Chapter 412 - Strange Red Plum
Chapter 412 Strange Red Plum
Lin Mengya knew very well that this matter had to do with White Dragon and Black Tiger. Perhaps this matter would require her to fight with all she had.
On second thoughts, Lin Mengya could only slip into the brothel when the opportunity arose and she would have to react fast.
The guards at the back door seemed to have specially come out to receive Xiu and the other girl.
Once the two guards witnessed that the horse carriage had carried the two girls here, they went back into the courtyard.
Not long after, other men and women started going in and out through the back door.
Lin Mengya took the opportunity to sneak into Huichun House too.
Once she stepped through the gate, she entered a small but tastefully designed courtyard.
However, there were two red plum trees in full bloom in the courtyard. For some unknown reason, Lin Mengya felt a little uncomfortable about the two red plum trees.
Perhaps, this was a more suitable place to cultivate such delicate and beautiful flowers.
“Atishoo…”
Lin Mengya rubbed her nose after she sneezed. The scent from the face powder was too overpowering for her sensitive sense of smell which made her sick.
After sneezing consecutively for three more times, Lin Mengya finally got used to the scent of Huichun House.
She supposed it was because this was at the borders and the courtesans were not just girls from Dajin.
Some of them even possessed foreign traits.
However, they all had heavy makeup on. There was certain charm exuberating from their eyes and eyebrows.
The high standard of the courtesans was beyond Lin Mengya’s imagination.
This was strange because logically speaking, there were only businessmen who passed by this place. Although there was no lack of wealthy businessmen here, not many of them would be squandering their wealth here.
Nevertheless, each of the courtesans here was an exceptional beauty. They were nothing like the usual prostitutes.
Lin Mengya quietly sneaked into the front hall on the second floor and saw that Huichun House was a luxuriously decorated house.
Lin Mengya was standing at a circular well where she could look down directly onto a medium-size dance floor downstairs.
At this moment, there were a number of female dancers performing on the dance floor.
The sharp-eyed Lin Mengya soon spotted Long Tianyu and Zhao Fei, who were seated at a corner and looking like blockheads.
A very excited Zhao Fei was laughing non-stop. Long Tianyu, on the other hand, had his head on the table and seemed to have fallen asleep.
“Scoundrel, I will demand an account from him later,” thought Lin Mengya.
However, when Lin Mengya turned around, there was someone standing behind her and she had been unaware.
At first, she got a fright, but later when she calmed down, she had a good look at this person.
This person had almond eyes and rosy cheeks. She was surely one of the most beautiful women around. However, she had only a thin layer of clothes wrapping around her almost perfectly proportional figure.
Even Lin Mengya, who was an exceptional beauty herself, was starting to feel inferior.
To Lin Mengya, they were all women, but somehow, why was the other girl much more voluptuous than her?
“Who is this young master? I like how you are so straightforward. Come with me and we’ll have some fun!”
The girl’s coquettish voice entered Lin Mengya’s ears and her hair immediately stood on their ends.
Lin Mengya looked up at the flirtatious girl and was about to reject her when she smiled coyly and lunged at her, leaning onto Lin Mengya’s shoulder.
“How audacious of you, little girl. You’d better follow me, otherwise, while you’re able to enter Huichun House, you won’t be able to get out.”
The girl’s alluring scent was making Lin Mengya dizzy and faint.
She was held by a small, warm hand.
Thereafter, she did not know what happened, but she simply followed the girl obediently onto the second floor of the Huichun House.
The second floor was made up of rooms for the courtesans to meet their clients. Given that the sun had just set, those voices which made people blush with embarrassment had not started.
It was only until she sat down on a warm and nice-smelling bed that Lin Mengya woke from her daze.
She gazed at the woman before with wary eyes. She felt as if she had been hypnotized just now.
When the woman saw that Lin Mengya, whom she knew was a girl dressed as a man, was looking at her warily, the woman chuckled squeamishly.
“You’re really a bright little girl, but this is not a place where you should be. You may hide here for a while and I will help you out later.”
The woman no longer sounded as coquettish as before.
On the other hand, she poured a cup of tea for Lin Mengya and passed it to her.
“Drink it. Not everyone has the chance to drink of the sweet tea of Huichun House.”
Lin Mengya took over the sweet tea, and after making sure that there was no poison in it, she held it in her hands.
Seeing how cautious Lin Mengya was, the woman appeared to be awestruck.
“Look at you, I couldn’t tell that you’re actually such a vigilant girl! There’s no poison in the tea. Those with poison had been swapped. Let’s have a chit chat, lass.”
Lin Mengya could not help feeling wary towards this woman.
Nevertheless, Lin Mengya realized that this woman did not expose her in the first place and secondly she did not try to harm Lin Mengya. On the other hand, she had led Lin Mengya into her own room.
Perhaps this woman really did not harbor any ill intention towards her for now.
“Big Sister, I’d definitely like to comply with your request to have a chat, but I don’t even know your name yet.”
Lin Mengya tried to sound amiable given that she was already trapped in this house.
If she still wished to escape from here and to even save Xiu, now was the best chance to find out more about the situation from this woman before deciding what to do.
“Look at what a scatterbrain I am! My name is Hongyu. What about you?”
Hongyu sounded like an apt name for a girl in Huichun House. However, Lin Mengya had a feeling that Hongyu was not simple and innocent as she appeared to be.
“I am… Qingge.”
Be it Yuan Lin or Lin Mengya, anyways perhaps her identity would be exposed later.
The name Su Qingge was a secret only she knew about.
Hongyu seemed pleased with her name. She repeated it a few times and said, “It’s such a nice-sounding name. How old are you, Little Sister Qingge?”
Lin Mengya gazed at Hongyu awkwardly, as she found the tone of Hongyu’s voice filled with gentleness. It felt as if the two of them were just chit-chatting about family matters.
“I’m… seventeen.”
Lin Mengya did not blush a bit when she lied that she was only a teenage girl. In reality, if she were to add up her ages from both lives, it would have been more forty years.
Unfortunately, the identity which she took on now was that of a teenage girl!
Hongyu looked at her affectionately. Was she only seventeen? She was surprised that Lin Mengya was also seventeen years old.
“I have a younger sister who’s the same age as you. I’ve not seen her for many years. I wonder if she’s grown into an intelligent young lady like you.”
Lin Mengya glanced at Hongyu suspiciously. She could tell that Hongyu was finesse in her antics from the way she dealt with Lin Mengya just now.
Nevertheless, Hongyu did not appear to be telling a lie given the tone of her voice and the look in her eyes.
Was it purely because she was around the same age as Hongyu’s younger sister, that Hongyu had reached out to help her?
Look at how I loved to remember things in the past, given I’ve grown older. Don’t be oversensitive. While Huichun House was like a paradise to men, to women, this place is worse than hell. sister, please listen to me. No matter what the purpose of your visit is, you should never come here again. The boss of this place is more frightening than you can imagine.
Hongyu could see that Qingge nodding, but she was not sure if Qingge truly understood her.
Hongyu ought to have thought that she was the daughter of some wealthy family who had come out to have fun.
Her heart was moved with compassion, so she could not help say a few more words to Lin Mengya.
“You’ve seen it for yourself. Every girl in Huichun House is exceptionally beautiful, but how many of them do think are willing to sell their bodies, Little Sister Qingge? Many of them were elegant ladies from reputable, wealthy families, but were too ashamed to go back to their parents.”
The words of people could be very destructive. Having gone through the death of Elder Sister Yue Ting, Lin Mengya knew this too well.
Clearly, this was the most atrocious thing that could happen to any woman, however, the blame was always on these pitiful girls.
She knew she would be strong enough to not be affected by rumors. Her family members, be it her father or elder brother, even Long Tianyu, would stand up for her regardless.
However, only the minority of the girls would be as fortunate as her.
It was all White Dragon and Black Tiger’s fault.
If it were not because of their greed for the ill-gotten money, how would the lives of these girls be so miserable and pitiful?
“Elder Sister Hongyu, in this case, have you ever thought of rebelling?”
Hongyu shook her head. With sadness in her eyes, she gazed at this girl who had not gained much life experience.
“It’s useless. They would find thousands of ways to torment us. Do you see those two plum trees in the backyard?”
Lin Mengya turned to look at the red plum tree in full bloom.
By this time, the plum flowers should have withered. However, not only were the plum flowers in full bloom, they were red as fire and blood.
The bright red color was way too bewitching. It was nothing like the usual color of red plum flower. It even made people shiver.
“Huichun House had opened its door for many years now and there were countless staunch and indomitable girls who attempted to escape, but they all ended up becoming this red plum tree’s fertilizer.”
Although Hongyu said this with a leisurely tone, Lin Mengya could feel chills going up her spine.
So the red plum trees had been nourished by the bones and blood of humans, no wonder Lin Mengya kept having the feeling there was something off with the plum trees.
“That’s so cruel. Elder Sister Hongyu, I’ll think of a way to rescue all of you out of here.”
It was because of the Scarlet Ginseng and that she was a physician, she was often provoked when she heard of such exceedingly brutal treatment of people.
These people were so depraved! How could they use such an inhumane way to threaten these pitiful women? They were deserving of death!
“Ha! It’s useless. I know what you’re thinking, Little Sister Qingge. This place is like hell. If you’re sincere, please go to tell the people of the world to be more tolerant of girls and treat us with sincerity. Perhaps in this way, there would not be so many tragedies happening.”
Hopelessness and helplessness were written all over Hongyu’s face.
Even she did not understand why she had said so much to Little Sister Qingge, whom she had just met for the first time today.
Perhaps it was because Qingge really resembled her own little sister.
Hongyu quickly put away that miserable look on her face, closed the window and sat down beside Qingge as she began to instruct her softly.