His Peasant Wife : Yao Ling

Yao Ling listened to what Lin Jian said. Hmm... the network intelligence? She sighed in annoyance. There were a lot of places to gather information, but why should it be in a hua lou? She knew that it was only her jealousy talking, but she just couldn’t help it. At least, Yao Ying told him truthfully about this and she also knew that by taking Lin Jian here, Yao Ying was also considering her feelings. She also knew that even Wang Luo Hai didn’t tell Madam Wang about the hua lou matter.

Considering this, she felt a little bit better.

Wang Luo Hai knew that Lin Jian was probably heard something about his next assignment, otherwise, he wouldn’t be in a hurry telling Yao Ying to handle the network intelligence. "Then, I will bother you to teach Yao Ying everything about ’Mi Hui’ (meaning: Secret Meeting)."

"Mi Hui?" Yao Ling asked.

"That’s how we called the network intelligence at the hua lou," Lin Jian explained.

Wang Luo Hai patted Yao Ling’s shoulder. "Don’t worry! Yao Ying won’t have the time to play around there, because there will be a lot of things to learn."

Yao Ling nodded, but still asked worriedly, "Are you feeling better? Your headache... will it be okay if you think too much?"

Lin Jian really tempted to roll his eyes, because of the affectionate couple. It was just a quick peek on how they normally operated, so how could that make Yao Ying get a headache? He wasn’t going to give the rein to Yao Ying right away! What kind of a headache that he would get?!

Yao Ying, who felt happy for being cared for, didn’t care about the jealous single dog. "I’m better, don’t worry about me!" If there were no other people, he would probably already jump on Yao Ling and kiss her lips. Too bad that he couldn’t do that!

After getting the permission, Yao Ying and Lin Jian quickly went to the hua lou. "I will introduce you to our people there, so they will know that you are also a part of us. If you need their help, you will be able to move them freely. Of course, you will need a token to do that. Currently, I already ask someone to make one for you. Just wait for a few days and I will have him to send the token to you. Don’t lose it!" Lin Jian warned him.

"Don’t you think it will be better if I look around first?"

"No, it’s okay. They already expect me to introduce you to them. After all, the inner circle of Mi Hui already knows that you are Uncle Wang’s son," Lin Jian explained.

Yao Ying nodded. It seemed like his job would increase after this, but as long as he could handle them properly, it would also be good for him. "Can I ask them to do something for personal use?" Yao Ying hesitantly asked.

Lin Jian asked him, "Do you mean to look any information about your past?"

"Yes..."

Lin Jian sighed, knowing that it was an important thing for Yao Ying. "You can, as long as it doesn’t clash with Mi Hui and the organization’s interest. I will give a piece of advice... don’t do it right at the start. You are still new in this organization and you haven’t gained the trust of the organization and our people. It won’t be a wise move. You have to prove yourself first."

Yao Ying understood this point and knew that Lin Jian’s advice was also for his own good. "I know. I’m not in a hurry to find out about my past too. I live quite happily at the moment. However... not knowing about my past... makes me feel that a piece of me is missing. There’s a hollow in my heart that can’t be filled." Yao Ying admitted his inner thought truthfully.

Lin Jian patted Yao Ying’s shoulder. "I know... You have a happy family now. You should cherish it. Don’t be too obsessed about your past! Otherwise, you will overlook your happiness at the moment." Lin Jian gave him his sincere advice.

Yao Ying put what Lin Jian said into his heart because he understood that it was true. He reminded himself that he had Yao Ling, so he wouldn’t have a bleak future even if he didn’t remember anything.

"Can you tell me the basic operation of the hua lou?" Yao Ying asked. He didn’t want to go unprepared to the hua lou.

"It’s pretty easy, to be honest. Our inner circle of Mi Hui is the senior shopkeepers and the famous courtesans of our hua lou. We have to mix them with oblivious shopkeepers and courtesans as to not making it obvious that we are gathering information secretly. We always choose the best of them --- just like I said, they underwent training first before they were allowed to join the organization," Lin Jian explained.

"By allowing... you mean let them drink the poison?"

"Of course..." Lin Jian grinned.

"If they choose not to drink the poison?" Yao Ying asked curiously.

"They either choose to drink the poison or die," Lin Jian answered seriously. "We have to keep the secrecy of the organization and it’s for the greater good."

Yao Ying could feel the killing intent on Lin Jian, but in a flash, it was gone. Yao Ying wasn’t a cruel person, but he also wasn’t a saint. He knew that it was important to be a bit vicious from time to time if they wanted to protect themselves. "I guess they will choose to drink the poison," Yao Ying laughed. He already experienced it once, so he knew perfectly clear about it.

"Yes..." Lin Jian grinned. "But they soon pledge their own loyalty, so I’m not really worried about that."

"Who’s in charge of that?"

"For choosing the person that could join us, it’s usually decided by me. So... later it will become your job too. The one who does the poison ceremony is one of the shopkeepers along with several hidden guards. Just in case, they refuse to drink the poison and want to run away," Lin Jian answered.

"Hmmm... okay. The shopkeepers and the courtesans’ jobs?" Yao Ying asked.

"They just need to secure the targets and try to get information. Our VIP customers are mostly important figures in business or officials. We do a background check for each of them to expect what kind pieces of information we can get from them, so the courtesans can easily gain the information through any means neccessary."

"Only VIP customers?" Yao Ying thought that information could be easily obtained by the people around those VIP customers too.

"Good question," Lin Jian grinned. "Not only them. We have two tiers of courtesans too -- the second tier courtesans would deal with the people around the VIP customers."

Yao Ling nodded in agreement. "The system is pretty good."

"You said that no one knows that we are the real owner. Who acts as the owner then?" Yao Ying asked curiously.

"You will meet that person later," Lin Jian smiled.

"How do you meet with them? I mean to give you their report."

"Of course, by pretending to become the hua lou’s VIP customers," Lin Jian laughed at the obvious question.

Yao Ying felt a headache coming. Lin Jian is single, so it should be fine for him to pretend to be a playboy. However, he’s different! He has a wife!

Lin Jian laughed at Yao Ying’s darkened expression, knowing what he thought about. "Don’t worry! We can find another way!" Lin Jian laughed out loud. "The courtesans in our hua lou isn’t selling their body. They sell their talents, so the hua lou’s reputation isn’t really bad. Some of the VIP customers love to come because of that. You know that it’s easy for powerful people to get concubines, but not all of them have someone to talk to. That’s how we entice them to come to our hua lou. Some of them only need companions and not the lecherous type of people."

Yao Ying nodded in understanding. "That’s the difference between our hua lou with the lowly brothels, right?"

"Yes... the people are more cultured and don’t behave like a lustful animal," Lin Jian grinned.

"I see..." Yao Ying was quite satisfied with those kinds of arrangement.