frightfiction Chapter 637 It’s all here
Chapter 637 It’s all here
Guan Xing was truly speechless at Liu Shan's antics. This was a brothel, not a restaurant. Was it appropriate for the crown prince to visit such a place? Why did he have to join in every spectacle? Was he that curious?
You can go if you want, but don't drag me along. If we both go in, I'll definitely be the one to take the blame later. I don't want to get beaten up for no reason.
Thinking of this, Guan Xing quickly advised, "Your Highness, calm down. They haven't opened for business yet. It wouldn't be good for us to go in and disturb them. Let's find another place to eat."
Brothels are entertainment venues, and they usually only open after 5 PM. They're sleeping right now, what are you doing going in?
While advising Liu Shan, Guan Xing made up his mind to drag him back immediately after finishing his meal. "We came here to go shopping with our cousin Liu Jun, but now you want to take him to a brothel?"
Isn't this just a delinquent leading the neighborhood kids astray? If word gets out, not only Liu Bei, but even your great-uncle Liu Yuanqi would rise from his coffin and beat you. So you absolutely mustn't go through this door, or the reputation of our Three Idiots of the Han Dynasty will be even worse.
Although Guan Xing was reluctant to go, he forgot that Liu Shan was also a stubborn man who would not turn back once he made a decision. Since he was already here, it would be a pity not to go in and take a look.
Driven by curiosity, Liu Shan decisively pushed Guan Xing aside and went to knock on the door himself. Guan Xing was so frightened that he quickly signaled to the two personal guards of the Crown Prince, Jiang Wei and Xia Tong, who immediately understood and stepped forward to protect Liu Shan on either side.
After all, it was a tightly closed door. Who knew whether Liu Shan would be confronted with a person or a knife the moment the door was opened?
Liu Shan, however, was oblivious to this. He stepped forward and knocked on the door forcefully, knocking several times before he heard someone behind the door call out impatiently, "Coming, coming, what's all the noise about in the middle of the day?"
The person inside was clearly grumpy from just being woken up. They flung open the door, about to yell, but upon seeing the scene before them, it was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over their head, instantly calming them down. Finally, their teeth chattering, they stammered, "Your...Your Highness the Crown Prince..."
The man in front of me was a young man of about twenty-six or twenty-seven years old. Judging from his clothes, he was probably a pimp in a brothel.
Liu Shan asked in surprise, "You know me?"
The young man quickly replied, "I saw Your Highness's face on the street last time when Your Highness went out to promote the school."
Liu Chan instinctively thought of the assassination attempt he had last encountered, and immediately reached out to push the young man aside as he stepped over the threshold, saying, "It's easier now that we know each other. Let all the girls in your building come out, and I'll see what's so special about you."
The young man was speechless. "You're the crown prince! If you're recognized in a place like this, shouldn't you turn around and run away? How come you're not worried at all and just walk in?"
The young man inwardly complained, but dared not be negligent and quickly stepped aside, saying, "Your Highness, please rest in the hall. This humble subject will go upstairs to wake the ladies."
After saying that, he left quickly. Liu Chan put his hands behind his back and began to look around the shop's decor. After walking around for a while, he knocked on the wall and said, "These furniture pieces are all made of rosewood and huanghuali wood. The owner behind this shop must be quite powerful."
Under Guan Xing's leadership, a trend of replacing furniture has recently swept through Jiangling City. Those with the means are scouring for wood to make furniture and then selling it to others. There are currently eight furniture factories registered with the Ministry of Revenue in and around Jiangling City, not to mention the unregistered black workshops.
But craftsmanship alone isn't enough to make furniture; you also need access to timber and the ability to transport it to Jiangling. These are things that ordinary people and small vendors can't do.
This brothel not only achieved this, but also used only the finest wood. Liu Shan would never believe it didn't have a powerful backer.
Upon hearing this, Guan Xing looked at Yu Yang and asked, "Old Yu, you should know the details of this shop very well, right?"
As the district head of a commercial district, the highest-ranking official responsible for all planning and development of the district, if you don't even know the background of the shops under your jurisdiction, you might as well quit your job and go home to take care of your kids.
Yu Yang smiled strangely and said, "This is the property of the Marquis of Haihun."
"Holy shit..." Liu Chan and Guan Xing both cursed at the same time.
The title of Marquis of Haihun, Liu Zhao, was actually obtained because of them. That old bastard is dishonest; he does all sorts of business.
However, to be fair, you really can't do this kind of business without the backing of a noble family.
Although Guan Xing was opposed to it, he had no intention of banning or cracking down on it. The Han Dynasty was not like later times. In the Han Dynasty, brothels were a legal industry protected by the government and the law. Since they were legal, there was no reason for him to ban them.
Although he was a time traveler from the future, he knew that many things from the future were not suitable for the late Han Dynasty and could not be applied blindly.
After observing for a while, everyone sat down to wait. Not long after they sat down, hurried footsteps came from upstairs, but no one came down the stairs. Guan Xing could guess with his own eyes that the young man going upstairs had not deliberately concealed Liu Chan's identity. The guests who had not yet gotten up knew that Liu Chan was coming and were all frightened and ran out the back door.
After all, most of the people who come to this kind of place are wealthy businessmen or government officials. Which official would dare to run into His Highness the Crown Prince in such a place? Wouldn't that be deliberately causing trouble for the leader?
So it's better to sneak out through the back door.
But the departure of guests does not mean that the girl will come down immediately. The girl needs to take a bath and put on makeup after getting up, so don't expect her to appear in less than an hour.
Let's eat first, but that won't work either. It's only noon, and the kitchen hasn't prepared the ingredients yet. The food will probably be ready later than the girl comes out. We can't just wait around like this.
Guan Xing originally intended to use this opportunity to persuade Liu Shan to leave, but to his surprise, the brothel was very considerate and promptly contacted the restaurant next door, which was already open, to send over a large meal.
You have to admit that businesspeople are quick-witted; they've even started ordering takeout these days.
About 45 minutes later, the young man from before appeared before everyone with a food box, bowing and smiling obsequiously, "Your Highness, Marquis Shence, these dishes were all prepared under my supervision in the kitchen. I guarantee they are not poisonous. Please feel free to eat them."
Liu Shan said with satisfaction, "She is sensible and deserves a reward."
Guan Xing sadly took out a string of copper coins from his pocket and threw them over. Liu Shan never carried money when he went out; Guan Xing always paid for everything.
After dismissing the young man, Guan Xing summoned Xia Tong and instructed him, "Take the troops to guard all entrances and exits, as well as the high points, and do not give any villains an opportunity to assassinate you."
Once bitten, twice shy.
The last assassination attempt had terrified Guan Xing, so he was now extremely concerned about Liu Shan's safety. If that was the case, why didn't he make arrangements when they first came in? Because the guests hadn't left yet, and guarding the exit would have trapped them inside as well. Now that most of the guests had left, it was time to start making arrangements.
As for whether there are still guests who haven't left, humph, if they haven't left after so long, Guan Xing has reason to suspect his intentions.
Xia Tong left with half of his personal guards to guard all the entrances and exits of the brothel to prevent unauthorized personnel from approaching. Jiang Wei, on the other hand, led the other half of his personal guards to stand beside Liu Shan for close protection, setting up the scene in a textbook manner so that no one could get close.
After waiting for another half hour, the laughter of the girls finally reached their ears. Liu Chan, Guan Xing, Zhang Bao and the others looked in the direction of the sound and saw who it was. The three of them instinctively leaned forward and their eyes widened involuntarily.
The girl at the head of the group was about twenty years old, wearing a long dress in blue and white. Her delicate face and well-matched hairstyle made her captivating with every smile and gesture.
This brothel has such beautiful women; it seems the Marquis of Haihun really went all out to run this business well.