Chapter 49
As the two were talking, they suddenly heard voices and rustling footsteps coming from the courtyard, heading in their direction.
As if divine soldiers had descended from the sky, Shen Yao was overjoyed and hurriedly said, "People have come from outside. Let me out, and we'll pretend this never happened. Otherwise, I'll call for help."
Although he was from a noble family, forcibly taking a woman in public would be a serious offense if seen by others, and Shen Yao bet he wouldn't dare.
As she expected, the man hesitated for only a moment before taking a step back, reaching out to push open the door. Sunlight streamed through the doorway, casting beams of light that made the room gleam.
"If I don't run now, when will I?" Shen Yao seized the opportunity, left behind the words "Never see you again," and ran out of the room without looking back.
As her dress swayed, in her haste, a handkerchief slipped out of her clothes and fluttered to the ground. The man's eyes darkened, and he murmured to himself, "Never to see you again. How interesting."
He bent down to pick up the handkerchief and then stepped out the door.
The group of men who had been speaking earlier entered. They first saw a beautiful woman hurriedly leave, and then they saw a man come out. They exchanged glances, and one of them joked with a smile, "Brother Duan, who was that pretty young lady who ran out just now? Is she your new lover?"
Duan Kaizhi wanted to deny it, but the soft touch in his hand made him distracted. He closed his open lips and only let out a soft "hmm" in his throat as an admission.
He strode forward, asking as he went, "Has Zhao Lian arrived?"
Several people followed closely behind, replying, "Not yet, but he instructed that if Brother Duan comes, he will receive you with the highest honors."
Duan Kai's father was the Marquis of Yongning, who held military power in the Northeast and was renowned for his prestige. He was deeply trusted by the emperor, and even a century-old family like the Duke of Xin's Mansion had to curry favor with him.
Today was Duan Kaizhi's first time visiting this place at the invitation of the authorities. He was dressed in men's clothing and looked quite respectable. When Shen Yao entered, he was the only one dressed normally, which is why she asked him about it. Unexpectedly, she encountered a lecherous man.
Of course, in Duan Kaizhi's view, what just happened was a wonderful encounter. He hadn't found such an attractive "prey" in a long time.
Back in the shop, sitting in the same chair as before, Duan Kaizhi's eyes flickered as he looked at the handkerchief in his hand. A thought quietly surfaced in his mind—he had to find that woman.
He then asked the housekeeper, "Do you know the woman who delivered the book earlier?"
The steward shook his head, saying he didn't recognize her. However, since Shen Yao had come to deliver the books, there was a record in the ledger. The steward took it and checked, only to find out that she was from Zhuangyuan Study.
Duan Kaizhi beamed with joy; the monk might run away, but the temple couldn't. Just as he was about to lead his men to the study, Zhao Lian strode into the shop.
"Brother Duan, we've been waiting for you."
As soon as Zhao Lian entered, he gave Duan Kaizhi a hug. The two flattered each other, acting as if they were closer than brothers.
After they were seated, Zhao Lian asked, "I've been inviting you for so long, why did you finally agree to come today?"
Duan Kaizhi laughed and said, "I've been quite bored these past few days, so I came over to take a look."
"Then you've come to the right place. Dashilan has been bustling with activity these past few days."
Zhao Lian told everyone about the tiger's marriage, and the others joined in the commotion.
Duan Kaizhi wasn't interested in men wearing women's clothes. He had only come here because he had heard about the tiger getting married, and he was curious, so he asked, "Where is the tiger?"
“We have a house in the south of the city, and the tiger is kept inside.”
On a whim, Duan Kaizhi immediately suggested that he wanted to go and see it. Zhao Lian readily agreed, and the group got ready, mounted their white horses, and headed towards Guan Laohu's residence.
After the gate opened, a huge tiger lay drowsy and listless inside a large iron cage.
Zhao Lian walked in and said, "I've given it a lot of medicine, so don't worry, it's safe to touch even a tiger's butt right now."
After he finished speaking, he immediately ran behind the tiger and slapped its rump. The tiger immediately sensed the intrusion and tried to get up, but due to exhaustion, it could not get up on its four legs. In the end, it could only roar to frighten everyone.
This action, however, only drew laughter from everyone.
Duan Kaizhi also laughed and said, "You guys really know how to have fun!"
He admitted his inferiority, saying that when it came to entertainment, the playboys of the capital were still the best.
After seeing the tiger, it was almost noon, time for lunch. Today was Duan Kaizhi's first visit to the club, and Zhao Lian immediately offered to treat him to lunch at the Hua Man Lou brothel in the west courtyard.
Hua Man Lou was an officially licensed music hall directly under the Jiaofangsi (Imperial Music Bureau). The hall mainly housed high-ranking courtesans who served officials and gentry, and were highly skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
Upon arriving at the music hall, Zhao Lian immediately sought out an old acquaintance—Miss Haitang, who was famous for her reverse pipa playing and was also the top performer in the music hall.
Zhao Lian looked at Duan Kaizhi and offered him the first song of the day, saying, "Brother Duan, please."
"Then let's go with 'The Rainbow Skirt'."
Haitang was beautiful, slender, and highly skilled in playing the zither. According to Duan Kaizhi's aesthetic standards, she was an absolute beauty. However, after seeing Shen Yao this morning, he felt that the beauty in front of him was bland and the beauty that used to fascinate him was gone forever.
Duan Kaizhi imagined Shen Yao's face in his mind, and his heart fluttered slightly. Even though Haitang repeatedly flirted with him, he ignored her and just kept drinking one cup after another, as if he were watching a performance attentively.
This unusual, absent-minded state was noticed not only by Haitang, but also by Zhao Lian.
He grasped Duan Kaizhi's hand as he drank, looked at him with a smile, and asked, "What's wrong? You seem distracted?"
Duan Kaizhi was taken aback, then chuckled and said, "It's nothing, I'm just listening to music."
"Ha, still pretending. You've never listened to music this attentively before," Zhao Lian teased him. "Have you found another beauty?"
As soon as Zhao Lian finished speaking, someone chimed in, "This morning at the Dashilan shop, Brother Duan, did you see a stunning beauty who completely captivated you? Didn't you?"
The group burst into laughter.
Duan Kaizhi also covered his mouth and laughed, but there seemed to be a bit more coquettishness in his laughter. Zhao Lian had known him for a long time, but he had never seen his brother like this before. He couldn't help but wonder: what kind of beautiful woman could make Brother Duan, who had been through countless beauties, so obsessed?
He became even more curious, so he grabbed Duan Kaizhi's hand and asked him all sorts of questions.
Duan Kaizhi thought that sharing happiness was better than keeping it to himself, so he fabricated a story about how the two met. Suddenly, Duan Kaizhi was attracted to Duan Kaizhi's beauty, and the two instantly became lovers.
*
Even after leaving the Red Powder Beauty Club, Shen Yao still felt lingering fear. She was incredibly grateful that someone had come at the time; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Therefore, upon returning to her study, Shen Yao dared not linger there and immediately slipped back to the Shen residence. At that moment, Miao Niang and her father were having dinner. As soon as Shen Yao sat down at the table, the servants brought her bowls and chopsticks.
As Shen Yao picked up some food, she looked at her father and asked, "Father, aren't you going to the yamen today?"
"I've taken leave."
"Huh?" Shen Yao was slightly surprised. "Why?"
Master Shen sighed and said, "It's all because of the demonic book. A guy named Han Yu came out and insisted that he wrote the demonic book to take revenge on the Shen family. Now it's causing quite a stir, and I can't go to work, so I had to ask for leave and stay home."
The more Master Shen thought about it, the angrier he became. He wished he could tear Han Yu to pieces to relieve his anger.
Shen Yao understood, lowered her eyes, and snorted, "When the Demon Book incident happened, I mentioned Han Yu's name, but none of you believed me. Now it's too late."
Master Shen also snorted, his tone full of complaint, saying, "Hindsight is 20/20. Back then, Xu Xuan kept saying that others were interfering, and after his analysis, how could I possibly tell the truth from the falsehood?"
Shen Yao lifted her eyelids, glanced at her father, and slightly pursed her lips, thinking to herself, "Isn't it because you trusted your son-in-law too much? Now you know how hypocritical he is!"
So she asked again, "Is Han Yu still in the Ministry of Justice?"
"Last time, when the Crown Prince presided over the trial, Han Yu recanted his confession on the spot, and he was sent to the Imperial Prison again."
Shen Yao raised an eyebrow, her heart pounding with alarm. "The Imperial Prison uses beatings to interrogate people. If Han Yu goes there, will he even survive?"
"They shouldn't be able to kill him. They finally managed to capture Han Yu, and if they killed the Emperor, they wouldn't be able to explain it."
Shen Yao hummed in agreement and then pressed on, "Haven't the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard caught a single suspect these past few days?"
Master Shen shook his head. "Now both sides are trying to squeeze Han Yu dry. The Prime Minister's party has been impeached so badly that they insist that Han Yu implicate some people before they will stop; while the Second Prime Minister's party, unwilling to be framed, also wants to use Han Yu to attack their political enemies. I don't know how long this stalemate will last."
"And what about the Emperor's attitude?"
Miao Niang chimed in from the side, and the two men looked at her.
Master Shen explained, "The Emperor has secret agents from the Imperial Guard and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, so these things naturally cannot be hidden from him. That's why the three judicial departments have repeatedly conducted joint trials, and the Crown Prince has been ordered to supervise the trials."
"I see," Shen Yao and Miao Niang both nodded.
Speaking of the Emperor, Master Shen had another task: he instructed Shen Yao to go to the palace that afternoon.
"The Emperor has ordered the Crown Prince to reduce the number of redundant personnel in the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Go to the palace and ask the Imperial Concubine what this matter is for."
Shen Yao paused in her chopsticks, looked at her father, her eyes shifting slightly. Was he trying to cause trouble?
"Father, cutting redundant staff is none of our business, so we don't need to get involved."
Master Shen slammed down his chopsticks, glared at his daughter, and said, "How is this none of our business? Your elder brother is still serving in the Embroidered Uniform Guard."
"The layoffs won't affect my older brother..."
"Who said that?" Old Master Shen interrupted her. "Given the Crown Prince's vindictive nature, he'll definitely take this opportunity to cause trouble for your brother. This time, we can't be passive; we have to take the initiative."
"Moreover, there are many sons of nobles in the Embroidered Uniform Guard. If the Crown Prince wants to do anything, he will inevitably offend a large number of powerful people. After all, no one wants to lose their job."
Master Shen's intention was to take this opportunity to win over powerful figures. He could either kill the policy before it even began, thus casting doubt on the Crown Prince's abilities and undermining his authority, or he could give it a push, inciting those dismissed to rebel against the Crown Prince, thereby strengthening Prince Xi's power.
No matter how Mr. Shen calculated it, he felt he wasn't at a disadvantage.
After he finished speaking, he looked at his daughter and suddenly felt that it was unreliable to have Shen Yao deliver the message, so he ordered Miao Niang to bring pen, ink, paper and inkstone and wrote a personal letter to the Consort.
Shen Yao rested her chin on her hand, looking at her father's earnest expression, and couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow. Trying to catch fish by climbing a tree, going in the wrong direction, all their efforts would eventually turn into dust on their graves, a cause for lamentation.
"Dad, are you still thinking of letting my cousin sit in that seat?"
Shen Yao speaks without any restraint.
Startled, Mr. Shen looked around cautiously before scolding her, "You've got a lot of trouble coming out of your mouth! What nonsense are you spouting?"
Shen Yao scoffed and looked at her father, saying in a low voice, "Isn't that what you're thinking about? What's so hard about saying it out loud?"
She stood up, went to her father's side, and said in a deep voice, "Father, you are getting old. You should enjoy your retirement and stop thinking about harming the Crown Prince all day long. The Crown Prince is... capable and ruthless. He will definitely ascend the throne in the future. Let's get along well with him."
"If my cousin is granted the title of prince in the future, we can also join the country, and we won't have to worry about the rest of our lives!"
Shen Yao continued talking to herself, but she didn't notice that Master Shen's face was getting worse and worse as he listened. Finally, he couldn't bear it any longer and grabbed Shen Yao's ear, saying in a serious tone, "Shut up."
"I'm only in my forties, yet I'm already considered an old man by you. What are those old men in the cabinet, in their seventies or eighties, called?"
"Ah...it hurts, it hurts..." Shen Yao cried out repeatedly, "To be old and not die is to be a thief."
Perhaps these words amused Mr. Shen, so he released his daughter's ear.
As soon as Shen Yao was free, she immediately ran away, rubbing her ears and complaining, "How old am I? You're still pulling my ears, what if someone sees us..."
She glanced around and saw Miao Niang and her maidservant bowing their heads and covering their mouths to smirk, and immediately felt extremely embarrassed.
Upon seeing this, Master Shen snorted and stopped talking. Instead, he sealed the letter he had written and handed it to Shen Yao, instructing her, "Don't open it yourself. Take it to the palace and give it to your aunt so she can write a reply."
"knew."
Shen Yao took the letter, picked up the token, and headed towards the palace.
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