The eldest daughter's scheming, the crown prince's exclusive favor to the venomous concubi

The capital city was neither too big nor too small, and all the brothels and entertainment venues were planned along the same street, so Lan Yue Lou was not difficult to find. However, on the first day, Hua Xiangrong found Lan Yue Lou and met its current owner, Rongrong.

Rongrong was a beauty that Shangguan Jianyue found when he left the capital. At that time, she was the top courtesan in Lanyue Tower. However, for some reason, Lanyue Tower was poorly managed, and the top courtesan was forced to eat cat meat and did not receive much money.

So, when Shangguan Jianyue, who was only ten years old at the time, came to her with a large sum of money and said that he would redeem her from her servitude and buy Lanyue Tower for her to manage. When the two split the profits, she was tempted, but at that time she also developed feelings for someone else.

After all, Shangguan Jianyue was just a child back then. Although Rongrong had wondered which rich girl was out having fun and that's why she was working in a brothel, she later realized that the child was just a down-on-his-luck person and posed no threat at all.

Although the Moon-Viewing Pavilion wasn't a particularly valuable place, it still brought in a fortune every day. How could she not be tempted?

Therefore, after only two years of taking over and controlling all the people and affairs, she kicked Shangguan Jianyue out. And now, the news that Shangguan Xia received was actually secretly delivered to her by the waiter from Lanyue Tower, whom she had once been kind to.

Hua Xiangrong, dressed in men's clothing and with a different face, arrived at Lanyue Tower. Under the night lights, the red and green streets were comparable to a modern red-light district. However, most of the women were made up, making them look much less attractive than modern cosmetics. If it weren't for the fact that their bare private parts could make people's hearts flutter, they really wouldn't be able to seduce men.

A few of them, dressed without makeup, were fairly pretty, but lacked any alluring charm, and looked rather forlorn.

Hua Xiangrong couldn't help but feel sarcastic. This was supposed to be a brothel? It was too low-class. Back in the day, Shanghai's nightclubs were so glamorous, and the dancers there were all stunningly beautiful, contributing to the prosperity of Shanghai. But these places now were simply unbearable to look at.

After thinking it over, Hua Xiangrong headed straight for Lanyue Tower, which was located at the deepest part of the alley.

The decoration of Lanyue Tower is similar to that of other buildings, mostly ornate and painted, which is unbearably vulgar. However, there are two little girls greeting guests at the entrance, and no women standing outside the door posing provocatively with their chests exposed.

Hua Xiangrong raised an eyebrow and strode inside.

Once inside, she immediately understood why this place, which had almost gone bankrupt, had become so successful in just two years.

That Rongrong is truly vicious; she actually hired a lot of boys and girls to entertain customers, leaving them completely naked and letting customers doodle on their clothes. She pretends to be refined, but in reality, she is obscene.

Hua Xiangrong's expression remained unchanged, a hint of frost flashed in her eyes, but she smiled and said, "This way of playing is quite novel, it's hard to look away."

Hua Xiangrong's face was clearly unfamiliar, but she was very pretty and alone. Rongrong saw her at first glance and quickly came forward with a smile, saying, "Young master has a very good eye. This is naturally a specialty of our establishment. Otherwise, how could it stand out among so many establishments?"

Hua Xiangrong nodded, tapping her folding fan against her palm as she looked around at the scenery and said, "But this means we'll be using too many children. How did you get these children? You should know that this is illegal."

Rongrong immediately covered her mouth and laughed, "Oh dear, sir, you don't look like someone from the capital, do you?"

Hua Xiangrong nodded again: "Yes, I came from the far south. I was thinking of coming here to see if there was any business to do. I was bored for a while, so I came here. I didn't expect this place to be so amazing."

Rongrong's eyes lit up, and she continued, "Then young master, you must have some fun. I'll call two maids for you! They're both under ten years old and very well trained. You can have your fun and vent your frustrations to your heart's content."

Hua Xiangrong raised an eyebrow: "Vent your anger?"

Rongrong said, "Yes, young master, you don't know this, but many of these customers are sons of officials in the capital. They are all under control. The higher their official rank, the greater the pressure, and the more difficult it is for them to calm down."

"Wouldn't our young boys come in handy then? After venting their frustrations, they'd go back feeling refreshed, and tomorrow morning they could go about their business as usual—how wonderful!"

Hua Xiangrong smiled, thinking to herself that this was truly perverse. All the children were like flower buds of God, yet they were being toyed with like this. She even saw that all the children had scars on their bodies and timidity in their eyes, yet they still tried their best to smile and please the guests around them.

Such a life is a nightmare.

Hua Xiangrong thought for a moment and continued, "Then could you tell me the origin of these children?"

Rongrong smiled and said, "I can't tell you that, young master. After all, we have rules here. If you want to have some fun, then go ahead. If you don't, then leave as soon as possible. You can't afford to offend anyone here. If you stay here out of respect for them and don't join in, then you'll be disposed of the evidence the next moment."

The blatant threat made Hua Xiangrong chuckle. She lightly lifted Rongrong's chin and said, "Since entering the capital, I have heard that the owner of Lanyue Tower is incredibly beautiful, so I came here because of her reputation. Now, if I choose one of the children in this tower, how can I fulfill my wish to come here?"

Rongrong was taken aback, and subconsciously asked, "Young master, do you want to solicit me?"

Hua Xiangrong burst into laughter, reached into her robes, pulled out a handful of gold leaves, and waved them, saying, "Could it be that the Master isn't interested in doing this big business with me?"

Rongrong's eyes were already blinded by the gold leaves. There were more than twenty of them in one handful. Her body was already filthy. How could she not do it?

The next moment, her slender waist leaned against Hua Xiangrong, and she said, "I really can't refuse your kindness, young master, but I have already retired from this business since it came into my hands. If I were to give in to you in front of so many young masters today, I'm afraid Rongrong would have a hard time gaining their respect in the future."

But when Rongrong saw the young master, her heart trembled and her mind wandered. She truly longed to spend a night with him. If the young master did not mind, tonight after midnight, when no one else was in the building, she could come to the top-class room on the fourth floor. Tonight, Rongrong would surely give herself to him wholeheartedly.

Hua Xiangrong smiled slightly, then rubbed her chest with her hand, saying with a wicked smile, "Of course it will come, Rongrong will just wait."

With that, she took out two gold leaves and stuffed them into her clothes, then turned and strode away.

Hua Xiangrong wasn't worried about the situation here, thinking that Rongrong would surely make proper arrangements. She only had one task before midnight tonight.

Make this human skin mask of Rongrong.

The night passed, and the Lan Yue Tower continued its revelry as before. However, while the owner retained the same face, her heart had changed. Unfortunately, the people there were terrified of Rongrong and never gave her a second glance, thus losing the ability to distinguish the real from the fake.

Hua Xiangrong took over Lanyue Tower and continued to operate it in Rongrong's way for two weeks. Then, under the pretext of coming up with new ideas, she closed the tower and renovated it. In the following month, what she did was brainwash and train the abused children.

A month later, Lan Yue Lou reopened. Gone were the extravagant and decadent scenes; instead, it exuded an air of elegance and purity. From then on, it attracted more literati and even members of the royal family to come and do business there.

During this time, Hua Xiangrong did not forget to correspond with Shangguan Jianyue. She wrote complainingly: "I was frightened. I did not expect that the person you used was a madwoman. She actually used so many children to attract money. Fortunately, I am powerful. I killed her in one move. Then I used her flesh to feed the chickens in the backyard. I then used these chickens to cook for the guests. I imagine these chickens are very delicious. If Yueyue were here, she would definitely say that I am bloodthirsty. But if I am not bloodthirsty, who would treat me like this?"

Yueyue, tell me, am I pitiful? There isn't a single man in the capital who can catch my eye. They're all greasy-haired and powdered, and they like to wear big flowers in their hair. They're really ugly and don't have any manly air. They just feel like sissies.

Occasionally, there might be a royal prince who seems pleasing to the eye, but he's too cunning and treacherous. My little Yueyue, looking at all these people makes me miss you even more. When are you going to come and give me some comfort? My eyes are almost blind!

After sending the letter, Hua Xiangrong quickly received a reply.

The reply consisted of only one sentence.

"The eldest son of the General's Mansion, Shangguan Hanque, is the one you desire, sister. If you are truly seeking a partner, then investigate him thoroughly, and he will surely fulfill your request."

Is this really something they care about?

Hua Xiangrong couldn't help but chuckle, setting the letter aside. She opened the envelope, pulled out a small roll of paper from the glued bottom, and sighed with a smile, "I knew you weren't that kind of person."

Thinking it over, she spread out the letter and wrote: "When people are happy, they are in high spirits. Hearing my little Yueyue say this warms my heart a lot. It's just that the characters of the ancients are really hard to write. I don't know if you guessed right or just made a guess. But no matter how you guessed right, you really understood your sister's thoughts. Don't worry, I will definitely go to that general's mansion to see if your cousin is worthy of my beautiful wife."

The day after the letter was sent, Hua Xiangrong visited the General's Mansion. Unfortunately, the mansion was heavily guarded, and there seemed to be some kind of formation in the courtyard. She tried to find a way through, but didn't dare to continue. She returned dejectedly, pondering how she could see the so-called handsome man.

No, I saw a handsome guy delivering a letter.

Fate is truly wondrous. Before Hua Xiangrong could even figure out how to deliver the letter to the Shangguan family, she had her first encounter with Shangguan Hanque.

On this day, the Second Prince Murong Yu, who frequently visited Lan Yue Lou, spent a fortune to book the entire Lan Yue Lou in order to win the favor of the owner. He then hosted a banquet for all the playboys in the capital and invited Hua Xiangrong to join him.

This kind of strange and eccentric banquet was very boring for Hua Xiangrong, so she arranged for a trusted maid in the building to disguise herself as her and go down to have a feast, while she herself sat in her room with the window open, gazing at the sky.