บท 52: Jing City (1)

After travelling for a few more weeks, they finally arrived at the capital city of Jing Qie, Jing City. The imperial palace was a city of itself and loomed ahead of Jing City. Jing City was surrounded by a stone wall that also encompassed the Imperial Palace. It also included more sturdy watchtowers, unlike Ling Le town. Outside the walls, the city and Imperial Residence was surrounded by a moat, similar to medieval Western castles on Earth. The waters were infested with normal water animals like alligators. The reason they didn't put spiritual beasts like Water Demons in it was because it would be troublesome if they leapt out of the water and attacked people who were waiting to get into the city. Also it would be more work for the guards as they also had to make sure the Water Demons didn't try to disintegrate the wall and enter the city or something.

Jing city could be considered an extension of the imperial residence or an independent city, no one really argued about it, though everyone would call it an extension in public. The reason it was so confusing was that Jing city had a City Lord, assigned by the Emperor, and it's own set of laws. On the other hand, people of the imperial residence can ignore some of these minor laws, even if they were a servant. In order to set a good example, the imperial residence allowed the City Lord to report violations by their people and the Punishment Quarters will punish them accordingly. In this way, even though people from the imperial palace were praised and flattered wherever they go in the city, they still wouldn't break the laws unless they absolutely had to. On the other hand, members of the imperial household, who can not be tied down by the Punishment Quarters would be punished by the Emperor, himself. Of course, the Jing City Lord knew full well that this was not to cater to him in any way, but to set a good example for the countrymen. This system was implemented a few decades ago, by the new emperor that ascended, Jing Lan.

Shen Tianyu led her fiancee and subordinate through the busy streets of Jing City. Looking around as she went. This time, they didn't need to worry about where to stay for the night. In every capital city, there will always be a Lavender Palace. Smaller branches extended to other big, prosperous cities. Shen Tianyu had developed Lavender Palace in order to make money, after all. She wouldn't have them extend to middle sized towns like Ling Le city. Besides, the rarer something is, the more desirable it is. Though there are a number of Lavender Palaces, one couldn't say there was a lot neither can one say there were too few. Besides, there were many different courtesans in each Lavender Palace, who promoted individuality of the courtesans. In this way, the same type of courtesan might not be found in another branch. Even if the same type was found, there would still be differences, as they were not the same person.

"Luo Shue, tell me if there's anything you're running out of or any medicinal herbs you want." She said.

"Alright." Luo Shue replied with one word.

"What about me?" Rong Jian asked form beside her. He had gotten used to walking beside her, like a couple.

"You have money, I don't need to buy you anything. Or what? Young Master Rong wants your fiancee to pay for you?" Shen Tianyu retorted.

"I'll pay for anything wifey wants." He replied as he thumped his chest.

They chatted as they walked around and window-shopped. In the end, they really didn't buy anything and went to Lavender Palace before the sun set.

"Halt." A guard by the wooden doors ordered. Just like with any noble residence, there were two guards in front of the doors right outside Lavender Palace. They were wearing the standard uniform and armor of Lavender Palace.

Usually, customers arrived after the sun set, and all of the customers were male. This group had one male and two females, making them quite conspicuous and suspicious in the Flower district, especially in front of Lavender Palace. In addition, a lot of the workers at the various Lavender Palaces have never saw their Palace Master and assumed it was a man. It would be more believable if people told them it was a spiritual beast who founded Lavender Palace rather than the young girl in her teens leading the current group of three.

Nevertheless, Shen Tianyu's smile never wavered. "May I ask if the Manager is here? I wish to meet him."

There was another type of customer that came to Lavender Palace, people wanting to buy information. Though, usually, they were still mostly men, it wasn't strange for a woman to buy information either.

"What business do you have with the Manager?" The other guard asked her. Just because he thought she wanted to buy information doesn't mean he could just let her in, he had to make sure.

"Like I said, I want to see him. We haven't seen each other in a while, I came to visit. If you don't believe me, you can call the Vice-Manager out here." Shen Tianyu replied. 'To identify me.'

The two guards looked at each other. The Manager and Vice-Manager had worked together for a few decades. Even if that wasn't the case, the general structure of Lavender Palace was common knowledge. But if she offered to be identified by the Vice-Manager, she should be confident that he would recognize her.

The first guard turned to speak to them. "Please wait a moment." And disappeared into Lavender Palace through the wooden door before closing it. It was better to be safe than sorry.

As the three waited, they chatted with each other, not bothered at all that they were being held up at the front gate of the most famous brothel.

Half a stick of incense of time (1) had went by before the first guard returned with someone in tow. The man looked elegant, with his hands behind his back, he strode forward with an air of confidence, but not so much that he seemed arrogant.

When he saw the person right outside the gate, his smile froze as his eyes widened.