Pitiful Sisters

The older girl, Laney, cried her heart out and shouted toward the upstairs, "Miss Liu! Miss Liu, we've served you for so long, please beg Madam Shea for us! Jenny is too young, she can't take this!"

Inside, a glamorous young woman showed only her back, saying nothing as she flicked her handkerchief and walked upstairs.

Madam Shea cursed, "You stupid girls, begging her? She's just a washed-up beauty, an over-the-hill courtesan, she can't even take care of herself! What could she do for you? Now that you're in The Jasmine House, you two better accept your fate!"

Madam Shea ordered the strong men to drag the two girls inside. Jenny cried desperately, clutching Laney's hand, but one of the men kicked her in the stomach so hard she turned pale and couldn't even cry out.

"Jenny! Jenny!" Laney looked at her sister and screamed in despair, her voice hoarse and desperate.

"Wait." Suddenly, a woman's voice rang out, not too loud or soft, but clear as a mountain spring, soothing everyone present.

Laney instinctively turned around and saw a gentle, pretty young woman standing behind her, with a strikingly handsome young man at her side.

The young man gazed affectionately at the girl, ignoring all the glamorous courtesans of The Jasmine House.

Lily Evans frowned at Laney and Jenny, then said to Madam Shea, "Madam Shea, are you really planning to let these two scrawny girls serve customers? Aren't you afraid of ruining The Jasmine House's reputation?"

Madam Shea's eyes darted around as she replied, "Who are you? What scrawny girls? All our girls at The Jasmine House are beauties!"

Lily Evans shot Madam Shea a disdainful look, pointing at Laney and Jenny's skinny arms. "You're sending these two out to entertain guests? People will laugh at you."

Madam Shea felt a pang of guilt. In truth, Laney and Jenny weren't very pretty; they were the lowest of the low, not much better than ordinary village girls, and in The Jasmine House, they were just the lowest-ranked maids.

Of course, even the lowest maids had to serve customers, but their price was very low. Most of the time, they just waited on the other girls upstairs.

Madam Shea stiffened her neck and said, "What happens with our girls upstairs is none of your business!"

“Tsk, girls like these aren’t even worth selling as maids. You actually expect them to entertain guests?” Lily Evans circled around Laney and Jenny, feigning regret. “How much did you pay for these two? I bet you lost money on this deal.”

“Fifty taels for the older one, forty for the younger.” Madam Shea blurted out, then immediately regretted it, cursing herself for letting a young girl trick her into revealing the price.

Lily Evans had a sharp eye. When Madam Shea bought the girls, they were young and looked delicate, so she paid a high price. But after bringing them back, their looks faded. With faces like these, after deducting the cost of powder, food, and clothing, how many years of work would it take to break even?

This time, Madam Shea really made a losing deal.

Lily Evans’ face darkened slightly. Fifty taels for a little girl... Life is truly cheap in this place.

“So expensive? My husband and I were thinking of buying a maid, so I asked around. A first-class maid only costs twenty taels. Looks like Madam Shea really took a loss on this deal.” Lily Evans glanced at Madam Shea, all the while acting as if she didn’t care about Laney and Jenny at all.

She did want to help these two pitiful girls, but she couldn’t let Madam Shea see through her intentions, or she’d be extorted for sure.

Madam Shea’s face flushed. She’d always prided herself on her shrewdness, but buying Laney and Jenny was a mistake. Being called out in public made her dislike the sisters even more—just seeing them in the brothel was a constant reminder of her foolish purchase.