qin Hu walking out from inside; it was hard to forget.
Pondering how the Purple Spring Pavilion managed to establish branches throughout the Nine Provinces Continent, Ye Huan decided to ask Yang Guangyao for more details. "Yang Guangyao, can you tell me more about this Purple Spring Pavilion?"
"The Purple Spring Pavilion is a paradise for men! It is said that in each branch of the Purple Spring Pavilion, the girls come from different countries. Some are captives from the battlefield, while others have chosen this line of work due to difficult circumstances. However, the Purple Spring Pavilion has a standard: they only accept beautiful women. Therefore, the girls at the Purple Spring Pavilion are top-notch..."
Hearing Ye Huan's inquiry, Yang Guangyao hurriedly turned his head, revealing a lovesick expression as he eagerly shared everything he knew about the Purple Spring Pavilion, completely oblivious to Ye Huan's murderous glare.
Enduring Yang Guangyao's enthusiastic recounting until he could no longer find any adjectives to describe how beautiful the girls at the Purple Spring Pavilion were, Ye Huan couldn't help but curse himself inwardly for being such an idiot to seek information from someone who only had eyes for women. What was the difference between this and playing music to a cow?
Helplessly shaking his head and signaling Yang Guangyao to stop talking, Ye Huan turned his attention to Lo Shaobin, who also wore an excited expression. He asked him about it, only for Lo Shaobin to defeat him with a single sentence: "I'm a virgin..."
"Damn it, I'm a virgin too..."
Ye Huan thought to himself with a hint of disdain as he looked at Lo Shaobin. No wonder he was so excited; it was rare to see a virgin so thrilled about visiting a brothel for the first time—usually they would be nervous instead. Yet Ye Huan failed to notice that he himself didn’t seem nervous at all.
Just as Ye Huan continued to look down on his two subordinates from Dragon Hall, Yang Guangyao exclaimed "We're here!" instantly invigorating the three of them as they raised their heads in unison. What they saw before them was an alluring classical building filled with girls waving various colored handkerchiefs, resembling an array of colorful flags.
"The red flag at home remains standing while colorful flags flutter outside; ancient people truly do not deceive me..."
Staring at the colorful handkerchiefs, Ye Huan couldn't help but feel a sense of wonder and even muttered something under his breath without realizing that it was completely off-topic and had nothing to do with ancient times. Unexpectedly, such cliché words caught someone's attention; at least one woman responsible for greeting guests at the entrance heard him clearly and hurried over. She placed her delicate hand on Ye Huan's shoulder and said sweetly, "Oh, this gentleman seems like quite the scholar!"
Hearing what the woman said clearly, Ye Huan's companions, Yang Guangyao and Lo Shaobin, nearly burst out laughing. Even Ye Huan himself was close to doing so, as it was hard to associate his figure with that of a scholar.
Thinking about this, Ye Huan couldn't help but lower his head slightly, just enough to see the person in front of him clearly. He almost lost control again, but this time it was just a nosebleed. It turned out that places like the Purple Spring Pavilion required quite a bit of money to enter. The reason was simple: every woman here had her own unique charm. Take the one in front of Ye Huan for example—her large eyes glistened with spring water, her high nose bridge and cherry-like lips complemented her slender waist and ample curves. Yet she was wearing nothing but a small tank top and shorts, with her long hair cascading around her neck. To say she wasn't tempting would be a lie.
As if she could see the dazed expression on Ye Huan's face, the woman chuckled lightly, instantly exuding an alluring charm that left even Yang Guangyao and Lo Shaobin spellbound.
"Are you gentlemen here for the first time? I’m Qing He. How about I take you inside?"
Noticing the expressions on Ye Huan and his friends' faces, Qing He quickly realized they were newcomers to the Purple Spring Pavilion and decided to test the waters by speaking to them. After all, every girl who brought customers inside earned a commission.
Upon hearing Qing He’s words, Ye Huan understood that their behavior had been somewhat lacking. Just as he was about to compose himself and say something to calm this little enchantress down, Lo Shaobin unexpectedly spoke up before him: "Miss, you truly have a discerning eye. To be honest, I’m still a novice..."
"A novice? Then you've come to the right place."
Covering her mouth with a smile, Qing He was about to lead Ye Huan and his friends inside when she noticed their attire and couldn't help but frown. It seemed she was questioning why they were dressed so poorly. Fortunately, since Ye Huan and Lo Shaobin had never been to such establishments before, Yang Guangyao took charge. After clearing his throat a couple of times, he added, "Ahem, Miss Qing He, please don’t judge us by our appearance. The reason we’re dressed this way is that we’ve been traveling for days and didn’t have time to change clothes upon arriving in the capital."
"A gentleman? So he really is a scholar?"
Having heard Yang Guangyao's words, Qing He suddenly appeared quite surprised and looked over at Ye Huan standing beside him. Even the two holes in his shoes were overlooked as if being a scholar was something remarkable in her eyes.
Looking at Qing He in astonishment, Ye Huan decided to play along with the act. He asked her directly, "What’s wrong with being a scholar, Miss Qing He?"
"This young master is joking. Scholars are indeed common; however, today is different..."
As she hesitated while scanning Ye Huan from head to toe, it seemed there was something unsaid lingering in her words. However, curiosity piqued among Ye Huan and his friends. Thus, Ye Huan signaled Yang Guangyao with his eyes to speak up.
Receiving a glance from Ye Huan, Yang Guangyao did not disappoint her expectations and hurriedly asked, "Is today different? What’s different about it?"
"You may not know, but it is currently spring. As the capital of the Southern Xiongnu Empire, the Purple Spring Pavilion holds a grand gathering of scholars at this time of year, hosting the annual Poetry Competition inside. If you lack the ability, I suggest you come back another day..."
Having said that, Qing He was quite considerate, reminding Ye Huan and the others that given their attire, they would surely attract attention inside. If someone were to challenge them and they couldn't respond, it would be quite embarrassing. Moreover, since the Purple Spring Pavilion is located in the royal capital, there are many high-ranking officials and nobles around. Offending anyone could bring nothing but trouble for Ye Huan and her companions.
To Qing He's surprise, after she finished speaking, Ye Huan wore a faint smile, seemingly unfazed by her warning. Even Yang Guangyao and Lo Shaobin looked puzzled, unsure where Ye Huan's confidence came from. Could it be that she could conjure poetry out of thin air?
It must be said that while others might not be able to summon poetry, for Ye Huan, if she couldn't create it, couldn't she just borrow some? Besides, the Poetry Competition might not strictly require composing poems; perhaps they would simply be judging them instead.
With this thought in mind, Ye Huan addressed Qing He again, saying, "Miss Qing He, I think you needn't worry about us. As long as you’re willing to take us in..."
As she spoke, Ye Huan extended her hand toward Yang Guangyao as if directly asking him for money.
Seeing Ye Huan's gesture and regretting having mentioned anything about visiting brothels in front of her, Yang Guangyao reluctantly pulled out a large piece of gold from his pocket and handed it to Ye Huan. However, upon closer inspection, one could easily tell that this piece of gold had clearly been taken from one of the legs of a chair at the Han residence!
Of course, Qing He had no way of knowing these details. Especially when Ye Huan placed the gold in her hand and even took a bite out of it, leaving someone who had dismantled a chair at the Han residence speechless.
At that moment, a piece of paper was passed over with 'one thousand taels' clearly written on it. Perhaps coinciding with the appearance of this paper, a voice suddenly rang out from behind Ye Huan: "You come here carrying gold? How vulgar! Utterly vulgar!"
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