Chapter 88: Breaking the Body (Part 1)

Under the night sky, the Clear Bamboo Abode was brightly lit, with pleasant string and bamboo music and the singing of women drifting out.

In the Great Lan Dynasty, both gambling dens and brothels are legal, with brothels further divided into four grades, managed specifically by the Inspectorate.

Fourth-grade brothels are what are commonly known as "whorehouses"; they are purely for flesh trade, have high turnover, and vary in quality.

Third-grade brothels are called "Lower Quarters"; they have fixed locations and, although they are also for the flesh trade, the quality is relatively higher.

Second-grade brothels are called "Tea Rooms"; they are mid-to-high-end establishments that are half-performance and half-prostitution, where some middle-class people with a little extra money in their pockets like to call two or three friends to go "tea tasting" in their leisure time.

The highest, first-grade brothels are called "Clear Chant Small Classes"; these are truly high-end establishments where the women inside basically only sell their art and not their bodies. If one truly craves someone's body, then unless one can shell out a massive amount of real gold and silver to become the "top-ranked big brother," it is impossible to get a taste of their charms.

Places like the Clear Chant Small Classes are the favorite entertainment venues for high-ranking officials and nobles, and the "Clear Bamboo Abode" is the most famous and universally acknowledged highest-quality Clear Chant Small Class in all of Xingcheng.

The Clear Bamboo Abode was opened by the Tiger Blade Gang, and today, Private Secretary Zhang of the Tiger Blade Gang is personally hosting an important guest here.

"Come, Director Liu, I toast you."

Wearing glasses and looking every bit the scholar, Zhang Mingze raised his wine glass with a face full of smiles toward a middle-aged man with a somewhat portly figure.

There were five people sitting in this elegant room, two men and three women.

Zhang Mingze, Private Secretary of the Tiger Blade Gang, and Liu Cunde, Deputy Director of the Main Personnel Division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, each had a beautiful woman with snow-white skin wearing a bodice sitting beside them to accompany them in drinking, while another woman with an elegant temperament played the zither to the side.

"Oh my, Private Secretary Zhang, I really cannot drink any more; my tolerance is low, truly low."

Liu Cunde was already flushed red from drinking and waved his hands repeatedly at Zhang Mingze, who was offering the toast.

"Hahaha, Director Liu, who doesn't know you have a bottomless capacity? You are being too modest."

Zhang Mingze calmly gave a wink to the beauty beside Liu Cunde.

The woman immediately picked up her wine glass, leaned into Liu Cunde's embrace, and began to urge him to drink in soft, gentle whispers.

Under the woman's persuasion, Liu Cunde had no choice but to drink another glass of wine.

Then he said to Zhang Mingze: "Private Secretary Zhang, I really cannot drink any more; if I drink one more glass, I will collapse on the spot."

"Fine, then let's stop here for today."

Zhang Mingze smiled and set down his wine glass. "Shall I make some arrangements for Director Liu next?"

As he spoke, he looked with an ambiguous gaze at the woman nestled in Liu Cunde's arms; the woman also shyly lowered her head, looking as if she had more to say but held back.

Liu Cunde glanced at the moving woman in his arms and shook his head with regret:

"You know, I have a tigress at home; it's not good to stay out overnight. Let's do it another day."

Saying this, he stood up: "Private Secretary Zhang, thank you for your hospitality tonight."

Zhang Mingze also stood up, personally seeing Liu Cunde to the door, and then left the Clear Bamboo Abode from a secluded back exit.

"Director Liu, this is a small token of Gang Leader Yu's appreciation. Regarding the matter entrusted to you earlier, please keep it in mind."

Before Liu Cunde was about to leave, Zhang Mingze smiled and handed him a somewhat heavy small briefcase.

Liu Cunde calmly took the briefcase, felt its weight, and the smile on his face grew even brighter:

"Thank me for Gang Leader Yu; I will certainly do my best regarding his matter."

"Good, then I won't see you out any further."

"Private Secretary, please stay."

After the two exchanged a few pleasantries, Liu Cunde carried the heavy small briefcase and walked unsteadily toward the alley entrance ahead.

His driver had long been parked there waiting for him.

Not until Liu Cunde got into the car and left did Zhang Mingze restrain his smile.

"Private Secretary, things have been arranged properly on Director Wang's side."

Just then, a subordinate trotted over to report to him.

Zhang Mingze nodded.

A Deputy Director of the Main Personnel Division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, plus a First-Class Director of the Main Administration Office—having handled these two, what they wanted to do was basically a done deal.

In the car, Liu Cunde, who had been full of drunken intent and unable to hold his liquor, saw his eyes regain clarity.

He sat in the back row, placed the briefcase Zhang Mingze had given him on his lap, and opened it slightly to take a look. As expected, inside were stacks of neatly arranged deep blue banknotes, all in one-yuan denominations.

Liu Cunde only glanced at it before quickly estimating that this box of money should be ten thousand yuan, more than his annual salary.

In fact, the largest denomination of paper currency issued by the Great Lan Dynasty is thirty yuan, but Zhang Mingze always gives gifts in one-yuan notes because it is more intuitive and makes the gift appear heavier.

Liu Cunde naturally understood these little thoughts of Zhang Mingze, but he thought it was quite good, because he just liked watching money stacked in piles, the more the better.

"Little Sun."

Liu Cunde snapped the briefcase shut and suddenly asked his driver:

"Tell me, for a person, how much money is considered enough?"

The driver, Little Sun, was startled and said with a smile:

"My lord, for me, if I could have ten thousand yuan, I probably wouldn't have to worry about food and drink for the rest of my life."

"Ten thousand yuan?"

Liu Cunde sneered:

"You, your vision is still too shallow."

"I naturally cannot compare to you, my lord."

The driver, Little Sun, laughed dryly.

Liu Cunde shook his head. Because he had indeed drunk a lot of wine, and the other person was his absolute confidant, he suddenly felt moved to speak:

"A local gang can control the election of the Inspector General of the Inspectorate; do you find that ridiculous?"

The driver, Little Sun, did not dare to answer this topic, and he knew that Liu Cunde did not need him to answer either.

Sure enough, Liu Cunde said to himself:

"But this kind of thing is not strange in Xingcheng, and it is even more so in other places. In some places, the great clans can even directly control the promotion of officials. There, the word of a Chief is not as useful as the word of a Clan Head. How absurd! Hahahahaha!"

He shook his head while laughing:

"This Great Lan Dynasty has been founded for over five hundred years, and the rot is deep and hard to reverse. Heh, it will be finished sooner or later!"

Hearing such treasonous words, the driver, Little Sun, could not help but be shocked and subconsciously looked back at Liu Cunde.

After the words left his mouth, Liu Cunde realized he had lost his composure, and he instantly sobered up by more than half.

But he was unwilling to lose face in front of his driver, so he forced himself to remain calm and said in an earnest tone:

"Little Sun, while this world is still okay, work hard to make money."

"You are still young; ten thousand yuan is too little."

"Make it a hundred thousand. Once you earn a hundred thousand yuan, your family won't have to worry about food and drink for the rest of their lives."

A moment later, the driver, Little Sun's, reply sounded in the car:

"That will have to depend on you, otherwise I won't be able to earn a hundred thousand yuan in my lifetime."

"Rest assured, follow me well, and before I retire, I will definitely ensure you earn more than a hundred thousand!"

Liu Cunde's smug voice drifted out of the car window and into the night.

Under the same night sky, Li Fei was in his room practicing the health-preserving stance Hao Yi had taught him.

He felt the steel armor implant in his body becoming increasingly restless, and the duration was far longer than ever before.

"The breakthrough is tonight!"

A realization dawned in Li Fei's heart.

(End of chapter)