Han Ming Xi signaled Ye Li to continue by a glance. Then he added tea for Ye Li and himself, clearly more interested in this topic.
Ye Li didn"t mind that and continued: “The scent formula of Grace Fume Pavilion is a guarded secret. No powder and rouge store can make anything near what it has. To be honest, I don"t like the powder, rouge, and scent we have now in Great Chu. I believe you have the same opinion, don"t you, Mr. Han?”
Han Ming Xi frowned. He didn"t feel the same in the past. However, after Grace Fume Pavilion came, he found his old scent monotonous and not as good. Though he made scent of the best quality himself, it took him far more time and money than what it was worth. From time to time, he would send his confidantes gifts he bought from Grace Fume Pavilion which they showed clear preference. However, he didn"t want to admit he had drawn customers to Grace Fume Pavilion indirectly.
Happily, Ye Li looked at Han Ming Xi who was deep in thought and continued: “There"s only one Grace Fume Pavilion in Guangling right now. However, from your point of view, do you think it possible to open such a store in every large and middle-sized city of Great Chu, or... Xi Ling, Bei Rong, and Nan Zhao, even some place further away? After all... I don"t have to worry about sales as long as there are women. What do you say?”
Han Ming Xi found himself a little intimidated by this boy who clearly had not reached 15 yet. He believed that if his big brother was here, he would have a lot more to talk about with this kid. A Grace Fume Pavilion in every town... That was a grand vision. Han Ming Xi started to imagine himself opening a Cool Breeze Bright Moon House in each town, then...
“Huh, I don"t think that"s a good idea, Mr. Han. Or... Master Ming Yue will get angry.” Ye Li guessed what he had on his mind when she saw him looking out of the pavilion with glowing eyes so she hurriedly stopped him. Cool Breeze Bright Moon House earned the reputation as the No.1 House on earth for its uniqueness. It wouldn"t be as popular as it was today if it could be found everywhere. She didn"t think Han Ming Yue didn"t have brothels in other towns. Those were simply not as famous. Besides, brothel wasn"t a skilled trade. It might be easy for a brothel to become outstanding but not so easy to achieve domination.
“Powder and rouge will run out, but Cool Breeze Bright Moon House isn"t the same... Well, it is for pleasure, a completely different idea from mine. However... I think we can still have a deal despite our difference.”
Han Ming Xi was just being impetuous. He would be the first to bail if he were to open a Cool Breeze Bright Moon House in every town of Great Chu. After hearing what Ye Li had said, he didn"t reply. With raised brows, he showed he was all ears.
Ye Li smiled: “For example... Cool Breeze Bright Moon House can purchase powder and rouge for girls from Grace Fume Pavilion. What do you think, Mr. Han? Besides, to show my good faith for our first cooperation, I want to give you a specially made scent with endless supply. Well?”
Han Ming Xi contemplated for a while before his lips curved in a smile and answered: “Mr. Chu, thank you for your sincerity. I will be pushing a good deal out of my door if I refuse. Well, tell me what information you need as soon as possible. I will give you something more valuable than the price I am paid.”
Ye Li nodded happily. “Good. Mr. Han, how about you get ready. I need some time to prepare as well. Let"s meet in a few days and sign a deal?”
“Deal.”
Having left Cool Breeze Bright Moon House, Secret Guard No.3 only let out a sigh of relief when he was back at the little yard where the five of them lived for the time being. Taking out a pile of silver draft in front his brothers who looked at him with strange expressions, he threw them on the table numbly.
Secret Guard No.2, who was in charge of money raised his brows in shock. “Where do you get all that from?” How did the 20,000 Liang that they brought with them when they left the capital multiply ten times after the princess and No.3 came back from a walk?
Secret Guard No.3 looked at Ye Li who was drinking tea while waving her folding fan and answered, stupefied: “Won them at a gambling house.” After that, he looked at Ye Li with a lingering fear and said: “My Lord, I didn"t think we could walk out of that place safely.”
Ye Li glanced at him and smiled: “Don"t worry. Cool Breeze Bright Moon House would only hurt its reputation if it found fault with us for a mere 20,000 Liang.”
A mere 20,000 Liang? Though Cool Breeze Bright Moon House made fast money, 20,000 Liang wasn"t a small sum.
Wait, Cool Breeze Bright Moon House? Secret Guard No.1, No.2, and No.4"s lips twitched and decided to forget what they had just heard simultaneously. Being the princess" secret guards, they would not tell His Highness that the princess had taken Secret Guard No.3 on a tour of brothels.
Ye Li didn"t hurry the deal with Han Ming Xi. She didn"t intend to seek Tianyi Pavilion"s help at first since she wanted to conceal her whereabouts however she did need information about Nan Zhao. Though both Han Ming Xi and Han Ming Yue looked nice, Ye Li, who had simply seen them once before, knew clearly Han Ming Yue, a gentleman on the outside was more than difficult to deal with than his lecherous younger brother. If it wasn"t for the fact that she happened to know Han Ming Yue wasn"t in Great Chu recently, she wouldn"t get in touch with Han Ming Xi either.
Though Han Ming Xi didn"t seem as reliable, the intelligence network of Tianyi Pavilion was rather efficient. By the time Ye Li had visited every corner of Guangling, Han Ming Xi came to her.
Seeing Han Ming Xi constantly give off his naughty aura in a crimson silk robe and flirt with the maid who served him tea, Ye Li sent her away with a wave and said smilingly: “It has been a while, Mr. Han. However, you look as good as ever.”
Han Ming Xi smiled: “You flatter me, Mr. Chu. What about you? Do you enjoy Guangling in spring?”
Ye Li didn"t expect that Han Ming Xi would leave her alone without keeping watch on her. She wasn"t angry and smiled calmly: “It used to be the capital of three dynasties with picturesque sceneries. How can I not love it?”
Han Ming Xi said with a smile: “Come to think of it, you"ve left something behind the other day. Since I"m here, I bring it to you today. To show my sincerity, of course.”
Ye Li raised her brows, puzzled as she looked at Han Ming Xi who had a playful smirk on.
Lifting his hands, he clapped softly. Shortly afterwards, a beautiful woman in purple appeared at the doorstep.
“Greetings, My Lord, Mr. Chu. I"m Ru Mei.” It was the girl dealer at the gambling house.
Ye Li suddenly had a bad feeling about this. “Mr. Han, what is this?”
Opening his folding fan in a snap, Han Ming Xi hid half of his pretty face behind it and said with a smile: “It"s the rule of Cool Breeze Bright Moon House. Whoever beats the dealer owns her. Mr. Chu, Ru Mei is completely won over by your remarkable gambling skills. From now on, she isn"t going to work for Cool Breeze Bright Moon House anymore. She belongs to you now. If you like her, you may as well take her as a concubine. If you don"t, she can be your maid and serve you tea, wash your clothes and make you meals.”
Han Ming Xi smiled and blinked at Ye Li playfully which gave her a headache. “Mr. Han, you are so kind. It was mere luck, besides... I didn"t win in a private session which means I didn"t beat her. Therefore, you can take her back.”
Han Ming Xi folded his fan and knocked it against his palm casually while saying: “Mr. Chu, are you saying you don"t think Ru Mei is good enough for you?”
Hearing that, Ru Mei turned ghastly pale. She glanced at Ye Li bitterly with tears dropping down her cheek.
Ye Li glared at Han Ming Xi angrily and said: “Mr. Han, you don"t have to make fun of me if you are indeed sincere. My family is strict with me. I can only thank you for your kindness.”
Han Ming Xi sighed heavily and grumbled at Ye Li: “You do have a heart of steel. Well, Ru Mei, it seems Mr. Chu doesn"t like you at all. You can go now.”
Ru Mei snorted slightly. Stamping her feet, she threw Ye Li a bitter glare before she left.
Ye Li had no choice but to smile bitterly inward. If she did bring home a girl from a brothel, Mo Xiu Yao would flare up, let alone her grandpa and uncles. Mo Xiu Yao... When she thought of him, she tried to hide her frustration but failed with an inward sigh.
“Mr. Chu, are you thinking of someone?” With his chin held up, Han Ming Xi gazed at her curiously. He was sure he saw something between longing and anxiety on that face.
“Mr. Han, are you here to talk with me about my private life?” Ye Li cast him a sidelong glance and said indifferently.
Han Ming Xi shrugged and winked at her as if he cared for nothing. “It won"t hurt since we have got nothing else to talk about.”
“Well, how about you tell me your... past relationships, Mr. Han? I"m quite interested in those stories recently. How about I write one... and call it The Tale of Young Master Feng Yue?” Ye Li said with a laughter.
“You are so boring.” Han Ming Xi mumbled. It wasn"t strange for this Chu Jun Wei to know that the young brother of Master Ming Yue, himself who had a notorious reputation as Young Master Feng Yue since he already knew the relationship between Cool Breeze Bright Moon House and Tianyi Pavilion. However, Han Ming Xi was intrigued by him since he didn"t hold him in contempt like normal folks did knowing his infamy. “We"ve been known each other for a while. The address mister bores me. How about we call each other by name? I"ll call you Jun Wei, you can call me Ming Xi.”
Ye Li blinked slightly.
Jun Wei? Ming Xi? Why did she find this a little weird?