Chapter 511: Reasonable Suspicion

Chen Wuji held a simple welcome banquet for Qin Feng and Li Run at Taohua Yuan, and they enjoyed a pleasant chat.

With Qin Feng, that carefree guy around, the atmosphere always seemed relaxed.

Their casual chatting and boasting dispelled much of the fatigue Chen Wuji had accumulated over the past month.

Because they had drunk quite a lot, all three stayed overnight at Taohua Yuan that night.

Qin Feng, that guy, immediately hit it off with Ruo Su; the young lady, who had not yet left her chambers, didn't even care about her status and decisively went to sleep with Qin Feng.

Chen Wuji could only describe him as livestock.

However, for Ruo Su, this was not necessarily a bad thing.

Although Qin Feng is carefree, Chen Wuji knows he doesn't care about a lady's background or wealth; tomorrow morning, Ruo Su will likely leave Taohua Yuan and move into Qin Feng's official residence.

Li Run's approach was the opposite of Qin Feng's; he didn't take a single lady, and while drunk he even drove away the serving maid, then sat in the courtyard reciting a book aloud.

Chen Wuji lived next door to Li Run; lying in bed, he could faintly hear the rhythmic rise and fall of reading from the neighboring courtyard.

Tonight, the guests at Taohua Yuan probably all wondered, where did this madman come from, reading Confucian classics to courtesans in the middle of the night?

Squeak.

Chen Wuji's door was gently pushed open; Zhang Xiuer entered holding a tray, swaying gracefully, "Sir, get up and have a bowl of awakening alcohol soup."

After half a month of getting along, Zhang Xiuer's way of addressing Chen Wuji has changed several times.

For now, she has settled on the term that sounds relatively intimate: "young master."

Chen Wuji sat up, "I didn't drink much; why bother making this for me in the middle of the night?"

"Not much? I heard the servants say you drank nine whole jars of wine—I don't know how your stomach holds it all." Zhang Xiuer smiled, sat beside Chen Wuji's bed, stirred the soup with a spoon, blew on it gently, and brought it to his lips.

Chen Wuji accepted her attentive care with a smile, "You wouldn't poison me, would you?"

"I did, a deadly poison; after drinking it you'll find yourself unable to stop thinking of me inappropriately." Zhang Xiuer pursed her lips and smiled, her bashful cheeks glowing in the lamplight like a bewitching rosy cloud.

Chen Wuji laughed, "This poison is good—this isn't poisoning me, it's giving me a benefit!"

"But I'm afraid that even if it's offered to your lips, some people would still refuse." Zhang Xiuer suddenly felt a little down, "Just like the person next door who keeps himself pure, refuses even the maid, and only reads those Confucian texts with fervor. When I came by, several guests were asking who this mysterious person was tonight; his reading was truly outstanding."

"That doesn't sound like praise."

"It is praise—how could it not be? They say this is what a true scholar looks like!" Zhang Xiuer chuckled, "In the brothel we enjoy the elegance and pleasure, and we also read books—both at once."

"That's not praise at all."

"They just don't know this scholar hasn't asked for a lady; if they knew, they wouldn't say that, so it's actually praise after all—open your mouth."

Chen Wuji took a sip of the soup, straightened his face, and said seriously, "Many people in Yunan County know you, and perhaps many Yunan folks will come to Hezhou soon; your Taohua Yuan is no longer safe—think of another plan."

"Have you ever thought that I'm here because someone wants you to see me?" Zhang Xiuer whispered, bringing the spoon to his lips again.

"That makes it hard for me to relax."

Zhang Xiuer nodded lightly, "I know, but I can't help it. Keeping this mystery keeps us both safe; if I revealed what's behind it, trouble might follow."

"Sir, just treat me as a messenger left for you by those people."

Chen Wuji remained silent, but his thoughts raced like lightning.

Although Zhang Xiuer's two sentences were brief, they conveyed a great deal of information.

She was deliberately placed here by the people behind her, so that he would discover and see her.

Her identity is that of a messenger.

The purpose is to be able to contact him when necessary.

Those two words, "to contact," are extremely important.

Who would want to contact him at a crucial moment?

Unless Zhang Xiuer herself only knows half of what she's saying; if these two sentences are actually true, Chen Wuji can now basically confirm his guess.

It must be related to that imperial city.

Zhang Xiuer was once escorted to the capital, so she couldn't have any connection with the people of Lingnan here.

And the Imperial City Department is the emperor's lackeys.

Although the Imperial City Department has now been infiltrated by other forces to the point of being like a sieve, the high officials and noble clans in the court probably still look down on this petty warlord who has seized a prefecture.

The most likely possibility is the emperor, who has already shown goodwill twice so far.

"Can't you say anything else?" Chen Wuji asked.

Zhang Xiuer nodded slightly.

Chen Wuji stared at Zhang Xiuer and suddenly asked, "What is Ruo Su's background?"

Zhang Xiuer's expression flickered; her pupils widened, and her big eyes revealed unmistakable shock, "How do you know—"

"Never mind, I won't ask further." Chen Wuji waved his hand to drop the topic, then chuckled lightly, "Indeed, this world is nothing but a grand makeshift troupe."

Zhang Xiuer listened, looking bewildered, "What... does that mean?"

"It's nothing—I just couldn't help sighing." Chen Wuji chuckled.

He had actually never doubted Ruo Su before.

But Zhang Xiuer's two remarks just now made him unintentionally link together the people and events here.

Ruo Su usually behaves quite normally, but after a drink and talking more, many things are inadvertently exposed.

Tonight she chatted happily with Qin Feng, discussing famous mountains and rivers, the scenery of the capital, and interesting people and events in the city, speaking fluently as if she knew everything.

Much of what they said was unknown to Chen Wuji and Li Run; they had never even heard of it.

Shen Youwei also comes from the capital, but her knowledge compared to Ruo Su's seems slightly lacking.

Moreover, when Ruo Su is drunk, the aristocratic airs she usually pretends to have show through, and she also has some catchphrases.

Putting all this together, her identity is easy to guess: she must be born into an aristocratic family.

How could a lady from an aristocratic family end up in a place like this?

The only possibility is, like Shen Youwei, her family committed some crime and she was exiled.

But given the Court's temperament half a year ago, the exiled noble lady wouldn't have ended up in a place like this.

This Taohua Yuan used to be private, and it had no official backing behind it.