Heaven-Piercing Tower

Many of the Yin Dynasty's high ministers came from the Sword Dao Academy.

In this world, where gods, ghosts, demons, and devils were commonplace, if the Imperial Court's senior ministers were ordinary people too weak to truss a chicken, the state and its altars could hardly remain stable. Thus, the higher a minister's rank, the more importance was placed on cultivation during selection. Between two people of equal ability, the one with greater cultivation held a considerable advantage.

If one remained a mere mortal, powerful experts had to be specially assigned for constant protection, which brought no end of trouble.

Moreover, once the number of ministers from the Sword Dao Academy grew, they would prioritize academy juniors when promoting subordinates. As time passed, it created the grand spectacle of academy students occupying half the imperial court.

Especially among the ranks of high ministers: Right Prime Minister Song Zhili, Left Prime Minister Liang Fuguo, and the three ministers of Rites, Revenue, and Personnel... all came from the Sword Dao Academy.

Thus, Liang Peng's desire to enter the Sword Dao Academy, then serve as an official in the Imperial Court, was indeed a road straight into the azure clouds.

Liang Yue did not offer much advice on this. His younger brother and sister were both intelligent people, with clear plans for their futures. There was no need for him to worry excessively.

He had more pressing matters to concern himself with.

The small patch of territory under the Fukang Ward station had seen one disturbance after another lately. In the end, it was all over the row of shops on Linmen Street. To get to the bottom of it, Chen Ju had specially hosted two friends.

The banquet was held at Mystic Sound Pavilion in the Red Sleeve Brothel.

Although he had long heard of the Red Sleeve Brothel's fame, and Fukang Ward was only a short distance away, Liang Yue had truly never visited the place. The following evening, he followed Chen Ju into Dragon Abyss City's most renowned money-burning district.

"Two young masters—"

The moment they stepped onto the Red Sleeve Brothel's street, a heavy scent of powder and rouge rushed into their nostrils. Looking around, both sides of the street were lined with warmly soliciting madams, standing at their doorways and waving bright handkerchiefs. Every one of them had a supple, graceful figure.

Looking up, beautiful young women in dazzling clothes leaned against the railings of the pavilions above, their colorful sleeves fluttering. There was no need to deliberately peek to catch glimpses of smooth skin, white as snow beneath the golden-red lantern light, trembling and swaying so brightly it was almost blinding.

"This smell is a little harsh. I never feel very well whenever I come here. Ah-choo—" Chen Ju sneezed, rubbed his nose, then continued, "After an hour or two, the smell of wine covers it up. Then it gets better."

"You're probably allergic to this scent," Liang Yue said.

"What do you mean by allergic?" Chen Ju asked in confusion. "You said the same thing about that man who drank and caused trouble before. Is it some kind of illness?"

"More or less." Liang Yue explained, "Put simply, others can smell it without issue, but when you do, it makes your body uncomfortable."

"Ah?" Chen Ju grew worried. "So it's an illness? Can it kill you?"

"The symptoms can be mild or severe..." Liang Yue shrugged. "It's hard to say with something like this."

"It really might kill me?" Chen Ju immediately panicked and asked nervously, "Is there medicine for it?"

"Probably not at present, but it's easy enough to handle." Liang Yue looked around and waved a hand. "Just don't come here again and expose yourself to this environment."

Chen Ju's eyes flew wide open. "If I can never come to the Red Sleeve Brothel again, I might as well die!"

"..." Liang Yue fell silent for a moment.

No more needed to be said about passion.

Before long, the two had passed through the first street.

According to Chen Ju, the brothels on the outer street were all low-class establishments, which was why their madams came out to solicit customers. Truly high-end brothels did not need to recruit guests so bluntly.

Mystic Sound Pavilion was such a tasteful establishment.

Turning the corner, they saw a three-story carved building with blue tiles and upturned eaves. Several smaller pavilions surrounded a handful of small courtyards, where peach trees that bloomed year-round scattered petals like rain in the wind.

The faint sounds of silk and bamboo instruments flowed steadily from the open doors.

Quiet and elegant.

That was the place's first impression.

Chen Ju walked inside as if he knew the way by heart. Within was a spacious hall with a stage at its center, where several beautiful female musicians in gauzy garments played intently. A few scattered tables of guests sat around them, all seemingly waiting for something.

It seemed it was still too early for a brothel, likely just after opening.

"Young Master Chen!" A ringing cry greeted them the moment they entered.

A plump woman in her thirties suddenly came forward. She wore a flowing golden gauze dress, her waist swaying delicately and her full hips undulating as she sidled up to Chen Ju.

"Phoenix Madam, is the private room I requested ready?" Chen Ju reached out, intending to put an arm around her waist, but she twisted away from him.

Phoenix Madam gave a soft laugh. "Verdant Bamboo Hall on the second floor. Young Master Chen's guests have already arrived, and the musicians and dancers are waiting as well. Is this handsome young gentleman also Young Master Chen's friend?"

Liang Yue smiled and nodded without saying much.

He lacked experience handling business in a place like this. Professional matters should be left to professionals.

Chen Ju, meanwhile, was like a fish in water. He greeted people all the way upstairs, looking as though entering a brothel was the same as returning home.

Phoenix Madam led Chen Ju to a door screened by green bamboo. Pushing it open, she called loudly, "Girls, show them your talents—"

Clusters of slender bamboo filled the hall, mingling with its elegant decor. The musicians sat behind the bamboo, their figures hidden amid the green. The result was that no people could be seen, yet the sounds of qin and zheng surrounded them.

The moment Chen Ju entered, music rose all around them, and the two men who had arrived early stood to greet them.

Both were young men. The one on the left was of average height and rather thin, with two conspicuous moles on his cheeks. The one on the right was short, fat, and round-faced, with a somewhat festive appearance.

"Come, let me introduce you." As soon as he entered, Chen Ju introduced them to Liang Yue. "This is Young Master Hu Peng, son of Master Hu from the Ministry of Works. This is Young Master Gou You, son of Director Gou from the Ministry of Works. Gentlemen, this is my colleague Liang Yue from the Imperial Capital Guard. He came with me today to broaden his horizons."

Liang Yue nodded to the two, thinking to himself, So these are the sort of fair-weather friends they are.

"Since he is Young Master Chen's friend, he is our friend." Hu Peng sat down as he politely said, "Let us visit each other often in the future."

After exchanging pleasantries and chatting idly for quite some time, Chen Ju finally appeared to bring up the subject casually.

"Speaking of which, my family seems to be planning to buy some property in the southern city recently. Since I work around here, I said, what is there to buy in that godforsaken place? And they're offering such high prices, too. My father won't tell me what's going on." He scratched his head. "It's truly strange."

"Haha." Hu Peng laughed twice. "It seems Young Master Chen does not participate much in the Lineage's business. You do not even know about something this significant."

"A major matter?" Chen Ju showed an inquisitive expression.

Hu Peng did not speak, instead glancing at Gou You.

In that brief time, Liang Yue had already noticed that the two had a clear hierarchy between them. It was likely because Gou You's father was a Principal Fifth Rank Director in the Ministry of Works, one rank above Hu Peng's father, and that distinction had extended to their sons.

Little Fatty Gou You also chuckled. "There is nothing particularly secretive about it. Given the Chen Family's standing, you surely knew long ago. Your uncle may simply have feared that you would leak it... The recent rumors concerning the southern city are related to the Heaven-Piercing Tower."

"The Heaven-Piercing Tower!" Chen Ju exclaimed. "Are they going to build it?"

Liang Yue had heard some rumors about the Heaven-Piercing Tower before.

The State Preceptor, Li Longchan, had once proposed building a thirty-three-story Heaven-Piercing Pagoda outside Dragon Abyss City, gathering the power of the common people's wishes to pray for longevity and renewed life for the reigning Emperor Mubei.

But Left Prime Minister Liang Fuguo had firmly opposed the proposal, saying that building the Heaven-Piercing Tower would exhaust the people and drain their wealth, that the claims of extending life were illusory, and that Li Longchan's personal motives were the real issue.

Li Longchan's Dragon Tiger Hall had many followers in the divine capital, and for a time the matter caused a great uproar, with attacks on Liang Fuguo coming from all directions.

Yet setting aside the State Preceptor's followers, most ordinary people still supported the Left Prime Minister. After all, even if the Heaven-Piercing Tower worked, it would extend the emperor's lifespan while spending the people's money.

Later, the matter simply faded away.

"The Ministry of Works and Ministry of Revenue jointly produced a complete plan. Though building the Heaven-Piercing Tower would cost enormously, once completed it could draw believers from the Nine Provinces and Four Seas, benefiting the divine capital's development. After the Left Prime Minister saw it, he stopped obstructing it. The Imperial Court settled the matter before the new year, and these past months have been spent selecting a site." Hu Peng lowered his voice. "They say one will be chosen from six locations near the divine capital, but in truth, it was decided three months ago. It will be built on Qingfo Plains south of the divine capital."

"So that's it!" Chen Ju and Liang Yue both suddenly understood.

Once the Heaven-Piercing Tower was built in the south, the traffic of people would become immense, with countless nobles and dignitaries passing through. The worthless shops near the southern gate would immediately become prime land worth every inch of gold, perhaps multiplying in value dozens of times over!

And several months ago, the Dragon Tooth Gang had already begun plotting to buy up the row of shops by the southern gate, not just those on Linmen Street. At that time, the site absolutely had not been finalized. Perhaps even the emperor did not know where it would be built, yet the Dragon Tooth Gang already knew...

This was not something to think too deeply about.

"No wonder Fukang Ward has been so unsettled lately," Liang Yue said, probing indirectly.

"Yes." Chen Ju followed up. "There is a Dragon Tooth Gang in the southern city that has been causing trouble in our area. Thinking about it now, it must also be related to the Heaven-Piercing Tower's construction. This news cannot be kept hidden for much longer. They must be rushing to buy the shops near the southern gate, which is why they are acting this way."

"The Dragon Tooth Gang..." Gou You smacked his lips and smiled meaningfully. "Young Master Chen, I advise you not to interfere with them."

"Hmm?" Chen Ju again pretended to ask casually, "You know their background?"

"It is best not to say more. Our standing is not enough for us to know too much," Gou You gently cut off the conversation.

Liang Yue glanced at Chen Ju, signaling that he could dig deeper. The other party clearly knew the inside story.

"This..." Chen Ju was considering how to ask further when a gong sounded outside.

Clang!

"Miss Wen Yuan is about to perform—"

That shout carried in, breaking the tranquil atmosphere in Verdant Bamboo Hall. Hu Peng and Gou You could no longer sit still, and both men stood up.

Hu Peng said, "Young Master Chen, you do not know about the newly arrived Miss Wen Yuan, do you? Her appearance yesterday stunned everyone. They say her qin skills have reached the realm of divine mastery, and her beauty is like that of a celestial maiden. We cannot miss her performance."

"Indeed. If she were to choose one of us for a private conversation, it would be a tremendous honor." Gou You also urged them, "Let's go take a look."

Chen Ju had still been concerned with serious business, but at these words, his eyes immediately lit up. "This is something we must witness!"

Good morning.