Chapter 8: Qing Luan Institute · White Girl

  The sun shone brightly in the city of Qingzhou. Because it had rained heavily the day before, as soon as the sun came out today, the mist rose and the air felt even more sweltering. This kind of weather was most unbearable for An Yuanwai, a big fat man. He wished he could peel off his own skin and soak himself in well water to feel comfortable.

  In the afternoon, the cicadas were chirping loudly. In the backyard of Anjia's house, a bamboo mat was spread under the shade of a tree. An Baozi wore a sweat-stained shirt, exposing his two chubby arms, and lay on a bamboo pillow, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. Two young maids knelt beside him, fanning him with fans, but the wind from the fans didn't make him feel cool; instead, it made him even more irritable.

  A quiet mind can be cool, but the hearts of those outside are not pure at all.

  An Yan regretted it afterwards, regretting that he was bewitched at the beginning and joined the Brocade Guard to die or live.

  An Yuanwai's family was a hereditary Jinyiwei military household, but his father's Jinyiwei identity was inherited by his older brother. As the second son, he was only a surplus soldier and had to find his own way out. So, he started doing business under the influence of his older brother. Although his older brother's official position was not high, those years were exactly when the Jinyiwei was at its peak. As long as one was a Jinyiwei, even if it was just a small Xiao Wei or Li Shi, they could walk sideways in the imperial city of Ying Tian.

  Under the care of his elder brother, An Litong made a fortune in the silk business, earning a lot of money. However, no matter how much money he made, he was still just a merchant without any social status. He didn't have enough knowledge to pass the imperial examination and become an official. Seeing the prestige and power of the Brocade Guards, An Litong felt envious because he was born a few years later than his brother and missed the opportunity. He wanted to obtain an official position too, so he spent money to ask his elder brother to help him get connected. Finally, his wish came true, and he was appointed as a Brocade Guard Captain.

  Unfortunately, his luck was really bad. He had just become a school lieutenant when the power of the Brocade Guard was greatly reduced and became an idle and clear water yamen. Moreover, he also had a merchant identity, and the reason why he was recruited was that he was suitable for being a dark stake of the Brocade Guard. Even if the Brocade Guard was in power, it would not be his turn to wear the flying fish robe and carry the embroidered spring knife to show off on Tianfu Street.

  Heaven won't help, earth won't heed! Originally already unlucky enough, finally again being sent to Qingzhou, using a merchant identity to open a business here, secretly doing errands for Luo. Now Yang Xu has been assassinated, can that rustic little brat Xia Zhen really impersonate Yang Xu? If things go wrong and the identity is exposed, it's a crime punishable by confiscation of property and beheading! Why would a wealthy family's good son want to become a Brocade Guard?

  An Yan's annoyance grew as he thought about it more, just then, a servant from his hometown led a young man wearing a bamboo hat and a green robe to him: "Master, this is a servant of the Yang Xu Gongzi's household, with a letter that needs to be handed over to you."

  Yang Xu?

  An Yuan's expression changed as if he had seen a ghost, and he suddenly sat up. Only then did he realize that this Yang Xu was actually Xia Zhen. He hastily took the letter, opened it, and read it once. A wry smile of helplessness slowly appeared on his face.

  The people at home called out tentatively: "Master..."

  An servant waved his hand weakly and said: "Prepare the carriage, change clothes, I'm going out."

  Yang's family guard smiled and said: "Mr. An, our young master is still waiting for your reply."

  An Yong shouted in a bad temper: "Nonsense, do you think I'd run out on such a hot day for nothing? It's all because of the matter entrusted to me by your family's young master! You just wait quietly at my house gate."

  ※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

  Tomorrow, officials of the third rank and above in the capital are allowed to ride a sedan chair. Those of the fourth rank and below in the capital and officials from outside are only allowed to ride horses and are not allowed to sit in sedan chairs. The system is gradually becoming a mere formality. In the early days of the Ming dynasty, the system was still very strictly enforced. Zhu Chongba, the cowherd boy, was more ferocious than a tiger. An employee did not dare to provoke trouble, so he ordered someone to prepare a donkey cart and took some money from the account room before leaving.

  "Qing Lao" is the largest brothel in Qingzhou, this brothel is privately owned, while the Teaching Bureau is state-owned. Private brothels and the Teaching Bureau together formed the main body of the Ming dynasty's prostitution industry. As for the half-hidden door sisters and dark prostitutes, they were severely cracked down by the government and did not belong to the legal category, so they are not included.

  The prostitutes and musicians of the Teaching Bureau, once registered, could no longer change their identities. The sources of these prostitutes were either daughters following in their mothers' footsteps or family members of convicts who had been assigned to this profession. Due to the limited sources and poor quality, business was generally average.

  And private brothels have more freedom to recruit and leave the industry, so they can absorb a large number of fresh blood from the folk, making their business more prosperous than that of the government-run brothel. An Yuanwai is an old customer of this "Qingluo Institute", but after entering summer, the weather is too hot, and An Yuanwai has no interest in visiting flowers and asking for willows, so he hasn't come for a while.

  This season, especially during the day, the Qinglou business is bleak, and there are few guests at the door. The tortoise public is extremely bored, with two patches of eye discharge on his eyes, hiding under the gate to cool off. After the donkey cart stopped in front of the brothel, An Yuanwai got down from the cart with difficulty, panting and puffing as he climbed up the steps. Seeing that the tortoise public was still dreaming, he kicked him in the buttocks without a good air.

  "Ah, there's a guest arriving! Please come in, sir!"

  The tortoise was still calling out habitually without opening his eyes, An Yuan Wai grunted and quickly walked in, the tortoise opened his eyes to see a stout back, quite majestic.

  Madam Feng of the Qing Luan Inn heard the shouting and hastily came out to greet them. Madam Feng was not very old, only thirty-five or thirty-six years old, with a well-maintained figure and skin, and dressed in a fitting attire, looking like a beautiful young woman in her early twenties, with a charming appearance and demeanor, without any signs of wear and tear.

  As soon as she saw An Yuanwai, Feng's mother smiled and said: "An Yuanwai, it's been a long time since you came, my daughters have missed you so much. Come on in quickly, it's hot outside, please sit down inside. Someone, hurry up and come over to serve Mr. An a good cup of tea."

  A small servant quickly ran over, nimbly pouring a cup of cool tea for An Yuanwai. An Yuanwai squeezed his stout buttocks into the chair with difficulty, waving his hand and saying: "Alright, alright, I'm not here for the first time, don't talk nonsense, hurry up, hurry up and bring your...your courtyard's...gurgling gurgling..." Before he finished speaking, a cup of cool tea was gulped down like a cow drinking water.

  Madam Feng gently shook her silk fan, covering her mouth and smiling: "Sir, why are you in such a hurry today? I don't know which girl you want to serve you. Otherwise, I'll call out all the pretty girls in our house for you to take a look. These days, our Qing Luan House has some new girls, each one is born with a thousand charms and a hundred allurements..."

  An Yongwai suddenly slammed the teacup and interrupted her, saying: "No need, no need. I just want the fairest-skinned girl in your courtyard, is there one?"

  Mrs. Feng exclaimed: "The whitest and best skin?"

  "Right, the fairest of them all, whoever has the fairest skin will be called."

  "Feng Mama exclaimed with a laugh: 'Good skin, of course, we have it. The girls in our Qing Luan Institute are all born with delicate features, but if you say who has the fairest complexion...it's definitely Xiao Mei. However, Xiao Mei...in my Qing Luan Institute, she doesn't count as a top-grade beauty.'"

  "It's her."

  ※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

  "Come on in, please."

  The young lady was overjoyed and pulled An Yuanwai, triumphantly entering her own boudoir. With both hands behind her back, she gently closed the door, her sparkling eyes glanced at him slyly, her pearly teeth nibbled on her plump lower lip, her face flushed with spring feelings, her charm was enticing.

  Unfortunately, her charming glances were wasted on a blind man. An old master didn't notice her deliberate behavior at all. As soon as they entered the house, An Yuanwai rushed straight to the teapot.

  Actually, the young lady Sleeve was not ugly at all, with fair and delicate skin, beautiful eyebrows and eyes. However, her eyebrows were a bit too thick, and at that time, women considered thin eyebrows to be beautiful, emphasizing "eyebrows like distant mountains". The young lady endured the pain of plucking and trimming her eyebrows, but they seemed to grow back like wildfire, sprouting again with each spring breeze, no matter how many times she plucked them. As a result, her eyebrows did not become thinner, but instead became less attractive than before.

  In addition, the young lady's figure is slightly plump, with a round and smooth buttocks, curvaceous and bulging. If she were in the countryside, this kind of girl's physique would be an auspicious sign for a good marriage, and old ladies would be eager to choose her as their daughter-in-law. However, in a place where relationships are only for show, she is far less popular than those slender girls with waif-like figures.

  At this time of the year, business in the courtyard was very slow, and even the red girls didn't have many customers coming to their doors. However, An Yuanwai specifically asked for her service. Xiu'er girl felt very proud and showed off all the way back to her room. As soon as she entered her own room, she closed the door behind her and was thinking about how to use her charm to make An Yuanwai infatuated with her, so that he would become her regular customer from then on. An Yuanwai had drunk a full cup of water and sat down at the table, not saying a word, and simply took out a stack of precious notes from his sleeve and slapped them onto the table.

  At this time, the circulating currency was still the Da Ming Bao Chao. The imperial court did not allow transactions with silver, otherwise, once caught, it would be a crime punishable by beheading. Fortunately, the devaluation of Bao Chao occurred in the mid-to-late Ming dynasty, and for now, the Da Ming Bao Chao was still a real currency. Sleeve girl's beautiful eyes took a glance, seeing that stack of Bao Chao were all one-string notes, at least ten pieces, she couldn't help but feel overjoyed. The dowry for a ten-string note was enough to be the price of even the most popular girl in the Green Willow Courtyard.

  The young lady's heart was filled with joy, and she arose to welcome him, twisting her waist and snuggling into An Yuanwai's arms. She said in a sweet and tender voice: "If the master wants to play some tricks on me, I can endure it, but please be gentle and don't really hurt my body."

  An Yan glared at him and said, "For no reason at all, why did you hurt me?"

  Xiu'er thought he had some strange habits, wanting to play with whips and powder on his buttocks, or dotting fragrance on his nipples, and was worried that the red card girls would not agree. He spent a lot of money on Hong's body price but ended up finding himself, so when he said this, Xiu'er put down her heart and was even more delighted, saying: "If so, then what kind of tricks does the official want to play? If you want to explore the waterway or visit the strange land, I will definitely accompany you, and I will make sure the official is satisfied."

  "What is waterway and land route?"

  The young woman pulled his hand ambiguously towards her buttocks, giggling and saying: "We, the great men of the Ming dynasty, come out to be romantic, if we don't make progress in both directions, open up a waterway and a land route, how can we be considered heroes on the romantic scene, and charming guests among the beauties? Master Yuan is good or bad, obviously a regular customer on the pleasure grounds, still wants to pretend with me."

  An Yong suddenly realized that he was being teased, and he couldn't help but feel both annoyed and amused. He withdrew his hand, puffed out his chubby face, and said: "It's so hot today, don't stick to my chest, sit properly in front of me. I didn't come to Qing Luan Institute today to find a girl."

  "Huh?"

  Xiao'er was taken aback and asked: "Sir, you didn't come here for pleasure, what brought you here?"

  An Yishan sternly said, "It's just that Miss's skin is as white as snow and can be considered the best in Qingluo Temple. I want to know what method you use to maintain it?"

  ※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

  A single lamp casts a dim yellow glow, filling the room with its faint radiance.

  A folding screen divided the bedroom into two parts, and the lamp was placed on the bedside of the inner room. The light cast a clear silhouette of the people in the house onto the screen.

  That was a man's body, a naked man, with broad shoulders and narrow waist, robust muscles, solid and well-proportioned figure, thick and powerful arms, as beautiful as a sculpture of an ancient Greek warrior god...

  He slightly shifted his body, and two large and full pectoral muscles were vividly reflected on the screen, plump and well-defined.

  Waist gathered like a bundle, then going down is a plump and upright, healthy and sexy buttocks, followed by a pair of straight and strong thighs...

  Then, another figure appeared. From his build, he was also a man. He bent down and scooped something from a round basin on the low table. It seemed to be some kind of thick paste. Drip, drip, drop... He applied it to his palms, walked behind the tall, straight-backed man, and gently placed his hands on his back, slowly sliding them downwards...

  This is too weird! This scene is really fucking exciting!

  Even Xia Liu, who thought he was innocent and had a clear conscience, couldn't help but shiver slightly, subconsciously tensing up his six-pack abs, and the striped muscles on his thighs also tightened, so... his buttocks became even more lifted.

  Zhang Shisan stood behind him, his hands flat on his back, slowly moving along the firm and smooth muscles of his back, the force of his palms very even. He was very patient, moving his palms to massage him continuously until Xia Jiu's back showed a faint red color. His hands then slid down along the waist, and he withdrew his hands, walked to the water basin at the corner of the wall, rubbed his hands with soap, and washed them slowly.

  Xia Liu remained motionless, standing there stark naked, his robust body radiating a warm, oily glow...

  Ever since the guard came back from Qingzhou with a letter and a large pile of things, Xia Yu had one more thing to do every day.

  Beauty