Chapter Twenty-Two: Unrequited Love

  Chen Dong laughed and let a powder head sit on his lap, with one salty pig hand being very dishonest, exploring all over the powder head's body.

  Hao Feng Lou sat upright with a serious expression, yet he didn't move a single thread.

  Chen Dong saw Hao Fenglou 'can't let go', and smiled: "No need to be polite..."

  Hao Feng Lou shook his head and said, "Elder cousin, it's not that I'm being overly cautious, but rather..."

  Chen Dongjia saw that Hao Fenglou's words were hinting at something and asked: "Oh? What is it really?"

  Hao Feng Lou said lightly: "It's just that the level of the fans here is too low, and it's really unbearable."

  Everyone in the room was shocked.

  Chen Dong suddenly became serious, pushing away the powder heads on his body, several powder heads with a face full of resentment.

  Chen Dong's family was indeed easy-going, saying: "It seems that you are also a connoisseur of this way. If you think it's not good, then it doesn't matter." After speaking, he hurriedly sent several powder kegs out and instructed them to "go invite some people who can calm the scene".

  The powder heads left reluctantly.

  Like a high-end brothel such as Yihongyuan, the biggest taboo is having customers who are not satisfied. After all, those who come and go here are all local tyrants and officials. Once someone is treated poorly, they will lose their reputation and this business will be ruined. The old madam Wen Shi hastily brought in seven or eight courtesans and smiled: "Sir, young master, ah, I'm so sorry for the inconvenience, please forgive us. Those few just now were indeed not worthy of serving you, not even worthy of your attention, really a thousand deaths."

  Having said that, he lined up the powder heads: "These are some of the good goods in Yihongyuan. They will serve as slaves to apologize to Master and Young Master. I hope you can forgive them."

  Chen Dongjia burst out laughing, his eyes scanning over the powdered head.

  Hao Feng Lou still had a calm expression and said lightly: "Ordinary powder!"

  Wen's face didn't look good, and the other few powder heads also smiled reluctantly. Chen Dongjia felt it was a bit too much and said in a low voice: "The girls of Yihongyuan are all talented and beautiful..."

  Hao Feng Lou ignored him and stood up proudly. He walked to the first powder head and said calmly, "What's your name?"

  The powder head said: "My name is Dongmei."

  Hao Feng Lou glanced at her and said: "Dongmei girl, you play the piano quite well, don't you?"

  Dongmei exclaimed in surprise: "Young master knows I can play the zither?"

  Hao Feng Lou smiled to himself: "You alone have long fingernails on your right hand, only those who play the zither do so." But he didn't expose him, and instead said lightly: "Unfortunately, although you can barely play the zither well enough to be pleasing to the ear, your temperament is cold and distant, and you're too insincere with guests."

  Plum blossoms in winter, unexpectedly accepted.

  Nangong heard this and was shocked in his heart, but he didn't dare to refute it, because what Hao Fenglou said was not wrong at all.

  Hao Feng Lou walked up to another powder head and gazed at her for a few moments before asking: "What's your name?"

  "My name is Xing Er."

  Hao Fenglou sighed and said, "You may not have any special skills, but you can play the flute and read books a little bit, your appearance and figure are also top-notch, however... since you're pregnant, you shouldn't be doing this kind of flesh trade anymore."

  Xing'er suddenly panicked and bit her lip, saying nothing.

  "Wen shook his head: 'Nothing happened.'"

  Hao Feng Lou said calmly: "Whether there is or not, everyone knows in their hearts, denying it with a straight face is useless."

  Wen's face suddenly looked like a deflated balloon, and seeing Xing'er in a panic, he knew he couldn't hide it anymore, so he said: "Young master, there is also this Hua..."

  Ru Hua... was a woman beside Xing Er, this Ru Hua was quite bold, suddenly giggling, charmingly wanting to hold Hao Feng Lou's hand, saying: "Young master, I am not pregnant."

  Hao Feng Lou's face sank as he said, "You're even more detestable. Your chest is actually not that big, but you still try to squeeze it out. When you wear clothes, it's like a stormy sea, but when you take off your dress, it's flat as a plain. This is deception!"

  Ruhua suddenly covered her chest and retreated several steps.

  The Wen family's eyes turned green, in fact she wanted to make a move, but Hao Fenglou was like an old auntie in the Yihong courtyard, familiar with the powder heads, one by one counting their shortcomings, and every word had a basis. Although it was meant to disrupt the scene, the other person's words were seamless, leaving people unable to get down from their high horse, nor could they think of a way out.

  Chen Dongjia listened and initially thought that Hao Fenglou was being overly cautious, but as each flaw was pointed out, he suddenly felt disheartened. After all, at first, he had thought everything was perfect, but once someone pointed out the shortcomings, he felt uneasy in his heart. He hastily said, "No good, no good, let's change another batch, let's change another batch."

  Mr. Wen had no choice but to lead the powder heads away with a sullen expression.

  But in this Yihong Courtyard, it was a chaotic scene with people running around wildly.

  The guests who came here were originally seeking fun, but now they hear that there are guests making trouble, one by one, they rush up with a fierce appearance.

  In another room, a man in his thirties with exceptionally well-maintained skin and dressed in luxurious attire heard the whispers of his attendant and couldn't help but say: "Is there such a thing? And yet someone dares to come to this Yihongyuan to stir up trouble. Doesn't he know who is backing this Yihongyuan?"

  The servant explained: "They are not making trouble, they are evaluating, and each one is accurate. The old madam can't say a word, although they pointed out the shortcomings, but in the end, they still gave Yihongyuan face and said some strengths."

  The man in the magnificent garment suddenly became enthusiastic and said: "Let's go, we'll take a look too."

  This man was Li Jinglong. Li Jinglong was a personal waste, but he was unexpectedly deeply trusted by the imperial court. He led an army of 500,000 to conquer Beiping, and ended up suffering a great defeat. The imperial court did not blame him for this failure, and instead put him in charge of defending several city gates in Nanjing. As for Cao Guogong, he was indulgent and reckless, and although there were impeachment proceedings against him, his father Li Wenzhong was a renowned general of the Ming dynasty, so the officials in the imperial court seemed to think that with Li Wenzhong's prestige, the city of Nanjing would be safe. Therefore, they ignored all the impeachment memorials, and Li Gongzi became even more unscrupulous, sleeping during the day and indulging in revelry at night.

  Li Jinglong was indeed interested, and being the kind of person who would stir up a three-foot wave even on a windless day, he immediately hurried to the scene as soon as he heard about this fun event.

  The side room of Hao Feng Lou was very lively, now the three layers inside and outside were all surrounded by people, the young masters and wealthy merchants were all chattering and trying to curry favor, one of them said: "It's coming, it's coming, the old madam is going to use her killer move."

  "Most likely they want Miss Tianxiang to come and calm things down. Once Miss Tianxiang appears, see if he can still pick out any thorns."

  Li Jinglong found it interesting and squeezed to the front, seeing that the one who stood out was a young man with a face as beautiful as jade. He also heard people around him say: "This young man is only in his early twenties, yet he has sharp eyes like a torch, deeply understanding this way. We have been through the Huan arena for twenty years, but we are not as good as him. Shameful, shameful."

  As expected, at this time, Mr. Wen finally brought a girl, this girl was slender and elegant, like a lotus flower emerging from the dust, with two little maidservants standing on either side of her, and when the young masters and wealthy merchants saw her, they actually all restrained their lustful smiles and greeted her one after another: "It's Tianxiang, Miss Tianxiang."

  The heavenly fragrance girl had no expression on her face, someone brought a velvet stool over, she sat down gently and didn't make a sound, only the corner of her mouth curled up into a faint smile, instantly stunning everyone present.

  "This is the top-ranked Tian Xiang girl of our institution. You have a good eye, young master, and it seems you're quite picky about Tian Xiang."

  Everyone started booing.

  Hao Feng Lou smiled and looked at Tian Xiang: "Miss is the top courtesan, I suppose you're proficient in all four arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting?"

  "I don't dare."

  Hao Feng Lou said lightly: "Do you know how to play the guqin?"

  Tian Xiang hesitated for a moment before saying, "Please invite Nanny Shui to come over."

  Hao Feng Lou sneered: "No need to pretend, you can't play the guqin."

  The heavenly fragrance is faintly discernible.

  Everyone suddenly took a cold breath, how did this guy know?

  Hao Fenglou thought to herself: "To play the guqin well, one must put in a lot of hard practice. Playing the guqin is different from playing the piano; when playing the piano, you use your hands, but when playing the guqin, you wear plectra or fingerpicks on your fingers. Someone who has gotten used to wearing plectra will definitely have marks on their fingers. She doesn't have any marks, so she must hardly ever practice."

  Wen's face turned red and white, and she was immediately seen through by Hao Fenglou. She couldn't help but say: "Even if I don't know how to play the zither, what's wrong with that? Can't a person have some flaws? Tianxiang's calligraphy is good, her piano skills are excellent, and she's also skilled at chess. It's not bragging to say that she's proficient in all four arts."

  Everyone shouted in agreement: "Yes, yes, this doesn't count, this doesn't count."