The Verdigris House

Meet the Three Princesses of the famous Verdigris House in the red-light district!

Name: Pairin Age: 35 (Oldest of the Three Princesses) Sexual Orientation: Bisexual

Appearance: Pairin is described as a beautiful young woman standing tall in height and possessing a voluptuous figure. She has fair skin, calming brown eyes, waist length, plum purple hair that's sectioned and held back, leaving the rest to fall loose, saving two chin length fringes that frame both sides of her face, whereas her bangs are parted down the middle to reveal a red huadian in the shape of a flower in the center of her forehead. Among the bodacious courtesans at the Verdigris House, she has the largest breast size, due to being able to lactate naturally. For clothing, Pairin wears a cream colored hanfu that's usually accompanied with a pink and faux furred shawl. As for accessories, Pairin opts to wear blue dangle earrings and a blue flower on the right side of her head.

Personality: Like the other princesses, Pairin became more miserly with age, resembling the Madam in that aspect. But unlike many courtesans, Pairin is a woman who sells her body not just for money, but also for pleasure. As Maomao puts it, Pairin is a sex demoness who will go after not just customers and manservants, but also her fellow courtesans and even some of the apprentices when she feels too pent up. She does have preferences for muscular men with large "frogs" and even has romantic for her age, wishing to be carried away from her captivity by a prince. Additionally, because of her loving and nurturing nature, the latter suspects that Pairin genuinely longs for motherhood.

What Pairin is good at: Galactorrhea: Pairin is able to lactate naturally since her teens, even though she has never been pregnant. (This is just a fact about her.) Night services: Pairin's night services are said to be unparalleled, to the point where when one has had "a taste of the fruit", they will never be able to forget it. Dance: Pairin's specialty is dancing, a skill that she trained and perfected over time. She is said to be the greatest dancer in the Royal Capital.

Pairin's Background: Sometime after her debut, Pairin was able to pay off all her debts to the Verdigris House, but continued to stay there to keep earning and satisfy her sexual preferences. Her lust made her the subject of rumours, one being that she is a succubus-like character, said to suck the life force of men to retain her youth.

Name: Meimei Age: 33 Sexual Orientation: Bisexual

Appearance Meimei is a beautiful young woman standing at average height and possesses a well-endowed figure. She has fair skin, dark purple colored hair that falls to mid-back length and is otherwise styled into a side ponytail, leaving a section of her hair to frame one side of her face, whereas the rest of her fringe frame the left side of her face, soft sea-green eyes, and a beauty mark beneath her right eye. For her outfit, Meimei wears a seafoam green, long sleeved top along with a long royal blue skirt and is usually seen with a coral-colored shawl. For accessories, she wears a gold necklace, pink colored flower earrings, and a magenta-colored flower pin on the left side of her head.

Personality: Meimei is an emotional person who is especially attached to her fellow courtesans of the Verdigris House. Although she is normally kind and gentle, she can short-tempered at times. Like the other princesses, she became more miserly with age, resembling the Madam in that aspect.

What Meimei is good at: Strategy: Meimei is good at the strategy board games Go and Shogi, which she often plays with her customers. Poetry: Meimei's ability to write poetry is another skill she shows to her customers. Dance: Meimei is good at dancing.

Name: Joka Age: 30 (Youngest of the Three Princesses) Sexual Orientation: Bisexual

Appearance: Like her sisters, Joka is described as a beautiful young woman with a well-endowed figure. She stands at average height, possesses fair skin, calf length indigo colored hair that's styled both elaborately and is otherwise sectioned, sharp amber colored eyes, and is typically seen with a flat expression on her face. Joka's outfit consist of a maroon colored hanfu with blue accents. For her choice of accessorizing, she wears a silver tiara on her head and red colored earrings. She is also seen with two small lilac colored dots for makeup above her thin eyebrows.

Personality: Compared to the other two Princesses, Joka is colder and more aloof—though she is still warm and thoughtful towards her fellow courtesans and Maomao, whom she dotes as her beloved little sister. Despite being a courtesan, she does not like men, whom she sees as untrustworthy. Like the other princesses, she became more miserly with age, resembling the Madam in that aspect.

What Joka is good at: Poetry: Joka specializes in poetry to entertain customers, a skill which makes her popular among court officials. Her words are elegant but harsh, to the point that the poems she writes while being angry must be checked by the Madam before being delivered to her customers. Literature: Joka has memorized the Four Books and Five classics, the foundational texts of the civil service exam, and can recite any passage from them by memory. Several of her regular patrons are tutors, seeking her opinion on the readiness of their students. Being an excellent judge of both character and preparation, her assessment is a consistent predictor of success or failure on the civil service exam. Music: In the anime, Joka is shown playing the Erhu for customers and apprentice courtesans.

Background: Joka's father seemingly tricked her mother into believing that he was a member of the Imperial Family of Li. As a result, her mother believed that Joka was a member of royalty. This is the reason Joka named herself with the Imperial Family's character, Ka, and would become an aspect of her mystique as a courtesan at the Verdigris House. She specialized in poetry to entertain her customers and could recite the Four Books and Five Classics verbatim. Her prowess in literature became so legendary that she also worked as a consultant to students preparing for the civil service exam, who treated her as a superstition to pass the exam.

The Verdigris House is a high-class brothel in the red-light district of Li's capital. Managed by the Madam, it is the home of the famous Three Princesses.

Like other brothels in the red-light district, the Verdigris House is rank-based where courtesans start at the lowest rank. The better their ability to entertain customers, the more their rank rises; the three highest-ranked courtesans become the Three Princesses. The status of the courtesans also corresponded to the size and floor of their room, with the largest third-floor rooms belonging to the the Three Princesses. Courtesans may be redeemed, or "bought out," by customers who favor them. The Verdigris House has managing staff, menservants, courtesans, and "kamuro"(child attendants of courtesans).

Personnel: • The Madam • Ukyou (head manservant) • The Three Princesses: Pairin, Meimei and Joka • Zulin (apprentice courtesan) • Zulin's older sister, ChiChi (courtesan) • Maomao (pharmacist) • Kokuyou (pharmacist) • Sazen (apprentice pharmacist)

The Three Princesses are the three top-ranked courtesans of the Verdigris House who are well-known throughout the capital of Li including the Imperial Palace due to being considered the most beautiful and talented of the courtesans, much of the reason for the Verdigris House's fame. They are also all very endowed, with their outfits showing as much cleavage as possible. It is said that a year's worth of salary is required to spend a single night with a Princess. • Pairin is the eldest Verdigris House princess. • Meimei is the second-oldest Verdigris House princess. • Joka is the youngest Verdigris House princess. Once a Princess retires, the Madam trains another courtesan to take her place.

Ranking and Pricing: Like other brothels, the Verdigris House operates with a rank-based system; the better a courtesan is at her craft, the higher-ranked she will become. Verdigris House holds middle and high-class courtesans. The price of a visit varies based on the type of service and length of time. Merely having a cup of tea with a courtesan is far cheaper than a night of service and staying an extended amount of time is more expensive. However, the rank of the courtesan is the highest factor: a low-ranked courtesan can be visited at a reasonable frequency and price while the highest-ranked take very few visits each month and are nearly exclusively visited by wealthy officials, artisans or merchants. However, favors can be pulled in order to bypass payment.

Currency: The currency they use is silver.