The Rise of a General's Daughter-in-Law Doctor

Nangong Yufeng stumbled as Li Muxia pulled him, and after a hard struggle to regain his balance, he threw a piece of silver onto the table.

Looking at Li Muxia's hand pulling his arm, he shook his head helplessly. Oh well, he'd just go along with her today.

As the two stood at the entrance of Yihong Pavilion, the girl at the door immediately swayed her hips to greet them. Judging from their clothes, it was clear that the two were either wealthy or noble.

Two young ladies, one on each side, stepped forward and took the arms of Li Muxia and Nangong Yufeng, saying, "Is this your first time visiting our Yihong Pavilion, gentlemen? Please come in."

Li Muxia was fine being held by the beauty, but Nangong Yufeng felt a little uncomfortable pulling his arm away and quietly taking a step back.

Seeing this, the girl who was holding Nangong Yufeng waved her handkerchief and said, "Oh, this young master looks like it's his first time visiting a brothel, and he's quite shy."

Nangong Yufeng's expression was not good. As a prince, he had never been to a brothel before, and he didn't like it here either. If Li Muxia hadn't insisted on coming today, he would never have come here in his life.

Li Muxia noticed the resistance on Nangong Yufeng's face and, mimicking the way men frequent brothels she had seen on television, said, "This is indeed our first time visiting your Yihonglou. My brother here has a wife at home, and he's here with me today. Just take good care of me."

Nangong Yufeng's expression didn't look too good upon hearing Li Muxia's words. Seeing the two girls covering their faces and snickering, he felt even more embarrassed and wanted to disappear into the ground. However, he also knew that Li Muxia was trying to help him out of an awkward situation.

Upon entering the Yihong Pavilion, one sees that the hall is already full of people, with each man holding a woman in his arms, watching a woman dance on the stage.

The lobby was noisy, and Li Muxia didn't like such occasions, so she asked the woman next to her, "Are there any private rooms upstairs?"

A young woman quickly replied, "Yes, yes, I'll take the two gentlemen up right away."

Once inside the private room, Li Muxia felt a bit more at ease, as the location offered a perfect view of the performance downstairs.

After the girl brought the two of them up, Li Muxia dismissed her. The waiter then served tea. The madam came into the private room and looked at Li Muxia and Nangong Yufeng, saying, "Do you two gentlemen have a girl with you? Do you have a girl you like?"

Li Muxia originally just wanted to see what a brothel was like; isn't that an essential experience for every transmigrated woman?

However, it wouldn't be right not to have a girl with us now, so he quickly said, "Let the prettiest girl here come and keep us brothers company."

The madam smiled and looked at Li Muxia, saying, "Young master, you must be referring to Tao Yao, but Tao Yao isn't accepting customers today. You'd better choose another girl."

Li Muxia had only said it casually, wanting to get rid of the madam so she could watch the performance downstairs. Upon hearing the madam's words, she said, "Then just call any girl over."

After listening, the madam looked at Li Muxia and Nangong Yufeng and asked in confusion, "Just one person?"

Li Muxia waved her hand and said, "One is enough."

Upon hearing this, the madam assumed they were big clients, but she was surprised by their stinginess. It was quite unusual for two grown men to only have one girl accompany them. However, having spent years in the brothel, she naturally concealed her emotions and left with a smile.

A short while later, an ordinary-looking girl came in and timidly greeted Li Muxia and the other girl. Li Muxia was watching the performance downstairs and did not notice the girl's appearance. She waved for the girl to get up.

The woman stood up and looked at Li Muxia and Nangong Yufeng with some difficulty. Her mother hadn't mentioned that there were two young masters in the private room. What was she supposed to do? Although both young masters were very good-looking, this was her first time serving customers, and she was genuinely a little nervous.

Nangong Yufeng noticed the woman's unease and said, "Please sit down. You just need to pour tea for us."

Just then, the dance downstairs ended, and the dancer bowed and left the stage. Suddenly, the audience shouted in unison, "Tao Yao!"

"Peach Blossom"

"Peach Blossom"

The shouts continued, and Li Muxia asked curiously, "Miss, what's going on?"

Upon hearing Li Muxia's words, the woman in the private room, though unsure why this young master called her "Miss," honestly replied, "My name is Lü'e, and today is the auction for the redemption of the courtesan Taoyao."

Upon hearing this, Li Muxia was also excited. She never expected to encounter such a thing while visiting a brothel today.

What luck they have.

Li Muxia stared at the stage with curiosity, and sure enough, amidst the shouts of the crowd, a woman wearing a veil slowly walked out.

A pink gauze dress accentuated her exquisite figure, making her even more beautiful. Her long black hair was gently held back with a pink crystal hairpin. Her watery eyes were clear and bright, yet they also held a hint of coldness, as if she saw through everything. Her expression was not visible under the veil.

Even so, it's clear that Tao Yao must be an exceptionally beautiful woman.

But the moment Li Muxia saw her, he felt that this woman must have a story. The aloof temperament she exuded was so out of place in this noisy brothel.

Just as everyone's attention was focused on Tao Yao, a man arrived at the private room opposite Li Muxia with a servant, looking at Li Muxia with a wicked smile.

Indeed, this person was none other than Nangong Huaiyuan, who had received the news. He had already arranged for people to arrest Li Muxia when she returned to the palace, but unexpectedly, he received news that Li Muxia and Nangong Yufeng had gone to a brothel.

As if sensing Li Muxia's gaze, Tao Yao looked up towards the second floor, where she met Li Muxia's eyes.

Both of them were stunned for a moment; Li Muxia hadn't expected Tao Yao to look over.

Tao Yao saw pity in Li Muxia's eyes. Yes, it was pity; this man was pitying her.

Tao Yao sneered inwardly. Pathetic. She didn't need these men's hypocritical patheticness.

Before long, the madam came out to preside over the auction. The men in the audience kept bidding. Li Muxia felt that Tao Yao was like a commodity being bid on by the men.

Li Muxia knew that this kind of thing was too common in this era. In everyone's mind, women were just appendages of men.

Sensing Li Muxia's change, Nangong Yufeng asked, "Xia Mu, what's wrong?"

Li Muxia then realized what was happening, looked down at the man who was still bidding, shook her head slightly and said, "It's nothing, I just suddenly lost interest. Let's go."

Li Muxia wasn't a saint. She knew she couldn't save anyone. Even if she did manage to rescue her, what difference would it make? She couldn't keep Tao Yao with her forever. In the end, she'd still end up in this brothel.

After Li Muxia finished speaking, she was about to get up and leave when she heard a familiar voice from the other side: "Ten thousand taels."

Everyone looked up at the source of the sound, even Li Muxia stopped and turned to look. Who was this rich guy?