books44 Chapter 211 A Stroll Through the Paradise Pavilion (3)
Chapter 211 A Stroll Through the Paradise Pavilion (3)
After Fangniang left, the maid Yulu dared to steal a glance at them: Fangniang usually told guests, "You'll see in a moment, I guarantee she's the best girl (or boy) in our neighborhood!"
Why are you telling customers about the "best dishes" today? When did Paradise House become a restaurant?
Are these young women some important figures that Madam Fang dares not offend? Or is one of them her illegitimate daughter...?
"Three distinguished guests, please follow me." Yu Lu was incredibly curious, and she thought of countless reasons in her mind, but she dared not reveal them.
He could only smile and respectfully invite them to the medium-sized private room on the second floor, Qiushuang Pavilion.
In fact, the two sisters are quite frequent visitors to private rooms and VIP rooms.
When it comes to dining and drinking tea, if they have the money, they prefer a quiet and comfortable private room to a noisy lobby.
Their appetites tend to improve.
The same applies to Shiweilou and Mingyalou.
So when they stepped into the luxuriously decorated Qiushuang Pavilion, they didn't find anything unusual about it.
It's more upscale in terms of decor than the places they've been to before.
Since it's a brothel, their aesthetic sense is definitely top-notch.
They went up the bluestone steps to the second floor, passed through a not-so-narrow passage, and pushed open the door under the words "Autumn Frost Pavilion".
Walk to the left and under the two closed windows, where there is a beautiful solid wood round table.
When there's a performance downstairs, you can eat and drink while enjoying it.
"Please have a seat, my three distinguished guests. I will go and bring you tea and refreshments."
Lin Chunyi found a seat and said with a smile to the maid, "Then I'll have to trouble Miss Yulu."
"I wouldn't dare." Yu Lu bent over and backed away, her feet moving quickly.
Lin Lanshan suddenly said, "Miss Yulu, please open the window for us."
Eating in a brothel with all the doors and windows closed makes it seem like they're engaged in some kind of special transaction, and they also want to watch a performance, so the doors and windows aren't closed.
Yu Lu responded and stepped forward to open the two separate sliding windows. She lowered the beaded curtain and then the semi-transparent, autumn-colored gauze drape. Even with the windows open, there was enough privacy.
After the maid left, the three of them, who had been pretending to be calm, finally revealed their curiosity, like "Grandma Liu visiting the Grand View Garden".
They had indeed been to private rooms a few times, but this was their first time in a brothel!
Ning Linlan was the most restless.
She looked around the room, touching everything she could find. The room was fully equipped. "Wow, Xiaoyi, Lanshan, come and see! There's a huge canopy bed here!"
床！
The two sisters exchanged a glance, smiled awkwardly, but did not move closer.
Because they've read so many novels and watched so many TV dramas, they know so much! They're probably thinking of the same thing.
The rest of the room should still be clean, right...?
bah bah bah!
People shouldn't let their minds wander; the more they think, the more skewed and absurd their ideas become...
Seeing that Ning Linlan was still fiddling with the gauze curtains outside the bed, the two quickly helped her walk towards the dining table.
"What's wrong? What's wrong?" she asked, looking puzzled.
Lin Chunyi pressed her down into a chair and said seriously, "Someone will be coming to serve tea soon. It would be so embarrassing if people saw us acting so ignorant."
"Oh, that makes sense!" Ning Linlan exclaimed in sudden realization. "Then I'll wait for everyone to leave before I go to look!" Her eyes gleamed with wisdom, and she looked as if she were about to go and steal.
"..." The two sisters rubbed their foreheads, wanting to tell Ning Linlan something.
But they were just overthinking things and making wild guesses. Besides, the images in their minds didn't sound very appealing, and they couldn't really say them out loud.
Never mind, I'll make up an excuse later.
"knock knock"
"Excuse me, distinguished guest. Tea and snacks have been brought." It was Yulu, the maid from before, knocking on the door.
"Come in." Lin Chunyi gestured to Ning Linlan, who was sitting to the side playing with a teapot: See, here she comes.
Ning Linlan quickly sat up straight, pretending to be indifferent.
Yu Lu came over with a tea tray and poured them hot tea. Another girl, about her age and dressed similarly, put down her tray.
Take out the small, exquisite pastry plates one by one.
On the lotus-patterned stemmed plate were six green Longjing tea pastries.
On the emerald green lotus leaf plate are three golden crab roe pastries.
On the blue-and-white hexagonal plate with a ruyi design are six tender white pieces of almond tofu.
The light pink divided plate contains tangerines, longans, peanut brittle, and candied lotus seeds.
Finally, they brought out three small bowls of sweet soup, which were rose milk tea.
The pastries and tea were laid out, taking up almost half of the round table. Yulu nodded to another girl who was setting the dishes, and the girl took two trays, bowed, and left.
She was left standing aside, ready to serve the guests at any time, as instructed by Fangniang.
The colorful pastries and fruits on the table were so beautifully presented that they were incredibly tempting.
With outsiders present, they couldn't show their joy; they were even a little embarrassed to take a bite of the crab roe pastry...
The idea of sitting while maids stood by and served them was too awkward for them.
Lin Chunyi took a sip of the hot tea, then put down the teacup and said, "Miss Yulu, we don't need any servants here. You can go and do other things."
Yu Lu was taken aback, then panicked slightly: "Did I do something wrong that displeased our distinguished guest?"
Lin Chunyi was also stunned. What strange thing had she just said? It had scared the other person so much that they were starting to refer to themselves as a servant...
Seeing that Yu Lu's face was turning pale, she lifted her skirt and was about to kneel down on the ground.
Lin Chunyi was startled and grabbed her shoulder, saying quickly, "No, no, Miss Yulu is naturally very attentive. There's nothing we dislike about her. We're just not used to being served. Don't overthink it."
“But Aunt Fang told me…” Yu Lu looked up at her, and seeing her determined gaze, she had no choice but to change her words:
"Then I'll wait in the small hall outside. If you three distinguished guests need anything, just call me and I'll come over. Is that alright?"
She breathed a sigh of relief and smiled faintly, "That's for the best."
Yu Lu breathed a sigh of relief, bowed, and turned to leave. Since the guests had said they didn't like outsiders, she certainly couldn't continue lingering in front of them.
"Wait a minute!" Lin Chunyi thought for a moment, then took out eight coins. "This is our first time at Jilefang, and we don't know the rules here. But Miss Yulu is very thoughtful, so we'll accept this."
She suddenly realized that Yulu's panic might be because she was afraid Fangniang would punish her by kicking her out of the house.
Giving her a few dollars as a tip will give you an explanation if the boss asks, proving that she didn't do anything wrong.
Yu Lu looked delighted. "Thank you for your donation."
……
Once the door was closed, only the three of them remained in the room.
Lin Lanshan stared at the doorway, lost in thought, and said, "Sister, I can hardly imagine how those rich and powerful people are served at Pleasure House. And how do high-ranking officials, nobles, and royalty live..."
“I dare to dream,” Ning Linlan said slowly, resting her chin on her hand.
The two sisters turned to look at her, their expressions puzzled.
"Because I saw it with my own eyes."