Chapter 101: Disguised as a Courtesan, Exploring the Pavilion at Night
Exiting Fu Jun’s residence on Miao Hua Road, it had been less than half a quarter of an hour.
Standing at the busiest intersection in the Eastern Capital, the Regent King narrowed his eyes, momentarily unsure where to begin his search. He composed himself, and the soldiers brought Xiao Ji forward, bound tightly, and forced him before Su Jingzhi.
“Confess.”
Xiao Ji insisted, repeating: “—I really don’t know where His Majesty is!”
Upon waking this morning, the Regent King found the little emperor missing from his room. After turning the entire Luoyang posthouse upside down without finding a trace, the Regent King’s aura had been oppressive ever since. Outsiders dared not breathe loudly, let alone speak, in his presence.
Connecting this to Xiao Mengshi’s previous record of stealing the little emperor.
The Regent King directly ordered Xiao Ji bound, forcing him to reveal the little emperor’s whereabouts.
To outsiders, this action appeared as the Regent King’s wrath.
Only Xiao Mengshi remained sober.
After all, Xiao Ji was one of the few outsiders who knew of Su Jingzhi’s affection for Wei Wanlan. Although Xiao Ji didn’t show it on his face and kept clarifying verbally, his worry for the little emperor was no less.
However, the angrier and more worried the Regent King was, the more reassured Xiao Ji felt about the little emperor’s safety. Because Su Yan was domineering, controlling military and political affairs without interference. If he truly liked the little emperor, he would care about the little emperor’s safety more than anyone else.
An inexplicable bitterness welled up in Xiao Ji’s heart.
But he still offered advice at the right time; finding the little emperor was paramount:
“I once heard His Majesty call that Fu Jun’s name in the Luoyang Imperial Villa. Fu Jun accompanied His Majesty on adventures in the villa. Since that person has disappeared without a trace, could His Majesty have left the palace this time to find him?”
“A commoner from the martial world, why would he care?”
Xiao Ji thought, Keep pretending?
This whole thing started because of you. If you had been more honest about your feelings for the little emperor, he wouldn’t have run out to find your fake identity.
Unfortunately, he still had to play along with the Regent King:
“Since the Heaven Sword branch is gone, think about where that Fu Jun might appear. His Majesty is definitely there.”
Xiao Ji’s words woke the dreamer, providing the Regent King with a new line of thought. The Regent King, whose concern had led to chaos, found a moment of clarity.
The Regent King was indeed the Regent King:
“Order them to check the restaurants, tea houses, and theaters. Check places selling flowers, birds, fish, and insects, and don’t miss the cat and dog markets.”
The real Fu Jun liked these places.
The little fool also liked these things.
“Send people to publicize the Complaint Drum again. The more people come to beat the drum, the less likely he is to stay in the city. He has things to do…”
With that, the Regent King mounted his horse. Xiao Ji was untied and followed closely. The two formed a temporary alliance, riding first to search the theaters. The liveliest theater was located in the red-light district of Luoyang. He was afraid the little fool would accidentally provoke the riffraff nearby.
“Wei, Wan, Lan.”
The little fool couldn’t out-argue others, and certainly couldn’t out-fight them.
The Regent King gritted his teeth loudly. His headache was splitting, the bitter taste of medicine lingering in his mouth, his vision blurred.
Last night, after dealing with border affairs, the poison flared up. Since the Complaint Drum system at the posthouse had just been implemented, he feared that the initial instability might threaten Wei Wanlan’s safety, so he returned to the posthouse almost blindly.
Only after pressing Wei Wanlan onto the bed and feeling the situation stabilize did he fall asleep.
As a result, the little fool took advantage of his blurred consciousness from the poison, closed the bed curtains tightly, stuffed a pillow into his arms, and was bold enough to jump out the window, climb a tree, and escape!
What do you call this?
Saying he’s raising the roof wouldn’t be an exaggeration!
Su Jingzhi got angrier the more he thought about it, even considering threatening to punish Xiao Ji severely if Wei Wanlan didn’t appear.
The thought of finding Wei Wanlan, locking him up, and teaching him a lesson grew stronger in the Regent King’s heart.
Teach him a lesson…
Yes! Teach him a severe lesson! Until he never dares to run away again!
The horses stopped abruptly at the theater entrance.
It was noon, the time with the most audience members. Before Su Jingzhi’s military boots even stepped over the threshold, the singing from inside drifted out, full of sighs and lamentations:
“Ai—ya—this concubine had no intention of climbing the dragon scales, but the Dragon Lord’s affection is deep. The water palace of Dongting imprisons this concubine’s body, dragon chants soft in the deep night.”
It was singing the currently popular storybook.
Su Jingzhi scanned the room solemnly but didn’t see the person he was looking for under the stage. Hands behind his back, his face darkened.
The actor on stage, unaware, sang even more devotedly:
“This concubine flees tonight under the cover of darkness, the water palace no longer a prison. Lightly loosening silk robes to tread on the waves, the moon high over Dongting Lake.”
“Dragon Lord, farewell—”
Some audience members who had seen this play discussed: “Don’t look at this woman escaping the Dragon Palace and marrying a poor scholar later. The Dragon Lord retaliated against the poor scholar, causing him to fail the imperial examinations repeatedly. The scholar hanged himself, and the resentful woman drowned herself, turning against the Dragon Lord…”
“Sigh. Forced melons are not sweet. Forced melons turn into enmity.”
“Hey, General and Sir, are you here to watch the play too? There are no seats left. If you don’t mind sharing a table?”
Su Jingzhi suddenly turned towards the door.
The audience members were confused, not knowing what they said to offend this person, looking at each other in bewilderment.
Xiao Sheren hurriedly cupped his hands to explain they had urgent business and chased after him, thinking the Regent King was angered by the play. But looking around, he couldn’t see the Regent King. While puzzled, his gaze shifted to the alley between the theater and the neighboring Mianhua Lou.
Sure enough, he heard movement in the alley.
Xiao Ji entered the narrow alley without thinking:
“Your sudden outburst is rude. Even if the lyrics sang the truth you don’t want to hear, but—”
Suddenly, a gust of strong wind hit his face!
Xiao Ji was lifted by the throat by the Regent King’s left hand. His lungs instantly felt heavy, and he couldn’t breathe.
“You, Su Yan, you—”
Xiao Ji’s face was about to explode.
Suddenly seeing stars, his vision vaguely caught sight of several gleaming silver needles and a medicine bottle rolling to the edge of the narrow alley.
If it were anyone else, they might not understand, but this was Xiao Ji. He realized his mistake was barging into the narrow alley, catching the Regent King taking medicine and performing self-acupuncture. He discovered the Regent King’s secret, so Su Yan was full of killing intent towards him.
Generations of the Su family heads had died young.
The Su family tried to suppress the rumors of this curse, but families like Xiao Ji’s, with generations of officials, had heard some rumors.
So when Xiao Ji was being strangled by the Regent King, what became clear in his mind was something that had puzzled him since they escaped the Luoyang Imperial Villa.
—He used and hid the identity of Fu Jun, not just to get close to the little emperor.
“You hide the curse on your body, afraid others will link Fu Jun’s weakness to you. You know your illness is acting up more frequently now.”
“But I don’t believe there are curses in this world. Is it your Su family’s hereditary disease, or were you poisoned?”
…
Evening.
Mianhua Lou.
Mianhua Lou had over two hundred guest rooms.
Wei Wanlan used a jade pendant on him to buy an outfit, disguising himself as a young courtesan in a brothel. This method was simple, direct, and effective. He could blend in.
But brothel clothes, how to say, were… thin and sheer.
Especially the courtesans of Mianhua Lou deliberately left the top buttons open, letting the cold wind chill their necks. Wei Wanlan felt uncomfortable since putting it on.
Not just because of the cold.
But because wearing this outfit, every time he asked about Fu Jun’s whereabouts, he would be teased by lechers. Some were elegant jokes, inviting him to enjoy the moon, flowers, and wine, still having some style.
Others, like the old lecher Bai Lianrong, didn’t talk much and got straight to physical contact:
“This little rabbit, dark eyes looking around everywhere, where are you going?”
As soon as the lecher finished speaking, Wei Wanlan stumbled a few steps, about to bump into a drunkard reeking of alcohol. He disliked the smell.
Wei Wanlan had a countermeasure, smiling sweetly:
“Sir, your majestic appearance and extraordinary bearing make me fall for you at first sight, but I already have an appointment tonight. Have you heard of the Heaven Sword Manor Lord?”
Using the tiger’s might to intimidate, plus counter-intelligence gathering.
If the other party had no grudge against Fu Jun and happened to know him, maybe they would tell him Fu Jun’s whereabouts. The Heaven Sword Manor was a big household locally, ordinary lechers dared not provoke them. With this combination of punches, Wei Wanlan often managed to escape smoothly.
Patrolling near the next room.
The door was half-open, the gauze lamp inside dim. Wei Wanlan couldn’t see if anyone was in the bed curtains. He tilted his head.
He once heard the hero say personally “family rules forbid lingering in places of debauchery.” If the hero was just here to take refuge, as long as two people were having sex inside, it definitely wasn’t the hero, so no need to enter.
But precisely because he couldn’t see clearly, this room had to be verified.
As a result, Wei Wanlan tentatively stuck his head into the room, and a voice suddenly sounded inside, scaring him into a shudder:
“Wanwan, where did you take that aphrodisiac wine?”
Wei Wanlan’s ear tips trembled so much he was about to take off on the spot.
It wasn’t that he didn’t understand what aphrodisiac wine was, but that sudden “Wanwan.” He thought someone had seen through his disguise as a courtesan infiltrating Mianhua Lou from so far away, scaring him out of his wits.
Then thump thump thump thump he ran away—
Wuwuwu, anyone who uses aphrodisiac wine definitely isn’t my hero…
Run fast, or you’ll be caught QAQ
Wei Wanlan ran with red eyes, feeling no relaxation in his vacation. But he didn’t change his mind about continuing to find Fu Jun and helping him through the difficulties, even worrying more deeply about Fu Jun being forced to hide here.
Hero, I’m coming to save you!
Mianhua Lou had over two hundred rooms. Checking one by one like Wei Wanlan, until now nearing the Hai hour (9-11 PM), he had checked more than half without seeing Fu Jun’s shadow, meaning he had to continue this work.
Wei Wanlan braced himself. Planning to deal with the remaining hundred or so rooms.
Luckily, the brothel didn’t sleep at night. Even if he was slow, he could probably check all the rooms. Since the Memory Revealing Solution showed this, Fu Jun must be in Mianhua Lou.
Checking one by one to the second floor.
Wei Wanlan stopped at a large unlit room. No scent of rouge spilled from inside, nor snoring. So there shouldn’t be anyone doing strange things inside. Wei Wanlan pushed the door open a crack, wanting to explore inside.
Tap.
However, just as Wei Wanlan peered into the room, he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He turned around.
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