Qingfang Tower, located on the most prosperous Changning Street in the west of Nanhai City.
The tower was five stories high, with a relatively large courtyard inside.
The building was decorated with colorful silk ribbons.
Resembling vibrant, eye-catching sunset clouds, it possessed a unique charm.
On the four corners of the tower, yellow bronze bells were hung.
They would sway and chime with every gentle breeze.
If there was one good place to go besides Qianji Hall.
It would be Qingfang Tower, the favorite of Nanhai City's people.
In front of Qingfang Tower, people came and went incessantly.
But what was strange was that, in my impression, brothels were only frequented by men.
How could women be seen coming and going here as well?
Was everything on television a lie?
At this moment, Shuifang and Yinglu had also just left Qianji Hall and were strolling on the street.
From afar, they saw me standing in front of Qingfang Tower, lost in thought.
Shuifang exclaimed in surprise.
"Yinglu, look, isn't that Miss Muye?
I didn't expect to meet her here."
Yinglu looked closely and indeed recognized the person they knew.
He looked curiously at the bustling Qingfang Tower, puzzled.
"What is she doing in front of Qingfang Tower?"
Shuifang guessed.
"Is she in urgent need of money and selling herself?"
Yinglu was instantly amused by his words and burst into laughter.
"Hahaha, it's not impossible.
Let's go ask her. If she's really in trouble, we can help her."
"Okay."
With that, the two of them walked towards me.
Then, they suddenly shouted.
"What are you doing!"
"Ah!"
I shrieked in fright, turned around, and saw the two of them, a mix of surprise and joy.
"It's you two, you scared me to death. You've also left Qianji Hall."
Shuifang said.
"Yes, Yinglu and I plan to stay for another two days, then we'll head somewhere else."
"That's great. Where are you staying now?"
"At an inn on West Street."
"A'li and I will also be staying in Nanhai City for a while.
So, you can find us to hang out with."
Yinglu asked me curiously.
"Muye, why are you here alone in front of Qingfang Tower?
Are you in trouble? Tell us, maybe we can help you."
I sighed and explained the reason for my presence there.
"After we left Qianji Hall, Liu Shinian started getting restless."
"Restless?"
The two of them looked curious.
I sighed again and slowly said.
"Yes, he's restless everywhere.
Liu Shinian can be described as the embodiment of sin, a model lecher."
Shuifang couldn't help but laugh at this.
"Hahaha, is that so?
But, we heard that Young Master Liu is a renowned romantic.
His touching story with Xue Ji is known to everyone.
How did he become a great lecher?"
I said with disdain.
"What romantic? He's just a great lecher.
We hadn't been out of Qianji Hall for long.
He took A'li and the persuaded A'da into Qingfang Tower to teach them to drink and enjoy themselves."
Yinglu pondered, analyzing carefully.
"Young Master Liu is handsome and dashing. It seems like something he would do."
"Alas!"
I sighed again.
Thinking of A'li with a woman in each arm, and beauties calling out "husband" in a娇滴滴 manner.
I couldn't stand it. No, I had to stop them.
"I have to go in and find them. I can't let Liu Shinian corrupt them."
Shuifang looked at the Qingfang Tower before them and immediately saw the problem.
"It's easy to get in, but hard to find people.
Young Master Liu should be a regular at Qingfang Tower.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have brought them here."
Yinglu said helplessly.
"If it were anything else, it would be fine, but I'm afraid the two of us can't help with this."
"It's alright, I'll think of a way. Haven't you guys eaten yet?"
Shuifang thought for a moment and said.
"Not yet."
"Then you go eat first. I can handle things here."
Yinglu comforted me.
"If you can't, don't push yourself too hard. You can scold him when they come back tonight."
"Don't worry, if I can't, I'll give up."
"Then we're leaving."
"Go ahead."
After Shuifang and Yinglu left, my uneasy gaze turned back to Qingfang Tower.
I thought, if I waited until tonight, wouldn't A'li already be corrupted by Liu Shinian?
A'li is so innocent and cute, while Liu Shinian is so vulgar and scoundrelly.
No, I can't let A'li become that kind of person.
With this thought, I walked with determined steps.
And swaggered in through the main entrance.
Upon entering, I saw a courtyard enclosed by four three-story buildings.
In front of the courtyard, there was a small stage.
Below the stage sat a crowd of people, and on the stage, a woman held a pipa and sang.
"To fear others' laughter, how can it be easy?
Thinking carefully, among the exotic flowers, only deep red and pale white exist.
How can it compare to this passionate one, possessing the human world, a thousand charms and hundred beauties."
The melodious and graceful song seemed to tell of her own hardships.
Wanting to be liked by others, yet also fearing that time would pass and she would no longer be welcomed.
The listeners were all engrossed, listening intently.
In a daze, I felt a similar sentiment.
I listened by the side for a while and gradually became entranced.
I leaned against a red pillar involuntarily, my eyes slightly hazy.
At this moment, a waiter carrying a teapot.
Walking too fast, accidentally bumped into the corner of a table and stumbled forward, bumping into me.
"Ouch!"
I cried out and snapped back from my daze. The waiter quickly apologized.
"Miss, I'm sorry for bumping into you. Are you hurt?"
I looked at my hand; it was fine. I said.
"It's nothing, you can go about your business."
"That's great, I'm glad you're alright. I'll get back to work then."
"Go ahead."
Seeing that I was fine, he hurried off to refill drinks elsewhere.
I looked at the vast Qingfang Tower, the noisy laughter filling my ears.
Helplessly, I asked myself in my heart.
"Where exactly did Liu Shinian take A'li and A'da?
If they are not downstairs, they should be in the rooms.
In that case, with my current appearance, I can't easily go in.
What should I do?"
I walked and thought, and before I knew it, I had exited Qingfang Tower.
After thinking for a long time, I still couldn't come up with a good plan.
I could only lean against the wall nearby, thinking about how to get in.
Just then, a man in a grey cloth shirt, carrying a basket of vegetables, walked by.
I guessed that people who delivered vegetables like this were usually information masters.
There was nothing they didn't know, so I pretended to casually walk up to him and strike up a conversation.
"Big brother, you have great stamina, carrying so many vegetables all by yourself."
Seeing my envious gaze, the vegetable-carrying elder chuckled and said as he walked.
"This is nothing, any man can do it."
"My master also sends vegetables, but none are as capable as you."
"I'm just a country bumpkin, doing this rough work is nothing."
"Who are you delivering vegetables to, big brother?"
He glanced at the large courtyard beside us and said.
"To Qingfang Tower."
When I heard it wasn't what I wanted, I said.
"Qingfang Tower is truly special. I've never seen what their kitchen looks like.
Could I follow you to broaden my horizons?"
The elder agreed without thinking.
"No problem, you can follow me."
I exclaimed excitedly.
"Big brother, you're such a good person."
From the side of the main street of Qingfang Tower, I walked inside.
Entering a quiet alley, there was a back door on the side of the alley.
The delivery elder and I reached the back door and saw no one guarding it.
The elder then swaggered in with me, carrying the vegetables inside.
At this moment, a slightly plump man wearing an apron.
Walked out from the room in front and greeted the delivery elder.
"Xu Da, the delivery is here."
"It's here."
"And this young lady?"
"Oh, this young lady is an admirer of Qingfang Tower and wanted to take a look around."
I chimed in.
"Yes, yes. Usually, we only see the prosperity of Qingfang Tower.
But we don't see the people who work hard behind the scenes."
"I see. However, we are very busy these days.
We don't have time to entertain you, miss. You can look around yourself."
"Okay, I'll just look around."
"Xu Da, come with me."
"Okay."
With that, the two of them headed into the kitchen.
My heart suddenly became curious. How could people here be so bold as to let strangers in?
Weren't they afraid of bad people?
I walked around, following a small path to the courtyard on the left.
Suddenly, a woman with a swaying waist came towards me.
The woman was dressed gorgeously and had exquisite makeup. She looked at me with slight curiosity.
But she found me unfamiliar and quickly asked.
"Who are you, and why are you here?"
My heart panicked, but I quickly calmed down and replied.
"I'm a new girl here, with nothing to do, so I'm familiarizing myself with the environment."
"A new girl?"
She looked at me with some suspicion.
I was very worried that she would see through me, that I had sneaked in.
She looked for a long time, but found nothing amiss.
There were indeed many new girls recently, so it was normal not to recognize me. She then lectured me.
"Why are you still wandering around here? There are many guests today, and we can't handle them all.
Go and help quickly."
I subconsciously replied, "Okay."
Only then did I realize that she hadn't seen through my lie.
Instead, she thought I was one of the girls from Qingfang Tower.
Just as I was about to leave, she suddenly called out to me.
"Wait, what's your name?"
She suddenly asked.
"My name is Liu Muye."
"Liu Muye. The name is acceptable, it carries a strong aura.
But it doesn't matter, someone will change your name later.
I think you look good, and your manners are polite. Have you met Sister Qing?"
Sister Qing? Who is that?
I shook my head.
"Not yet."
"I think you're quite good. Perhaps after meeting Sister Qing, you'll have a bright future.
I'll take you to meet her. Whether you succeed depends on your own abilities."
"Thank you, sister."
"Follow me."
With that, she turned and walked away. I quickly followed her out of the backyard.
Arriving at the front courtyard, we went up to the tall building.
At this moment, from a distance, I saw a woman in light green, holding a smoking pipe.
A beautiful and imposing woman walked over from the other side of the building.
The woman leading me bowed respectfully.
"Sister Qing, you're here."
"Mm, I came to take a look."
She suddenly glanced at me and found me unfamiliar. She asked.
"Is this your girl? I haven't seen her before."
"This is a new girl. I think she has potential.
So I wanted to bring her to meet you."
So the person before me was Sister Qing. Looking at her commanding demeanor.
It was evident that she was the boss of the entire Qingfang Tower.
I also followed the example of this sister and bowed.
"Your humble servant greets Sister Qing."
Sister Qing walked up to me, holding her smoking pipe, and examined me closely.
She then reached out and patted my back, nodding with satisfaction.
"Good, you have a sturdy build, a beautiful face, and polite manners. You have potential.
With some training in the rules of our Qingfang Tower, you'll surely become our top performer."
The sister beside her chimed in.
"I thought the same."
Sister Qing asked me.
"Little girl, where are you from?"
"I'm from Nanshan."
That's all I knew of a place.
"Nanshan?"
Sister Qing frowned slightly. The sister beside her interjected.
"Nanshan is dozens of miles from here. It should be a small place."
Hearing her say that, Sister Qing suddenly remembered.
"Nanshan, I recall there is such a place.
I remember that's the territory of the Tanuki clan, right?"
I nodded in reply.
"Precisely."
She looked at me closely, puzzled.
"You don't look like a Tanuki clansman, why are you in Nanshan?"
"My father and I live on the outskirts of Nanshan, and we have some dealings with the Tanuki clan."
After hearing my explanation, she said "Oh" and asked me again.
"You're also a young lady with a family. Why come to a place like ours?"
I said.
"Because my father is old and frail, and he hasn't eaten anything good.
I want him to live a happier life in the future.
And after hearing some advice, I came to Qingfang Tower."
Sister Qing smiled slightly.
"I didn't realize you were such a filial daughter.
This is not a good place, it's easy to get in, but hard to get out."
"I'm not afraid of hardship."
"Hmm, a good prospect."
Just as we were talking, a waiter rushed up from downstairs, saying anxiously.
"Sister Qing, Sister Qing, we have some extremely distinguished guests who want some girls to serve them.
We don't know who to arrange, who would be best?"
Several distinguished guests. A'da is so rich.
It's likely Liu Shinian has tricked him into spending money for them again.
Thinking this, it must be them.
This shameless fellow, he's really going to corrupt them. I'll deal with him when I find him later.
Thinking this, I saw it as a good opportunity and volunteered.
"Sister Qing, let me go. I know piano, chess, calligraphy, painting, and I can coax and make people laugh."
She smiled slightly, not expecting the person before her to be so bold.
She appreciated it, but mere boldness wasn't enough; strength was also required.
She thought for a moment, pointed to the peach tree in front of the building, and said.
"People here like elegance. Compose a poem about the peach tree."
I looked at the lush green peach leaves, paced back and forth, and immediately had an answer.
Then I recited.
"Boundless warm air seeps into the cold clouds, envied by the souls of immortal guests in rosy robes.
Gazing from afar at the jade-like beauty standing before the flowers, the peach and plum trees calmly embrace spring."
She smiled slightly, somewhat puzzled, and asked.
"Where is the cold air and rosy clouds here?"
I had already thought of this reason and explained.
"Warm air seeping into cold clouds describes this Qingfang Tower.
No matter who comes, they can feel warmth and affection.
Envied by the souls of immortal guests in rosy robes. The rosy robes directly face the colorful cloths in front of the building, as enchanting as rosy clouds.
The last two lines describe the beautiful scenery before us.
A beauty stands beside the peach tree, even this inanimate, cold tree seems to embrace spring in mutual regard."
After hearing my explanation, she nodded with satisfaction.
"Not bad, not bad. This artistic conception is indeed beyond ordinary people.
You speak eloquently and have outstanding talent.
Since you want to go, then let you go.
But one thing, don't mess it up for me."
"Thank you, Sister Qing. I will not disappoint you."
Sister Qing nodded slightly and said to the woman beside her.
"Wanyi, take this little girl down to get tidied up. Make her look beautiful."
Wanyi smiled slightly.
"Don't worry, I'll make her look beautiful."
With that, she looked at me and said.
"Follow me."
I nodded and followed Sister Wanyi downstairs.