Chapter 90: A Worthy Expense and a Conflict with the Shu Royal Mansion
Chapter 90: Chapter 90: A Worthy Expense and a Conflict with the Shu Royal Mansion
Arriving at the door of the private room on the third floor, Jiang Xue took a deep breath and pushed it open.
With a beaming smile, she curtsied and said, "This servant, Jiang Xue, greets Young Master Pei and Young Master Xu."
Behind her followed a group of young women holding musical instruments. They were her dedicated accompanists.
"Haha, it’s usually so difficult to see Miss Jiang Xue. I’m really basking in Brother Pei’s glory this time." Xu Jing laughed and waved her over. "Quick, come pour wine for Brother Pei."
’He certainly looked respectable enough,’ Jiang Xue thought, stealing a glance at Pei Shaoqing, ’but what a shame his heart is so malicious.’
She smiled. "How about I perform a dance for you first?"
She was trying to stall for time, hoping the third young master of the Yan family would arrive to rescue her.
Having grown up in this world, she knew that men like Pei Shaoqing had no regard for decorum. He wouldn’t care about her status as the top courtesan; in his eyes, she was just a prostitute. It was entirely possible he would strip her naked and take her right here and now.
"Brother Pei?" Xu Jing looked at Pei Shaoqing.
Pei Shaoqing toyed with his wine cup and smiled. "You may."
’As expected of the top courtesan. A good girl.’
As the music began, Jiang Xue danced, her movements light and graceful.
Her movements were ethereal, the beaded hairpins in her hair tinkling crisply. With every light step, the wide sleeves and thin gauze of her dress revealed the graceful curves of her body, and her ample chest trembled precariously, as if about to burst forth.
When the dance was over, her face was flushed and a light sheen of sweat beaded on her forehead, making her look even more stunning.
"Come and rest," Pei Shaoqing said, beckoning to her.
Jiang Xue glanced at the woman beside him and said in a sweet voice, "Young Master Pei already has someone to attend to him. I wouldn’t want to get in the way. I shall play the zither for you both instead."
"Don’t worry. You can never have too many whores. Come here." Pei Shaoqing’s tone was mild, but held an unyielding edge.
Jiang Xue had no choice. She walked helplessly to the empty spot on his other side and knelt on the cushion, trying to keep her distance and avoid any physical contact.
"How are you going to pour my wine from all the way over there?" As soon as the words left his mouth, Pei Shaoqing wrapped an arm around her and pulled her against him.
"Ah!" Jiang Xue cried out, her face paling in alarm. In a panic, she said, "Young Master Pei, I do not sell my body."
Xu Jing’s heart skipped a beat at the sight. He was afraid that Jiang Xue, whom he had gone to such trouble to get, would get angry and storm out.
"Don’t worry. If I have my fun with you and don’t pay, it doesn’t count as you selling yourself, does it?" Pei Shaoqing said, joking.
Jiang Xue forced a smile. "You are truly a joker."
"You think I’m joking?" Pei Shaoqing’s hand roamed freely over her smooth thigh. He spoke with a smirk, "How much silver is Brother Xu paying you? You earn all that just for a song and a dance. Does that seem right to you? If the money’s that good, maybe I should come work at Furong Pavilion myself."
Jiang Xue didn’t know how to reply. Blushing, she could only plead, "Please, Young Master Pei, show some restraint."
Meanwhile, Xu Jing was stunned.
He never imagined that Jiang Xue, who was known for her cold demeanor and for storming out at the slightest offense, would react to Pei Shaoqing’s liberties with such shy coquettishness, showing no signs of anger.
He quickly chimed in, "Miss Jiang Xue, if you take good care of Brother Pei tonight, there’s a handsome reward in it for you."
"Did you hear that, Miss Jiang Xue?" Pei Shaoqing said nonchalantly, raising his cup and draining it in one go.
"Ah!" A mixture of shame and fury filled Jiang Xue’s features, but she didn’t dare resist. Biting her red lip, she said, "Young Master, you are forcing a decent woman into harlotry."
"Pfft—" Pei Shaoqing burst out laughing, slapping his thigh. "The whole of Furong Pavilion is filled with whores. Where would a ’decent woman’ come from? Don’t be ridiculous."
’When you spend money, you should get your money’s worth. He had no intention of being one of those fools who pays a fortune just for a smile.’
’He hadn’t spent a dime tonight, of course, but that didn’t mean he could let his brother’s money go to waste, right?’
Jiang Xue’s chest heaved with anger. ’Who said there was nothing of value in Furong Pavilion? At least she still was!’
CRASH!
Just then, the door to the private room was kicked open.
A richly dressed young man, not yet twenty, burst in. When he saw Jiang Xue, her clothes in disarray, held in Pei Shaoqing’s arms, his eyes instantly reddened with fury. "Bastard!" he roared. "Let go of my Jiang Xue!"
"Third Young Master, save me!" Jiang Xue was overjoyed to see her savior, but she put on a pitiful and helpless expression.
This man was her number one simp, someone she deliberately kept on the hook to chase away men who were dead set on sleeping with her.
"Don’t be afraid, Jiang Xue. I’m here," the young master said, his voice soft and soothing. But when his gaze fell on Pei Shaoqing, it turned into a furious glare. "Bastard! Are you deaf?"
"Do you know who I am?" Pei Shaoqing asked.
"I don’t care who you are," the young master declared forcefully. "But by the end of tonight, you will remember who *I* am!"
"Brother Pei, don’t pick a fight with him," Xu Jing whispered urgently. "That’s Yan Sitong, the third son of King Shu. They call him the ’Little Tyrant of Jin Guan City.’ He’s completely overbearing."
Hearing this, Pei Shaoqing’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Yan Sitong saw Pei Shaoqing’s hand still moving restlessly under Jiang Xue’s skirt, while Jiang Xue herself was flushed red and looked on the verge of tears. His body trembled with rage. "Drag that bastard out of there and chop off the paws he used to touch Jiang Xue!"
’He’d spent so much money...’
’...and he had only ever gotten to touch Jiang Xue’s hand!’
"Yes, sir!" the two burly Guards behind him responded. One of them stepped forward and reached across the table to grab Pei Shaoqing by the collar.
SHING!
With the sound of a sword being drawn, a spray of warm blood flew through the air, and a severed hand landed in a platter of food on the table.
"AAAAH! MY HAND! MY HAND!"
The Guard whose right hand had been severed screamed endlessly.
Seeing this, the other Guard hastily took several steps back.
"Ah!" Jiang Xue shrieked, her face draining of all color.
Xu Jing was just as pale.
At the doorway, Yan Sitong, the madam, and the others were frozen in shock.
Pei Shaoqing held his sword in one hand, his other hand never leaving its place beneath Jiang Xue’s skirt. His face was devoid of expression. "Pour the wine."
"Y-yes... yes, sir." Jiang Xue flinched, startled. With a trembling hand, she picked up the wine jug and poured.
Pei Shaoqing stared at Yan Sitong, his eyes glinting with ridicule. He snatched up the cup and drained it in one gulp.
"You... you’ve got some nerve!" Yan Sitong snapped out of his stupor, his fear mingling with rage. He yelled at a Guard, "This man tried to attack me! Go back and report to my father, the King! Tell him to dispatch the city guard to arrest him!"
"Third Young Master, please calm down. It’s all a misunderstanding..." The madam’s expression changed, and she hurried forward to placate Yan Sitong.
’It would do her no good if this situation escalated.’
SLAP! Yan Sitong struck her across the face with a backhand. "Get out of my way!" he roared. "This man dared to defile my Jiang Xue and draw a sword on me! He’s a dead man!"
Pei Shaoqing pulled a Signal Arrow from his Storage Ring and tossed it to Xu Jing. "Brother Xu, if you would be so kind as to fire this out the window."
"Huh? Oh, right, right." Xu Jing numbly caught the Signal Arrow, walked to the window, and pulled the cord at its base.
WHOOSH!
One Cloud-Piercing Arrow, and an army would come to meet it.
A brilliant firework blossomed in the sky.
This was the special Whistling Arrow of the Jing’an Guard. By regulation, any member of the Guard who saw it had to converge on its location immediately to provide assistance.
’Pei Shaoqing hadn’t intended to cause such a huge disturbance over a prostitute. It wasn’t worth it, and neither was she.’
But once he learned that Yan Sitong was King Shu’s son, he decided to blow the situation wide open.
’It was the perfect opportunity to see where Lu Dingchuan stood in relation to King Shu.’
’After all, he planned to make a move against the Shu Royal Mansion soon, which made the position of the Jing’an Guard Thousand Households in Jin Guan City extremely important.’
’What if their private ties ran deep?’
"Hmph! Some wild dog from the Jianghu dares to bark in my presence," Yan Sitong sneered at the sight.
The madam, still stinging from the slap, forced herself to speak up. "Young Master, he is Pei Shaoqing, the County Marquis of Pingyang."
Yan Sitong’s expression flickered, but when he met Pei Shaoqing’s taunting gaze, his rage flared anew. "A mere County Marquis dares to challenge my Shu Royal Mansion? Forget you, Pei Shaoqing—even your father isn’t qualified to do so!"
"I hope you can keep that same energy," Pei Shaoqing said with a slight smile. He withdrew his hand from under Jiang Xue’s skirt and slowly caressed her pale cheek with it.
Yan Sitong’s eyes looked ready to burst. "Stop it!"
"’You’re a guest, and I’m a guest. If you can, so can I.’ Pei Shaoqing laughed dismissively and patted Jiang Xue’s cheek. ’You grew up in a brothel. Even if you haven’t done it yourself, you’ve seen and heard enough. You know what I want.’"
Events had spiraled out of her control. Jiang Xue, long since scared out of her wits, could only do as she was told.
Seeing this, Yan Sitong was incandescent with rage.
He couldn’t see clearly from across the low table...
...but that didn’t stop his imagination from painting a vivid picture.
’Having his toy snatched away was a secondary concern.’
’The real issue was the blow to his pride.’
He roared, "Pei Shaoqing! I will kill you!"
Xu Jing, watching from the side, was completely dumbfounded.
Then, a wave of heroic passion surged through him.
’A real man should be just like Brother Pei!’
In his excitement, he threw his head back and downed a cup of wine.
.........
The Jing’an Guard was the first to arrive. Hundreds of men from the Hundred Households of the four city districts—east, west, north, and south—plus those from the Thousand Households, arrived in succession. Lu Dingchuan himself was also present.
From what he gathered from the people downstairs, he had a rough idea of what had happened and guessed that Pei Shaoqing had fired the Whistling Arrow.
While he was rather speechless that Pei Shaoqing would start such a massive conflict over a woman, he also felt it fit the image he’d heard of him: an arrogant, overbearing silk-pants.
"Make way! All of you, make way!"
Several Jing’an Guards pushed forward, roughly clearing a path and driving away the crowd that had gathered in the third-floor hallway.
Lu Dingchuan walked unimpeded to the private room.
"Lu Households Commander," Yan Sitong greeted, clasping his hands.
Lu Dingchuan ignored him and strode into the private room.
By this time, the... performance was over. Jiang Xue, face flushed, was kneeling behind Pei Shaoqing, massaging his shoulders.
"Brother Pei, for what reason did you fire the Whistling Arrow?" Lu Dingchuan asked, despite knowing full well it was because of a jealous squabble.
’But since he was already here, he might as well play along.’
’A man with a powerful father has the right to be willful.’
"I was just here, enjoying some wine and entertainment, when this man suddenly burst in with his goons and ordered them to attack me. After I fought them off, he threatened to call reinforcements to surround and kill me. So, naturally, I had no choice but to call for my own reinforcements!" Pei Shaoqing said with an expression of pure helplessness, gently stroking Jiang Xue’s soft hair.
Lu Dingchuan turned to Yan Sitong and said coldly, "Third Young Master, are you aware of the penalty for killing an official?"
"I wasn’t trying to kill him!" Yan Sitong retorted, then snorted coldly. "Don’t try to scare me. Just you try arresting me! See if my father the King doesn’t come to settle accounts with you!"
"As it happens, I *won’t* be settling any accounts with them!" A grim-faced King Shu arrived, sweeping in with a large entourage.
Yan Sitong was overjoyed. He ran over, crying, "Father!"
"Greetings, Your Highness, Prince Shu!" everyone bowed.
SLAP! King Shu raised his hand and struck Yan Sitong across the face. "You imbecile!" he cursed.
A Guard had reported that Yan Sitong had gotten into a conflict at Furong Pavilion and that blades had been drawn. The King had taken the matter very seriously.
Few people in Jin Guan City dared to clash with his son, and almost none would dare to draw a weapon.
This meant the other party’s status was anything but simple.
To prevent the situation from escalating, he had originally intended to have Yan Sichen handle it, but to his surprise, that rebellious son of his was not around.
His second son, meanwhile, had never been skilled at handling such affairs.
Sending a subordinate would have made it seem like he wasn’t taking the matter seriously.
So, he had no choice but to come himself.
By the time he arrived at Furong Pavilion, he had already learned the identity of the person clashing with Yan Sitong, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
He too had heard of Pei Shaoqing’s arrogance.
’But his status was nothing special.’
’He wouldn’t dare challenge a dignified Prince such as himself.’
Therefore, in his view, personally stepping in to quell the incident and restore his son’s honor would be as easy as flipping his palm.