At the end of the long street is the West Lake. The weeping willows on the bank dance with handkerchiefs in the breeze like the girls in the flower tower on the other side. The branches swing, as soft as the girls' willow waists, revealing infinite charm.
There is a poem: Jiangnan has good wind and moon, and Yangzhou is full of love. Every night, the charming operas are hidden in the West Lake.
It means that the wind, flowers, snow and moon of Jiangnan gather in Yangzhou City. There are charming operas in the city every night, all hidden in the West Lake.
Although there are many flower streets and willow alleys in Yangzhou City, the most famous one is the West Lake.
Just like Yazhi is located at the Beijing-Hangzhou Ferry, Liuyue Tower is the leader of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal in Yangzhou City. None of the 33 flower towers around it can match it. As a new flower girl in Liuyue Tower, Yazhi is famous for a while.
Despite this, she is not as famous as the famous prostitutes in the famous towers on the West Lake.
West Lake is one of the most prosperous areas in the whole Yangzhou City. It is full of poetic and picturesque scenery. There are unique elegant residences, elegant teahouses, fragrant restaurants, and pleasant pavilions. But there are more flower buildings decorated with flowers, of different sizes and layouts. Only the passionate and unrestrained women in the flower fields are all with unparalleled enthusiasm, wearing revealing and bright gauze skirts, regardless of wind and rain, regardless of cold and heat, always greeting guests at the door of each house.
This place is famous all over the world and has remained unchanged for three hundred years. Even the current emperor has been intoxicated in the gentle countryside here and refused to leave. Some people say that West Lake Flower Street made Yangzhou, and Yangzhou made Jiangnan, making it the economic center of the two river basins. But some people say that this is the root cause of the country and the world, because no emperor can resist the whispers of the West Lake, and I don't know how many heroes have been drunk to death in the gentle countryside.
Before Xia Shang even reached the West Lake, he could already smell the willow catkins in the wind with all kinds of feminine scents, and he couldn't help but be full of expectations.
"What a famous place, it's the hero's dream!"
"Master...you...you really want to go..."
Xia Shang only wanted to see the most famous place of love in the world, but he didn't notice that Yazhi's face was a little unnatural. After hearing her talk, he saw that this girl's face was pale and sweaty. This was not because she was not used to pretending to be a man, but a manifestation of extreme worry and fear.
"What's wrong with you? Are you sick?" Xia Shang reached out and touched Yazhi's forehead, and found that there was nothing wrong.
Yazhi took two steps back: "Master, why do you want to go to the brothel? Is it..."
"This...isn't it just to see something new!"
Xia Shang's words were obviously insincere, and Yazhi became more worried when she heard it. If she hadn't been on the street, she would have knelt in front of Xia Shang at this moment.
Yazhi was silent for a few breaths, but she couldn't help but wonder, biting her lips and trembling, she said: "Master, are you going to exchange Yazhi for the 10,000 taels of gold?!"
Xia Shang was stunned at first, then laughed: "So you've been worried about this?!"
"..."
"Don't worry! I just want to get some information."
Yazhi's eyes lit up: "Really?!"
"Really."
"Then why do you want to go to the brothel to get information?"
"There are many people in the brothel, and they are the most informed of all kinds of information."
"Is it really just that?"
Xia Shang's face sank, and he stammered: "Okay, while getting information, you can also take a look at beautiful women."
This explanation is good.
Yazhi's pretty face instantly flushed, she wiped the sweat off her face, walked to Xia Shang in two steps, and calmly introduced to him: "Young Master, there are many brothels in Yangzhou City, rumor has it that there are 108 of them, and there are more than 50 of them along the three-mile waterway on both sides of the West Lake. To distinguish the grades of brothels, they are divided into three levels: heaven, earth, and human. The brothels with the word "tian" are the best and most famous, with only four, followed by the brothels with the word "di", with a total of 36, and the rest are all brothels with the word "ren". Yazhi Liuyue Tower is the most famous brothel among the 36 brothels, but it is not as good as the four brothels on the West Lake.
They are Yichunyuan, Lichunyuan, Yuechunyuan, and Chunxiangyuan. Each of them is a century-old shop. They have trained famous prostitutes and raised generations of talented girls. They are the real contemporary masters. Yazhi has heard many legends about the oiran. There is also Yazhi's idol in it! "
Yazhi said happily, and Xia Shang was also curious.
"Oh? Are there still stars in this era? Are they all your idols?"
"Of course! Yazhi's favorite is a sister named Xia Ru. It is said that she charmed countless talented people and even the emperor. Not only is she beautiful, but her opera skills are unparalleled in the world. Even the university scholars of the Hanlin Academy have to ask her for advice. It is said that a master used dozens of boxes of gold to redeem her, which is estimated to be tens of millions of taels of gold."
"Tens of millions of gold?"
Xia Shang was also shocked. It seems that the extravagant style in ancient times must be even worse than that in modern times!
No matter what era, brothels are places where money is spent lavishly. Now Xia Shang only has three taels of silver left...
"Master, we don't have much money, so let's go to the small brothel with a "Ren" logo, otherwise we won't even have enough money for the entrance fee."
"An entrance fee is required?" This is something Xia Shang didn't expect. "Then are there some that don't require an entrance fee? For example, the kind that allows you to enter by writing a poem and making a couplet?"
"Yes, there are, but you have to try your luck. In this case, there must be a big event held in the building."
As soon as Yazhi finished speaking, the crowd around her became restless. Someone could be vaguely heard shouting: "Miss Xian'er of Yichunyuan is selecting guests! All scholars can enter the courtyard to watch the ceremony. Let's go and see the excitement."
I don't know who shouted, but all the pedestrians around were in a commotion. Whether they were well-dressed teenagers, masters in brocade clothes and jade belts, or gentle scholars, they all changed direction after this shout. There seemed to be a black hole at the intersection ahead, attracting everyone on the street in that direction.
"Let's go! Let's go and have a look!"
Xia Shang also got excited and was about to follow the crowd, but was pulled by Yazhi.
"Master, don't go."
"Why?"
"Didn't you hear what that person said? Only scholars can enter the courtyard to watch the ceremony. If you are not a scholar, it will cost at least 100 taels of silver."
"Girl, do you mean that I am not a scholar?"
Xia Shang was not convinced. He shook his clothes with his hands behind his back, raised his head 45 degrees, and half-closed his eyes to show the style of a scholar.
He has style, but does he have real talent?
From Yazhi's understanding of Xia Shang, he was only embarrassed in the past.
But Xia Shang was very confident. He thought that he had the cultural heritage of China for 5,000 years. What would it be if he couldn't even enter the door of a brothel? Without waiting for Yazhi to say more, he took her hand and mixed into the crowd.
I came here with full confidence, but I was dumbfounded when I arrived at the gate of Yichunyuan!
A long line of literati and poets stretched to an endless end. At a glance, I saw a miserable scholar being squeezed into the lake by the crowded crowd.
"My goodness, how long will it take to queue up?"