Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 1126 - 1123_1

Chapter 1126: Chapter 1123_1

"Relax, it won’t happen again!" said Jinghao, his face expressionless as he heard the comment. His sharp gaze shot a look at the two who were bowing their heads, and he gruffly ordered, "Go home!"

Such scenes were common at the brothel. Many wives came here looking for their errant husbands, causing even bigger scenes than Jinghao had. Everyone was accustomed to such incidents and thought nothing of them!

Now that the matter had been resolved, they returned their attention to the women in their arms, finding their way back to the land of love.

The madam expressed her joy, "Take care, gentlemen, we look forward to your next visit! For our two young lords, don’t worry if you didn’t lose yourself in the garden of pleasures this time; our doors are always open for you!" After all, their visit still earned her a tidy sum of 100 taels of silver, so she was thrilled to see them!

Upon hearing her words, Xi’er and Gu Qiling stumbled, nearly tripping over the threshold. They would never dare to return!

After hearing those words, Jinghao’s face darkened. It seemed he had overpaid with the earlier 100 taels!

After they had left the brothel and walked some distance, he stopped and addressed the two who were trailing behind him. "What were you thinking, disguised like that and heading to such a place! Do you have any idea what danger you might have put yourselves in if your identities as women had been uncovered? And what about if those who recognize you had revealed your identities! Did you even think about your reputations? Such audacity - to think there’s nothing you ladies won’t dare to do!"

Jinghao vented his concerns without pausing for breath.

Xi’er glanced at Jinghao’s face – she had never seen her elder brother so angry. She mustered up her courage to reply, "Big brother, we understand. We wanted to taste the wine they say is so delicious at the brothel, and see why they call it a haven and Tomb of Heroes. When I asked you before, you didn’t tell me!"

"Ignorant girl! Now do you understand? What would you have done if I hadn’t happened to pass by and see you! If I ever hear of you coming to such a place again, don’t blame me for breaking your legs!" Jinghao almost laughed in disbelief at her words. So this was his fault now!

"That won’t happen, I won’t dare anymore!" Gu Qiling quickly stated. The enthusiastic behavior of the ladies earlier had terrified her.

"I won’t dare either. Big brother, if you’d seen how those women clung to men there, it was horrifying! I was kissed, and Qiling was kissed several times. It was disgusting! Thankfully, I carried a sedative with me, otherwise, we couldn’t have escaped! Big brother, don’t worry, even if it was a dragon’s den or tiger’s cave, I could find a way out!" Actually, she believed she could venture anywhere because she was proficient with poisons.

Recalling the garish red lips from just before, Xi’er couldn’t resist wiping her face with a handkerchief.

"Your skills aren’t high, yet your audacity is boundless. If you don’t learn to control your reckless bravery and end up falling into the hands of truly formidable individuals, your poison skills will amount to nothing! If I catch you running about randomly again, I’ll tell your father and he’ll confine you to your room indefinitely!"

"I won’t do it anymore, don’t tell our parents!" Xi’er quickly guaranteed.

Having said his piece, Jinghao turned to Gu Qiling. He had noticed the two or three lip marks on her face and found them extremely displeasing. He handed her a handkerchief, "Wipe off the lip marks from your face!"

Gu Qiling, playful and lively, was as impish as Xi’er. Their antics often gave the Imperial Master and Senior Scholar Gu headaches. However, this eccentric girl was unusually well-behaved in front of Jinghao. She quickly took Jinghao’s handkerchief and started to wipe her face haphazardly, unsure of where exactly the lip marks were located.

Jinghao sighed at her efforts, "Let me do it!"

He took the handkerchief from her and helped wipe off the obnoxious red lip marks from her face. He didn’t know why, but those marks made him uneasy, and he wanted them gone.

Jinghao’s fingertips brushed against Gu Qiling’s cheek through the cloth, causing her cheeks to flush and her heart to beat faster.

As Jinghao wiped her face, his finger would occasionally touch Gu Qiling’s soft skin indirectly. Feeling her smooth, delicate face under his hand was pleasant. Jinghao thought to himself before realizing the impropriety of his thoughts – what was he thinking!

Men and women were not supposed to have such intimacy. Even if she was his junior sister and had been following him since she was a child, she was now becoming a young woman. He couldn’t treat her as casually as before. Otherwise, he was taking advantage of her!

With a blush on his face, Jinghao swiftly wiped off the marks on her face, then retrieved his hand, instructing, "Hurry home, and don’t run around anymore."

"Big brother, aren’t you going to take us home?"

"I still have to visit the sightseeing boat." If he didn’t quickly get to the sightseeing boat, those people might think he had really gone to the brothel!

He had just topped the imperial examination that day and didn’t want to gain a reputation for chasing after pleasure.

Sightseeing boat? When Xi’er heard this, she was reminded of the fact that the Fifth Princess had invited them for a sightseeing boat tour that evening.

They were planning on enjoying the drinks at the brothel before joining the boat tour!

"What a coincidence! Big brother, we are also going to meet up with the Fifth Princess. She invited several sisters to join her on the sightseeing boat this evening. But since it’s not time yet, how about we join you first, then board the Fifth Princess’s boat when it’s time?"

Considering the possibility of the sisters not going home obediently on their own, Jinghao decided it would be better to keep an eye on them, especially given their current disguises. So he agreed, "Alright, keep up! And no antics!"

"Of course, we are the most well-behaved, right, Qiling?"

Wanting to accompany her admired elder brother on the boat tour, Gu Qiling nodded in agreement, "I promise not to cause you any trouble!"

"Let’s go!" Jinghao took the lead and continued walking.

...

There were numerous resplendent sightseeing boats along the moat. Inside were many young women who had fallen from their loftier statuses performing arts. Of course, these young women only sold their skills, not their bodies, which earned them more respect than the women in the brothel.

Many of these women hailing from formerly influential families had received education as young girls and were well-versed in Chinese poetry. Hence, many scholars liked to come to the sightseeing boats to listen to music or recite poems, as the presence of the beautiful women was inspiring.

Jinghao had visited these sightseeing boats a couple of times with his peers. After that, he stopped coming.

He thought visiting such boats was equivalent to frequenting the brothel in terms of mental stimulation!

Although the girls claimed they sold only their skills, not their bodies, their clothing was more revealing than that of other girls on the outside. Moreover, their aspirations to climb higher social ladders were too obvious.