"How much does it cost to buy out a courtesan?"
Maomao had been waiting in the room that connected the inner palace to the outside world.
Li Bai When he said that to her, she was completely dumbfounded.
She had been told that written correspondence alone wouldn't do, so she had gone out of her way to get permission and come here, expecting something special.
(So I really am a lapdog after all.)
While thinking such things, Maomao sat down in a chair.
The two exits in the room each had a eunuch standing guard, watching their movements.
Maomao had been wondering what to do—she couldn't very well have an unusual conversation even meeting in person—but this should be fine.
"I have a certain someone in mind, though."
"Someone top-notch."
There was no need to ask Li Bai who he intended to buy out.
"...Very well."
Maomao said, staring at him half-lidded.
She asked the eunuch on watch to lend her a brush and inkstone. Li Bai provided the paper.
"For now, the market rate fluctuates, so consider this just a ballpark figure."
Maomao put brush to paper and wrote "two hundred." This was essentially what a farmer earned in a year. For a cheap courtesan, the buy-out fee would be no more than double that. Li Bai nodded in agreement.
"Though of course, that's after subtracting celebration fees and the like."
The buy-out fee was calculated by working backward from how many more years a courtesan could earn at the brothel, with some markup added, and on top of that, roughly the same amount again would be spent on an elaborate celebration.
"Get straight to the point. What's the total?"
He looked at her with such seriousness that Maomao was at a loss for how to answer.
(This is a tough one.)
Hakurei had been earning good money from the moment she started taking customers. There was no debt to the brothel for kimonos, hairpins, or anything else—normally, she should have been released from her contract long ago. Yet she remained at the brothel and continued earning, simply because her particular inclinations were perfectly suited to the work of a courtesan. If a buy-out was meant to cover a courtesan's debts, then hers would have been settled ages ago.
(How old was she again this year?)
Hakurei's skin was lustrous, and her signature dance performances required more refinement with each passing year. She had been at the pleasure house since before Maomao was born and was the eldest of the Three Courtesans.
Her youthful appearance sometimes led to rumors that she "drained the vital essence of men to preserve her youth."
There was supposedly an art of the bedchamber—a technique for maintaining one's vitality through intimate acts between man and woman—and Maomao couldn't help but wonder if Hakurei had mastered it.
By all rights, her age should have long since rendered her valueless, yet her beauty showed no sign of fading, and her own drive remained as strong as ever.
At the same time, the madam couldn't very well keep assigning Hakurei to only the Three Courtesans forever, and she would probably want to dispose of the eldest before too long. She had grumbled as much during her recent visit home.
Hakurei was certainly the symbolic courtesan who had provided solid support when the pleasure house was on its last legs, but they couldn't keep relying on her forever. If they didn't manage the roster's renewal properly while things were going well, everything would gradually be coated in old grime.
Maomao figured Li Haku had probably caught wind of things somehow, which was why she had come to seek Maomao's advice.
Maomao scratched the back of her neck and groaned.
"If we're talking about buying out Hakurei, there are two candidates."
The first was a wealthy merchant—a generous old gentleman and regular patron who had faithfully continued visiting even when the pleasure house was struggling. Maomao had often received candy from him as a child.
He preferred drinking sake and watching dances to spending the night with a companion, and he had made numerous offers to buy out Hakurei. Each time, the greedy old madam had skillfully deflected, but now she would probably be willing to entertain the idea.
The other was a high-ranking official and a valued customer. He was still young, perhaps just past thirty. Maomao didn't know what his position was exactly, but when she recalled the color of a gemstone ornament on the hilt of a customer's sword from a few years back, his rank at that time had already been above Li Haku's. He had surely risen even further since.
He seemed to get along remarkably well with Hakurei as a partner in nighttime entertainment, and the day after his visits, Hakurei was always in exceptionally high spirits.
What caught Maomao's attention, however, was that while Hakurei always looked radiant, her guest often appeared somewhat drained.
When Maomao considered what life after a buyout would look like, she had concerns about both candidates.
Hakurei was a beautiful courtesan gifted in dance, but she was equally famous for never losing a battle in the bedroom. When she grew frustrated from unmet desires, she would set her sights not only on the men of the pleasure house, but on other courtesans and— apprentice courtesans— —that was how far she would go.
In short, she was an absolute nymphomaniac.
The reason the greedy old madam was even considering entrusting the management of the pleasure house to Hakurei, rather than simply arranging a buyout, came down to— the crux— of the matter.
There was also the option of Hakurei leaving the pleasure house entirely, but given her personality, Maomao doubted that would happen.
(Somehow, that felt like it would be the most peaceful outcome.)
On the surface she would be semi-retired, taking on only special guests when the occasion called for it, and free to pursue romance as she pleased during her downtime. She'd be far freener than before — she might even welcome it.
(Hmm.)
Maomao glanced sideways at Li Bai.
He looked to be in his mid-twenties, with a sturdy build. His well-trained upper arms, honed by military service, were exactly the sort Hakurei favored.
Besides, the first time he had come to the Verdigris House, he had ended up shut away in Hakurei's room for over two full days straight before Maomao left, and he had shown no signs of weariness.
"Lord Li Bai, how much do you earn?"
"What's with the sudden question?"
Li Bai said, looking somewhat flustered.
"About eight hundred silver a year?"
"Come now, don't go appraising a man like that."
Li Bai's face twitched slightly. He still looked like he had some composure, though.
"Then twelve hundred?"
"..."
His silence spoke volumes — it seemed he landed somewhere around a thousand silver a year. For his age, that was quite a good income.
Even so, if he wanted to redeem a high-ranking courtesan, he would need to have ten thousand silver ready. These were women who charged a hundred just for tea companionship and up to three hundred for the night.
Li Bai had gone to Hakurei's room for nighttime service once or twice since then. From his salary alone, there was no way he could have afforded it, but that was probably the madam's doing — she had likely arranged for Li Bai to attend to Hakurei so she wouldn't grow sexually frustrated.
"Not enough?"
"It's not enough."
"How about deferred payment — once I've made something of myself?"
"That won't work. I need ten thousand, up front in cash."
"T-ten thousand?!"
As Li Bai froze solid, Maomao wondered what she should do.
If money were the only issue, Li Bai wasn't a bad candidate for redemption. He had an excess of physical stamina, so she figured Hakurei wouldn't mind him.
She probably wouldn't mind — but whether that would go as far as genuine affection, Maomao couldn't say.
(Hmm.)
Maomao let out a quiet sigh as she watched the dejected Li Bai.
"Lord Li Bai, could you stand up for a moment?"
"...Yes."
The dejected large dog obediently did as Maomao told him.
"Now then, please remove your jacket and raise both hands to shoulder height to show me your flexed muscles."
"Yes."
The ones who panicked at Li Bai's compliance were the eunuch guards. They rushed to stop him as he began to remove his kimono.
"There's nothing improper about this. I'm simply observing."
But even with Maomao's reassurance, the eunuchs weren't about to listen.
Li Bai sank back down, sitting formally on the chair.
"If I take it off, will the ransom go down?"
"I can't say whether it will or not, but there may be one possibility."
"...I'll take it off."
He stood up again and began to strip. When the eunuchs tried to stop him, he showed them the jade ornament signifying his rank, silencing them.
Maomao circled around Li Bai as he struck a pose to show off his muscles, examining him from every angle. From time to time, she formed a rectangle with both thumbs and index fingers and peered through it.
As expected of a military officer, his physique was thoroughly trained. His bone structure was straight, with evenly developed muscles. His right arm was slightly thicker — likely because he was right-handed.
He was a terrible eater who would devour anything except white bell, but even so, he had his preferences. If white bell were here right now, he would be licking his lips.
"Now then, please remove what's underneath as well."
"...The underneath too?"
"The underneath as well."
Maomao said with a perfectly straight face.
Reluctantly, Li Bai reached for his hakama sash. Once removed, he was down to his loincloth.
Even so, Maomao's expression didn't change as she observed him intently.
Her legs and lower back were solid too — a sign that Li Bai's daily training had no weak points. The taut thigh muscles flowed in clean, efficient lines down to the knee joint, and from there the calf muscles rose in well-defined arcs.
(Truly excellent musculature.)
Nothing like the beer-swollen belly from his visits to the pleasure quarters.
Nor was his skin the pale, unhealthy shade one might expect.
"I think this could work," Maomao thought, having Li Bai go through one posture after another, studying the flow of his muscles.
Li Bai turned out to be quite the willing showman, and gradually struck his poses with increasing enthusiasm.
To check the most important part at last, "Now then, please remove one more—"
she was about to say when the door clattered open.
Li Bai's face, which had been brimming with confidence, went deathly pale.
The eunuchs looked as though they had just received a death sentence.
Maomao's mouth hung open.
"What in the world are you people doing?!"
The rear palace superintendent, veins bulging on his face, and his deputy stood in the doorway.
Behind them, the ladies-in-waiting who had been peeking in hoping to catch a glimpse of Jinshi had seen far more than they bargained for and were collapsing left and right — the sight of a man had apparently been too much for women who kept their distance from the opposite sex.
For the time being, Maomao offered— "Good day to you, Lord Jinshi."
—and left it at that.