RPAGF Chapter 14 Coercion and inducement
Chapter 14 Coercion and inducement
Chapter 14: Coercion and Inducement
Wang Wenzhou was overjoyed; he had not only swindled money but also gained two adopted sons and a adopted grandson. In his excitement, he drank a little too much.
Wang Wenzhou was in the prime of his life, and being in a brothel, how could he not have sex?
The girl accompanying Wang Wenzhou, whose stage name was Dongshuang, was 25 years old. She used to work in a brothel in Hezhou City, and at her peak, she was the most sought-after courtesan. However, as she got older, she couldn't find a good patron. In the ancient brothel world, 25 was the age for a woman to retire. Like most of her sisters who couldn't find a good patron, Dongshuang chose to retire, redeem herself, and return to her hometown.
She had originally intended to marry a good man, but her standards had risen, and she found the people of Hanshan County too unsophisticated. So she entered the Drunken Flower Brothel and returned to her old profession. Wang Wenzhou, being from a later era, felt a pang of pity for the little girl and chose Dong Shuang as his bride. He quite liked Dong Shuang, a mature woman with a great figure.
As a result, Wang Wenzhou was unable to have sex. In order to preserve his male dignity, Wang Wenzhou pulled up his pants and went to the madam to ask how much it would cost to hire a girl for a year.
Wang Wenzhou wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, which had broken out due to nervousness, and asked, "Mama Li, I'd like to hire Miss Dongshuang for a year. How much would that cost?"
The madam didn't recognize Wang Wenzhou, but seeing that the Li brothers treated him with respect, she didn't dare ask for more than five taels, holding up five fingers.
"Five thousand taels! That's outrageous!" Wang Wenzhou muttered to himself.
It's all those novels and TV dramas' fault; a single visit to a brothel costs tens or even hundreds of taels of silver. Wang Wenzhou didn't know the going rate and felt this was too much money. Ten taels of gold could buy a pretty maid. A girl in a brothel, a year's stay, was this expensive! He'd just made a quick buck, but he only had a thousand taels of silver—not nearly enough.
Despite being a conman in later generations, Wang Wenzhou still had some conscience and knew that there were two kinds of debts you couldn't owe: gambling debts and prostitution debts. "Aunt Li, could you give me a discount?"
"Sir, you look like a very wealthy man. You don't need such a small amount of money! It's not easy for us girls to sell ourselves." The madam's face changed, thinking to herself, "This is expensive? If it weren't for the fact that you're so familiar with the Li brothers, I would have asked for at least ten taels of silver."
At this moment, Wang Qiang walked out dejectedly. When he saw Wang Feng, he was secretly pleased. "Young Master, you were so quick the first time too? I thought I was the only one like this."
Wang Qiang asked, "Young Master, what are you doing?"
Wang Wenzhou beckoned Wang Qiang over and whispered, "I want to keep Dongshuang as my mistress for a year."
Wang Qiang curled his lip; his young master's mind was unpredictable. He spent ten taels of gold to buy a very pretty young maid, only to let her go. Then, at a brothel, he found an older woman and wanted to keep her for a year. You just embezzled a thousand taels of silver, and you're not short of money. If you like her, why not just redeem her?
"Young master, Miss Chunju, please book her for me too." Wang Qiang, with the mentality that it would be a fool not to take advantage of a bargain, wanted to get a small benefit.
"Xiaoqiang, your young master just became a county magistrate! Where would he get so much money right now? After a while, once I've made some money, I'll definitely help you buy Chunju."
Upon hearing this, Wang Qiang's anger flared. "Young Master, you've gone too far! People have painstakingly saved up their allowance for over a decade, and you gave it to them without batting an eye just because they wanted it. Now you've taken the money, even though you promised to split it in half. And when I asked you to help me hire a girl, you made all sorts of excuses. Are you even a brother anymore?!"
"Young master, you've gone too far! You're always bragging that you're a county magistrate now, making a little money is nothing to you. But when I ask you to keep a girl, you get all coy! I helped you send my grandfather to jail, if he gets out, he'll beat me to death!" Wang Qiang said angrily.
"Xiaoqiang, don't be angry! I'll think of another way." Seeing Wang Qiang's anger, Wang Wenzhou quickly comforted him. The two had grown up together since childhood. Although the Wang Wenzhou of the past was not the same as the one of now, their relationship was truly good. They were master and servant in name, but brothers in reality.
Since ancient times, commoners have never dared to fight against officials. Even in the brothel industry, a special profession, one had to give the county magistrate some face. Since money wasn't enough, he could only resort to bullying. Thinking this, Wang Wenzhou pointed at the madam and cursed, "You heartless old woman! I'm the newly appointed magistrate of Hanshan County, and I only have a thousand taels of silver. I'll only take two of your girls! Take them if you want, or I'll kill you if you don't!"
"Sir...this..." The madam was terrified and completely bewildered. The customer only wanted five taels of silver, but you immediately demanded a thousand, and you acted as if you were about to fly into a rage if they refused. What on earth was going on?!
"Young Master!" Wang Qiang tugged at Wang Wenzhou's sleeve, trying to warn him not to do anything foolish.
"Xiaoqiang, listen up! If this old hag dares to disagree, you'll bring your constables here every day to search for any wanted criminals. For the sake of social harmony and long-term peace, you can search three or five times an hour!" Wang Wenzhou said viciously, pointing at the madam.
"Young Master! One thousand taels of silver..." Wang Qiang was interrupted by Wang Wenzhou before he could finish speaking.
Wang Wenzhou stared at the madam and said, "Mama Li, I know a thousand taels of silver isn't much, but you have to give me some face. I am, after all, a county magistrate, right? Don't worry, if anything happens in the future, like some ignorant people causing trouble while drunk, just come to me. I guarantee you won't suffer any loss."
The madam had over thirty years of experience in the industry; she was a seasoned veteran. She'd seen it all. But what she'd seen today was truly unprecedented. Was this new county magistrate out of his mind?
"Sir, you toil for the people all day long. If you want to have some fun with a girl, why do you need to spend money? Whenever you want, just come. How could I possibly take your money?" the madam said ingratiatingly.
"No! We'll agree to whatever amount is due, and we'll put it all in black and white, with your signature and fingerprints." Wang Wenzhou shook his head. Although he was a swindler, he was still a county magistrate and had to maintain some dignity. He was afraid of leaving behind a reputation for abusing his power.
"Young Master! Don't do anything foolish..."
"Xiaoqiang! Shut up!" Wang Wenzhou interrupted Wang Qiang again.
Wang Qiang smiled wryly; the young master's madness had relapsed.
The madam was terrified; how could she dare refuse? One thousand taels of silver could cover the entire Hundred Flowers Pavilion for three to five years. In the end, under Wang Wenzhou's coercion and enticement, the madam signed an agreement, and Wang Wenzhou paid one thousand taels of silver to cover the Hundred Flowers Pavilion for a year.
After Wang Wenzhou sobered up, he had his adopted son deliver the silver, only then realizing how foolish he had been. Thinking about it, it made sense; sixteen taels of silver per jin (a unit of weight), so one hundred and sixty taels of silver would weigh ten jin. Who would carry a ten-jin watermelon to a brothel? As for silver notes and such, that was even more absurd. Even in later times, who would know if a check was genuine…
Wang Feng, a professional conman in later generations, had a strong sense of professional ethics. He would swindle money, but he would never swindle women. Since the agreement had already been signed, he had no choice but to accept it.
Wang Wenzhou finally preserved his dignity as a man. After analyzing the situation, he concluded that his body was probably healthy, and the only reason his penis couldn't stand up was because he was too fat. For the sake of future happiness, he needed to lose weight.