Chapter 3
Pei Lingyi was a judicial officer at the Capital Prefecture, responsible for apprehending criminals.
Everyone hated him.
He normally wore a stiff, austere robe of official blue. With his impassive features, sharp gaze, and perpetual air of keeping everyone at a distance, he was exceedingly difficult to like.
And yet he had set his sights on my Hundred Stallions House.
The first time we met, he brought a large contingent with him.
“Sai Diaochan, someone reported that your business corrupts public morals. I hereby order this filthy establishment sealed!”
I had fought my way up through the pleasure quarters. A show of force like that could hardly frighten me.
Smiling with every ounce of my seductive charm, I glided forward and leaned against his chest, tracing a languid finger over his heart.
“What a shame. I had no idea our capital boasted such a strikingly handsome judicial officer.”
“Enough of that, Sai Diaochan!”
He shoved me away in disgust, retreated to a safe distance, and made a point of straightening his clothes.
Unbothered, I kept smiling. “Officer Pei wants to close my Hundred Stallions House? By all means. Show me the prefect’s written order, and I’ll let you do it.”
“If I say it will be closed, it will be closed! Why would I need an order?”
I laughed. “This street is full of brothels. Why shut down mine alone? Without the prefect’s order, you will not lay a finger on the Hundred Stallions House.”
“Fine. Just you wait. I’ll have the order within three days!”
“If I don’t tear down this whorehouse, my name isn’t Cao!”
“Damn it—Pei!”
I doubled over with laughter.
“Officer Pei, I advise you to stay out of this. To tell you the truth, I have powerful backing.”
“I don’t care if a god is backing you!”
He stormed off in a fury while I laughed helplessly behind him.
Three days later, Pei Lingyi returned without the written order.
This time he came alone.
When he forced his way inside, I had just finished “training” a new young man.
The only thing covering my upper body was a bright red belly band embroidered with mandarin ducks.
Its color was so vivid that even Pei Lingyi’s face seemed to turn red in its glow.
He spun around at once, not daring to look at me.
I deliberately stepped in front of him.
“Well? Did Officer Pei bring the prefect’s order today?”
He opened his eyes long enough to glance at me, then squeezed them shut again.
“…No!”
“A concubine has gone missing from Prince Cheng’s residence. Someone said she might be hiding here…”
I smiled. “There is no prince’s concubine here.”
He continued, “If she is here, hand her over at once. I’ll return her quietly and spare you a great deal of trouble. If the authorities search this place and find her, you’ll pay dearly for it!”
I gave him a curious smile. “Aren’t you one of those authorities? Search all you like.”
“You! Prince Cheng’s household is no ordinary family. You cannot afford to provoke them.”
I snatched a gauzy wrap as thin as a cicada’s wing from the clothes rack and draped it over myself.
As I turned, my foot caught in a long robe.
I lost my balance.
And fell into the arms of the man opposite me.
Pei Lingyi reached out and caught me.
When our eyes met, his gaze darted away like that of a startled fox.
Laughing to myself, I rose with deliberate grace and tugged my loosened clothes back into place.
“Lord Pei, the person you seek isn’t here. All I have are men who have suffered unfortunate fates. I give them a way to eat.”
“And there are lonely women with empty lives. I give them something to look forward to.”
“That is all.”
For an instant, something seemed to light in his eyes as he looked at me.
After a long silence, he tossed out a final warning.
“Prince Cheng’s people may still come looking. You had better prepare yourself!”
Then he left.
But he had no intention of leaving me alone.
From then on, Pei Lingyi came to inspect the Hundred Stallions House every so often.
Once he arrived, he would stay for most of the day.
He either stood ramrod straight with a frosty expression or ordered a pot of tea and sat in a corner.
If he failed to appear for too long, we almost began to miss him.
Had he not worn that sour, forbidding face all day and periodically threatened to shut us down, I might have suspected he actually wanted to join the business.
In any event, his presence was terrible for trade.
He was my number-one enemy.