129. Liang Muxue, Daughter of the High Official

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Lu Jin chatted with Yu Qingmei and the others for a while before taking his leave. It was getting late, and he ought to return home.

“Director Yu, please go back inside. And all of you ladies as well. I can see myself out, so there is no need to escort me. I’ll come visit again when I have the time,” Lu Jin said in farewell.

At present, Lu Jin could hardly put on the airs of the Shen family’s son-in-law and throw his weight around. After speaking with them at length, he realized that they were all unfortunate people. How could he possibly feel at ease taking advantage of them?

“Take care, Master,” Yu Qingmei and the other women said, bowing in farewell.

Lu Jin’s visit had left a deep impression on the women of the Zhi Chun Court. They had originally assumed that the rumors had been greatly exaggerated, but after meeting him today, they discovered that the son-in-law was not only courteous and extraordinarily talented, but also genuinely sincere and respectful toward them. In a place where women were treated as playthings, that sincerity shone especially brightly, warm as sunlight.

But he was still a man they could never hope to touch.

When Lu Jin stepped outside, he saw Xiaobai and Yuanfang waiting nearby.

“Didn’t Director Yu arrange for the two of you to have tea? Why are you back so soon?” Lu Jin asked.

“You jest, Master. We were only having a little tea to quench our thirst. We wouldn’t dare delay in attending to you,” Xiaobai replied.

“Xiaobai, you certainly know how to flatter. Since this pleasure house belongs to the Shen family, why didn’t you tell me?”

“Master, I didn’t know either. I only found out just now, when one of the older sisters invited us to have tea.”

“But the director here said that everyone in Jianglin knows about it,” Lu Jin said in surprise. What kind of servant were you?

“Didn’t you know either, Master?”

Damn it. This servant was becoming impossible to keep.

Lu Jin flicked Xiaobai on the forehead.

“You didn’t even know who owned the pleasure house, yet you dared to drag me around blindly?”

“There’s no place in Jianglin that you’re forbidden to visit, Master. Wherever you go, you’re giving them face,” Xiaobai said matter-of-factly.

Fine. You were certainly the most promising one of the lot. No wonder you had shouted louder than he had after they entered. Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought you were the one enjoying the pleasure house.

“Let’s go. We’re heading home.”

Lu Jin beckoned to the two of them and started walking.

“Master! Master, please wait! Our young lady wishes to see you!”

Lu Jin turned around and saw a maid of twelve or thirteen running toward him, gasping for breath.

He frowned. Hadn’t he already met everyone?

“Which young lady are you talking about?” Lu Jin asked, puzzled.

“Our young lady is Director Jiang, the one who played the qin for you earlier,” the maid said, arriving in front of him and catching her breath.

“Is something wrong?”

Lu Jin instinctively sensed that this could not be anything good. If it were good news, why had she not said so earlier? Besides, that woman Fan Hua had seemed to imply from the beginning that Jiang Yunyan was in some kind of trouble.

“Master, please, I beg you. Just meet our young lady once.”

As she spoke, the maid dropped to her knees.

“Lead the way.”

Lu Jin could never stand people resorting to such tactics.

He followed the maid for a short distance and soon arrived before a pavilion. The furnishings inside were extraordinarily refined.

“Master, our young lady is on the second floor. Please go up,” the maid said.

Lu Jin did not move. Instead, his mind began racing, and all sorts of famous schemes flashed through his thoughts.

“Isn’t your young lady the one who asked to see me? Does she have even greater airs than I do?” he asked.

It was impossible for him to admit that he was nervous.

Besides, his first impression of Jiang Yunyan had not been favorable. She had looked at him as though he were some kind of swindler. Although Lu Jin could understand her suspicion, it had still left him uncomfortable.

“Master, our young lady is waiting for you upstairs,” the maid emphasized.

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Of course he knew that. What else could it be? Either a beauty trap or a dagger. Did they think he had never read novels or watched television dramas?

Still, murdering him was probably unlikely. There was no conflict of interest between them. That left only one possibility: she wanted to ask him for a favor. And that was actually the most troublesome possibility of all, especially since he was softhearted.

“Master, downstairs is no place for a conversation. Please come upstairs and speak with our young lady.”

A clear, melodious voice drifted down from above.

Lu Jin looked up and saw Jiang Yunyan walking down the stairs.

At this point, it would have been awkward to refuse. He might as well not have come at all if he intended to do that.

“Director Jiang, please.”

Under Jiang Yunyan’s guidance, Lu Jin went up to the second floor. The moment he entered the room, he sighed inwardly.

This was unmistakably a young woman’s private chamber.

“This servant, Liang Muxue, pays her respects to Master!”

“Hm? Aren’t you Jiang Yunyan?”

Lu Jin turned around in confusion, only to find Jiang Yunyan already kneeling on the floor.

“Please forgive me, Master. Jiang Yunyan is merely the name I use here.”

“Very well. Why did you ask me to come?”

As he spoke, Lu Jin sat down on the couch. The cool, distant woman he had seen before was gone. Kneeling before him, Jiang Yunyan—or rather, Liang Muxue—wore an expression of helpless vulnerability on her full, gentle face.

“This servant begs Master to take her in.”

With that, Liang Muxue bowed until her forehead touched the floor.

Lu Jin froze. He had never expected her to be so direct.

Was his charm really that powerful now? Wherever he went, beautiful women threw themselves at his feet?

“Miss Liang, please get up and speak. Are you in some kind of difficulty?”

Lu Jin was not accustomed to people kneeling every other moment.

“Master, please agree to my request.”

Liang Muxue did not rise.

Lu Jin stood and prepared to leave. If she wanted to speak, she could speak. Did she take him for a fool?

“Miss Liang, I’m sorry, but I have no need for another person.”

He turned and walked toward the door.

“Master, Master, please don’t go…”

Crying and crawling, Liang Muxue seized Lu Jin by the arm.

What kind of man was he? He did not show the slightest appreciation for beauty. Was she really so undesirable that even when she offered herself to him, he refused?

“Miss Liang, I may be kind, but I’m not foolish. I can’t help you with your troubles. You should know that I’m only a live-in son-in-law,” Lu Jin said with a sigh.

“You can, Master. You can…”

Liang Muxue sobbed.

Lu Jin was speechless. He had never particularly liked going out because he could not bear witnessing the suffering of the world. Yet every time he did go out, he encountered things like this. Unfortunately, there was only so much he could do. He could not be as ruthless and decisive as those emperors from the online novels of his previous life, with hearts cold as iron.

“If you’re willing to tell me, I’ll listen for now. If not, then let’s pretend we never met today.”

“I’ll tell you, Master. I’ll tell you…”

Liang Muxue wept.

“Then sit down and tell me. Don’t keep kneeling every time you speak.”

Lu Jin returned to the couch and sat down.

Liang Muxue wiped away her tears, then rose and sat before him.

“Master, I am the daughter of a convicted official. My father was Liang Ming, the former Governor-General of Haidong.”

Lu Jin was startled. He had not expected Liang Muxue to be the daughter of a governor-general. Then he sighed inwardly. Falling from heaven into hell—who could endure such a change?

“What crime did your father commit?”

“Have you heard about the military provisions stolen in Haidong?”

“What?”

This time, Lu Jin was genuinely shocked. He had nearly forgotten about the matter. How had it resurfaced now?

“My father was convicted by the court for negligence in supervising the military provisions. My entire family was imprisoned as well. In the end, the court sentenced us to exile in the southwest. Since I was a young woman of marriageable age, I was sent to the Music Bureau.”

As Liang Muxue spoke, tears streamed continuously down her face.

“Then how did you end up here?” Lu Jin asked, puzzled. Shouldn’t she have been sent to the Music Bureau in the capital?

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“To be honest, I don’t know either. I had only been in the Music Bureau for a few days when I was sold to the Zhi Chun Court in the capital. Later, I was sent here.”

So his father-in-law had even opened a chain of establishments. And his connections were formidable enough to have the daughter of a governor-general transferred here almost immediately.

But why?

Lu Jin certainly did not believe the Shen family had merely arranged for a famous courtesan for their pleasure house.

“What can I do to help you? Now that you’re here, shouldn’t you be free? Have you not contacted any other relatives?”

“You jest, Master. My entire family has fallen into this state. What relatives could I possibly have left? I once had a marriage arranged. As soon as I arrived at the Zhi Chun Court, I tried to contact my betrothed, hoping his family might find a way to rescue my family—and me. Instead, all I received was a letter of repudiation…”

Tears poured down Liang Muxue’s face. She was no longer the distant and aloof famous courtesan.

“Then there’s nothing I can do for you,” Lu Jin said with a sigh.

Exiled to the southwest? He had heard of the southwest. The father of his friend Wu You was a governor-general there as well. But Lu Jin himself was nobody. Would Wu Han really dare release a convicted official in secret?

“This servant dares ask for nothing else. I only beg Master to take me in!”

“…”

Wasn’t there supposed to be some more complicated story? Was that really all?

“Did your father ever tell you what actually happened with the stolen military provisions?” Lu Jin asked.

“All I know is that during the period when the provisions were stolen, my father was overwhelmed with work every day. His temper was terrible as well, and I never dared ask him anything. Then, without warning, he was thrown into prison…”

Liang Muxue sobbed.

“Miss Liang, it’s not as though you have nowhere to go. I may not be familiar with the Zhi Chun Court, but Director Yu seems to be a reasonable woman. And you’re the leading courtesan here. Why has it come to this?”

“Master, although my family background cannot compare with that of the Second Miss, I am still the daughter of a high-ranking official. I have also read extensively since childhood and know the difference between honor and shame. Now that I have fallen into the pleasure quarters, every day feels like a year. Even if I can rely on my looks and talents to become the leading courtesan, how long can that position last? Whenever I think about the future, I…”

Liang Muxue broke down in tears.

Lu Jin was speechless as well. There was no bizarre twist to her story, only the particular sorrow of this age. One day, she might still be the daughter of a noble household; a few days later, she could be dragged into the pleasure quarters. Before long, she might be used by countless men. For someone who had read extensively and understood the world, such a future was truly despairing.

“I already told Director Yu that I’ll come by whenever I have time and help you put on some plays. From now on, you can specialize in performing. If you’re worried about sinking completely into this life, you needn’t be. I’ll speak with Director Yu again.”

“Master, please. Every day feels like a year to me, and my ambitions lie elsewhere…”

Crying, Liang Muxue dropped to her knees again.

She knew very well that this might be her only opportunity.

What the hell? Why was she clinging to him now?

“Miss Liang, why must it be me? As the leading courtesan, you must have no shortage of admirers. You could surely find a suitable man willing to buy your freedom.”

“Master, who would pay a hundred thousand silver taels for me? And who could I trust? There are countless women who have been deceived, just like Sister Fan Hua. How could I dare place my hopes in anyone?”

A hundred thousand silver taels. Good heavens, the price of her freedom was steep.

“Then why do you think I can help you? Besides, I’m only a live-in son-in-law.”

“You are the Shen family’s son-in-law, so you would not need to pay the money for my freedom. And you love and cherish the young lady deeply; how could you be compared with those vulgar men? I ask for nothing else. I only wish to remain by your side as a servant girl.”

Well, she certainly had thought that through. A servant girl worth a hundred thousand silver taels? And this servant girl was far too old for the role.

With matters having reached this point, Lu Jin began to consider the situation carefully.

What did he lack most right now?

Trusted and capable people. Especially women, since the people around his wife had to be women. Someone like Liang Muxue truly did not deserve to be dragged into the pleasure quarters.

And her father had been exiled? Exile did not necessarily mean a dead end. If he brought her home as a maid and assistant, perhaps it was not entirely impossible.

But could he simply bring the daughter of a convicted official home?

“Master!”

The sudden cry startled Lu Jin so badly that his legs instinctively drew up onto the couch.

That voice clearly did not belong to Liang Muxue.

Once again, I wish everyone a happy New Year, success in everything, and great fortune in the Year of the Dragon!

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