Fae Fae had to cancel her appointments and performances the next morning...because she had yet to return.

Mama-san would always check on her room every 10 minutes. Deep down she had hoped Fae Fae was in fact hiding in a corner of her bedroom within the brothel living quarters, maybe due to a personal secret she couldn’t face or maybe a bad client she didn’t dare to mention.

Mama-san didn’t care if Fae Fae suddenly became a prankster and would jump out at the last minute to say ‘HAH! Got you’. But the manager knew Fae Fae was never that type of girl. She had a good record, even her references from the previous brothels all praised her and wish for her success in higher heights.

So it was just unsettling to see Fae Fae’s room being this dead and empty.

Not wanting to throw herself into a pit of despair, she tried to return to work to distract herself. But all morning, afternoon, even to the early evening she used any moment in her schedule to sneak a question to the Courtesans, staff, even clients who frequent Celestial Dreams.

Have you seen Fae Fae? Have you heard of her in any private channels they knew? Have you even run into her by chance and were asked not to mention it? Anything?

No. Nope. Nothing. And woman what the hell are you on about?

Yes, the last one was the Brothel Manager. One would think he would show a decent amount of concern for the situation. One of his best girls have gone missing, yet there he was at his front counter ticking away at his abacus to count his profits and losses like any other day.

Sometimes, Mama-san just wants to grab a chair and split his head open like firewood... Actually might as well.

“WOMAN! PUT THAT CHAIR DOWN, RIGHT NOW!” The Brothel Owner barked at his manager as he saw killing intent in her movements. “If you have something to say, just out with it verbally! Not physically!”

“Something’s wrong and you know it!” Mama-san would snap back. “Fae Fae hasn’t been back in the brothel since last night! It’s about to be her evening shows and poetry event, yet there’s not so much of a peep from her whereabouts! Aren’t you worried something’s bad happened to her?”

“I am very fond of the girl,” The Brothel Owner muttered, shaking up his abacus to start all over again. “As much as I want to spend the day to pray in a corner of my office, we still have a business to run. We have many other girls that many other clients seek after. Yes, Fae Fae has the best fanbase – but we still have Flower Princesses who rake in more money than she could in a single night!”

“Oh for heaven’s sakes!!” Mama-san would huff with indignation. “Why does it always have to be profits with you? Do you not care for Fae Fae, as a human? I say we call on the Imperial Constabulary, to go and find her!”

“Hah! Good luck with that! You know better than anyone the Imperial Constabulary don’t give a care for prostitutes, no matter how high class they are.” The Brothel Owner laughed. “They don’t even pay much attention to a dead hooker, let alone a live one.”

“NO!” Mama-san tried to slap at the Brothel Owner for his words, but he kept dodging. “How could you say such a thing! Spit it out right now or you’ll curse her!”

The Brothel Owner groaned before he dipped his head to the side to spit the ‘bad words’ into a spittoon as an auspicious action. Another way of saying touch wood more or less. He calmed down and reset his abacus again with a flick. “Maybe Fae Fae met a client along the way. And he happened to be VERY eager to spend the night with her and brought her back to his manor or inn.”

“Impossible!” Mama-san snapped. “You’re the owner. How can you forget the company’s policy for this kind of solicitation!? Well paying or not, there’s always the one two mad man who lures young girls into a wolves den and sully her or... Fae Fae is not that kind of girl! Besides, we have the best beds compared to all the inns and stay-in taverns the Capital has to offer, maximized for the best of pleasures! Why have business anywhere else!?”

“Pfft. Come now Mama-san. You know damn well no one follows the rules under the roof of this brothel.” The Brothel Manager paused in his counting to smirk. “No doubt you’ve broken a few rules with that popular mouth of yours for a quick buck as a side job.”

Mama-san tried to slap the man again. He dodged. Unsatisfied, she tried to throw a chair at him as a ranged attack.

“STOP IT WOMAN! You’re making a scene!” The Brothel Owner used the crowd and staff’s staring to catch Mama-san off guard before grabbing the chair out of her grip and setting it faaaar away from her reaches. “Call the other Flower Princess and stage hands on standby. If Fae Fae is no show again for her poetry recital, we have to change to something else. We still got paying customers.”

“But—”

“No ‘ifs’ or ‘ands’. If the client wants a nice butt, give it to them—No not YOU!”

That was that. Mama-san was forced to resume her responsibilities, even when she couldn’t sweep her worries under the rug. In preparation the Brothel Owner snorted, sat down in the chair Mama-san tried to use on him, and went back to finish counting...

...Only for the chair to break under his weight with a hard SNAP. FLOP.

Everything went on as expected.

Nothing new. No changes. Several clients did take the initiative to grab at Mama-san and ask about Fae Fae. About her condition since last night or curious if she was available for a ‘new idea’ they had for their ‘nightly duel’.

One by one, Mama-san used the same excuse to end the conversations and general inquiries. Fae Fae was not feeling well, she is bed ridden, perhaps another time. Last night was terrible, apologizing to an expecting crowd. Now, she just felt horrified of what happened.

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Especially when Fae Fae had not returned to the brothel on the third day.

Unable to handle it, Mama-san rallied some Courtesan, stage hands, and employees to form a search party. When she explained the situation, everyone shared her sentiment to find their friend and brothel sister. They were a family after all and they never turn their backs on each other! Let’s go!

Alas, the Brothel Owner refused to let any of them leave the brothel.

If everyone went out looking, then he would have no one covering shifts or bed. Losing profits was one matter, being unable to operate even at a minimum level was not acceptable in his books. As the Celestial Dreams was a high class establishment it involved a lot of high class costs.

Best food, best wine, best clothing, best designers, best musicians, even best cleaners to keep everything hygienic. They even have their own private doctor to prevent sexual diseases. Not to mention virility and contraceptive recipes don’t come cheap!

Thus the Brothel Owner had enough weight to scatter the search party to have them resume their jobs, or else they won’t have one to come back too. Leaving Mama-san absolutely distraught.

“Gods damn it all!” Unable to sit around on her hands, she tried to look herself. Only to run into a young woman. “OOF!”

“OOH! Forgive me Mama-san!”

The young woman was a handmaiden who worked in the Celestial Dream brothel. She sold her body not for pleasure, but for servitude and her job position usually involved waiting hand and foot to the many Courtesans in the brothel as a personal assistant. In fact, this Handmaiden belonged to Fae Fae and had been working with her since her previous station prior transferring to the capital. Meaning!

“Oh! I am so so glad you are back!” Mama-san beamed with hope and gave the Handmaiden a tight hug. “You and Fae Fae are finally back! Wonderful! Quick, go and get washed up and have some food. You both must be starving! I’ll tell the old coot the owner Fae Fae is finally back home! Oh you have no idea how worried we were!”

“...Wait.” The Handmaiden stared for a moment. She didn’t go to school, she can’t even read or write. So taking a good 5 minutes to figure out what Mama-san just said was an understandable reaction. “Miss Fae Fae didn’t come back!?”

“WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!?”

“W-we split up!” The Handmaiden squeaked. “S-something came up for me and-and Miss Fae Fae went on ahead. W-we agreed to meet back in Celestial Brothel today!”

A string in Mama-san’s heart just snapped.

No longer thinking about her job or what her employer would say she rushed out of the brothel doors. She experienced what all parents would go through once they found out their child has gone missing or abducted out of the blue. And she couldn’t bear it, the pain in her chest.

However, she barely left more than 30 paces from the brothel when she was intercepted by someone. A familiar face. An old face.

“Ah! Mama-san, what a pleasant surprise to run into you!” The old man called as he shuffled over with a holly gait and a cheery grin.

“M-Mister Golden!?”

The name of the old man held a lot of weight – literally. He was the founder and owner of one of the biggest goldsmith chain in the Capital: Great Golden Goldsmith. So essentially his name was a walking brand. His business card came in the form of custom made rings of gold on his many fingers and thumbs, a bright gold necklace with ruby studs, even his black clothing and buttons were laced with some sort of bright gold aesthetic.

He carried with him a box under his arm, coiling his hands around it to keep it safe and secure. The second he approached Mama-san, he shoved it into her hands.

“Here you go!” Mister Golden gave a jolly laugh. “So what’s next?”

“What?”

“You know, the agreement.”

“Wh-what agreement?” Mama-san couldn’t stop herself from parroting Mister Golden, her brain was so fried right now. “What is exactly in this—OH DEAR GODS!”

She opened the lid of the box – AND WAS BLINDED BY A VICIOUS GOLDEN AURA!

Mama-san quickly slammed it shut before she permanently lost her vision, if not her mind. What she just saw, the size and amount was insane! She couldn’t help a screech. “Wh-what is the meaning of this sir!?”

“Oh you knoooow.” Mister Golden couldn’t help a tap on her shoulder, as if he was 40 years younger and hanging out with the bros. “No need to play coy. As embarrassing as the news is, I know we’re both happy with our decision. You should be too!”

He noticed Mama-san just staring at him.

So for the sake of clarity he told her the obvious answer. “I asked Fae Fae’s hand in marriage. She said yes! Ha-ha! Wow, I feel so alive just saying it right now! It’s a long story, but a week ago I proposed to her to join my family. Now, I know, she can only get the status of a concubine – but she agreed to my offer and I swore on my mother’s grave I would take good, good care of her!”

“....” Mama-san wanted to say WHAT!?... but what happened in the last two days and hearing this joyous news, made her realize she hadn’t slept in the last few days to think tactically.

“This,” Mister Golden patted the heavy box in her hand. “Is my offer in buying out her contract from the brothel. I want to make her a free woman and start fresh! Ah, just thinking of all the beautiful children she would give birth to bearing my family name makes me feel younger. Hahaha! Now, I would have came sooner, but Fae Fae and I agreed to bring you the money a week later after she sort some things out with the brothel and tell you. Which, is supposed to be today...Surely she should have told you, as you’re both so close right? Hahaha!”

Mister Golden waited for a response. When he got none, he tried to fill in the dead air. “I know what you’re feeling. Fae Fae was practically a daughter to you. Yes, yes of course. Why, she requested I treat you as her mother – future mother-in-law. Hahahahaah!....Hello? Mama-san?”

He waved a hand over the woman’s face, to check if her mind was still in her body. He even poked at her to make sure she hadn’t turned into a statue. “Mama-san? Is the amount too little. No need to be shy, I have plenty of gold and money at my—”

“Fae Fae is gone.”

It was Mister Golden’s turn to say WHAT!?

The man had a lot of mixed emotions in that very minute, from shock, to confusion, to jealously, and maybe anger. But when Mama-san explained everything down to the finest detail, fear took his heart. He even stumbled from how crippling the sensation was.

So he joined in Mama-san’s quest to search for Fae Fae.

The only thing Mama-san knew was Fae Fae visiting a temple, but never mentioned which one. Simply put, there were more temples than general stores in the Capital City. With more than 10 different types of religions in and out of the Jade Empire.

The permutations of possibility would be too staggering for an old rich man and a veteran prostitute with short legs to achieve.

“...Wait. I know exactly what to do! Mama-san return to the brothel! I am going to call in a favour!”

Without further ado, Mister Golden paid double to get a palanquin to instantly come and pick him up, and paid triple to have them taxi him to a destination as fast as they could. With the speed of a whirlwind, they dashed from one district to another until they screeched to a smoking halt.

Mister Golden didn’t wait for them to stop complete and hopped out.

Racing up the steps of a certain tavern with a crescent moon symbol hanging on the sign.