Chapter 28
Running Into an Acquaintance in Drunken Harmony Parlor
“Young Master, is this your first time here?”
Yu Yunxi, who was dressed in men’s clothing, stood at the entrance of Drunken Harmony Parlor. Her gaze was cold, and she looked like a noble young master at this moment. The women of Drunken Harmony Parlor looked at her bright eyes and surrounded her immediately. The strong smell from the rouge they wore made her feel suffocated and caused her expression to darken slightly.
Qian Jiao reacted quickly and brought out a bag of gold.
The madam who managed to brothel saw this and quickly rushed over. She waved the handkerchief in her hand and covered her mouth as she laughed before she said, “Young Master, did any of the young ladies catch your eye?”
“Yin Yue,” Yu Yunxi said curtly.
The brothel madam laughed again. “Young Master, you really have good taste. However, there’s a performance tonight for the courtesans, and Yin Yue will be performing.”
“It’s fine,” Yu Yunxi said with a slight nod. After all, she did not come to have fun. She was here to catch someone.
Seeing that Yu Yunxi was so easygoing, the brothel madam could not stop smiling. She looked at the person next to her meaningfully as she said, “Why aren’t you bringing the Young Master to the private room?”
When Yu Yunxi and Qian Jiao were led inside, they found that it was even ‘livelier’ inside. Many of well-dressed nobles who seemed upright during the day were hugging and kissing women.
Qian Jiao rolled her eyes upon seeing this and said contemptuously, “If these people were in Xinan, they would’ve been hacked to death by their wives.”
The people of Xinan were valiant, and most of the women knew martial arts. If their husbands dared to seek pleasure outside, they would be decapitated.
The woman leading the duo had a good hearing. She turned around and asked, “Are both of you not from the capital?”
Yu Yunxi’s expression changed slightly before she replied in a low voice, “Yes. I came to the capital to do business.”
“Then, you might not know this, Young Master. The Drunken Harmony Parlor is a place where nobles and common folks… mingle… However, there are many women here who only sell their skills, not their bodies. A good example is Sister Yin Yue.”
Yu Yunxi and Qian Jiao exchanged a look. It was precisely because they heard that Yin Yue did not sell her body that they had requested for her earlier.
Qian Jiao cleared her throat before she said, “You can go ahead. My young master wants to look around.”
The woman was not persistent. She pointed to a private room at the end and said, “Young Master, your room is over there. Sister Yin Yue should be able to come and see you in an hour.”
After the woman left, Yu Yunxi massaged her temples and said to Qian Jiao, “Look around. We must find Yang Shi as soon as possible.”
“Yes, County Princess,” Qian Jiao said as she nodded.
Alas, the duo walked around for a long time, but they still did not see Yang Shi. Perhaps, he had yet to arrive.
At this moment, someone exclaimed excitedly, “Miss Yun Ru’s performance tonight is amazing. She can be considered a peerless beauty!”
“That’s right. If Miss Yun Ru is willing to accompany me for a night, it’ll be worth it even if I die.”
“Stop dreaming. It’s impossible for Miss Yun Ru to accompany you!”
“What do you mean by impossible? Is it because she only sells her skills, not her body? Well, I have plenty of money so it should be okay…”
“Sells her skills, not her body? You’re naive! This is what they say to common people like us. It doesn’t apply to those powerful people. Don’t you know that she’s Prince Rui’s person?”
“…”
“County Princess, Prince Rui is…” Qian Jiao asked in a low voice.
“That’s right. He’s the person that godfather told us to keep an eye on before we left for the capital,” Yu Yunxi said solemnly.
The other party was the elder brother of Feng Weizhou, the Crown Prince. He was the First Prince, Prince Rui.
Yu Yunxi did not only come to the capital to seek revenge, but she was also here to complete the mission her godfather entrusted her with.
The current Emperor was suspicious. A few years ago, the Imperial Preceptor slandered Xinan and told the Emperor that Xinan had the ambition to seize the throne. As such, the Emperor began to target Xinan. He even spread rumors that the King of Xinan was secretly training troops to rebel.
Indeed, rumors of the King of Xinan secretly training troops were all fake. They were created by the Emperor to make people condemn Xinan. Even the rumors of the King of Xinan being a womanizer, abducting women, and having countless women in his harem were false. From the beginning to the end, the King of Xinan loved his wife alone.
The Emperor plotted step by step to destroy the King of Xinan’s residence. Not only that, but the Imperial Preceptor was in on it as well.
Yu Yunxi felt anger burning in her heart again when she thought about the Imperial Preceptor. She almost died back then because of the other party.
Before Yu Yunxi came to the capital, the King of Xinan; her godfather, had earnestly said to her, “If the Emperor and the Imperial Preceptor continue this, then Xinan will definitely face a disaster.”
Yu Yunxi had to quickly bring chaos to the capital to temporarily draw the Emperor’s attention away from Xinan. Then, they would find a person who truly cared about the country and support him to ascend the throne. This meant that the First Prince, the Second Prince, the current Crown Prince, the Fourth Prince, and the Fifth Prince were all within the calculations of the King of Xinan.
As though she had just thought of something, Yu Yunxi asked, “That’s right. Qian Jiao, I remember you investigated Prince Rui before, right? He already has a wife, right?”
Qian Jiao nodded. “Yes. Princess Rui is the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Jian Zhong.”
“Princess Rui is the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Jian Zhong, but Prince Rui actually has a woman outside?” Yu Yunxi raised an eyebrow. Then, she looked at Qian Jiao meaningfully.
Qian Jiao understood Yu Yunxi’s meaning and quickly left to investigate the matter.
Although finding Yang Shi was important, they did not forget the mission from the King of Xinan.
After a while, Qian Jiao returned to Yu Yunxi’s side. She said excitedly, “I found out that Miss Yunru has very high musical skills. Not only is Prince Rui infatuated with her, but even the Fifth Prince, Prince Chen, has spent a lot of money on her!”
“Prince Chen, the Fifth Prince? The prince whom Feng Yili supports?” Yu Yunxi muttered to herself with a cold expression on her face.
With this, Qian Jiao realized that she had inadvertently reminded Yu Yunxi of the person who made her unhappy again. She screamed at herself inwardly in frustration. Outwardly, she replied in a low voice, “Yes, it’s that Prince Chen.”
In fact, the King of Xinan’s Residence had always found this matter strange. Feng Yili had always remained neutral, but after escaping death five years ago, he suddenly took the initiative to support the Fifth Prince.
The Fifth Prince, given the title Prince Chen, was one of the princes with a relatively weaker background. His mother was only a concubine. However, thanks to Feng Yili’s support, he was now a threat to Feng Weizhou; the Crown Prince, and the other princes.
The atmosphere stayed heavy until Yu Yunxi looked upstairs. That was when she saw Yang Shi holding a scantily clad woman as he was walking. Although it had been many years, his appearance did not change much. For this reason, she recognized him at a glance.
“Let’s go,” Yu Yunxi said to Qian Jiao.
The duo quickly hurried upstairs.
Yu Yunxi stood in front of a room door. She thought she had seen Yang Shi entering this room earlier. She knew that he knew some martial arts so she did not want to act rashly. If she startled him, it would be troublesome if he ran away. For this reason, she said to Qian Jiao, “Go down there and guard. If Yang Shi tries to run away, attack immediately.”
“Yes, County Princess,” Qian Jiao replied with a nod before she rushed downstairs.
Yu Yunxi turned around, pushed the door open, and entered the room silently.
The room was huge, and a huge screen was placed in the room.
Just as Yu Yunxi was about to walk to the other side of the screen, she heard a man laugh and say, “Ninth Imperial Uncle, I didn’t expect you to come to a place like Drunken Harmony Parlor.”