Chapter 124.1: Visiting the Pleasure Quarters, Looking for Tarts

Tang Doudou didn’t see Baili Yu even after waiting for an entire night. She held onto the medicine and only returned to her room to sleep after much urging on Qing He’s part.

Too many things had happened in this one night. The moment her head touched the pillow, she fell deep asleep. Certain images kept resurfacing vividly in her dreams, causing her to feel even more tired after the night’s sleep than before she went to bed.

She lay on the bed dizzily. When Qing He entered, she immediately noticed Tang Doudou’s abnormal pallor and reached out to touch Tang Doudou’s face. Tang Doudou’s forehead felt like boiling water, it was shockingly hot.

“Lady Doudou.” Qing He gently nudged Tang Doudou. Tang Doudou was barely conscious and could only murmur in response. Upon seeing this, Qing He hastily got up and said, “I’m going to find you a doctor. No matter what don’t leave the bed or walk around. If you need anything, just instruct the servant girls outside!”

She then gave instructions to the servant girl waiting outside before hastily running into the distance.

After some time, Tang Doudou woke up again. In her state of drowsiness, she felt a pair of cool hands stroking her forehead. The cool feeling was very comfortable. Her lips parted slightly and she moaned softly before opening her eyes.

The sight of Baili Yu carefully wringing out a handkerchief in preparation to lay it over her forehead filled her eyes. When Baili Yu saw her eyes move, he hastily threw aside the handkerchief in his hands and grabbed her hand. “Doudou, are you feeling a little better?”

When Tang Doudou saw that the person who had been stroking her forehead was Baili Yu, she closed her tired eyes again. She wanted to reply to Baili Yu but when she opened her mouth she discovered that she couldn’t make any sound.

Just as she was about to give up, she felt a warm and moist sensation on her lips. She opened her eyes and found that Baili Yu was feeding her water. His movements were extremely gentle and careful, causing Ye Chuan who was watching by the side to gape so much an egg could be stuffed in his open mouth. He didn’t know how to describe this scene. He had never expected that Master would actually have such a considerate side to him.

T/N

Tang Doudou’s throat was moistened after she drank the water and she felt much better. Looking at Baili Yu, she asked, “Did I catch a cold? Is it severe? Will I die?”

“Don’t worry, Lady Doudou, it’s just a small chill. You’ll recover after drinking the medicine.” Qing He had been standing behind Baili Yu. She hastily reassured Tang Doudou when she heard what was asked.

Tang Doudou looked towards Baili Yu, only feeling more at ease when she saw Baili Yu nod. “Then that’s good.”

Why did she catch a cold out of nowhere? What a pain! And how high was her fever? She currently felt as if lead had been poured into her skull. Tang Doudou then closed her eyes again, missing the worry that had flashed through Baili Yu’s eyes.

The poison has already invaded her heart. The situation would not be good if they continued to delay matters.

However, things haven’t been completely prepared and he didn’t dare to take chances when Tang Doudou’s life was on the line. They’ll probably have to work quite hard for the upcoming period of time. However, even if they worked hard, those things were seriously hard to find. Although his Heng Xuan Chamber of Commerce could be found throughout the country, there was still no way for them to obtain those items in the shortest possible time frame. The only way would be if he personally undertook the task.

After Qing He carried over the medicine, Baili Yu took it and fed Tang Doudou a mouthful at a time. Tang Doudou was really moved as she watched him blow on the medicinal soup to cool it down. Da fudge? A rich and handsome boyfriend that’s considerate to boot. How many good deeds must she have done in her previous lifetime to earn this?

Now that she was seeing the good side of Baili Yu, she completely forgot about how she used to avoid Baili Yu out of dislike.

When Baili Yu saw that her facial color had improved a little, he waved his hand and dismissed everyone. He stayed and talked with her a little while longer before telling her to rest properly and leaving.

However, Tang Doudou couldn’t fall back asleep after Baili Yu left. For some reason, she kept feeling that the timing of this cold was unusual. However, she couldn’t figure out what was unusual about it no matter how hard she wracked her brain. After thinking about a bunch of random things, her head felt so uncomfortably heavy that she finally drifted off to sleep.

She only recovered after three days of rest. After recovering, she took a stroll around the garden while being accompanied by Qing He. When she didn’t see any trace of Baili Yu, she asked Qing He where he was.

“Master left Mist City yesterday,” replied Qing He.

Left?

Tang Doudou was taken aback when she heard that Baili Yu had left. Soon after, she felt a little unhappy. If he left then so be it. It’s not like she was the type of woman that liked sticking to men. However, for better or for worse he should have let her know about it before he left. To leave without a word like this is sure annoying.

She momentarily lost her desire to wander around. Pouting, she smacked aside the plum blossom branches that were blocking her way. Flower petals crashed down, reflecting the scene of her currently chilled heart. She had been praising him for being considerate just two days earlier, and now her face is swollen from the slaps. (Being hit by her own words, when they proved false) Da fudge, even though they had agreed that he was an exceptionally good boyfriend. E/C

Qing He saw that Tang Doudou seemed displeased but Master had already instructed her not to tell Tang Doudou why he left. Thus, she could only gloomily stay silent and allow Tang Doudou to grumble and badmouth Baili Yu.

Probably because trash-talking someone by yourself felt pretty pathetic and didn’t help to discharge the anger in her belly, Tang Doudou suddenly turned around and pulled Qing He towards the garden’s exit. “Let’s go, let’s go play on the streets.”

Qing He wanted to advise against it at first. However, when she saw Tang Doudou’s baleful expression, she immediately shut up and obediently followed behind Tang Doudou.

Mist City wasn’t the underground city Tang Doudou had thought it to be. It was actually a sinkhole.T/N T/N – looks a little like this http://www.tianqi.com/baike/tiankeng.html At night, it was pitch black but even during the day, it was dusky and completely foggy. It was no wonder it was hard for people to find this place.

For some unknown reason, the dusky part was only in the center of the sinkhole. Mist City that was at the bottom of the sinkhole actually had exceptionally fresh air.

The way the entire city was constructed was also pretty unique. It was of a completely different style compared to that of the cities outside. At night there were a lot of people but during the day there were barely any people around. There was a pitifully small amount of peddlers and vendors on the streets. Tang Doudou strolled a lap around the streets and was so bored she was about to fall asleep.

“Lady Doudou, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell? We had better return…” Qing He reached out to support Tang Doudou when she saw Tang Doudou’s dispirited expression. Her eyes were filled with worry. Before Master left, he had told her that no matter what, she had to make sure not even a strand of Lady Doudou’s hair was harmed.

Tang Doudou sighed and rubbed her forehead. She then put her hand on Qing He’s shoulder and lifted her eyebrows. “Qing He ah, it’s seriously way too boring to stroll around blindly like this. Why don’t we go look for tarts*?”

Chinese term was a euphemism for prostitutes. Now it just means something fun. When paired with the word, ‘look for’, it can mean ‘look for something fun’ or ‘look for girls’ in contemporary usage. English equivalent I chose, tart, is a dated ‘derogative’ word for prostitutes.

“Look for tarts?” Qing He knitted her brows. She clearly didn’t understand what Tang Doudou was talking about.

Tang Doudou blew at the strands of hair on Qing He’s cheek and said in a frivolous tone, “Little Qing He ah, could it be that your family’s master hasn’t looked for tarts before? How could you not even know about this?”

Qing He scratched her head in embarrassment. “This servant really doesn’t know.”

Fine, looks like Baili Yu’s mysophobia was really beyond cure, to not even visit the pleasure quarters!

Tang Doudou turned Qing He by her shoulder so that she was facing the building in front of them. Pointing inside, she said, “See this? The tarts we want to find are right in here!”

Qing He stared in shock at the shameful Pleasure Seeking House in front of her. Her face flushed and she hastily lowered her head. Her voice was so tiny it seemed to be coming from a mosquito as she said, “La-Lady Doudou, th-this is a brothel ah!”

“That’s right ah. Don’t we have to go to brothels to find tarts?” Seeing Qing He’s embarrassed and troubled expression, Tang Doudou sighed emotionally once again. Where did this bastard Baili Yu go to find so many lil’ sis(s)? Moreover, each one was this innocent and cute. It was to the point that she, a girl who was straight as the smoke rising in the desert, could feel her emotions stirring.

As she contemplated about this, she pulled Qing He’s hand and started walking towards Pleasure Seeking House. Baili Yu ah, Baili Yu, I’m helping you teach your maids so you had better thank me properly when you return!

__________