Many years have passed since the incident at the imperial palace. Approximately sixteen years have passed by. Emperor Yuan promoted his concubine Wu Loa by giving her the title of Virtuous Mother of the nation, and she became the Empress Dowager. Wu Loa singlehandedly raise the two princes. Now they grow into dashing young men.

Ever since the death of his beloved wife, Emperor Yuan" s condition has not improved but has worsened. Ministers in the palace felt quite distressed over who would become the next emperor.

As for the maid, Mei Ling, who was thrown out of the palace, had no choice but to live in the worst part of city Ji. City Ji is located north of the town of Yingzhou. The population in the municipal Ji is in the six hundred, which is less than the city Yingzhou.

To make a living, Mei Ling had to become the thing that she hated the most. She considers those harlots as nothing even lesser than a dog. Now her precious daughter, Su Fei, had to experience the unspeakable environment. Both of them live in a shabby house located on the outskirts of the city.

Sou Feu grows into a cheerful and gentle girl. At the age of sixteen, Su Fei had to work at another prostitution house call Hongdeng Qu. Hongdeng Qu house is quite famous, at least within the Ji district. Hongdeng Qu stood out from other edifices due to the deep cardinal hue cover on the outside. An immense gold plack hung up on the top of the door frame with the name carved into it.

The women of Hongdeng Qu has to obey specific rules. The rules of the Hongdeng Qu are as followed:

1. A server cannot refuse her clients for anything.

2. Clients may do as they wish to the servers.

3. Women cannot leave the Hongdeng Qu.

4. Marriage is not allowed.

Tonight, Mêi Sū Fēi had no choice but to work. Some muscle parts ache from tedious exercises occur almost every day, which will not be mentioned. Due to financial trouble and her mother's reoccurring illness, Sū Fëi had to pick up more hours to pay for the medicine.  At this moment, she waits for the client to come. The room is quite spacious with blush color walls. A low wooden polish table place in the middle of the room with matching seats surround it. At this moment, she waits for the client to come. The apartment is quite spacious with blush color walls. A low wooden polish table places near the left side of the room with matching seats surrounding it. An oriental panel screen stood in the middle divided the room in half. On the other side of the panel is a decent size bed with dark pink curtains.

Time slowly passes by as Su Fei waited. Sometime later, Sū Fēi heard the door sliding open. Raising her head, then glancing at the door, she sees a portly looking man stroll in. Speedily getting her feet, she went over to the man. Besides the apparent bulging belly, the man's appearance did not look appealing. He had a large nose that bent to the left. His round cheeks made him look like he is about to poop. The man dressed in a lavish green robe with a brown stripe at the end of the sleeve and the belt around his waist is at breaking point. Feeling his gaze on her, Suo Fei felt chills running down her spine.

"Woo! What a beauty you are dear." exclaimed the man with a croaky voice.

Putting on her best smile, Sū Fëi greets, "Young Master Tian, welcome to Hongdeng Qu. "

"It has been a long time since I saw you. I hope your services are still up to the best standard." said the man eyeing her.

"Young Master, of course, I will do my utmost best in serving you tonight. "Su Fei reply.

Grinning, he sat down then said, "Well, bring out Hongdeng Qu's best dishes."

Bowing, Su Fei responds, "Yes, young master."

Su Fei rushes out of the room. She passes by several places on her way to the kitchen area. Halfway there, Su Fie runs into a coworker name Xiao Xia. Xiao Xia has a child-like appearance with big brown eyes, small noes., and thin lips. The clothes on her tiny frame barely cover the purple marks on the body. She notices the substance flowing down the girl's leg.

"Jie Fei, how have you been lately?" Xiao Xia asks.

"Xia Meimei, I am okay. How are you doing today?" Su Fei response.

"Jie Fei, I am fine." Xiao Xia answers softly.

Hearing her quiet reply Su Fei immediately figure out her friend's terrible experience. Xiao Xia probably got f*ck by many clients. Sū Fēi felt sorry for her.

"Why don't you mention what you experience to Muqin?" inquire Su Fei.

"Jie Fei, I am afraid mucin would scold me because I complain about the job." Xiao Xia mutton softy.

"I'm sure Muqin would not scold you." Su Fëi assured her.

Xiao Xia nods then went on her way. After reaching the kitchen. She picks several high end dishes like peeking duck, steam vegetables, buns, sauces, and the best alcoholic beverages. Su Fëi made her way back carefully, not wanting to drop everything.

"Young Master, sorry for the delay. I have brought Hongdeng Qu's best delicacies." Su Fei state as she places the foods down. Inhaling the mixed fragment aroma, the man grin.

"Mmmm!! Everything looks appetizing and smell great," says Young Master Tian.

"I hope the dishes is to your liking." Su Fei responds.

Moving several inches away, she stood straight then kept silent as she witnessed the sloppy man devour and destroy the hearty meal that was given to him. With little winces, she sees him slurp and chomp, slowly realizing the fate she must take to earn her days worth of money to help her mother.

As the young master finished his meal, leaving a lot of leftovers on his face, he called Su Fei over to him, Now it's time for my dessert! Get over here.

With tragedy and love for her mother in her heart, she submits to the man's various wishes. Slowly uniting her ribbons that hold her Hanfu dress tight to her body, she takes a reluctant look at the master's expression that is filled with a dark shadow of lust in his eyes. As repulsed as she is to his foul-smelling body and rough hands feeling like sandpaper to her delicate skin, she knows her priorities, taking care of her mother.

After the young master had his sexual appetite satisfied, Su Fei sees a pile of golden coins -- the perfect amount for both her mother's medicine and food for a few days. As she rolls out of bed, she looks at herself in the mirror. She noticed that her body was full of contrasting colors like a watercolor painting, filled with purple, yellow, and blue mixed with a sprinkle of small bloodied cuts. She lowered her head in defeat, wondering why she has to live a life with a hard and suffering fate.

 She picked herself up, grabbed the coins, and caressed the shininess as they dropped into her small pouch her mother gave her when she was little. She noticed a small hole in the embroidered flowers sprouting in the pattern and folds the flap over, knowing her mother can help fix it when she gets home.

 As she leaves Hongdeng Qu, she steps out onto the dark street that's poorly lit by scattered lanterns. Her feet crunched against the rocky street insink with the flickers of the various flames. She traveled home though her regular route, and as she approached the house, she noticed candle lights coming through the dirty and dusty windows.

 "Why isn't mother asleep yet? She knows that she needs her rest!" Su Fei thought.

As she opened the door, ready to give her mother the scolding she had practiced while walking up to her house, she noticed her mother sitting in her rocking chair. Everything in the room became still as fear flooded her imagination when her eyes made contact with a small folded up paper with writing in her hand. Her mother is dead.