They were in charge of being beautiful, and she was in charge of taking the hits.

Chapter 180 High Consumption

Ma Yuan never expected to suffer a setback at Xiao Si's residence. This person was not afraid of the power of the Second Princess and the Prime Minister.

With so many carts towing him now, and horses still on the street at night, wouldn't he become a sitting duck?

“I can’t stay at the Xiao residence, but you should be able to see the inns with signs written in the Northern Desert script on the other side of the street.”

“You can stay there, but it’s a foreign country after all, and my line goes to another country’s border.”

"Thank you for the reminder, General Xiao!" Ma Yuan said through gritted teeth.

I felt like rushing up to her and tearing her into pieces.

Clearly, along the way, the handwritten letters or travel documents from the Second Princess and the Prime Minister were very useful.

Why doesn't it work when I come in from here?

On the contrary, there's a feeling that if you mention their names, you'll get ripped off.

But these carts and horses can't just be left to dry on the streets.

He still needed to find a place to stay before dawn, as he could sense that many people along the way were eyeing their carriages with hostility.

After all, they look like they have money.

There was no other way, so I gritted my teeth and went looking for it again.

They ended up at Luo's Inn, which was willing to take them in, though this had been arranged beforehand.

Your boss lady looked at them as they came in, smiling broadly with the face of a businesswoman.

Quickly, have someone bring tea and wine.

They were really afraid it was a shady business, but there was nothing they could do.

They could only arrange for the carriages and horses to be placed in the large courtyard behind them, leaving a group of people to guard them.

The rest of the people were all in the front and back of the courtyard, each guarding their own spot.

Ma Yuan was curious that this small town was so confident that everyone dared to defy them.

As he was about to leave, the landlady kindly reminded him that if the customer wanted to go out, he should...

The largest place here is Silan Pavilion.

The waitresses, boss ladies, and cooks in these courseware materials clearly look like they're skilled in martial arts.

They dared not offend them and had to be careful, just to have a place to shelter from the wind and rain.

But if you're not careful, you could lose all the goods.

Ma Yuan wanted to see what the most bustling place in town, Silan Pavilion, was like.

How can it compare to those places in the capital like Cuihong Pavilion, Zuihua Pavilion, and Wanhong Building?

And she also knew what these pavilions were originally intended for.

It must have been a secret communication point, so I changed my clothes and disguised myself.

But little did she know, someone was secretly following her.

This Silan Pavilion is indeed grand, at least in this town.

Upon entering, she was stunned by the lively scene; there was plenty of food, drink, and entertainment.

The person following her entered Silan Pavilion first and whispered something to the people inside.

When she went back in, all those beautiful women surrounded her.

It felt like they wouldn't stop until they'd completely drained her.

"This distinguished guest is quite unfamiliar; he has come to this border for business."

"Oh, you've come to the right place! We have everything you need for eating, drinking, and having fun. What would you like to do, sir?"

"Have your top courtesan come and keep me company!"

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, almost every top performer is a ringleader for information about a certain person.

Based on her years of experience navigating the treacherous waters of officialdom, he was determined to extract some information from her.

The man smiled and asked, "Female or male?"

Ma Yuan never expected that this place was run by both men and women, nor did he expect that women would also be doing this kind of work.

"Our customers may not know what we're doing here, but we do both men and women take photos secretly."

"Of course, we don't do that kind of dirty business. We just chat, drink, eat, and play songs and dances to keep you entertained."

"Then let's have both men and women."

After he finished speaking, the shopkeeper simply rubbed his hands together.

No one was called, and Ma Yuan didn't understand what it meant. It turned out that you had to pay first here.

"Yes, all night, or just a few hours?"

"What do you mean?"

"Two cards a night, 20 gold! That's two gold per hour!"

He was so surprised that his jaw dropped. What kind of celestial beauty could be so expensive?

The places he visited in the capital weren't this expensive.

"Don't want it? If you don't want it, you can go downstairs, play some dice, gamble on big or small or something."

The boss was tactful and didn't hear him say no.

Instead of kicking him out, she was recommended to try other activities.

With a determined look, he pulled out two gold coins: "I want a man."

"Chun'er, come here, just for an hour." They immediately ushered her to a private room. Is this what life is like for the wealthy?

Chun'er was indeed beautiful. Holding a zither in her arms, she sang a new piece she had recently learned.

But Ma Yuan didn't know that this piece of music also required an extra charge.

When they arrived at the private room, they were quite far apart.

Chun'er asked her what kind of music she wanted to hear, but Ma Yuan didn't want to hear any music and patted the chair next to him.

"Come sit down, I have some questions for you."

Chun'er, you knew all along that this person wasn't a wealthy customer.

He sat down very respectfully and even poured her a cup of tea, saying, "Please have some tea, sir."

"Business at the border has always been so chaotic, while my business, or rather, everyone else's business, has always been so good. How come every inn is always packed?"

"Yes, business has improved a lot since the trade route opened up, although it wasn't bad before."

"But now there are so many people who come specifically to see us that we sometimes can't even get a reservation, so our value has gone up as a result."

Do you know General Xiao?

"Yes, I know him. He's a regular customer."

How long does it usually take?

"All night!"

Ma Yuan slammed his hand heavily on the table. "How much would it cost for an overnight stay?"

How much wealth did he amass from this? She's determined to use this to implicate her.

However, border generals often turn a blind eye to their embezzlement, so without concrete evidence, it's really difficult to find fault with them.

If this matter can threaten her into doing things for them, that would be a good idea.

"Do you have any ledgers? Do you keep a record of which customers spent how much?"

"There are some."

Chun'er was well aware of her intentions, and even gave her directions.

Tell them where the ledgers are kept, inside the counter, and that they are never collected.

This fake account was made specifically for her, and she sat inside for a while.

Time passed quickly, and Chun'er left the room. At this point, he was about to get the account book.

Once we catch Xiao Si by the tail, things will be much easier.

The ledger seemed to be right there, openly displayed, as if she were to take it. She looked around and saw that no one was watching her.

She flipped through the ledger and found Xiao Si's page, where her spending was outrageously high.

Regardless of whether there was anything fishy going on, they simply tore that page out.

We should confront her face-to-face and see what she has to say then.