spoiled brat

Chapter 35 34. Countercurrent (4)

Mrs. Yu was in a good mood today. She glanced at Zhao Zhao and asked readily, "What is it?"

Zhao Zhao snapped out of her daze and nodded respectfully: "I want to ask my mother to give me a chance to see the world."

"Aren't you satisfied yet?" Madam Yu sat down in the armchair, lit her pipe, and chuckled. "What kind of world do you want to see?"

Zhao Zhao squatted down beside the chair, enduring the dull pain in her lower abdomen and the weakness in her whole body, and used all her strength to massage Yu's mother's legs, saying in a flattering tone, "Mother, I know that the music academy in Yunzhou sometimes borrows or recruits people from surrounding counties. I play the yueqin quite well, so if there's a chance next time—"

Yu's mother exhaled a puff of smoke and interrupted, "What happened now that has stirred up your thoughts?"

Zhao Zhao lowered her head, thought it over and over, and finally decided to go all out:
"I'm on my period."

The phrase "a prostitute has started her period" is similar to "a pig is fat enough to be slaughtered."

Yu's mother used her pipe to lift Zhao Zhao's chin and looked at her with the eyes of someone appraising goods: "You, well, you're not bad looking, but you're too unrestrained... If you want to go to higher places and climb up to more important people, you have to learn to hide the desires in your eyes."

She thought Zhao Zhao wanted to get into a higher circle and sell for a higher price, but Zhao Zhao smiled and asked in return, "Mom, how much would you like to sell my Chu Hong for?"

Yu's mother's gaze followed Zhao Zhao's face down to her neck, chest, waist, and legs. It was hard to see clearly through her clothes, but it was clear that she had a decent figure.

She thought for a moment, then held up three fingers: "Three thousand taels."

Three thousand taels? Zhao Zhao's entire fortune amounted to just over three hundred taels.

Zhao Zhao had originally thought that if Madam Yu asked for less, there would be room for negotiation. But three thousand taels was no small sum, and it was not something she could fool with her cleverness.

"You don't want to sell?" Mrs. Yu asked.

"Yes."

Madam Yu sneered, "Your indenture is still with me."

Yes, yes.

From birth, she was branded on her shoulder, signifying her status as a prostitute, the lowest of the low. If she didn't obediently sell herself, Madam Yu could take her to court.

Looking at Yu's mother, Zhao Zhao felt a surge of hatred, but it wasn't directed at Yu's mother; rather, it was hatred for fate.

For a moment, a sinister thought arose in her mind—since there was no one around, why not take advantage of their unpreparedness and kill Mother Yu?
But that thought was quickly extinguished.

She remembered that when she was little, she had a high fever once, and it was her mother who took her place, holding her and comforting her all night, feeding her sugar water spoonful by spoonful, and saying with a smile that she was exactly like her mother when she was little.

It's a joke that a pig and a butcher can develop feelings for each other, but it's unavoidable that a prostitute and a brothel owner can—so what if she uses you and is mean to you? How many people in this world will treat you like a human being and be good to you?

Zhao Zhao avoided Yu Mama's eyes and said softly, "Mama, I don't want to sell... but I will try my best to make sure you don't lose money. Didn't you say that I, Chu Hong, would sell for three thousand taels? I will give you three thousand taels within six months. Please spare me this trouble."

She pulled a silver note from her sleeve; it wasn't much, only fifty taels: "I will pay you money every now and then."

Madam Yu picked up the silver note with her fingers, dusted it off, and said disdainfully, "Zhao Zhao'er, a nobody shouldn't talk big. Isn't it easier to just lie in bed with your legs spread wide than to risk your life to earn that three thousand taels?"

"I can not be reconciled."

Zhao Zhao raised her head, and the golden sunlight fell into her eyes, reflecting her bright ambition and desire: "It's one thing for people with no ability to be playthings or dependents, but why should I accept my fate from the very beginning?"

Mrs. Yu smiled, tapped her forehead with the slightly hot pipe, and said in a tone that was both mocking and sighing, "You..."

"How about this," Madam Yu exhaled a puff of smoke, "Next month is the prefect's birthday, and I'm afraid the manor won't have enough singers and dancers. If the music academy in Yunzhou offers to lend some people, I'll recommend you."

Zhao Zhao was overjoyed and knelt down, saying, "Thank you, Mother."

Madam Yu paused for a moment, then said, "Your benefactor, the princess of Prince Ning, seems to be nearing the end of her life."

Zhao Zhao paused for a moment, then asked, "Mom, who are you talking about?"

"You have a second benefactor?" Madam Yu held the cat in her arms and teased its nose with its tail. "That princess grew up in the north and is used to the cold wind. She can't stand the heat here and has been sick for over a month. The Prince of Ning's mansion has searched everywhere for doctors, but they can't find anyone who can cure her. It's a pity that she is so weak, but she still has to show up when the prefect celebrates his birthday."

Zhao Zhao was worried, yet couldn't help but wonder: "The princess is seriously ill, why would she still attend the banquet? The Ning Prince's mansion is quite powerful, why would they send their own daughter to fill in? They are, after all, relatives of the emperor, how could they—"

"Royal relatives?" Madam Yu sneered. "Zhao Zhao'er, remember this: no matter how noble a person's birth is, as long as they live in this world and cannot escape the cycle of reincarnation, they are destined to be prostitutes."

"Why?"

"What seduces us is men, what seduces them is power. Although we are not all performing the same play, in the end we are all just entertaining things for God."

Zhao Zhao seemed to understand, but not quite. She didn't like what her mother said, as if people were no different from mayflies that live only a day and die at night, and all their struggles and efforts were nothing but wishful thinking.

“Mother, I know you know some of the managers of the Yunzhou Music Hall.” Zhao Zhao tapped her mother’s leg. “I want to see her, just from afar… Even if I can’t see her, I’d like to find out about her situation… So please use your connections to get me into the singing girls’ troupe.”

"You want to climb the social ladder?" Mother Yu sneered. "Who are you and who are they? You're putting on this act of repaying a debt of gratitude, but it was just a small favor for them back then, and they probably don't even recognize you anymore."

"It's not about climbing the social ladder... I'm just following my heart."

"Zhao Zhao'er! Zhao Zhao'er!"

Xiao Duo's hurried footsteps echoed outside the courtyard. He shouted breathlessly, "Your mother is about to give birth!"

Zhao Zhao quickly got up and ran out, anxiously asking, "Has the doctor arrived yet?"

"Manager Zhang refuses to come!" Xiao Duo gritted his teeth in anger. "You've helped him so much before, and he's making excuses at a time like this, saying he has to go out to see patients. What a beast!"

It's because of the arsenic.

Zhao Zhao swindled arsenic from Manager Zhang to use for murder. Although he wasn't implicated, he was still quite frightened when the authorities came to search his home.

This shows they're holding a grudge.

Zhao Zhao's face paled, but she quickly regained her composure: "Xiao Duo, go find the women in the building who have given birth to take care of my mother. Ask them to be understanding, and I'll give them all some celebratory money later!"

After saying that, Zhao Zhao ran out of the building to find Manager Zhang, but there was no one in the pharmacy. The servant said that Manager Zhang had just gone out to see patients.

(End of this chapter)