sbdcsierra Chapter 364 Take Me to the Brothel
Chapter 364 Take Me to the Brothel
Lu Yangyang turned her head to look at the bed.
Lian Sheng hurriedly said, "I'll go get it!"
As he spoke, he started to walk towards the bed.
"Wait a minute!" Lu Yangyang called out to him, grabbed Fifth Master and walked towards the bed, then kicked the bed with her foot. The bed shattered into pieces in an instant, and a cold arrow flew out from the ruins and embedded itself in the wall.
Fifth Master was already terrified out of his wits, and now he was trembling like a leaf, "Monster, monster..."
Lu Yangyang held him down with one hand and used the other hand to pry open the pieces of the bed with a cleaver, revealing a box in a square compartment under the bed. She gestured for Lian Sheng to take the box out.
Opening the box, Lu Yangyang found a roster inside. She glanced at it; it was a register of salt workers from the salt mines over the past few years, serving as irrefutable evidence of their practice of substituting convicts for labor service and embezzling labor wages. After the abolition of the salt-making household system, salt production was classified as a form of labor service due to the arduous nature of the work, and the wages paid exceeded those for ordinary labor. Over a year, the wages allocated to the salt mines alone amounted to a substantial sum.
These people, not content with embezzling the silver, went even further, colluding with the county magistrate to fabricate false cases, all to provide free labor to the salt mines, increase their output, and then secretly transport and sell the smuggled salt. Taking advantage of the official salt mines, they secretly sold smuggled salt for exorbitant profits, causing countless deaths over the years while amassing enormous fortunes through the smuggled salt business.
That's why the Yang family dared to be so arrogant, and why Yang Chengfeng dared to be so arrogant, even daring to bully and disregard the daughter of the Governor-General of Jiangnan.
If it weren't for Jiang Zhiyi's affair that led her here by chance, Lu Yangyang would never have known that such dirty tricks existed in this world.
Thinking of this, Lu Yangyang couldn't help but slap Fifth Master twice: "Where does your Steward Yang live?"
If Fifth Master had previously harbored some illusions, after witnessing Lu Yangyang's methods, he was completely terrified and dared not cause any more trouble. He honestly replied, "Those salt workers, no, they're no threat. Steward Yang, Steward Yang won't, won't take them seriously. But, they should, should have gone to Magistrate Liang's residence in Ning County. If, if things continue to escalate, it will definitely, will alarm the higher-ups. Then, everyone will be finished. So, so today, those, those salt workers, they all, must die."
Magistrate Liang of Ning County?
The eldest wife's cousin, along with Steward Yang, who was in charge of the salt mine, were from a collateral branch of the Yang family.
What a Yang family! They really do own the salt mine!
"The general ledger is right here, right in Steward Yang's hands. We people below, no, we don't get involved in the buying and selling. I, I've been at the salt mine all year round, I only, I only manage to recruit people." Fearing that Lu Yangyang wouldn't believe him, Fifth Master hurriedly tried to clear his name.
Having obtained the information she wanted, Lu Yangyang twisted her hand and snapped Fifth Master's neck.
Fifth Master's eyes widened, still filled with shock, before his body went limp and he collapsed to the ground.
The girls were so frightened that they huddled together, covering their heads. As soon as Lu Yangyang turned around, they all knelt down on the ground with a thud: "Hero, spare our lives! Hero, spare our lives! We were all sent here by the county's brothels to serve the managers. We didn't know anything!"
Lu Yangyang ignored them and called out towards the door, "Wen Qingqing!"
Wen Qingqing jumped in through the window: "I haven't even finished watching the show yet, how did you know I was here? I originally wanted to come straight in to find you, but seeing that you were busy with important matters, I wasn't in a hurry."
Lu Yangyang returned Xiao Guai to her.
Wen Qingqing stared in shock at Xiao Guai crawling back: "Wait a minute, I just got here a little while ago, when did Xiao Guai arrive? Xiao Guai, you traitor, you found the person first and you didn't even go back to tell me!"
Wen Qingqing poked Xiao Guai's head with her finger, her cheeks puffed out in anger.
Lu Yangyang: "..."
It seems she really overestimated Wen Qingqing, thinking she had arrived early in the morning, but it turns out she had just arrived.
She turned to the girls, whose faces had already turned pale, and said, "You all heard what I just asked. You've served this beast for so long, what do you know? Tell me now, or don't blame me for using some tricks."
This time, Lu Yangyang didn't hide her voice. The girls realized that she was also a woman and looked at her in disbelief.
"Aunt, young lady, we, we..." The group stammered, unable to speak.
One of the girls mustered her courage and said, "I...I know a little. I served that Steward Yang. He...he likes delicate girls. In Ning County, there's a Hundred Flowers Pavilion. He...he always goes there to meet people. Magistrate Liang...Magistrate Liang is also a regular. I...I've seen them at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion. The top-tier private room doesn't accept outsiders; it's been reserved by Steward Yang year-round. Su Mama at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion...she's...she's Steward Yang's old...old lover. In the past, it was said she served..." "Yes, the former magistrate, Magistrate Yang, after he died, followed Steward Yang, and soon opened the Hundred Flowers Pavilion. Madam Su would often have us girls serve the gentlemen, and she would also lead the way in sending girls from the brothel who had contracted venereal diseases here for the salt workers' entertainment. Later, many brothels followed suit, and Madam Su even hired people to do this business. The whole of Jiangnan Prefecture knew about it, and some shady establishments even specifically sent infected girls here… for treatment."
After thoroughly squeezing out their remaining value, find a place to dispose of their bodies.
The laws of the Great Zhao Dynasty stipulated that regardless of whether one was a slave or a prostitute, death must be reported to the government for registration, along with the cause of death. If the number of deaths exceeded a certain period, it would inevitably attract the attention of the authorities. Furthermore, girls suffering from venereal diseases wouldn't die immediately, and keeping them required money. Usually, they were expelled. However, some girls had never left the brothel their entire lives, and even if they did, they couldn't survive, especially if they were sick. Unfortunately, there were many girls with venereal diseases in the brothels, making their proper disposal a difficult problem.
That Su Mama helped them solve this huge problem, which is why those sick girls were packed up and sent to the salt mine. Near that abandoned salt pit—no, the mass grave—that she saw tonight, they were just thrown in after they died, and all they needed to do was occasionally set a fire to burn away any trace of their existence.
Lu Yangyang stepped forward and grabbed the girl: "Come on, take me to the Hundred Flowers Pavilion."