With Uekusa Hide leading the way, Ogata's journey to Sakuramonya became smooth instantly.
It is impossible for every visitor to a brothel not to know Uekushi, the "Yoshiwara Village Doshin".
Therefore, no one of the mikoto dared to disturb Ogata who was following closely behind Ueoki.
Just like in modern Earth, no vendor would be foolish enough to ask a person following a policeman, "Do you want to buy our things?"
Without the annoying interruptions from the Jianshiban, Ogata felt like he had jumped out of a sticky quagmire.
While Ueyu was leading Ogata and Omachi, he would occasionally talk to the two people behind him:
"By the way - I haven't asked you two for your names yet. I'm Uekushi from the Shirobei Club."
"I am the Izumo Ronin, Majima Goro."
"I'm...Ayuki." When Shiranui moved the base to the vicinity of Edo, A-machi didn't want to reveal his real name in Edo, so he just made up a pseudonym.
After briefly introducing himself, Ueyoshi began to chat with the two casually:
"People who come to Yoshiwara are basically here to have fun."
"It costs money to have fun."
“And it’s a very large sum of money.”
"'Spending a thousand taels a day' is not just an exaggeration in Yoshiwara. I have seen many people who can spend hundreds or thousands of taels in one night in Yoshiwara."
"Because many people who come to Yoshiwara carry a lot of money, it attracts a lot of thieves and robbers."
"Yoshiwara is one of the places with the most thieves and robbers in the whole of Edo."
"As a result, our Shirobei Club had to send a large number of people to patrol the streets of Yoshiwara all the time."
Having said this, Uesugi turned his head and gave Ogata a serious look.
"When you go to Yoshiwara for fun in the future, remember to keep an eye on your wallet. Try not to go to crowded places."
"Thank you for your advice." Ogata laughed, "But I probably won't come to Yoshiwara anymore."
"In addition to keeping an eye on your wallet, you must also remember to stay away from strangers who approach you for no apparent reason."
As Uesugi said this, he turned his gaze to Atachi.
"Yoshiwara is bright and clear both during the day and at night, but this place is one of the darkest places in Edo."
As he said this, a barely perceptible gloom flashed in Guasheng's eyes.
"There are countless hidden secrets in Yoshiwara."
"One of the main tasks of our Shirobei Club is to fight these 'underground activities'."
"The 'underground' that causes the most harm to people is the human traffickers."
"They used sweet words to deceive those young girls and then trafficked them into various prostitute houses."
"Once you're sold into a brothel, it's going to be very difficult to deal with."
"Because it is difficult for us to find out whether you were trafficked into the brothel or whether you were just pretending. You voluntarily went into the brothel but lied that you were trafficked in order to leave Yoshiwara."
"In short, women need to be more careful than men when they enter Yoshiwara."
“Whether in Yoshiwara or outside Yoshiwara, you must be extra careful of the human traffickers.”
"Many human traffickers operate outside Yoshiwara, kidnapping girls outside Yoshiwara and then selling them inside Yoshiwara."
Ogata and Atachi had heard similar words from the uncle at the "Female Cutler Pickup Point".
Both the uncle and the guy emphasized the danger of human traffickers, which shows that human traffickers are really rampant in Yoshiwara.
Even though they didn't have much of a relationship, Uesugi still took the trouble to tell Ogata and Atachi about various things to pay attention to in Yoshiwara, which made the two of them feel a little fond of this enthusiastic girl.
"Thank you for your reminder!" Ating smiled, "But I don't think any human trafficker would be interested in an ugly girl like me, right?"
After saying that, Ating smiled strangely and raised his finger to point at the terrible and unbearable makeup on her face.
"Don't be careless, Ms. Xing."
Guasheng said seriously.
"From what I've heard, customers at Yoshiwara have been particularly fond of people with big breasts recently."
At this point, Uesugi's gaze shifted to Atachi's bulging chest, which was stretched out by her kimono.
He didn't know if it was Ogata's illusion, but he always felt that when Uesugi shifted his gaze to Atachi's chest, the corners of his mouth seemed to twitch, and his eyes seemed to become a little strange.
"People with big breasts have become one of the main targets of human traffickers recently."
Guasheng continued.
"Even if a woman has an average-looking face, as long as she has a big chest, she will still be kidnapped by human traffickers and taken to a brothel."
"What's more, Miss Xing, please don't say that you are ugly. It's too self-deprecating."
"Although your makeup is so thick that it's hard to tell what you really look like, I can tell that you have a pretty good foundation."
"I've been working in Yoshiwara for quite a while, and I see so many beautiful girls every day, so I have some eyes to distinguish between beauty and ugliness."
"So I can tell that you must have a very good foundation."
"Your skin is fair enough and your figure is great."
"After dressing up properly, she will definitely be the kind of beauty who has the potential to become the top girl in a prostitute house."
Ating seemed to be very pleased with Uesugi's indirect praise.
A-Machi, who looked very happy , poked Ogata beside her with her elbow.
"Did you hear that? Ms. Uesugi said that I have the qualifications to be the top girl in a yuujo house."
"And she's the kind of top prostitute who's qualified to compete for the title of Oiran." Guess added with a smile.
Hearing what Uesugi said, Atachi became even happier.
However, Ating still played with her hair and said in a helpless tone:
"It's a pity that I didn't have much education. I can't even recognize all the Chinese characters. There's no way I can become an oiran."
"If you want to be an oiran, being well-educated and well-mannered is not enough." Guasheng said calmly, "Only those who are beautiful, well-educated, proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and good at speaking... in short, they have to be the kind of women who are almost perfect, can have the title of oiran."
"Now, in the whole Yoshiwara, there is only one oiran left, Furin-tayu from Miumeya."
"Hmm?" Atachi raised his eyebrows in confusion. "From what you just said, it turns out that there can be more than one oiran in Yoshiwara?"
"Of course there can be more than one oiran." Uesugi said helplessly, "It's just that being an oiran is so difficult that most of the time there is only one oiran, so people have the illusion that there is only one oiran in Yoshiwara."
"There can be many oirans."
"Several years ago, Yoshiwara had three courtesans at the same time."
"It's just that I hadn't started working at the Shirobei Club at that time, so I didn't see the three oirans competing with each other for beauty."
Having said this, Guasheng paused as if he remembered something.
After a long pause, she scratched her hair and said to A-Ming in a tone that contained a hint of apology:
"Although I just said that with your qualifications, you are enough to be the top girl in a certain prostitute house in Yoshiwara."
"But unless you are really desperate, don't come to Yoshiwara to be a prostitute."
"It's easy to get in Yoshiwara, but hard to get out."
"Even for an oiran who is the most popular courtesan, it is difficult for her to have a good ending in Yoshiwara."
"Of the three courtesans I just mentioned, only one had a happy ending."
"The only courtesan who had a happy ending was the one who was successfully redeemed by a rich man who liked her before she became ill, and then married the rich man."
"Being redeemed and being able to marry like an ordinary woman is the best ending that prostitutes usually dare not even think about."
"One of the other two died of venereal disease in the second year of becoming an oiran."
"For some unknown reason, the other one lost control of her body shape and became out of shape. No customers ordered her anymore and she was abandoned by her former employer and left on the banks of the Rashomon River."
"Um..." Ogata asked, "What is 'Rashomon Riverbank'?"
“…Did you see that?”
Guasheng stopped and pointed to the west.
Ogata and Atachi looked in the direction of Uesugi's mouth.
There was a dark area to the west of Yoshiwara.
Obviously, that area is also within the tall wooden wall and is part of Yoshiwara, but that area is out of tune with other areas.
Other areas were brightly lit, as if it were daytime.
Only that area was dark, with only a few scattered lights.
"That place is 'Rashomon Bank'."
Uesheng said in a calm tone.
"Old girls, sick girls... in short, girls who no longer have customers who would like to call them by name, are often abandoned on the 'Rashomon Riverbank'."
"You can see many former top girls from a certain prostitute house at 'Rashomon Riverbank'."
"No one in any brothel will take care of the prostitutes who are abandoned at the Rashomon Riverbank."
“They can only attract customers on their own.”
"In order to make a living, they basically accept all customers. And they will use very rough means to solicit customers."
"People walking on the 'Rashomon Riverbank' will be pulled by their hands or clothes and forced to enter the room. The spirit of pulling people into the room is like the legendary 'Rashomon', so people used to call that area 'Rashomon Riverbank'."
"Of course - there is another very important reason why it is called 'Rashomon Riverbank', which is because the desolate scenery of that area and the changes in the fate of the prostitutes living in this area are enough to remind people of Rashomon."
After listening to Uesugi's story quietly, Ogata and Atachi couldn't help but feel depressed.
Uesugi also realized that what he said just now seemed to have ruined the atmosphere of the conversation, so he turned around and bowed to Ogata and the other man and apologized: "I'm sorry, what I said just now seemed a bit too heavy..."
"It's okay." Atachi forced a smile. "You don't have to apologize to us. Instead, I want you to thank me for telling us so many things about Yoshiwara. Thanks to you, we know a lot of things we didn't know before."
"I think it's very necessary for your Shirobei Club to publicize the difficulties of being a prostitute, so that every girl who plans to become a prostitute in Yoshiwara will think carefully about it."
"Of course we have done a good job of publicizing the difficulties of being a yuujo." Ueyo said with a wry smile, "Whenever a girl plans to come to Yoshiwara to be a yuujo, we will earnestly advise them to think carefully and tell them the consequences of being a yuujo."
"It's a pity that many girls, even after knowing the difficulties of being a Yuujo, still choose to enter Yoshiwara without hesitation."
"As for the reason...ah..."
Guasheng didn't say anything else, but just let out a long sigh.
Although Uesugi did not continue, Ogata and Atachi knew why so many girls entered Yoshiwara without hesitation even after knowing the difficulties of being a yuujo.
The reason is simple - for money.
Even in times of peace, there are certainly still a large number of people who are so poor that they have nowhere else to go.
Those girls who decide to become prostitutes even though they know that they will definitely not have a good ending after becoming prostitutes, most of them must have been trapped in a situation where they have no other way to survive except to be prostitutes.
Guasheng sighed again and said:
"Forget it, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's keep walking. Once we turn the corner ahead, we'll see Sakuramonya."
…
…
Because they had just talked about something that was not a lighthearted topic, the atmosphere between the three of them became very heavy.
The three of them remained silent for the rest of the journey.
Sakuramonya is worthy of being one of the few "Omize" in Yoshiwara. In terms of the grandeur of the building, it is better than the other yukatas in the surrounding area.
After explaining their purpose to the Kenseban guarding the door of Sakuramonya, the Kenseban immediately understood.
"Oh! Seiya's Mantou! You guys are faster than I thought! I haven't seen you guys before, where's Toujirou?"
"Toujiro's waist is injured." Ogata said, "So we are here to deliver the steamed buns for him."
"Is that so... Then you can tell Toujiro to take care of himself on behalf of our boss at Sakuramon-ya!"
"Yes, I will."
After receiving the steamed buns, the mikotoban gave Ogata a receipt proving that they had received the steamed buns.
It was called a receipt, but in fact it was just a small piece of white paper with words like "Sakuramonya has received 30 steamed buns" written on it.
Before delivering the steamed buns, Fujijiro told Ogata that Sakuramonya had already been paid in advance, so Ogata only had to deliver the steamed buns and then bring back the receipt and the furoshiki who was responsible for wrapping the boxes of the steamed buns.
After putting the document and the furoshiki in his arms, A-machi asked Ogata:
"Mashima, what are we going to do next?"
Because Uesugi was present, Atachi did not call Ogata by her usual name, but called her by her alias.
"What else can I do?" Ogata shrugged. "Of course I'll send the document and the Furoshiki back to the teahouse and then go straight back to the inn."
Ogata originally wanted to try to get some useful information in Yoshiwara.
But to my surprise, all I heard was some disgusting stuff, and not a single piece of useful information.
Besides, it was not too late, so Ogata lost interest in staying in Yoshiwara any longer.
"Are you guys leaving?" Guasheng said, "Then I'll take you to the door. I'll also go back to the club to rest. I haven't rested tonight, so it's time to take a break."
After thanking Guasheng, the three of them set off again.
Under Uesugi's guidance, the three of them turned back onto the avenue that was located in the middle of Yoshiwara and connected to the main gate.
According to Ueo, this avenue located in the middle of Yoshiwara, dividing Yoshiwara into two parts, is named "Naka-no-machi".
As the three were walking along Naka-no-Machi towards the main gate, a series of noises of commotion suddenly arose from behind them.
"What's going on?" Guasheng frowned and looked behind him.
Ogata also turned around and looked behind him.
I saw that the crowd behind me suddenly became noisy for some reason, and everyone had excitement on their face.
Uesugi, who was also unaware of the situation, bowed slightly to Ogata and Atachi.
"Sorry, I have to excuse myself for a moment. I'll go see what's going on."
After saying that, Guasheng held the wooden sword at his waist and ran towards the crowd of people making noise behind him.
After a while, Guasheng came back.
"What happened?" asked Ating.
"A rare thing happened." Guayushi smiled bitterly, "A rich guy ordered Fuujiya."
"So the 'Oiran Dochu' is about to begin."
"Because they are finally able to meet the legendary Oiran, they are all very excited."
Ogata and Atachi were both stunned when they heard what Uesugi said.
After coming back to his senses from his daze, Atachi turned his head and said to Ogata beside him with a sly smile in a joking tone:
"Who just told me that it's hard to see an oiran? Aren't we seeing one now?"
In response to Atachi's joke, Ogata responded with a helpless but joking tone:
"This only shows that we are quite lucky..."
"Yes." Guasheng at the side said, "You are indeed very lucky."
"Not everyone has the financial resources to order an oiran."
"How about it? Are you interested in seeing the Oiran?"
…
…
at the same time--
Yoshiwara, in a remote shadowy area somewhere outside the gate.
In this remote and shadowy area, there stood two people.
Two young men wearing ordinary kimonos with only wakizashi on their waists.
One of the two young men looked at the Yoshiwara Gate in front of him, stretched his body vigorously, and then whispered in a lazy tone that only he and the other young man beside him could hear clearly:
"Finally I'm in Yoshiwara... It's all because of Enma-sama's sudden decision to hold a meeting tonight, which wasted a lot of time and caused me to come to Yoshiwara so late today."
“It would be fine if they held a meeting, but the meeting they held was a boring meeting that warned us to be careful in Edo.”
"It's the same old story, about being careful with your words and actions in Edo, and not getting into conflict with officials... I'm tired of hearing ."
As soon as the young man finished his complaint, another young man standing next to him immediately said in a respectful tone:
"Master Gokutaro, let's hurry to Yoshiwara. Because of Master Enma, we will arrive in Yoshiwara later than usual today, so let's hurry up."
"That's true." The young man called Gokutaro stretched again, "Let's go."
After saying that, Gokutaro took a step forward.
But after taking a step forward, he paused.
"By the way, Keitaro." Gokutaro turned his head and looked at the young man beside him who had just reminded him to hurry up, and then whispered in a voice that only he and the young man could hear clearly, "After entering Yoshiwara, pay attention to changing the words you use."
"I am not Gokutaro, the 'Four Heavenly Kings' in Shiranui now."
"He is just a whore who came to Yoshihara for pleasure - Jiyilang."
"Yes." The young man next to Gokutaro, Keitaro, responded respectfully, "I will pay attention."
"Let's go." Gokutaro straightened his kimono, "Let's go to Yoshiwara!"