Chapter 15: That Bookworm Likes This Kind Of Thing?

Lu Shujin’s heart, which had been pounding with fear, gradually calmed down when she saw Xiao Jin. Her nose throbbed with pain, and she silently blamed Xiao Jin for having a chest as hard as an iron plate. Yet, she said aloud, “No, I just went to the toilet.”

Xiao Jin had no idea how he had managed to escape from that crowd of people. Standing in this narrow, dimly lit corridor, his head almost touched the lantern hanging on the wall, blocking part of the light. When he looked at Lu Shujin, he had to slightly lower his head, which made him seem less arrogant than usual.

He mercilessly exposed Lu Shujin’s lie, pointing in another direction, “The toilet is that way.”

Lu Shujin didn’t panic. She calmly replied, “The front hall is too noisy, so I went to the backyard for some peace and quiet.”

“Why did you come to Yuhua Pavilion?” Although he had already asked this question at the entrance, he hadn’t received an answer then, so he stubbornly asked again.

Of course, Xiao Jin didn’t believe this bookworm was here as a client. But he thought that someone like Lu Shujin, who only used his brain for studying, could easily be tricked by one of the girls in the pavilion.

This was their usual tactic—tricking clients into redeeming them or giving them more money. The more skillful ones could even deceive men into bankrupting themselves for them.

Lu Shujin’s face looked naive, clearly someone inexperienced in the world. Xiao Jin thought, if he sincerely admitted his mistake, Xiao Jin might help him out. After all, Lu Shujin was a student highly valued by Old Master Qiao, and he was usually obedient and polite. Xiao Jin couldn’t just stand by and watch him get fooled by one of these girls.

Of course, that was on the condition that Lu Shujin was honest.

Just as he was thinking, Lu Shujin spoke.

“Naturally, the same as you, Young Master Xiao,” she said, her beautiful ink-black eyes curving into a smile. “Here for some fun.”

Xiao Jin’s handsome face immediately darkened, and his tone turned unfriendly, “Fun? You don’t even have ten taels of silver on you, and you dare say you’re here for fun?”

Sensing his shift in mood, Lu Shujin’s smile faded slightly. She pursed her lips and said, “If I wasn’t short on money, I wouldn’t have come to Yuhua Pavilion.”

“I never would have guessed. You, gnawing on a dry bun every day, just to indulge in things like this.” Xiao Jin laughed mockingly.

Hearing the ridicule in his words, Lu Shujin didn’t take it to heart. Instead, she met his gaze, and a thought struck her.

Right now, Yang Peier’s hope rested entirely on that constable, but that was easier said than done.

She had no idea how much money Yang Peier had, let alone how much silver would be enough to convince that constable to intervene.

But if she could get Xiao Jin’s help, she would have a guaranteed solution, sparing her all this trouble.

Her dark eyes shifted slightly, ignoring his previous remark, and she asked instead, “Young Master Xiao, have you heard that in recent times, there have been frequent disappearances of foreign women in Yuncheng?”

“I’ve heard. So what?” Xiao Jin replied.

“And if the missing women are actually locked up here in this pavilion, would you help them?” she asked.

Xiao Jin raised an eyebrow, not even pretending to consider it. “Do you really think I have a saintly heart? There are countless people suffering in Yuncheng. Am I supposed to save them all?”

Lu Shujin was stunned. She had initially thought Xiao Jin was unaware of this matter, but his reaction suggested otherwise. He might even know that there were abducted innocent women forced to work in Yuhua Pavilion, which would also explain why a wealthy young master like him would frequent such a low-end establishment—he simply found it entertaining.

Her eyelashes lowered, and for some reason, a faint, barely noticeable, and hard-to-capture emotion rose in her heart.

Seeing her expression, Xiao Jin clicked his tongue. “What, are you upset now?”

Lu Shujin smiled slightly, still maintaining her polite demeanor. “I wouldn’t dare. Please continue enjoying yourself, Young Master Xiao. I must return to the academy, so I won’t disturb you further.”

With that, she turned to leave.

Xiao Jin felt there were still questions left unanswered. He didn’t really want her to leave, so he stood his ground, trying to block her path. But to his surprise, despite her petite figure, she managed to slip past the narrow gap between him and the wall with ease, even knocking his shoulder slightly.

Thinking this kid had some nerve, he immediately turned and followed her.

Lu Shujin, in a hurry to collect the silver from Peier’s place before the academy’s curfew, quickened her pace. As she passed through the crowded front hall, someone suddenly bumped into her shoulder. That person staggered, almost falling, but before Lu Shujin could react, her hand instinctively reached out, catching the upper body of the person to prevent them from collapsing.

The woman had a round face with a rather pretty appearance. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes dazed, and she reeked of alcohol—clearly drunk.

Recalling the filthy tactics of Yuhua Pavilion, Lu Shujin felt a pang of sympathy for these women. Gently supporting the woman, she spoke in a warm voice, “Be careful, don’t hurt yourself.”

The woman, drunk and dazed, swayed slightly before managing to stand straight. She gave Lu Shujin a shy smile, “Many thanks, young master.”

Lu Shujin responded, “No need to thank me.” After a brief thought, she added, “Drink some water mixed with honey. It will help sober you up faster.”

With that, she turned and left, skillfully navigating through the chaotic hall without looking sideways and exiting Yuhua Pavilion.

Xiao Jin saw all of this. As he stood by the back door for a while, the brothel keeper quickly approached, waving her fan and spreading her thick perfume in the air. Smiling, she asked, “Young master, is there something you need? Just let me know.”

Xiao Jin tilted his head slightly, gesturing with his eyes, “What’s that girl’s name?”

Following his gaze, the brothel keeper replied, “That’s Xing’er. She’s one of the younger girls here. There’s even a big fool who’s always talking about redeeming her.” She then called out, “Xing’er, come over and let the young master take a look.”

The girl named Xing’er was the one who had bumped into Lu Shujin earlier. Though still dazed from drunkenness, she obediently walked over to Xiao Jin, shyly glanced at him, then lowered her head and curtsied, “Greetings, young master. My name is Xing’er.”

Xiao Jin slightly turned his head towards the brothel keeper without speaking.

The keeper, experienced as she was, immediately understood his meaning. She stepped forward with a sly smile, made a gesture with her fingers, and whispered, “Xing’er grew up here at Yuhua Pavilion, trained in poetry, painting, and the arts since childhood. Though young, she knows how to serve men well, and her body is soft. A single session is one hundred coins, and a full night is three hundred coins.”

Hearing this price, Xiao Jin couldn’t help but snicker, thinking that the girls here were so cheap that they weren’t even worth the price of one of Lu Shujin’s essays.

“Add ten taels to my account. For the next four days, she’s not allowed to take any clients,” Xiao Jin ordered.

Ten taels would be more than enough to reserve Xing’er for a month, yet the young master only reserved her for four days. The brothel keeper was overjoyed, tapping Xing’er’s delicate shoulder with her fan. “Hurry and thank the young master.”

Blushing down to her neck, Xing’er softly murmured, “Many thanks, young master.”

Xiao Jin’s gaze lowered, observing Xing’er’s face as if studying her.

Yet in his heart, he wondered, “That bookworm likes this type? Small and timid, looking rather petty, with slightly small eyes.”

The brothel keeper asked with a smile, “Will the young master be staying the night?”

Xiao Jin pulled his gaze back and waved his hand, “Your lousy bed boards—I can’t sleep on them.”

With that, he stepped away. Just as he reached the main hall, intending to call Ji Shuoting to leave, someone suddenly bumped into his shoulder.

He turned and saw a tall, burly man, about twenty-three or twenty-four years old, with tanned skin and a strong build. The man stood a few steps away, staring straight at Xiao Jin.

At seventeen, Xiao Jin rarely had to look up at others after his growth spurt. But now, facing this man, he had to slightly raise his gaze, and a sense of irritation surged in his heart.

The man didn’t apologize, instead glaring at Xiao Jin in a challenging manner.

The last person who had stared at him like this was Lu Shujin, standing at the academy gate with a steamed bun in hand. The last one who had bumped his shoulder was also Lu Shujin.

But Lu Shujin was petite, with fair skin and large, beautiful eyes. Xiao Jin couldn’t bear to hit her, afraid of hurting her.

This man, however, gave him no such concern.

His gaze fell, lingering briefly on the scar at the left corner of the man’s mouth.

In the next moment, Xiao Jin lashed out, kicking the man sharply in the stomach. The man staggered backward several steps, his knees buckling as he half-knelt on the ground. His voice came through gritted teeth, “What’s wrong? Are you blind, bumping into me?”

Though Xiao Jin looked young, still carrying a hint of boyishness, the strength behind his kick was real. The sudden pain brought cold sweat to the man’s forehead.

As Xiao Jin made his move, the group of young men who had been laughing and drinking nearby immediately stopped their merriment, rising to gather around him.

These were his usual companions, well-versed in causing trouble. They quickly left the drunken girls behind and surrounded Xiao Jin.

The man, named Qing Wu, had not expected to be kicked to his knees by a teenager. His jealousy had flared when he saw Xing’er smiling shyly at this wealthy young master, but now his mind cleared, and he realized he needed to be cautious around this group of well-dressed young masters. Bowing his head, he muttered, “Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to bump into Young Master Xiao.”

It didn’t surprise Xiao Jin that the man recognized him. Only the brothel’s madam and her staff, speaking in thick foreign accents, were unaware of his identity. Most of the poor folks in the northern district of the city knew who he was, and Qing Wu, a wandering local, must have seen him before.

He kept his head bowed low. When Ji Shuoting and the others arrived, they couldn’t see his face, so Jiang Su didn’t recognize him as the man from Lu Shujin’s painting.

“What’s going on?” Ji Shuoting asked, standing beside Xiao Jin.

“Nothing.” Xiao Jin glanced at Qing Wu. After one kick, he had no intention of pursuing the matter further. “How much have they spent on drinks?”

Ji Shuoting quickly replied, “So far, twenty-one girls have been drinking, with a total of seventy-nine cups, which amounts to seventy-nine taels of silver.”

“Make it a hundred taels,” Xiao Jin tossed out before striding towards the door. The brothel keeper, along with a group of girls, tried to coax him to stay, but he ignored them, leading his group away. Watching them leave, the madam’s face turned red with regret.

There were over forty girls in the pavilion. If all of them had been entertaining, she could have easily made two hundred taels tonight. But one unlucky fool ruined the young master’s mood, costing her a hundred taels.

She shot Qing Wu a venomous glare, cursing, “What, did your mother die or your father? Came here to ruin my business? Truly bad luck!”

Qing Wu didn’t react to the insult, only bowed slightly, “Madam Hua, I came to see Xing’er.”

“Then go see your ancestors in hell!” she snapped, storming back inside.

Qing Wu hurried after her, his voice low and pleading, “Madam Hua, I got you the people you needed. They’ve been hiding in the west of the city for six or seven days. Can’t you at least let me see Xing’er?”

“What do you mean ‘helped me’? That was for yourself.” Her voice turned sharp, “Forget it. Xing’er has been reserved by that young master for the next few days—no clients, no visitors.”

Qing Wu’s face turned anxious, “Didn’t you say if I brought you five people, you’d let me have Xing’er?”

“Then bring them! Three isn’t enough, especially when one of them hanged herself and died. If you don’t move faster, and that young master redeems her, she won’t be yours!” the madam snapped and left.

Qing Wu’s fists clenched, eyes filled with barely concealed hatred. He stood there for a long moment before reluctantly leaving.

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