Chapter 500: The Flower Queen Chen Yu'er

"There will be no shortage of rewards and honors later."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Qian San said hurriedly, a smile on his face as he respectfully stepped aside.

Apart from Qian San, no one else in the room spoke, including Duke Wei.

As time passed, the atmosphere grew somewhat tense.

Zhu Youxiao, however, was unconcerned, wearing a calm and indifferent expression.

Duke Wei, on the other hand, looked rather unwell overall.

As time went on, he became more and more nervous.

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Duke Wei but said nothing.

For a man like Duke Wei, at a moment like this he would be extremely, extremely nervous, because many things are feared precisely because of overthinking. Duke Wei did not know whether this matter had anything to do with him, and since the Emperor had summoned him here, he would instinctively assume it did.

The Emperor had brought him here to listen, which meant letting him hear what his own household had been up to. Under such circumstances, he had no choice but to listen.

And after arriving here, Duke Wei would also be nervous, extremely nervous. The less you know about what is happening, the more nervous you become — that is human nature.

Someone once proposed that informing death-row prisoners of their execution date, letting them suffer in anticipation of death, was inhumane, so they should not be told the date and instead be executed suddenly on the day itself.

It sounded good, and so the Japanese did exactly that.

Every morning at nine o'clock, all the death-row prisoners waited in terror for the guard to walk in from outside. Because if someone was to be executed that day, the guard would drag that person out for execution.

You never knew whether today would be your turn, and every day was spent in fear and dread. Every morning at nine o'clock, all the prisoners were tormented beyond measure.

In any case, Duke Wei was now in that very state — not daring to speak, not daring to ask, and worried about being dealt with by the Emperor.

Zhu Youxiao picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said: "Seems like they've arrived. You all listen. I'll find a place to rest — I'm a bit tired."

Eavesdropping was not something an Emperor should do. Leaving people here to listen was enough; going off to rest properly on the side was the real business.

Zhu Youxiao stood up and walked straight out, with Wei Chao following behind.

As for Chen Hong, he would certainly have to stay here. But the Emperor could not be without his own people to attend to him.

Chen Hong shot Qian San a look, signaling him to follow along. The intention was clear — serve His Majesty well and don't stir up any trouble.

Qian San dared not show the slightest negligence. This was his territory, after all; if anything went wrong, he would be in deep trouble.

Qian San hurried forward.

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Qian San, merely smiled and nodded at him, then walked out.

The others followed out as well, leaving only a few people in the room.

Duke Wei hesitated, unsure whether he should follow or stay behind.

At that moment, Chen Hong came to Duke Wei's side and said with a smile: "Duke, this eunuch is not familiar with Nanjing. Whatever they talk about, I'm afraid I wouldn't understand it anyway. How about the Duke stay and help listen?"

Upon hearing these words, Duke Wei's mouth twitched uncontrollably.

He knew — this was over.

The Emperor had thrown him here without even a word of farewell. If this matter didn't implicate his household, that would be a ghost story.

In this stretch of Nanjing and Jiangnan, the filthy dealings hidden underground were simply too numerous. At a time like this, everyone was trying to dodge trouble. His household had operated with reckless abandon for so many years, swallowing up countless businesses — those that could see the light and those that could not, plenty of both.

What could see the light was not frightening; the most terrifying were those that could not. If the Emperor found out or exposed them, then it would truly be over.

Duke Wei was also very worried. He did not think the Emperor lacked the courage to deal with them — the current Emperor was not that kind of man.

Whether it was the Kong family of Shandong or the Prince Fu's manor, which of them was not a great and noble house? Yet what was the final result?

Were they not all dealt with by the Emperor?

In this Jiangnan region, the Emperor's reputation was not exactly good. How many people slandered and opposed him? But what use was it?

Did the current Emperor not still sit firmly on the throne, and more firmly with each passing day?

Duke Wei knew more than others — the Emperor's personal imperial guard was battle-hardened and formidable, with achievements in Liaodong that could startle anyone. Beyond that, they had also earned glorious military merit in the southwest.

With such backing, what could the Emperor not do?

So when Duke Wei saw Chen Hong's beaming smile, he wished he could smash a fist into that old face.

But he knew he couldn't.

Chen Hong said nothing more — keeping the man here was all that mattered.

Zhu Youxiao had by now arrived in the adjoining room.

Everything here had long been prepared — fine tea, fine pastries.

The attendant naturally could not be Qian San, but rather a girl from this brothel. Eighteen or nineteen years of age, with a pretty appearance, and every movement she made carried a distinctive charm.

Especially her eyes — when she looked at people, they could be described as bewitching and full of allure. But in front of Zhu Youxiao, she truly dared not reveal even a hint of it.

Qian San had already instructed her that none of the tricks she had learned before were to be used. This left the girl somewhat uncertain — just who was the person before her?

"Young master, please have some tea." The girl came before Zhu Youxiao, holding a teacup, and respectfully presented the tea to him.

Zhu Youxiao looked at her, reached out to take the tea, but did not drink. Instead, he looked her up and down and said: "Young in years, but pleasing in appearance. Are you the next flower queen of Lichun Court?"

"Yes, young master." The woman quickly replied: "This slave is Chen Yu'er."

Zhu Youxiao nodded and said: "That is indeed a fine name. Judging by your speech, you should come from a distinguished background. How did you end up in a place like this? Were you forced, or were you lured?"

Upon hearing these words, Chen Yu'er's expression changed, and she turned to look at Master Qian San behind her.

Zhu Youxiao picked up the wine cup on the table again, toying with it as he spoke: "You don't need to look at him. If I don't let him speak, he wouldn't dare say a word — he wouldn't even dare give you a single glance."

Hearing this, Chen Yu'er's expression changed drastically in an instant.

She was a reserve flower queen, and she knew many things well. Especially combined with her distinguished background, she had seen even more.

What the situation before her meant, she understood very clearly in her heart.

The reason she had originally chosen Lichun Court was precisely because of Master Qian San. This Master Qian San was very famous in Nanjing — one could say he was a figure whose mere stomp made the ground tremble three times, with connections on both the black and white paths.

Working at this Lichun Court, no one even dared to use force, and he was generous with his spending, able to talk with anyone.

Yet before this young man, Master Qian San did not even have the courage to speak, nor even the courage to give a hint — he just stood there respectfully. This was utterly beyond Chen Yu'er's expectations.

After all, what this young man before her was asking about was confidential matters, even dirt. How could Chen Yu'er not understand?

The fact that even Master Qian San would act this way could only mean the person before him was of extraordinary status—so high, in fact, that Master Qian San had absolutely no way to resist.

And that was why Qian San had pushed her out—it was understandable now.

After all, someone like her, a reserve courtesan star, was not someone one could easily come into contact with. Her body was still pure, and she had never even been with a man.

Under such circumstances, Qian San sending her here made his intentions quite obvious.

"What, you can't say?" Zhu Youxiao looked at Chen Yu'er and said with a smile.

"There's nothing I can't say—it's because my family fell into decline." Chen Yu'er thought for a moment, then said: "We were originally an official family, with considerable wealth. But my father died early, and my mother alone couldn't hold the household together, so the family gradually fell apart."

"Later, after my mother passed away, I was left to raise my younger brother and sister by myself. There was no other choice—one must live, after all—so I sold myself to the Lichun Court, trading myself for silver to put food in my siblings' mouths. Boss Qian has treated me well and has never forced me on ordinary days."

Hearing this, Zhu Youxiao smiled and said: "But today he forced you."

The moment those words left his mouth, the atmosphere in the room turned awkward instantly.

Qian San fell to his knees with a thud, not saying a word, just kneeling there.

This scene startled Chen Yu'er.

It seemed her guess had been too shallow—this person's status wasn't merely noble; it was beyond noble, unspeakably so!

"Alright, get up." Zhu Youxiao waved his hand and said in a relaxed tone: "Is what she said true?"

"In reply to the young master, it is true." Qian San said hurriedly: "Although I nominally run this Lichun Court on the surface, I have never dared to overstep the rules in the slightest. I have never once touched those kinds of matters."

"Enough." Zhu Youxiao waved his hand and said: "Go wait outside. You're holding things up."

Upon hearing this, Master Qian San withdrew respectfully.

Zhu Youxiao glanced at the two wooden posts by the door but said nothing.

Those two weren't standing outside the door, but inside it, yet their eyes remained fixed straight ahead.

Glancing at Chen Yu'er, Zhu Youxiao said with a smile: "Do you know how to play the zither?"

"Yes." Chen Yu'er nodded obediently.

"Then play." Zhu Youxiao said with a smile: "Let me hear your zither music."

Zhu Youxiao sat there drinking tea and eating snacks while listening to the beauty play the zither, but next door the atmosphere was not so pleasant—it could be said to be extremely heavy, even somewhat awkward.

Chen Hong sat in a chair, his fingers lightly tapping the armrest, eyes half-closed, swaying his head as if listening intently, occasionally lifting his eyelids to glance at the Duke of Wei.

Meanwhile, the Duke of Wei's entire face looked terrible, sitting in his chair appearing very unwell.

From next door, the sounds carried over clearly.

Those people were drinking wine and eating dishes, the atmosphere seeming quite lively. And between the drinking and eating, the matters they discussed also came through clearly.

It was just that different people hearing these things would have different feelings about them.