Yao Ying remembered the poison that he hid inside his sleeves. He felt around his sleeves, trying to find it. Because of his headache, he forgot about it and he also couldn"t let w.a.n.g Luo Hai see the poison. He glanced at Lin Jian and saw that he didn"t particularly watch his movement.
Yao Ying sighed in relief when he was able to find the poison inside his sleeve. He looked down and let it roll on his lap. Lin Jian"s line of sight was obstructed by the table hence he didn"t feel suspicious. After the poison rolled over on his lap, he pulled out a handkerchief and took the poison with it. He kept it inside his handkerchief and put it back inside his sleeves.
After finis.h.i.+ng his task, Yao Ying started a conversation. "Why are you taking me here?" Yao Ying asked. Yao Ying wasn"t stupid. He knew that Lin Jian probably had another reason for bringing him here. While asking, Yao Ying didn"t forget to wash his hands. He was afraid that there would be residue left from the poison.
Lin Jian turned serious all of a sudden. "You are not that stupid then." After that Lin Jian laughed and continued talking, "Does Uncle w.a.n.g tell you anything about this hua lou? Anything at all?"
Yao Ying furrowed his eyebrows and asked, "What do you mean?" He felt like he was going to get another piece of important information here. Although he felt that he already got enough excitement for one day, he knew that he should welcome as many information as he could.
"Ah... so you really don"t know. This hua lou belongs to us, w.a.n.g Fu and Lin Fu."
Yao Ying"s eyes widened and asked in surprise, "Really?"
Lin Jian nodded seriously.
"I never know that all of you are actually perverts!"
Lin Jian could feel his expression darkened and three black lines appeared on his forehead! "What do you mean we are perverts?" He asked in displeasure.
"Opening a hua lou which is a pleasurable and forbidden place for men... if all of you don"t have that kind of pervert thought or thinking about s*x, how come all of you get the idea of opening a hua lou?" Yao Ying asked.
Lin Jian ma.s.saged his forehead. He felt like vomiting blood because of Yao Ying"s s.h.i.+tty accusation. "One, this hua lou was opened before I was born and I"m only continuing their legacy. Two, what do you mean pervert thought? We have a justifiable reason for opening this hua lou!"
Yao Ying looked at him skeptically. "Really?"
"Of course!"
"What other reasons that you have --- except for s*x?"
"If you say the word "s*x" one more time, I won"t tell you anything!" Lin Jian threatened Yao Ying. For G.o.d"s sake! He wasn"t a beast! How come Yao Ying dare to say that he was a pervert?! Just now... he was only acting! Acting!
Yao Ying shook his head and helplessly said, "Fine! Just pretend that I said nothing. You are an innocent virgin male and never think about s*x."
Lin Jian felt like Yao Ying was quipping on him, but he could only grit his teeth and rein back his anger. "How do you know that I"m a virgin?" Lin Jian asked indignantly.
"Oh... so which one is the real you? A virgin or a pervert?" Yao Ling asked and grinned sheepishly.
Lin Jian felt both weren"t good choices. If he said virgin, it was so embarra.s.sing for his pride. How about pervert? It was the worst! It could affect his amazing reputation. Lin Jian could only hesitantly answer in a small voice, "Virgin!"
"What?" Yao Ying asked, pretending that he couldn"t hear Lin Jian"s answer.
"Virgin!" Lin Jian yelled, making Yao Ying roar in laughter.
"Well then, Virgin Boy. Can you tell me the details now?" Yao Ying teased him. This nickname, Virgin Boy, was pretty good.
F*ck! Lin Jian felt like cursing the man in front of him. Virgin boy? That was so embarra.s.sing! "Stop calling me that!"
"Why are you so fussy?" Yao Ying rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Fine~ Tell me now!"
Lin Jian touched Yao Ying"s wrist, trying to feel his pulse.
"What are you doing?" Yao Ying asked, feeling surprised because of Lin Jian"s sudden movement.
"Trying to feel your pulse."
"Why?"
"I want to know whether it"s time to tell you or not," Lin Jian answered. After feeling his pulse for a little while, Lin Jian felt satisfied. "Have you drink the poison?"
Yao Ying looked up in surprise. "Are you also one of them?" It seemed like the organization was far deeper than what he initially thought.
"Yes," Lin Jian answered truthfully. "I also drank the same poison, so I guess we are comrades now."
"Are you joining willingly or...?" Yao Ying trailed off the last part of his question.
"Of course! My father told me everything beforehand."
"You indeed have a great father," Yao Ying said bitterly.
"What? Why? Don"t tell me..." Lin Jian looked at him bewildered. "He didn"t tell you?"
"You guessed it right. I met the person blindly, not knowing the reason why. And suddenly... I have to drink poison. Surprise! Surprise!" Yao Ying recalled sarcastically. He wondered if this was the difference between real father and stepfather --- the bond and trust between them!
Yao Ying thought that Lin Jian would pity him. Contrary to his expectation, Lin Jian roared in full-blown laughter. "Uncle w.a.n.g... Uncle w.a.n.g... thank you for doing a good deed!"
"What do you mean a good deed?!" Yao Ying snarled at Lin Jian.
"He helped me to take revenge on you! This is something that I haven"t managed to do. I wonder how was your expression back then!" Lin Jian tried to imagine Yao Ying"s stunned expression and it made him feel satisfied.
"Ha-ha-ha!" Yao Ying laughed sarcastically.
"How about now? Did he tell you all the details?"
"Not yet. Probably tomorrow. I just drank the poison today." Yao Ying thought to himself, "Since when talking about drinking poison has become such an easy feat? It"s like an ordinary thing to do in their daily life. Oh well... probably because those all around you also drank the poison."
Lin Jian nodded in understanding. "I will let Uncle w.a.n.g tell you the whole story, so I"ll only tell you about this hua lou."
"It"s good enough for now. I don"t want my brain to overload with many pieces of information at once," Yao Ying said helplessly. It seemed like w.a.n.g Fu and Lin Fu were tangled in a deep conspiracy.
"Hmm... where should I start?" Lin Jian asked to himself.
"Just the reason why this hua lou was built is sufficient enough," Yao Ying said.
"This hua lou is the best place for gathering and exchanging information. No one would feel suspicious if men went here periodically. They would just a.s.sume that... er... the men are seeking pleasure. The women are also trained to be perceptive and smart at gathering information from people who diligently become patrons here. A lot of important people and n.o.bles love to enjoy themselves here," Lin Jian explained.
"Including the women just now?"
"Of course. Every woman here underwent training before they are finally able to work here," Lin Jian said.
Yao Ying asked, "Did they also...?"
"Yes, they also drank the poison. It"s mandatory," Lin Jian answered.
Yao Ying pondered to himself. What kind of organization actually it was? He decided to ask Lin Jian, "What"s the purpose of this organization?"
"You should ask your father about this," Lin Jian said. It wasn"t his job to tell Yao Ying the details about this organization. Besides, the reason why his family and w.a.n.g family joined the organization could be different. That was why it was best that Uncle w.a.n.g should be the one who explained everything.
Yao Ying sat back peacefully while enjoying a cup of tea that he had just poured by himself. His gaze became complicated. Gathering and exchanging information --- this was an important thing for him. If he was able to become a part of this, it would be easier to find out about himself. Not to mention he also had to find out about Yao Ling and Jiu Lan"s background.