Chapter 315

Chapter 315: The Courtesan Forced to Take Clients

Even skimming that memory, Juan’er’s resentment surged like a storm-and Li Yu slapped her aura apart again. This time, Li Yu held back enough that nothing disgusting splattered the room.

Jiang Liu Shuang listened, perplexed, and asked with a deep frown: “All that is tragic, but what does it have to do with you haunting me?” She was pitiful, yes, but grudges have their targets; if Juan’er wanted revenge, shouldn’t she go after Sister Hong Yan? Why him?

Juan’er grinned; her sharp, pale teeth gleamed coldly as she said: “Third Young Master Jiang used to be one of Sister Hong Yan’s favored guests. When I served you, you smiled at me-very gently.”

Jiang Liu Shuang fell silent: “…”

Jiang Liu Bin exposed his brother mercilessly and said with a snort: “That’s him all over. He smiles at everyone, but he might not even remember you.”

Juan’er’s gaze turned mournful, but the pupilless white irises made her look only more terrifying. Uneasy, Jiang Liu Shuang turned his face aside. [Smiling is my mask; who says I can’t smile.]

Juan’er stared at him for a moment before saying: “That smile made Sister Hong Yan think you liked me. After that, she kept making things hard for me.”

“But I told myself to endure. If I saved enough, I could redeem myself and live clean. I even told Sister Hong Yan I wanted to leave, thinking that once she knew I wouldn’t compete with her for men, she might stop being angry.”

She gave a bleak laugh; ghostly chill poured through the room as she hissed: “In the end, I misread people. I wasn’t meant to live clean.”

It was Hong Yan who forced her to start taking clients. The madam had liked Juan’er’s sweet manners and had promised her that if she saved enough silver, she could leave the brothel. But Hong Yan went to the madam and said: “Juan’er isn’t a great beauty, but she’s clever and winsome. Many patrons want her to post. With her quick mind, she’ll earn plenty once she starts.” She even added: “Some of my own guests are hoping she’ll post. When she does, there’ll be a rush.”

Brothel keepers rarely have much conscience. The madam’s tiny bit of fondness was no match for the lure of money. And there was only one head courtesan. Some men came only for Hong Yan and left if she was booked. But if Hong Yan and Juan’er shared a fan base-even if only ten out of a hundred overlapped-those ten still meant big profits.

So Juan’er was washed clean and sent to a patron’s bed. She did win many men’s favor, but she was not the head courtesan. Only the head courtesan could choose whether to receive clients. Someone like her had to go whenever she was called; even if she had a high fever, she still had to serve. Sometimes the guest from the first half of the night left, and she had to take one or two more in the second half. Some liked “special” things. The harmless quirks were one thing, but a few wanted to see a woman bloodied. That was how she was beaten to death on a night with a thin moon and few stars.

Jiang Liu Shuang’s brows knotted tight as he said sharply: “I smiled at you and tipped you because that’s basic courtesy. That can’t be a sin. Why blame me instead of the person who harmed you? If that’s your logic, then the world can’t have good people. A good person saves you and draws a villain’s hate, and you hate the helper instead of the villain. If that goes on, who would dare be good?”

The black aura around Juan’er thickened. She let out a low, cold laugh and said: “I made that wretch Hong Yan pay! Doesn’t she love men? I lured her into a crowd of beggars and let her ‘enjoy’ them to her heart’s content!”

Even after so long, the memory of Hong Yan’s screams, pleas, and curses filled Juan’er with savage joy. The room grew even colder. The Jiang Clan brothers’ eyes went vacant, a red gleam flickering in their depths. Yin energy could sway the mind.

Yu Zhi Yi frowned.

Li Yu’s palm cracked again as she scolded, voice like ice: “What are you laughing at! Avenge yourself on your enemy if you must, but how can you harm the innocent?”

When she had first climbed from the well, she had wanted revenge only on the man and the people who hurt her.

Juan’er’s rage broke under the slap. She stared at Li Yu, cowed, and muttered: “I wasn’t killing the innocent. Jiang Third deserved it!”

“The day I was forced to post, I asked one of my sisters to beg him for help. I had enough silver saved. If he spoke up, I could redeem myself.”

“Even if he couldn’t come, it was fine. I didn’t dare hope a high-born like him would pity a lowly woman like me.”

“But he said I was a low woman meant to be used by countless men-how could I have the face to ask him for help?”

Li Yu and Jiang Liu Bin snapped their heads toward Jiang Liu Shuang, one ghost and one man wearing the same look of disbelief. Yu Zhi Yi, however, simply pulled out a tea set from nowhere, lounged back, and sipped fragrant tea.

Jiang Liu Shuang jumped to his feet and shouted, flustered: “That wasn’t me! I didn’t say that! Don’t make things up! How could I ever say something like that?”

Jiang Liu Bin thought for a moment and said slowly: “There has to be some misunderstanding. My third brother may be a flirt, but he’s never humiliated a weak woman.”

The people of the Martial Alliance might not be perfect saints, but they did not bully the weak.

Juan’er sneered: “You’re his brother, of course you’ll speak for him!”

Her shrill roar made Jiang Liu Bin’s head buzz; darkness swam across his eyes. Her resentment burst forth again, violent this time, as if someone had ripped open her deepest wound. Li Yu’s hand flashed, and a ringing slap cut through the air.

The world fell quiet.

Yu Zhi Yi produced another cup and held it out to Jiang Liu Bin, saying gently: “Drink this and you’ll feel better.”

Right then, both his ears were full of a dull hum; he couldn’t hear anything else. Yet Yu Zhi Yi’s words sounded clear, as if she’d spoken straight into his mind. Trembling, Jiang Liu Bin reached out and found a cup that was warm-not hot, not cold. He didn’t have time to wonder how Second Sister could conjure such a thing so easily; he tipped his head back and drained it in one gulp.