City lord manor

As soon as I got home, I discovered a horrible truth. Yue'er had nothing to wear for this occasion. She had only three dresses: two for casual wear and one for going outside. They were of the same cloth and cut, the outside dress had a bit of embroidery. I felt like a swine, she was literally the closest person to me, yet I never paid enough attention to her attire. It could be forgiven for a young boy, such as past Shen Yue, - someone like me should have known better.

Ashamed at my own idiocy, I took the girl clothes shopping. She was shy (even bewildered) at first, so I had to explain that we (especially me) would look like either poor or miserly for keeping my maid in such rags. It took me two hours to pick something passable for her. Poor girl really didn't know what to do with herself, while I began to understand women's shopping habits. Lingerie shopping was done in 10 minutes: first five to fight my way into the shop and another five to revive Yue'er dying from shame.

Luckily, her hairs were still too short for some fancy haircut, - she was done in 20 minutes. And 1 minute to buy her a bracelet, fitting her new look. Then we took a carriage to the city lord manor, and I spent the entire time explaining to her that would be a guest this time (even if lower in status than me).

Zi Yun has warned the guards about our arrival, so there was no awkward moment of waiting for a guide. We were led to her private courtyard, a table was served for four. Me, Yue'er, Zi Yun herself and an elder Shuo. Shen Yue had seen him a couple of times in the past.

Yue'er was stunned by being allowed at the same table as the princes of Glory City. The mistress of the house was the incarnation of propriety and a manifestation of an ideal host: kind, polite, gentle, soft voice full of compassion and humor. Even lord Ye Shuo was impressed by the show. At first, my maid was stiff but melted within the first few minutes. It all was completely unexpected, only sparks of curiosity and anticipation in the young lady's eyes were revealing her true intentions.

In the end, Zi Yun asked Xiao Yue to stay for the night in her yard (as expected), which got younger girl blushing. And my place for the night was at lord Shuo's own yard. The man himself thanked me for my invention but was mostly focused on asking about brother Fei, especially why I thought his party to be a trap. When I explained that a top-tier place like Jade Dragon brothel can't satisfy his urges and Xiao Yue recited her own experience, his face turned grim and he agreed with my decision.

Ye Shuo's wife, Feng Ruo, was a tall, plump, charming woman. She reminded me one of my early crushes from my past life. She was father's childhood friend and first woman (according to mom). As far as I could tell, she was literally flawless. Wise, yet humorous, strong, yet soft, beautiful, yet kind. Only years later, I understood that for a flawed man, such a woman would be poison. Ye Shuo looked like ancient elder despite being a 40-something cultivator of black-gold rank. Still, both of them were interesting people and madam Feng kept me entertained, even when her husband went somewhere.