The Fountain Pavilion's Courtesan Queen Was Actually a Japanese Female Spy?

Cao Renqi accepted the hundred thousand silver notes, tucked them into his sleeve, and patted his chest. "Rest assured, President Ma. I will certainly handle these two matters for you."

President Ma took out a small porcelain bottle from his robe and handed it to Cao Renqi with a lewd grin. "Lord Cao, here's another bottle of Golden Spear Pills for you. One pill each night, and I guarantee you'll be hard as a golden spear."

Cao Renqi accepted the little porcelain bottle with beaming delight, stuffing it into his robes as though he had obtained a priceless treasure. He cupped his hands and said, "Many thanks, President Ma! These Golden Spear Pills truly are treasures money can't buy."

Afterward, Cao Renqi exited through the secret door.

President Ma, meanwhile, left through another secret door.

Cao Renqi left the Fountain Pavilion, climbed into his sedan chair, and returned all the way to Cao Manor.

Huang Shaojie sat cross-legged on a blue stone in the courtyard. After cultivating the Wind God Leg internal cultivation method through two full cycles, he finished and rose to his feet.

The third watch had just sounded.

"Why hasn't Eight Lord flown back to report tonight?"

Just as Huang Shaojie was wondering, a bird flapped over and landed on his shoulder.

It was Eight Lord the parrot.

"Why are you reporting back so late tonight? Did anything happen?"

Huang Shaojie turned to look at Eight Lord perched on his shoulder.

Eight Lord raised his head and cried, "Cao Renqi went out to have fun tonight."

"Oh? Where did he go to have fun?" Huang Shaojie asked curiously.

Eight Lord said, "He went to a pleasure house to play with women."

"What pleasure house? Did you see whether there was a plaque over its entrance? What was it called?" Huang Shaojie pressed.

Eight Lord tilted his head and thought for a moment. "It seemed to be called the Fountain Pavilion."

Fountain Pavilion.

Of course Huang Shaojie knew of it. It was Suzhou's most famous brothel. Though it was not the largest in scale, its class was unquestionably the highest.

Every woman inside possessed both beauty and talent. They could sing and dance, and their skills were superb.

Huang Shaojie had visited it once with his colleagues, but they had merely drunk flower wine and listened to tunes. He had no desire to touch women from a brothel like that. They were too dirty.

That old lecher Cao Renqi had so many beautiful concubines and maidservants in his manor, yet he was still not satisfied. He had actually gone to the Fountain Pavilion to sample some strange fare. Damn, the old bastard really had boundless energy!

"Tonight, how many women did Cao Renqi fight with at the Fountain Pavilion?"

Huang Shaojie asked Eight Lord with a grin.

Eight Lord shook his head. "Cao Renqi didn't fight with any women at the Fountain Pavilion. He only fought with women after returning home."

Huang Shaojie could not help but freeze!

He had gone to the Fountain Pavilion without fighting with women? Then what had that old lecher gone there for?

At once, Huang Shaojie felt that something was very wrong. Could Cao Renqi have had some other business at the Fountain Pavilion?

He said to Eight Lord, "Tell this young master every detail of what Cao Renqi did at the Fountain Pavilion. Don't leave out even the slightest thing."

Eight Lord said, "Cao Renqi entered the Fountain Pavilion, and a big-bottomed woman named Madam Hua came over to welcome him. 'Aiyo, Lord Cao, you've finally come! Miss Ningxiang has been thinking about you these past few days...'"

Eight Lord imitated the madam's voice so vividly that Huang Shaojie burst out laughing.

"...That Madam Hua led Cao Renqi to a pavilion in the rear courtyard. A beauty named Ningxiang pulled Cao Renqi into a room. This bird flew onto the window lattice to peek, but Ningxiang shut the window and drew the curtains. Still, this bird could see two shadows inside and hear them talking..."

Eight Lord spoke with great pride.

Huang Shaojie urged, "Quick, tell me everything Cao Renqi and that Ningxiang said in the room. Repeat it all."

Eight Lord mimicked them:

"Cao Renqi said, 'Miss Naizi, how can this official obtain you?'"

"Ningxiang said, 'Shut up. Call me Ningxiang.'"

"Cao Renqi said, 'Don't be afraid. Everyone here is one of your people. No one can hear us.'"

"Hehe, they didn't know that although no one else could hear their conversation, this bird heard every word clearly from atop the window. Chirp chirp chirp..."

Eight Lord let out smug chirping laughter.

Huang Shaojie was utterly shocked.

Cao Renqi had actually called Ningxiang, the courtesan queen of the Fountain Pavilion, Miss Naizi!

Miss Naizi?

That sounded like the name of a Japanese woman, didn't it?

Fuck!

The Fountain Pavilion's top courtesan queen was actually a Japanese woman!

Or rather, a Japanese spy?

Eight Lord continued to imitate them:

"That Ningxiang said, 'It's better to be careful. If the Imperial Guard learns of my identity, you, Cao Renqi, will be thrown into the Imperial Prison too.'"

After a while, Cao Renqi said, "Why did you ask to see me tonight?"

Ningxiang said in a low voice, "Our president has something to discuss with you."

After hearing this portion of Eight Lord's imitation, Huang Shaojie was even more stunned!

Just moments ago, he had only suspected that Cao Renqi might be colluding with the Japanese. Now, he was one hundred percent certain that Cao Renqi was colluding with the Japanese.

And this courtesan queen Ningxiang had to be a high-ranking Japanese spy. Her status was certainly far from low.

Who could have imagined that the top courtesan queen of Suzhou City's most famous brothel, the Fountain Pavilion, was actually a Japanese female spy?

What Huang Shaojie found even harder to imagine was that Cao Renqi, a Principal Fourth Rank commandant who held tens of thousands of troops in his hands, was actually secretly colluding with Japanese pirates!

How could this be tolerated?

With the authority Cao Renqi wielded, merely providing the Japanese pirates with a little information and assistance would pose an enormous threat to the entirety of Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces.

And who was this president Ningxiang had mentioned?

Huang Shaojie could guess with his ass that this president had to be Japanese, and his rank had to be even higher than Ningxiang's.

"Go on. What did Cao Renqi say later to that president?"

Huang Shaojie suppressed the shock in his heart and pressed Eight Lord.

Eight Lord shook his head and answered bluntly, "Don't know."

"What? You don't know?"

This was crucial information, yet this damned bird had said it did not know at such a critical moment.

Furious, Huang Shaojie grabbed Eight Lord by the neck. "Didn't this young master tell you to keep a close watch on Cao Renqi? Don't tell me you saw some female bird and flew off to court her?"

Eight Lord flapped his wings and cried, "Let go! Are you trying to strangle this bird to death? Cough, cough..."

Huang Shaojie loosened his grip and flicked its head. "Then hurry up and tell me. Why don't you know what Cao Renqi and that president talked about?"

Eight Lord coughed several times and took a few breaths. "This bird kept listening outside the window, but afterward, I truly didn't hear Cao Renqi say anything to anyone else."

Huang Shaojie looked puzzled. Ningxiang had said that the president wanted to see Cao Renqi, so why had this president not come?

Or had Cao Renqi and that president spoken so softly that Eight Lord could not hear them?

With that thought, Huang Shaojie asked Eight Lord, "You couldn't hear a single sound?"

Eight Lord thought for a moment. "I heard the wall make a few noises. Then, through the curtain, I saw one shadow stand up and walk a few steps. There was another creaking sound, then the other shadow came over. That shadow walked over and disappeared."

"After a while, I heard several more creaking sounds. That shadow came out again, and then I heard the woman say, 'Lord Cao, take care. Remember to come visit Ningxiang often!'"