The crowd erupted into an uproar at the sound of the voice, and everyone looked up toward the second floor.
Being able to bid five thousand taels today was already an unprecedented show of extravagance. Who could have imagined that someone would actually raise the bid again—and by a full thousand taels at once?
Everyone wanted to see just who this lavish spender was. Even Xu Cong’an, who had been looking rather pleased with himself in the crowd, suddenly looked grim as he turned around and looked upward.
The room was located extremely high up. Although it had an entire wall of exquisite windows, they could only vaguely make out two figures sitting inside. Their faces could not be seen clearly.
The less they could see, the more mysterious and untouchable the person appeared.
The crowd began whispering among themselves.
Just then, the madam on the stage let out an excited cry.
“It’s Young Master Yan! Young Master Yan has bid six thousand taels! Is there any other honored guest who would like to raise the bid?”
Everyone noticed that the madam’s voice and attitude had changed.
Although she had been smiling before, there was now an unmistakable fawning expression on her face. She even took two steps forward, looking directly toward the second floor.
It was obvious at a glance that the person sitting upstairs was someone important.
Xu Cong’an stared upward for a long time but still could not make out who was sitting up there. Just then, he heard two people beside him quietly discussing it.
“Young Master Yan? Could it be the one who deals in porcelain in the city?”
“Isn’t it obviously him? Other than him, who in Jinling City could afford to spend this lavishly?”
The man beside him clicked his tongue in admiration.
“Exactly. I heard the reason Young Master Yan was able to make his business so large is because he has connections with officials in the capital, Chang’an! If you know powerful officials in Chang’an, then wouldn’t money come whenever you wanted it?”
The other man nodded repeatedly.
Hearing this, a surge of anger shot straight to the top of Xu Cong’an’s head.
So the person upstairs was nothing more than a merchant who fired kilns and sold porcelain?
A mere lowly merchant actually dared to compete with him for a woman?
And they were saying he “knew powerful officials in Chang’an”?
Among all those worthless officials in Chang’an, which one could possibly compare with his grandfather?
Forget that Young Master Yan upstairs—even if he really went to Chang’an, not only would that merchant have to kneel and kowtow before him, even the backer behind him would have to do the same.
The more Xu Cong’an thought about it, the more furious he became. He told himself that he absolutely could not let some rotten merchant gain the upper hand. He stopped caring how much silver he actually had in his pocket.
He also failed to notice that the two men beside him, who appeared to be casually chatting, exchanged an inconspicuous glance when they saw his reaction.
“Six thousand two hundred taels!” Xu Cong’an raised his bidding paddle.
The entire brothel erupted into another uproar.
Judging from the situation, it seemed that the two men upstairs and downstairs were going to fight it out and see who would come out on top.
The madam hurriedly said, “Young Master Xu has bid six thousand two—”
“Seven thousand.”
Before she could finish, the paddle upstairs was raised again.
The voice was not particularly loud, but the moment it sounded, the entire hall fell silent. Everyone looked at one another, and for a moment, no one said a word.
This… this man was that extravagant?
Upstairs, Jun Huailang also looked at Xue Yan in surprise.
Xue Yan was staring intently at the people below. There was a lazy smile in his amber eyes, as though he were toying with prey struggling on the verge of death.
Jun Huailang naturally knew that Xue Yan had no intention of actually competing with Xu Cong’an for that woman, but when Xue Yan had raised his paddle just now, Jun Huailang still could not help feeling somewhat uncomfortable.
There was a strange tightness in his chest, along with a trace of restlessness.
His heart had always been as still as water. Emotions like these were especially rare in him.
Meanwhile, downstairs, everyone’s eyes had quietly fallen upon Xu Cong’an.
Xu Cong’an had come here today specifically to take Yu Jing home. In Jinling City, he had always known all the good food and entertainment spots, and he had been there the first time Yu Jing ever performed.
With a beauty like this, how could he, Xu Cong’an, possibly let someone else have her?
So although he raised the bid by two hundred taels each time, in reality, he was adding thousands upon thousands of taels.
As far as he was concerned, this was already no small sum. Yet the person upstairs seemed not to regard money as anything at all. He was sparing with his words, apparently finding it troublesome, and simply raised the bid by nice, round amounts.
The difference between them was immediately apparent.
Even though the two were competing against each other, Xu Cong’an already seemed a level beneath the other man, looking much more petty and stingy by comparison.
“…Seven thousand two hundred taels!” Xu Cong’an raised his paddle again, his voice already trembling slightly.
“Eight thousand.”
Before he had even finished speaking, the man upstairs had already raised his paddle.
Xu Cong’an heard several people beside him discussing it again.
“…As expected of Young Master Yan!”
“Exactly. Coming here today and getting to witness Young Master Yan participate in a bidding war, this trip was already worthwhile!”
Xu Cong’an had been treated like the center of the universe ever since he was a child. His family held immense power, and he had hardly ever even needed to enter the imperial palace. The man upstairs—the “rotten merchant”—was the first person who had ever made him suffer the humiliation of being made to feel inferior.
Young Master Xu could endure it once, but he could not endure it a second time.
“…Nine thousand taels!” He refused to back down and gritted his teeth as he raised his paddle.
If just moments ago he had still been bidding because of Yu Jing, the woman on the stage, then now he was doing it entirely to crush the person upstairs.
Because he was the grandson of the current Right Chancellor, while the porcelain merchant upstairs was nothing more than a businessman who had latched onto a few capital officials and made some filthy money.
What right did he have to flaunt himself in front of him?
What Xu Cong’an did not realize was that, in the eyes of everyone around him, he had already become red-eyed, looking almost deranged.
This time, a barely audible chuckle came from upstairs.
Young Master Yan did not bid again.
The madam repeated the final bid three times before finally bringing down the hammer, announcing that Yu Jing’s first night had been sold to Young Master Xu for twelve thousand taels.
——
After everyone dispersed, the bedroom on the top floor of Qingyue House was completely silent.
The madam sat at the table, slowly waving a fan in her hand as she looked at Xu Cong’an with a faint, knowing smile.
“Young Master Xu, you’re still short nine thousand three hundred taels of silver,” she said. “You were the one who named the price yourself, so you can’t go back on your word now.”
A huge pile of silver notes was stacked before her. The total was an astonishing one hundred and one thousand seven hundred taels of silver.
This was the money Guo Rongwen had given him, combined with what he himself had brought, and what remained after all that spending. Yet it was still not quite enough.
If they were in Chang’an, a mere nine thousand or so taels of silver would mean nothing to him.
But he had never expected that he would actually be brought down by such a small amount of money today.
He was extremely embarrassed and remained silent for a long while.
The madam studied him, then suddenly let out a coquettish laugh.
Holding the fan in one hand, she deftly counted out twelve thousand taels from the pile of silver notes. She then lightly pushed the remaining large pile forward with her fan, scattering the notes across the tabletop.
“If you ask me, perhaps we should just forget about it,” the madam said with a smile. “Miss Yu Jing is already waiting in her room. With such a beautiful night ahead, Young Master, you really shouldn’t waste your time here with me.”
What she meant was that she would not allow Xu Cong’an to redeem Yu Jing’s contract and buy her freedom.
Xu Cong’an had still been hesitating a moment ago, but when he heard the madam’s lightly mocking tone, he could not help remembering the fawning way she had bowed and scraped when facing the window of that “Young Master Yan” upstairs.
Xu Cong’an could not swallow that humiliation.
He had no other choice and hurriedly said, “Could you give me a few more days? My family sends me tens of thousands of taels of silver every month. Next month’s money will be arriving soon. As soon as I receive it, I’ll pay you everything I owe.”
Naturally, when he said tens of thousands of taels, he was exaggerating.
Although the Xu family was not short of money, they knew very well how much he enjoyed wine, women, and pleasure. Since he was unwilling to return home while staying away from Chang’an, his father had cut down his allowance considerably, hoping to force him back to Chang’an by making his life less comfortable.
But his mother could not bear to see him suffer. She would often slip some of her dowry money into the envelopes she sent him.
Even so, when all was said and done, Xu Cong’an only received two or three thousand taels of silver each month.
Two or three thousand taels of silver was indeed enough for him to live extravagantly here, enjoying himself and spending freely. But it was nowhere near enough for him to buy a courtesan at such an outrageous price.
But that did not matter. Wasn’t Guo Rongwen here?
That man was a dog raised by his father and grandfather, and an obedient one at that. Whatever Xu Cong’an told him to do, he would never dare refuse. Not long ago, Xu Cong’an had ordered him to procure eighty thousand taels of silver, and he had managed to get it for him.
Now that Jinling City had suffered a disaster, money was pouring out everywhere. That official was specifically in charge of the funds. With money passing through his hands, what difficulty could there be in taking a few thousand taels out for an emergency?
Thus, when Xu Cong’an said this, he was full of confidence.
The madam gave him two meaningful looks. The fan in her hand stopped, and then she suddenly burst out laughing.
“What are you saying, Young Master? Would I really not want to do business? Miss Yu Jing is like my own flesh and blood. If I can truly find her a good husband, I don’t mind suffering a little loss.”
As she spoke, she tapped the tabletop. A servant girl soon brought over paper and ink.
“How about this? I’ll accept the money you have, and Miss Yu Jing will be handed over to you. But you were the one who named the price, so there’s no reason to haggle now.”
“You only need to write me an IOU. As long as you repay the silver within three months, the debt will be canceled in full. I won’t even charge you a single tael of interest,” she said.
Xu Cong’an did not care about the interest at all. All he knew was that this old woman had finally relented and was willing to let him take the woman away on credit.
Xu Cong’an readily agreed. He immediately drew up the IOU with the madam, signed his name, and affixed his seal.
The madam took the document, looked it over from top to bottom, then slowly blew on the ink to dry it. With a beaming smile, she had a servant girl beside her fetch Yu Jing’s contract of servitude and told her to lead Xu Cong’an out to collect Yu Jing.
The madam watched him leave. Once Xu Cong’an hurriedly closed the door behind him, she let out a soft laugh.
Another servant girl quickly brought over a box and asked the madam to place the IOU inside.
“Madam, you finally managed to get it done,” the servant girl said. “That honored guest, and the people he sent here, are all terrifying. I’ve been on edge every single day!”
Xu Cong’an had signed in such a hurry that he had not noticed how clearly the IOU had been written.
It recorded exactly what year, month, and day he had bought the courtesan, where he had bought her, the price he had paid, how much he had paid already, and how much he still owed. Everything was recorded in meticulous detail.
An IOU did not normally need to be this detailed.
But by signing this one, he had completely established the facts of what had happened today. If anything happened in the future, all they needed to do was produce this IOU, and it would be the strongest evidence possible.
The madam carefully placed the document inside the box and smiled.
“Yes. We finally got it done.”
As she spoke, she counted out part of the silver notes, while placing the rest into the box as well.
“Madam, you’re…?” The servant girl was confused. “Didn’t that honored guest say that he only wanted the evidence? He said the rest of the silver all belonged to you.”
The madam glanced at her.
“Do you really not know how much Yu Jing could earn?” she asked.
Although Yu Jing was stunningly beautiful, she did not actually possess any particular talents. For a courtesan in Jiangnan, beauty alone was not enough. If she wanted to truly become the top courtesan and enter the ranks of the elite, she needed to be proficient in the qin, chess, calligraphy, painting, singing, dancing, and poetry. Nothing could be missing.
If that honored guest had not come early, singled Yu Jing out, and then spent more than a month specifically hiring a musician to teach her a drum dance, Yu Jing would never have sold for such a high price.
Without that honored guest, Yu Jing could have stayed in their establishment until she grew old and still never earned ten thousand taels of silver.
By then, with her beauty faded and her youth gone, she would have been lucky simply to marry an ordinary merchant.
How could she possibly have earned so much silver? And how could Yu Jing, while still so young, have been bought by such a fool and gone on to live a life of fine clothes and rich food?
The madam kept thirty thousand taels for herself and sealed all the rest inside the box.
“Jinling has suffered a major disaster, and there are countless places that need money,” she slowly closed the box and said. “This extra silver was never something I should have taken. It’s useless sitting in my hands, but if it were in that honored guest’s hands, it could save lives.”
As she spoke, she slowly waved her fan and looked out the window.
Under the cover of night, Chunshui Lane was ablaze with lanterns and decorations, an extravagant and dazzling scene.
The sounds of qin, zheng, and pipa instruments mingled with the languid melodies of Jiangnan, intertwined with the intoxicating scents of cosmetics and wine beneath the night sky.
Under the lantern light, merchants and nobles came and went in an endless stream.
The madam smiled softly.
“Consider it a way for this lowly woman from the lowest walks of society to accumulate a little virtue for herself.”