Chapter 253: 倒贴

"I am Qiu Honglei from the Immortals' Dwelling. Has Young Master forgotten so quickly?" Qiu Honglei cast him a chiding glance.

"A courtesan, yet she cares about Duke Mingyue's family affairs and analyzes the crucial points with such clarity. You're certainly not like an ordinary brothel woman," Zu An sneered.

Qiu Honglei sighed softly, "Young Master, weren't you just in the hall, boasting to those men that you'd go easy on me?"

Zu An was speechless.

Even with his thick skin, hearing her say that made him incredibly embarrassed.

"That was just to provoke them, a joke," Zu An explained sheepishly, no longer able to maintain his cool demeanor.

"Even so, I met you alone tonight, and you said those things. In everyone's eyes, I've already been defiled by you and can no longer be a chaste courtesan as before." Qiu Honglei grew sadder as she spoke, tears rolling down her cheeks like broken strings of pearls.

Zu An secretly marveled at her skill. Although he knew she was pretending, he couldn't help but feel a surge of pity.

Qiu Honglei sobbed, "Although Honglei chose you today... I'm not a casual woman. Naturally, I need to find out about your family situation: whether your wife is jealous, and if your family will accept me."

"That's why I wanted to confirm things with Young Master before making a final decision. Who knew you would misunderstand me so much?"

"Over the years in these establishments, I've heard too many heartbreaking lessons from my predecessors: either encountering faithless men or facing fierce wives, leading to a lifetime of unhappiness."

"Honglei doesn't want to repeat their mistakes..."

She acted with such sincerity, entirely like a girl deeply insecure in love. Even a heart of steel would have melted at her tears.

Unfortunately, Zu An was no ordinary person; his focus was always peculiar. "From what Miss says, are you planning to entrust your life to me?"

"If Young Master doesn't mind Honglei's humble appearance, and Miss Chu's family doesn't object, I... I would naturally be willing," Qiu Honglei said, lowering her head shyly, a blush spreading from the base of her neck.

Looking at the incomparably beautiful woman before him, Zu An exclaimed, "If you call that a humble appearance, then everyone else in the world must be ugly."

Qiu Honglei then broke into a smile through her tears. "Young Master, you jest. Please don't mention such things in front of Miss Chu in the future. Honglei wouldn't want to be resented by the main wife before even entering the household."

She had fully immersed herself in the role, like a concubine about to join the family.

"Don't worry," Zu An reiterated, "Chuyan herself told me she doesn't mind if I find other women. You also don't need to worry about her not accepting you; in our household, if I tell her to go east, she wouldn't dare go west."

Qiu Honglei secretly pursed her lips, thinking, 'Who would believe that?'

"There's just one other difficulty," Zu An said, looking conflicted.

"What is it?" Qiu Honglei asked curiously. Could it be Mr. and Mrs. Chu?

'Indeed,' she thought. 'If I were Duke Mingyue, it's unlikely I'd agree to a son-in-law who also takes concubines. Where would that leave the Chu family's reputation?'

Zu An eyed her up and down, his direct gaze making Qiu Honglei's heart quicken slightly.

"What are you looking at, Young Master?"

"You are truly beautiful. With this face and figure, it's no exaggeration to say you could topple cities."

Qiu Honglei's lips curved subtly. 'This guy finally realizes my charm.' "As long as Young Master likes it. But you still haven't said what the difficulty is."

"That *is* the difficulty," Zu An said. "You're too beautiful, and you're the most famous courtesan in Brightmoon City. How could the Immortals' Dwelling let you go?"

Qiu Honglei breathed a sigh of relief. "Please don't worry, Young Master. The contract I signed with the Immortals' Dwelling isn't a typical bond of indenture. We had an agreement to part ways amicably. As long as I pay a redemption fee, they won't make things difficult for me."

"But for a popular courtesan like you, the redemption fee must be very expensive. As you know, I'm just a live-in son-in-law, and I don't have much money," Zu An stammered, revealing his biggest dilemma.

Qiu Honglei was speechless.

'Like hell I believe you! Everyone in Brightmoon City knows you won 7.5 million taels from the Silver Hook Casino, and then hundreds of thousands more from another casino in the family competition. And you claim to have no money?'

Rage +256 from Qiu Honglei!

However, she didn't show it, saying with a shy expression, "Young Master needn't worry. Over the years, Honglei has saved some private money, enough to buy my freedom."

"That's wonderful!"

Zu An burst out laughing, but secretly frowned.

'This woman was willing to pay her own way to marry him! Even though I'm handsome, elegant, wealthy, and well-endowed... a recognized heartthrob for young women and wives, who is Qiu Honglei? She's the most sought-after courtesan for a thousand miles around. She could just crook her finger and countless men would go through fire and water for her. A notorious "straight-man killer," would she really pay her own way for a man? Who would believe that? Hmm, could it be that my charm has unknowingly far exceeded my self-assessment?'

His mind raced with thoughts, and Qiu Honglei was no different.

'This man in front of me cannot be treated like those outwardly clever but inwardly foolish men one usually encounters.' Having learned her lesson from earlier, she realized she had been too hasty and no longer dared to directly ask him about the Chu family.

Instead, she shifted the topic back to more refined matters: "Let's not talk about such mundane things for now. Honglei has always been curious, how did Young Master compose 'The Smiling, Proud Wanderer's Melody'?"

"Oh, it was like I heard someone playing it in my dream, and then I just knew it," Zu An replied casually. It wasn't that he wanted to be modest, but rather that he didn't dare truly admit he composed the piece. 'Because I only remember a few tunes. What if someone asks me to compose more later? So it's better to avoid such empty fame, lest I'm praised too highly and fall harder later.'

Qiu Honglei couldn't help but exclaim, "I used to read in books that some people's talent was heaven-sent, but I never quite believed it until I met Young Master. Only now do I know such people truly exist in this world."

Zu An was speechless. 'Stop flattering me so much. I really need to keep a low profile.'

"By the way, the piece you played earlier clearly expressed genuine emotion. Who was that man, exactly?" Zu An couldn't stand being praised continuously and quickly changed the subject.

"Young Master can rest assured, that was merely artistic creation. Honglei has never had a sweetheart before; Young Master... you are the first." The shy expression in Qiu Honglei's eyes as she spoke was truly enough to drive countless men wild.

Zu An smiled. It was best to just listen to what these courtesans said, but never take it seriously, or one would only end up hurt and ridiculed behind their backs.

"Did that story describe your parents' past?"

*Clink!*

With a sharp sound, the wine cup in Qiu Honglei's hand accidentally fell onto the table, and the smile vanished from her face.

After a long moment, she let out a deep sigh. "Even if I said no now, Young Master probably wouldn't believe me, would you?"

"What exactly happened between them back then? Has your mother truly passed away?" Zu An asked curiously. He had vaguely heard some things from Leng Shuangyue earlier, but she didn't know the full story.

Qiu Honglei took a deep breath, her previous cheerful demeanor vanishing as her voice turned colder than ever. "I don't want to discuss their affairs."

The moment the words left her mouth, she felt a pang of regret. 'Now I've probably offended him terribly. It took so much effort to draw him into my plan today; to let it all fall apart now would be a terrible waste. It's all my fault for still being unable to let go of what happened back then.'

To her surprise, Zu An chuckled. "Miss, do you know that you look much more real and lovely now than before?"

Qiu Honglei's expression was complex. "Young Master truly is nothing like the person in the rumors."

Zu An extended his hand. "Let's reintroduce ourselves. My name is Zu An. You can call me Ah Zu."

Qiu Honglei paused, unsure of this particular etiquette, but instinctively extended her hand. Their hands gently met. "My name is Qiu Honglei. You can call me Honglei."

She was somewhat surprised by her own willingness to initiate physical contact with a man. Perhaps it was his clear eyes, or the genuine emotion of that moment.

As the two were immersed in the quiet of the moment, a commotion suddenly arose outside.

Then came the terrified screams of women and the rampant laughter of men.

Qiu Honglei's delicate brows furrowed. She knocked on the cabin wall and asked the boatman outside, "What's happening?"

"Miss, there are river bandits... Ah!"

*Splash!* He had clearly fallen into the water.

Immediately after, the small boat rocked violently, as if several people had jumped aboard.

"This boat smells good. There might be beauties inside."

"If there are women, who goes first?"

"Let's all go together!"

Several lewd and vulgar voices rang out.