Plan A
The Days and Nights of the Courtesan 5
Departure
“Let’s talk in the room.”
Su Xin made a gesture inviting He Yunshu to enter.
He Yunshu walked into the room in a daze, glanced around, and couldn’t help but frown.
Although the room looked very clean, there were still traces of age.
For example, there were obvious marks on the table and corners of the walls, and some items didn’t quite match the room’s decor. Moreover, when she saw Xue Yao this afternoon, wasn’t Xue Yao on the third floor? Why is she on the second floor now?
“It’s a bit simple, Young Master, please don’t mind.”
Su Xin poured a cup of tea for He Yunshu and gently handed it to her.
“It’s fine… you…”
He Yunshu was at a loss for words; in fact, she had just come in to watch the show. Moreover, something obvious had happened to Xue Yao, and since they weren’t very familiar with each other, it felt too presumptuous to ask.
“How did you know I am a woman?”
He Yunshu thought of this important question and quickly asked it.
“The young lady’s body carries the fragrance of a lady’s cosmetics, which must have accumulated over time. Also, your appearance is overly delicate.”
Su Xin chuckled lightly and slowly analyzed He Yunshu’s flaws.
Miss Mary Sue’s comprehension was excellent, and she said she would definitely make improvements next time.
The atmosphere was inexplicably awkward. He Yunshu was good at conversation, and Su Xin intentionally approached her, so they seemed to get along quite well.
He Yunshu was not one to stay out all night. The maid waiting for her at home would be worried sick, so when she planned to leave, she placed some silver on the table.
“This is really unnecessary. I neither played the qin nor sang a song, so I don’t deserve this money.”
“I took up Miss Xue’s time, so it’s only right that I pay for it.”
He Yunshu said this, considering it a fair exchange. After all, how could one visit a brothel, select a girl, and leave without paying, even if she had not kissed or touched her?
He Yunshu was taken aback. She hadn’t planned on kissing or touching anyway. She glanced at Su Xin, whose face was flushed and shoulders slightly exposed. Looking into Su Xin’s water-like black eyes, she once again marveled at her exquisite beauty.
“Meeting each other is a matter of fate. Miss, you are a lady from a respectable family, naturally different from us women of the dust.”
Su Xin pushed the silver back into He Yunshu’s hand.
“A woman of the dust is nothing to be ashamed of. Since ancient times, people laugh at the poor, not at the prostitutes. Moreover, you are a pure courtesan, so there’s no need to demean yourself.”
He Yunshu still left the money behind as a meeting gift.
“Thank you.”
The woman’s voice was clear and soft. He Yunshu looked over; in the dim light, her eyebrows and eyes were captivating.
After He Yunshu left, Su Xin called out to Fourteen in her mind.
Master Fourteen, do you know when Miss Mary Sue will go to the capital?
【I am currently looking it up. Reporting to the host, in half a month.】
The very diligent and responsible AI answered Su Xin’s question.
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Master Fourteen, what do you usually do when I’m not talking to you?
Su Xin became interested in the lives of the systems outside of their work.
【Watching over other hosts.】
“Oh? Colleagues?”
【Yes, there’s one.】
Fourteen replied that it was difficult to find suitable candidates, so it had only found these two.
“Are they male or female? Can I talk to them?”
Curious Su Xin asked.
【Female, call request in progress…】
【Sorry, the other party hung up on your request and angrily cursed at you with swear words.】
Why?
Su Xin was puzzled; it seemed like this colleague was difficult to get along with.
【Because the other party is engaged in some indescribable “saucy” behavior.】
Fourteen said this in a very proper broadcaster’s tone.
Su Xin twitched her mouth. I’ll kill you, you idiot. They’re doing ‘saucy’ things and didn’t inform her in advance. This system must be a fool.
Su Xin didn’t take long to become friends with He Yunshu. It might have been because He Yunshu had a very good first impression of her, always speaking to her with incredible gentleness.
“Xue Yao, do you like this rouge?”
He Yunshu had tried making some of this herself. Since ancient times, women’s money has been the easiest to earn. She planned to develop this business, so she first came to her good friend.
Perhaps it was a fledgling attachment; when He Yunshu first arrived in this unfamiliar world, she saw Hong’er, then a group of troublesome people. After sorting out those chaotic matters, she began to explore and met the first woman she could truly call wonderful in this world.
She discovered that Xue Yao was very eloquent. Despite coming from the mundane world, she still maintained her elegance. Moreover, He Yunshu found that she got along very well with Xue Yao. Even though they hadn’t spent much time together, they had remarkably similar views on many things.
She is from the future, so naturally, she has her own set of ideas about these things. However, for Xue Yao to have such advanced ideas is quite remarkable. He Yunshu was suspicious in her heart but didn’t feel it was appropriate to speak directly, so she recited a phrase to Su Xin.
“Scientific Outlook on Development of Socialism.”
Su Xin, who was just about to answer He Yunshu about the rouge: …
She couldn’t respond to that. Was she supposed to talk about the core values of socialism?
“Yunshu, what are you talking about?”
Su Xin looked very confused.
“It’s nothing, just remembered something.”
He Yunshu shook her head, feeling disappointed inside. So she wasn’t a fellow countryman after all.
Su Xin shared her feelings about the rouge with He Yunshu, and then helplessly told Fourteen that she felt like a customer being marketed to, with He Yunshu being the one doing the selling.
He Yunshu looked at the rouge on Su Xin’s lips and thought that this color might not suit Su Xin very well, because it was too bright. The woman in front of her had lips of vivid red, exuding a somewhat seductive allure.
He Yunshu felt a bit dissatisfied and decided to make a softer, lighter color next time to give to Su Xin.
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【I couldn’t find a more appropriate analogy.】
Fourteen silently cheered for Su Xin.
He Yunshu thought that although Su Xin remained pure and innocent despite being in the dust, she was also very knowledgeable, spoke eloquently, and had some very forward-thinking and correct ideas. It was a real pity for her to stay in this place forever. She could be a valuable addition to her team or a good friend to have deep conversations with.
Su Xin thought that He Yunshu was like a Mary Sue with a lot of golden fingers, not only able to make soap but also various opportunities like rouge. She was looking forward to the day when He Yunshu would make sanitary pads.
In the midst of Ta Yan’s indifference, Man Yue’s veiled sarcasm, the disregard of the girls in the building, and He Yunshu’s relentless greetings, half a month quickly passed.
He Yunshu was meticulously planning. She needed to return to the capital and help avenge the original owner of this body. Previously, she was the mad third young lady of the Prime Minister’s residence, who had been schemed against and sent to this remote village far from the capital, where she was abused by various wicked servants.
The original owner had been tortured to death, and He Yunshu had promised to avenge her.
The plan to return to the capital was now on the agenda. He Yunshu intended to first say goodbye to her only friend in this place, Su Xin.
Su Xin had been waiting and waiting, and finally, this day had come.
“Xue Yao, I am leaving.”
He Yunshu’s ability to disguise herself had improved significantly compared to before. At least now, people wouldn’t immediately recognize her as a girl at first glance. When she wore men’s clothing, much of the feminine charm that belonged to a woman diminished, making her look like a handsome young man whose gender was indistinguishable.
He Yunshu felt a bit reluctant. After all, once she left now, she didn’t know when she would be able to return to this place. This time, she was heading to the capital and was bound to go through many things. The sisters and brothers in that household didn’t seem easy to deal with. She could only wonder what this place and this person would be like when she returned.
“Where are you going?”
Su Xin asked, pretending not to know.
“I am going back to the capital. My home is there.”
He Yunshu sneered, not hiding her attitude towards her home in the capital in front of Su Xin.
“I am going too.”
Su Xin said to He Yunshu.
“But… if you go with me, Xue Yao, there might be danger. I am afraid I won’t be able to protect you.”
He Yunshu clearly misunderstood something. She thought that Su Xin wanted to go to the capital for her, to stay by her side.
“No… I don’t need your protection. I just need to do something, something I decided on a long time ago but never started.”
“What are you going to the capital for?”
He Yunshu pondered and knocked on the table.
“To attend the Four Kingdoms Banquet.”
He Yunshu didn’t know what the Four Kingdoms Banquet was, so Su Xin explained it to her in detail.
He Yunshu’s expression was complicated, and she nodded.
Probably, in her view, the feeling of a courtesan striving to become a high-class courtesan is indeed indescribable. She came from another world and always felt a sense of alienation from this world. She didn’t quite understand Su Xin’s choice.
She felt that Su Xin, having obtained her own contract of indenture, could completely take it and her money and live a comfortable life. Why bother traveling all the way to the capital, only to be selected like merchandise?
If Su Xin didn’t have a mission, she could indeed choose that way. But she had come with a mission, and it wasn’t an easy one. From another perspective, if it were easy, she wouldn’t have been needed.
She wants to become the most beautiful person in the Four Kingdoms.
When Su Xin went to get her contract of indenture from Ta Yan, Ta Yan’s expression was very conflicted.
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“That is not a good path.”
Ta Yan didn’t know who gave Xue Yao that kind of fantasy. Ta Yan always thought Xue Yao was a very smart person, but never expected her to have such a foolish and naive idea. In that place where the powerful and noble gather, where there is no hope of rising, she is like an ant that can be easily crushed to death.
“It is just my own choice, and I will not regret it even if I die.”
Su Xin took her contract of indenture and then stuffed the pill provided by Fourteen into Ta Yan’s mouth.
“Antidote, farewell.”
Su Xin left in a rather dashing manner. Ta Yan watched her back as she walked out the door, feeling irritated.
It was all her money.
He Yunshu was waiting for her not far away. She had changed back into women’s clothing, looking elegant and charming, but her eyes were cold and indifferent.
Su Xin never fights a battle unprepared, so she asked Fourteen for detailed information about Qu Feiqing.
Qu Feiqing is the Empress of Quliu Kingdom. It is worth mentioning that Quliu Kingdom is not a matriarchal society but a traditional society similar to all other countries, where men are superior to women.
The author has something to say:
Ta Yan: My money 【in a daze】
