Chapter 2: Commonplace and vulgar, not worth mentioning

Year 14 of the Fengming era, winter.

The fourth daughter of the Rongguo Duke's Manor, upon reaching marriageable age, had countless young masters vying for her hand; those who came to discuss marriage almost broke the threshold of the duke's manor.

That day, another distinguished guest arrived at the manor, wishing to catch a glimpse of Miss Shen Shuangning's beauty; the guest was the lady of the Zhen'guo Duke, so no slight could be afforded.

Madam Shen entertained the guest while sending someone to fetch her daughter.

Who would have thought, Shen Shuangning disappeared again, and at the same time her second elder brother Shen Yingcai was also missing.

The Rongguo Duke's Manor was in utter chaos searching for the missing persons, while outside it was bustling with excitement.

Jingcheng's Drunken Cloud Pavilion had just opened, located in the most prosperous district; for a time its courtyard was as busy as a market, with throngs of guests, all rich or noble.

The bustle continued late into the night.

A loud 'Bang!' rang out.

A figure flew out from the upstairs private room, crashing straight down into the lower hall and shattering a table into pieces.

Instantly the hall fell silent enough to hear a pin drop.

"You wretch, dare to hurt me—do you know who I am?" the finely dressed young man on the ground shouted, his robe bearing a clear shoeprint.

"Hey, isn't that Young Master Shen Er?" the shopkeeper recognized him and hurried to help him up.

In Jingcheng, there is only one Shen family—the Shen clan of the Rongguo Duke's Manor.

This Young Master Shen Er is the duke's illegitimate son Shen Yingcai; although his name means 'talent,' he is in fact a good-for-nothing playboy, a helpless lump, and is known as 'Shen Er'.

The Shen clan's family teachings run deep, a model for scholars; the eldest young master Shen Xiushi stands out exceptionally, making Shen Yingcai seem all the more an oddball.

Look at him beaten like this—he must have tried to flirt with some girl and kicked an iron plate.

Although everyone looked down on Shen Er in their hearts, they wanted to curry favor with his duke's manor behind him; those who knew him rushed forward, and Shen Er was helped up by many hands.

The young master of the Marquis's Manor, a friend of Shen Yingcai, rushed over, rolled up his sleeves, and shouted at those above: "You blind fool, this is the Rongguo Duke's Manor's second young master—can you afford to hurt him? Get down and apologize at once!"

Whoosh——

A chopstick narrowly missed his eye and lodged in the pillar behind him.

"Who are you saying should compensate?"

His voice was clear as jade, yet carried a sharp, piercing edge.

Upon seeing that person's face, the man's legs went weak and he plopped down on the ground in fright.

The crowd also looked up, uncertain, wondering what sort of person this was, to dare even disregard the Rongguo Duke's Manor.

Only two men stood on the upper floor.

One was a youthful figure with a jade-like visage, vermilion lips and white teeth, extraordinarily handsome, every inch noble, yet his noble bearing concealed a sharp edge.

The other stood in the shadows, tall and straight, wearing a dark robe and crane cloak, a sword at his waist; though his features were unclear, his aura surpassed that of ordinary people.

Those who had seen enough simply sat down to watch the spectacle.

At that moment, someone pointed at the handsome young man and stammered, "It's, it's the Young Marquis!"

Xie Lin of the Yongning Marquis's Manor, the emperor's maternal nephew, a heavenly nobility.

In an instant, the area around Shen Er cleared out, and the boisterous young master of the Marquis's Manor who had been shouting earlier had already scrambled away.

Shen Er, seeing the situation turn bad, knew he could only swallow this loss gritting his teeth, and hurriedly slipped away while clutching his chest.

Xie Lin clapped his hands and snorted coldly: "Shen Er even dared to flirt with Miss Song—what utter gall; I've taught him a lesson for you, no thanks needed."

The man beside him was none other than Xiao Jingyuan, the heir apparent of the Prince of Yan's Manor, who had recently made a name for himself in Jingcheng.

Having left the capital five years ago to campaign with the Prince of Yan, he had amassed military merits despite his youth, leaving others in the dust.

Now summoned back to the capital, he is twenty-three, still unmarried, his aura almost eclipsing that of all noble youths; to say he is the shared dream lover of noble maidens is no exaggeration.

Yet everyone knows he has but one person in his heart: the eldest daughter of the Song family, Song Xizhi.

Their marriage match is all but settled, lacking only a single stroke in the eight characters.

Xie Lin today specially held a welcome feast to wash away his dust; the private room was filled with several young nobles drinking to excess, and Xiao Jingyuan stepped out for some fresh air.

Just as Xie Lin was telling him about the recent happenings in Jingcheng, Xiao Jingyuan's gaze fixed on a certain spot.

Downstairs, two men supported an unconscious youth between them, their movements highly suspicious.

The youth had extremely pale skin, his head bowed, disheveled black hair half-covering his face, revealing a neck of jade-like whiteness.

While stationed at the Northern Frontier, Xiao Jingyuan had examined many enemy spies and possessed exceptionally perceptive eyes.

The two shifty-eyed men below were unaware that their every move was exposed to onlookers.

"This young gentleman has such a fine complexion; the master will surely take a liking to him!"

"If he can win the master's favor, it will be the blessing of a hundred lifetimes of cultivation."

"This Yiluo fragrance from the Western Regions can make one lose themselves in drunken dreams; this young gentleman won't wake for a moment. Quick, take him to the rear hall—don't let anyone notice."

"......"

This was no one else—it was Shen Shuangning dressed as a man.

But at this moment Xiao Jingyuan did not recognize her.

"What are you looking at?" Xie Lin followed his gaze, saw nothing amiss, and assumed Xiao Jingyuan had spotted an acquaintance.

"Nothing." Xiao Jingyuan withdrew his gaze, not particularly concerned.

Xie Lin stretched out his long arm, slung it around his shoulders, and led him back to the private room: "We rarely get together—we must have two more drinks, come on!"

Xie Lin had also just returned from Yongzhou not long ago, having recently completed his coming-of-age ceremony and reached marriageable age; walking together, they easily drew others' attention.

Xiao Jingyuan took his seat again in the private room; someone came to offer him a toast, flattering: "As soon as the Young Master Xiao returns, he steals all the limelight—those young ladies now only have eyes for you, leaving none for us."

Having heard such praise many times, he merely smiled casually and said nothing.

Xie Lin laughed heartily: "You've just returned; I'd wager you don't even know that the Rongguo Duke's Manor is scheming against you."

The two families are not old acquaintances, so there is bound to be some ulterior motive in seeking closeness.

The welcome feast was relaxed and pleasant, avoiding talk of state affairs; the conversation amounted to nothing more than trivial matters of the capital.

Upon mentioning the Rongguo Gong Manor, someone seemed to recall something, giving a meaningful smile: "Eh, do you know the Fourth Miss of the Rongguo Gong Manor? She is the only daughter of the Rongguo Gong."

Young Master Dong replied dismissively, "Fourth Miss? She's just a little girl—what's there to talk about?"

Setting down his cup, the man said, "It's obvious you haven't been to the Eldest Princess's birthday banquet—this Fourth Miss is now so stunningly beautiful that saying she's heavenly fragrant and nationally beautiful is no exaggeration."

"Really?"

"Why would I lie to you? If it weren't for that Fourth Miss's flower-like beauty, the Rongguo Gong Manor wouldn't have the confidence to discuss a marriage alliance with the Yan Prince's Manor."

Xie Lin snorted, "What good is beauty if it's just to be put on display as a vase at home?"

Saying that, he turned his gaze to Xiao Jingyuan, "A-Yuan, I need to warn you: the Rongguo Gong Manor collectively has eight hundred devious minds, especially Shen Xiuci, who's been tripping me up these years; his younger sister is certainly no better—don't let beauty bewitch you, you can't even take her as a concubine!"

Xie Lin's bias against the Shen family is no small matter.

The man joked again, "The Heir Apparent already has someone in his heart; even if a celestial maiden came, she wouldn't catch his eye—but Young Marquis, you'd better be careful, for as they say, heroes find it hard to pass the beauty's gate; who knows, upon seeing her you might have your soul hooked."

Hearing that, Xie Lin let out a cold laugh, raised his cup, stepped onto the table with one foot, and said to everyone, "I, Xie Lin, and Shen Xiuci are irreconcilable; even if his sister were a celestial maiden descended to the mortal world, I wouldn't give her a second glance—just you wait and see."

"If I had any thoughts about her, I'd jump from here and take his surname."

Xie Lin had drunk a bit too much; after proving his sincerity, he still urged Xiao Jingyuan to state his position.

Xiao Jingyuan twitched the corner of his mouth, not as childish as he, his interest waning, he said, "Who is this Fourth Miss, what does she look like? I'm not interested; no matter how beautiful, she's just vulgar fans, not worth mentioning."

Xie Lin, slightly tipsy, said, "Exactly! Vulgar fans, not worth mentioning."

However, the two brothers at this moment had no idea how painful their faces would become in the future.

At the welcome feast's latter half, only Xie Lin and Xiao Jingyuan remained sober; everyone else had passed out.

At this moment, a servant beside Xie Lin came over and whispered a few words.

"Cousin Song has arrived?"

Xie Lin then pulled Xiao Jingyuan along and they went out together.

Stepping outside, Song Xizhi bowed to the two; behind her followed an unfamiliar maid, her expression anxious—it was A-Heng.

Song Xizhi gave her a reassuring glance, then explained her purpose: "I have a distant relative who has gone missing, their life or death unknown; I beg the Heir Apparent and Young Marquis to help find them—I, Song Xizhi, would be deeply grateful."

Shen Shuangning had disappeared, and even Shen Er's whereabouts were unknown; A-Heng had been searching frantically, then happened to meet Song Xizhi, and in her desperation she turned to her for help.

In the capital, Song Xizhi was widely known for her virtue and talent, renowned as the foremost talented lady of the capital, a paragon among noble ladies; she believed that, given Song Xizhi's character, she would not leak the secret of the young lady's covert sortie from the manor.

Xie Lin said, "Finding someone is no problem, but is your distant relative male or female? Give more details so we can search more easily."

Before Song Xizhi could answer, A-Heng exclaimed urgently, "It's a young man! Dressed all in white—yes, he vanished at the Drunken Cloud Pavilion!".

Xiao Jingyuan glanced at A-Heng.