Chapter 21: Night Mooring in Yuzhou, the Sound of the Piano

Chapter 21: Night Anchorage at Yu Prefecture, Qin Music Arrives

Chunfeng Alley.

An Jing arrived at Zhou Xianming's doorstep.

"Knock knock!"

"Who is it?"

"Mr. Zhou, it's me, An Jing."

An Jing called out softly.

"Creak!"

As the door opened, Zhou Xianming, whose face still had faint bruises, poked his head out, then glanced around and urged, "Dr. An, come in quickly."

An Jing entered the house and couldn't help but ask, "What happened to you?"

Zhou Xianming's appearance was nothing like someone suffering from a cold.

He had clearly been beaten!

"Alas!"

Zhou Xianming sighed heavily and said, "Just find a place to sit."

"Is there even a place to sit?" An Jing looked around.

Zhou Xianming's home was not large; the house he lived in was rented from a tooth merchant, only about twenty square meters, and the interior furnishings were extremely simple: a table, a few chairs, a large bed, and a stove in the corner.

The room was very messy, with brushes and inkstones scattered on the table, and especially the stove in the corner, with bowls and basins everywhere, and some rice porridge seemingly still in the pot.

The only thing neatly arranged was a bookshelf on the west side, filled with books.

"What exactly happened?" An Jing asked curiously. Could it be that Zhou Xianming owed debts in the past, and now someone had come to collect them?

"I don't know, I don't know what evil I've encountered."

Zhou Xianming sat on a chair, sighing. "Dr. An, some things you shouldn't ask about."

The black-clad men who came night after night were by no means ordinary; they were simply not something a doctor and a scholar, who were powerless, could handle.

"You haven't eaten yet, have you?" An Jing asked, glancing at the messy kitchen.

"Never mind, I'm not hungry." Zhou Xianming waved his hand, then seemed to remember something. "Dr. An, I know you have a benevolent heart as a physician. Can you help me with a cure?"

An Jing smiled and said, "You just have some superficial injuries. We can go to my house later, and I'll apply some liniment for you."

"No, no, no."

Zhou Xianming quickly waved his hand. "Dr. An, I'm not talking about these superficial injuries."

"Not superficial injuries?" An Jing frowned. Did Zhou Xianming have internal injuries that he hadn't noticed?

"I'm suffering from lovesickness."

Zhou Xianming lowered his head and coughed twice.

"Lovesickness?"

"Yes, ever since I saw Miss Li Yue on the pleasure boat last time, I haven't been able to control myself. I can't sleep at night, I can't eat, and her image is constantly in my mind, tossing and turning."

"Then how can I cure you?"

"Dr. An, I want to listen to music at a Brothel."

An Jing was stunned, not expecting Zhou Xianming to be so brazen as to directly ask him to take him to enjoy himself.

In his impression, Zhou Xianming was a very timid scholar, but as soon as the topic of listening to music at a Brothel came up, he immediately seemed like a changed person, with a sparkle in his eyes.

"But you are a scholar."

"What's wrong with being a scholar?"

Zhou Xianming stood up and said righteously, "Isn't it natural for us scholars to listen to music at a Brothel? It is precisely because we are scholars that we should go to a Brothel to listen to music. If we don't save these fallen women, how can we save our country and the world in the future?"

It is precisely because they are scholars that they should go to a Brothel to listen to music.

Seeing Zhou Xianming speak with such impassioned conviction, An Jing was stunned. Was there really such a saying?

"Dr. An, are you going or not?"

"Go!"

On Yuzhou River.

At dusk, the lights on both banks glowed brightly, and countless pleasure boats drifted on Yuzhou River. Inside the pleasure boats, beautiful courtesans offered wine and raised their cups, and the sounds of music and singing were continuous.

"Dr. An, have you ever been on a Red Pavilion pleasure boat before?" Zhou Xianming stood at the bow of the boat, dressed in white, holding a folding fan, looking like a proper gentleman.

Next to him, the boatman rowed towards the pleasure boat in the middle of the river.

"No, I never come to places like this." An Jing shook his head and said, "This is my first time in such a place of debauchery."

"It's normal for Dr. An's wife, who is as beautiful as a Heavenly Immortal and can make fish sink and geese fall, not to like the common beauties here."

Zhou Xianming nodded in understanding, then said with a longing expression, "But Miss Li Yue is different; she is a lotus that emerges unstained from the mud."

What's different? It's just a matter of price.

An Jing rolled his eyes.

Before long, the bow of the small boat had reached the Red Pavilion pleasure boat.

The pleasure boat was lavishly decorated and exquisitely beautiful, swaying on the water. From within the pleasure boat, the sounds of women's laughter and chatter came intermittently. A heavily made-up madam was enthusiastically greeting guests.

"Oh, isn't this Dr. An?"

The madam's eyes lit up when she saw An Jing. "You haven't been here in a long time; the girls have missed you."

Zhou Xianming: "…???"

Didn't you say you hadn't been here?

Didn't you say this was your first time?

An Jing said righteously, "Mama Zhao, you can't just say things like that. I've never been to a place like this."

"Yes, yes, yes, Dr. An has never been here."

The madam smiled and ushered An Jing and Zhou Xianming into the pleasure boat.

An Jing took out a tael of silver from his怀. Entering the pleasure boat required paying an admission fee of five hundred copper coins per person, so two people would be exactly one tael of silver.

This was all his hard-earned money.

In the past, when he was short of money, he would borrow some from the wealthy merchants of Yu Prefecture, but he had rarely taken action recently, so this tael of silver was the consultation fee Han Wenxin had given him a few days ago.

In the center of the pleasure boat, a woman was playing a guqin. The woman was beautiful, dressed in light gauze, with graceful curves, making her even more captivating in her semi-transparent attire. Below, there were dozens of seats, most of which were already filled with people.

Most of the women on this pleasure boat were 'qingguan,' who only performed music and singing and did not receive guests. However, if a guest was willing to spend a lot of money and win these women's favor, they would naturally receive guests. It all depended on the man's ability.

An Jing and Zhou Xianming found a seat and sat down.

"That's Miss Li Yue."

Looking at the woman on stage, Zhou Xianming's eyes showed a hint of intoxication.

The sound of the zither was melodious, clear, and pleasant to the ear.

"This zither music is indeed quite good." An Jing nodded.

At this moment, a charming maid came up, carrying two pots of wine. "Please enjoy, Young Masters."

"Thank you."

An Jing took out another tael of silver from his怀.

On this pleasure boat, both wine and women cost money, and they were very expensive.

One tael of silver was equivalent to a thousand copper coins, and with sugar-coated hawthorn skewers costing three copper coins each, a thousand copper coins could buy three hundred skewers of sugar-coated hawthorn.

When the maid took An Jing's silver, her finger lightly traced An Jing's palm. "My name is Man Yue, Young Master, please remember it."

As she spoke, her seductive eyes sparkled with charm. Such handsome and generous guests were rare.

"Okay."

An Jing nodded slightly, calm and unperturbed.

Man Yue saw that An Jing didn't say anything, and felt a little disappointed, but still obediently retreated.

Meanwhile, Zhou Xianming, beside him, stared intently at Li Yue on stage, his face flushed red, as if completely engrossed.