Chapter 507: Are You Sure You Want To Come Here?
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Hua Xiaodie smiled from ear to ear happily. She sat on Qi Qingyao’s thighs and wrapped her arms around her neck in a coquettish manner.
Then she whispered.
“To speak of the most arrogant and domineering one, that would of course be Ning Yi, the little Master of the Ning Government. He likes to stir up trouble and is one of the little overlords in the capital!”
“But the one who is truly the most powerful in the capital is still our State Preceptor and Head Grand Secretariat. The Head Grand Secretariat is incredibly good-looking! He’s a handsome pretty boy, but it’s a pity… It does not seem that he likes little ladies.”
When Qi Qingyao heard about these two, she turned and gave Li Ruoxuan a smile.
Li Ruoxuan did not show any expression.
Qi Qingyao asked the courtesan unhurriedly, “What do you mean? Could it be that he likes men?”
“That’s not it either. He’s just in such a lofty place and is usually so busy that we don’t get to see much of him. I’ve never seen the State Preceptor bring a woman to his house before either!” Hua Xiaodie’s expression was one of suspicion when she brought this matter up.
“Oh, speaking of the State Preceptor, what kind of a person is he…” Qi Qingyao smiled even more relaxedly.
“Not many have seen the State Preceptor before! He’s a dominant figure.” Hua Xiaodie’s eyes suddenly widened as her voice become extremely cutesy.
“What about his personality?” Qi Qingyuan picked up her gla.s.s and sniffed it before having a taste.
Li Ruoxuan, who was next to her, picked up a sugar-fried chestnut. He peeled off the chestnut sh.e.l.l silently and popped the fruit into his mouth.
“The rumors out there say that the State Preceptor is cunning, insidious, and cruel. This man… If you can avoid him, do so!”
“He’s that powerful?”
Qi Qingyao smiled frivolously.
Hua Xiaodie added seriously, “It’s the State Preceptor after all! In my opinion, it makes sense for him to act that way because how could he be the State preceptor if he didn’t? He would have long been a.s.sa.s.sinated in this cruel and ruthless capital!”
“You say he’s insidious and cunning, yet you sound like you admire the State Preceptor?” Qi Qingyao asked with a smile.
“All the things the State Preceptor does for the sake of Northern Liang’s. So, even if he’s insidious and cunning, there is no doubt it is because he is strategizing for the country!”
“…” Qi Qingyao raised a brow but did not say anything.
Li Ruoxuan’s eyes were half-lidded but there was a profound smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
“Jiang Liluo, a daughter from the family of the Minister of Justice, and Jiang Siliu, a distant relative of the family who had recently arrived from afar, also stirred up a lot of trouble in the capital recently.”
Oh!
That name sounded familiar.
Jiang Siliu?
She could not possibly be the same person she chucked out of Qingzhou City now, right?
“There is one more person named Wen Chuji, who is the most famous and talented woman in the capital. Her personality is fresh and elegant, romantic and graceful…”
…
…
The little courtesan revealed everything since what Qi Qingyao asked for were not great secrets.
She even shared a bunch of gossip about the capital…
After that, Qi Qingyao pushed banknotes worth one hundred taels to the little courtesan.
Hua Xiaodie was so happy she smiled from ear to ear. She did not think she would earn 300 taels without having to drink or play any games tonight! This guest was indeed as great as Mother Hua had described!
After drinking, Qi Qingyao made an excuse and had Hua Xiaodie leave first.
She placed a banknote on the table and then proceeded to act drunk. Slinging the wine pot along, she got up unsteadily. Li Ruoxuan noticed her drunken appearance and desire to leave, and he got up as well. After the two were outside again, Qi Qingyao let the faint cool breeze flow over her and instantly felt more alert.
She was not too drunk; she did not actually drink a lot.
Li Ruoxuan stood beside her. He folded his arms while looking at her. “Those things you asked about, if you wanted to know them, you could have just asked me, and you wouldn’t have to spend a few hundred taels to ask a courtesan!”
Qi Qingyao turned her head 45 degrees and grinned at him calmly.
Her voice was like spun sugar silk as she said lightly, “Are we that close with one another?”
Li Ruoxuan had no reply.
Qi Qingyao continued slowly and faintly again, “Why would I ask you?”
Li Ruoxuan, “…”
He must have gone stupid that night for wasting his time to accompany this woman to fool around at this establishment!
Qi Qingyao did not feel an ounce of guilt. She said solemnly, “If you are so sincere, you should have shared all the information regarding the capital on your own accord when we reached the capital instead of waiting for me to ask you for it.”
Li Ruoxuan, “…”
Come on now!
Come on!
Still, he would not bring himself to fuss over this village widow, lest he degrade himself to her level!
Qi Qingyao explained in a trivializing manner, “If I had to spend money on information, I want to ensure that the information I bought is of value.”
Li Ruoxuan, “…” What did she mean by that? Was she saying that his words were worthless? Or did she think he would lie?!
If it were not for this b.a.s.t.a.r.d woman still having her uses, he would have cut her delicate neck ages ago!
Li Ruoxuan cursed her hundreds and thousands of times in his heart!
As soon as the two left, Jiang Yeqian and Zhao Xin entered Huayue Pavilion. Jiang Yeqian wore a silver mask over his face, which stopped outsiders from having a clear look at his features.
After Zhao Xin rounded the place once, he hurried back and said, “Y-Your Excellency, I don’t see the lady in the building.”
Jiang Yeqian pursed his lips tightly and all kinds of thoughts crossed his mind.
The next moment, he called a courtesan over and asked calmly, “Did someone wearing an eye patch come here just now?”
The courtesan did not know who this visitor was, but given the man’s angry aura that engulfed him, she quickly whispered, “Yes!”
Jiang Yeqian’s eyes brightened, “Where are he and his companion?”
The courtesan shook her small round fan and said, “His companion seemed to have drunk too much so he helped them leave together.”
“…”
Drunk too much?
Was she looking to die!
Li Ruoxuan could not have possibly gotten her drunk and taken her home…then gone into the room…
Jiang Yeqian did not dare think about what would happen next.
Wait—she seemed to have mentioned before that she was going to not just brothels but also…
——Li Ruoxuan thought Qi Qingyao wanted to go back but she ended up swaggering around the streets. Eventually, she stood in front of the Nanfeng Pavilion, smiling sleazily.
Li Ruoxuan’s expression was as black as the bottom of the pot.
“Are you sure you want to come to this type of establishment?”
Qi Qingyao rolled her eyes at him. “Of course, I’d want to see what the pretty boys in Capital City look like.”
Li Ruoxuan’s brows rose and his gaze was profound. “They are all rabbits (TN: Derogatory slang for gay men) here! As if there would be any pretty men.”
“I don’t care, I want to have a look!” Saying that, she shook off Li Ruoxuan’s arm and immediately marched toward Nanfeng Pavilion.
Li Ruoxuan’s lips had become a straight line. He had a great impulse to just turn around and walk away, but looking at the woman dressed as a little young master walking step by step into the Nanfeng Pavilion, Li Ruoxuan cursed and bolted after her with large steps.
The decor of the Nanfeng Pavilion was not much different from that of the Huayue Pavilion; it was actually even more extravagant. Right after pa.s.sing through the door, you would immediately be greeted by the sight of many beautiful young men, barefoot, bare-chested, and donning outer robes without any inner garments. They looked very bohemian while they sat drinking together.
There were also others who obviously did not belong to the Nanfeng Pavilion, but they sat together, drinking wine dubiously!
This left Qi Qingyao a little confused.
As soon as she picked out a short table and sat down, a beautiful young man came forward and promptly produced a pot of wine!
Qi Qingyao looked around at the Nanfeng Pavilion and wondered if it was also under the Ghost Organization. Perhaps it was more than just a simple establishment. It could be one of the places used by the Ghost Organization to collect intelligence, just like the Huayue Pavilion. After all, only celebrities in the capital could frequent this place.
“Why is a beautiful little master sitting here alone, hmm?”
Huh?
Qi Qingyao suddenly turned her head and came face to face with a man in his forties who had a face full of wrinkles. He was smiling widely and there was a leer in his eyes.
Qi Qingyao was instantly suspicious.
She did not recognize this person, so why was he greeting her?
“Did you come alone?” Seeing the little young master looking clueless, he took a fancy to the youth. He sat down beside his short table and wrapped an arm around his shoulder.
Qi Qingyao, “???”
She glanced helplessly at the wandering hand on her shoulder.
“Is this your first time coming to such a place?” The man liked the youth’s adorable face that carried a strange kind of charm. He thought that such an adorable boy must be a virgin, yes… Not bad, very clean!
“I’m a guest, I don’t work here!” Qi Qingyao swatted the man’s hand off her shoulder.
The middle-aged man was stunned. The young man was also a feisty one, not bad at all. He must be so fun to play with!
The smile on his face became wider.
He then put one hand on the young master’s arm while the other moved to caress his face!
——When Li Ruoxuan entered, he paused for a moment since he was still reluctant to step into such a messy place! Little did he think that he would catch sight of that person getting entangled with an old man before he could even scrutinize the unsightly place.
Never mind the man putting his wandering hand on her shoulder, he even planned to touch her face…
Li Ruoxuan walked over with a dark expression!
The guests and servers in Nanfeng Pavilion were drinking and having fun when they suddenly felt a “wind” blowing, then a dark shadow flashed in front of them.
Huh?
What was happening?
…
Qi Qingyao once again glanced at the wandering hand on her shoulder and then looked at the man’s slightly red eyes. She wondered if he was actually treating her as one of the escorts here after drinking too much.
Just as she was about to flip the man over, she suddenly saw the man being picked up like a chicken and before she could even react, she felt the man being thrown out like a sandbag!
Like a bullet, he crashed into the wall heavily.
A huge “clang” resounded throughout the entire Nanfeng Pavilion.
Instantly, the wall had been smashed through, leaving behind a human-shaped hole!
Next door to the Nanfeng building was an ordinary restaurant in Capital City. Business was running as usual—the guests ate and drank in the lobby—when suddenly a cras.h.i.+ng sound came from the wall. Then a large hole appeared in the wall, and a person suddenly flew out, hitting the pillar in the center of the restaurant.
The sudden development almost scared the waiter’s soul away.
There were several waiters serving food, and they were so frightened that the plates in their hands fell to the ground. The guests also dropped their wine cups from the shock.
After the dust settled and everyone came back to their senses, they looked at the “corpse” on the ground in amazement, then at the big hole in the wall.
Someone from Nanfeng Pavilion was also looking through the hole.
For a moment.
The people in the restaurant and the people in the Nanfeng Pavilion were looking at each other through the hole!
The guests of the restaurant stared at the young men at the opposite building, dressed in an exaggerated and coquettish fas.h.i.+on, all wearing strange expressions.