Chapter 90: Jasmine is Toxic

  Autumn night falls, moonlight is just right.

  The wind was cool and refreshing, the summer heat had already dissipated. After leaving the county government office, Hu Lang and others headed straight to the Baifang Building in Tianchang County.

  The Baifang Building is the largest brothel in Tianchang County. Most of the girls here are named after flowers, and Jasmine is one of them.

  Hwarang and his men are going to find Moguri because they suspect that the person who poisoned Wang Song is Moguri.

  At that time, Wang Song had only seen Jasmine and Dogzi in the room. It was impossible for Dogzi to kill Wang Song because his honor and shame were all tied to Wang Song's. If Wang Song was honored, he was honored; if Wang Song was humiliated, he was humiliated.

  If the dog wasn't the killer, then the only one who had the opportunity to poison was Jasmine.

  While Hualang and others were preparing to go to the Hundred Flowers Building, they had already sent someone to investigate Mo Li. Her ancestral home was in Qingzhou, and Wang Song was from Qingzhou too. If the two of them had any grudges against each other in Qingzhou, it would be hard to say what might happen.

  The night wind was slightly cold, and everyone walked along without speaking, as they were all worried about the outcome of things. Mo Li was a famous courtesan, if it was really her who poisoned him, would there be some story behind this?

  At this time and occasion, it was the best time for the brothel business. When they arrived at the Baifang Building, the women inside and outside the building were all heavily made up, accompanying some men walking back and forth, even constantly touching each other. In this situation, they seemed to not care about being seen through, let alone being stripped of their clothes in public.

  The fate of women in brothels is like this.

  But Hualang found this strange, as far as he knew, although the status of the courtesan was lowly, if she had a good appearance and talent, there would be many scholars flocking to her, competing to be her patron.

  This is just a brothel, and this Hundred Flowers Pavilion is nothing but a front.

  As soon as Hualang and the others entered the Hundred Flowers Building, everyone's attention was focused on them. At first, Wenmeng and Huawan didn't understand, but when they saw the men's gaze, they all understood.

  The brothel is a place for men to come, and the women here are all for men's entertainment. But now, there are actually men who bring their wives to visit the brothel, which is really strange.

  The originally bustling brothel became even more lively, but this liveliness was no longer the flirting and joking between men and women, but rather the discussions and teasing among all the men.

  At this time, the old procuress of the brothel hastily came to Hualang and asked: "What are you doing here? Everyone who comes to our place is a man?"

  Hualang smiled faintly: "We didn't come here today to find a girl, we just wanted to see Mo Li."

  "Jasmine?" The madam was surprised, because to her, Jasmine wasn't one of the most beautiful women in their Hundred Flowers Pavilion, and it was rare for men to take the initiative to look for her. So why did these four strange people want to find her today?

  The young man saw the old procuress and was startled, then immediately said: "That's right, may I see her?"

  When Hua Lang said this, the old procuress suddenly laughed, and her laughter was very bad. A clever person could see what it meant at a glance, fortunately, Hua Lang was still a clever person.

  Although Hua Lang is clever, he doesn't want to spend this unjust money.

  "We are under orders from County Magistrate to question Mo Li, how can you ask for money for official business?" Huā Láng said, his eyes wide with anger.

  The madam saw that they were sent by the county magistrate, and immediately lost her confidence from earlier. She smiled and said: "So it's Lord Bao, in that case this matter is easily settled. I'll take you all to find Mei, these past few days Mei hasn't been feeling well, she hasn't received any guests."

  As they spoke, the old procuress led Hualang and others upstairs to a room, knocking on the door: "Jasmine, open the door quickly, someone is looking for you."

  The door didn't open, just a few sentences of somewhat impatient and somewhat listless words were transmitted.

  "Mom, didn't I say so? I'm not feeling well and won't see guests anymore!"

  Hearing this, the old procuress hastily smiled apologetically at Hua Lang and then loudly pounded on the door: "It's not your benefactor looking for you, it's someone sent by the government office. You'd better hurry up and open the door."

  These words were a bit too much, and all that could be heard was a rustling sound from Mo Li's room, followed by the creaking of the door as it opened. As the door opened, Mo Li's radiant face appeared, but tonight, she seemed to have lost some of her luster.

  Jasmine saw it was Flower Lad and his friends, so she hastily invited them in, while the old procuress tactfully withdrew.

  After sitting down, Jasmine looked at Hualang with a pair of charming eyes and asked: "Didn't the county magistrate ask me a few days ago? Why are you asking again?"

  Hualang glanced around Mo Li's room, which was very simple and elegant. However, the fragrance of jasmine was a bit too strong, almost to the point of being pungent. After taking in these details, Hualang smiled slightly and said, "I came to see Miss Mo Li today just to understand some things. I heard you're from Qingzhou, is that right?"

  Jasmine was startled, then nodded slightly: "That's right, I'm from Qingzhou."

  "Although Qingzhou is not far from here, it's still a day's journey. Why did you come all the way from Qingzhou?"

  Jasmine gazed at Hualang, and tears suddenly flowed out. As they streaked down her cheeks, Jasmine's beauty became even more touching. Seeing this, Hualang hastily comforted her, saying: "Miss Jasmine, please don't cry. Whatever it is, just say it."

  Jasmine wiped her eyes and said, "I was from a poor family in Qingzhou. Later, my father fell seriously ill, so I had to sell myself into a brothel to raise money for his medical treatment. After a year, my father passed away, and I wanted to leave the brothel, but the madam refused, insisting that I earn back the money she spent on me. However, I didn't want to cater to those men, so the madam eventually sold me to this Baifang Tower. Now, far from home and with no prospects for a better life, I have no choice but to spend my days in this brothel."

  Jasmine finished speaking, and again became sorrowful. Everyone present felt pity for her, but despite this, they did not forget their purpose for coming here. So Hu Lang continued to ask: "Miss Jasmine, when you were in Qingzhou, did you ever see that Wang Song?"

  Jasmine's face was somewhat flustered, and she shook her head repeatedly: "No!"

  "Really?"

  Jasmine suddenly raised her head and looked at Hualang: "Really no, doesn't Young Master Hua believe me?"

  "It's not that I don't believe you, but there are some things that I'm not allowed to believe."

  Everyone heard Huā Láng say that and thought it was a bit cruel. Jièmòlì, as a woman, is already pitiful enough; why must they still coerce her?

  "If you don't believe me, I have no way!" Mulan wiped away her tears and turned her head away, as if she was no longer paying attention to Hua Lang. At this time, Hua Lang's mouth slightly curved upwards, and he let out a long sigh: "Miss Mulan is from Qingzhou, Wang Song is the son of the governor of Qingzhou, and he's also arrogant and domineering, a small tyrant-like figure. He doesn't know you, so it's understandable that you can't say anything about him, but since you've never seen him before, isn't it a bit hard to convince me?"