Song Yaozhu sipped her tea. This teahouse was closest to the address of the small courtyard given to her by Wanhua Tower. Since it was already dark, there were hardly any people left in the teahouse.

Tonight, only she and Xie Liwei came out together. Both of them were disguised and looked like an ordinary couple.

"Fang Rao's men are watching the courtyard, but no one has come out yet, so it seems they haven't moved."

"I'm quite curious to see who will come."

She just wanted to see who the "distinguished guests" of the Wan Hua Lou were. So she deliberately mentioned Lu Qingyu's name and intentionally stood him up tonight.

If the madam were cautious, she certainly wouldn't sell the same item twice. But the madam seemed to be more shrewd than cautious, and Song Yaozhu thought there was a 70% chance she would resell it at the last minute.

After all, it wasn't easy to steal Lu Qingyu from the mansion, and his popularity was high, so making a profit was always a good thing.

After sitting for about half a cup of tea's time, it was already completely dark when news came from Fang Rao's side that someone had entered the courtyard.

Song Yaozhu estimated the time and had someone throw a spark in the courtyard. Before long, the tightly closed doors of the neighbors' houses were opened, and shouts of "Fire!" could be heard everywhere.

Song Yaozhu sat in the teahouse and took in the whole scene.

The fire in the courtyard resembled a dazzling flower on a spring night. Its intensity wasn't fierce, but it still made the night lively.

The fire in the courtyard was quickly extinguished by the neighbors. They rescued two people covered in soot from the courtyard. The man was pale and thin, while the woman, though older, still retained her charm.

"I knew this place wasn't clean, it's a brothel! I've seen people going in and out a few times before, and each time it's a different person!"

"This woman is old enough to be this man's mother, isn't she?"

The crowd had various opinions, and they unanimously circled the two of them, pointing and whispering about them as if they were monkeys.

Madam Zhang had never suffered such humiliation before. She shouted, "Get out! Don't look anymore! Don't look anymore!"

The crowd didn't take her words to heart. What kind of good woman is someone who frequents male prostitutes? When her husband's family comes later, they'll definitely drown her!

Although the fire was extinguished in time, people from the Jingzhao Prefecture still came to investigate.

"Brother, quickly tie up this adulterous couple!"

"Exactly! At such an old age, he's still shameless; he's utterly disrespectful to his elders!"

As the crowd spoke, they spat in disgust, "A woman like that should be drowned in a pig cage!"

Madam Zhang's clothes were disheveled, and she hurriedly covered her face, not daring to be seen.

Suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted, "Isn't that the male concubine of the ***?!"

Lu Qingyu was also covering her face, but she had already boldly stepped forward to pull at his clothes, determined to see what this male concubine looked like, that he could actually sleep with a brothel owner!

"Enough! Enough! Get out of the way!" The officer drew his sword and shouted at the crowd, "We're taking these two away! Disperse! Disperse!"

But a discordant voice lingered in the crowd: "Let's go! I can't sleep anyway, I'll go with the constable to the yamen and see who's come to pick someone up!"

Madam Zhang was so ashamed and furious that she wanted to draw her sword and kill the person who spoke, but she couldn't. She couldn't understand where the guards were! In the past, Wan Hua Lou would always send two pimps to guard the door to prevent people from escaping and to prevent situations like today's.

I really don't know what those people were doing! They made her look so foolish today!

Madam Zhang thought to herself, if she could get through this hurdle, she would make the manager of Wan Hua Lou shed a layer of skin to make a carpet for her!

After the people who had just started the commotion, several men who were trying to put out the fire also had the same idea.

Since I can't sleep anyway, why not go to the yamen (government office) and see what's going on?

The officials, unable to shoo the men away, were at their wits' end. They could only let the group follow at a distance, sending one of their underlings back to the yamen to report.

The prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture was already asleep. He didn't take the matter to heart when he heard about it, and originally intended to have them detain the person first and discuss it tomorrow.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind, and he asked, "What place did you say?"

"No. 18 Fangyue Street," the official said.

The Prefect of Jingzhao immediately got up, put on his shoes, dismissed the official, and summoned his servant, saying, "Go, go, go quickly to the Wan Hua Lou and deliver a message!"

Oh dear, what's going on here?

He receives so much in tribute from Wan Hua Lou every year; it can't stop today. Otherwise, how will he support his family?

The constables didn't understand the intricacies of the situation. After all, he was stingy and had never given them any kickbacks, so they naturally had to keep it a secret.

After much deliberation, they decided to wait for them to bring the people over. Unexpectedly, the people weren't strangers either; one was a male favorite of the emperor, and the other was Madam Lu, the wife of the Vice Minister of War. Madam Lu also had a daughter who was a concubine in the palace, one of the four.

The Prefect of Jingzhao felt utterly overwhelmed; being an official in the capital was incredibly difficult! Every few steps he took, he encountered members of the imperial family! He dared not offend either side!

After the capital inspection, he could request an imperial decree to be transferred to a post outside the capital. Then, with the emperor far away, he wouldn't have to get up late at night to do his work!

"Oh dear! Madam, please get up! It's like the flood washed away the Dragon King's temple; we're family members who don't recognize each other!" The Prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture said with a fawning smile, then scolded his attendant, "Hurry up and get Madam a seat!"

Madam Zhang was in a terrible state of disarray. Without even sitting down, she sneered, "I'll remember what happened today. Please trouble you, sir, to go to my house and deliver a message to my husband."

Madam Zhang pulled her coat tighter and asked, "Could you please give me a place to wash and dress?"

The Prefect of Jingzhao hurriedly summoned the maids of the mansion and took Madam Zhang away to wash and dress.

The constables were greatly puzzled, but dared not say anything. They all knew that there were many celebrities and powerful figures in the capital, and few could boss their boss around. Although their boss was a coward, they all knew that they had taken what they shouldn't have tonight.

They could only hope that this benefactor would show leniency and not hold a grudge against them. Some of them were already planning to go home and pack their things to hide, since witnessing the benefactor's disheveled state might lead to them being killed to silence him.

Madam Zhang went to the backyard to wash up, while Lu Qingyu, still dizzy from the effects of the drug, was being carried away by two constables and thrown onto a chair. His face was flushed, his eyes were unfocused, and he had no idea where he was. He seemed to be having a beautiful dream, grinning from ear to ear.

The Prefect of Jingzhao had long heard that Wanhualou had a medicine that could make people forget their troubles and the things that had happened, leaving them only with the memory of their pleasant moments.

Upon first seeing the effects of this medicine, I felt a chill run down my spine.

Wouldn't that make me look like a fool?

"My lord, someone from the Wan Hua Lou has arrived! They say the owner wants to see you!" the servant reported upon returning.

The Prefect of Jingzhao was trembling. He only wanted to collect the money, not take sides! If he met them, he wouldn't be able to escape!