The Double
Chapter 197 - 197 94 Flower Tower_5

197: Chapter 94 Flower Tower_5 197: Chapter 94 Flower Tower_5 Tonger didn’t suspect anything amiss, but Bai Xue felt something was not quite right.

Although she said she was just strolling around, Jiang Li’s steps were clearly steadfast, as if she was determined to head to a particular place.

And Bai Xue had a feeling that Jiang Li was very familiar with Xiangyang.

It was just like how their farmer employers knew exactly where each grain and every fruit were planted and would not mix them up.

But Tonger had said that it was Jiang Li’s first time returning to Xiangyang, and others had said the same, so it was probably just her own misapprehension.

Bai Xue shook her head, casting out the strange feeling from her mind.

Yet, this intuition of hers was soon confirmed.

After walking for a while more, Jiang Li stopped.

“Miss?” Tonger halted as well, thinking that Jiang Li was tired and hastily offered, “Are you weary?

Shall I help you rest for a bit?”

“No need,” Jiang Li said, “Let’s go in.”

“Go in?” Tonger looked ahead in surprise.

It seemed to be just an ordinary household’s gate; nothing seemed special about it.

Tonger asked, “Miss, isn’t this someone’s home?

If we go in there, where are we going?

Do you know the person inside?” She thought to herself that it was impossible for Jiang Li to know anyone in Xiangyang besides the Ye Family, with whom Jiang Li had virtually no interaction.

“It’s not someone’s home,” Jiang Li replied unexpectedly, “This is the back door of the Cherish Flower Tower.”

“The, the Cherish Flower Tower?” Tonger stuttered, “What kind of place is that?

A wine house?” She faintly felt the name sounded rather improper.

Jiang Li smiled and said, “It is the most famous brothel in Xiangyang.”

Tonger and Bai Xue were utterly dumbfounded.

…

“Sir, Miss Jiang the Second has gone to the Cherish Flower Tower,”

Upon hearing this, Lu Jiu, in the pavilion, spat out his mouthful of tea with a “Pfft.”

Across from him, the red-clad beauty reacted swiftly, snapping open her folding fan with a “snap” and fanning Lu Jiu’s sprayed tea all the way back to him, a flicker of distaste crossing her eyes.

Poor Lu Jiu, choked by his own saliva and soaked by the tea that Jih Heng had fanned back onto him, was pitifully drenched, a far cry from the elegant and graceful scholar he usually was.

Had Kong Liu, that crude fellow, been there, he would have surely subjected him to relentless ridicule.

Yet, at that moment, Lu Jiu could not care less about his bedraggled state; he immediately questioned Wen Ji, “Are you serious?

She went to the Cherish Flower Tower?”

“Indeed,” Wen Ji replied, “And Miss Jiang the Second entered through the back door of the Cherish Flower Tower.”

“What’s the difference between the back door and the front door?” Lu Jiu asked, puzzled.

The Cherish Flower Tower is the most famous brothel in Xiangyang, where the clients are the nobility of Xiangyang.

The nobility enter through the front door.

Those who have families and go there to seek companionship at the Cherish Flower Tower enter through the back door,” explained Wen Ji.

Lu Jiu had a sudden realization; that made sense.

Simply put, the men would enter through the front door, and the women going to fetch their husbands would enter through the back door, to preserve the men’s dignity.

No wonder the Cherish Flower Tower was so considerate and had become the favorite brothel of Xiangyang’s men.

“But how did she know to enter from the back door?” Lu Jiu questioned, “Did a member of the Ye Family tell her?

Don’t people of the Ye Family pride themselves on their honor and avoid brothels and Chu Hall?

Moreover, how could a lady of her status discuss brothels with the Ye people?

Isn’t she still quite unfamiliar with the Ye Family?”

Lu Jiu was completely befuddled; he couldn’t make sense of it at all.

And no wonder, who could understand the Grand Secretary’s Daughter from Yanjing City visiting a brothel in Xiangyang as her first order of business and knowing to enter through the back door?

It seemed inconceivable.

Jih Heng did not pay attention to Lu Jiu, simply asking indifferently, “Who did she go with?”

“Miss Jiang the Second went with her two maids, and there was no one leading the way,”

Jih Heng said, “Then observe, did she go there on purpose, or did she just happen to pass by?”

“Sir, in my opinion, she found her own way there.” Wen Ji hesitated for a moment before voicing his thoughts, “Miss Jiang the Second seemed quite familiar with the streets of Xiangyang.

It’s not close from Lizheng Hall to the Cherish Flower Tower, but she found it anyway.

She didn’t go anywhere else along the way until she found the Cherish Flower Tower.”

“This…” Lu Jiu attempted to find a suitable explanation for Jiang Li’s actions, saying, “Miss Jiang the Second has always had an exceptional memory.

During the Six Arts school examinations, her ‘Scholarly Rituals’ was always top-ranked.

Considering she only studied in the capital for a few days, it’s not impossible she has a photographic memory.”

“That’s not right.” Surprisingly, the one to refute him was Wen Ji, who said, “Even if she has a photographic memory, arriving in an unfamiliar place like Xiangyang for the first time, one would act cautious and careful, with a sense of unfamiliarity.

But Miss Jiang the Second was completely relaxed and bold, seemingly at ease in Xiangyang.”

As Wen Ji spoke, he couldn’t help but recall the images of following Jiang Li from the shadows.

Jiang Li was not traveling alone; she had her two maids with her, and it was precisely because of the presence of the maid, she seemed all the more different.

She blended in with the streets of Xiangyang as if she were a local who had grown up there.

This sense of familiarity and intimacy was even more distinct than her presence back in Yanjing City.

“She even knew the rules concerning the back door of the Cherish Flower Tower; we certainly can’t underestimate her.” Jih Heng smiled, “Jiang Li has been trying to find ways to return to Xiangyang; perhaps it was for this reason.

Wen Ji,” he spoke with composure, “have your men closely follow Jiang Li, see what she does in the Cherish Flower Tower, see who she meets.”

“I, too, want to see what kind of surprises this Miss Jiang the Second can bring us,” he said with a smile.