Joy of Life

Only the Baoyue house would dare to threaten people; no one else would ever dare to do the same to them.

The beautiful woman was Shi Qing"er. She was an a.s.sistant, trained by Yuan Meng. She believed that tonight, they would only be hosting officers of little repute. A subordinate had left to inform her that the "Mister Chen" they were catering to was a powerful man, and could be a difficult person for them to trifle with and challenge. That is the reason for her desire to compromise with Fan Xian. Ever since September, the big boss had made repeated requests for the Baoyue Brothel to operate as quietly as possible, to avoid drawing any unwanted attention. This was to be her aim with Fan Xian, but she never expected him to neglect an amicable solution to the ruckus and begin threatening them.

Shi Qing"er was fuming on the inside, and gazing at Fan Xian, she spoke each and every word slowly: "You are going to regret that which you have done tonight."

"Do not threaten me. Hurry up and go fetch me the contract." Fan Xian began laughing, and then called out, "You guys have ruined my mood. I"m going to go home!"

Seeing Fan Xian’s soft smile, Shi Chanli could do little but sigh. He knew that whenever Fan Xian was unhappy, the possibility of ruinous circ.u.mstances could always follow. Perhaps in a few days, the Baoyue Brothel would no longer be in operation, and will have been closed down. Shi Qing"er’s temper was stoked and she bitterly demanded for a subordinate to bring her the contract. After a little while, the thin parchment was placed upon the table for all to see.

"Cash only. If you have a 10,000 tael banknote on your person, then I will give Sang Wen over to you." Shi Qing"er stared directly into Fan Xian’s eyes and continued speaking, "In Qing law, there is a clause attached to the proceedings that involve the purchase of others. I cannot put her on reserve and patiently await your deliverance of the tael. If she is on sale, she will be available for purchase by anyone and thus, there is every chance that someone may come along and buy her out in your absence."

Fan Xian’s facial expression did not move an inch, but in his mind, he was laughing out loud and struggled to contain it. "Who would willingly purchase another human being for 10,000 tael, eh? But if I do not buy her, I can only suspect the next customer to come along and snap her up would be the Baoyue Brothel itself."

Shi Chanli brought out a quill and a small bottle of ink and wrote out the contract. He placed it beside the parchment provided by Shi Qing"er, which contained the details regarding the sale and ownership of Sang Wen. He then waited for Fan Xian to present the costly banknote, as he always had full, unwavering faith in Fan Xian’s financial management. Shi Chanli himself was a studious, scholarly sort and for such people, finance wasn’t a great concern for them.

Shi Qing"er had not yet averted her gaze from Fan Xian. Throughout her entire life, she had seen numerous amounts of rich people, but even the n.o.bles and prosperous merchants of Jiangnan could not fathom the prospect of carrying 10,000 tael upon them. That is, unless they were preparing to present another certain n.o.ble a gift at some affluent feast. So, could this presumptuous young man could truly match the requested fee and bring out 10,000 tael? She did not believe it.

It felt as if time stood still there. It felt like it had taken the longest time, but in actuality, all this happened rather quickly. Fan Xian stood where he was, without moving. Shi Chanli was filled to the brim with feelings of terror and surprise. Shi Qing"er’s lips were spread out in a manner that suggested unadulterated pride; as if a certain victory had already been decided

favorably for her.

Fan Xian looked at the beautiful woman, who was now stood there, so full of herself. All of a sudden, he began feeling good about things. He poked Deng Ziyue, who had remained by his side the entire time.

Deng Ziyue bowed and said aloud, "Mister Chen, what is your desire?"

Fan Xian then whispered quietly to Deng Ziyue, "Are you feigning this stupidity? I don’t have anywhere close to this amount on me, so I’m going to have to borrow it from you."

Deng Ziyue’s face contorted into a look of sheer awkwardness. He had no idea why Fan Xian was so sure that Deng Ziyue possessed a banknote for 10,000 tael on him. But without hesitance, put his hand into his chest and searched around for the wallet containing the banknote. A long while had elapsed, as he repeatedly felt around the inside of his clothing and eventually, he found the puffed-up wallet of the First Bureau.

Everyone present in that room was stunned. Everyone looked upon Deng Ziyue’s wallet with surprise, which looked as ordinary as one could be. He began pulling out a number of banknotes as if he were tearing out his own guts.

Deng Ziyue placed them all upon the table and repeatedly counted them, again and again, with a searing pain in his heart as if he had been stabbed. He counted ten, and then pa.s.sed them over to Shi Qing"er.

Shi Qing"er’s face could not have appeared any more disfigured from surprise. In her hands, she held 10,000 tael, and so much was the utter shock that she could not bring forth any words to her mouth. She was for all accounts speechless. She thought to herself that this young man might have been the son of a supremely wealthy family, but even his subordinate possessed the sum of 10,000 tael upon his person.

With the 10,000 tael banknotes grasped firmly in her trembling hands, she looked upon Fan Xian’s unconcerned face. She was asking herself, "What kind of demiG.o.d is this man?"

Fan Xian ignored her expression of disbelief and lightly stroked Yan’er, who was still blissfully asleep behind him the entire time. His fingertips ruffled her neck a little, almost like a tease and after, she slowly awoke. As she arose, she greeted her widened, yawning mouth with her arm. It must have been a restful, deep slumber.

"Let’s go."

He said these words gently and without acuity, and immediately after he did so, he stood up and walked out of the room. Deng Ziyue carried the damp man, who may have been dead or alive, and followed. Shi Chanli gave support and helped Sang Wen come along, as the intermittent shocks of the evening weighed heavily on her heart and ability to walk with a sense of composure. In this way, they all exited.

A while later, this collection of young people had pa.s.sed beyond the pond of the yard and disappeared into the shadows, away from the Baoyue Brothel.

Shi Qing"er maintained her grasp of the banknotes in her hand, but was now beginning to squeeze them. The banknotes wrinkled and folded in on each other. Still, she knew that it would be foolish to throw away such a large sum of money and after a while she quickly pocketed them. Her eyes trailed the people who were now walking away, and the shadows that embraced them, and muttered, "You better watch out."

The Baoyue Brothel was owned by two figures, both of who were shrouded in secrecy. Shi Qing"er was with the second owner. Their operations were heartless and cruel. Presently, Yan’er frowned and was almost fully awake, save for a slight dizziness she continued to suffer from. Looking at the state of the room she was in, she was well aware that she hadn’t simply fallen asleep. She thought that it was nigh unbelievable that such a young man, with the charming smile that he carried, could possess such power.

Shi Qing"er raised her hand and went to slap her across the

the face.

No one expected she had the capacity to quickly dodge the incoming strike. After the move, she looked at Shi Qing"er and said, "What are you trying to hit me for?"

Shi Qing"er grinded her teeth and spat out, "You useless wench! I asked you to gather intelligence and information from this person but instead, you slept through half the night."

Yan’er once again viewed the scene and was able to guess what occurred. She coldly smiled and responded, "I am useless. But if you are so useful by comparison, how could you allow those people to walk away in possession of Sang Wen? What reception do you expect to receive when you explain this to Yuan?"

"Humph!" Shi Qing"er looked at Yan’er’s face, which was caked in heavy makeup. With a glance of disdain, she said, "Do not think you are able to get away with anything you please simply because the owner is fond of you. The Baoyue Brothel is a business, just like any other; we cannot simply take to having fights with our customers. But fret not, for I will find a way to resolve these issues."

These two women were well-known to the Baoyue Brothel and, as such, there was much bitterness between them. For whenever they would talk to each other, some manner of belittling would be hidden amongst their words, and fights were not an uncommon sight. The other workers of the Baoyue Brothel quickly backed away in fear of getting dragged into another of their quarrels that seemed to be brewing.

A while later, Yan’er smiled and said, "Do not forget. The owner wants you to maintain a low profile these next few months. That means you shouldn’t go about committing any terrible deed you desire."

"Terrible?" Shi Qing"er smiled callously, saying, "We run the capital."

Yan’er raised her eyebrows to feign confusion and told her, "Oh! That guy today, I can only suppose he was a powerful figure of the 13th Yamen?"

"Pah, that’s poppyc.o.c.k! He is not from the 13th Yamen." Shi Qing"er’s eyebrows displayed the look of someone with murder in their heart. "In the entirety of the capital, how many people do you suspect can present 10,000 tael on a whim? There cannot be many. Even if we were to search beneath each and every rock and tile of the Ministry of Justice, I guarantee you we wouldn’t find that sort of money. He must be the son of one of those barons."

Yan’er was visibly shocked, not believing that the enigmatic "Mister Chen" was someone of such ident.i.ty. She thought back to manner in which she fell asleep, and what he did that made her feel absent-minded and lose consciousness.

Shi Qing"er watched her eyebrows soften, and with a raised voice, told her, "Don’t get yourself all h.o.r.n.y in reminiscence of that man; be wary of upsetting the boss, you tart."

Yan’er heard what she said, but was unafraid nonetheless. She began laughing and told her, "You arranged for me to serve a customer. Aren’t you afraid that would upset the boss?"

Shi Qing"er smiled frostily and replied, "The man you were with - Mister Chen - is going to be a dead man very soon. That isn’t a problem for you, is it?"

After hearing this, Yan’er was made visibly aghast. Her eyebrows frowned and she said, "You"re going to kill again?"

"I will not settle for any individual to disrespect the Baoyue Brothel and get away with it." Shi Qing"er"s eyebrows were full of ruthlessness. She continued, "Considering his ident.i.ty, perhaps it would be best if we didn’t kill him yet. But at the very least, we may be able to kill that b.i.t.c.h Sang Wen. Blame it on their misfortune, for today, the second boss and his men are enjoying the brothel as well."

After Yan’er heard this, she imagined that Mister Chen and his fellows had unknowingly walked into a death sentence. Even though she did not know of the ident.i.ty of the second boss, she knew who his cohorts were. They

were. They were callous, unafraid of anything, and went about as if they dominated the entire capital. Even if Mister Chen was the family member of a baron, he might live through the night, but all around him were sure die.

Yan’er sighed and said, "Being reckless like this, doing whatever you please – it is only a matter of time before the government begin an investigation. And when they do, I am afraid none of us will be spared our lives."

Shi Qing"er looked at her with utter disgust. She began laughing and mocking her lack of courage. And as she did so, she said, "There is a popular officer within the council that would be willing to provide us with support. And there are others who speak for us in the palace. Who are we to fear? What have we to fear?"

Exiting the Baoyue Brothel, Sang Wen’s face was flooded with tears. She bowed to Fan Xian, but this was something he did not desire to see. He did, however, comfort her with a few words of encouragement. With great haste, they hurried toward the carriages. The party split up into two separate carriages and had them ride through the brighter side of the street.

It wasn’t long before the carriage was brought to a halt in the center of a lengthy lane. Fan Xian furled the curtains of the carriage windows and without much in the way of surprise, he noticed the presence of two groups of people blocking either end of the street. In each individual’s hand was held a torch.

From what little he could tell, these people were not old. They were not even adults, for they appeared to be – teenagers 14 or 15 years old. Their pale faces portrayed the squalid living habits they were no doubt accustomed to. They were mounted upon horses, which revealed their ident.i.ty, and further ahead of them were a number of servants tasked with their protection. They didn’t seem to display a care toward their obstruction of the lane. Murdering others on the streets of the capital didn’t seem like a foreign concept to these people.

"Get out of your carriages, fools!" The young man who led the nefarious posse had a wretched face full of scorn and hatred. His eyes harbored an excited, hyped-up malice, no doubt antic.i.p.ating the thrill of being able to slaughter innocent people without remorse or reprieve. It would be fun.

"Wow, it didn’t take long for the Baoyue Brothel to spring to action." Fan Xian mockingly complimented the would-be a.s.sailants from within the carriage. He turned around and asked, "Deng Ziyue, who are those people?"

Deng Ziyue’s face looked dour, and with this look, he told Fan Xian, "They are the most infamous thugs of the capital. They are evil manifest, and they are not known to ever commit a deed of any remote decency. But furthermore, they are heirs to the dukes. As such, none have ever stood against them."

"It seems as if the Baoyue Brothel does not only bear an affiliation with Hongcheng, but they seem to have quite the relation with the dukes, too." Fan Xian shook his head and noticed several shadows flickering along both sides of the street; the Qinian Unit was on the move. Seeing this, he could not help but shake his head once more.

The Qing Kingdom began through force. The generals that followed the emperor into war for the establishment of the kingdom eventually retired, and they now lived in the capital. Their honor was forged upon the fields of battle and in respect and grat.i.tude for their performance and sacrifices, they were given the t.i.tle of duke. And now, the most recent emperor made sure to care for these aged warriors and continue supporting their families. They were not, however, permitted to be too involved with the dealings of the government. To ensure such restrictions remained in place, officers of the government would cheat them out of successful exam results and alter doc.u.ments toalter doc.u.ments to keep them away.

Since the dukedom was bestowed upon these families, the third and fourth generations had now come. But now, the smart heirs of these families were few and far between, leading to many brutish, arrogant, and aimless children. They were now in their teens, and despite being uncared for and forsaken by their government, they were rich. Left to their own machinations, they could do whatever they pleased, with no obligations to adhere to. Youthful but bored, they bullied others. Possible consequences for their actions meant little to them, and their degeneracy only got worse with age. Nowadays, they were p.r.o.ne to drawing theirs swords and cutting down others whenever they pleased.

These kids also believed themselves to be saviors; well-meaning people who were set to going about the dirty business of the capital’s truly heinous, criminal organizations. Being almost like sellswords, they referred to themselves as "Rangers". Of course, Fan Xian simply believed them all to be sc.u.m. There was no knowing how many people they had harmed or even killed in their free reign upon the city.

Even though Fan Xian was only a few years senior to those infamous thugs of the capital, he was much more mature. After a.s.sessing the situation, he returned his full attention to the carriage and did not engage them any further. He merely pa.s.sed on his orders for his subordinates to follow.

The bloodline of the dukes was complex and difficult to trace and keep a track of, despite their lack of authority in the kingdom. Even the Fan family and Duke Liu shared relatives. How could one separate and dismantle this? Fan Xian always thought that if he did not have to be the one who took upon this task, that would be the better choice.

"Someone, go over there and smash that carriage!"

The n.o.ble kid who was in charge was audibly excited in the manner he yelled this command. He hurried his horse to approach it and, in his wake, a bunch of screaming kids were hollering strangely toward Fan Xian’s carriage, bearing in their hands the manner of straight swords that were a common sight within the capital. Swinging them wildly, they were like sharks that had just detected the scent of blood.

Sang Wen watched the scene unfold in terror, but quickly withdrew her head to hide. She was holding her skirt as the carriage began to shake. She wanted to scream, but instead gritted her teeth and did her best to stay quiet.

Fan Xian looked at her, but did not say anything. He pulled back the curtains once again and saw the crazy kids bearing down on them upon their horses. He thought to himself how the public security of the capital must have degraded in recent times. But the capital magistrates were closely affiliated with the second prince. With the reputation these kids now held, n.o.body would be willing to take care of them. And there he saw them, with sheer adrenaline, excitement, and bloodl.u.s.t in their eyes. His visible disgust toward the sight was as if he had just swallowed a fly.

While the kids possessed childish mannerisms and behavior, their cold approach to life was still plain to see. With the way they looked and preyed upon weaker folk, and how they craved for the sight of gore, it was sick. Fan Xian was a person who faced death when he was young and it was because of this that he never thought the act of taking someone’s life was scary or alarming.

Still, he always ensured it was something he would never do pleasurably. He never wanted to enjoy the act. And on the flip side, he enjoyed being alive, for he cherished his life dearly.

Besides, tonight, all he wanted to do was relax with the public funds he had received. And despite that wish, the Overwatch Council’s Commissioner had ended up getting into a fight with a bunch of thugs on the street. It was quite embarra.s.sing.

Therefore, Fan Xian was upset.