Li Wenzhuang said, "Yang Jie is leading his men, arresting anyone they see and interrogating them about whether they are from Zuoan Mountain. What should we do? Many people outside have been arrested by him. The nanny is extremely anxious. At this rate, your Cuihonglou business will probably have to go on."
Zhao Feiyan: "He can't just arrest people randomly, can he?" There are quite a few people of status and position among the guests. Of course, they are indeed inferior to Yang Jie, the emperor's cousin, but Yang Jie can't just arrest everyone he sees!
Li Wenzhuang: "That bastard Yang Jie is probably trying to extort some money from me. He's done this kind of thing more than once or twice."
Sima Xiu's face darkened considerably upon hearing this: This is arbitrarily arresting people and then making their families pay him ransom—truly shameless!
Back when the late emperor was alive, he had heard his father reprimand Yang Jie, telling him to be more restrained in his behavior. But now it seems that Yang Jie is not only incorrigible, but has become even more outrageous!
The commotion outside intensified, with sounds of whipping and insults emanating from the room, followed by the cries and sobs of a woman. Chu Nian recognized the voices as those of a young maid from the Cuihong Pavilion.
She suddenly stood up.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Feiyan, who was standing to the side, also stood up and said, "I'll go!"
Sima Xiu asked curiously, "Isn't Yang Jie here to capture Zuo'an Shanren? What use are you? Are you Zuo'an Shanren?"
Before Chu Nian could speak, Zhao Feiyan said, "I am. I am Zuoan Shanren."
These words shocked even herself, let alone Chu Nian and Li Wenzhuang standing beside her.
Chu Nian said helplessly, "Silly child, can you even paint? Let alone paint, you'd probably have a hard time even writing neatly!"
Zhao Feiyan agreed, and said urgently, "Anyway, you can't go." If a woman as beautiful as Chu Nian fell into Yang Jie's hands, she would only suffer a fate worse than death.
Regardless, Chu Nian was very touched by Zhao Feiyan's kindness. She said, "Then what should we do? We can't let Yang Jie ruin all the girls in Cuihonglou."
Li Wenzhuang said, "I'll go. What am I afraid of, a grown man like me? Besides, in the eyes of outsiders, only I have dealings with Zuoan Shanren, and only I know who Zuoan Shanren is."
Li Wenzhuang was originally just a customer of prostitutes, but he has been running errands for Chu Nian for so long that Chu Nian doesn't want to push him away now.
Besides, everything that happened today was part of her plan.
She said, "You don't need to worry too much, I know what I'm doing."
Seeing her head towards the door, Zhao Feiyan stepped forward to stop her: "No, that Yang Jie is a hooligan, a lecher, a shameless scumbag..."
"Alright!" Chu Nian interrupted her with a smile, "He's a hooligan, a lecher, a scumbag, but so what? Should I be afraid of him because of that? Shouldn't we confront this kind of hooligan, lecher, and scumbag, teach him a lesson, and make him get the punishment he deserves?"
Zhao Feiyan said helplessly, "How can you, a mere prostitute, punish him?" Things are different now than they were in the suburbs. Back then, they could pretend not to know Yang Jie and call on everyone to beat him up. Now, many people know he is Lord Yang, the Empress Dowager's nephew. To harm him is tantamount to slapping the Empress Dowager in the face.
Chu Nian: "Although I can't do anything to him, I can't let those innocent sisters outside bear this bad luck for me."
Zhao Feiyan's eyes reddened, and she said, "Then I'll go with you."
Chu Nian: "You stay here and protect yourself. If anything happens to me, I know you will definitely seek justice and avenge me."
“Sister…” Zhao Feiyan couldn’t help but shed tears.
Chu Nian laughed and said, "Why are you crying? You used to call Xiao Tao a 'little crybaby' whenever she cried. Who was it that kept telling Xiao Tao to be 'strong'?"
Zhao Feiyan wiped away her tears, her tone becoming firm, and said, "Sister is right. As long as we are still alive, there will always be a way. We can't let Yang Jie continue to run rampant."
"You wait here," Chu Nian nodded, then turned to Li Wenzhuang, who was about to follow, and said, "You too."
Li Wenzhuang was taken aback for a moment.
Chu Nian: "None of you are allowed to come out before Yang Jie leaves."
Li Wenzhuang hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded.
Chu Nian opened the door and went out.
Sima Xiu watched her figure disappear behind the door that she had closed from the outside, his gaze deep and heavy.
As Chu Nian stepped out of the room, she saw Yang Jie's once handsome face contorted in anger as he shouted and questioned everyone about who was Zuo An Shan Ren.
If the other party said they didn't know, the girls at Cuihonglou would be whipped a few times. As for the guests, he probably didn't lay a hand on them because there were some high-ranking officials and nobles among them. Some guests were obviously of extraordinary status, and he would even smile and flatter them.
He also took in several other people, all guests, who, judging from their clothing, seemed to be from wealthy families like Li Wenzhuang, but not of high social standing. Yang Jie probably wanted to use these people to exchange for money!
Chu Nian watched this scene from behind the second-floor railing, gave a cold laugh with utter sarcasm, and shouted at Yang Jie, who was raising his whip to lash another maid, "Stop!"
Yang Jie looked up at the building and was startled when he saw Chu Nian. He pointed his whip at her and shouted, "It's you?!"
Chu Nian: "That's right, it's me."
Yang Jie: "I was just about to settle the score for what happened in the suburbs last time. Since you're here today, let's settle both the old and new scores together." He didn't recognize Chu Nian, but when he saw her with Zhao Feiyan in the suburbs and ordering around a group of kneeling servants, he had already guessed her identity.
However, he did not expect that in the current situation, the prostitute would not only hide herself from the public but would also run into him on her own.
Chu Nian: "What you said is interesting. What new or old grievances are there between us?"
Yang Jie: "Last time in the suburbs you ordered your men to beat me up, that's an old score; as for new scores, you deserve to be unlucky. I'm here today to arrest prisoners, and you being here is one of those scores, which I'll take along as well."
Chu Nian chuckled lightly: "Arrest a prisoner? Where did this prisoner come from?"
Yang Jie: "Zuo'an Shanren offended the Empress Dowager with his paintings. This is a serious crime. Does he not deserve to be considered a criminal?"
Chu Nian: "That's strange. As far as I know, Zuo An Shan Ren has never entered the palace or met the Empress Dowager. How could he have harmed the Empress Dowager with his paintings?"
Yang Jie: "His painting 'Lone Chrysanthemum on a Cliff' was poisonous, causing the Empress Dowager to have a headache and feel unwell. Doesn't that count as harming the Empress Dowager?"
Chu Nianmin: "This is even stranger. I heard that the 'Lone Chrysanthemum on the Cliff' was presented to the Empress Dowager by Madam Yang. It should be Madam Yang who harmed the Empress Dowager, so how did it become Zuo An Shan Ren?"
Yang Jie's lips twitched, and he was somewhat speechless.
Some guests couldn't help but criticize him as well.
He shouted sharply, "Quiet down!" Everyone was so frightened that they fell silent when they saw the men behind him raise their knives.
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