Chapter 88: The Vermilion Gate's Woodworm

Half a city apart.

In Ju Cheng County office, it was quite another scene.

Beyond the front of the rear courtyard, two vermilion-lacquered public hall doors stood; after passing through a moon gate, the ground beneath one's feet was neat blue bricks.

The covered walkway had also been freshly lacquered; the vermilion shone brightly in the afternoon sun, somewhat glaring. Beneath the corridor pillars stood several pots of neatly trimmed jasmine, their fragrance rich and cloying.

Further inside, a bamboo curtain hung before the main room's door; on the facing side table stood a white jade Guanyin statue. Before the statue were three dishes of fresh fruit, and beside it a bronze censer slowly burning agarwood.

On the ground sat thick blue-and-white porcelain vases, their bodies painted with intertwining lotus patterns, the glaze rich and moist.

Thick carpets covered the floor, deep red in base color, woven with round-flower patterns; stepping on them made no sound.

By the window stood a large rosewood daybed, draped with a brocade mattress and piled with three or four bolsters; the embroidered surface bore the style of Suzhou-Hangzhou, butterflies weaving among flowers, the colors vivid yet tasteful.

Any single item taken out of this room would feed those townsfolk at the city gate for over a decade.

On the small table before the daybed lay a tea set, the cup walls thin and translucent.

The teapot's spout still steamed; it was a freshly brewed Longjing tea, the leaves unfurling inside the pot, the liquor clear and bright.

A hand stained with rouge lifted the teacup.

That hand was soft and smooth, fingertips pointed, the rouge dyed a vivid red, set against the white porcelain cup—utterly lovely.

The hand's owner wore a pink theatrical costume, water sleeves draped over the elbows, face fully made up with willow-browed eyebrows, a hint of red at the outer corners of the eyes, lips dabbed with rouge—lovely and tempting.

The actor perched sideways on the magistrate's lap, her body supple as a snake; one hand rested on his shoulder, the other held the teacup, she took a sip first, leaving a faint rouge stain on the cup.

Immediately, the soft-boned actor brought the cup to the magistrate's lips:

"Sir~drink tea~"

Upon speaking, her voice was soft and sweet, the tail rising.

But the strange thing is——

This voice, however, belonged to a man!

But what of it......

Those who serve with their charms are not only women!

Ju Cheng County Magistrate Qian Youde sat on the daybed, his whole body sunk into the brocade cushions, smiling until his eyes narrowed to slits.

He was already in his seventies, his hair flower-white and sparse, the skin on his face loose and sagging like a crumpled cloth, age spots spreading from his cheekbones to his ears.

His eyes were cloudy and yellowish, his eyelids perpetually half-drooped, as if he might fall asleep at any moment.

But at this moment, his old eyes brightened for an instant.

He trembled as he opened his mouth, drinking the tea guided by the actor's hand; when his lips touched the rim, he deliberately rubbed the rouge stain, smacking his lips, and smiled, revealing a few sparse yellowed teeth.

"Good……good……"

His voice was low and hoarse, like a bellows leaking air, wheezing:

"The tea Liu Er feeds me is especially sweet……"

The actor called Liu Er pursed her lips in a smile, extended a finger, and lightly tapped Qian Youde's nose tip, saying coyly:

"You're coaxing me again. Is this tea sweet? It's clearly the bitter taste of Longjing."

"What you feed me is sweet."

Qian Youde said this, raising his hand to touch Liu Er's; his withered fingers clenched her soft wrist, rubbing back and forth.

Liu Er did not dodge, letting him touch her; with her other hand she picked up a fruit from the table, took a bite, left half, and pressed it to Qian Youde's lips:

"Sir, please try this——"

She hadn't finished speaking.

"Sir! Sir——"

A hurried burst of footsteps came from outside, heavy and chaotic, thudding on the corridor's wooden floor like drumbeats.

Immediately, a figure came crashing in from outside the door; tripping on the threshold, he lurched forward, hands braced on the ground, knees striking the door sill with a loud 'bang'——

"Boom——!"

"Ah——!"

Liu Er shrieked at the sudden sound, Qian Youde also jumped; he lurched backward, the bolster slipping from behind him, he frantically grabbed the edge of the daybed to steady himself.

The entwined pair turned and stared: kneeling on the ground was none other than the gatekeeper, Old Liu.

A man in his fifties or sixties, he lay prone on the ground, his knees scraped and painful, grimacing, but ignoring the pain he lifted his head; his expression was as if he'd seen a ghost.

"Sir……sir……"

His voice trembled:

"Something big has happened……official soldiers have come to report at the city gate……something's happened at the city gate……"

Qian Youde had not yet recovered from the shock, his cloudy eyes rolling twice, his mouth open, unable to speak for a long while.

Liu Er first composed herself, adjusted her water sleeves, and resumed her coquettish demeanor, though her face remained slightly pale.

He leaned sideways on the daybed, reached out to smooth Qian Youde's back, and his voice softened again:

"Sir, don't rush; let him speak slowly——what happened at the city gate?"

Old Liu swallowed a mouthful of saliva, his Adam's apple rolling up and down several times, a fine sheen of sweat already on his forehead.

"Someone……someone killed a guard at the city gate……"

The two inside widened their eyes for an instant; Liu Er tilted her head and first wondered:

"What do you mean, killed a guard?"

Old Liu, still on his knees, shuffled forward two steps:

"It's, it's murder! Murder!"

"They say an arrow pierced the throat……he died on the spot……"

Qian Youde furrowed his brow, the wrinkles on that old face pressed deeper.

He seemed to be thinking about something, but he thought very slowly, and his voice was also slow and drawling:

"What kind of person has the gall...... just seize him...... why come to report......"

Upon hearing this, Old Liu's face grew even more frantic, sweat trickling down from his forehead along his temples:

"But...... that person...... that person claims to be a princess......"

"Princess?"

These two words fell in the room, like two pebbles dropped into a pond.

Liu Er's hand paused on Qian Youde's back, his motion hesitating for a moment.

His eyes rolled, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, then he immediately resumed that languid, alluring posture, letting out a light, airy laugh:

"Princess?"

"Sir, how could a princess come to a backwater place like ours?"

"Besides, even if a princess really did come, the Zhoufu authorities would have sent someone to receive her long ago; how could they only send someone at the city gate?"

As he spoke, he picked up a candied fruit from the dish, put it in his mouth, his cheek bulging slightly, chewing slowly and deliberately, his gaze sweeping over Old Liu's face with a hint of disdain.

Qian Youde heard this and also nodded, a flicker of agreeing smile flashing in his turbid old eyes; he reached out and patted Liu Er's hand, muttering indistinctly:

"Exactly, exactly...... where would a princess come from...... how could a princess come to a place like this......"

"Go spread the word, have those foot soldiers seize the thief who dares to impersonate a princess!"

?? It's truly a case of hitting the wrong mark by accident.