Chapter 56 Chapter 56 "Lian Lang."

If we were to say that the most prosperous area in Jiankang City at night is the Qinhuai River, and among them, the Chunzhen Tower at the innermost part is the most lively.

This magnificent pavilion is built by the river and is about six stories high. The lanterns hanging under the corridor are reflected on the river bank, shining brightly.

The shore was dotted with women walking in groups of three or four. Beneath the Chunzhen Tower, with its vermilion-lacquered plaque hanging high above, a crowd of people surged and bustled.

A young waiter saw a woman in a pomegranate-red, wide-sleeved shirt dismounting from her horse. Confirming it was Cui Yuanying's distinguished guest, he immediately bowed and led the way. The two ascended the spiral staircase to the sixth floor and then passed through a long corridor.

This corridor is very wide, and the red lacquered floor is so shiny that you can see your mirror. Five people can walk side by side without feeling crowded.

When they reached the end of the road, the servant knocked three times at the carved door: "Madam Cui, Madam Xie has arrived."

When he heard a lazy sound of someone coming in, the waiter opened the door, bowed and walked in to greet Xie Tingyu.

As soon as you walk in, you will hear the leisurely tunes of the guqin.

Walking around a huge glass screen with a pattern of birds paying homage to a phoenix, one sees Cui Yuanying lazily leaning on the back of a chair, with an obedient man kneeling beside her.

The young man bent down, picked up a dark purple grape, peeled it, and fed it to Cui Yuanying with his own hands.

Cui Yuanying squinted her eyes in satisfaction. Seeing Xie Tingyu come in, her eyes suddenly lit up. She tapped the brocade cushion beside her with her fingertips. "Xie Er, come sit here."

Xie Tingyu casually brushed aside the hem of her skirt and lazily leaned against the soft pillow. Her left elbow rested on the table, her right fingertips tapping lightly on her knees in time with the music. The recent expedition had indeed been somewhat exhausting, but now the sounds of heaven lingered in her ears, the melodious sound of stringed instruments like the sound of a clear spring rinsing jade, a truly wonderful treat.

Cui Yuanying gave a wink, and two handsome twins appeared from behind the pearl curtain and went straight to Xie Tingyu.

Xie Tingyu only felt a gust of fragrant wind blowing past, and saw someone leaning on each of his left and right.

"These are the two young masters I told you about in this building, Xiaoyi and Xiaoshu."

The young man on the right picked up the wine cup, leaned over and whispered, "Madam, let Xiaoyi serve you a drink."

Xie Tingyu raised his eyelids, glanced at the wine, took the cup, and drank it all in one gulp.

"Did you invite only me tonight?" Xie Tingyu looked around and saw that she and Cui Yuanying were the only two people left in the huge room.

Cui Yuanying had just finished sharing a slice of tangerine with her husband when she heard the invitation. "Oh, Wang Lanzhi and Yuan Wangshu were also invited. Wang Lanzhi said she had to accompany her husband, and Yuan Wangshu couldn't drink because of his leg injury."

Xie Tingyu raised his eyebrows when he heard this. "When did you become so close to Wangshu Niang? You even invited her?"

Cui Yuanying sneered, "How could that be! I sent the invitation to her garden because I was angry that she couldn't come to this land of gentleness."

Turning around, Cui Yuanying saw that the twins hadn't even reached Xie Tingyu's shoulders. Frowning, he scolded, "You tactless people! This is Captain Xie, the noble daughter of the Chenjun Xie family, who just returned from battle. You normally don't even get to see this noble person, and yet you're still standing there?"

The two gentlemen quickly took up the wine cup and the fruit plate, and presented them to Xie Tingyu: "Madam, please enjoy."

Seeing Xie Tingyu take the wine cup, one of the young men came forward and whispered in her ear: "Madam, would you like a servant to serve you?" As he spoke, his hand had already reached out to Xie Tingyu's collar.

Xie Tingyu quickly blocked the attack and pushed the man away. He said indifferently, "I just want to drink some wine today. Don't get too close to me."

"Ah!" Cui Yuanying sighed softly and shook her head. "Why are you ruining the mood? Since those two gentlemen are willing to serve you, why push them away?" She hummed softly, "It's said that whoring is the best, intimate love, quiet pleasure, and lingering passion. Xie Er, do you understand what it feels like?"

"I know more than you do."

Cui Yuanying sneered, thinking it was just Xie Tingyu trying to save face. Seeing Xie Tingyu drain his glass, and the waiter quickly and cleverly refilling it, Cui Yuanying had another idea. She just didn't believe it today; she couldn't trick Xie Er into sleeping with these gentlemen.

She pretended to change clothes, got up from the table and walked out.

Xie Tingyu was still sipping one glass after another when suddenly there was a loud bang and the door was violently pushed open. Looking up, he saw Yuan Wangshu limping in with a look of surprise on his face, leaning on a cane.

Yuan Wangshu didn't want to come at first, but after asking around, she found out that Xie Tingyu was actually attending Cui Yuanying's banquet, so she hurried over in a hurry, not for anything but to consider her third brother's lifelong future.

If Xie Tingyu was led astray by Cui Yuanying and developed the bad habit of frequenting brothels, what would happen to her third brother's future?

Seeing that Xie Tingyu was simply drinking, Yuan Wangshu felt relieved. She sat down at the table with her back against the table and ordered, "Bring me a pot of jasmine tea."

Xie Tingyu paused for a moment, his hand holding the teacup pausing, a puzzled expression on his face. "Is Yuan Garden short of jasmine tea? Why would you come here to ask for it?"

Yuan Wangshu retorted, "Is Xie Yuan's wine not good enough? Do you have to come to Chunzhen Tower to drink it?"

"Here we have music and wine, and..." Xie Tingyu wanted to talk about beauties, but at this moment, the beauty she wanted to see the most was still in the palace, so she said, "There's also a patient with a wound on his leg who insisted on coming here to join in the fun. This is quite a unique play."

Yuan Wangshu sneered and drank the tea in his cup. "You, Xie Tingyu, control everything in the world, and you even control me, right? Don't think that just because you saved my life and healed my leg, you can show off your power over me."

Xie Tingyu was too lazy to say anything. He just glanced at Yuan Wangshu and went back to drinking.

Glass after glass, the cool liquor flowed down his throat, turning into a line of fire that burned straight into his abdomen, sending waves of warmth rising. Xie Tingyu narrowed his eyes slightly, completely relaxed, and thoroughly enjoying the feeling of being tipsy.

With a snap, the door was suddenly opened again. Cui Yuanying rushed in excitedly, "Xie Er, I found a pot of aged wine, come quickly—" The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he stopped abruptly when he saw Yuan Wangshu.

Cui Yuanying's face darkened. "What are you doing here?"

"Didn't you send someone to my house to send an invitation?" Yuan Wangshu asked coldly.

"Oh, that's because I didn't expect you to be so shameless as to come here." Cui Yuanying walked around her, placed the wine jug heavily on Xie Tingyu's desk, and filled it himself. "Come, try it quickly. I heard it's like the nectar of heaven."

Xie Tingyu, unsuspecting of her, drank the whole thing. This wine was stronger and spicier than before, burning his throat and heart, yet offering a uniquely satisfying taste.

When Cui Yuanying saw Xie Tingyu finish her glass, she filled it up again for her personally. After three rounds of drinking, Cui Yuanying returned to her seat with satisfaction.

When she left, she added a secret medicine to the wine, which can be dissolved in water immediately. It is colorless and tasteless, but it can make people excited, long for skin contact, and urgently need to touch the beautiful white male body.

Cui Yuanying didn't care how Xie Tingyu beat her when he came to the mansion tomorrow, she was determined to let Xie Er truly experience the pleasure of sex tonight.

Xie Er will be grateful to her!

After Xie Tingyu drank dozens of glasses of wine, although two faint blushes appeared on his cheeks, his mind was still clear and lucid. In front of him was the image of a beautiful little fox rolling on the grass.

Ah... She wanted to see Ji Lian, right now, she wanted to see Ji Lian now.

I don’t know why I suddenly want to see Lianlian so much, but she always does things according to her own heart.

Even if Lianlian was in the palace right now, what did it matter? Even if the palace gates were locked, what did it matter? She had her own way of sneaking into the palace.

Thinking of this, Xie Tingyu suddenly stood up, and regardless of how Cui Yuanying called out to her from behind, or the surprised look of Yuan Wangshu, she walked straight downstairs.

Halfway up, she felt the stairs were too slow, so she tapped the railing with her toes, used the momentum to jump, and landed on the ground with her clothes fluttering.

After untying the reins of Stepping Moon Horse, Xie Tingyu jumped on the horse and galloped like the wind on the official road, heading straight towards the palace gate.

Cui Yuanying leaned over the railing and shouted, "Xie Er! Where are you going? Xie Er!!! Come back soon!"

It was too far away, and the shouting eventually faded into the vast night.

When Xie Tingyu was about two miles away from the palace gate, she stopped.

She sat on her horse, looked up at the vermilion palace gate not far away, and began to ponder how she could sneak in without being caught by the patrolling Jinwu Guards.

"Ah..." Xie Tingyu sighed, "I figured it out."

Xie Tingyu pulled the reins and rode his horse, Stepping on the Moon, around the palace gate in front of him. He then rode along the shadow of the palace wall for several miles and finally came to a remote corner.

She dismounted, stroked the Moon-Stepping Horse's mane, and said gently, "I'll go home first. I need to go to the palace to do some business. Be careful on the road, and don't let anyone see you."

Stepping on the Moon Horse whinnied a few times, rubbed her palm affectionately, and turned away obediently.

Xie Tingyu stepped on the tiptoes, using the gaps in the wall tiles for leverage, and flew up as lightly as a swallow. With a push of his arms, he jumped onto the palace wall and disappeared into the lush canopy of the ancient trees beside the wall.

“Who is it?!”

A night patrolling Jinwu Guard caught a glimpse of movement in the shadows of the trees and approached with lanterns in hand. The palace lanterns illuminated the branches, but only the empty, silent branches remained.

The Jinwu Guard was still worried, so he personally climbed up the tree to check, and only after confirming that no one was there did he lead his team away.

Phew. That was a close call.

Xie Tingyu, hidden behind the palace pillars, breathed a sigh of relief. She had reacted extremely quickly, flipping sideways from the treetops and maneuvering in the shadow of the eaves, narrowly avoiding the Jinwu Guards' inspection.

The benefits of serving as the Jinwu Guard and patrolling the palace day and night are now apparent.

The night was as dark as ink, and although there was no candlelight, Xie Tingyu had the eyesight of a nighthawk. She knew every path and every corner by heart and would never make a mistake.

A dark shadow quietly sneaked to the outside of Posa Pavilion.

The figure stepped on the eaves like a ghost, lightly touched the branches, and with a few jumps, he avoided the patrol of the Jinwu Guards in front of the palace and climbed into the pavilion.

Xie Tingyu walked lightly along the wall.

It was only three quarters past midnight, and I didn't know if Ji Lian had fallen asleep. But -

She saw the dim candlelight coming through the window lattice and thought that he had not yet gone to sleep.

Different people have different ways of doing things, and Xie Tingyu naturally returned to her old ways of doing things.

Sneaking, climbing over walls, and prying open windows.

Xie Tingyu took out a silver hairpin from her hair, gently pushed the tip of the hairpin along the crack of the window, and then lifted it up.

There was a very slight click.

She pried the window open.

Xie Tingyu leaned against the window frame, used the force to flip over, and landed lightly in Ji Lian's bedroom. She quickly removed her shoes, tossed the silver hairpin aside, and stepped on the ground in just her white silk stockings, so that she could move silently.

This was what she did every time she sneaked in in her previous life. It had become an old habit.

Suddenly, a few men whispered, and Xie Tingyu flashed and hid in the shadow behind the cabinet.

"Has the orchid fragrance dew that His Highness ordered been put into the hot spring?"

"It has been added as instructed."

It turns out that this is a hot spring room dedicated to bathing.

The sound gradually faded away with the footsteps.

Xie Tingyu continued walking inside. The dim light inside was bright, the faint fragrance of orchid and musk lingered at the tip of his nose, and the whole view was filled with hazy mist.

In the mist, a slender figure appeared on the mica screen.

Xie Tingyu walked around to the side of the screen and finally saw the person in the hot spring.

The man had his back to her.

Her long black hair fell like a waterfall, with water droplets sliding down the curve of her back. The thin belt around her waist had been untied and was casually draped on the sandalwood clothes rack beside her.

With the subtle sound of fabric rustling, the outer garment fell to the ground, followed by the inner garment, and finally only a plain white undergarment was left.

Ji Lian came out from behind the screen and was taking off the last piece of clothing from her upper body, revealing her beautiful body with well-defined skin and well-proportioned figure.

Jade-like shoulders, sunken collarbones, a narrow and flexible waistline, and a striking little red dot right in the center of her abdomen.

As he raised his hand to push back his wet hair, he suddenly saw a figure hidden in the mist. The fog was so thick that he couldn't see its face clearly.

An unknown thief broke in!

Ji Lian was shocked to realize that he was only wearing his underwear. Just as he was about to call for help, the figure flashed in front of him like lightning, and the warm palm tightly covered his lips, blocking all screams in his throat.

"Reirou."

At the sound of a gentle call, Ji Lian's pupils shrank suddenly, and many questions instantly emerged in her mind. Why was she here? How did she get into the palace at such a time? How long had she been waiting here? How long had she been watching him undress?

There was a loud splash and water splashed everywhere.

Ji Lian was so shocked that she felt a tightness around her waist. She was being pulled by Xie Tingyu and thrown diagonally into the hot spring.

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The author has something to say: Whoring is the best, intimate love and quiet joy are lingering. --- The Wizard of Oz, Li Baichuan (Qing Dynasty)

In Chapter 23, it was written that the heroine would sneak in in her previous life, which can be regarded as a return to the old business.

I just can't write a heroine who is upright and does things properly. Xie Tingyu has many advantages, but she also has disadvantages. For example, she does things as she pleases and is rather reckless. She also prefers handsome men - commonly known as lustful (Ji Lian's face and figure are all in line with her aesthetic).