Chapter 8: The Ugly Girl
The Demon Suppression King indeed would not be foolish enough to make himself disappear, but that did not mean others had not harbored such thoughts.
When Shen Yanzhou left the Bamboo Garden, he felt somewhat relieved in his heart.
At least for now, Yu Chengyu would stand on his side.
If he had still been as stupid as the original body had been, she certainly would not have wanted to waste energy and effort on preserving him.
In the end, it was because he now showed the intelligence she cared about, making her feel there was a place for him to be of use.
“Miss Chunchao, I will trouble you to protect my safety from now on.”
“And also, tonight, accompany me to the Yuxian Pavilion.”
Shen Yanzhou was in a rather good mood.
Glancing at the red-clad girl behind him who followed closely, hugging her sword, he could not help but smile and speak.
Negative emotions from Chunchao +1+2+3+4……
“……”
Chunchao’s clear eyes cast a faint glance at Shen Yanzhou.
She did not say much, but her grip on the sword tightened.
She had thought the heir would no longer linger in brothels like before.
Unexpectedly, he was still the same.
What was so great about wandering around these pleasure houses?
Was it just because of those women inside, dressed up in gaudy finery?
Shen Yanzhou had not expected this expressionless red-clad girl to produce some resentment over his words, and in no small amount at that.
His heart immediately felt amused.
“Does Miss Chunchao have some prejudice against the Yuxian Pavilion?” Shen Yanzhou turned his head and asked with a smile.
Looking at the handsome face before her, brows and eyes curved with laughter, without the arrogant and frivolous airs she had often seen before, Chunchao strangely found it somewhat pleasing to the eye.
She gave a small nod, her voice faint: “Proper people, who would visit a brothel?”
“Well said. Then does Miss Chunchao see this heir as a proper person?” Shen Yanzhou spoke with a smile.
“……”
Chunchao instantly found that face displeasing again.
…
When Shen Yanzhou returned to the Water Pavilion where he usually rested, Elder Mo had already come back to report.
“Young Master, all has been arranged. Madam Liu Qian has already let Miss Qiutang and Miss Ruanyu hang up their placards. They are just waiting for you to come tonight.”
Because of Shen Yanzhou, Elder Mo could be considered a frequent guest of the Yuxian Pavilion.
His chrysanthemum-like old face bloomed with a smile.
Shen Yanzhou nodded, then gestured with his gaze: “As for my daily affairs from now on, let Chunchao handle them. Elder Mo, explain it to her.”
“Young Master, this……”
The smile on Elder Mo’s face instantly froze.
It was only now that he noticed the red-clad sword-hugging girl behind Shen Yanzhou.
He was greatly surprised.
This was the princess consort’s most valued maid.
To say maid was not quite right—she was more like a family member sent from Qilin City to protect her.
Though Chunchao was young, her swordsmanship and martial cultivation were not to be underestimated in the slightest.
“The princess consort truly dotes on the heir, to actually bestow Miss Chunchao to him.” He muttered silently in his heart.
…
The Yuxian Pavilion was located northwest of the Great Qian capital, built along the river.
At night, when the lights shone brightly, waves sparkled and mist drifted.
From painted pleasure boats came men’s and women’s laughter and all kinds of indulgent sounds.
As a regular guest, Shen Yanzhou had just arrived when an old woman, over fifty, thickly powdered and dressed in a floral robe, came up obsequiously.
“Heir, Qiutang and Ruanyu are already waiting for you in the Jade Pavilion.” The flower-robed old woman fawned.
Chunchao hugged her sword, her brows faintly knitted, and followed behind Shen Yanzhou, walking together toward the innermost tower.
Negative emotions from Chunchao +1+2+3+4……
Shen Yanzhou did not know why this girl harbored such grievances, but along the way, she had provided him with dozens of negative emotions at least.
“Heir, you have come……”
Inside the room burning with incense, two beauties had long been waiting.
One was plump, wearing a wide robe embroidered with cloud patterns.
Her inner clothes were half undone, her skin white as snow.
She was peeling grapes, her wide sleeve sliding just to the elbow, revealing wrists as pale as ivory and slender fingers.
The other woman wore an almost transparent white robe with peach blossoms embroidered at the cuffs.
Her figure was not plump, but tall and graceful, her brows carrying a trace of coldness.
In her orchid-like hand, she held a warmed jug of wine.
“Sorry to have kept you waiting.”
Shen Yanzhou’s face blossomed with a smile.
He familiarly removed his shoes and socks, sat on the bamboo mat, and began embracing them left and right.
Chunchao, following behind, showed a conflicted expression on her delicate face.
Looking at the two scantily clad women, she hesitated whether she should step in.
But recalling the princess consort’s command to protect Shen Yanzhou closely, she could only endure the unpleasant scent of powder and enter.
Yet the moment she approached Shen Yanzhou, she saw his hand restlessly roaming the plump woman’s body.
This made Chunchao’s pure face instantly flush with a faint porcelain-red.
She had thought his profligate demeanor was a disguise.
It seemed there was no need to pretend.
Negative emotions from Chunchao +3+3+3+3+3……
Shen Yanzhou, however, did not care about Chunchao’s small grievances.
Food and sex were human nature.
He was no saint, and there was no need to play the moral gentleman.
Of course, his coming to Yuxian Pavilion tonight was not merely to seek pleasure.
As cups of warm wine entered his belly, and the moonlight passed the third roof beam, faint mist drifted in through the half-opened window.
Ripples of scattered brilliance spread across the river surface.
From distant painted boats came sounds of men and women’s laughter, and the lilting notes of strings and flutes.
“Qiutang, has there recently been a maid here with a birthmark on her cheek, fond of wearing hemp clothes?”
Looking at the two already somewhat tipsy women, Shen Yanzhou pinched the plump woman’s cheek, put down his warmed wine, and suddenly asked with a grin.
“Yes, heir, how did you know? Was it because her birthmark is so hideously strange?”
“Many guests do not like her. They say she is clumsy, often delivering drinks to the wrong place……”
“Sometimes she even enters without knocking, spoiling the guests’ mood.”
Once gossip about the Yuxian Pavilion was mentioned, the two women instantly sobered, their interest piqued, chatting endlessly.
“Yes, I’ve heard of her. But I have not yet properly seen how ugly that birthmark is.”
Hearing this, Shen Yanzhou’s face shone with a bright smile, looking quite curious.
“Ah, heir, you must be tired of delicacies and want to try some crooked melons and cracked dates……”
“Why don’t we have Madam Liu call her over, so you can see for yourself.”
The two women gave him coquettish looks, taking it as one of his profligate amusements.
“That suggestion is not bad.”
Shen Yanzhou nodded with a smile.
At the side, Chunchao, who had been growing drowsy, could not help but feel curious at these words.
Just how ugly was she, to be so well known?
The two women put on their shoes and went out.
Before long, they returned, leading in a somewhat nervous girl with her head lowered.
She wore coarse cotton clothes, her complexion sallow.
Even with her head down, one could see on her right cheek a clear birthmark, like a bluish-black hand covering it.