After receiving orders from Qin Su, Jin Shaoyun started thinking of ways to search the capital’s courtesan houses as fast as possible.
When he stepped into a courtesan house for the first time in his life, he saw an old madam approach him.
“Oh, this young sir is so handsome! Girls, we have a guest! Young sir, what kind of girl are you looking for? Tell me, we have all kinds of girls in the Abundant Spring Pavilion that will suit your taste!”
“You run Abundant Spring Pavilion?” Jin Shaoyun avoided the old madam’s hand and, with a smile, asked, “Do you know all the girls in this Abundant Spring Pavilion?”
“Despite not being the one to establish Abundant Spring Pavilion, I was sold to them when I was thirteen and now hold the position of the old madam.[1]” The old madam confidently declared, “I know every girl here, and there’s nothing I don’t know,” while patting her chest.
“I see.”
Jin Shaoyun smiled.
Three hours later, in a villa outside the capital, someone gathered all the old madams from courtesan houses in the capital and confined each of them to a small room.
Wearing a mask, Jin Shaoyun entered the first room, splashing water on the first old madam to wake her up. “Can you write?”
The water rundown on the old madam’s face, which was covered in makeup, and turned her into a terrifying mask. The old madam, with her legs bound to the wall with iron chains, nodded.
“Here’s a brush, here’s paper, and this is ink. Now, write down the names of all the girls in your courtesan house. Include everyone, even those who just entered. If I find one name missing, I’ll cut off one of your fingers. If you write them all down, I’ll let you go.”
The old madam, shivering, picked up the brush and paper and began to write. “Yes, yes, I won’t dare to deceive you, sir!”
Having dealt with one, Jin Shaoyun moved on to the next room, following the same procedure. Jin Shaoyun made those who couldn’t write speak the names, and he had literate soldiers with him to act as scribes, double-checking each name.
After a considerable amount of time, they handed a thick list to Jin Shaoyun.
Satisfied, Jin Shaoyun looked through the list one by one and found five “Hua Xi.” It was satisfactory.
Not in a hurry to release these old madams, Jin Shaoyun took advantage of the fact that the courtesan houses were still operating. Following the list, he went to each house one by one.
“Bring… Hua Xi out for me!”
Pretending to be experienced, Jin Shaoyun, with half of his face covered, successfully took away four Hua Xis. When it came to the last one, unexpectedly, his words caused laughter.
“The Flower Pavilion’s leading courtesan is not someone a kid like you can casually call out. First, pay a hundred taels of silver as an offering!”
Someone from the crowd jeered at Jin Shaoyun.
Hua Xi was the leading courtesan. Jin Shaoyun heard this for the first time, scratched his head, and took out a gold ingot. “Is this enough?”
Because their madam was missing, the duty of attracting and entertaining customers fell on Gui Gong. Seeing Jin Shaoyun casually produce a gold ingot, he reacted like a fly smelling a bad egg. “Enough, enough! Please follow me, sir!”
A wave of whispers spread through the entire courtesan house, but Jin Shaoyun paid no attention. Following Gui Gong, he went up to the third floor.
“Prepare for the esteemed guest, Hua Xi!”
Gui Gong knocked on the door, escorting Jin Shaoyun inside.
As soon as Jin Shaoyun entered, he saw the room filled with gauze curtains. A woman was sitting behind the curtains, playing the zither and singing. It sounded good, but to Jin Shaoyun and Qin Su, it was like playing the lute to a cow.
Not wanting to waste time, Jin Shaoyun pushed aside the thin curtain, intending to knock her out and take her away, as he did before. However, as he approached this time, he saw the woman dodging away.
Despite his surprise, Jin Shaoyun didn’t mind. Pressing forward step by step, just as he was about to catch the woman, he felt his feet go soft, and his whole body lost strength, falling to the ground, unable to move.
At that moment, Jin Shaoyun realized that he had been careless.
“Heh, capture me? This time, they sent such a young kid?”
As Hua Xi spoke, she lifted her hand and removed Jin Shaoyun’s mask. Then, with some surprise, her eyes widened, “You are… General Jin Shaoyun?”
“Do you know me?!”
Jin Shaoyun’s eyes widened. He had never imagined that the most embarrassing moment of his life would happen all in one day–not only did he get caught wandering in a brothel, attempting to knock out a courtesan, and end up being overpowered, but she recognized him!
Jin Shaoyun could already foresee his once glorious reputation being ruined in an instant, becoming a disgrace to his family.
“Of course, I know you,” Hua Xi sat in front of Jin Shaoyun, “Not long ago, I even threw a purse at you. Did you forget after taking someone’s purse?”
Jin Shaoyun:…
He felt utterly helpless. Jin Shaoyun now wished he could bury his head in the ground.
“General Jin Xiaojun, tell me, did you come to capture me yourself, or should I strip you naked and hang you outside, letting all the women in the capital see General Jin Shaoyun’s…”
Hua Xi covered her mouth, giggling as she looked at Jin Shaoyun’s blushing face, finding it amusing.
“You!” Jin Shaoyun, barely reaching adulthood, was startled by Hua Xi’s remarks. Confused for a while, he prioritized his loyalty to Qin Su over his dignity.
“Hang me if you want. Even if you hang me outside, I won’t reveal a single word!”
“Not bad. You have some backbone.”
Hua Xi admired Jin Shaoyun. “But having a backbone is useless here with me.”
Saying that Hua Xi took out a small porcelain bottle from her pocket and placed it in front of Jin Shaoyun’s nose. After half a moment, Jin Shaoyun, who had been holding on, couldn’t resist any longer and closed his eyes, fainting.
Looking at her hands stained with red cardamom[2] powder, Hua Xi obtained the information she wanted from Jin Shaoyun.
“Princess Chang wants to see me. It’s truly an honor for a humble girl like me. She hasn’t taken the purse I offered.”
Talking to herself, Hua Xi took out a pill and fed it to Jin Shaoyun. Then she slipped a note into his hand. Afterward, she struggled to lift Jin Shaoyun, opened the window, glanced at the alley behind the Fragrant Flower Pavilion, and threw him out, clapping her hands.
That woke Jin Shaoyun. His body ached all over from the fall. He looked around, only then realizing there was a note in his hand.
[If you want to see me, bring Princess Chang and the people she wants to save.]
Lightning struck Jin Shaoyun. When did he sell out the princess?! And does the princess want to save someone? He didn’t know about this. How did she know?!
Jin Shaoyun wanted to go back, but he felt his internal energy was empty, and thinking about the strange poison, he had to give up, seeing that it was almost dawn. He limped to the palace.
Early the next morning, Qin Su pulled out her numbed arm and went to the side hall to see Jin Shaoyun disheartened and ashen-faced.
Before Qin Su could speak, Jin Shaoyun handed a note to Qin Su.
After seeing the words and handwriting on it, Qin Su understood what kind of torment Jin Shaoyun had gone through. That was one of Hua Xi’s tricks, and it might leave Jin Shaoyun with a lasting shadow.
Patting Jin Shaoyun’s shoulder, Qin Su asked for the address and decided to go there first to check the situation. After all, Hua Xi didn’t know her yet, and with her eccentric personality, who knew what she might do?
Qin Su’s decision to go scared Jin Shaoyun.
“Your Highness! You absolutely can’t! She’s a demoness. I don’t know how she knew everything, and she even has a powder that scatters your entire internal energy, making you unable to move. She’s extremely malicious. She…”
Watching Jin Shaoyun’s agitation, Qin Su felt that Hua Xi was a bit ruthless with that move. It might leave a lasting trauma on Jin Shaoyun. Perhaps even the thought of Hua Xi would scare him.
“How about I take you there?”
“Or bring the Imperial Forest Army, just in case, Your Highness.”
Jin Shaoyun suggested.
Qin Su didn’t plan to scare Hua Xi away. Scaring Hua Xi away wasn’t part of Qin Su’s plan, considering the difficulty of catching this slippery character again in the future.
In the end, despite Jin Shaoyun’s disapproval, Qin Su, even without Lan Ying and Zi Yun, chose to go alone. The decision shocked everyone. Jin Shaoyun even regretted helping Qin Su to find Hua Xi
Appendix
[1]: The Chinese word for “old madam” is 老鸨 (lǎo bǎo). In the context of a courtesan house or brothel, it refers to the female owner or manager, often an older woman, who oversees the operations and the courtesans.
[2]: 丹 (Dān): This character typically refers to a reddish color, often associated with “red” or “cinnabar.” 蔻 (Kòu): This character can refer to the fruit of the cardamom plant or, in a broader sense, to a fragrant plant. So, “丹蔻” translates to red cardamom.
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Baihe Tales 