Chapter 586: The Gathering of Beauties Begins—All They Want Is Xie Guan

Three o'clock in the afternoon.

Bianjing.

Yulong Street, Su Fu.

Su Yun had long stood respectfully, waiting in strict order to the left of the main gate.

Before him stood the aunts from each courtyard of the Su family; behind him, over a dozen sharp-eyed servants of Su Fu bowed their heads, eyes fixed on their toes.

Chen Jiuyan was among them, still dressed as a man, wearing a Futou with drooping ends, a jade belt wrapped around his waist, one hand resting on the belt, his bright eyes now gleaming with renewed spirit.

The vermilion gate of Su Fu remained tightly shut.

At the gate, a group of imperial ministers stood on the right.

None wore purple official robes; all were dressed in plain civilian attire.

On the street before the gate!

Carriages were lined up in perfect order; tall, spirited horses occasionally snorted and lightly stamped their hooves.

The crisp sound echoed across the blue stone pavement.

The snow on the street had long been cleared away; only a few patches remained on the eaves and walls of the vermilion fence, adding a touch of winter's chill.

Everyone had been waiting for a long time, yet not a whisper was uttered; all remained silent.

Only the white mist from their exhales rose as they rubbed their frozen-red hands inside their sleeves.

The scene was solemn.

Su Yun and Chen Jiuyan also bowed deeply in waiting.

Then!

The Su family's main gate was slowly pushed open by servants; everyone's expressions instantly sharpened.

Immediately, one man stepped forward, bowing low, and called out:

"Pay homage to the Chancellor!"

The voice rang out, clear and unified, echoing down the street.

As the words fell, the heavy gate swung fully open, and two figures emerged.

Su Zhou, Su Yun's uncle, was a middle-aged man with a stern and imposing bearing.

Su Zhou carefully supported an elderly man, eighty or ninety years old, draped in a blue robe.

The old man's face was deeply lined, his sparse white eyebrows and eyes glimmering with faint radiance.

Su Jing, this Grand Secretary of the Great Qi, once the Fourth Master of the Academy.

The elder lifted his gaze; the steps were filled with bowed, kneeling figures.

Su Jing gave a slight nod; only then did they dare to straighten up slightly.

Su Zhou reported beside him: "Father, all preparations are complete. The Cloaked Guard and Imperial Guard commanders are both on duty today."

"Several commanders from the Divine Control and Demon Extermination Divisions have also arrived."

"The west pavilion is already surrounded by a heavenly net!"

The old man seemed uninterested in these arrangements; he merely asked softly:

"Where is His Majesty?"

Su Zhou replied quickly: "The Empress Dowager and His Majesty have departed from the Yangxin Palace, accompanied by the imperial consorts and palace attendants."

Su Jing nodded, then asked: "Where is Minister Tang?"

Su Zhou answered helplessly: "We went to invite the old man, but the Sima Military Governor had already taken the Sima family away."

Upon hearing this, the elder let out a soft "hah," and shook his head.

"That old devil has a dog's nose—he flees the moment trouble stirs."

Su Zhou's expression remained calm; he said nothing. The court all knew that Minister Tang Ziang and the old man shared an extraordinary bond, having been close friends for decades.

The elder looked up at the sun on the horizon, his voice slightly lower: "Have the Academy's people arrived?"

From the crowd, a Confucian scholar stepped forward respectfully and bowed: "Your Excellency, the Academy's Third Master should have already set out by now."

The elder nodded slightly: "He has always been punctual."

Everyone understood: this "he" referred to the famed Third Master of the Academy.

A few years ago, the entire Great Qi had been shaken by the notorious "Struggle Between the Third and Fourth."

The Academy split: the Fourth Master entered court, while the Third Master imprisoned himself within the Academy, never stepping beyond its gates.

The elder gently pulled his robe tighter and slowly descended the steps.

"Let us depart. Do not miss the auspicious hour."

Everyone bowed in unison, watching as the elder entered the lead carriage.

With a sharp crack of the whip:

"Giddy-up—"

The carriages began to move slowly forward along the ancient blue stone road.

Only when the carriages had faded into the distance did everyone exhale deeply, the tension dissolving.

At Su Fu, the family members stretched their waists, twisted their bodies, rubbed their necks—they had stood too long—and began murmuring, laughing softly.

One by one, they boarded their carriages, preparing to depart.

Chen Jiuyan was in no hurry; there were enough carriages, and in Bianjing, who would dare block the Su family's procession?

She wondered silently: would she see that Shie family's bastard son today?

Su Yun's voice rang out from the crowd: "Qiongyan, come here."

Hearing this, Chen Jiuyan smiled faintly and stepped forward.

The Zhao family, one of the Nine Great Clans.

Today, they traveled with the Zhuge and Zhang families to the Gathering of Beauties Banquet.

At the Zhao family gate now:

The elders of Zhao and Zhang had already boarded their carriages and departed in grand procession toward the banquet grounds.

Only the younger generations of the three families, along with the late-arriving Zhuge contingent, remained, boarding carriages one after another.

As for the Zhuge family: the current Empress Dowager, even the Empress herself, hailed from the Zhuge clan—its power was plain to see.

Rumor had it that the former Empress Dowager had once been Su Jing's beloved companion, lighting incense and reading with him, their bond deep and enduring.

Thus, the Zhuge family's status had soared, surpassing even the Zhao family.

Among the Zhao family's retinue!

A young lord lifted his gaze, staring far into the distance. His frame was thin, dressed in brocade and jade belt, hanging with four or five incense pouches, his face long and donkey-like, powdered white, cheeks slightly sunken.

He was Zhao Yang, of the Zhao family, who had befriended Xie Renfeng in the Hongjing Courtyard and sought the wutong tree.

At this moment!

Zhao Yang's eyes scanned the crowd, finally fixing on the elegant middle-aged man beside the Zhuge family's carriage.

The man was tall and slender, clad in a snow-white robe, wearing a jade crown, his features more delicate and beautiful than any woman's.

Especially the vermilion dot at his forehead—like the final brushstroke—made him radiant and captivating, as if stepped from a painting.

Yet!

Between his painted brows lay a trace of masculine vigor; his slender neck revealed a faint Adam's apple, unmistakably revealing him as a man.

A man with a woman's face.

Most of the women from the three families gazed at him with adoring longing.

Zhao Yang's eyes were filled with obsession.

"So beautiful… if only for a spring night…"

At that moment, an old man with a hoarse voice suddenly spoke:

"Young Master Yang, watch your tongue. An Primordial Spirit cultivator's senses are sharp…"

Zhao Yang, hearing this, barely restrained his expression, yet his gaze remained fixed on the carriage now fading into the distance.

Only when the carriage vanished from sight did he softly continue:

"Ziqing is truly a paragon of beauty—every time I see him, I long to—"

Zhao Yang's breathing quickened, his eyes blazing with heat. From his bosom, he carefully withdrew a handkerchief, holding it to his nose and mouth, greedily inhaling as if it still held some lingering scent.

It was a handkerchief once used by Zhuge Ziqing.

Behind Zhao Yang stood an old man wearing a fur cap, with a grotesquely large nose.

He was Shen Kuan, Zhao Yang's personal attendant, who had accompanied him to the Hongjing Courtyard.

Shen Kuan shook his head; he simply could not understand Zhao Yang's extreme "adoration" of Zhuge Ziqing.

Though Zhuge Ziqing was three times more beautiful than any woman, he was still a man with a penis—Shen Kuan had no interest whatsoever.

Of course!

In Bianjing, men powdered their faces, prized their looks, and indulged in male affection—it was common, even fashionable.

Zhuge Ziqing, the eldest son of the main branch of the Zhuge family, the Empress Dowager's own nephew.

The top scholar of the imperial examination in the twentieth year of Emperor Yuan, once studied and cultivated at the Academy, now serves as Minister of Justice, under thirty, already a third-rank official, overseeing the review of all imperial petitions and clarifying complex cases.

The greatest geomancer of Great Qi, said to come from the Three True Sect, upon first seeing six-year-old Zhuge Ziqing, declared without hesitation:

"Male with a woman's face—his fortune is beyond measure."

Yet there was controversy: the one whose fortune was truly beyond measure was the sovereign seated upon the dragon throne!

The Zhuge family has already produced two empresses; they hold command of the Left Imperial Guard in the capital, and many of their kin hold powerful positions in court.

A true "powerful maternal relative."

Yet even among maternal relatives, Su Xiang forced them to "kneel."

But the phrase "inexpressibly noble" revealed the Zhuge family's true intentions.

The Great Qi has endured over thirty dynasties, nurtured scholars for nearly a thousand years, its foundations deep and unshakable in a single day or night.

This Zhuge Ziqing is actually of the same generation as Zhao Yang's father.

Though Zhao Yang also loved women, after meeting Zhuge Ziqing, he became utterly obsessed.

Shen Kui merely sighed—Heaven's Dao is unjust!

Aside from his lineage, Zhuge Ziqing's appearance was extraordinary.

His talent in Primordial Spirit cultivation was also extremely high; at a young age, he had already ignited the Divine Flame.

Thinking of this!

Shen Kui recalled his three months of torment in Primordial Spirit cultivation, his chest burning with resentment like fire.

Three months ago, accompanying Zhao Yang to the Xie Fu, he had expected to enjoy a beauty—instead, he brought trouble upon himself.

The main soul within his Soul Banner was destroyed, and he himself was flung into the pavilion by the lake's violent waters, collapsing unconscious on the spot.

Fortunately, Zhao Yang brought him home and summoned a cultivator to treat him—but it emptied all his years of savings.

Yet!

What pained him most was that his prized Soul Banner, now lacking its main soul, had lost much of its power.

Such Yin Spirit treasures are exceedingly difficult to repair; though these past few days he had gone to Bianjing's black market and devoured dozens of "worthless lives" of refugees to absorb their souls,

It was like a drop in the ocean for the Soul Banner—he needed the soul of a cultivator.

Truly infuriating!

That lake within the Hongjing Courtyard was strange—he would never return.

Shen Kui dared not seek trouble with the Xie family either.

All of this!

Shen Kui clenched his teeth, fists tightly clenched.

It was all the fault of that bastard son of the Xie family—he should have yielded to the old man, of all things.

For these past three months, Xie Guan, the Xie family's bastard son, had become Zhao Yang's heart demon, haunting him day and night, impossible to shake off. For cultivators, a heart demon was the most dreaded thing—it could erode the spirit, impair cultivation, and even trigger qi deviation.

And the best way to eliminate a heart demon was to kill the person who had planted that obsession.

Zhao Yang snapped back to awareness, returned the sweat-soaked cloth to his bosom, and fixed his gaze on Shen Kui's face, burning with rage—he understood at once the source of Shen Kui's fury.

Shen Kui's hatred for Xie Guan had reached the depth of bone-deep loathing.

"Master Shen, haven't you been guarding near the Xie Fu these past few days? Haven't you found an opportunity to strike?"

Shen Kui replied coldly: "Xie Guan has been hiding inside the mansion—otherwise, I would have already lit him as a sky lantern and bound his soul into my banner, making him beg for death but unable to die."

Zhao Yang knew well that if Shen Kui rashly entered the Xie Fu to seize Xie Guan, it would be tantamount to declaring total war on the Xie family—like an egg striking a stone.

The Xie Fu was filled with experts, and now that Xie Hong had returned, if Shen Kui stepped inside, he would meet only death.

"I heard from my cousin Xie Renfeng that he plans to strike at Xie Guan during the Qunfang Banquet—why not join forces?"

Shen Kui froze, a flicker of doubt rising in his heart. Wasn't Xie Renfeng blood kin to Xie Guan?

Why did Xie Renfeng hate his own cousin so deeply?

Yet Shen Kui quickly dismissed his doubt—he had heard enough of the Xie family's internal feuds; for power and profit, even brothers turned into mortal enemies.

"The Qunfang Banquet…"

Shen Kui murmured, a ruthless gleam flashing in his eyes.

Perhaps this truly was a good chance to eliminate Xie Guan.

But!

The Xie family would be present at the Qunfang Banquet—how could he kill Xie Guan there?

"Master Shen, don't worry,"

"Cousin Renfeng has hired assassins from the Blood Moon Sect—they'll find a way to distract the Xie family on the Naiqiao on the way to the Qunfang Banquet."

"A bastard son of the Xie family dying? The Xie Fu won't make a ripple."

"Master Shen, if you wish to kill him yourself, you may do so right here."

Upon hearing this, Shen Kui's gaze sharpened.

The Blood Moon Sect—wasn't that the most brutal assassin guild in Bianjing's black market? They trained orphans selected from childhood.

If the price was right, they'd even dare kill a scholar's master.

They were meticulous: before acting, they demanded half the payment upfront; if the assassination failed, they returned the deposit in full.

More impressively, they had never betrayed an employer.

Shen Kui's ugly old face twisted into a cruel grin: "It seems Xie Guan is as good as dead."

He said coldly: "But I will kill him myself—I'll peel his skin."

Zhao Yang asked curiously: "What of his maid? Still want her, Master Shen?"

Shen Kui shook his head, a cruel gleam flashing in his eyes:

"I only want Xie Guan's life. As for his maid, after, I'll bring her before his soul and have a corpse puppet brutally rape her to death."

The old man's words dripped with cruelty and delight—as if he had already seen Xie Guan and his maid slaughtered before him.

Zhao Yang didn't care—he boarded the Zhao family's carriage.

His eyes, however, longed to see Zhuge Ziqing again at the Qunfang Banquet.

Shen Kui did not follow him onto the carriage; instead, he slowly vanished into the crowd.

【You arrived at the Xie Fu's main gate with Xie Yuan, finding it already crowded with people.】

【Today, the Xie family's main gate stood wide open—an uncommon sight among noble clans.】

【Usually, the main gate opened only to welcome important guests from official or business circles.】

【Today, prominent families like the Li and Sima clans would arrive—so the Xie family spared no effort, opening the gates wide to show respect.】

【Among the crowd, you spotted several Xie family ladies, young masters, and young ladies you had never seen before—all elaborately adorned, radiant with beauty.】

【At the year-end Qunfang Banquet, both young and old wore expressions of eager anticipation.】

【The women rejoiced at the chance to mingle with their friends from the other nine surnames and meet the handsome, talented masters of the academy.】

【The men mostly looked forward to seeing the courtesan queen and enjoying the revelry.】

【You weren't in a hurry—quietly following behind Xie Yuan.】

The younger generation gathered in familiar groups, clustering together like a tight-knit unit.

【"Xie Yuan, you're an idiot! We're over here!"】

【A familiar female voice called out.】

【You looked up—near a luxurious carriage at the gate stood a group of people, clearly the center of attention; many disciples from the Xie, Li, and Sima families subtly observed the spot.】

【(End of Chapter)】