"He Fangfei, how dare you! You actually dare to attempt to taint the bloodline of my Zuo family!"
"No, Qiu Ran, listen to me..."
A resounding slap echoed across the face. "You lowly thing, how dare you call me by my name!"
A heavy thud followed by soft, drizzling sobs.
Three months later, a tiny baby was wrapped in a thin swaddle and sent to the brothel.
After dragging her tired body back to her room, He Fangfei looked at the soft, cuddly bundle and hugged it, bursting into tears.
He Xun's childhood memories are mostly of dazzling extravagance and endless noise.
Different men and women were entangled together, flirting or crying uncontrollably.
The moment she looked forward to most each day was when her father came home in the evening, held her in his arms, and taught her to read.
"Daddy, I want to be with you every day," the little girl said, blinking her big eyes.
"I'm sorry, Dad has to work." He Fangfei smiled bitterly.
"Can't I not work?" The little girl didn't know what work was; she only knew that she couldn't see her father.
He Fangfei tapped her forehead, "If you don't work, Xunxun won't be able to eat good food."
"Then I'd rather not eat anything delicious!" He Xun said, hugging He Fangfei's neck and acting coquettishly.
He Fangfei's eyes welled up with tears.
That night, after He Xun fell asleep, He Fangfei tiptoed out of the room.
"Hurry up, hurry up, our distinguished guest is getting impatient!" Someone was already waiting for him at the door, urging him impatiently.
"As soon as Xunxun fell asleep, I came out immediately," he said with a forced smile.
The man scoffed and looked into the room. "If you ask me, you should throw that little burden away or give him away. You're treating something the Zuo family doesn't want like a treasure."
He Fangfei was furious at the contemptuous words, but she could only suppress her anger.
"We've arrived. This guest is extremely important. We must not neglect him!"
He Fangfei tidied her clothes and hair, put on a smile, and pushed open the door to enter.
"Greetings, esteemed sirs. I am Fangfei, and I pay my respects to you all..." He stopped mid-sentence before he could finish his compliments.
Sitting in the very center was a woman who was all too familiar, dressed in purple, languid yet exuding an air of authority.
A woman beside her said with a smile, "It's really not easy to invite Vice Minister Zuo out for a trip. This time, I've really gone all out and specially invited the most handsome man in all of Jiangtian to serve you, Vice Minister!"
The woman, who had been smiling just moments before, turned sternly to He Fangfei and said, "Why aren't you paying your respects to your elder sister!"
The moment He Fangfei entered the room, her blood ran cold, and she felt as if she had lost her soul.
"Greetings to the Left... Vice Minister." He slowly knelt on one knee, trying his best to control his trembling.
"Oh? The most handsome man in all of Jiangtian?" Zuo Qiuran's voice was drawn out. "If he's the most handsome, why is he looking down?"
He Fangfei could only look up.
"It's really good."
He Fangfei sat to the side, numbly pouring wine, ignoring the laughter of powerful women around him, whether unrestrained or restrained.
"How could Fangfei be so oblivious today! She didn't say a word! I asked the people at the brothel, and they all said that Fangfei is the best at serving people. Seeing her today, it's clear that's an exaggeration!" one of the women said angrily.
"The best at serving people?" Zuo Qiuran picked up a wine glass from He Fangfei's hand. "I don't know if she can serve people, I only know... she's wicked!"
He Fangfei was suddenly struck by lightning, and her body trembled violently.
Zuo Qiuran saw his reaction clearly, chuckled, and swallowed a mouthful of wine.
What followed was all talk about officialdom: who got promoted and who got demoted, who didn't get along with whom, and who had dirt on whom.
He Fangfei listened silently.
"The Left Vice Minister has completed the task assigned by His Majesty so well, I'm afraid he should be promoted."
"The Imperial Tutor went to the palace a few days ago, presumably to advise the Emperor and try to secure a better position for the Vice Minister!"
"Ever since the Left Vice Minister married the Imperial Tutor's youngest son, he has been promoted every day! The Left Vice Minister holds a high position, and her husband is handsome and virtuous. She is truly the envy of everyone!"
Everyone chimed in with their own words, showering each other with compliments.
Zuo Qiuran just smiled and didn't say anything, letting them chatter away.
"If you ask me, she should marry a son of a wealthy family, a match made in heaven! The other day there was a commotion in the south of the city, all because some idiot married a man from the alley! Jealous and vulgar, he's really no good!"
Everyone burst into laughter.
He Fangfei's clothes were soaked with cold sweat, and her face was pale.
"Ugh—" He finally couldn't hold back any longer, covered his mouth with his sleeve, and ran out.
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