"Let's not talk about the past."
Noble Consort Chen lay prostrate on the cold blue bricks, her forehead pressed against the ground, her voice somewhat hoarse.
On the high seat, the Empress Dowager's wrinkled old face remained completely unchanged.
He pulled out a thick, jet-black silk from his sleeve and wrapped it tightly around the bronze dagger stained with old blood.
A soft click.
She casually pried open the floor tiles beneath the Buddha altar, revealing a dark, square pit inside.
The Empress Dowager bent down, pressed the short blade wrapped in black silk into the bottom of the pit, and then pushed the heavy blue brick back in perfectly.
"Let's not talk about it anymore, remember that."
The Empress Dowager stood up, looking down at the woman on the ground, her withered fingers resting on the sandalwood prayer beads and slowly turning them.
"If the Jiannan Circuit heavy armor troops reveal even the slightest hint before they reach the very gates of the capital, not only will Yi Prefecture be flattened by the imperial army, but we too will be reduced to nothing, not even bones left."
"Go back and keep a close eye on the emperor; he cannot die yet."
"Your subject obeys the decree."
Noble Consort Chen raised her hand to wipe away the wetness from the corner of her eye and respectfully kowtowed three times.
The heavy iron-clad wooden door was pulled open, the hinges making a dry creaking sound.
A cold wind swirled up large clumps of snowflakes and blew straight into the collar, instantly dissipating most of the somber sandalwood scent in the Buddhist hall.
Noble Consort Chen stepped across the threshold, the hem of her plain palace dress swaying in the wind, her slender figure quickly swallowed up by the wind and snow between the palace walls.
Yi Prefecture City.
Unlike the desolate atmosphere of the imperial palace, the entire long street was engulfed in a deafening roar.
A series of crisp, crackling sounds filled the air.
Two strings of large, five-zhang-long red firecrackers hung under the eaves, sparks flying everywhere, scattering red paper scraps all over the ground.
The pungent smell of sulfur mixed with cheers from all over the street washed away the chill of the early morning.
In the middle of the street, a magnificent three-story pavilion rises from the ground.
A brand-new plaque with black background and gold lettering hangs above the main entrance, neatly displaying five large characters: Yi Prefecture Foot Care Hall.
The vermilion gate was wide open.
Two rows of girls in blue cloth gowns stood on either side of the gate.
They had washed off the heavy makeup they wore in the brothels, their hair was styled into neat buns, and they bowed to passersby with smiles, their hands folded in front of their lower abdomens.
The one standing at the head was Qin Hongxiu.
She wore a dark green long dress with subtle patterns, tied at the waist with a matching silk sash, and over it was a slightly worn short vest with fox fur trim.
She had completely abandoned the soft, seductive manner she displayed in the brothel; instead, she stood there with her back ramrod straight, exuding the decisive and efficient demeanor of a mistress.
The long street was packed with onlookers, and there were also many merchants and shopkeepers from all over the country who had brought their silver notes with them.
"This... isn't this Qin Hongxiu, the top courtesan at the Flower-Between Pavilion a few days ago?"
"That's right, those in the back are all courtesans who were redeemed from their profession a few days ago!"
"How novel! Prince Yi bought up all the old maids in the building, and instead of keeping them in the backyard, he released them to open a shop?"
Several salt merchants dressed in silk and leather coats stood with their hands behind their backs at the bottom of the steps, glancing sideways at the gate, chewing betel nuts, their faces full of disbelief.
It's just the same old thing in a different guise.
A pot-bellied grain merchant clicked his tongue twice.
"What kind of the Foot Care Hall is this? It's a sham!"
"In all my years of traveling around, I've never heard of a legitimate business that caters specifically to the soles of the feet."
"Just you wait, in less than three days, it'll be back to being a place where people buy and sell sex."
"Let's go in and see what tricks these women have up their sleeves."
Several merchants laughed and pushed their way through the door.
As soon as I stepped over the half-foot-high threshold, I was greeted not by the scent of cosmetics, but by a rich, refreshing, and sweet aroma of herbs.
The medicinal aroma entered my nose and went straight to my head, inexplicably dispelling most of the fatigue from days of travel.
"This taste..."
The shopkeepers stopped and looked at each other in bewilderment.
The nanmu wood flooring underfoot was smooth and flat, and it didn't feel cold at all when I stepped on it. Instead, a warm feeling slowly seeped up from the soles of my shoes.
The main hall was furnished with dozens of wide couches covered with soft leather. There were no charcoal braziers in the corners, yet the room was warm and cozy, and not a speck of frost had settled on the window paper.
On the left side of the lobby, in the corner, Pu Yunshan was squatting, holding a copper poker in his hand, fiddling with it along the hidden grooves in the floor tiles.
This underground heating system was designed by Gu Moran. The boiling water and steam from the large stove in the backyard would travel through the underground ceramic pipes throughout the building, providing both warmth and access to hot water at any time.
Pu Yunshan and his Green City disciples worked for seven days to meticulously fit these secret passages and mechanisms into the brickwork.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, stood up, brushed the sawdust off his trousers, and his gaze fell on Qin Hongxiu in front of him, a slight smile playing on his lips.
A large L-shaped counter stands directly in front of the lobby.
Qin Hongxiu stepped forward and stopped, gently tapping her ebony folding fan in her palm.
The noisy lobby immediately fell silent.
"Thank you all for gracing Yi Prefecture Foot Care Hall with your presence."
Qin Hongxiu looked around, her voice clear and bright.
"Let's get this straight: today is our opening day, and there are some rules we need to establish beforehand."
She raised her hand and pointed to the black lacquered wooden sign behind her.
"First of all, Foot Care Hall is a legitimate place for body conditioning; we only offer medicinal baths to relax muscles and massage techniques."
The girls in the shop earn their living through physical labor.
"There will be singing and dancing, but if any guest speaks frivolously or handles filthy objects, the guards of the Prince's Palace will not hesitate to strike with their swords."
Two guards from the Prince's Palace, each carrying a sword, stepped forward in unison, their iron-clad boots slamming onto the floor, their armor plates clanging loudly.
The faces of the few jovial merchants changed, and they shrank back slightly.
Qin Hongxiu remained calm and then spoke.
"First floor, 35 minutes per service, fee fifty coins."
"Secondly, the second and third floors of the Foot Care Hall do not accept loose copper coins; entry is only permitted with a visiting card and a prepaid wooden plaque, and a yearly subscription system is in place."
"Silver medals require a deposit of ten strings of cash, gold medals require a deposit of twenty strings of cash."
"Only those who have accumulated fifty strings of gold coins can ascend to the elegant pavilion on the third floor and use the superior secret medicine personally prepared by Divine Physician Shen."
The moment the words were spoken, the room erupted in chaos.
"You need to save up dozens of strings of cash just to get a foot bath? That's highway robbery!"
"I can buy a whole small house in the north of the city now!"
The pot-bellied grain merchant immediately started shouting at the top of his lungs.
" Shopkeeper Qin, are you trying to make a fool of us?"
"You want a yearly subscription? With several dozen strings of cash in my pocket, I can go anywhere and have a good time. Why do I have to come here every day to soak my feet?"
Qin Hongxiu was not angry at all. She tapped her folding fan lightly in her palm and looked down at the grain merchant's fur coat, stopping at his slightly lame left leg.
"Don't be impatient, sir. Once we have the sign, tea, songs, and dances will all be free. You can tell from this that you've been running grain carts on the Shu Road for years, right?"
Do your knees and ankles ache and swell during rainy and windy weather, causing you to toss and turn at night unable to sleep due to the pain?