Hearing the arrows thud into the pot, the corners of Xu Qian's mouth curved upward uncontrollably. He tore off the blindfold and pointed at the gold and silver ingots on the stall.
"Haha, old Daoist, those are all mine now."
The old Daoist glanced at him, calmly packed away the gold and silver ingots, then pointed at the bodhi bead bracelet and the small jade mirror at the top of the display, smiling.
"Young master, choose one."
Xu Qian negotiated in a conciliatory tone. "Old Daoist, I don't want those things. I just want the silver."
The old Daoist refused coldly. "Rules are rules."
He paused, then added, "These two are rare treasures. How can they compare to vulgar gold and silver? Young master, don't let gold and silver blind your eyes."
*No, I actually want these vulgar things...* Xu Qian asked, "Treasures? What do they do?"
"This old Daoist doesn't know. I only know they're waiting for their destined owner." The old Daoist had a nonchalant expression.
Xu Qian suspected the old Daoist was scamming him, but he had no evidence. Considering his inexplicable luck, he hesitated.
Treasures or not, who could say? Silver was practical.
At that moment, a guard approached. "Young master, my master requests your help."
Xu Qian turned to look at the luxurious carriage not far away. "What does your master want?"
"That bodhi bead bracelet." The guard's gaze shifted from the stall to Xu Qian. "My master is willing to pay sixty taels of gold."
*So my luck-favored constitution kicks in here...* Xu Qian put on a helpful smile. "I'd be honored. Deal."
He had the guard pay a mace of silver for three arrows.
The guard said, "Master says you may throw a few more times. We'll cover the silver. Even if you fail, it's fine..."
Before he finished, he saw the blindfolded Xu Qian casually toss the arrows.
Thud, thud, thud... three arrows landed precisely in the pot.
Exclamations from passersby echoed again.
The guard looked at Xu Qian with newfound respect.
If once was luck, twice meant this wasn't an ordinary person. This young man who looked unremarkable, dressed as a scholar, was definitely a master.
Sixty taels of gold secured... Xu Qian's mood was incredibly cheerful. He tore off the blindfold just in time to see the curtain of the luxurious carriage fall in the distance.
*I wonder what big shot is in that carriage...* He didn't dare look longer, turned around, and cupped his fists toward the guard. "Mission accomplished."
The guard respectfully returned the cupped-fist salute, then walked back to the carriage. A moment later, he returned with a bulging money pouch.
Xu Qian accepted the pouch, took the jade mirror from the old Daoist, and watched the carriage leave.
He pulled his gaze back, casually tucked the palm-sized jade mirror into his robe, then happily weighed the bulging money pouch.
It felt like three or four pounds. Too heavy to tie to his waist.
"No, I need to exchange this for banknotes. Carrying this much gold around is stupid..."
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but look back, only to find the old Daoist had vanished and the stall was packed up cleanly.
Xu Qian stood by the road in silence for a long time.
...
He ran to a money shop and exchanged the gold for banknotes: four worth one hundred taels each, one worth fifty taels, and three worth ten taels each.
Gold wasn't part of the currency system, so it needed to be exchanged for equivalent silver, with the money shop issuing banknotes.
The exchange rate for gold to silver was one to eight, so sixty taels of gold meant four hundred and eighty taels of silver.
Four hundred and eighty taels of silver—more than enough to slap Auntie's pretty face with banknotes... Why did he always think about using banknotes to slap Auntie whenever he earned money? Was the original owner's grudge against Auntie really that strong? Besides, this amount would probably only buy a small courtyard in the inner city... To buy a three-entry mansion, you'd need at least ten thousand taels of silver... Xu Qian felt a bit troubled.
Whether in another world or his previous one, housing prices were despair-inducing.
"Four hundred and eighty taels should be enough to redeem a lower-tier courtesan queen, but that wouldn't be cost-effective.
"Think about it—with four hundred and eighty taels, I could visit multiple courtesan queens in rotation for months. But redeeming one courtesan would drain my finances and then I'd have to cover her living expenses. If she accidentally got pregnant, that would be another huge expense.
"With my current salary, I can only support one wife. I definitely can't live that boring rich life of having women on both arms. Besides, I'd never redeem a courtesan—using public resources for private purposes would bring lightning down on my head."
...
At dusk, Xu Qian arrived at the famous Bureau of Music in the capital, located in a hutong.
Lanterns were just being lit. All sorts of carriages parked outside the hutong, and the sound of string instruments and clear, beautiful singing drifted from the courtyards.
He knew the beautiful nightlife had begun.
Walking along the hutong's crisscrossing paths, Xu Qian recalled the cultural essence Warden Wang had taught him.
A normal pleasure house was a two or three-story building with one or two auxiliary courtyards—quite respectable.
The Bureau of Music didn't have such tall buildings because they weren't needed. The entire area of courtyards in this hutong belonged to the Bureau of Music.
State-owned enterprises were just that wealthy.
The Bureau of Music had an entry threshold—common folk couldn't afford to patronize here. It wasn't a rule; it was just that the minimum consumption at the Bureau of Music was five taels of silver.
That didn't mean sleeping with girls—it was just the table fee.
Five taels of silver was equivalent to several months' income for ordinary people, and that was from a well-off family.
Therefore, the Bureau of Music's clientele consisted of three main types:
First, wealthy merchants and tycoons.
These patrons were the biggest spenders. For those with low social status in daily life, sleeping with the female relatives of convicted officials held an almost fanatical appeal.
Second, officials.
The Bureau of Music was where they gathered for tea after work. Whenever there were social engagements, they liked to head to the Bureau of Music.
It was worth noting that officials from the Ministry of Rites could get it for free. The Bureau of Music fell under their jurisdiction.
Third, scholars.
These people were more refined than the merchants, enjoying poetry contests and literary exchanges, and weren't as difficult to please as officials. They were therefore the favorites among the Bureau of Music's women.
The women of the Bureau of Music also fell into three categories:
First, the female relatives of convicted officials.
These women were the most pitiful—forced into the pleasure quarters and subjected to humiliation.
Second, women captured in war.
To speak not of distant times, just twenty years ago during the Mountain-Sea Campaign, the western nations and Great Feng emerged victorious. They captured countless women from the northern and southern frontier regions and distributed them among the Bureau of Music offices throughout the various provinces and prefectures.
Third, courtesans recruited by the Bureau of Music.
These women voluntarily became glorious seafood merchants, contributing to Great Feng's abalone business. Their spirit was commendable.
"Live and learn—Warden Wang is truly my teacher..." Xu Qian sighed with emotion, finally finding his target for this visit to the Bureau of Music.
He stopped outside a courtyard. The plaque above the gate read: Shadow Plum Pavilion.
The gate stood open, with two bright red lanterns hanging on either side. Inside the courtyard were plum trees, their branches dotted with blossoms about to burst into full bloom.
A sixteen or seventeen-year-old gate attendant stood guard at the entrance, eyeing Xu Qian with a scrutinizing gaze.
He had another, more familiar title.
"I'm Yang Ling, a scholar from Changle County. I've long heard of Lady Fuxiang's reputation and have come to pay my respects." Xu Qian mimicked a scholar's bow and spoke politely to the gate attendant.
Shadow Plum Pavilion was the residence of the courtesan queen, Lady Fuxiang.
The table fee here was ten taels of silver—double that of ordinary courtyards.
The Bureau of Music had a total of twelve courtesan queens, ranked in four tiers based on character, charm, talent, and beauty.
Lady Fuxiang belonged to the first tier, renowned for her mastery of both poetry and the qin.
"Ten taels of silver." The gate attendant, accustomed to wealthy patrons, was indifferent. After collecting Xu Qian's silver, he let him into the courtyard.
Xu Qian was delighted. Laughter and the sound of string instruments drifted from inside—the tea gathering had already begun. But since the gate attendant let him in, the courtyard wasn't booked for private use; it was open to walk-in guests.
When coming out to have fun, there were two modes: private booking or walk-in guests.
If it was the former, Xu Qian's visit today would have been in vain.