The Melody Avenue was bustling with traffic, and carriages filled the mouth of the alley.
The brightly lit pavilions resonated with the sounds of silk and bamboo instruments, accompanied by the clinking of cups and cheerful laughter, painting a picture of opulence and indulgence.
However, passing through the narrow path at the end of the alley, reaching the backstreet alleyway, revealed a completely different scene.
Here the environment was chaotic, with dim lighting, sewage flowing over the bluestone tiles. A group of skinny women wearing leather aprons were washing clothes, with a mountain of dirty laundry piled in the nearby wooden basins.
"Hurry up, these clothes have to be ready for the day after tomorrow. If you can't finish washing them tonight, none of you are allowed to sleep!" A middle-aged woman, wielding a whip, had a face full of menacing flesh.
Clang—
