Raising the Nine-Thousand-Year Lord - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

“Your Highness, the scouts have reported back. They’ve found him.”

I reclined on the chaise longue, one hand propping up my forehead as I leafed through Fengyi Palace’s account books from the past few years. At that, I asked, “Where is he?”

Lu Zhi had told me about this time, but he had never told me where he entered the palace from.

Chun Tao kneaded my shoulders. “They say he’s at Hongxiu Pavilion.”

“Hongxiu Pavilion?” I frowned. “Go and bring him here.”

Hongxiu Pavilion was the largest pleasure house in the capital. Its reputation traveled far and wide. The amusements there were bold, filthy, and ruinously expensive.

I paused. “Never mind. I will go myself.”

Chun Tao hurriedly said, “Your Highness, mind you don’t dirty your shoes.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

From the look on Chun Tao’s face, she was terribly curious what sort of person could make me go there in person.

I closed the account book.

No wonder Lu Zhi became a eunuch at fifteen, yet seemed to know all manner of bedroom matters without anyone teaching him.

No wonder that, when his temper flared, he would sneer and call himself the son of a whore, say the blood in his bones was filthy, and threaten to drag me into the mire with him.

With that dog of a temper, he trusted no one. If I sent someone else without explaining why, he would probably have to be beaten unconscious before he could be carried back.

Hongxiu Pavilion stood on the busiest stretch of Chang’an Street. It was renovated more exquisitely than a palace, with an added touch of Jiangnan charm.

Every five steps, a pavilion; every ten, a chamber.

At first glance, the patrons there were reciting poetry and composing couplets, putting on a decent enough show. One could hardly tell it was a place that hid so much filth.

But after passing through three towers and reaching the very heart of Hongxiu Pavilion, the stench of luxury came at me so thickly it was suffocating.

Chun Tao lowered her voice. “Your Highness, he’s in that private room on the second floor. It seems he’s caused some trouble.”

I raised a brow and walked unhurriedly toward the room.

Inside the private room.

I stood at the doorway as the rippling notes of a pipa mingled with the flowing sound of a guqin.

“You. Come here.”

The Third Prince spoke lazily. As footsteps sounded, his voice grew increasingly suggestive. “You say you’re a manservant?”

“I look at you and see a woman. Why don’t you take off your pants and let me have a look?” The Third Prince seemed to slap something onto the table. “Keep me company for one night, and all of this is yours.”

“Oh? Still stubborn? Do I have to do it myself?”

Bang.

“Hiss-”

The Third Prince sucked in a sharp breath, then cursed, “You little bastard, refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit!”

Then I heard a sharp swish.

The women inside cried out in alarm. The pipa and guqin both stopped.

I kicked the door open.

The Third Prince’s saber, poised to strike, froze in midair.

His face had gone bluish; at a glance, he had clearly taken a punch.

Lu Zhi was glaring at him, fists clenched, not dodging or retreating even as the blade came down.

From my angle, I could see clearly that he had a shard of porcelain gripped in his fist. It had already cut into his palm.

Little wolf cub.

I gave a soft, amused snort, told Chun Tao to guard the door, and shut it behind me.

“Why is the Third Prince in such a rage? Calm down. The Yunchuan Kingdom does not favor male lovers, nor do we understand Your Highness’s rules. We certainly have never seen the Third Prince display such awe-inspiring might.”

Step by step, I walked toward the tip of the Third Prince’s blade. The cold gleam was only inches from me.

Without changing expression, I said, “Why should the Third Prince lower himself to quarrel with an ignorant servant?”

Though forced to withdraw his saber, the Third Prince’s anger did not abate.

He laughed coldly again and again. “Princess Zhaoyang, just what sort of performance are you putting on now?”

The words were ugly, but I was too lazy to take issue with them. I merely stepped quietly in front of Lu Zhi.

The Third Prince exhaled a reeking breath of wine. He clearly held no small resentment toward me, and his words were aimed at Lu Zhi while striking at me. “A little bastard like him dares embarrass me in public? He’s got guts. I’m going to have him tonight no matter what!”

I smiled at him. “There are so many lovely beauties in Hongxiu Pavilion. Why must the Third Prince insist on someone so unwilling? How about this-give me a bit of face, and I will have the manager choose a few more gentle, charming ones for you.”

I took a step forward and patted the Third Prince on the shoulder. “Consider it my treat.”

The Third Prince said, “I want him. Who else could compare to such rare beauty?”

As he spoke, he paused, then turned to look at me. Suddenly, he grinned and rubbed the spot on his shoulder my hand had touched.

He reeked heavily of wine. “Actually, there is someone.”

“Princess Zhaoyang is the true peerless beauty of this world. How does that saying from the Yunchuan Kingdom go again?”

“Snow-white skin like frozen jade, pearl-bright lips stained crimson.” The Third Prince’s tone was frivolous. “Before the crabapple is kissed by rain, before the pear blossom is frosted with snow, half of spring has already faded. Princess Zhaoyang alone possesses the other half of spring. As for the position of Third Prince Consort, if the princess is willing, it would naturally be yours.”

Amid the haze of wine, he boasted shamelessly and even reached out, trying to lift my chin.

Before he could touch me, I gave a cold laugh and let every trace of my smile vanish.

In the dead silence of the room, I raised my hand and slapped him hard across the face.

“Rejecting face when it is given to you. Qi Qiu, do you truly think I would not dare touch you?”

I moved closer and enunciated every word. “A guest is still a guest. I gave you a measure of face; you would do well to accept it. If you dare provoke me again, I will settle both old scores and new with you at once.”

Qi Qiu seemed stunned by the blow.

He shook his head, fury rising from the bottom of his heart as he flew into a rage. “Sheng Yinong, what the hell do you think you are, daring to-”

I shook out my hand, then turned my face back to him with a bright, charming smile. “I dare. Why would I not dare? You are welcome to test whether I can quietly crush you to death and then sell the favor to those royal brothers of yours.”

All the anger Qi Qiu had yet to unleash lodged in his throat.

“If I see you again,” I said, turning and pulling Lu Zhi to my side, my gaze cold and dark, “I guarantee you will enter Yunchuan Kingdom on your feet and crawl back to Xia State on your belly.”