Zhou Chen felt pretty stupid, truly… He had actually thought the Third Young Master, a man starving for women, might keep his distance from the opposite sex for the sake of hard cultivation. But then again, this was probably exactly what the Third Young Master was like.
Giving a slight bow, Zhou Chen asked softly, “Third Young Master, would you like me to accompany you?”
Standing by the stairway, Xu Yuan looked back and smiled. “Didn’t you want the Ziye and Zihua sisters earlier?”
Xu Yuan had always been generous to capable people. And he had no shortage of silver.
Zhou Chen’s eyelid twitched.
Xu Yuan clapped him on the shoulder and laughed. “Come on. I already told the Madam to wait downstairs.”
Zhou Chen fell silent for a moment, then gave a sly grin. “Then I’ll thank you in advance, Third Young Master.”
With that, he followed behind Xu Yuan all the way down.
As the two men descended, a faint fragrance drifted through the Drunken Immortal Tower. It carried a light, hazy sweetness to it. Most likely some alchemical concoction. Anyone paying close attention could sense the faint aphrodisiac effect mixed within.
All along the way, there were countless swallows and orioles passing to and fro. Every now and then, they would spot some young noble standing properly dressed outside a private room, bidding a lingering farewell to the courtesan inside.
Some of the lesser courtesans, not knowing their place, saw Xu Yuan coming down from the top floor and eagerly came forward to chat and laugh with him, their flirtation half-hidden and half-deliberate.
After all, this was the Third Young Master, a famous sucker. Rumor among the girls said that if they pleased him well enough, the man might throw out a 100 taels in a single night.
Any courtesan who had her own private room in the Drunken Immortal Tower was first-rate in both face and figure, and Xu Yuan was more than happy to tease and banter with these lovely young women.
Food and sex were simply part of human nature. Since he was already here in a place of pleasure, there was no point putting on airs.
By the time they reached the rear hall on the ground floor, Xu Yuan was already carrying quite a bit of powder and perfume scent on him.
Behind the Drunken Immortal Tower’s rear hall stood several large courtyard residences. the Madam lived there, along with a few of the establishment’s most celebrated courtesans.
These star courtesans enjoyed enormous freedom. Not only were they breathtakingly beautiful, they were also skilled in poetry, song, and the arts.
Many of the poetry gatherings and musical salons held in the Drunken Immortal Tower were hosted by them personally.
If a man wanted to become one of their chosen partners, it was not enough to have money. He had to be willing to burn it. He also had to be handsome and talented. They chose their guests, not the other way around.
The courtyard grounds behind the Drunken Immortal Tower were enormous. Calling them courtyards hardly did them justice. They were more like private gardens.
Each residence where one of those top courtesans lived had been built to the standard of hosting an entire poetry and music gathering. Pavilions and terraces dotted the grounds, a broad lake spread out before them, and luxury oozed from every corner. This extravagance was only natural. If the place was not built luxuriously enough, how were they supposed to coax those young masters into throwing money around?
That said, compared to the residences of those star courtesans, the Madam’s own courtyard looked noticeably smaller. It was just a standard little villa.
Reaching the entrance to the Madam’s courtyard, Xu Yuan pushed the door open and walked straight in. He could have knocked. There was just no need.
The Madam’s residence had artificial hills, a small pond, a babbling stream, stone stools, and a stone table. Birds chirped, flowers scented the air, and the whole place had a rather tasteful elegance to it.
As if she had heard the sound at the gate, a smiling voice drifted out from inside the house at once.
“Oh my, Third Young Master, you came so early. This servant girl hasn’t even finished dressing yet.” Her tone carried that soft, seductive sweetness unique to places like this.
A voluptuous woman pushed open the door and stepped out. Gold hairpins adorned her coiffed hair, and a simple beige gown wrapped snugly around a body that had long since ripened to perfection.
Xu Yuan remembered her name. Madam Moon, a very formidable woman. The Third Young Master had not been able to last even three moves against her.
After stepping outside, Madam Moon’s smiling gaze first swept over Xu Yuan, then lingered meaningfully on Zhou Chen behind him. A teasing smile curved her lips.
“Third Young Master, you had Niney come deliver word. Is there something you needed? If it is for two men, this poor body of mine…”
At that, a playful smile appeared at the corner of Zhou Chen’s mouth.
Xu Yuan cut her off directly. “Two things.”
Even though he had interrupted her, Madam Moon showed not the slightest annoyance. With light, graceful steps and a swaying figure, she walked up before the two men and gave a slight nod with a smile.
“Please, go on. I’m listening.”
“First, send Ziye and Zihua to the top floor.”
“Oh my, that... that would depend on whether my two girls are willing…” Madam Moon kept talking to herself, but after glancing at Xu Yuan, she smoothly changed her tune with a smile. “But since the Third Young Master is the one asking, we needn’t bother with those rules. Please wait a moment. I’ll make the arrangements at once. Though I do wonder, what is the second matter?”
Xu Yuan smiled and shook his head. Turning, he walked over to the stone stool in the courtyard and sat down. He tapped the stone table lightly and narrowed his eyes with a grin.
“Second, send that new courtesan queen your Drunken Immortal Tower just brought in to my room.”
Madam Moon’s eyes flickered for a moment. She walked to the opposite side, gathered her skirts, and slowly sat down across from him, laughing softly as she said,
“Third Young Master, there will be a poetry gathering tomorrow night at Bamboo Garden. My girl will naturally appear there then. Why be in such a hurry?”
“A poetry gathering?” Xu Yuan murmured.
“Yes. When the time comes, the other girls in my courtyard will be there as well to help host. If you show off your brilliance then, won’t all my daughters fall for you? Why rush things now?” Madam Moon replied, trying to turn him down as tactfully as possible.
Xu Yuan listened patiently, tapped the table again, and smiled. “How much silver? Just name the price.”
A trace of helplessness flashed through Madam Moon’s eyes, and she hurriedly said, “Third Young Master, this truly is not a matter of money. The invitations for my daughter’s debut have already been sent out. Besides, she is a pure courtesan. In the end, it depends on her own willingness.”
Xu Yuan frowned and stared at the beautiful woman before him. After a long silence, he asked, “So there’s no room to discuss it, then?”
The smile on Madam Moon’s face did not fade in the slightest. Light as a drifting feather, she slipped down beside Xu Yuan, wrapped one arm around his, and gently stroked his thigh. “Now, now, don’t be angry, Third Young Master. How about this. No matter what happens at tomorrow’s poetry gathering, I’ll arrange for you to meet my daughter afterward. Would that satisfy you?”
Xu Yuan glanced at Madam Moon’s ample bosom, then quietly pulled his hand back.
Madam Moon chuckled and straightened up, her eyes curving as she watched him.
Xu Yuan, meanwhile, fell into thought. She wanted him to attend the poetry gathering. He carefully searched through the poems from his previous life, the kind that had endured through the ages.
Hmm. That actually might not sound like a bad idea. It’d be a perfect chance to show off.
However, the thought had only just surfaced when Xu Yuan gently shook his head. He was Xu Changtian now. Poetry? He did not know a damn thing about poetry. the Madam was telling a man who could not even scrape together a limerick to step up and casually recite an Immortal verse?
Taking a deep breath, Xu Yuan pulled out a 10,000-tael banknote from his Sumeru Ring and slapped it down on the stone table.
Madam Moon’s pupils contracted slightly. She was shocked by the 10,000 taels and even more shocked by the ring on Xu Yuan’s finger.
Xu Yuan paid no attention to the astonishment in her eyes. He only stared at her and said, “I’ll ask one last time. Are you sending her, or not?”
A sum of 10,000 taels for the first night of a debut courtesan was already an outrageously high price. It was absurdly high, really.
Take the Ziye and Zihua sisters for example. Even booking both of them together for one night only cost around 40 taels. Separately, each would probably go for a little over 15.
As for the 100-tael price tag for a single night on the top floor of Drunken Immortal Tower, most people only paid it by gathering in groups and splitting the cost. Only an absurdly extravagant young master like Xu Yuan would actually stay there long-term by himself.
Spending tens of thousands, or even over a hundred thousand taels, just to buy a courtesan’s first night only happened in storybooks.
Madam Moon glanced at the 10,000-tael note, pressed her lips together with a pitiful look, and said softly, “Third Young Master, the invitations have already gone out. Can you not wait just a little longer?”
Judging by the Third Young Master’s usual impatience around women, Madam Moon figured there was a good chance he might raise the price again. He even had a Sumeru Ring now, so he could definitely afford more.
After a brief silence, Xu Yuan simply put the 10,000-tael note away. In its place, he laid three 1,000-tael notes on the table, then turned and walked out as he said to Zhou Chen, “Come with me to Bamboo Garden.”
“Heh, right away…” Zhou Chen answered with a look that said he was thoroughly enjoying the show. He shot Madam Moon a glance, then quietly followed after Xu Yuan.
“The Third Young Master could have just taken her by force. He offered you 10,000 taels and you still would not take it... Heh.”
Madam Moon looked at the three 1,000-tael notes on the stone table, rose to her feet, and called after Xu Yuan’s departing back with a smiling change of tune, “Oh my… Since the Third Young Master dotes on my daughter so dearly, then 10,000 it is.”
The stream babbled on. The courtyard fell quiet.
Xu Yuan’s steps remained unhurried, and he did not so much as glance back. He had already offered the money. If she did not want 10,000 taels of silver, then forget it. Three thousand was already the going rate in his memories. If the young master in question happened to be talented in poetry and the arts, it might even be cut in half.
Just as he reached the gate, Madam Moon’s smiling voice floated over again, lighter now, but with some of its warmth gone. “Third Young Master, everything has its rules. Forcing a sale is hardly proper.:
Hearing this, Xu Yuan shot Madam Moon a sidelong glance, gave a faint chuckle, and closed the courtyard gate behind him.
The courtyard doors shut, and silence settled so deeply that even a falling pin might have been heard.
Sitting on the stone stool, Madam Moon’s gaze flickered. She drew in a deep breath, then slowly let it out. A surge of source qi rippled through her body. Her figure flashed, and in an instant she vanished from where she sat.
BOOM! And the moment she disappeared, a muffled explosion rang out in the narrow lane outside the courtyard.
Gradually, the dust cleared.
Xu Yuan looked on with some amusement at the sight of the beautiful older woman who had appeared in front of them, only to be instantly seized by the throat and smashed against the nearby stone wall by Zhou Chen.
Xu Yuan let out a sigh and said with a smile, “Madam Moon, what exactly are you trying to pull here?”