When the madam saw Huang Xiao walk inside, she glanced toward the entrance. Once she saw that there were people attending to everyone there, she hurried after him.
"Where would you like to wait for Jiaojiao, young master?" the madam asked as she caught up with Huang Xiao.
"Oh? What are my options?" Huang Xiao stopped and asked.
"There's quite an art to that," the madam said with a smile. "Look at this hall. There are only seats here, and they're cheap-one thousand taels each at present. Of course, the price will rise if more people come. But this is where those who have no money yet still want a glimpse of Jiaojiao's beauty sit. It hardly befits your standing, young master. Someone like you should at least choose an elegant private room. If you overwhelm all your rivals in the end and carry the beauty home, you can naturally enjoy the pleasures of fish and water in that quiet room!"
"What about those people standing?" Huang Xiao asked, pointing at some people standing nearby.
"They have even less money. Admission this time costs 'one hundred taels.' Of course, a mere hundred taels only lets them stand and watch," the madam said. Because that amount was so small, she had not mentioned it to Huang Xiao at the outset.
When she had seen the jade pendant at Huang Xiao's waist by the entrance, she had known this young man had a considerable background and was certainly wealthy. After so many years as a madam, she had long since honed a pair of fiery eyes that could pierce through gold; she could tell at a glance who had money and who did not, without fail.
That was why she had not stayed with Master Chen, the "Flower Queen Killer," just now,