Pang Jin simply thought Yan Liang and his father were a strange father and son. Seeing that Yan Liang himself didn't care, he put the matter out of his mind afterward.
The beautiful woman poured wine and played the zither for the two of them. Incense was lit in the room, and the night breeze carried the fragrance of flowers from outside.
Yan Liang held a wine cup in one hand and propped his head up with the other, looking outside. He stared at the large, leafy tree and narrowed his eyes slightly.
The guard always felt that the Crown Prince was watching him.
Then the Crown Prince smiled slightly and raised his wine cup in his hand in his direction, confirming his thoughts.
The Crown Prince shouldn't have known his hiding place, but he seemed to have seen it at a glance and made this cryptic gesture. This made the guard hesitate—His Highness the Crown Prince seemed to be becoming increasingly unfathomable.
Yan Liang withdrew his gaze. He admitted that he had done it on purpose—after all, that guard was not a loyal subordinate of the former crown prince, but a pawn planted by a mastermind behind the scenes.
The guard had been silently observing from the sidelines as a pawn until Yan Liang chose to have him follow him. The guard hadn't done anything out of line. Yan Liang's actions now were partly due to being a little tipsy, and partly due to his complicated feelings after seeing Mi Youqiao earlier.
He even gloated, hoping that the mastermind behind his cryptic actions would make all sorts of speculations about him and become anxious and preoccupied with his thoughts.
Pang Jin had always wanted to know what the brothels, which appeared most frequently in martial arts legends, were really like. Now that he had experienced it firsthand, he felt that something was not quite right.
"—Do you always come to places like this?"
Seeing Yan Liang thriving among the beauties, eliciting their giggles, Pang Jin finally couldn't help but ask a question.
The other party seemed to be a seasoned player in love, and the girls clearly preferred Yan Liang to Pang Jin.
Yan Liang was puzzled: "Why do you say that? I'm usually very busy and don't have time to come here."
In the previous world, Li Xunle and I would sometimes visit the Red Sleeve Pavilion to see Miss Yuze and deliver messages for Wang Lianhua. But in this world, we've never been to a brothel.
Pang Jin looked at his sincere face with skepticism. If this guy was naturally attractive to girls... that was just too infuriating.
Yan Liang belatedly realized what was happening and revealed a smug smile. Pang Jin knew from his smiling face that he wouldn't say anything nice, so she quickly asked, "Are you going home with your father later?"
Yan Liang saw through it but didn't say it aloud, and went along with Pang Jin's words, replying, "I wouldn't dare."
Pang Jin chuckled to himself, convinced that he had figured out Yan Liang's thoughts—meeting his own father in a brothel would be awkward no matter what, right?
Therefore, to avoid the father and son leaving at the same time and meeting again, Pang Jin suggested going back early and taking a stroll in the night market. Yan Liang thought that since he had some free time, it would be a waste not to stay up all night, so he pretended not to know Pang Jin's secret delight and agreed to Pang Jin's suggestion.
As they passed by Zhao Ji's door, the sound of zither music filled the room, accompanied by constant laughter. Pang Jin glanced at Yan Liang's face and was surprised to find that Yan Liang was completely calm, as if he didn't know that the person playing and laughing with the girls in the room was his own father.
The two left the brothel and went to the nearby night market. The night market was bustling with activity, brightly lit as if it were daytime. Pang Jin wandered around excitedly, and Yan Liang initially wanted to act like an adult and keep an eye on him, but seeing how happy he was, he couldn't resist the urge and, after holding back for a while, joined in the fun.
During the day, Pang Jin mentioned that he had bought a landscape painting from a young man selling calligraphy and paintings at low prices. Yan Liang had seen it while grilling fish at Pang Jin's house and had to admit that it was indeed very well painted; the handwriting revealed that the person who inscribed the painting was a man of great integrity. Yan Liang had mentioned at the time that he also wanted to buy a painting as a gift for someone. Pang Jin then said that he would take him to see that young man when he had time.
The young man's stall was unsettled, always wandering around. Yan Liang considered Pang Jin's pitiful ability to find his way around and decisively rejected his suggestion.
As the saying goes, "Life is full of unexpected encounters." Without needing Pang Jin's detours, Yan Liang was fortunate enough to meet that young man at the night market tonight.
Yan Lianggang and Pang Jin watched the street performance by the roadside, each holding a large steamed bun, and continued walking. The young man sat quietly in the corner, completely out of place with the lively atmosphere around him.
The two walked past his stall. Pang Jin caught a glimpse of the figure out of the corner of his eye, and after taking a couple of steps, he realized what was happening and pulled Yan Liang to the young man's stall.
"Hey sir, do you remember me?" Pang Jin pulled Yan Liang along and greeted him in a friendly manner. "We met the day before yesterday. This is my friend; he also wants to buy a painting from you."
The young man had a cold expression and nodded slightly, indicating that he remembered Pang Jin.
Yan Liang was thinking of bribing Zhao Ji with a painting to prevent him from investigating his visit to the brothel the next day. He looked down at the calligraphy and paintings on the young man's table, and after a while, he chose a flower and bird painting: "I want this one."
While the young man was wrapping the painting for him, Pang Jin asked Yan Liang why he bought it. Yan Liang thought for a moment and replied, "It's for my old man, you know what I mean."
Pang Jin chuckled: "Bribed your father?"
Yan Liang shrugged: "Yeah, he likes flower and bird paintings."
Pang Jin chuckled foolishly. Yan Liang glanced at him and roughly guessed what the man was thinking. He took the painting from the young man selling paintings, then passed it to Pang Jin. Meeting the boy's questioning gaze, he calmly said, "I'll take you back. You can hold onto this for me."
The two paid the money, strolled around the night market, and returned home with their purchases.
They naturally returned to Pang Jin's house, where Da Xue was well taken care of and seemed quite content, almost forgetting her home. But upon seeing Yan Liang, she still happily jumped onto his shoulder.
Pang Jin glanced at the sky and, once again without much hope, suggested sending someone to escort Yan Liang back. As he expected, Yan Liang refused once more.
"Could it be that your home is in the palace?" Pang Jin finally couldn't help but point out the question. He was unhappy these days because he didn't know where to go to see Yan Liang.
He considered himself a friend after spending so many days together. But who makes friends without even knowing where their friend lives?
"Does knowing where you live mean something terrible is going to happen?"
Yan Liang put his hands in his sleeves, thought seriously for a while, and then smiled and said, "My home is not in the palace, so knowing where my home is won't cause any big trouble... If you want to come to my home, that's not impossible, I just hope you won't be too surprised."
Pang Jin pursed her lips, thinking to herself, what's so surprising? Yan Liang then added, "I'll take you to my house after I've settled things at home."
Pang Jin hummed in agreement, stood at the door to see Yan Liang off, and casually reached out to touch Da Xue, who was sitting on Yan Liang's shoulder, before saying goodbye to the man and the cat.
“Remember what you said,” Pang Jin reminded him.
Yan Liang nodded: "I know, I know."
After bidding farewell to Pang Jin, Yan Liang carried Da Xue towards the Crown Prince's residence. He took a side path, the dark alleyway stretching into the distance, the guard hidden in the shadows behind him.
Yan Liang, carrying Da Xue, staggered through the darkness.
The Crown Prince, indulging in pleasure, returned home late at night, clearly providing an opportune moment for assassination.
Yan Liang had made enemies in the court these days, and he was quite straightforward, thinking that he would deal with whatever came his way, and at worst, both sides would suffer heavy losses.
Today, Yan Liang took the opportunity to go out and wandered around the streets without any precautions. Cai Jing's faction seized the opportunity and sent someone to assassinate the crown prince.
Emperor Huizong of Song had many children, among whom his third son, Zhao Kai, was particularly outstanding and most resembled his father. Before the crown prince rose to prominence, Zhao Kai was Emperor Huizong's most beloved son.
Zhao Kai is one year younger than the Crown Prince, and is more naive and easier to manipulate than the current Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince is now like a cunning old fox. If he were to ascend the throne, the status of Cai Jing's faction would certainly not be what it is now. Therefore, after discussing with Cai Jing, Fu Zongshu decided to assassinate the Crown Prince—Zhao Ji had so many sons, he didn't need another easily manipulated Crown Prince.
The assassin sent to kill the crown prince is now hiding in the shadows, watching closely. He has figured out the crown prince's route home and has come here specifically to ambush him.
Even though the Crown Prince was indeed doing good for the country and its people, he served Fu Zongshu. Fu Zongshu had recruited him, so he naturally had to work for Fu Zongshu.
Yan Liang strolled casually along the path, feeling sorry for the poor professionalism of the guards behind him.
It's getting cold; it's time to fire some people.
His Highness the Crown Prince pondered deeply.
The assassin sent to kill him was waiting in front. Seeing Yan Liang about to pass by, he swiftly threw out his weapon, ready to kill him in one blow.
Yan Liang silently pulled out his magic staff and stopped the weapon.
The sound of weapons clashing was particularly jarring in the silent night.
The snowflakes meowed and puffed up into a ball of fur in Yan Liang's arms. Yan Liang, holding the magic staff in one hand and soothing the frightened snowflakes with the other, smiled at the attacker in the darkness: "Come out and meet me?"
The man, wondering where Yan Liang had produced the long staff, frowned upon hearing Yan Liang's words, which concealed a smile. The Crown Prince remained calm and even asked the assassin a question with a leisurely attitude. Although the other party did not intend to mock him, the man still felt vaguely embarrassed.
Moonlight streamed through the clouds, revealing the Crown Prince's gentle smile to him.
The assassin held his breath, preparing to discard his weapon and make a silent exit, but after taking a step back, he realized something was wrong—his whole body felt weak and his vision was blurry.
The assassin realized he had been poisoned.
As he flicked his sleeve, Yan Liang casually released the sleeping potion. Following the slightly rapid breathing, he arrived in front of the man, took out a tinderbox, and saw the assassin's face clearly.
The young man had slightly curly hair, pursed his lips tightly, and stared at him fiercely, looking very unhappy.
Yan Liang glanced back at the guard whose figure was faintly visible in the darkness, and called him over in a friendly manner: "I don't blame you. This young man's martial arts are better than yours. Help me take him back."
The guard stepped forward nervously and nervously, picked up the unconscious young man from the ground, and followed the silent crown prince back to his residence.
He was still somewhat dazed, half-confused and half-doubting as he recalled what had just happened.
For the guard, what had just happened was nothing more than a blink of an eye. He didn't even know when the Crown Prince discovered that someone was following them, nor did he know why the assassin had fainted. It wasn't until he heard the sound of weapons clashing that he realized there was an assassin. But what was certain was that His Highness the Crown Prince's strength was unfathomable, far surpassing that of the assassin he was carrying.
As he watched the Crown Prince's retreating figure, he could discern a hint of confident composure in his relaxed demeanor.
The guard noted down what happened tonight and prepared to report it to his master later.
Author's Note: I, Bai Hansan, am back!!!
Hello fellow villagers, thank you for waiting!
I've been busy with family matters for two days and haven't gotten them sorted out yet, but I guess I can relax for a couple more days.
——
The luckiest person in the entire event: Pang Jin.
I've met Young Master Fang, Master Su, Wang Xiaoshi, Bai Choufei, Zhuge Shenhou, Zhuiming, and Mi Youqiao, and even the Emperor of the Song Dynasty. I guess I'm the type who can pull an SSR character from a gacha pull, haha.
But Yan Liang wasn't bad either, because he was carrying Gu Xichao back, which made him somewhat luckier. Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 2020-03-17 23:47:56 and 2020-03-20 18:25:52!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Qingshan Wuke (43 bottles); Pengshu (20 bottles);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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