A Journey Through the Worlds of Film and Television.

Chapter 427 Master Li

Song Huizong Zhao Ji was not only an artist in calligraphy and painting, but also an emperor who knew how to enjoy life. He was obsessed with sensual pleasures and was not satisfied with the three thousand beauties in his harem. He would often go on private visits and visit brothels.

There is a red street in Kyoto, and the whole street is full of brothels. The Yuxianglou, located in the center of the street, is the largest and most famous brothel in Kyoto. One of the reasons is because of the two women in the Yuxianglou, Li Shishi and Zhao Yuannu.

These two women were not only the most famous courtesans in Yuxianglou, but also the women of Emperor Huizong of Song.

In order to make it easier for him to sneak out of the palace and visit women outside the palace, Song Huizong set up a special travel bureau to arrange his travel. Sometimes, because he stayed overnight outside and missed his court, the people in the travel bureau were responsible for lying to Song Huizong, saying that the emperor had a banquet in the palace and drank too much, or that he had caught a cold.

Later, Song Huizong simply had people dig a tunnel leading directly to Yuxiang Tower, making it easier for him to get to Yuxiang Tower.

These things seemed to be done covertly, but some ministers in the court actually knew about them.

It is not known whether it was for his own face or because he enjoyed the feeling of stealth, but Song Huizong did not bring Li Shishi and Zhao Yuannu into the palace. He even allowed them to perform in the Yuxiang Tower without selling their bodies.

Of course, it is not so easy for ordinary people to meet these two courtesans.

That evening, Lu Cheng brought Lai Fu to Yuxianglou and went straight to find Mrs. Li from Yuxianglou.

Lai Fu walked forward, took out a few gold leaves and handed them over: "Excuse me, mother, my master wants to see Miss Li Shishi."

Seeing Lu Cheng's extraordinary appearance, luxurious clothes, and generous spending, Madam Li smiled and said, "This young master should be visiting Yuxianglou for the first time, right? Miss Li rarely sees outsiders, but I can tell her for you. As for whether Miss Li wants to see you, that's not certain."

Lu Cheng nodded and said, "Thank you, Mom. I am Lu Cheng from Yuncheng County. Here are some gifts for Miss Li. Please pass them on to her."

Lai Fu, who was standing by, took out a brocade box and a piece of music score and handed it to Mother Li.

"Please wait a moment, sir. I will pass the message on right away."

Mother Li took the two gifts and went to the backyard. Lu Cheng sat quietly by the side waiting.

As the largest brothel in Bian Jing and even in the whole world, Yuxianglou covers a large area. In addition to the two-story building facing the street, there are many buildings in the backyard, where many beautiful and talented women live, and there are also many maids serving them.

Mother Li walked to a relatively secluded and quiet small building, came to the second floor, knocked on the door, and pushed the door open after hearing the response: "Miss Li, there is a man who claims to be Mr. Lu Cheng from Yuncheng County. He wants to meet you and has brought two gifts. Please take a look."

Li Shishi first opened the music score, looked at it once, and immediately found that this was a new score. She looked at it again, walked to a guzheng nearby, and started playing according to the music score.

Before she knew it, the song was over. Li Shishi thought about it for a long time before she remembered something: "Mom, you said this was given to me by a young master? Where is he now?"

"He's just up ahead."

"Please ask him to come over for a chat."

"Girl, why don't you take a look at his other gift?"

"Just this volume of music is worth meeting this person."

"Yes, I will go and invite that gentleman right away."

After Li's mother left, Li Shishi looked at the music score again, then took out another brocade box. When she opened it, she saw four bottles of perfume inside.

The perfume business of Yuncheng County had long since spread to the city of Bianjing. This perfume was also very popular among the women in brothels and was always in short supply.

Of course, no matter how severe the supply is, Li Shishi will never have to worry about supplies.

However, today's four bottles of perfume are contained in beautifully shaped glass bottles, and they have four different scents. The four glass bottles are inscribed with the words "Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter", and each has two lines of poetry, which looks quite unique.

After Li Shishi took the small glass bottle and smelled the fragrance inside, she suddenly remembered that the name Lu Cheng sounded familiar. Combining it with the perfume in front of her, she immediately matched him with Mr. Lu from Yuncheng County, the inventor of perfume, known as the Subduing Tiger God in the world.

Not long after, Li Shishi saw Mother Li leading a tall, handsome, and extraordinary young man into the house.

The moment they met, they were attracted by each other's appearance and temperament.

All I saw was Li Shishi: her eyebrows were like willow leaves in early spring, her eyes were like autumn water, her face was like peach blossoms in March, her skin was like white jade, her facial features were delicate and pretty, her temperament was quiet and gentle. Sitting there she was the most beautiful scenery, the most perfect picture of a lady in ancient costume.

Li Shishi

However, Lu Cheng only admired her for a moment before coming back to his senses. After all, he had experienced many reincarnations and seen countless top beauties, so he was not so overwhelmed by Li Shishi's beauty.

On the contrary, although Li Shishi had seen many young heroes and handsome men in the Yuxiang Tower, she had never seen a person with Lu Cheng's extraordinary appearance and temperament. Even the emperor seemed to be far inferior to him.

"Lu Cheng and Lu Shouxin, meet Miss Li."

After hearing Lu Cheng's voice, Li Shishi came back to her senses and stood up and bowed: "Greetings, Master Lu. I have heard of Master Lu's great name as the Subduing Tiger God. Seeing him today, I can see that he is indeed extraordinary."

"Miss Li is famous all over the world. She is indeed beautiful enough to overthrow a country and a city."

"Mr. Lu, please take a seat."

The word "trustworthy" was chosen by Lu Cheng himself. He had no parents or elders in his family, nor any teachers. Now that he had reached adulthood, he simply gave himself a name to avoid any teacher from giving him a random name in the future.

"Shishi seems to have never seen the music sheet sent by Master Lu before. I wonder which master wrote it?"

"I am the humble one."

"Oh? Master Lu is also proficient in music? I am not familiar with this piece of music. Could you play it for me?"

"of course can."

Lu Cheng walked to the guzheng with a leisurely posture, like a hermit in the mountains and forests, and plucked the strings casually. The song "Fisherman's Song at Dusk" resounded in the small building.

The music is melodious, smooth and flowing, making people feel as if they are in a water village in the south of the Yangtze River, rowing a small boat in the sunset, watching the fishermen returning late and listening to the songs all around.

An expert will know if there is one as soon as he takes action.

Li Shishi originally didn't believe that this song was composed by Lu Cheng, but after hearing Lu Cheng's exquisite and lingering performance, Li Shishi believed it.

With a level of playing musical instruments close to grade 8, she is already a true master of musical instruments. Even a famous prostitute like Li Shishi who is proficient in music is far inferior to her.

As the melodious music spread out, the area near the small building became quiet, and the women in several nearby small buildings also opened their windows to listen to the heavenly music.

In the small building next door, a beautiful woman who looked as beautiful as Li Shishi called her personal maid and told her, "Go ask Mama Li if there is a guest in Li Shishi's room."

"Yes, girl."

Soon, the girl came running over to report: "Miss, there is indeed a guest at Miss Li's place. I heard he is from Yuncheng County. His name is Lu Cheng."

The girl inadvertently glanced at the perfume in front of her when she heard this, and immediately remembered the name: "I remember the person who invented the perfume was from Yuncheng County, wasn't he called Lu Cheng?"

"It seems so, miss."

"Humph! When you came to Yuxiang Tower, you visited Li Shishi first instead of coming to see me. Is my reputation worse than hers?"

After a pause, the young lady continued, "Go and keep an eye on it to see when Mr. Lu will leave. Then invite him to come over and have a seat."

"Yes, ma'am."

The one who could live side by side with Li Shishi was naturally another woman of Song Huizong, Zhao Yuannu...