Song Yaozhu looked at her, and for a moment she had countless things she wanted to say, but she didn't know how to express them, so she could only stare at her.

Seeing that she had something to say, Yongle waited for a long time before finally hearing her say, "So you know everything!"

Yongle stamped his foot in frustration, "I just want to use Cui Yan to get rid of my mother's control!"

Little did she know that her behavior had gone too far, making her mother believe her, and it had escalated to the point where the Emperor had to bestow a marriage upon her. She was so regretful she wanted to bang her head against the wall!

Just as Song Yaozhu was about to comfort her, she heard voices and pulled Yongle behind a bush.

Why should we hide?

"Such a remote place, people either come here for affairs or to plot. Aren't you afraid they'll see us, catch us in the act, and kill us to silence us?"

Yongle thought to himself, "How could it be so exaggerated? The two of them just came over to whisper to each other."

"Let me go!" the woman's angry voice rang out, accompanied by the sound of fabric rubbing together.

"My darling, I've missed you so much! Why didn't you reply to the letter I sent you? You think you can just dump me after helping your husband with his business? Let me tell you, it's not that easy!"

"Let me go! Your deal with my husband is over, don't come looking for me again! Let go! Let me go!"

"Laughable! You don't actually think your husband won't beg me anymore, do you? He's about to be promoted in the capital. If he wants to climb the ranks, he'll know how to suck up to me!"

Yongle, hiding behind the bushes, opened her eyes wide, as did Song Yaozhu. Had they encountered a forced woman?

"Let me go! Do you believe I'll kill myself?"

"Hahaha, what are you pretending to be, you slut! If you had that kind of guts, you would have died long ago after I played with you. Why would you be here today? Alright, stop fooling around. Let me have some fun, and I'll make you feel good too! Has your husband stopped touching you? Does he think you're dirty? It's okay, I don't mind. You smell wonderful!"

The woman sobbed uncontrollably, the man's foul language filling her ears. She tried to struggle, but was powerless. The husband she relied on would not protect her, and if her family found out, they would only be eager to kill her to preserve the family's honor.

In that instant, she felt utterly hopeless.

Suddenly, a sharp meow startled the man, who quickly pulled up his pants, which were already half-off.

"Where did this dead cat come from?" the man cursed, but the cat's meows didn't stop; instead, they became even more shrill, sounding extremely eerie in this secluded and unlit place. He spat guiltily, wiped the woman's face, and said, "I'll let you off the hook tonight. If you know what's good for you, come to the brothel and keep me company!"

The man's footsteps faded quickly as he left, and the woman collapsed to the ground, weeping for a long time. Yongle was furious; he wished he could go out and stab that bastard to death.

If Song Yaozhu hadn't pulled her back...

After a long while, the woman finished crying and then staggered to her feet, choking back tears as she said, "Thank you for your bravery, Mr. Cat."

Then she leisurely left.

"She's still a polite person," Yongle said angrily. "It's precisely because she's too polite that she gets bullied! If I were her, I would kick that son of a bitch so hard that he can't use that filthy thing to harm women anymore!"

After saying that, she exclaimed in admiration, "Your vocal skills are amazing! You can imitate a cat's meow so perfectly!"

"It's not ventriloquism." It's just that I used to own cats, and after spending a lot of time with them, I can hear their meows.

Song Yaozhu's solemn expression made Yongle swallow back what she wanted to say. She shrank back, thinking that what had just happened was indeed excessive, but everyone has their own tribulations. If you can't stand up for yourself and overcome these tribulations, there's no use in helping you.

Therefore, she felt angry for that woman and sympathized with her plight, but had no intention of getting to the bottom of it and helping her.

"That man just mentioned the Wan Hua Lou."

“There are famous brothels in the capital.” At this point, Yongle gritted his teeth. “My father went there too, oh right, Xie Liwei went there too.”

......

Song Yaozhu only remembered that after Shen Qingyu was kidnapped, she was sold to this brothel. The brothel madam, seeing her extraordinary attire, released her. This showed that the madam was very familiar with high-ranking officials and knew that different people would wear clothes made of different materials.

She knew she was not to be offended just by looking at the fabric of her clothes, which means she guessed her identity from her attire. Since she possessed such supernatural abilities, shouldn't she have been utterly destroyed to silence "her"?

There's something wrong with this madam.

Song Yaozhu's mind was a bit confused; it seemed she had to venture into the Wan Hua Lou (Ten Thousand Flowers Pavilion).

"Don't rush things. Your mother won't marry you off to Cui Yan. Just listen to me and don't make your mother angry."

Yongle wanted to say something more, but Song Yaozhu gave her the feeling that she could believe whatever she said, so she nodded in agreement.

The two looked around before leaving, and only dared to go out when they saw no one.

When they returned to the main hall, Xie Liwei was already slumped over the table, feigning drunkenness, while the others were still drinking, eating, and chatting as usual. Song Yaozhu returned to her seat and patted Xie Liwei on the shoulder.

He raised his dazed eyes and his vision cleared instantly when he saw Song Yaozhu.

Song Yaozhu held his hand, putting her reddened hands inside his sleeve to warm them. Xie Liwei was jolted awake by her icy hands and wrapped both of her hands in his own.

"What's wrong?"

"I'll tell you when I get back."

Xie Liwei checked the time and realized it was about time, so he and Song Yaozhu got up and left the table.

On the carriage ride back, Song Yaozhu told him what she and Yongle had overheard, and then pinched his thigh. "Yongle said you went to the Wan Hua Lou, is that true?"

Xie Liwei winced in pain and cried out, "Yes, yes, yes, but I only called the courtesan to listen to the music, I really didn't do anything!"

"Hmph! Can you trust men's words?" she cursed, but she knew what kind of person Xie Liwei was. It's just that couples sometimes need this kind of "jealousy" to keep their relationship fresh.

"I'm not one of them!" Xie Liwei thought, recalling the words he'd overheard at the last banquet. He realized he was raised by his elder sister, which explained his biased views. If Xie Lu had raised him, he might have actually agreed with those words.

The thought of being disliked by his older sister made him feel terrible.

"How about this, after the New Year, I'll take you to Wan Hua Lou."

Song Yaozhu snorted, "That madam is actually quite conscientious; she actually gave the girls a holiday during the New Year."

Xie Liwei rubbed his nose. Actually, the busiest time was during the Chinese New Year. A few cronies would get together and head to brothels in groups. His wife couldn't stop them at all. They said it was for socializing, but in reality, it was all men coordinating to go out and have fun.

He needed to choose a quiet day, so that those filthy men wouldn't taint the princess's eyes.