Chapter 23: Jade Pavilion
Su Xian pursed his lips, glanced at the scroll Lin Chuan held under his armpit, and asked, "Is the county school on holiday?"
There is a ten-day holiday, with one day off every ten days, which is consistent with the "rest and vacation" of all officials in the court.
Before the holiday, the county school was closed, and Lin Chuan only learned today that Su Xian had been "killed" a few days ago.
“It just came out today!”
Lin Chuan couldn't hide his happiness. He looked down at the scroll under his armpit and was stunned, as if to say, "Huh? Why am I still holding them?"
Two blue-clothed servants ran over, panting heavily, and took the scroll from Lin Chuan, saying, "Young Master, you are running too fast. Let us take the scroll."
Su Xian suddenly understood.
In his rush to see him, this good friend and classmate forgot to give the scroll to the servant.
Instead, he tucked it under his armpit and rushed over.
Su Xian was inexplicably a little touched.
He was about to say something, but he saw Lin Chuan's nose twitching, following the smell, and walking towards the stinky tofu stall like a puppet.
He actually left Su Xian hanging there!
The slight feeling of emotion that had just arisen in Su Xian's heart was blown away by the strong wind like a wisp of smoke.
"Is this the famous stinky tofu?" Lin Chuan walked to the stall.
"Not bad." Su Xian nodded modestly.
“It does smell bad, but it is said to taste incredibly fragrant, and it was made by Brother Su?” Lin Chuan stared at the smoking copper pot with a hissing sound and raised his eyebrows.
"good."
Lin Chuan glanced at the long line of diners, turned his head and winked at Su Xian, and finally turned to Zhang Cuihua and shouted, "Give me one portion to try."
Zhang Cuihua was a little unsure and looked at Su Xian.
The diners in line glared at him, and finally looked at Su Xian.
"Sister Zhang, this is my classmate and good friend, Lin Chuan, a member of the Lin family in Beijing." Su Xian introduced.
Zhang Cuihua nodded. Since he was Su Xian's classmate, he was one of theirs. She could get the whole package, including free food and queue-jumping.
The diners in the queue were discouraged. Not to mention their classmate relationship, the "Beijing Lin Family" alone was not someone they could afford to offend, and they all shook their heads.
Although the aristocratic families have declined, they are still alive even after their death.
Lin Chuan laughed and straightened his back proudly. He liked this kind of "special" treatment.
However, Su Xian immediately said, "Mr. Lin has plenty of money, so charge him 20 cents a piece! Finally, please ask Brother Lin to line up at the back."
Lin Chuan's smile froze in an instant.
…
Su Xian and Lin Chuan walked side by side towards the slightly dilapidated house next door.
Lin Chuan was eating stinky tofu while walking.
"It really has a unique taste. This is the first time I've eaten this kind of delicacy since I was a child..." Lin Chuan swallowed it voraciously.
Su Xian was holding Hu pancakes, vegetables and rice in his hands, and chatting with him in a random manner.
"Today is the ten-day holiday for the county school, and Brother Su has escaped death. Why don't we go to the brothel to have some fun and get rid of the bad luck." Lin Chuan suddenly put his arm around Su Xian's shoulders without any hesitation.
"Brothel?"
Su Xian raised his eyebrows and lowered his voice.
After all, he was the soul of the 21st century, and he felt a little uncomfortable discussing brothels in the street.
In front of the stinky tofu stall, Zhang Cuihua was taking out a portion of stinky tofu from the copper pot. When she heard the word "brothel", her brows tightened and she pricked up her ears to listen carefully.
"I haven't been to Pinyu Pavilion for a long time. I wonder if Miss Xiaolian missed me." Lin Chuan was eating stinky tofu in a hurry.
But his voice was definitely loud and immediately attracted the attention of diners in front of the stinky tofu stall.
There is contempt and disgust, but more of it is envy.
Pinyu Pavilion is one of the most famous brothels in Daliang. It has branches in counties and cities across the north and south and has a huge influence.
"They are all a bunch of idiots, I won't go!" Su Xian was a little hesitant. Although his voice was small, it was heard by Zhang Cuihua who was listening attentively. She nodded slightly.
"Our Yingzhou is indeed a bit remote, but Miss Xiaolian is already the tallest among the short ones, which is considered good."
Lin Chuan looked distressed, patted Su Xian on the shoulder and said, "Forget it, let's give Miss Xiao Lian to Brother Su this time, am I being very loyal?"
Yingzhou was far away from the prosperous capital city and was often threatened by the Liao Kingdom's southward invasion, so all industries were in a state of depression.
Even some industries that should have been prosperous are showing signs of decline.
The only person who can be mentioned in the whole Leshou County is Miss Xiao Lian from Pinyu Pavilion.
"No, I don't have money." Su Xian spread his hands and refused.
"I'll treat you, Brother Su, just have fun ."
"I'd rather not go." Su Xian paused and said with a smile, "Why don't you invite me to your restaurant for dinner?"
"That's fine. Let's drink to our heart's content today, brothers." Lin Chuan nodded with a smile. He thought to himself that after paying off Su Xian, he would go to Pinyu Pavilion and ask Xiao Lian to accompany him.
“…”
Su Xian pushed open the door, put the Hu pancakes, vegetables, etc. on the old wooden table, went out and locked the door, and walked away with Lin Chuan arm in arm, chatting and laughing.
The sun is setting.
The red sun is surrounded by colorful clouds, and the golden light of the evening dyes the entire county with color.
The stinky tofu stall had closed long ago.
After dinner and washing up, Liu Huixiang and Zhang Cuihua came to the boudoir. Zhang Cuihua was carrying a heavy cloth bag.
"Miss, this is the gross profit of the stinky tofu stall today." Zhang Cuihua put the cloth bag on the wooden table, making a "clang" sound.
"Take inventory first."
Liu Huixiang sat at the dressing table, removing her makeup.
The bronze mirror reflected a beautiful oval face with delicate features, bright eyes, thin eyebrows and plump rosy lips.
The most important point is her skin which is as white as snow and so tender that it seems you can squeeze water out of it.
While Liu Huixiang was removing her makeup , she couldn't help but touch her face from the side.
It had been a long time since she had looked closely at this face. Was the last time when she was eighteen? Or nineteen?
Compared with before, this beautiful face is more plump and charming, and less pure and refined. Overall, she is still very satisfied with it.
She was twenty-five years old, her body had fully grown, and she had the plump and charming figure of a young woman.
But she is not married yet and is still a virgin, so she still retains the youthfulness and tenderness of a girl.
The two styles are mixed together, which is youthful and lovely, gorgeous and unparalleled, with a rare charm. No wonder she has earned the nickname "Tofu Xishi".
"Miss, this afternoon in front of the stinky tofu stall, Mr. Su met Mr. Lin, his classmate from the county school." Zhang Cuihua was counting copper coins at the table, and the clinking sound was particularly pleasant to her ears.
"What did they say?"
While removing her makeup, Liu Huixiang carefully examined her beautiful face, and couldn't help but think of Su Xian's staring eyes this morning...
"Mr. Su likes to look at me!" She thought to herself, with a beautiful curve at the corner of her mouth.
"My classmate Mr. Lin said that he wants to invite Mr. Su to the brothel to meet that Miss Xiao Lian." Zhang Cuihua replied.
What?!
Brothel?
Miss Xiao Lian?
In the smooth bronze mirror, the plump, beautiful, yet youthful and tender face lost its color, the smile at the corners of the mouth disappeared, and the action of removing makeup stopped instantly.
"Young Master Su went to... a brothel... didn't he?" Liu Huixiang turned sideways, staring at Zhang Cuihua with her watery eyes. When she uttered the word "brothel" with her plump, bright red lips, a faint blush quietly crept up on her pretty face.
"Mr. Su said that they are all ugly and useless, so we won't go!" Zhang Cuihua was counting the copper coins and did not notice anything unusual about Liu Huixiang.
"Also, Miss, listen to me, that Mr. Su...eh?" Zhang Cuihua turned sideways and found that Liu Huixiang's complexion and sitting posture were not normal.
"What's wrong with Mr. Su?" Liu Huixiang let out a breath slowly.
"Mr. Su seemed a little shy and spoke in a low voice. I also noticed that Mr. Su secretly turned his neck and looked around," said Zhang Cuihua.
“Puff…”
Liu Huixiang turned around, covered her mouth with her hands, and shook with joy, her sharp shoulders trembling slightly.
The jet-black hair draped over her shoulders rippled like waves, and under the light of the oil lamp, it looked shiny and beautiful.
