TCPCHW Chapter 53

The Crown Prince Chases His Wife

Chapter 53          It’s Over

The Red Silk Square by the Qianshui Lake.

On the high platform of the atrium, various handsome men and beautiful women took turns coming on stage. Beautiful beauties were playing the zither and flute, sexy dancers swaying their hips and dancing hotly. There were also handsome young men reciting poems while painting, and strong men showing their skills…

There were all kinds of styles with hundreds of flowers blooming.

According to the rules of Red Silk Square, the seated guests could participate in the auction at every other hour, and the one with the highest price bid could designate a girl or man in the square to accompany the guests in the workshop for an hour.

Of course, it was merely just for fun.

With the sound of gongs and drums, it was time for another round of bidding.

Feng Yuyao’s eyes showed excitement, but of course, she was just watching the fun and didn’t intend to participate in the bidding.

Whereas Qin Yan’s expression was indifferent. She traveled all over the country over these years and saw everything that should be seen and what should not be seen.

In some places where the sky was high and the emperor was far away, some of the games played by the local nobles didn’t even treat people as human beings…

In the capital city, at the feet of the emperor, the places for the nobles to have fun were fairly well-behaved, and even though they were a little out of line, it was harmless.

When she saw those muscular men just now, the smooth and beautiful muscle lines on Feng Zhan’s chest and abdomen flashed in Qin Yan’s mind, but it was a pity that she hasn’t touched it seriously…

——

The bidding was very intense, and everyone’s tastes were also very different. Most of the young ladies bid for men, while most of the young masters bid for beauty, but some unconventional people disregard the secular standards.

“One thousand taels of silver, I want that zitherist in white.” A wicked male voice rang from a private room on the second floor.

The bids just now range from a few taels of silver to tens of taels to hundreds of taels. But it was extremely rare to spend a thousand zithers of silver to play zither for an hour.

As for the zitherist in white, he was only a handsome man sitting cross-legged playing the zither by the stage, but the bidder was also a young master…

Everyone followed the voice and saw it was He Xiao, the eldest son of the He family of the minister of the Ministry of War.

Young Master He didn’t know anyone. Since he had been hanging out in various places for nobles to have fun in the capital all year round, those who came out to play were familiar with him even though they hadn’t been in contact with each other.

Beside the stage, the white-clothed zitherist sitting cross-legged playing the zither raised his head when he heard the words, and his handsome face was full of surprises. He only arrived at the square today and was only a zitherist, not a male prostitute accompanying the guests.

The host of the auction was Mama Liu Shisan, the owner of Red Silk Square. Seeing that the one who opened the bid was Young Master He from the minister family of the Ministry of War, Mama Liu Shisan beamed with joy.

The eldest son of the He family played around Qianshui Lake often and had a very good reputation. He was generous, understood the rules of the trade very well, never caused trouble, and occasionally offered to the girls he likes. The bosses of the major places for nobles to have fun in Qianshui Promenade liked these kinds of wealthy guests.

“Send zitherist Su Qing to Young Master He immediately.” Mama Liu Shisan summoned two strong men, pulled up Su Qing who was still sitting cross-legged on the futon with a shocked expression on his face, and dragged him to the second floor.

Su Qing struggled desperately, turned his head, and shouted anxiously to Mama Liu Shisan, “Mama Shisan, I just came here to borrow a place to play the zither and didn’t sell myself to your Red Silk Square. You have no right to arrange me without permission. Mama Shisan, you… um…”

The strong man who was dragging Su Qing punched Su Qing in the stomach. Su Qing clutched his stomach and groaned, lost his words, and let the two strong servants continue to drag him upstairs.

——

This kind of forced buying and selling was not uncommon in these kinds of places for nobles to have fun. At this time, there was another round of dancers with flowing sleeves coming to the stage, and everyone began to appreciate the beauty’s dancing posture with great enthusiasm. With the beauties’ occasional exposed slender waist, no one paid attention to the poor zitherist.

Only Feng Yuyao frowned, “How can this be?”

Feng Yuyao’s eyes followed the three people who were still going upstairs. When they were about to reach the second floor while the two strong men were not paying attention, Su Qing suddenly broke free from the shackles and ran away.

Two servants pursued Su Qing closely. Su Qing stumbled, but he had a clear purpose. There were two noble women in the private room not far away on the second floor, and one of them was amazingly beautiful, even overshadowing the handsome men and beautiful women in the Red Silk Square.

Everyone in the square had been paying attention to them since they entered the square, including Su Qing, of course.

Those two women, whose identities were uncertain, might have higher status than the eldest son of the He family.

When Su Qing was caught, he happened to be not far from Qin Yan’s private room.

“Help me, miss, help me…” Su Qing shouted with a clear voice.

Shen Ying frowned and stood quietly outside the room with her arms folded, without moving.

In the private room, Feng Yuyao heard the commotion outside. She turned her head to look at Qin Yan with a frown as if asking for Qin Yan’s opinion.

“Yanyan…”

Qin Yan’s expression was indifferent, watching another group of beauties singing and dancing on the stage.

“Every trade has its own rules, whether explicit or implicit. Since he has entered this square, he should have predicted everything that will happen. No one can bear the good or bad things for him.” Qin Yan’s tone was light, and her words were almost cold and heartless.

The zitherist was dragged past the door, still shouting for help.

“Help me… Miss, help me…”

Feng Yuyao said with a frown, “Yanyan, I hate that scumbag He Xiao for a long time. I will cut him off today.”

Qin Yan raised her eyes, glanced at the resented Feng Yuyao, and said faintly, “As you wish.”

Feng Yuyao said towards the bottom of the atrium, “Two thousand teals of silver, I want this zitherist.”

At this time, the singing and dancing downstairs were not too noisy, and everyone could hear Feng Yuyao’s heightened volume. Everyone stopped talking and turned to look at the two women in the private room on the second floor.

He Xiao had a sullen expression on his face as no one dared to cut his winning while playing in this area.

Seeing that the person who spoke opposite was Princess Jingyi Feng Yuyao, He Xiao was stunned for a moment, and only for a moment. He was in a bad mood today, and even the princess couldn’t easily move the person he wanted.

“Princess, the rule of Red Silk Square is to pay in cash with an offer. Does the princess have enough money?” He Xiao was sure that this princess would not come out to play so blatantly and even called a male prostitute. It should be on a whim to cut off his bid.

Everyone… it turned out to be a princess…

Some other young masters and ladies recognized that one in the upstairs room was Princess Jingyi from the palace, and the other was the imperial celebrity, Princess Zhaoren.

Feng Yuyao: …

She really didn’t bring that much money. Feng Yuyao turned to Qin Yan and said, “Yanyan, lend me some money.”

Qin Yan tapped the table with her fingers, and chuckled, “Two thousand taels, I’ll give it to you. But in exchange, Yuyao, you have to give me information.”

Feng Yuyao was a little puzzled. Given the friendship between the two of them, what other information could be exchanged… unless… it was about the imperial family…

“Deal.” Feng Yuyao agreed swiftly.

“Yuyao, you come back home with me today, and we’ll talk about it in detail.” Qin Yan’s expression became a little more serious than before.

“Hmm.” Feng Yuyao didn’t care about guessing what Yanyan wanted to ask at the moment. She was eager to take the money and go to see He Xiao’s deflated look.

Qin Yan ordered to the outside, “Shen Ying.”

At this time, Mama Liu Shisan had already gone upstairs, waiting outside Qin Yan’s room.

Shen Ying took out two thousand taels of silver and handed it to Mama Liu Shisan.

Mama Liu Shisan took it, and when she saw Yu Qingfeng’s seal on the bank note, she burst into laughter immediately. From the corridor on the second floor, she shouted to He Xiao on the opposite side, “Young Master He, the one with the highest price wins. I’m sorry.”

Mama Liu Shisan smiled and leaned over to the people in the atrium and said loudly, “Princess Zhaoren offered two thousand taels of silver for the zitherist Su Qing.”

Everyone in the Red Silk Square applauded and cheered.

When Mama Liu Shisan went upstairs, she already knew the identities of the two women in the room above from the whispers of the crowd. When Princess Zhaoren’s maid gave the silver ticket, it acquiesced that Princess Zhaoren had bid for them. According to the rules in the square, she also sang the result to everyone, including the identity of the highest bidder and the price. She didn’t feel anything wrong at all.

When Qin Yan in the private room heard the words, she raised her hand and gently pressed the center of her brows.

Her reputation…

He Xiao’s face was gloomy like the bottom of a pot and stopped talking. He tried to speak out, but in his capacity, how could he compete with Princess Jingyi?

Mama Liu Shisan immediately ordered someone to bring the zitherist, Su Qing, into Qin Yan’s room.

——

When Su Qing entered the box, it seemed like a dream.

He had just heard the discussion from everyone downstairs that the eldest son of the He family was very playful, had no scruple about men or women, and had a variety of tricks. He had escaped a disaster.

Just as Su Qing was about to say thank you, Feng Yuyao spoke first, “Sit there and don’t talk.”

Su Qing was dumbfounded, and then quietly sat on an empty chair near the door of the room.

And Shen Ying also moved from outside the room to inside and stood beside Su Qing. She didn’t know the details of this zitherist, Su Qing, so she couldn’t safely let him get close to her master and the princess.

From this angle, Su Qing could see Qin Yan’s perfect profile. Some beauties could only be viewed from a distance, but this Princess Zhaoren was extremely beautiful from head to toe, truly magnificent.

Feng Yuyao seemed a little tired of watching the show, so she turned her head and spoke to Su Qing leisurely, “What’s your name?”

Su Qing suddenly came back to his senses from the trance of observing Princess Zhaoren, “My name is Su Qing.”

“Where are you from?” Feng Yuyao liked the clear voice of this zitherist and continued to ask.

“Lingnan people.”

When Feng Yuyao heard the words, her eyes lit up, and she turned around abruptly, Lingnan?

Feng Yuyao’s imperial mother, Imperial Concubine De, was from Count Pingnan Mansion in Lingnan. Since her birth, Feng Yuyao had never traveled outside the boundaries of the capital city, and of course, she had never visited her mother’s hometown.

Su Qing’s words instantly aroused Feng Yuyao’s curiosity, “Tell me about Lingnan.”

At the behest of the princess, Su Qing began to talk about the local customs of Lingnan he knew, as well as some interesting stories.

An hour later, Feng Yuyao and Qin Yan were about to leave.

Just as Feng Yuyao got up, she looked sideways at Su Qing who was already standing aside. Feng Yuyao said, “Your story hasn’t been finished yet, make an offer and follow me today.”

Su Qing raised her head in surprise. Young Master He might still make trouble for Su Qing for today’s matter. If he could get the protection of this princess, he could stay out of trouble and wait for Young Master He to forget about it, which would be a good plan.

“Princess rescued me today and I am already grateful. How could I dare to say the price? I’m at the mercy of the princess.” Su Qing bowed.

Su Qing took his zither and got into Princess Jingyi’s carriage, while Feng Yuyao and Qin Yan were in the same carriage, and the group left.

——

Inside the Red Silk Square, both He Xiao and Xie Changyuan looked gloomy.

There was a servant’s voice outside the room, “Young Master, Master wants you to return to the mansion immediately.” It was the servant of the He Mansion.

“Where do you have the guts to spoil my fun?” He Xiao said impatiently.

“Imperial Concubine Xian in the palace sent someone…” the servant said.

He Xiao… Damn, here comes the complaint.

——

In Mossy Waterside Pavilion at Taizi Mansion in Xishan.

Two men with outstanding looks and temperament sat and played chess against each other. At the end of the game, the man in a cobalt blue brocade robe sighed softly and said, “I’m still not His Highness’s opponent, so I am willing to concede defeat.”

Taizi Feng Zhan, who was opposite the man, didn’t say a word, just picked up the teacup at hand, and took a sip.

Song Zhi came in, “Your Highness and Shizi, Her Royal Highness Princess Changle, Lord An, and Miss An have arrived.”

After the words fell, several people entered the water pavilion. The blue-robed man sitting opposite Prince Feng Zhan got up and looked at the visitors, “Princess.”

Feng Yunchao said with a smile, “Cousin, you are not an outsider, just call me Yunchao.”

This man in a cobalt blue brocade robe was the Shizi of Duan Wang Mansion in Youzhou, Feng Subei.

“Yunchao is getting more and more beautiful.” Feng Subei always complimented young ladies whenever he met one.

“My cousin’s mouth is getting sweeter and sweeter.” Which young lady didn’t want to be complimented for her beauty, and Feng Yunchao was no exception. However, when it comes to beauty, with Princess Zhoaren Qin Yan at the forefront, no one could talk about beauty easily.

The brothers and sisters of the An family saluted, “Your Highness Taizi, Shizi.”

Feng Zhan turned his head to look at the visitors, narrowed his eyes slightly, and looked a little cold.

An Wenjing knew that His Highness Taizi seemed to have some opinions on his younger sister Yanxi, but today Shizi Duan Wang who had just returned to the capital and invited several people to reminisce in the Taizi Mansion. Yanxi was also invited by the Shizi, so she came together with the rest.

Feng Subei took two steps forward and stretched out his arms to hug An Wenjing.

“Yanzhi.”

“Shizi.”

In recent years, Feng Subei did return to the capital to do business, but he was in a hurry, and the two had not seen each other for three years.

After that, Feng Subei looked at An Yanxi, with deep affection in his eyes, “Yanxi.”

“Shizi.” An Yanxi saluted gracefully.

Several people took their seats separately, An Yanxi got up again and said softly, “Let me make tea for everyone.”

Hearing this, Feng Subei was delighted to have such treatment. He had never tried Yanxi’s tea ceremony, but he always complimented young ladies first when they met, let alone the one he liked.

Feng Subei was about to praise An Yanxi’s tea ceremony, but before he could say anything, Taizi Feng Zhan spoke in a cold voice, “No need.”

Everyone was stunned.

In the past, when An Yanxi followed her elder brother An Wenjing to the Taizi Mansion, she always acquiesced to making tea by the side, but what happened to His Highness Taizi today…

“Song Zhi, you do.” Feng Zhan ordered.

“Yes, Your Highness.” Song Zhi, who was standing at the entrance of the water pavilion, walked to the tea table, sat down, and began to make tea with clean hands. Although he was not proficient in the tea ceremony, he still learned well from His Highness Taizi.

An Yanxi sat back with a sad expression.

Feng Yunchao glanced at An Yanxi reassuringly, thinking that Yanxi should give up too.

The fragrance of tea wafted from the waterside pavilion, and several people started chatting and reminiscing about the old days.

Only Taizi Feng Zhan, just sipped tea and didn’t say a word the whole time and didn’t look too good. Feng Zhan occasionally raised his eyes to look in the direction of plum groves.

Has her poison been detoxified?

Would it have a bad effect on her body?

What was she doing today?

Did she also…

——

During the time of a cup of tea, a melodious zither sound suddenly came from afar. Feng Subei raised his eyes and looked in the direction of the sound of the zither.

Feng Yunchao turned to Feng Subei to clear up the confusion, “Over there is the Princess Zhaoren Mansion. Qin Yan, Princess of Zhaoren, is the newly appointed princess by Emperor Father. Her father is the Right Prime Minister, and his mother is the first young lady of Duke Zhenguo Mansion.”

Feng Subei was wondering why the Princess Mansion was arranged next to the Taizi Mansion, and whether His Majesty had any intentions. An Yanxi suddenly said softly, “When my brother and sister were waiting for the princess outside the mansion just now, we overheard some people talking on the street.”

Everyone looked at An Yanxi, as if they were curious about the topic she had raised. An Yanxi continued to speak, “I heard that today, Princess Zhaoren and He Xiao, the eldest son of Minister He of the Ministry of War, were bidding for a beautiful male zitherist at Red Silk Square at Qianshui Promenade in the south of the city.”

“Princess Zhaoren paid a lot of money for the beauty. I heard that when they left, the zitherist got into the carriage of Princess Zhaoren and seemed to follow her back home.”

“Could the sound of the zither be from that handsome young zitherist of Red Silk Square? Hahaha…”

“Brother, you heard that too, right?”

After An Yanxi finished speaking, she looked at An Wenjing, as if waiting for her brother’s agreement.

An Wenjing immediately looked at Taizi Feng Zhan, and His Highness looked cold. An Wenjing felt a little uneasy. The last time in Qianshui Lake, An Wenjing had noticed that there seemed to be something unusual between His Highness and Princess Zhaoren. Why was his sister gossiping about Princess Zhaoren in front of His Highness Taizi?

Feng Yunchao frowned and did not agree with Yanxi’s gossip. She was not someone who liked to talk about other people’s private affairs behind their backs, so she didn’t respond to this.

Song Zhi’s hands were already shaking when serving the tea, and the tea spilled onto the tea table. He glanced at His Highness Taizi quietly, “Oh no, this time it’s over…”

Feng Subei sensibly noticed that Yanxi’s words seemed to be unkind when she talked about Princess Zhaoren. Seeing that the atmosphere in the water pavilion was a bit out of place at the moment, Feng Subei changed the subject with a laugh, “Your Highness, I returned to the capital one step ahead of my father and still need to clean up the Wang Duan Mansion. Can I live in the Taizi Mansion these few days? It’s just so happened that everyone is here today, so let’s drink to our heart’s content.”

Duan Wang Shizi Feng Subei and Taizi Feng Zhan had a good friendship and had many interactions whether in the capital city or Youzhou. Feng Subei occasionally went back to the capital to do business before, and he lived in the Taizi Mansion temporarily. So, he didn’t think there was anything wrong with his proposal.

But Taizi Feng Zhan’s face became colder and uglier.

“Go stay at the post house and let Honglu Temple arrange it. I still have something to do today. All of you can go back to the city together.” Feng Zhan left his words in a cold voice, then got up and left.

Everyone didn’t know why, and they looked at each other in dismay. While Feng Subei seemed to sniff something unusual.

Princess Zhaoren?

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