Chapter 64.2 â Spring Wind Pavilion
Brothels, wineshops and teahouses were all places where people from all over the place gather. News spread really well there. Especially in brothels, facing those charming girls, the men trapped in the tenderness would end up blurting all kinds of things.
Spring Wind Pavilion was the most famous brothel in the capital. The girls there were not only beautiful, but also skilled in the arts.
Calligraphy, painting, zither, chess, poetry, wine and flowers. The favorites of literati and men of the ink were mostly encompassed within these seven things. Even if not all the girls in the Spring Wind Pavilion were amazingly talented at them, most of the girls who get to go on stage were quite good at them.
For those literati who liked to act elegant, there was no doubt about the attraction of such a brothel. Many people didnât even want to do anything and would still choose the Spring Wind Pavilion when they just wanted to find an elegant place to drink alcohol or tea. From this perspective, Lu Qipei didnât feel too awkward when she was dragged to the Spring Wind Pavilion. Even when others hear about it, they would just think that it was something elegant to do.
This was the day when the courtesan queen Qin Qing came on stage to perform. Before it got dark, all the seats in the Spring Wind Pavilion were already full.
A few guests came a little bit late, and saw the bustling inside the hall when they entered the door. They immediately stood at the door with some hesitation.
A young man frowned and complained, âI already said that we shouldâve come earlier. Everytime Miss Qin Qing performs, itâs so hard to find a seat in the Spring Wind Pavilion. We came here so late, where would we be able to find a seat?â
Several people frowned when they heard this, but someone still stood up to smooth things over. âYou canât say that. Weâve always went out to play together, how can we leave Sun Du out this time? Weâre all brothers. Whether heâs coming or not is one thing, but whether we go invite him or not is another thing.â
Someone was too impatient to listen to this nonsense and immediately waved to the servant girl guarding the door. âDo you have any seats in your pavilion?â
The servant girl was thirteen or fourteen, wearing a green skirt with her hair done into two buns. Her appearance could only be considered delicate, not as beautiful as the girls upstairs, but her eyes looked very smart. She quickly looked over the people and smiled, âThe hall is full, but there are two private rooms upstairs. Please follow me.â
She didnât ask before leading the way, obviously recognizing some people who were either rich or a noble, and could definitely afford the private room.
As expected, the young masters didnât care about this little amount of money. Hearing that there were still the private rooms, they all followed happily. However, someone complained, âThe private room is fine on regular days, but when thereâs a performance, the private room is too far away. Itâs not as clear and lively as the hall.â
Someone heard it and said with a smile. âItâs still good that we could get a seat. A bit later and there would be no point even going inside the door.â
As the few people chatted and laughed, the atmosphere became more relaxed. Then, someone mentioned Sun Du, who had been talked about earlier. âWhat do you think happened with Sun Du? Miss Qin Qing only goes on the stage once a month. He had been waiting for it, but now he isnât even coming.â
Hearing this, someone said, âI heard that he was grounded. If he didnât practice his familyâs style of archery well, he wouldnât be let out.â
Several people gasped when they heard this and said, âNo way, that brat Sun Du has never been able to endure hardships. Didnât his father give up on him long ago? Heâs now in his twenties, why would they catch him back to practice martial arts now?â
Sun Duâs family was from a military background. The reason he got mixed up with this group of people was because he was spoiled and could never bear hardships since he was a child. It was useless to expect him to follow in his fatherâs stead when he grew up, but itâs not like they could just leave him to waste away at home either, so his father threw him to the Royal Academy.
Unfortunately, in the end he didnât learn well, and got acquainted with a group of silkpants instead. Now, he was a frequent visitor to the Spring Breeze Pavilion.
His father didnât care about him as he grew until now, but now he was kept at home to practice martial arts. It was really strange.
The group of people discussed it and could not guess the reason. It wasnât until the servant girl led them to the private room and there were few outsiders around that someone said mysteriously, âI heard that practicing archery is just a cover; the Sun family just donât want him to go out.â
Everyone became even more puzzled and asked, âWhatâs going on? Did Sun Du cause trouble again?â
The man laughed and said, âWeâre always together all day long, when would he cause trouble?â His voice became mysterious again, âItâs just that he has a big mouth and talks about everything. The Sun family is afraid that he would say something he shouldnât if he went out, so they could only lock him up.â
After hearing this, everyone looked at each other and couldnât help asking him, âHow do you know this so clearly?â
The man was feeling satisfied and opened his folding fan with a âwhooshâ, then shook it twice. âIs there anything that I donât know? Sun Du always tells me everything.â
The crowd became a little speechless at his satisfied appearance, so someone pushed him and asked, âSince Sun Du tells you everything, why donât you tell me, what is this secret that the Sun family doesnât want him to say?â
The man who was shaking the folding fan paused, and he restrained his satisfied look. âThis⦠Itâs a little hard to say. I canât say it.â
He didnât say that he didnât know, so everyone urged him to stop being so secretive. Finally, after being urged by everyone, he said, âWeâre all brothers. Iâll tell you what I know, but donât go out and spread it.â
Everyone quickly promised not to, then they heard a piece of news â General Sun secretly left the capital, but not to the battlefield at the northern border, but to the northwest instead.
Going northwest at this time secretly without telling anyone, was he going to transfer some troops?
Although the few people present there were all silkpants, they were born from families of officials. They were all aware of things and didnât dare to talk about this topic anymore. They changed the subject and chatted a little bit more before they realized that the servant girl who led the way earlier had been standing in the corner without leaving.
The group of people became nervous for a moment, but they saw that she stood quite far away and they had talked in whispers before, so they thought that she probably couldnât hear anything and finally relaxed. Someone then asked, âLittle servant girl, why havenât you left yet?â
The little girl blinked innocently, âYoung Masters kept chatting after coming in, and havenât ordered any food and wine yet.â
Everyone was dumbfounded. They randomly ordered some food and wine then sent her out.
Translator notes:
Iâve been a bit busy with all kinds of real life stuff lately, so releases has been a bit hiccupy *_* I try to do a double release to catchup when I miss my usual schedule, but bills gotta be paid and sometimes work stuff are so exhausting >.>