Chapter 92b: Jealous Big Time

“Mm, not bad. Then, many thanks to Mr. Yu.” Lou Qing Luan also didn’t insist on ceremony. Since Mr. Yu gifted her this only because he’s asking for her guidance. No matter how precious or rare it was, to refuse the gift would be impolite. She felt no qualms about receiving it. Watching by the side, Nalan Ye’s heart soured. This lass really don’t know how to decline? Forget the past. This time, she’s already going to become his princess soon, yet she actually accepted another man’s gift right in front of his face? Did she not know how to give him a bit of face? Just a bit of tea leaves, that’s all. If he’d known earlier that she liked them, he wouldn’t have declined the emperor’s bestowment, which caused them to fall into Nangong Yu’s hands. Once he thought of this point, Nalan Ye regretted it.

“Qing Luan. Do you like to drink tea?” Nalan Ye smiled and continued, “There are many kinds in my mansion. You can have a look at them later. Take some home if you like them.”

At present, Luo Qing Luan certainly wasn’t in the mood for drinking tea. Having heard him, she replied, “No need. I normally drink very little. What Mr. Yu gave is enough.”

Without wasting any more time, she directly said, “I’ve heard Mr. Yu say that the business at Heavenly Dream Tower is not bad, yet you’re still not reassured. Is there something more I don’t know about?”

Indeed, this was in fact the reason why he asked Luo Qing Luan to come here to think of a solution. Heavenly Dream Tower’s current reputation could indeed be said to be the capital’s best. Even in the country of Western Chu, it was still fully deserving of being first place. Even if Hongyu left, merely relying on Ruyan and Shimeng alone, they still didn’t fall in fame in the least. Especially Shimeng, whose face was covered with a light veil all long, maintaining her mysteriousness. Not only were those officials and rich merchants not impatient, they rushed like ducks instead, hearts filled with difficult to endure itching.

But Nangong Yu wasn’t happy for long, because he discovered that other courtesan houses also started to imitate their methods. Those places also set up a stage in the lobby and imitated the way that Hongyu, Shimeng, and Ruyan were presented to produce tens of ‘queen of flowers’. Although they couldn’t compare to the originals, they still attracted some customers to go support them.

Especially the second place, Exquisite Flowers Pavilion. They found a girl who was seductive to the bone named Meilan and turned her into a chaste leading lady, secretly serving patrons at a high price. It was unknown how many rich people had been swindled. Maybe it was Meilan’s skillful techniques in the bedroom, but even after the matter was exposed, still nobody cared. To the contrary, she attracted even more dirty old men.

Nangong Yu actually didn’t care about an imitation ‘queen of flowers’, but from this, he could feel a sense of crisis coming. If the trend continued, his Heavenly Dream Tower’s position would be in danger. It was very possible that not long into the future, it will lose its absolute position. Not only did the feeling of losing first place make him feel not well, more importantly, the effect on his profits made him have no choice but to consider everything in advance.

“Hearing you say that, it seems other courtesan houses are also learning quickly.” Luo Qing Luan knew what’s going on, but wasn’t surprised at all. To imitate was simple to begin with. In later generations, there was always persistent plagiarism and knock offs of ‘A’ goods, unrestrained and prevalent. Wasn’t it because the benefits were considerable, while the act was easy to carry out that imitations continued for a long time and were unstoppable? The ideas she gave to Nangong Yu was not difficult to learn to begin with. A little bit of mindfulness was all it took to understand them. It’s been hard on Mr. Yu to have invited her so many times now.

Nangong Yu was a bit anxious as he said, “Worthy Young Brother Luo, this is really a big deal, a big problem for Heavenly Dream Tower’s profits. Moreover, you’re also a forty percent shareholder. I wonder if you have even better ideas?”

Of course there were ideas. Luo Qing Luan said calmly and leisurely, “Mr. Yu has operated Heavenly Dream Tower for such a long time, do you have any experience to share? If you want to be in first place for a long time, you have to thoroughly win over your customers’ hearts, what’s the most important thing we need to do?”

This was a question that Nangong Yu had thought about before, “This point was something that you already told me last time. It has to do with the word ‘novel’.”

It’s a pity, to know is one thing, but to carry it out is another matter altogether. Even though he’s the Second Prince of Western Chu, and had experienced many matters which countless people didn’t know about, if he’d known the answer to this question, he would’ve applied it already by now. Why would he wait until now to seek Luo Qing Luan’s help?
Two years ago, he conveniently used his identity to train well the ladies at Heavenly Dream Tower. When they were chosen, they were already outstanding to begin with. After a period of training, he also paid attention to this aspect. Whether it was playing wind, wood, or stringed instruments, reciting poetry, or singing ballads, their skills surpassed the ladies at other courtesan houses by a large margin. That’s how they rose so quickly, becoming today’s Heavenly Dream Tower.

Luo Qing Luan waited until Nangong Yu finished speaking and couldn’t help but smiled knowingly, “Therefore, it you want to have Heavenly Dream Tower maintain its number one position, you will need to continue bringing in the new, have those behind you forever chasing your tail, but unable to reach you for the rest of their lives.”

“I wonder what bright ideas Worthy Young Brother Luo have?” Nangong Yu’s eyes shined upon hearing this and couldn’t help but urge her.

Her brain full of ideas very likely couldn’t be exhausted even for the rest of her life. Luo Qing Luan was just going to whisper in his ear to tell him when a hand suddenly blocked her off.

“Qing Luan, the good ideas you have, why don’t you let me hear it, too. You don’t have to whisper in his ear?”

Nalan Ye had been listening to the conversation between the two of them. This lass was his fiancee to begin with, yet from start to end, she practically didn’t look at him once, as if she was completely absorbed by Nangong Yu. Watching this, his jealousy burst forth. Were it not for the fact that he knew Luo Qing Luan’s personality was amenable to coaxing, but not coercion, he would’ve carried her off on his shoulders to go home and teach her a lesson.

But now, he could only assume a calm and tranquil appearance without revealing the slightest ripple before Nangong Yu as he said to him, “I’d like to know what good ideas Qing Luan have. Say it out loud so I can hear too, how about it?”