Chapter 59: Kidnapping

  A little girl with three braids and a ponytail stared intently with wide eyes, her pretty face covered in fine sweat beads, a flush of red, like a lovely small red flower. Her hand grasped a small handkerchief, her eyes shining with tension and excitement, happily shouting: "Get ready, I'm going to say start!"

  Xiao Ding and a young maid in green were squatting on the ground, both with their hands clasped together, holding a fluffy little puppy, staring intently ahead.

  "Let's start!"

  The little maid acting as umpire waved her small handkerchief, and the two little dogs immediately started running forward with all their might.

  "Come on Xiao Hei!"

  "Xiao Hua, you must strive for first place!"

  The puppies are still small, fat and round like little balls of meat. They frantically wave their short legs and run very fast. At first, the little girls were excitedly chasing after them, but soon they couldn't keep up and gave up. Anyway, they had brought the puppies outside, and once released, the puppies' only choice was to run back home, not afraid of getting lost.

  For an entire afternoon, a few little girls were repeatedly playing this game that was devoid of any nutritional value, and yet they were having the time of their lives.

  The young maid in blue said: "Xiao Qi, let's play two more rounds and then we'll head back to the mansion, it's getting late."

  Xiao Qi said: "Let's play for a while longer, I don't want to go home, it's no fun."

  That little girl in green clothes giggled and said, "How can it not be fun? You're always talking about your young master this and that, but when he comes back, you don't play with us anymore and just stay at home all day. Don't you like it now?"

  "I don't like it, I don't want to stay at home with him anymore." She pouted and walked for a while, kicking a small stone, and said to the little girl, "You say my young master is bad or not, first he lied to people saying he didn't like that Zi Niang from the courtyard, but tonight he secretly went to comb her hair, humph, what a big scoundrel."

  "What's wrong?"

  "Exactly!" As soon as this was mentioned, the little servant got angry: "This young master, every day he wants someone to comb his hair for him, but he goes and combs someone else's hair instead. Is he trying to curry favor? Fine, from tomorrow on, no one will comb his hair anymore, let him do it himself."

  That little girl listened with great sweat, and another more mature little girl squeezed each other's eyes and laughed "heh heh".

  In Yang's backyard, Peng Qiqi sat alone under a small pavilion, facing the bamboo forest, with her hands clasped around her knees, as if she were also part of the scenery, motionless.

  Just thinking of that lecherous guy makes her uncontrollably angry.

  "There are a few stinky rich people who think they're superior? Big Brother is like that, he's also like that. The men of the world, not one of them is any good."

  "Go ahead, go ahead! I hope that assassin jumps out now and scares you to death, you big pervert!"

  "What if the assassin really shows up at this time?"

  Peng Ziqi's heart tightened, she stood up and took two steps forward. She turned back resolutely: "I said it before, if he goes to the brothel, I will not go to watch the door for him. He is so reckless and fearless, why should I worry about him?"

  Peng Ziqi sat down on the stone bench with a plop, and then thought again: "What if he really died? If he was killed by an assassin, wouldn't Zhao Pushan look for trouble at my house? I'll secretly follow him, as long as he doesn't see me, it's fine."

  As she thought about it, she had already stood up, her feet unconsciously moving towards the front yard...

  Xiao Qi didn't want to go home, she played until very late and exhausted the young maids from Wang Yuanwai's and Zhao Langzhong's families, only then did she listlessly hug her little dog and head home.

  As soon as she walked out of the alley, she bumped into a man wearing a bamboo hat and gray clothes. Xiao Ding was startled and quickly retreated a step, patting her chest and scolding: "You're really something, how did you suddenly pop out and scare me to death?"

  The man with the bamboo hat gently lifted his head, smiled at her and said "Sorry!" Then a large hand quickly covered her mouth.

  "Ah!" A short, sudden cry echoed through the night air. The streets were empty of pedestrians, and a small, ownerless flower dog stood at the entrance of the alley, looking left and right. After a while, it suddenly wagged its tail and ran towards the Yang mansion with energy.

  "Mirror Flower Water Moon" is decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers today, with guests arriving in large numbers.

  The weather is getting cooler, and men are starting to have the idea of flirting with women. However, tonight there are so many guests, but eight or nine out of ten are here for the few girls who will be hanging their plaques and combing their hair tonight.

  "Mirror Flower Water Pavilion" is an official brothel under the jurisdiction of the Teaching Department, and today there are six girls who will be hanging their plaques to comb their hair, each with a unique background and experience, and they also have different talents and charms.

  Among them, the purple-robed girl was a noble of the Northern Yuan, and her grandfather had served as the Darughachi of the Da Yuan Prefecture. After Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, he turned the world upside down, and the nobles of the Northern Yuan, who had once been high above making arbitrary decisions, were all demoted to commoners if they failed to escape, and were ordered to change their surnames and names, abandoning their Mongolian surnames and adopting Han Chinese names.

  These Northern Yuan nobles were forced to change their surnames, but they did not want to acknowledge the Han ancestors, so they randomly picked strange characters as surnames, resulting in all sorts of weird and wonderful names. Zigu Niang's grandfather took the surname Zi, which was actually a real surname that existed, albeit a rare one, and he thought it was his own creation.

  Because of the unyielding heart at the time of defeat, he ordered his subordinates to burn, kill and loot, causing destruction, and Zǐyī's grandfather received even more severe punishment. His wife and children were all sent to the Jiào Fǎng Sī (a government agency in charge of managing the lives of courtesans), and their family was forever relegated to a lowly status. Zǐgūniáng was born in the Jiào Fǎng Sī, and because she had a clear brow and bright eyes, with excellent roots and bones, she was discovered by the wise and discerning mother of the institute, who carefully nurtured her. She became proficient in all the arts - music, chess, literature, painting, poetry, and song composition. Only now has she revealed her true worth, waiting for a suitable price to be set for her.

  Among the six ladies who hung their plaques today, only three have the qualifications to compete with Zǐ Gūniáng. This is natural, not every lady grows up to be an adult and engages in this profession. The courtesan house will hold a hairpinning ceremony for her, and those with such qualifications are naturally of high quality.

  Although becoming a courtesan means serving men with one's body, it is not something anyone would be willing to do. However, they are all girls from the teaching department, growing up in brothels since childhood, knowing that when they grow up, they will take a certain path in life. Since there is no choice, the only thing they can strive for is fame.

  The first-class red girl in the courtyard, but even mothers and managers dare not offend her easily. They can enjoy the best rooms, clothes, food, have a certain status, have a relatively high degree of freedom, and most of the time, they can choose whether to accept guests according to their own will. Especially the head card girl has a high price, can have more savings than others, so when she gets old and faded, her life will be much better.

  Because of this, they naturally want to go all out. At this moment, each of the young ladies is in her own room, carefully dressing up, determined to appear in the most beautiful and moving posture. If she can become the highest-priced lady during the hairdressing process, it means that she has won at the starting line, and it will be much easier for her to suppress the others and become the top lady of "Jing Hua Shui Yue".

  But in Zigu Niang's boudoir, something was different from the others. Zigu Niang didn't dress up, and she was actually drinking with a man.

  Cao Yuguang's eyebrows opened with a smile, his whole body relaxed. He had seen many famous red girls in the brothel, but he had never seen one like the purple-clothed girl who was so considerate. Whatever dish you wanted to eat, she would already be seductively feeding it to your mouth before you could say anything; if you wanted to drink wine, she would fill your cup to the brim and hold it up to your lips with both hands before you even had a chance to raise it.

  If you run out of topics, don't worry about the awkwardness, she can immediately find a conversation starter to flirt with you. If there's something you don't want to talk about and feel slightly uncomfortable or annoyed, she'll cleverly change the subject. She'll treat you like royalty, making you feel comfortable and at ease all over. Compared to those girls you've dated before, this lovely girl in purple is a completely different story, it's like comparing apples and oranges.

  But the delicious dishes on the table were nothing compared to the beauty beside him, and after a few cups of wine, his hands, which had been holding the cup with restraint, slid onto Zigu's soft and smooth body. Zigu nestled into his arms, like a lovesick maiden reunited with her long-separated lover, indulging in his caresses and teasing him, while a young maid in a green dress watched from the doorway, but she didn't care at all.

  "Cao Gongzi, that Yang fellow is really annoying. He was waiting for you over there and he came up to make a scene, and even wanted to give you gifts."

  She took the cow horn comb that Magu had presented to her, and said disdainfully: "Look, he is also a well-known scholar in Qingzhou City, but he is so petty."

  "Hmm... " Cao Yu Guang squeezed the plump and elastic buttocks, smiling slyly: "If he gives you an expensive hairpin, will you let him go?"

  "How could you! You're framing someone!"

  She said with a curved back, tossing the comb casually and sticking it to Cao Yu's arms, her eyes shining brightly as she spoke in a gentle voice: "Someone with the surname Yang can't compare to even one ten-thousandth of Master Cao's elegance. Although I'm a courtesan, I've also kept my chastity for seventeen years. Tonight, I only want...I only want to give it to a man I admire and adore. I only hope that man is Master Cao..."

  Cao Yu Guang was stirred up by the little demon's soft and fragrant body, her enchanting expression, and his desire was burning fiercely. He grasped the plump and protruding buttocks of Purple Maiden with both hands, tightening them suddenly, and said in a nasal tone: "Purple Clothes, give it to me."

  "No way!" Zi Yi Tong was shocked and quickly left his arms.

  Cao Yu Guang's expression turned unpleasant as he drew out his words and asked: "What is it?"