Chapter 138: The Brothel and the Teahouse (2)

Ye Lanyu had always regretted this, as it took an enormous amount of effort to drag Ye Lang out shopping each time. Even so, she still hoped to see Ye Lang dressed in women’s clothing again. Of course, this was purely for amusement and meant nothing more. Now that the conditions and opportunity had presented themselves, she naturally could not let it pass.

When Ye Lang made his formal appearance that day, the air seemed to congeal. The entire audience stared at his "breathtakingly beautiful" figure; that look alone was enough to drive people to madness. And when he later began to sing, the frenzy only intensified. That day, almost everyone waited for an encore, but they were disappointed. Later, they came daily to request it, but Ye Lang never appeared in that guise again. Naturally, it was just a whim; once was enough. He had no such hobby as playing the part of a woman.

Because of this, the teahouse’s business climbed steadily. Tips and requests for performances had already surpassed the tea revenue by dozens of times. At this rate, the initial investment would be recovered within a few years—or perhaps even sooner. At the time, Ye City had yet to fully develop, and there were not many merchants passing through. In the future, however, it would be a different story. The sheer scale of the crowds was something these people could never have imagined. As the population grew, competition would arise, and since the teahouse had a limited repertoire, some would pay a fortune just to request a single song. This left Liu Feiyan, who had taken over management, beaming with joy every day.

I forgot to mention: after Ye Lang "defected," Zhao Yarou had sealed the Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon Pavilion because a portion of it was Ye Lang’s property. One could not confiscate the assets, but one could certainly seal them off. As for the reasons, there were plenty of pretexts anyway. Because of this, Liu Feiyan and the other courtesans simply packed up and threw their lot in with Ye Lang. They were, in fact, part of the reason Ye Lang opened the teahouse—to settle them and allow them to continue their artistic pursuits. After all, they were his employees, and he felt obligated to look after them. If asked why he didn’t just open a brothel instead of bringing them into the new world of a teahouse, his answer would be simple: "What is the difference between a brothel and a teahouse? Isn’t it just one character different?" A tavern? It’s all the same!

Liu Feiyan had studied performance with Ye Lang and possessed great talent. After he left, she became the star of the establishment. She remained as alluring as ever, driving many men to distraction. Yet, her allure now carried a cold, icy quality, creating a palpable sense of distance—a feeling that she could be admired from afar but never approached. The more she acted this way, the more people itched to get closer. Truth be told, very few people could see her natural, modest side anymore; besides her sisters, only Ye Lang could. Sometimes, when Ye Lang took her out shopping, people didn’t even recognize her in her plain appearance. It was much like the case with Ye Chengtian and the others; it was hard to imagine a person could change so drastically.

In Ye Lang’s eyes, the teahouse was a place for play and wasting money. To his Seventh Brother, it was a place to earn money. But to his Third Brother, it was something else entirely—a perfect hub for intelligence gathering. Especially later on, as the crowds grew and prominent figures began to appear frequently, its value skyrocketed. In the end, even his brothers had to admire Ye Lang. He was truly a master of squandering wealth; he hadn’t just created an incredibly profitable business, but had also provided them with an excellent venue for collecting intelligence and spreading information.

As an aside, requesting a song from Ye Lang now cost at least a thousand gold coins, and even then, there was no guarantee he would sing.

...At this moment, Ye Lang was rarely singing a song, which had the crowd in a state of high excitement. However, before he had finished a few lines, someone came to ruin it. It was a trio consisting of the three girls closest to Ye Lang: Ye Lanyu, the Seventh Princess, and Zhen Xiaoyan.

"You little rascal, still singing ditties here! Do you have any idea what day it is?!" Ye Lanyu rushed onto the stage the moment she entered and pulled Ye Lang down. The crowd, initially furious, fell silent and went back to their tea as soon as they saw it was Ye Lanyu. What else could they do? Trying to challenge this young lady was like looking for a cold snap; she would turn you into a popsicle, and often, innocent bystanders would get dragged into the fray! Thus, if there was anyone the people of Ye City feared most, it was Ye Lanyu. Yet, despite their fear, they were quite fond of her. It wasn’t just a case of "love me, love my dog"; Ye Lanyu truly had endearing qualities. Unlike other arrogant young ladies, she was only excessive when it came to matters involving Ye Lang.

"What day is it?" Ye Lang asked, confused. He truly couldn't recall any special occasion.

"You have the nerve to ask what day it is? Don't you know we’re leaving?" Ye Lanyu glared at Ye Lang, clearly annoyed.

"I know, you're going to participate in the ranking tournament and go for training!" Ye Lang replied, nodding. In theory, Ye Lanyu and the others shouldn't have needed to participate, as the Royal Academy they represented certainly wouldn't acknowledge their status, and even if they did, it wouldn't be convenient to let them compete on their behalf. However, just because they couldn't represent the Royal Academy didn't mean they couldn't represent another.

Which academy? Naturally, the one in Ye City—the Ye Family Academy!

The Ye Family Academy was an essential piece of basic educational infrastructure required for the city’s development, a major highlight in the blueprint for Ye City. Everyone understood that for a city to flourish, it couldn't rely on just one group of people; it needed generations of continuous effort. To secure future talent, establishing an academy was indispensable! To attract faculty, they first had to make a name for themselves. They didn't aim for the top three or even the top ten; they just needed to excel in a few specific areas to attract enough people. Everything had to be done step by step; one couldn't expect to reach the heavens in a single bound.

Because of this, Ye Lanyu and her companions became the representatives of the Ye Family Academy. Almost all the original representatives of the Royal Academy who had come here became representatives of the Ye Family Academy. With such a force, they believed it wouldn't be difficult to achieve some results. If it weren't for the fact that those from the Ye family who were already at the First Academy hadn't transferred back, the team would likely have been even stronger. It wasn't that those people didn't support the Ye Family Academy; it was simply that they were already students of the First Academy and lacked Ye Lanyu’s circumstances, making it difficult for them to switch easily. After all, the First Academy remained the best institution, and studying there was the best path forward.