"Men!" Having received the largest bribe, Scarface Liu was the most eager to please. He chuckled and waved his hand grandly. "Serve Master Zheng! Time for his bath and a change of clothes!"
"Sixth Brother, wait!" Zheng Xiu, who had been prepared to face death with a smile, suddenly looked alarmed. He quickly stopped him, his expression one of pure exasperation. "Sixth Brother, I think there's been a misunderstanding. I… I'm not into men."
"No, no, no, it is Master Zheng who misunderstands. We… we can't very well trouble the Master's family to do the manual labor themselves, can we!"
Scarface Liu explained, but his eyes darted around evasively.
Zheng Xiu understood. A half-smile played on his lips. "Scarface Liu, you don't actually believe that these few unarmed, delicate women could break me out of prison, do you?"
Scarface Liu clutched the still-warm gold leaves inside his robe, hesitating.
Zheng Xiu continued, "Besides, with Sixth Brother looking after me, I eat and live well. I appreciate your kindness and wouldn't want to make things difficult for you. My parents died when I was young, so Second Lady and I grew up relying on each other. We're not blood relatives, but we're closer than any family. Now that I've fallen on hard times, she must have so much pent up to say. If she gets emotional and starts crying and making a scene, wouldn't that just make you and your brothers look on in amusement?"
The woman in the lead, who was in her thirties, wore simple, light makeup. This was the "Second Lady" Zheng Xiu had mentioned. She had been adopted by Father Zheng as a child and named Zheng Erniang, and she now managed a part of the Zheng Clan's business.
Zheng Erniang, who had been silent since entering the cell block, now spoke. She produced a heavy pouch of loose silver and stuffed it into Old Liu's robes. In a soft, gentle voice, she said, "This humble one will not make things difficult for Sixth Brother. This small amount is just to treat you and your brothers to a few drinks. We will only say a few words to the Master and then leave. We just want some peace of mind. We hope you can indulge us."
First, the silver taels. Then, the gold leaves. And now, another heavy pouch of loose silver.
Scarface Liu was completely won over. He unlocked the door and had the women quickly move the bathtub inside and fill it with hot water. Only then did Old Liu lower his voice. "Well… you'd better finish your business quickly!"
After making this lewd comment with a suggestive wink, Scarface Liu coughed twice on purpose. Clutching his head, he whined, "Ow! The smell of these women's perfume is making my old headache flare up! Hurry and help me outside for some fresh air!"
As he spoke, he shook the pouch of loose silver in front of the other Prison Guards, making it jingle loudly.
Everyone took the hint. With a silent, mutual understanding, they crowded around Old Liu and escorted him out the door to get some fresh air for his "headache."
It was the kind of illness only a heavy pouch of silver could cure.
Scarface Liu's parting shot to "finish your business quickly" sounded a bit strange to Zheng Xiu, but he had more important things to worry about.
Scarface Liu had assumed the four women were from Zheng Xiu's harem, perhaps his concubines. What he didn't know was that they were actually Zheng Xiu's prized cash cows, who had earned him a fortune over the years.
Their names were Zizi, Lily, Pingping, and Bobo.
Er… to put it simply, their names were nicknames for four fruits: Lychee, Snow Pear, Apple, and pineapple.
They were currently the top performers at Heaven on Earth, selling their art, not their bodies.
The "Fruit Diva Combo" might not be goddesses of unparalleled beauty, but with a little commercial polish, each possessed her own distinct charm. They were all masters of different performing arts, from singing to playing various instruments.
Second Lady, Zizi, Lily, Pingping, and Bobo squeezed into the cell, removed their veils, bowed, and said in unison, "Good morning, Master!"
"Shh! Keep it down."
Zheng Xiu quickly reminded them, then had the youngest, Zizi, help him with his robes. After instructing the other blushing women to turn around and cover their eyes to preserve their modesty, Zheng Xiu vaulted over the edge and sank into the bathtub with a SPLASH.
Soaking in the hot water, his exhaustion and pain began to fade away. Zheng Xiu closed his eyes, savoring the long-overdue comfort, and lazily began to speak.
"Second Lady, seeing you all puts my mind at ease. It seems the Zheng Family hasn't reached the point of having its assets seized by the authorities yet."
Zheng Xiu shifted into a more comfortable position in the tub and concisely inquired about the situation outside.
Second Lady's voice was somber. "Rest assured, Master, no one has laid a finger on your businesses yet. However, there are many rumors circulating in the city. In a single night, business at Heaven on Earth has dropped by forty percent. Many wealthy merchants are rushing to cash in their high-value silver notes. I suspect they've heard the news and are afraid that if the Zheng Clan's assets are seized by the officials' family, they'll be dragged down as well. As for our other enterprises…"
Second Lady reported on each of the Zheng Clan's enterprises, concluding that the family's business was vast and robust enough to weather this storm. For now, things were stable.
Hearing this, Zheng Xiu frowned. He asked Second Lady and the others to wait outside the cell's bars, keeping only Zizi with him.
Second Lady nodded in understanding and silently withdrew.
'The Master has his reasons for everything,' she thought. 'My duty is to care for him, not to question him.' Even if the Master really wanted to *have his way* with Zizi, that was his prerogative.
Zizi looked momentarily stunned, but she quickly approached the bathtub. Head bowed and eyes lowered, she remained silent, excitedly twisting the corners of her clothes in her hands.
"Of the five of you, your memory is the best; you never forget a single thing you hear. You must commit every word I'm about to say to heart. I have a task that I need you to handle personally."
"I understand, Master. Zizi will remember every word and will not let you down." Zizi seemed slightly disappointed, but she quickly nodded forcefully to show that she understood.
Then, in a voice only the two of them could hear, Zheng Xiu began to give Zizi his instructions.
"When you get back, hang a bell from the main entrance beam at Heaven on Earth. Under the bell, tie a red satin ribbon."
"You are to wait for a man. He will be dressed as an ordinary Wandering traveler, with a worn-out bamboo hat on his back."
"When you see someone dressed like that approach, you will ask him: 'A friend from afar! Are you looking for a familiar lady to spend the night with as man and wife?'"
"If he answers, 'I'm an honest man, here for a job, not for fun. Who do you think you're talking to?!' then you say, 'The spring garden's beauty can't be locked away, and a hero is no match for a pretty face. Sir, how can you be so devoid of romance?' If he replies, 'A single red apricot branch climbs over the wall. This is one romance I'm fine not knowing!' then he's the one."
Before coming to see the Master, the mood among the sisters had been quite somber. But now, Zheng Xiu's bizarre set of code phrases almost made Zizi burst out laughing.
But on second thought, she realized that even if an eavesdropper were to hear these phrases in a brothel, they wouldn't mean a thing. Zizi inwardly marveled at the Master's cleverness. After carefully committing the exchange to memory, she stifled a giggle, puffed out her cheeks, and asked, "Zizi has it memorized. What then?"
"Then, you tell him: Center one, two, three. East seven, nine. South four, eight. West three. North two."
After triple-checking that Zizi had memorized the code perfectly, Zheng Xiu had her help him dress and tie up his hair. He looked radiant and felt thoroughly refreshed, all his fatigue and pain washed away.
Before Second Lady and the others left, Zheng Xiu instructed her to send two bottles of their winery's finest aged vintage to Scarface Liu later. Puzzled, Second Lady asked why he was in the mood for drinking. Zheng Xiu just gave a mysterious, evasive answer, saying that at worst, he could use it for mouthwash, so it wouldn't be a waste.
Second Lady led Lychee, Snow Pear, Apple, and pineapple out of the dim dungeon, their faces etched with worry. Outside, the Zheng Family guards immediately surrounded them, protecting their mistresses.
The wealthy never need to handle things personally. With a few brief words, Second Lady delegated the Master's instructions to their subordinates. She then turned to the four girls and saw they all looked worried, especially Zizi, who had been alone with the Master. Her delicate brows were tightly furrowed, and she looked like she was about to explode from suppressed anger.
"What's wrong? So you didn't lose your virtue, but you lost your mind instead?"
Second Lady teased.
"Pah!" Zizi's delicate earlobes flushed red, but she feigned the air of a worldly woman and scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous, Second Lady. Zizi wishes! If I somehow 'accidentally' become Madam Zheng, all of them will have to line up to massage my legs and shoulders! Hee hee, too bad, I guess."
Bobo, who had been silent, covered her mouth with her hand and giggled. "The Master is a man of virtue and prestige. He's not that kind of person."
"What kind of person?"
"You know… *that* kind."
"A beastly man?"
"Exactly."
Second Lady sighed. "If his mother were still alive, she'd probably wish for the Master to be a 'beastly man' more often! That way, she'd get a house full of chubby grandbabies to dote on and give the Zheng Clan ancestors peace in the netherworld!"
Second Lady and her companions put their veils back on and, surrounded by the Zheng Family guards, departed from the Prison Camp. They had arrived with faces full of sorrow, but now they left with a newfound sense of ease. Perhaps it was because even though Zheng Xiu had fallen on hard times, he remained so calm, composed, and effortlessly elegant, even behind bars.
Zheng Xiu's optimism was like a dose of Calming Powder for their nerves.
After exchanging a few more jokes with Second Lady and the other girls, Zizi, preoccupied with the secret task the Master had given her, made an excuse to return to Heaven on Earth ahead of them.
Although Second Lady didn't know what had happened between Zizi and the Master in the short time they were alone, she was sharp and perceptive. She simply arranged for an escort to see Zizi home and asked no further questions.
It was nearly noon. Instead of returning to the empty Zheng Family estate, Second Lady hailed a "Zheng's Express Train."
The driver, dressed in the guise of a Wandering traveler, was one of Second Lady's trusted retainers. Bidding the other women farewell, Second Lady set off for the suburbs alone.
When Lily asked out of curiosity where she was going, Second Lady replied casually that she was heading to the Immortal Maiden Temple on the outskirts of the Imperial City to pay her respects to the Immortal Lady and ask for a Peace Talisman for the Master.