One had to admit, raising funds with the status of the Prime Minister's Manor's "crown prince" was truly almost too easy.
In just a few days, he had raised a staggering eight million taels in research funds for his Fourth Sister. If that girl used it frugally, she wouldn't have any financial worries for at least the next two years.
By the time he stepped out of the pawnshop named Chang'an, the sky outside had already darkened.
Yet as the headquarters of the Tian'an Chamber of Commerce, the streets outside remained packed with carriages and pedestrians. Inscription lanterns of every color, like the neon lights of modern metropolises in his past life, displayed the night's desires in vivid detail.
"Third Young Master, this old man has no excuse to go back to the Prime Minister's Manor to escort you tonight."
Inside the carriage, Wang Yuqian asked cautiously, "Will you be returning to my manor with this old man tonight?"
Sitting by the carriage window, Xu Yuan took in the cold wind, his dark eyes reflecting the bustling splendor of Di'an.
Everywhere his gaze fell, there were gambling dens, brothels, and taverns, with crowds of all kinds indulging themselves in worldly pleasures.
Hearing the question, Xu Yuan did not turn around, his gaze remaining fixed on the street scenery as he replied offhandedly:
"I don't have anywhere in particular I want to go tonight."
Wang Yuqian visibly grew a bit nervous upon hearing this, quickly whispering:
"With the Crown Prince's inquiry today, if my worthless wife dares to offend you again, Young Master, this old man will certainly punish her without mercy."
Xu Yuan glanced at him, a hint of contemplation in his eyes.
This wasn't his first time visiting the little old man's household. After all, his ostensible identity right now was the man's illegitimate son, and over the past few months, he had been there two or three times.
However, the old man's household was quite chaotic.
The first wife, second wife, third wife, and a whole slew of concubines were putting on palace drama in that sprawling mansion every single day.
He recalled that the first time he went to the old man's home, Wang Yuqian hosted a welcome banquet for him. Everything had gone smoothly until post-dinner tea, when the charming yet rather acerbic first wife suddenly spoke up, demanding that Xu Yuan kneel and serve tea to all the elders.
This was a perfectly normal procedure for an illegitimate son returning to the clan, but it had nearly scared Wang Yuqian out of his wits in the seat of honor.
Yet because he couldn't do anything that might expose Xu Yuan's true identity, Wang Yuqian could only fumble through some excuses during the banquet to brush the matter aside, then secretly came over to kowtow and apologize on behalf of his troublemaking wife.
Xu Yuan hadn't taken it to heart, knowing this was the norm illegitimate sons faced in this era.
Even so, Yuqian always seemed worried that he would harbor a grudge.
After all, his temper was all too infamous in Di'an City.
At that thought, Xu Yuan suddenly felt it might be better to spend tonight outside.
Although experiencing inner-manor drama wasn't a bad novelty, it was ultimately someone else's family business; it wouldn't do for an outsider like him to use this identity and turn the man's household upside down.
While Xu Yuan was hesitating, the carriage engraved with the purple-gold patterns representing a third-rank minister slowly rolled past an elegantly yet grandly decorated pure courtesan house.
Xu Yuan subconsciously looked up at the placard above, and his gaze instantly narrowed.
Engraved upon the placard in sweeping, vigorous strokes were three large characters: Yacui Palace.
And beneath the placard at the entrance of the grand hall, he once again—again, again, again—saw a certain acquaintance of his.
"Stop the carriage."
His indecision was instantly resolved. Curving his lips into a smile, Xu Yuan looked at that retreating back and chuckled:
"Tonight, this young master suddenly feels like spending the night making merry at Yacui Palace."
A pure courtesan house was neither a standard brothel nor a pleasure house.
Though the three were easily conflated by the world, the distinctions were substantial.
Pleasure houses catered purely to the flesh; standard brothels offered both carnal pleasures and refined arts; while pure courtesan houses were entirely refined, where the courtesans were decent women who sold only their artistic talents, not their bodies.
And their clienteles differed accordingly.
The world of Great Yan was different from the ancient times of Xu Yuan's previous life. While it remained a strictly patriarchal society among ordinary mortals, the existence of cultivators meant that women held no small amount of status in the upper echelons.
Pure courtesan houses had come into being precisely to accommodate this.
After all, if a group of young sect disciples wanted to seek amusement, the male disciples could hardly take their senior and junior martial sisters directly to vulgar red-light venues like pleasure houses, could they?
The moment he stepped through the entrance, as the hall adorned with carved beams and painted pillars met his eyes, a faint aroma of jasmine incense drifted into his nose—fragrant without being cloying, with a mild refreshing effect.
Sweeping his gaze across the entrance hall, Xu Yuan's lips curled slightly.
Most guests walking about Yacui Palace possessed cultivation, and quite a few had rather formidable cultivation bases.
Although Yacui Palace was not the largest pure courtesan house in Di'an City, it was the most expensive.
And the reason was that several of the most famous courtesans in the Great Yan Dynasty all hailed from Yacui Palace.
These famous courtesans truly sold their talents and not their bodies; endowed with cultivation, skilled in the zither, go, calligraphy, and painting, and adept in traditional dance and social grace.
To catch even a glimpse of them, countless sect dignitaries and wealthy merchants squandered fortunes, some even venerating them like divine maidens.
This was probably human nature's inherent flaw—what one couldn't have was always the best.
He remembered that in the past, he had once had an unforgettable "deep interaction" with a famous courtesan, caused a scene in Yacui Palace, and ended up getting beaten black and blue by old Hua Hong.
By now, Xu Yuan understood why Hua Hong had been so furious back then.
The value of these courtesans went far beyond being mere cash cows for the Tian'an Chamber of Commerce.
Every single one had been painstakingly selected—one in ten thousand in appearance, demeanor, cultivation, and bone structure alike—groomed from childhood and thoroughly brainwashed into deathsworn agents of the Prime Minister's Manor.
Some among them were no weaker in cultivation than sect prodigies.
In the near future, they might be gifted as concubines to important figures for surveillance, or directly become high-ranking retained elders within the Prime Minister's Manor.
Musing over these thoughts, Xu Yuan finally used his spiritual vision to locate the person he was looking for in the hall.
Yes, it was that prick Li Junqing again.
Li Junqing was currently lounging lazily behind a screen in a corner of the Yacui Palace hall, eyes closed on a soft couch as he rested.
It looked like he was waiting for someone.
Seeing this, a flicker of surprise showed in Xu Yuan's narrow, phoenix-shaped eyes.
That was a waiting area specifically set aside by Yacui Palace for guests, but as the Third Prince, Li Junqing would never have to queue under any circumstances. In other words...
He was waiting here specifically for someone?
This was a tiny detail.
The fellow could have easily entered a private booth and enjoyed the services of a courtesan while awaiting his visitor, yet he had chosen to wait quietly in the main hall.
There were two possibilities.
The visitor's status was so exalted that even Li Junqing could not be seated beforehand.
And the second was that Li Junqing was begging a favor from that visitor.
At this thought, Xu Yuan's eyes showed a contemplative gleam, and he strolled leisurely toward where the other was sitting.
"Brother Wang?"
The moment Xu Yuan came within ten paces, Li Junqing opened his eyes, looking with mild surprise at this man his elder brother had personally recruited, and smiled. "You are here tonight as well?"
Xu Yuan smiled faintly and said softly,
"I came to the Tian'an Chamber of Commerce today to make some purchases, and after finishing my business, dropped by here to rest for a bit."
Li Junqing straightened slightly, a superficial smile plastered across his face.
"Then what a coincidence. This prince also happens to be meeting a guest from afar here tonight."
Hearing this, Xu Yuan immediately understood that Li Junqing was telling him to scram and not disturb his business tonight.
So, was he going to leave?
Of course not.
Having finally caught the guy, he intended to reap some benefits off him.
Smiling, Xu Yuan plopped himself down right across from Li Junqing and asked softly,
"During my conversation with the Crown Prince the other night, he mentioned that Your Highness seems slated to serve as an envoy to Dongying Island?"
Seeing him sit down, Li Junqing raised a brow, a flicker of bewilderment passing through his eyes.
His words should have made things clear enough, and this man didn't seem like a fool.
After a brief silence, Li Junqing clicked his tongue internally and sat up fully.
"It seems Imperial Brother truly values Brother Wang quite highly, to even discuss such matters with you."
Saying that, Li Junqing slowly stood up and turned to leave.
"This prince has business tonight, so I shall not disturb Young Master Wang's good mood..."
*Smack.*
His wrist was caught by this illegitimate son of the Vice Minister of War.
"..." Li Junqing.
As the familiar touch of the hand registered in his mind, the corner of Li Junqing's eye twitched uncontrollably. Stiffly, he turned his gaze around.
And then, he met a pair of smiling, amused eyes...
*Motherfucker. Fuck. That bastard really didn't die!*
There weren't many patrons in Yacui Palace. Mindful of their dignity, rarely did anyone make a loud scene here, and the place was mostly filled with quiet, rustling whispers.
But right then, even the faint whispers inside the classically elegant hall abruptly died down.
Raising an eyebrow, Xu Yuan immediately realized that the person Li Junqing was waiting for had likely arrived.
Xu Yuan and Li Junqing looked back almost simultaneously toward the hall entrance carved and polished from vermilion willow wood.
Li Junqing cursed inwardly while a look of pure exasperation surfaced in his eyes.
While a strange, bemused look flashed in Xu Yuan's eyes.
The new arrival seemed utterly out of place among the surrounding guests, whether in looks or in attire.
Cascading golden hair reached down to her waist, complemented by a tall, elegant nose, and above her azure-blue eyes rested slender, dense golden eyelashes that made the woman look like an elf stepping right out of a painting.
Nor was she wearing the silk brocade attire of Great Yan, but rather an intricate, ornate corseted gown that accentuated her curves, revealing her collarbones and a broad expanse of fair skin on her arms, with a Western-style rapier slung at her waist.
And behind that elf-like golden-haired woman followed an enormous humanoid tin can.
With every step, it produced a dull scraping of metal.
"..."
Seeing this, Xu Yuan recalled the internal reports he had read in the study.
He had always known that the visitors from across the sea who invaded Dongying had sent envoys to the capital, but he hadn't known the envoy sent was a woman—and even less had he expected that prick Li Junqing to meet with her so conspicuously here.
At this point, Xu Yuan suddenly realized a key piece of information.
Li Junqing really did seem set to depart for Dongying Island on behalf of the Great Yan imperial court to intervene in that war of invasion launched by the visitors from the sea.
Chapter 480