The spring breeze of the night gently blew, carrying a touch of coolness into the boudoir of the pleasure house. Inside, it was pitch black. On the bed, draped with soft gauze curtains, lay two sleeping maidens. One was strikingly beautiful with long, curved eyelashes; the other had delicate, willow-leaf-like eyebrows and a slender figure. If one didn't look closer, one would be more discreet. The chubby little girl in the middle lay on the other's stomach, her small feet resting on the other's slender waist. Occasionally, she would take a moment to scratch her cheek, where a few red bumps remained—clearly, mosquitoes had just touched her.
Suddenly, the little girl, who was sleeping soundly with a tear or two glistening at the corner of her mouth, sat up abruptly without even opening her eyes, and pointed to the roof beam.
"Who goes there!"
The two girls slowly opened their eyes, and Chunying hugged the drowsy little dumpling into her arms.
"What's wrong, Long'er? Did you have a nightmare?"
"There's someone there."
Huo Xiaolong was still not awake when suddenly, the sound of swords clashing came from the roof beams. A moment later, the door to the boudoir creaked open.
——Knock, knock, knock
"Who?" Chunying's voice was a little hoarse, but the girl had already taken out a three-pointed double-edged sword from the secret room and was guarding Liuxu and the little dumpling in her arms.
"I."
"It's Huo Xiaocheng," he continued at the door.
“You all continue sleeping. A few people accidentally got into the Hou family's house, but they have been dealt with by several martial arts masters.”
"Is anyone injured?"
"No, don't worry."
Miao Cuifang, who couldn't get an answer by knocking on Liuxu's door, walked straight towards Huo Xiaocheng and asked...
"Did Chunying see the willow catkins?"
The Hou family was attacked, and Liu Xu refused to open the door. The young Miao man was very anxious, worried about the safety of his sweetheart.
"The willow catkins are with me."
"That's fine then."
In the backyard of Fengyue Tower, since the young women didn't have a chance to make a move this time, several martial arts masters were enjoying the moon and drinking wine, talking with the leader of the martial arts alliance about recent events in the martial arts world.
Several lanterns, bathed in moonlight, added to the lively atmosphere. These guards were unlucky; of all times, they had to come today.
From the moment they stepped into the red-light district, the people at the stone table roughly knew everything. How many of you are there? What are your skills? They heard everything.
Leader Zhang assumed it was another case of the brothel, Fengyuelou, becoming too powerful and coming to cause trouble. But instead, they headed straight for the Hou family's residence. Before the guards could even touch the roof of the Hou family's house, they were wiped out on the roof of Fengyuelou.
"What's going on? Causing trouble in the middle of the night again?"
Today is Huo Xiaolong's day at Fengyue Tower. Cen Ang is not feeling well today. Little Tuanzi knows she doesn't sleep well, so she didn't stay with her godmother. She said she would make up for it in a couple of days.
Zhao Kai followed behind her and draped a coat over the woman's shoulders.
"Sisters, our brothel has been attacked more times than Zhanchen Tower."
"Old Zhang, did you leave any survivors?"
"They probably kept it."
"Here you go!"
When Zhang's mother saw the half-dead bodyguard that her brother was carrying, she picked him up and handed him to her sister, saying something to her.
"Aren't we going to have barbecue later?"
"A little something."
Cen Ang picked up an unused chopstick from the table, placed it under her hair, and with a flick of her wrist, her hair was instantly neatly styled. She grabbed the guard's collar with one hand and slid it forcefully against the wall of the room.
—Click
The darkroom was revealed; it was a new mechanism that Master Uncle Lu had installed for her.
Several months had passed, and the fragrance of flowers in the darkroom was finally fading. The guard, dragged to the ground by Cen Ang, used all his strength to open his eyes, and what he saw was a branding iron that could reflect light in the candlelight.
Where did it come from?
"laugh."
The guard sneered. The torture instruments were so new; it was obvious he was a novice who had never done interrogations before. A few strands of hair fell beside the woman's cheek. Her phoenix eyes were fixed on him, and she raised an eyebrow slightly as she spoke.
"You choose to obediently tell the truth or suffer the consequences?"
The man didn't speak, but Cen Ang nodded and said, "Alright, I'll give you some work to do then."
After three incense sticks had burned, Cen Ang washed her hands beside her. The water slid over her fair, jade-like hands, revealing its original color. She took out a handkerchief from her bosom and gently wiped the dampness, then touched her forehead.
Fortunately, the guard was stubborn, and the woman felt the gloom of the past few days vanish. She exhaled a breath of stale air, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and her phoenix eyes, unlike before, now held a hint of joy.
Before she could ask, the guard spoke first.
"Who are you? And why are you familiar with palace punishments?!"
"Didn't your master check who I was before sending you here?"
Cen Ang did not change her name, and if anyone investigated, they would be caught red-handed. But she was not afraid of being investigated; the Emperor would not kill her openly. If he sent secret guards, so be it.
The guard remained silent. Those words had exhausted all his strength, and he was like a stranded fish, gasping for breath.
Cen Ang continued...
“I know you used to be in the palace. You must have entered the palace too late, or perhaps you weren’t capable enough to serve the most precious person in the entire Great Yan.”
"Where are you working now?"
"Still not going to talk?"
The woman ran a needle across the man's fingertip and whispered...
"The ten fingers are connected to the heart, and since we're all going to die anyway, if you tell me, I'll give you the quickest way to die."
The guard's breathing trembled as he took a deep breath and said...
"The Minister of Revenue is Jiang Liu."
He looked up at the beautiful woman in front of him and said...
"Keep your word."
Cen Ang sat back down, nodded, and continued to ask.
"Why did he send you here?"
“Slaughter the entire Hou family.”
"Why?"
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