Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 1233 Epilogue : Pulling the good family into the water and persuading the prostitute to become a good person
Lanruoyuan is located in the southwest urban area of ​​Luoyang and is no longer its original address.

At that time, Li Bangyan could not buy real estate with money, so he could only rent a place temporarily to operate. Later, the crown prince presided over the construction of Luoyang city wall, and Li Bangyan bought a piece of land in the new city area to build his own business.

Today, the Li family is still in charge of the operation of Lanruoyuan, but their shares have been reduced to less than 15%.

The shareholding structure of Lanruoyuan is extremely complicated, with various indirect shareholdings and white gloves, and even the Li family, who is in charge of the management, can't figure it out.

Especially when Emperor Dingtai reorganized the army, he cleared out a group of Luoyang dignitaries. After the coup, he cleared out another group. Now it is even more chaotic, and it is estimated that many ministers of the current dynasty have obtained shares.

"I heard that the person who first opened Lanruoyuan was a cabinet minister?" Xie Yan was very familiar with Lanruoyuan, but had never heard of the name Li Bangyan.

Shi Huai introduced: "Li Bangyan was not only a minister in the founding of the Ming Dynasty, but also the last vice prime minister of the Former Song Dynasty. He was extremely corrupt in the Former Song Dynasty, but became much more restrained in the Ming Dynasty. However, he had no way to manage his family, and was implicated and dismissed because of his family's corruption and abuse of power."

"It seems that the punishment for corruption was extremely severe at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty," said Xie Yan.

Zhu Shirong said: "It was more than severe. I heard that during the first major case, because so many officials were arrested across the country, one-third of the provincial capitals, counties and cities were unable to work."

"I heard that half of the government offices were shut down." Zeng Heng said.

Lu Churen said: "How can it be half? At most one third."

Zeng Heng said: "One third is also scary."

Shi Huai sighed: "During the reigns of Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong, the government was clean and honest, and the court was full of upright people. I wish I could be there in person."

When Xie Yan heard them reminiscing about the past one hundred years ago, he couldn't help but shout "Brother Zhu is awesome" in his heart.

When the carriage was about to arrive at Lanruoyuan, Zhu Shirong said, "At its peak, there were six Lanruoyuans in the country. After Li Bangyan died of illness, his two grandsons divided the family property and quarreled. Except for the ones in Luoyang and Hangzhou, all the other Lanruoyuans were sold."

"How many are left now?" Xie Yan asked.

Shi Huai said: "There are at least 20 or 30 of them, but the quality varies greatly, and most of them are just trying to be pretentious. The only one still run by the Li family is the one in Luoyang."

Xie Yan asked again: "Are there no descendants of the Li family who are officials?"

Zhu Shirong said: "Someone from the Hangzhou branch was an official. He was involved in a major case in Guangdong decades ago. Not only was he executed, but even his property was confiscated."

"Since then, Hangzhou Lanruoyuan has gone from bad to worse, and the new shareholder is running the business in a complete mess. The Hu Ji and Bodhisattva Man there are too worldly and not elegant at all." Shi Huai was deeply saddened by this.

It seems that Vice President Shi likes something more elegant.

"Gentlemen, we have arrived at Lanruoyuan," the coachman reminded.

Luoyang Lanruoyuan covers an area of ​​about 20 mu and has a five-story building. But the real essence is in the several separated backyards.

Zhu Shirong introduced: "The four floors below are all occupied by blue-collared prostitutes. The fifth floor is mainly occupied by red-collared prostitutes. The backyard inside is occupied by clean-collared prostitutes."

I don't know when the term "guanren" was first used to refer to prostitutes, but it was not used when the Ming Dynasty was founded.

At first, he seemed to be a yamen clerk, who called himself or was respectfully called "tangguan" by the common people.

Gong, a minor official.

Hall, the government hall.

Without knowing why, it was transplanted to a prostitute.

In fact, in the Song Dynasty, palace maids and prostitutes were more often called "Miss", such as Miss Li, Miss Zhang and so on.

But "Miss" is not a special title, but a respectful title for young women, which is similar to "young lady". It's just that it is used to refer to prostitutes, and decent women avoid it.

After careful questioning, Xie Yan learned that the blue prostitutes were ordinary prostitutes, while the red prostitutes were top-level prostitutes. The clean prostitutes claimed that they only sold their art but not their bodies, but that was just a claim.

Just like in the late Qing Dynasty, there were all kinds of "book houses" in Jiangnan. At first glance, you might think they were places for storytelling or reading. But in fact, they were high-class small brothels, where the prostitutes called themselves "Ci Shi", "Xian Sheng" and "Guan Ren".

"Master Shi, Master Zhu, and Master Zeng, please come in. You three haven't been here for half a year!"

The person in charge of reception was a servant, who probably stayed in the brothel all year round. This place was in the southwest corner of the city, and he actually didn't know the famous Prince Consort Xie.

The servant looked at Xie Yan and Lu Churen and said, "Forgive my ignorance, but may I ask the names of these two gentlemen?"

Shi Huai introduced them, saying, "This is Scholar Xie, and this is Scholar Lu."

"Thank...Thank you, Prince Consort?" The servant looked at Xie Yan's waist.

But Xie Yan didn't wear the hibiscus jade pendant, after all, he came here to drink and have fun.

Such a young scholar, and his last name is Xie, he is most likely the prince consort.

The servant was very perceptive and quickly greeted everyone, asking, "Gentlemen, do you want to go up to the fifth floor or relax in the inner courtyard?"

Shi Huai asked, "Which eunuch in the inner courtyard is free?"

The servant said, "The gentlemen have arrived early. Both Mr. Chen and Mr. Li are free."

Zhu Shirong asked, "Where is Zhao Jingjing?"

"It's really unfortunate that Mr. Zhao has been in poor health these days," the servant said with difficulty, "How about I ask for you gentlemen?"

As long as the blue-collar workers and the red-collar workers can afford it, it's fine.

The prostitutes would put on airs, and even if you were lucky enough to meet them, they would just play the piano, sing, drink and dance.

Xie Yan asked in a low voice: "Is Zhao Jingjing the most famous prostitute in Luoyang?"

Zhu Shirong winked and said, "I heard that he is a descendant of the royal family of the previous dynasty. Although I don't know whether it is true or not, people are still flocking to him."

"Aren't the main characters here Bodhisattva Man and Hu Ji?" Xie Yan was a little puzzled.

Zhu Shirong explained: "Whether it is Bodhisattva Man or Hu Ji, even if they are good at writing, they still lack a touch of scholarly charm. Most of them are prostitutes."

Shi Huai recalled the past:

"It's because the business is not going well now. Forty years ago, when I was still a teenager, there was a Bodhisattva from Xina who was proficient in everything from music, chess, calligraphy and painting. She was also gentle, virtuous, well-behaved and clever. She could relieve a man's worries just by drinking and chatting."

"That Bodhisattva Man was a courtesan, and she had been the most famous courtesan in the two capitals for ten consecutive years. Many high-ranking officials and nobles spent thousands of dollars just to have a drink and chat with her."

"What a pity. By the time I became successful, she had already married a businessman, and I have never had the chance to see her."

Well, Vice President Shi had Bai Yueguang when he was young. Zhu Shirong said: "It is not difficult to train a vassal girl to be a pure prostitute, but it is difficult to get the recognition of countless customers. Therefore, the operators like to take shortcuts. The vassal girl can sing and dance well, and is the most suitable to be a red prostitute."

In a word, today's entertainment industry is too competitive!

It is difficult to reach the top level by relying solely on appearance, poetry, singing and dancing. You must also provide enough emotional value. Being able to chat is more important than the previous ones.

The servant invited them to the hallway in the backyard for tea and quickly ran inside to help question them.

Not long after, he came back and said, "Ms. Zhao has just recovered from her illness. Please come and see her in person."

Where does the phrase "poor health" and "just recovered from illness" come from?

It was just that I was drinking with a group of young men last night, and in the middle of the night, someone got drunk and smashed all the furniture in Zhao Jingjing's room.

When a group of people come to drink with a clean prostitute, they will not have physical relations. At most, one of them will stay overnight, and the rest will go to sleep with a red or blue prostitute.

However, Zhao Jingjing's conditions for retaining people are very strict. She didn't like any of the young men last night.

But the young masters were drunk and didn't care about that. The leader insisted on sleeping with Zhao Jingjing, and they started to make a fuss, smashing things and cursing.

Zhao Jingjing was also angered, pointing at the young man and saying, "You want to smash the gate of my courtyard? Next time your father comes, I'm afraid he won't be able to find the way in. I'm drinking with you tonight just for your father's sake! Do you think you can just enter my courtyard whenever you want?"

After hearing this, the young masters ran away in shame.

Zhao Jingjing was so angry that she announced that she would not receive any guests for three days.

She has the right to show off.

There is more than one powerful person protecting you!
"Madam, Prince Consort Xie and the others are coming in." A maid came running over.

Zhao Jingjing asked hurriedly, "Is he really as handsome and romantic as the legend says?"

The maid smiled and said, "She has a beautiful face, a tall and straight figure, and an extraordinary demeanor."

Zhao Jingjing said to her personal maid, "Alan, go and drink with Prince Consort Xie, and pay attention to his subtle habits."

"Yes!"

The maid named Alan was a Huji from the Middle East.

Due to the constant wars among the Arab countries, the human trafficking was very large, not only women and children, but also adult men.

Alan is thirteen years old this year. Because of her outstanding appearance, she is highly regarded by Lanruoyuan. So since she was ten years old, she has been arranged to be a maid beside Zhao Jingjing.

Firstly, he could learn music, chess, calligraphy and painting from Zhao Jingjing, and secondly, he could become familiar to the powerful and influential people from Zhao Jingjing.

By the time she is fourteen or fifteen years old, she will definitely be famous, and then it is time for her to officially get married.

This is a mature training system, and the training cost is much lower than that of Li Bangyan who strives for perfection. Of course, it is also widely criticized by President Shi and others, who believe that Lanruoyuan has abandoned its fine traditions.

Xie Yan and four others were invited in and sat down, but they did not see Zhao Jingjing herself.

Five girls came out and sat down next to each guest. "My wife just got up and hasn't had time to wash up yet. Please don't blame me, gentlemen."

Xie Yan glanced at the five girls. The youngest was probably only twelve or thirteen years old, and the oldest was no more than fifteen or sixteen years old.

The law prohibiting child labor is not strictly enforced!
Although Xie Yan didn't plan to stay overnight here, he could still happily accept the hugs and cuddles like in Shang K.

Seeing Alan at this moment, he felt a little hesitant to do it.

Forget it, just drink and listen to music.

"What's your name?" Xie Yan asked casually.

Alan half-knelt and poured wine for Xie Yan: "My name is Alan, my surname is Zhao, and my maiden name is Lan. I don't have a name yet, and I am waiting for you."

"How old are you?" Xie Yan asked again.

Alan said, "I'll be thirteen next month."

Nima.

This is definitely child labor, Xie Yan really wants to report it.

The child labor ban was just enacted last year!
Xie Yan looked at the other four people. Lu Churen, the most introverted one, had already reached out and held the maid's hand to pour wine together.

Too greasy and unsightly.

Of course, guests were only allowed to hug Lanruoyuan’s top personal maid, but were not allowed to put their hands inside her clothes.

This is an unspoken rule, and guests generally abide by it - even if they are really eager for sex, they will not come to the inner courtyard, as there are plenty of prostitutes on the fifth floor.

"Where is your hometown?" Xie Yan asked.

Alan recalled: "I can't remember clearly. When I was young, I vaguely lived in a big house and had servants to serve me. Then one day, the rebels came and my mother held my brother and took me away to escape."

"We were all captured and taken to many places. I only remember Baghdad, which was a very big city. Later we stopped at a big port... Oh, I shouldn't have said so much, please forgive me, my dear."

Alas, poor little girl, she used to be a lady from a wealthy family.

Xie Yan guessed that she came from the Zengid Sultanate which had collapsed not long ago. Although this country inherited the legacy of the Seljuks, it had been fighting foreign enemies for a long time and had also been fighting a small-scale civil war for a long time.

Or maybe it came from the Sultanate of Rum, the greened Byzantine homeland. If it came from there, the little girl's brother was probably castrated as a eunuch, or became a slave playmate of a Byzantine noble.

"Do you miss home?" Xie Yan asked.

Alan was startled when he heard this, and quickly lowered his head to cover up: "I don't want to. The Ming Dynasty is the richest in the world, and it is incomparable to the overseas vassal states. I am very happy here."

To lure good women into sex and to persuade prostitutes to become good women are two of men's two great hobbies.

Xie Yan felt that the little girl was quite pitiful and innocent, so he wanted to help her escape from the devil's den and live a good life.

At this moment, soft footsteps were heard and the top performer Zhao Jingjing finally came out.

(End of this chapter)