I Was Forced To Marry The Phoenix Empress-Chapter 85: Red Velvet Pavilion

Chapter 85: Red Velvet Pavilion
"Young Master, where should I take you?" The coachman asked as they were about to exit the clan’s premises.
Yi Chen paused for a second and answered, "Take me to the Red Velvet Pavilion."
"Yes, Young Master," the coachman replied and whipped the horses the next moment.
The horses neighed and started moving with greater vigour towards their destination.
The Red Velvet Pavilion in the city is the largest merchant guild in the whole kingdom, and its status is the same as that of any noble clans, i.e. second only to the Royal Family.
Despite its enormous resources, influence and the cultivators under its command, it is not the headquarters but only a branch.
It was one among several branches across several Kingdoms in the Light Continent.
Though this branch was considered lower in status and influence compared to the royal family, it was only because of their principle of staying neutral in the kingdom’s politics.
It was this principle that had allowed the Red Velvet Pavilion to spread its branches in all the kingdoms of the continent during the initial stages.
The carriage carrying Yi Chen soon made its way through the wide stone-paved streets of the Jade City and came to a halt.
When Yi Chen got out of the carriage, a six-storeyed enormous pagoda came into his sight.
’Amazing,’ he couldn’t help but think when the whole pagoda came into view. It was the tallest structure in the whole market area.
He couldn’t help but feel small in front of such an enormous piece of architecture.
The pagoda was a mixture of red, black and white colours. Around the edges of its black tiled roofs, white, elegant lanterns were hung.
Overall, it provided a quite scenic view and at the same time reflected the might of the Red Velvet Pavilion.
He waved his hand at the carriage driver after tipping him a couple of silver notes.
He had quite a lot in his pouch now after dealing with all the bandits along the way, so he wasn’t frugal.
The next moment, he took a deep breath and exhaled while admiring the elegantly carved board on top of the pagoda’s entrance.
’Red Velvet Pavilion...let’s enter then,’
He thought to himself and soon made his way towards the entrance.
The interior of the building was just as grandiose as the outside.
The marbled floor gave the whole floor a clean finish and a spacious look.
’I thought that there would be more people here,’ Yi Chen thought to himself as he saw a few nicely dressed people making their way towards the staircase.
All of them were cultivators.
Not minding their cursory glances towards him, he made his way towards the receptionist.
She was a woman in her mid-twenties, and her cultivation was in the Fifth Level of Meridian Refinement Stage.
"Greetings, Esteemed Customer, how can I help you?" Yue Ru asked in a courteous manner.
She had been observing Yi Chen from the corner of her eye since the time he had entered the Pagoda.
The way he entered the building while observing everything with great interest told only one thing: it was his first time coming here.
’He’s another one of those country bumpkins...sigh,’ she thought while waiting for Yi Chen’s response with a strained smile.
"I’m looking to open an account here," Yi Chen said, not realising what the woman was thinking behind that customary smile of hers.
’God, I was right! That’s why I hate the late morning shift! It had only been a week since I got this job, and I had already dealt with more than ten such people,’ she thought in irritation, but forced herself to keep that smile on her face and said.
"Yes, sir, let me brief you on the procedures first."
She paused for a second and continued.
"Unlike regular merchant Guilds, where you only need to pay a certain amount for the service, there are three routes to open an account in the Red Velvet Pavilion.
First, if one is from a noble clan or is from one of the twenty reputable clans in the capital, they just need to show their identity token, and we’ll get them registered.
Second, one needs to have a recommendation letter from one of these clans if they are not a member.
Third, one is required to pay 10 High-grade Spirit Stones or an equivalent amount of Medium-grade or Low-grade Spirit Stones.
May I ask which method the Esteemed Customer would like to go with?"
Yue Ru asked after giving out a well-rehearsed explanation.
By now, most of the country bumpkins would just make up an excuse and leave, so she was expecting Yi Chen to do the same.
"So there’s no requirement for one to be a cultivator?" Yi Chen asked curiously as he processed the explanation which was given.
’Curse my luck,’ Yue Ru thought, seeing that Yi Chen had no intention of leaving. She subtly clenched her teeth and explained.
However, the smile on her face had lessened considerably by now.
"Yes, there’s no particular requirement for one to be a cultivator. Some rich merchants also avail our services,"
Yue Ru explained. Still trying hard to maintain a good tone.
Not noticing her change, Yi Chen asked another question, "Apart from storing my spirit stones, what other services does the Red Velvet Pavilion provide? What I’m asking is why would one make an account here rather than other merchant Guilds?"
Yi Chen had only a somewhat vague idea about this from his conversation with Zhou Mei and Guard Bai.
Since it’s always better to hear things directly from the horse’s mouth, he asked the question to get an all-around understanding of the guild.
"..."
The subtle customary smile that was still present on Yue Ru’s face finally broke, and she said while rolling her eyes in annoyance.
"Sir, if you don’t want to create an account, just say so. Why are you asking needless questions-"
A subtle frown appeared on Yi Chen’s forehead when he heard her, and before she could fully explode in frustration, he took something out of his pouch and then threw the palm-sized token on the table.