At the same time, the bosses of other brothels in the royal city were extremely astonished. Why was business so slow tonight?
The royal city had a population of over a million, the economy was prosperous, and night life was very rich. Whenever the lanterns first lit up, those famous establishments were always bustling with noise and excitement.
After a little inquiry they learned that many regular customers had actually all run off to the Yuhua Pavilion.
As for those girls who had previously attended Solon’s gathering but refused to bid for Solon’s royal city Nineteen Beauties plan, after returning to their own establishments in the second half of last night they went to sleep.
They cherished their beauty very much, so they would sleep for eight or nine hours or more. By the time they woke up it was already afternoon.
Then they began to hear about the Ye Little Cat poster that had caused a sensation in the royal city, but they did not take it too seriously.
Who was Ye Little Cat? Was it not just Ye Xiaoxian? A girl worth only three silver coins who could not even raise her head in front of them. Compared with their level, the difference was probably as vast as heaven and earth.
Moreover, they could tell at a glance that Ye Little Cat was merely a planted supporter found by Solon and Yi Manman.
Therefore they instinctively felt that the so-called sensation caused by the Ye Little Cat poster this afternoon was also just supporters hired by Solon. This profligate son had plenty of shady friends after all.
It was not until tonight that they each discovered that more than half of the customers in their own brothels were gone, and these customers had all run to the Yuhua Pavilion.
Instantly their hearts began to tense up. They immediately sent servants to the Yuhua Pavilion to scout the enemy’s situation. Of course at this time they still did not believe that Solon could succeed. Relying on a single portrait to turn a girl worth three silver coins into a big star worth one gold coin? How was that possible?
Back then, in order to raise their own prices to one gold coin, how many resources had their entire brothel invested and how many famous and wealthy suckers had they brought in?
Solon wanted to rely on one painting to increase the value twenty or thirty times? It was completely a dream.
Little Red Peach was one of the women who held this kind of thinking.
She had also been very popular before and her price had once reached one gold coin. But now she was somewhat past her prime. Although her advertised price was still one gold coin, in reality it was only ten silver coins, and even then she did not have many customers.
Therefore she had sent her personal maid to the Yuhua Pavilion early on.
She had decided that as long as Ye Xiaoxian’s price could reach one gold coin she would immediately go find Solon and join this royal city Nineteen Beauties plan. However fifty gold coins was a bit too much. Thirty gold coins would be about right.
In this way Little Red Peach waited impatiently in her room, and tonight she had no customers either. Of course she did not lack customers, but she lacked customers willing to spend big money.
After waiting a full hour and more, the little maid who had gone to scout finally returned.
She immediately stood up and said: “Has Ye Little Cat’s price come out yet? Has it reached one gold coin?”
That maid was panting desperately. Hearing her young lady’s question she immediately screamed: “One gold coin? How is that possible?”
Little Red Peach said: “Just as I thought. Solon relying on one painting to make a tender chick reach one gold coin is completely a fool’s dream. Everyone has eyes. It is impossible for them to be fooled by him. Young Master Solon’s plan this time has failed.”
That maid said: “Miss, it is three hundred and ninety gold coins. Ye Little Cat’s first night price, the final price, is three hundred and ninety gold coins.”
As soon as these words came out they completely stunned Little Red Peach. Immediately afterwards her eyes rolled back and she nearly fainted.
Three hundred and ninety gold coins? Three hundred and ninety gold coins! (One gold coin was equivalent to more than ten thousand RMB. This price, simply converted to Earth currency, was already several million RMB.)
This, how was this possible? How was this possible?
Incomparable shock, incomparable jealousy.
She had been mixing in the pleasure quarters for nearly ten years. All her savings added together were only a little over five hundred gold coins.
In the entire royal city brothel world the highest ever first night price had never exceeded thirty gold coins.
“It must be a planted supporter. This must be a planted supporter hired by Solon. Even if Ye Xiaoxian’s place was inlaid with gold it could not sell for three hundred and ninety gold coins.” Little Red Peach shouted.
That maid said: “It is not a planted supporter, it is not. Ye Xiaoxian has completely changed. She has become like a woman from another world. Those men all went mad. Hundreds of people shouted prices desperately. The final bidder was a marquis. No one dared to compete with him, otherwise the price would have been even higher.”
Little Red Peach still muttered to herself: “How is this possible? How is this possible? Could Solon really turn stone into gold?”
Originally he said he would make Ye Little Cat’s value increase ten times, with the highest target only one or two gold coins. Now it was actually several hundred gold coins?
Although first night prices would be much higher, this was still too terrifying.
Immediately afterwards she seemed to suddenly wake up with a start and screamed: “Quick, quick, prepare the carriage. Take all the money, take all the money, and go to the Yuhua Pavilion to see Young Master Solon. If we are late it will be too late, too late.”
Just as Little Red Peach rushed out of her establishment like a madwoman carrying her money box, girls from other brothels were doing the same thing. After complete shock they all grabbed their own savings and rushed towards the Yuhua Pavilion to deliver money to Solon.
…
It was not until the second half of the night that the Yuhua Pavilion barely managed to close its doors.
Those who wanted to be intimate with Ye Little Cat had to make an appointment today and then draw lots tomorrow. Each day she would only receive one guest.
Instantly all the customers went mad. The number of people making appointments that night exceeded three hundred.
Although five gold coins was very expensive, compared with today’s first night price of three hundred and ninety gold coins, five gold coins was already an extremely conscientious price with super high cost performance.
According to this number of appointments, Ye Little Cat’s guests could at least be booked until next year.
At this time Lan Ling was already completely surrounded by countless beauties and countless gold coins.
Yesterday he had to beg others to join the royal city Nineteen Beauties for only fifty gold coins, yet not a single person was willing.
Today these girls were desperately waving the gold coins and gold notes in their hands. Moreover it was not just the girls themselves. Their brothel bosses behind them were also waving even larger gold notes, waiting for Solon’s favour and hoping that after being touched by Solon’s golden hand they would immediately turn stone into gold.
The royal city Nineteen Beauties still had eighteen spots left.
And these eighteen spots were no longer fifty gold coins. They had been multiplied ten times and become five hundred gold coins each. Because it was no longer the popular girls paying, but the brothels behind them.
The eighteen spots added together already totalled nine thousand gold coins.
In the next few hours Lan Ling entered an extremely difficult beauty selection process.
Because although the remaining eighteen beauties did not necessarily need to reach Ye Little Cat’s sensational effect, they still needed sufficient impact, otherwise it would ruin his own reputation.
And Lan Ling’s selection principle was that they did not necessarily need to be the most beautiful, but they definitely needed to be the most distinctive and the most suitable for packaging.
For example, as a woman, if you looked very androgynous with a very handsome charm, that was also fine.
Or for example, if you were pure to the point of being like water, then you could perfectly follow the Japanese pure student girl route.
In short, they must have characteristics and must be suitable for packaging.
From midnight all the way until daytime, and then all the way until evening.
Lan Ling finally settled the remaining eighteen spots, fully taking care of the interests of the largest few brothels in the royal city.
As for the other girls who were not selected, they looked at Lan Ling with incomparable resentment and incomparable regret, turning back three times with every step as they left the Yuhua Pavilion.
Next, Lan Ling would write a booklet about how to package the remaining eighteen beauties, how to style them, what route each person should take, what talents each should learn, and so on.
Then this booklet would be handed to Yi Manman. In the future the royal city Nineteen Beauties would launch one new candidate every month.
One beauty per month, for a total of one and a half years, to promote all nineteen beauties.
In short, the launch of every member of the royal city Nineteen Beauties must bring a sensation and bring a brand new fashion trend.
Next a real art committee would be established, and Yi Manman would become the real president.
All future packaging and promotion matters would be handed over to Yi Manman and the art committee.
As for Lan Ling himself, practising martial arts was still more important. Inheriting the title and protecting the Tianshui City territory was the foundation.
…
Finally, everything was over.
It was almost dark when all the brothel girls and madams finished the meeting and left the Yuhua Pavilion.
After being busy for more than ten hours straight, Lan Ling was almost exhausted to the point of collapse and wished he could just lie on the ground and fall asleep. However he could not lie down and sleep like that, because the debt repayment deadline had already reached the final day.
Next came the time for counting. Thick gold notes, each worth one hundred gold coins, totalled more than one hundred sheets.
He had only wanted to earn three thousand nine hundred gold coins, yet he had earned more than ten thousand gold coins.
Thus Lan Ling carried a thick stack of gold notes and went home.
Although he had earned more than ten thousand gold coins this time, he did not take all of it. He only took five thousand gold coins. The remaining five thousand gold coins were left with Yi Manman as operating funds for the future art committee. Because packaging and promoting the remaining eighteen beauties would require spending a lot of money.
Although Lan Ling had created the royal city Nineteen Beauties to repay the debt, since it had already caused such a huge sensation, there was no harm in continuing rather than making it a one-off deal.
…
In the evening Lan Ling returned home with a face full of exhaustion.
He saw Suo Ningbing with red-rimmed eyes and Ye Jingyu with a cold, dark face.
“Sorry sister, I came back late. Things changed a little from what I expected.” Lan Ling said.
“It is good that you are back. Why does your face look so bad?” Suo Ningbing rushed over the moment she saw Lan Ling and said softly: “It does not matter if you did not raise the money. We will think of other ways. The royal family cannot force us to death.”
Lan Ling glanced over and discovered that the two creditors, one fat and one thin, were already sitting there, looking at him with half-smiles. Their eyes flickered with cold and cruel light, like hunters facing their prey just before death.
Lan Ling found it strange. The Ye Little Cat he had packaged had caused such a huge sensation in the royal city, yet these two knew nothing about it?
Otherwise why did they still look as if they had him completely under control?
“These two creditors have been sitting at home since early this morning, as if they were afraid we would run away.” Ye Jingyu said with a cold laugh.
No wonder. Last night Ye Little Cat had become hugely popular, but no one knew it was Solon’s work.
Today those brothel girls and madams had been discussing business with Lan Ling until evening before leaving, so the matter of Solon being the mastermind behind the royal city Nineteen Beauties had not yet spread.
Therefore these two creditors still knew nothing at present.
The gold shop boss said slowly: “Young Master Solon, the time to repay the debt has arrived. Of course if you cannot repay it that is also fine. Then the two properties you mortgaged will belong to us.”
Lan Ling sneered: “You have quite the nerve, actually wanting to force us to death like this.”
The casino boss sneered: “Owing a debt and repaying it is only right and proper. The one who wants to kill you in the end is Duke Zhi Ting, not us?”
Lan Ling said: “You are certain that I cannot repay these three thousand nine hundred gold coins, right?”
The gold shop boss smiled disdainfully, the meaning self-evident.
All the gold shops, silver houses, wealthy clans and nobles in the entire royal city had already received warnings not to lend a single gold coin to the Suo family. Under such circumstances it would be strange if Solon could borrow any money.
Therefore the Suo family definitely could not repay the money and was absolutely doomed!
Then, under the incomparably shocked gazes of the two creditors, Lan Ling placed the gold notes one by one in front of them and said slowly: “A total of four thousand three hundred gold coins. I have even given you the interest.”
After placing the thick stack of forty-three gold notes in front of the two men, Lan Ling said indifferently: “By the way, let me remind you to run away quickly. Before tomorrow I will kill your entire families.”