Two women, their breasts exposed and exuding a captivating allure, immediately grabbed Yi Shangyun's arms from both sides and pushed her straight into a refined private room.

"Look at this young master, so handsome and refined! His skin is so smooth and delicate, and oh my, why does he smell of perfume?"

The woman spoke with a soft, sweet laugh, gently stroking her chest and occasionally bringing her nose close to smell it. Finally, she covered her face and chuckled softly.

Just as Yi Shangyun was in a state of extreme panic, pushing and shoving, not knowing what to do, Mei Zhixuan rushed in with a mysterious red cloth package in his hand and a guard.

Mei Zhixuan stepped forward and came to their rescue, saying, "Come, go and find your mother. Today, I, this young master, have come to be the most important guest in your Wanjiao Pavilion."

Upon seeing the newcomer's imposing manner and tone, the two women quickly poured tea and obediently complied, then hurriedly left without further entanglement.

A moment later, the madam, whose figure had changed drastically, whom they had seen in the lobby earlier, rushed in beaming. Before she even arrived, her voice rang out, "Oh dear, Mama, I've been feeling this way all morning, my eyelids have been twitching nonstop. Turns out, a distinguished guest is on his way. What wind has blown this way today, bringing such a distinguished guest to my Wanjiao Pavilion?"

The madam was stunned by the attire of the two men as soon as she entered, but what surprised her even more was a box of gold ingots neatly arranged on the table, gleaming brightly in the candlelight.

Upon seeing this, the madam's eyes widened in astonishment, and she remained speechless for a long time.

At this moment, Mei Zhixuan adopted the demeanor of a complete playboy, lazily sitting to one side, pointing to the box full of gold ingots on the table, and said, "Go and call all the girls in your Wanjiao Pavilion over to me without missing a single one. If there is even one among them that I find pleasing, then this box of gold ingots will all be yours alone, and I will pay the girls' reward money separately."

Upon hearing this, the madam finally came to her senses. She noticed that two of the three men were not showing their true faces. She hesitated slightly, seemingly wary, but still smiled and said, "May I ask which noble family's young master you are, sir? You think so highly of the girls of my Wanjiao Pavilion, and you are so generous with your gifts?"

Mei Zhixuan glanced sideways at Yi Shangyun, who was completely stunned, and blurted out, "We're from the Yi family in the west of the city. What, do we need identification to come to your Wanjiao Pavilion for entertainment?"

Upon hearing this, the madam, though not recognizing any high-ranking official, figured that someone who could readily identify her family was probably not someone with ill intentions. She quickly apologized, "Oh, so you are two young masters from the Yi family in the west of the city. Please don't misunderstand, young masters. We're in business, so it's natural to get to know new customers a little better. This is to help us serve you more effectively. In that case, please wait a moment, young master. I'll make the arrangements right away. I guarantee you two will be satisfied today. Someone, quickly bring these two distinguished guests the best tea and treat them with utmost care."

With that, the madam hurriedly turned and walked out.

However, as soon as the madam stepped out of the private room, she hurriedly went to a back door of Wanjiao Pavilion, passed through a corridor, and arrived at a separate pavilion in the corner of the backyard, going up to the second floor.

On the second floor of this isolated attic, in an extremely elegant warm room, Tuoba Ze sat at a desk, deep in thought, looking at a secret letter.

Upon hearing the knocking, he immediately put it away.

"Master, two very generous young men just came into the brothel. They said they want to choose one of the girls they like from all the girls in the brothel," the madam reported as soon as she entered.

"Oh? Such a boastful tone. May I ask whose young master this is?" Tuoba Ze was also somewhat surprised. To this day, there have been very few people who could make such a big move in the Wanjiao Pavilion, which is famous throughout the entire Western Qin.

The madam seemed to have some doubts. After a slight hesitation, she said, "Both of you look like elegant and noble young men, but... one of you is wearing a veil, and the other is wearing a mask. It's quite puzzling, but I didn't dare to ask too much. I only asked about your residence, and you said you were from the Yi family in the west of the city. Even so, you seemed a little annoyed."

Upon hearing this, Tuoba Ze elegantly poured a cup of hot tea, picked it up and pondered for a moment, then repeated, "The Yi Mansion in the west of the city is indeed quite unfamiliar."

After a moment's thought, he simply instructed him, "Serve him carefully according to his wishes. I will go and see for myself."

Having received instructions, the madam turned to leave, but Tuoba Ze seemed to suddenly remember something and asked, "Is everything ready? Can we make our move tonight?"

The madam hurriedly turned around and said, "Only one last dose of medicine is needed for the beauty's blood to be successfully cultivated."

Upon hearing this, Tuoba Ze waved his hand at her, and the madam went out, just as she brushed past Tuoba Ze's personal guard who had just entered.

As soon as the guard entered, he immediately closed the door and said with some regret, "Your Highness, we have just received news from the country that, upon investigation, there is no one named Zhao Ping'an among the Western Qin prisoners of war we have captured. It seems that... he has truly died on the battlefield."

Upon hearing this, Tuoba Ze looked somewhat somber. He sighed deeply, slowly rose, walked to the window, and put one hand behind his back.

Outside the window, the night was growing darker. Although the beauty in the opposite window had now been moved to that dark room where no one could see the sun, his gaze still seemed to linger.

After a long silence, he murmured to himself, "Could it really be fate..."

Outside the window, a light rain had started to fall without my noticing.

He was torn and struggling internally, feeling miserable and unloved. Whether it was because he didn't need it or because he had grown accustomed to it, he could no longer tell.

If he hadn't been born into a cold and ruthless royal family in this life, and if he had only a pot of fine wine and stayed away from the world, perhaps he wouldn't have lived such a sorrowful life.

At least, he doesn't have to bear so much helplessness, as if he's always running for others and living his life without ever being his true self.

Such a person, such a life, is actually not carefree at all.

pity……

A moment later, in the corridor on the second floor of Wanjiao Pavilion, outside the antique carved and latticed windows, colorful gauze swayed and danced in the wind, and a strong scent of rouge and powder wafted through the air.

Several graceful figures, some plump and some slender, each with a unique posture and charm, were vaguely visible, like colorful butterflies dancing among the flowers.

Upon closer inspection, each one possessed delicate eyebrows and alluring eyes, with a hint of spring in their gaze, a graceful figure, and a captivating smile that could steal one's heart.

A group of graceful and charming women drifted by, discussing amongst themselves as they walked:

"I heard a really rich person came today."

"I heard that the two gentlemen who came today are quite handsome."

"I heard there's a young man in white robes among them, acting all coy and shy like a young girl. He might even be a virgin!"

"A virgin, hahaha..."

"Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up and line up. If any of you catch the eye of these two gentlemen tonight, you'll be in big trouble. This gentleman doesn't just throw small fry at people."

Seeing that the group of fair-faced women were all looking lazy and listless, the madam urged them on while saying something.

Following closely behind were all the women in Wanjiao Pavilion, regardless of whether they were fat, thin, beautiful, ugly, tall, short, talented, or just pretty faces... they were all brought to the private room where Mei Zhixuan and Yi Shangyun were.

As soon as you entered, the madam said with a beaming smile, "I'm so sorry to have kept you two gentlemen waiting. We've already served half of the guests, and the girls just couldn't get away, which is why we were delayed a bit. All the girls in Wanjiao Pavilion are here. Gentlemen, please take a look and see if there's anyone you like?"

Mei Zhixuan didn't even glance at her, and immediately turned his gaze to Yi Shangyun beside him.

At this moment, Yi Shangyun was also taken aback by the various women in front of him. He quickly turned his gaze to Mei Zhixuan beside him. The two looked at each other and nodded. Yi Shangyun then got up and slowly walked towards the group of beautiful women in front of him.

With one hand behind her back and the other resting on the thin veil covering her lips, Yi Shangyun frowned slightly as she carefully compared each of the figures to the image of the pitiful woman she had seen months ago…

Time passed slowly, but her brows furrowed deeper and deeper, until they almost formed a deep frown. Her heart was filled with anxiety, and she thought to herself, "Yu Niang, you absolutely cannot let anything happen to you! Otherwise, Ling'er and Grandma..."

She didn't even dare to think any further, but she could see that she was about to pick through all the girls one by one...

However, in the end, she really couldn't find that poor woman.

Finally, she turned around slowly, her face filled with disappointment, and bit her soft red lips tightly.

Mei Zhixuan was eagerly anticipating her arrival, but she shook her head slightly at him.

Upon seeing this, Mei Zhixuan narrowed his eyes, hesitated for a moment, then slammed his hand on the table in front of him and coldly shouted, "Hmph, outrageous! It seems that Wanjiao Pavilion is deliberately trying to underestimate me tonight, daring to use these vulgar beauties to fool me?"

The madam was startled and immediately stepped forward to explain, saying with a wry smile, "Look at what you're saying, young master. No matter what, I wouldn't dare to go against these gold ingots and try to fool you. These are indeed all the girls in Wanjiao Pavilion."

...

Just then, a ragged girl of about thirteen or fourteen years old rushed in as if she had gone mad, lunging at the table where the gold ingot box was placed. She accidentally knocked over a pot of tea next to the box, spilling it all over Yi Shangyun, who was sitting at the table.

"Quickly, seize her!" the madam ordered the burly men guarding the door as soon as she saw her.

Soon, a tall, burly man walked in. His face was full of flesh, so much so that his eyes were squinted into slits. Even though he was wearing thick clothes in the dead of winter, the fat on his chest still jiggled as he walked.

Compared to the burly man, the ragged woman looked extremely thin and frail.

As soon as the burly man walked in, he grabbed the seemingly crazy, frail woman and lifted her up, like a greedy little rabbit being grabbed by the tail...