"Mmm-hmm..."
The madam nodded vigorously, and Leng Ruo Li finally removed her hand from her mouth.
Outside, "Madam, are you really alright?"
Leng Ruo Li pressed the scalpel against the madam's neck a little closer, making her tremble uncontrollably.
"Madam, you know what to say, don't you?" Leng Ruo Li threatened.
"I'm fine in my room. I was just startled by a rat that suddenly appeared. None of you should come in. Just do what you were doing," the madam said.
As the thugs outside hesitated whether to retreat, the madam's voice echoed in their ears again.
"Why are you still standing there? Do you want your monthly pay docked again?" the madam added.
As soon as she finished speaking, the thugs scattered like birds fleeing a hawk.
"Miss, that... they've all left, can you move the knife away now?" the madam said nervously.
Leng Ruo Li readily put away the scalpel in her hand.
Once the madam felt safe, she ignored whether anyone else was in the room and rushed to her dressing table. She opened her boxes and checked all the gold, silver, jewels, various valuable accessories, and banknotes, then breathed a sigh of relief, "Phew, it's good, it's good, all these treasures are still here."
Leng Ruo Li was speechless at the madam's actions. The madam dared to count her valuables in front of her. Did she think she looked too harmless?
After a long while, the madam finally turned around, her foxy eyes sharply appraising Leng Ruo Li from head to toe.
This girl's skin was a little sallow, her figure slender and well-proportioned. She was wearing a plain colored dress, her hair casually tied into a ponytail, and a thin veil covered her face, revealing only a pair of clear, delicate almond-shaped eyes. She exuded an elegant yet refined aura.
"Miss, why have you trespassed into Yichun Tower? This is not a place you should be," the madam said indifferently.
"Madam, I'm looking for someone," Leng Ruo Li stated directly.
"You're looking for someone? Then why did you come to my brothel?" the madam teased.
"Because the person I'm looking for is in your brothel."
"Who?"
"Yesterday, the second daughter of General Leng's mansion sold a young maid named Ling'er. Is she in your Yichun Tower?"
The madam frowned upon hearing Leng Ruo Li's words.
"Miss, no matter who that little maid is to you, now that I've paid money to buy her, she belongs to Yichun Tower. No one should have any designs on her."
"Madam, I'm willing to pay three times the price to redeem Ling'er."
"No! Our Yichun Tower hasn't had a new girl like this in a long time. Tonight, I'm going to train her to be the star of Yichun Tower and snatch back the business that Baihua Tower has taken from us. After my training, she will at least bring in a hundred thousand taels of silver for Yichun Tower tonight, which is much more than your hundred and fifty taels." The madam flatly refused her.
In fact, Leng Ruo Li had anticipated this situation before deciding to come to Yichun Tower.
She pondered for a moment. The only way to make the madam relent and release Ling'er was to allow the madam to earn a hundred thousand taels tonight without using Ling'er as the star.
For someone with a modern soul, this was easy!
"Madam, I have a method that can earn you several times more than a hundred thousand taels. Are you willing to return Ling'er to me?"
"What? How much of what you say is true?"
"You can trust me this once."
The madam narrowed her foxy eyes and appraised her again.
As she looked into Leng Ruo Li's determined eyes, the madam, for some reason, inexplicably chose to believe her.
"Alright, I can trust you this once. But if you don't help me achieve my goal, I will still have to push that little maid out as the star."
Leng Ruo Li was overjoyed upon hearing this, realizing that the matter was finally settled.
However, Leng Ruo Li then thought of something else. With her modern soul and mindset taking charge, Yichun Tower was undoubtedly going to make a fortune tonight. Shouldn't she, Leng Ruo Li, also fight for some benefits for herself? She couldn't just be working for others' gain.
"Alright, but Madam, if Yichun Tower earns more than a hundred thousand taels tonight, shall we split the remaining profit 70-30, with you taking 70 and me 30, and Ling'er belongs to me?"
"Hmph! I didn't expect you, a young girl, to be so shrewd. You truly don't want to lose out on anything. But it all depends on tonight's earnings."
"Very well, let's write an IOU first, with the IOU as proof."
With that, the madam looked at her with admiration, turned around to get the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and let her write the IOU.
Fortunately, she had practiced calligraphy diligently in her previous life, so she could write beautifully even in ancient times.
After finishing the IOU, Leng Ruo Li signed it as "Ye Ying." The madam glanced at Leng Ruo Li's name, then signed her own name, Feng Meiqian. Then, they both pressed their fingerprints.
Leng Ruo Li asked, "Madam Feng, can I see Ling'er now?"
"Yes, I can take you to see her now," the madam replied.
The madam, swaying her serpentine waist, led her through winding corridors to a hidden room.
At this moment, the frail Ling'er was being forced by several women to learn some special "skills."
Ling'er was so frightened that she huddled into a ball, tears streaming down her face.
Leng Ruo Li felt a pang of heartache. Poor Ling'er. If she didn't come to rescue her from this hellhole tonight and let her attend to those men, she would surely not survive.
Leng Ruo Li walked over and gently hugged her, saying, "Ling'er, don't be afraid, I'm here to save you."
Ling'er, with her tear-reddened eyes, looked up. At first, she didn't recognize Leng Ruo Li, who was wearing a veil, but she felt a sense of familiarity. Then, she froze on the spot.
"Are you Eldest Miss? Woo—"
"Please, Eldest Miss, save me. Ling'er really doesn't want to be a girl from Yichun Tower. Ling'er still has a grandmother at home to take care of. Woo—"
Leng Ruo Li patted her shoulder and said, "Don't worry, your lady will take you out tonight."
Then, Leng Ruo Li turned to the madam and said, "Madam, find me a few girls who are good at dancing and singing. I will teach them myself."
In less than the time it takes to steep a cup of tea, the madam had selected several beautiful girls for her.
At first, they were a little reluctant to learn from Leng Ruo Li, but later they discovered that what Leng Ruo Li taught them was very special and interesting, so everyone began to learn diligently.
To promote Yichun Tower's performance tonight and increase customer traffic, Leng Ruo Li took out a modern advertisement flyer from her system space. She immediately made a hundred copies of this flyer, which included colorful character images and clearly stated: Yichun Tower has a spectacular performance tonight. Limited spots available. Each attendee must pay a hundred taels of silver for the entrance ticket. The subsequent performances will surely not disappoint you.
After printing these hundred flyers, Leng Ruo Li secretly took them out of her system space. Then, she found the madam and asked her to instruct people to distribute the flyers on the streets of the capital. To her surprise, these flyers were incredibly popular. After only a short while of distribution, all the flyers were snatched up.
Because the drawings on the flyers were unique and lifelike, these ancient people had never seen such novel things before.
Driven by curiosity, everyone rushed to grab them. Before long, the news of Yichun Tower's special performance tonight had spread throughout the capital, from the highest officials to the lowest laborers, all were filled with curiosity about tonight's performance at Yichun Tower.
In a room on the second floor of Yichun Tower, the madam wanted Leng Ruo Li to create more modern flyers, but Leng Ruo Li firmly refused. The madam was a little disappointed.
"Madam, it's not about the quantity of these flyers, but about the effect they can achieve. The effect has already reached my predicted outcome, which is good."
The madam had no choice but to reluctantly give up.
Just then, there was a rapid knocking at the door.
"Madam, Madam, they're here, everyone's here. So many guests have arrived at the main entrance at once."
"What? Really?" The madam rushed out of the room and looked down from the second-floor corridor to see the main entrance already packed.
"Madam, I'll pay the hundred taels of silver first."
"Madam, I'll also pay a hundred taels of silver."
"Madam, I'll pay a hundred taels of silver too."
"Madam, don't forget my share..."
Everyone was eagerly rushing to pay the entrance fees.
The business, which had been suppressed by Baihua Tower for many years, suddenly became the talk of the capital. At this moment, the madam of Yichun Tower was grinning from ear to ear.