Upstairs in Zuimeng Tower, which stands beside the river, a group of literati and elegant scholars were gathering together to chat and drink tea.
"In the first major imperial examination, Ji Shu recommended to the king and appointed Zhuge Jin as the number one scholar, and implemented the "Qi Min Law" and "One Tax Law", which caused the family to rebel. Since ancient times, 'scholars, farmers, industry and commerce', scholars are the most valuable, and businessmen are the most valuable. For the sake of lightness, Ji Shu paid the most attention to business, so that the whole Chu State was filled with the smell of copper. He also opened a national school to teach civilians how to read and write, which completely destroyed the dignity of the nobles like us. Ji Shu was a Chu State. An important minister of the country, but he despises the rules passed down by his ancestors and does not follow the etiquette at all. It is simply immoral!"
"No! No! Although Jiangdong's two new laws were violent, they laid the foundation of the Chu State. Jiangdong was reborn in the blood, swept Liu Biao and became a powerful country in the world. Although the merchant has always been despised, he turned into the Chu State in the hands of Master Ji With the flowing blood, what's wrong with the people living in peace and prosperity now? Do we have to talk about elegance here on an empty stomach? Confucius said that "there is no distinction between teaching and learning", and there is no distinction between high and low when teaching disciples. Isn't it true that Mr. Ji opened a school? Does it embody the benevolence mentioned by the Master? The academy above accepts the classics of hundreds of schools of thought and encourages scholars like us to argue with each other. From my perspective, Mr. Ji is the one who accepted hundreds of schools of thought and created an unprecedented prosperous age!"
In this way, these scholars were divided into two groups. The conservatives felt that Ji Shu's continuous implementation of the New Deal would still cause unrest in the country, and they should advise the king to maintain the old system; the reformists highly praised Ji Shu, believing that it overthrew decadence and established an unprecedented new era among the ruins of troubled times.
Zhou Tai was sitting alone in the corner, drinking wine with gusto. Listening to scholars quarrel always made him find it particularly interesting. But Zhou Tai's purpose today was not just for this. He raised his eyes and looked at the stairs upstairs. He secretly thought that the girls in the brothel are really big.
Yes, this is a brothel.
Many people think that brothels must be full of disheveled men and women. In fact, there is a misunderstanding. That kind of place is called a brothel, while a brothel is another story. If brothels are engaged in the flesh trade, then brothels provide more advanced services - love and freedom.
"Miss Xing'er is down!"
The hall, which was still full of noise and debate just now, suddenly became quiet, and a woman in white walked down slowly holding a pipa.
Three jade hairpins are inserted diagonally on one side of the hair, and the hanging hairpins sway gently with the woman's footsteps. The woman's white clothes are as white as snow and her black hair is as silk. She wears a veil that seems to be transparent but not transparent. It seems that she can see her peerless face, but she can't see anything at all, only a pair of smart eyes filled with autumn water.
"Young masters, you have been waiting for a long time."
Her voice is like a warbler, winding around the ears like silk thread, making people fascinated by her. This is the signature of Zuimenglou, Miss Xing'er.
"It doesn't matter, it's worth waiting as long as you want."
Damn it, he robbed me of the opportunity to show off in front of Miss Xing'er!
Many scholars glared angrily at the young master of the Wu family who answered first, but it was a pity that he was personable and even a little proud.
Everyone's performance only earned Miss Xing'er a gentle smile.
why? Although she was wearing a veil, everyone felt that she was smiling. The atmosphere suddenly became relaxed and cheerful.
Myolie walked to the stage that had been prepared and sat down happily.
"Then gentlemen, let's get started!"
Holding the pipa in her arms, Myolie played "Spring White Snow" neatly and neatly. The soft and cheerful notes flowed through her fingertips. At one moment, it seemed as if all things were aware of spring and the breeze was bland, and at the other moment, it seemed as if the snow and bamboos were dazzling and awe-inspiring.
Before I knew it, several songs had passed.
Superb musical skills, beautiful singing, and long flowing hair dancing with the wind. Facing the crowd, the girl's eyes were as clear and bright as water, and the expression between her brows was calm and lively. She seemed to have been accustomed to this kind of occasion, and she seemed happy to be able to show such an artistic performance in front of everyone.
The eyes cannot leave that figure, not only because of the graceful figure, but also everything about the girl attracts everyone, making them want to lift the veil and take a look at her beauty.
However, just the opportunity to meet once is rare.
After Miss Xing'er finished her performance, she retreated to the room behind the screen to rest, while everyone began to compete for the opportunity to have dinner with Miss Xing'er.
There was no hidden meaning, it was really just an opportunity to simply have a meal.
"Thirty taels of silver."
"Fifty taels."
"Sixty taels."
······
"One hundred taels."
"I'll pay you one hundred and fifty taels!"
The voice of Mr. Wu's voice was heard above everyone else, as if it was the final word.
Tsk tsk! This momentum surprised Zhou Tai. He didn't expect these young men to be quite rich. You must know that 1 tael of silver is equivalent to a thousand yuan, and 150 taels is equivalent to 150,000 yuan, just to have a meal with Miss Xing'er.
In fact, this has something to do with Ji Shu, and I have to mention Ji Shu's order to persuade good people. This is derived from the "Laws of Qi Min", which prohibits the sale of human beings, and the official does not recognize contracts of selling one's body.
So the question is, once the contract of sale is invalidated, what will happen to the prostitutes who were sold to brothels and the geisha who were sold to brothels?
Many women who were forced into prostitution were liberated. Some were recruited into factories to work as textile workers, and some were freed to marry as women. Of course, there are also some women who cannot marry or do not want to marry at all. They are also unwilling to do work such as textiles and are still engaged in skin and flesh trading.
There are people like this in every era. Ji Shu is not noble enough to spare the time to play hide-and-seek with these forces. We can just let them go if we like. But it is undeniable that the persecution order has made this industry tighter. The value of some low-level prostitutes has increased dozens of times. Those elegant geishas are naturally more popular in the world of rich people.
In the past, geishas who only knew some folk arts and were not very good-looking might sell themselves out due to pressure from livelihood or brothels, but now they can make a lot of money just by performing arts.
Not to mention those geishas with superb folk skills and outstanding beauty. All of them are offered up by the brothel madams like money trees, and they are afraid of melting in the palm of their hands.
It is not difficult to understand that Miss Xing'er, as the signature of Zuimenglou, has such a high net worth.
"Three hundred taels!"
After Zhou Tai finished speaking, he slowly poured himself another glass of wine.
