From seven or eight zhang away, Zuo Zixiong and his group blocked the corridor exit. Xu Qing stood along the only route through and, without the slightest hesitation, reached out to stop a waiter carrying fruit, tea, and wine. After swiping a pot of Spring Dragon Well Tea, he decisively turned and returned to the private tea-room booth.
"Brother Xu, didn't you say you had important business to deal with? Why are you back again?"
"I did have important business." Xu Qing placed the teapot on the table with a beaming smile and said:
"I specifically went to get a pot of good tea. Apparently, it was picked from the tips of a maiden's tongue, then warmed against her chest and dried. The flavor is said to be wonderfully exquisite. You all must give it a good taste."
There was actually such a good thing?
Even Zhu Huai'an, who had visited once five years ago, could not resist the temptation of Maiden's Spring Tea.
He eagerly lifted the lid, leaned forward, fanned the rising steam with his palm, and took several deep breaths.
Within just a few breaths, the little fatty's cheeks had flushed red.
"Good tea! This milk tea is indeed fresh, sweet, and fragrant."
Seeing Zhu Huai'an praise it without end, Wu Wencai also poured himself half a cup. He smelled it before tasting it, declaring it the finest flavor under heaven, a rare treasure of the world!
Wu Zhiyuan was thin-skinned. Before he had even taken a sip, merely smelling the tea's fragrance made him seem to see the water in his cup as smooth as a mirror, with alluring scenes rippling within.
It was truly mortifying! He was a dignified gentleman—how could he swallow such vulgar tea?
Mmm, it really is fragrant!
Xu Qing paid no attention to the three excited men. The tea was merely ordinary Spring Dragon Well Tea; the claim that it had been prepared by a maiden was nothing more than a wild tale he had made up.
His attention had already fallen on the space between Overlord Dragon and Ground Tiger, the two newcomers.
He simply did not know whether Zuo Zixiong of the Divine Machine Battalion and Bai Luo of the Tianxin Cult would notice each other.
If they did, there would probably be no avoiding a battle between dragon and tiger.
As for this young zombie of his, he ought to sit with Zhu Huai'an and the others at the children's table, quietly drinking fake milk tea.
The affairs of the other adults should be left to the adults.
Xu Qing concealed himself in an elegant private room along the upper corridor, only occasionally peeking through the screen to glance at what was happening outside.
His position was quite high, allowing him to take in the entire situation at a glance.
After Zuo Zixiong and the honored guest he personally guarded chose an elegant private room, he stood at its entrance like a door god, his eagle-like eyes sweeping in every direction.
Xu Qing looked toward the stage. The moment Bai Luo of the Tianxin Cult appeared, he had slipped behind the stage and vanished without a trace.
At this moment, the selection for the Kui Gu Ling had just passed its halfway point. The talented ladies who truly had a chance of winning the title of Courtesan Queen had yet to appear, yet guests were already throwing away ten thousand gold to cast votes for ladies whose faces and skills they had never even seen.
Only two private rooms away, the honored guest served by Zuo Zixiong had also sent out an extravagantly lavish grooming gift.
"Lord Zhao presents Miss Han Meng with one Cry of Cicadas Zither, valued at... priceless!"
The moment those words rang out, the entire audience erupted in an uproar.
Xu Qing did not know what made this zither so extraordinary, so he naturally felt no surprise. Wu Zhiyuan, on the other hand, wore an astonished expression.
"That's the zither Duke Dongpeng gave to Wei Yao!"
Wu Wencai was equally startled. "What kind of great figure could this be, to give the Cry of Cicadas Zither, the hereditary treasure of the Wei Family, as a grooming gift?"
Compared with the Wu Family Brothers, who had risen from humble origins, Zhu Huai'an clearly knew far more inside information.
After pondering for a moment, he dropped a bombshell. "I heard the people at home speak of this zither. Apparently, it was the congratulatory gift the Wei Family gave when the current Crown Prince celebrated his sixtieth birthday."
"The woman announcing the gift called him Lord Zhao. Come to think of it, the Crown Prince's surname is Zhao as well."
Xu Qing and the others exchanged bewildered looks.
Shuhuang Pavilion had an unwritten rule: whenever a young man presented a grooming gift, the woman announcing it onstage would address him as Young Master. But if he was older, she would call him a great lord.
He was surnamed Zhao, old enough, and capable of giving away a priceless treasure like the Cry of Cicadas Zither.
Other than the Crown Prince, who had endured an entire sixty years, who else could it be?
At first, when Xu Qing saw Bai Luo arrive here, he had assumed it was a coincidence. But after learning the identity of the honored guest guarded by Zuo Zixiong, he overturned that notion.
Not long ago, when he had absolved and distributed flyers for the Tianxin Cult's proselytizing disciple, he had obtained some information—that Bai Luo, one of the Five Luo Guardians, had been plotting to assassinate the Crown Prince.
Now that these two groups had suddenly gathered under one roof, it was difficult to say this was a coincidence.
Inside the private room, the Wu Family Brothers knew nothing of the truth. They only felt that their trip had been worthwhile indeed, since they had actually encountered His Highness the Crown Prince here.
Zhu Huai'an, meanwhile, was filled with delight. He thought, Even someone like the Crown Prince comes here for fun?
By rounding things up, once the Crown Prince inherits the throne, wouldn't that mean I once visited a brothel and patronized a prostitute together with the Emperor?
Hey! I've really brought honor to my old Zhu Family!
In the private room, the honored guest threw out a priceless treasure. On the opera stage, the various ladies exhausted every ounce of their talents. And in filthy corners, heretics were also sharpening their blades.
Xu Qing's private room was far too close to Zuo Zixiong and the others. He felt uncomfortable from head to toe.
He had to think of a way to avoid that door god and leave this place.
Fortunately, seven Flower Orders had now been decided onstage. Only the three leading ladies remained to compete for the final Courtesan Queen title and the Drum Seat.
Among those three leading ladies was Miss Han Meng, who had received the zither from the Crown Prince.
As for Miss Zhen Wan, whom Zhu Huai'an had chosen at the cost of a thousand gold, she had failed to enter the final competition and had only obtained the title of Flower Order.
With the lower-tier positions settled, the Flower Orders began choosing the guests who would groom them.
Xu Qing was looking for a chance to slip away when a pretty maid entered their private room carrying a set of bright-red wedding clothes that only a bridegroom could wear.
"Which one of you is Young Master Zhu, who presented the jade bracelet?"
Seeing Zhu Huai'an rise to acknowledge her, the maid said with a radiant smile, "My lady has received many gifts of great value, but she has no interest in those vulgar objects. By comparison, only Young Master Zhu's poetry could move my lady."
"Lian'er congratulates you here, son-in-law."
Hearing this, how could Zhu Huai'an not know that he had become Miss Wan'er's intimate guest?
Xu Qing's heart stirred at the sight, and he hurriedly rose to offer his congratulations.
Outside the private room, a maid held a flower basket, while a young attendant led a red silk ribbon. The scene looked very much like they were truly welcoming a bride into the household.
Still, everyone understood that, in the end, this was merely a brief romantic encounter—at most, a few days as husband and wife in bed. Once those days passed, the lady would resume receiving guests, and the person who had groomed her would most likely leave for good for one reason or another.
Zhu Huai'an put on the wedding clothes. Xu Qing could not wait to leave the private room, so he and the Wu Family Brothers acted as best men and followed the "wedding procession" toward the pavilion where Miss Wan'er was staying.
Xu Qing took the flower basket and scattered petals. Just as he had escorted Zhu Huai'an out of the front hall, fierce fighting broke out in the corridor they had occupied earlier.
The group turned back toward the panicked hall. They saw a Taoist-dressed figure wielding two blades and fighting a young man in white.
"Zuo Zixiong, Cui Yuanlong isn't here today. You alone can't protect your master. Why not convert to my religion and offer up the Crown Prince's head? When the time comes, you'll become a revered guardian of my religion!"
Zhu Huai'an tried to turn his head and watch the excitement, but Xu Qing's face darkened. He grabbed him and shoved him into the pavilion.
You're just a snot-nosed little brat. Why aren't you playing house with Miss Wan'er? What are you doing butting in with the adults?
Before you continue