monster brothel

"Mother, is this all my property?"

Jiang Li looked at the dilapidated house in front of him that was cut off by a towering tree, and the roof had been pierced by the crown of the tree.

The lines at the corners of the woman's eyes were sunken, and her eyes were filled with bitter water. She stared at the three-story carved wooden beams, and her eyeballs were about to dig out the plaque.

The sign resolutely read: South Hall.

Although Jiang Li has never been to such a flower street, he has heard of it.However, unlike the Yihongyuan, Lichunyuan, and Baihualou in the alley, the name of this shop is ordinary.

"Mother, is this store called so because it's at the southernmost end of the alley?" Jiang Li put the package on his shoulders at his feet.

The woman still didn't speak, she just clenched her teeth, grinding her molars together.

Jiang Li glanced at his mother, then looked up at the three floors, his mind full of thoughts.

Although he is a concubine, he was not loved by the eldest lady since he was a child, but he can be counted as a second-generation ancestor who wears gold and silver, so he was kicked out of Jiangfu by his elder brother in the name of dividing the family. .

Mr. Jiang is a servant of the household department in the imperial court, and many business matters can be done easily through the relationship of the imperial court.

But, how could such a shameful shop father do it?

The woman on the side seemed to have finally accepted the fact that she and her son had been kicked out of the house, she held his son's hand tightly with her right hand, and said sadly, "Your elder brother opened this a few years ago, and he just cared about his own enjoyment." , It’s a loss-making business, and a lot of money has been spent in the mansion in the past few years. Now it’s easy to give it to you, and their family doesn’t have to give you anything.”

"Mother, that's our home too." Jiang Li whispered from the side.

"What about our family, how many years the eldest lady has run on our mother, the master never said." As he said, a line of turbid tears flowed down the bridge of the woman's nose, "It's also thanks to my son who was born well, clever and well-behaved." I think when the old lady was still alive..." The woman took out the handkerchief in her sleeve and wiped away her tears.

Grandmother was back when Eldest Madam and elder brother always bullied Jiang Li, but unfortunately, Madam has always been suffering from a cough, and this winter was so cold that Madam did not catch her breath, and her throat was choked by phlegm. Annoyed.

Jiang Li picked up the package at his feet, and helped the woman into the house.The door of the south hall was open, but one side was broken, leaning against the wall halfway, and there were several spider webs on the top of the wall, and there were moths, insects and the like on the web.

"Mother, come in first." Jiang Li took out a square towel from his waist, wiped the dusty bench, and helped his mother to sit down first.

Touching the scene, the woman who had just stopped sobbing started again, sobbing loudly, condolences to the ancestors enshrined in the Jiang family ancestral hall in a few words, and recalled her own tragic life experience along the way.

Jiang Li knew about his mother's background since he was a child, and there was no other reason. The eldest lady used this background to ridicule all day long, and she couldn't escape the low-level rhetoric.

"If only I hadn't been married off, it would have been fine. I would have stayed in Jiangnan to be Miss Su, and I wouldn't have come here to be a doormat." The woman rummaged through the package she was carrying, only to see a few clothes she was used to wearing and a A finely carved wooden box.

"Well, Miss Su, if you come, please be at ease." Jiang Li patted the woman's arm, then turned to look around.

"It doesn't look like it's big or small." The woman carefully opened the wooden box, and inside lay a pair of gold inlaid jade earrings. "My mother is not worth much, you pawn this, and you can get by with some silver taels."

Jiang Li glanced at it and asked in surprise, "Isn't this your dowry back then?"

"That's right, but you said that Da Furen's charming son would let you take away Jiang's things again." The woman said. "It's better than being stupid like you, and still thinking of your big brother as something good, and saying that people are stupid when they split up."

Jiang Li curled his lips. At that time, when he just came back from the private school, he saw his elder brother leaving his things in the courtyard, and his mother was kicked out by the eldest lady, so he didn't have a chance to go into the house to pack his things.

The roots of the big tree fell on the side of the stairs, and Jiang Li walked around the thick tree trunk that could only be hugged by three people and went upstairs.

There are about a dozen rooms on the second floor. From the open door, you can see that although the inside is a little dirty, it can be called gorgeous.

The vermilion curtains are edged with gold leaf, and the porcelain bowls from Yue Kiln are placed on the mahogany table.Jiang Li walked to the last room and found the door was closed, so he pushed the door open.

The curtains on the bed were raised, and a man's robe had already faded to his waist, his upper body was naked, and another man was lying on his chest.The lying man was panting emotionally, and occasionally a word or two came out.

The moment the door was opened, the two people on the bed also stopped and looked back at him.Jiang Li was startled, hurriedly exited with his head lowered, and closed the door with another bang.

"What's the matter?" The woman downstairs was also startled by the sound of the door, and hurried upstairs to see Jiang Li.

"It's okay, mother." Jiang Li walked out from the end of the corridor, "I'll help you down, the stairs are a bit broken."

Seeing Jiang Li's face blushing, the woman asked suspiciously, "My son, what's wrong with you?"

Jiang Li hesitated for a while before finally making up his mind to ask: "Brother, isn't this shop an ordinary brothel?" In Jiang Li's mind, brothels are places where women serve men, so those two men just now...

The woman glanced at Jiang Li, sighed and said, "The people in the south hall are all young men."

Now Jiang Li understands that among the dandies who usually hang out with each other, there are often some who raise male prostitutes for fun.During the Rongzheng period, the national power prospered, people's lives became richer and more colorful, and they were extremely tolerant of some things that were hard to say, including being able to marry a man.

But men can only be wives, not concubines or anything like that.Therefore, if a family loses the status of the first son, the competition among the second sons will be unfettered and too tense.Ordinary rich families do not marry men as wives, which must be the reason.

The wind of male prostitution thus arises.

It's just that Jiang Li never thought that his elder brother was running such a business.

And it becomes its own.

Just when Jiang Li was still in distress, a burst of footsteps made him panic.

Two men came down from the stairs, one of them was dressed in short and coarse cloth, he didn't look like a gentleman like Jiang Li usually saw, and the other's clothes were not neatly arranged, half hung on the elbow, but fortunately he had already put on the inner lining.

The coarse cloth handed over a few pennies to the inner liner, then shook his head and left.

Lin Lin turned back and walked to the table, picked up a teapot and poured himself a glass of water, took a sip, and asked, "Your clothes are extraordinary, what should I call you?"

Jiang Li hurriedly clasped his hands and replied: "I'm going to Jiangli, my brother transferred this store to me today, and I'll take my mother to have a look."

Lin Lin glanced at Jiang Li in surprise, stood up and said, "My name is Gu Qing. I used to be a young lady here. Later, the store didn't manage well, and the rest of the people hurried to the next house. I have nowhere to go so I stayed here." here."

Jiang Li nodded, "I didn't know what kind of business my elder brother was doing outside, and I was thinking about whether it could continue to operate, so as to support me and my mother. I came here today and found that I really can't recover. I think this shop I want to sell it for some silver. I wonder what Brother Gu will do in the future?"

Gu Qing sneered, "Although I don't know the relationship between you and your eldest brother, it's a bit out of line to say this. But this store is located at the end of Huajie, which is not in a good location, and the house has been damaged. It took two years for notices before I met a fool and bought it.” He raised his head and smiled, “Nowadays it’s hard to find fools.”

Jiang Li naturally knew who that idiot was referring to, so he could only smile on his face, but began to think in his heart.

Thinking about what Monk Zhishi said in his heart, he kept repeating that he hadn't had two years to wait.

The woman began to frown after hearing Gu Qing's words, "I thought it was a run-down shop, but I didn't expect it to become a hot potato, so I can't throw it away."

"Mother, don't be angry." Jiang Li comforted, "There is always a way, isn't there?"

He turned his head and bowed to Gu Qing, "I don't know how Brother Gu can give me advice."

"There is only one way. If you continue to operate this store, it will not be difficult to make money if it becomes prosperous." Gu Qing said.

"It's just..." Jiang Li wondered, "I have been teaching since I was a child, and I have to walk the right path, and I must not be a fool."

Gu Qing was annoyed.

Jiang Li hurriedly explained: "I don't look down on Big Brother Gu."

"It's okay, you asked me for advice and I'll help you too, I'm sorry for your yelling like a big brother." After saying that, Gu Qing turned and went out.

The woman sighed aside.

"Mother, you're sighing again." Jiang Li said, turning his head to look at the woman.

"Hu Jiangli and Pi Zhixi are admired by Ren Qiulan." The woman looked into his eyes and said, "Jiang Li, do you know why you chose this name?"

"I know, Mother wants me to be an elegant person." Jiang Li said.

"Yes, but Da Furen won't let you do it." She firmly grabbed Jiang Li's hand, "They just want to destroy you."

"Mother," Jiang Li called out hastily, holding the woman's hand tightly with both hands, "No, my son will live well."

Yue went up to the balcony, and Jiang Li slowly climbed onto the roof from the escalator on the third floor.There was a hole in the middle of the roof by the top of the tree, and the tree actually acted as bricks and tiles to mend the roof tightly.

"Brother Gu." Jiang Li looked at the man who was drinking with his back against the big tree, and called out.

Gu Qing turned his head, "You haven't left yet? Come on, have a drink." He said and handed over the white jade jug.

"No, no, I have something on my mind, I'm afraid the more I drink, the more I worry." Jiang Li waved his hands.

Gu Qing picked up the jug and raised his head to drink. When the spout of the jug was still some distance away from Gu Qing, the wine flowed down.After Gu Qing finished drinking, he wiped his mouth with his sleeve and said, "I bought it with the money that man gave me."

Jiang Li glanced at Gu Qing, his delicate brows were shrouded by the moonlight, and he couldn't tell what was going on in his heart.

"You're right, try not to take this lowly road if you can." After speaking, Gu Qing hung the jug on the treetop, turned around and went down.

The moon came to the bullfighting room in a blink of an eye, Yanming Lake Avenue was separated by a wall in the south hall, and the mansions of rich merchants and nobles were on the other side of Yanming Lake. up.

I am no longer from there.

He looked in the direction of Jiang's mansion, and the judgment of "a disabled person" echoed in his ears.

And, the prophecy of not being able to survive.