A long-overdue diary

The next day, a day off.

Xu Qi'an and the others got up a little late. They stretched their muscles and ate breakfast in their rooms before gathering in twos and threes in the outer hall.

Last night, Jiang Luzhong slept with a voluptuous courtesan, and this morning he was treating Xu Qi'an like a son. You see, courtesans usually look down on martial arts masters when they're having tea parties, and Jiang Luzhong is the Golden Gong of the Nightwatchers's office, how could he possibly have tea parties with a bunch of merchants and laborers?

Furthermore, the Imperial Academy of Music was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Ministry of Rites, Nightwatchers and civil officials had always been at odds, so it was not appropriate for them to force the courtesans to sleep with them. Therefore, the higher the rank of the Nightwatchers, the less likely they were to come to the Imperial Academy of Music. They would instead frequent other brothels.

"No wonder everyone outside says you're the courtesan killer." Jiang Luzhong patted Xu Qi'an on the shoulder, smiling broadly.

"Housewife Assassin? When did I get such a strange title?" Xu Qi'an asked blankly, "What?"

"The story of nine women vying for one man has spread throughout the capital," Jiang Luzhong said.

Laozi's reputation has been ruined. But, "Courtesan Killer" is fine, it sounds better than "Xu the Freeloader." Xu Qi'an remembered that it was the night when he was capturing the fox demon, the night the nine courtesans visited him.

At this moment, Li Yuchun came out, looking very energetic and spirited.

"Boss, how did you sleep last night?" Song Tingfeng greeted him.

Li Yuchun nodded slightly. "Not bad, just a bit noisy."

Xu Qi'an thought to himself, "This is what I'm thinking."

When Fuxiang woke up, the heartless man who showed no mercy to her had already left. She got up, clutching her blanket, and lazily yawned before taking a bath with the help of her maid.

"Madam Mingyan just sent word that she'd like to invite you to Qingchi Courtyard for lunch," the maid said.

"Unsolicited kindness is always suspicious," Fuxiang thought to herself, then said calmly, "I understand."

She wiped her clean, soft body, changed into a light-colored long dress, draped a fox fur coat over her shoulders, and sat in the warm bedroom reading for a while until lunchtime.

At Qingchi Courtyard, the courtesan Mingyan hosted a grand banquet in the hall, inviting six or seven courtesans, including Fuxiang.

Both the slender and plump beauties have their own unique charm.

Not everyone who is beautiful can become the top courtesan, but someone who is both beautiful and talented is guaranteed to become the top courtesan.

"I heard that Young Master Xu wrote a poem in the capital, denouncing Minister Sun of the Ministry of Justice. Have any of you sisters heard about this?" Fuxiang sipped her wine and casually recounted the amusing anecdote she had heard at yesterday's banquet.

"Young Master Xu has composed another poem?" The courtesans immediately became interested.

Xiao Ya, the courtesan who had heard about this incident while attending the banquet that night, picked up the conversation, reading it aloud with admiration and a smug smile:

"Young Master Xu is not only exceptionally talented, but also incredibly audacious. He just publicly challenged the Minister of Ministry of Justice in the capital, humiliating him."

"It's more than just a slap in the face; with this poem, Minister Sun's reputation is likely to be ruined."

This topic should be left at that point; it's a matter of state-owned enterprise staff making irresponsible remarks about ministers, which could be considered a minor or major offense. Besides, we're all just superficial friends; truly open and honest communication is impossible.

So the conversation turned to Xu Qi'an. Most of the courtesans present were only interested in Xu Qi'an's poetic talent, but apart from Fuxiang, no one knew anything about his health.

"Sister Fuxiang, how was Young Master Xu's performance last night?"

The courtesans chuckled to themselves.

Fuxiang frowned; it was impossible for her to say such a thing.

If I told her the truth, these sluts would spread the word tonight, and people would laugh at her for being vulgar and ruining her reputation.

After a moment of contemplation, Fuxiang's heart stirred.

After doing all this, Fuxiang smiled sweetly.

"December 29th. It's been a long time since I wrote in my diary. I've already burned my old diaries, but alas, I'm not a respectable person. Hmm, today I addressed Yuan Jing (crossed out) as Your Majesty, so I can't leave any evidence of disrespect, even though I'll burn it a few days after I finish writing it."

"His Majesty has spared my life. I heard that the Ministry of Rites committed suicide in the Ministry of Justice's dungeon out of fear of punishment. This is the ending everyone wanted. However, Chief Minister Wang was kind enough to secure a pardon for him, exiling his entire family instead of executing them all or wiping out his three clans. I asked Wei Yuan why he didn't kick him while he was down. Wei Yuan said that it is not the act of a gentleman to cut off his family line."

"You're all dead and you still call yourself a gentleman (scratch that), Wei Yuan was actually a decent guy."

"On December 30th, I visited Erlang at the academy today. Erlang told me a lot, and I'll extract the core points: These damn teachers, today they test policy essays, tomorrow poetry, the day after the Four Books, it's either you or him testing them, what the hell are they testing us on?"

"It seems the academic pressure is really immense; even Erlang is finding it hard to handle. I feel like he's in the same state I was in during the second semester of my senior year. I can't bear to think about it; it's a shadow over my life. Exams every single day, what the hell were they testing?"

"On December 31st, I felt that Fuxiang was becoming more and more gentle and considerate towards me. Is this what they call growing feelings over time? No, no, I have to ignore her for a few days and find another courtesan tomorrow."

"Mingyan was amazing on January 1st, no wonder she's a dancer."

She also admired and revered me.

"January 2nd, today I started writing my novel because I promised Lingyue I would write an interesting story for her. I remember the beginning was: Once upon a time, there was a pair of childhood sweethearts with prematurely gray hair."

"January 3rd. Today I accompanied the 'Biao Biao' boating. This princess is a bit spoiled, willful, and capricious, but she's easy to fool, has no guile, and trusts me completely. I successfully tricked her into giving me a painting worth twenty taels of gold. I then turned around and gave it to Father Wei."

"January 4th, today I chatted with Princess Huaiqing and talked about the impact of the Sangbo case on the court situation. She then invited me to a contest. She was actually at the peak of the Essence Refining Realm. I think I've discovered something. As everyone knows, those at the Essence Refining Realm cannot lose their virginity, and this applies to both men and women."

"Well, what I'm talking about isn't whether Princess Huaiqing is still a virgin. Of course, an unmarried princess is still a virgin. What I mean is, with her talent, she shouldn't be stuck at the Essence Refining Realm. Perhaps she's doing it on purpose, to avoid marriage. I see this princess's ambition. If she were born in my era, she would definitely be a domineering female CEO."

"January 5th, I heard I saw the Princess yesterday. The Princess was furious, like she'd been cheated on by her boyfriend. She pointed at me and called me a dog servant, ungrateful, even though she'd just recently gifted me a famous painting. I told her the Princess had given me two hundred taels of silver. Upon hearing that, she actually added more money. How damn clever! I didn't take advantage of her; I made her a shuttlecock—the palace doesn't have those. The Princess had a blast, dragging me to play with her until dusk. What an empty day."

"On January 6th, I took Xu Lingyin and Chu Caiwei to Cassia Moon Tower for dinner. Those two terrifying females actually ate five taels of silver from me. I felt like I was ripped off. After spending some time with them, I discovered something not so good. Chu Caiwei is 18 years old this year, but she seems to be completely oblivious to love. She's very slow when it comes to romance. When I flirt with her, she blushes, but then forgets about it immediately."

"Either I'm not handsome enough, or she hasn't Aperture Opening yet. I think it's the latter, after all, I've never seen anyone more handsome than me. Nangong Qianrou and Erlang are beautiful, not handsome."

"I still need to keep trying. My previous experience tells me that if I had seduced Chu Caiwei into bed earlier, there wouldn't have been so much trouble."

"Of course, seducing a princess would be the same, but the consequences would be too severe. Princess Huaiqing is too sophisticated; it's a bit too difficult. But Biao Biao could try. The ending would probably be the execution of her entire family, right?"

"After all, given the ways of this era, this isn't considered 'making love'; it's more like being a princess's gigolo. No human rights whatsoever."

"On January 7th, that bald guy from Hengyuan came to me, asking to borrow money and wanting to get back the words 'Come to me if you have any difficulties.' Will he pay me back? Bullshit! Where would a stinking monk living in a nursing home get the money to pay me back? Oh well, consider it charity. By the way, lately, the situation at court has become increasingly unpredictable, with factional strife raging. Perhaps this is what Emperor Yuanjing (crossed out), or perhaps what His Majesty is happy to see."

"January 8th, Xu Qi'an Xu Qi'an, you are about to reach the peak of the Qi Refining Realm. With such excellent talent, you shouldn't be indulging in women. Seize the time to cultivate. I hereby swear that from this day forward, I will not accompany the two princesses, Chu Caiwei, Xu Lingyue, or sleep with any courtesan in the Imperial Academy of Music. If I break this oath, may I be permanently punished."

"On January 9th, I listened to music in a brothel."

That morning, Xu Qi'an was summoned to the Divine Spear Hall by Jin Luo Yang Yan. Yang Yan, whose face was as cold and hard as a sculpture, got straight to the point:

"Your godfather intends to promote you to Silver Gong."

"Duke Wei wants to promote me to Silver Gong?" Xu Qi'an was stunned for a moment, then overwhelmed with joy at the prospect of a promotion, a raise, reaching the pinnacle of life, and marrying a beautiful and wealthy woman.

First of all, the monthly salary of a silver gong is ten taels of silver, not including some hidden income. Even if he buys a house in the inner city in the future, Xu Qi'an will still be able to support the family expenses with his second uncle.

Secondly, the Silver Gong had great power. Not only did they have direct subordinate Bronze Gongs at their disposal, but their position was also more secure, because even the Gold Gong had no right to dismiss the Silver Gong at will.

Finally, Yinluo will be responsible for the night patrols of the imperial city. This also means that Xu Qi'an will be able to freely enter and leave the imperial city, making it more convenient for him to see Huaiqing and Lin'an.

This would help him cultivate relationships with the princesses and even hug their legs.

"We have to wait for the Capital Evaluation," Yang Yan said. "Even Nightwatchers are subject to the Capital Evaluation, which is conducted by my adoptive father himself. The Nightwatchers are all during the Capital Evaluation period. I'm letting you know in advance."

Xu Qi'an's first thought was: buy a house.

After finishing his shift and returning home, Xu Qi'an finished dinner, put down his chopsticks, coughed, and said, "I have something to announce."

Her family looked over, but Xu Lingyin remained engrossed in her own world, munching on a chicken leg.

"After the Capital Evaluation, I'll be a Silver Gong (a low-ranking official). Of course, that's not the point. The point is, I plan to buy a house in the inner city."

The aunt and her daughter Xu Lingyue, a pair of beautiful flowers, shone with excitement in their eyes, far exceeding that of Second Uncle Xu and the bewildered Xu Lingyin.

After all, security was improved after moving to the inner city, and incidents of women being forcibly abducted on the street became very rare. This wasn't because the officials had improved their conduct, but rather because they had some reservations.

Furthermore, the shops in the inner city are far superior to those in the outer city; the things you buy and eat are a whole new level.

At night, Xu Qi'an lay in bed, his mind wandering.

"My promotion and raise were thanks not only to my contributions in the Sangbo case and the Pingyang Princess case, but also to my excellent flattery. Wei Yuan really liked the famous painting that Biao Biao gave me. Seeing how good I am at currying favor, he'll definitely mentor me."

"So even if you're exceptionally capable and have a leader to mentor you, you still need to know how to conduct yourself. Tomorrow I'll go to the brokerage and make a house-buying list, then pick out a house one by one. I still have over 7,400 taels in savings, so buying a three-courtyard house shouldn't be too difficult."

Lost in thought, he drifted off to sleep.

P. S.: This chapter is from yesterday. I'm ashamed to say that I fell asleep at my desk while writing yesterday, and slept until 3:30 in the morning before going to bed.

I wrote this chapter while on the subway today, and then secretly wrote some more in the office.