Chapter 7: 7

Xiao Weixin learned about this matter from Qi Han the next day, while reading in the study.

“Is that true?” He was surprised.

Qi Han tried his best to stop himself from laughing and replied seriously: “It is completely true. It has already spread everywhere in the city and this subordinate has already heard several rumors saying that Assistant Minister Xia1 ran out of Tingyue Tower like a madman last night, almost completely naked. Many people witnessed it with their own eyes. And it is also said…”

“It is also said that Assistant Minister Xia is as young as a child in that place, not like an adult man at all.”

Hearing this, even Xiao Weixin had a smile in his eyes.

He had been furious that day so he instructed his subordinates to secretly take revenge on Xia Huaizhang but he didn’t dare to make any big moves for fear of arousing suspicion. All he wanted was to make him suffer a little but such a surprising result greatly exceeded his expectations.

A person like Xia Huaizhang would probably not be able to wash himself clean of this shameful and humiliating incident for his entire life. This is indeed more satisfying than simply being beaten up and having to lie down for a few days.

“Whose idea was it?” Xiao Weixin was really curious. This style didn’t resemble that of any of his subordinates.

Qi Han hurriedly stepped forward and replied: “This subordinate has already inquired about this. It was a guard from our Shadow Guard Camp who acted on his own initiative. He is named Ying San. Does the prince want to see him?”

“Ying San? It’s him again…” Xiao Weixin didn’t expect to hear about this person again only a few days later. After thinking for a while, he said: “In that case, bring him here. This king wants to talk to him in person.”

Qi Han received the order and retreated.

Sitting in the study, Xiao Weixin recalled the first time he noticed Ying San that day. At that time, no matter how one looked at him, he seemed like a cold, taciturn and disciplined person. He really didn’t look like he could do such a thing.

Really interesting.

A while later, You Shu, who was about to eat, was taken to the study from the dinner table. He was still thinking about the duck leg that he hadn’t had time to eat and was probably eaten by someone else.

But after seeing Xiao Weixin, he quickly knelt on the ground, without any resentment: “My lord.”

Xiao Weixin returned to his senses, saw the young man kneeling in front of the desk and said lightly: “Stand up.”

“Yes.” You Shu obeyed and got up, and then quietly stood aside and waited.

He can probably guess the reason for this. Last night’s matter was truly shocking. He himself had enjoyed it but he still doesn’t know what Xiao Weixin thinks. Perhaps he will punish him for acting without permission.

“Last night’s matter was your doing?” Xiao Weixin’s tone was calm and light, as if he was just asking casually.

You Shu replied in a low voice: “Replying to the prince, this matter is indeed my own decision. Please punish this subordinate.”

“Punish? When did this king say anything about punishment?” Xiao Weixin snorted softly, “But you are indeed very daring. Who gave you the idea?”

“No one.” You Shu said truthfully, “It was entirely this subordinate’s plan. The prince ordered me to follow him and find a suitable opportunity to take revenge but didn’t give me any specific instructions, so this subordinate acted on his own.”

Seeing that he wasn’t lying, Xiao Weixin asked: “Explain this from the beginning.”

So You Shu recounted his whole series of actions from last night. Except for the irrelevant section of rewarding Lu Ying, almost nothing was skipped. “My lord, please be at ease. Since this subordinate dares to do this, he is naturally fully prepared.”

“What this subordinate put into the incense burner is a kind of spice, which is usually used in brothels to heat the atmosphere inside the room. When mixed with that drug, it tends to cause hallucinations and also accelerates the effect of the drug, making one assume that the hallucinations are, in fact, reality.”

“Even if the imperial doctor came to check him, no drug residue would be found whether by checking the pulse or by applying acupuncture. He would only say that it was an illusion caused by excessive drinking and the various spices used in the brothel, and would not at all suspect that someone had drugged him.”

“Furthermore, even if he feels that something is off and goes back to investigate, he will not be able to find anything. This subordinate dealt with this matter very cleanly, without revealing even a trace of his real identity. It is impossible for anyone to suspect you2.”

Xiao Weixin snorted coldly: “Even if he doesn’t, wouldn’t his father still suspect?”

You Shu shook his head and said: “Prime Minister Xia has made many enemies in the court. How can he find the evidence to prove who did it? Moreover, this matter is truly disgraceful. Since his son created such a huge scandal, Prime Minister Xia will not be willing to spread this matter even more by acting ostentatiously and making a big fuss.”

Xiao Weixin glanced at him, “This king hadn’t expected that you would have such methods.”

“But…..it is quite to my liking.”

Xiao Weixin has always known of Xia Huaizhang’s disgusting thoughts towards him. If it wasn’t for the fear of getting into trouble, he would already have killed that dog secretly. Now, Ying San’s actions truly made him feel gratified and vindicated.

“He continually humiliated the prince. This is merely a minor punishment.” You Shu bowed his head.

He didn’t mention his momentary burst of anger the previous night when he saw the face of the red-clothed woman. Anyone who has seen Xiao Weixin will feel that the woman’s appearance holds a slight resemblance to his. Even though the temperament is completely incomparable, but this alone is enough to make a person feel disgusted and alarmed.

The words that Xia Huaizhang spoke while hugging her drunkenly were completely unbearable. He even heard him call Xiao Weixin’s name while he hugged that woman.

As a straight man, he absolutely couldn’t tolerate his immortal-like protagonist being desecrated like this, so he was even more severe in his actions.

Xiao Weixin looked at him, surprised. “Unexpectedly, you are actually very sincere.”

“Tingyue Tower is quite extravagant. Your visit must have cost a lot, no?” Xiao Weixin’s various businesses also include a brothel so he is naturally aware of the cost of that place. He frowned slightly: “Was your salary sufficient?”

You Shu felt intense heartache hearing him mention this.

As a high-end club, Tingyue Tower is really good at exploiting and extorting people. He only ordered for a little singer3 to play him a simple song and didn’t even dare to order any wine but it still cost fifteen taels4 of silver! Fifteen taels of silver is enough to cover the food expenses of an ordinary household for several months, not to mention that he gave all his remaining money to the little girl out of sympathy.

He can be said to have suffered disastrous losses in a single night.

But he didn’t dare to ask for reimbursement. It was his own decision, after all, so how could he have the nerve to go to the lord to complain about his grievances?

“This subordinate…..this subordinate is really pinched5.”

Looking at his appearance of being unwillingly impoverished, the corners of Xiao Weixin’s lips twitched upwards slightly and he seemed to be in a good mood: “Hopeless6.”

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“This king will ask the accountant to compensate you for all your expenses last night. In addition…” He finally showed a smile as he said this, which made his handsome face look gentler: “This matter was handled very well. Let Xie Feiyuan take you to receive the reward later.”

You Shu didn’t expect to receive such treatment and he was stunned for several seconds before quickly expressing his gratitude: “Thank you, my lord!”

Xiao Weixin was in a good mood and leaned back on his chair. After thinking for a while, he asked, “Do you have any more of that drug, ‘Viagra’7?”

“It is only a test product and this subordinate didn’t make too much because some side effects still need to be improved. I have only three left.” You Shu replied honestly.

Xiao Weixin nodded and said calmly: “Since you have the talent for this, feel free to continue doing it. For now, just bring me what you have left.”

You Shu didn’t dare to ask him what he wanted to do with it but, with Xiao Weixin’s temperament, it can be estimated that it will be used on his enemies. And how can he disobey the protagonist?

You Shu obediently said: “Then this subordinate will send it to the prince after returning.”

“En.” Satisfied, Xiao Weixin waved his hand and said softly: “You may leave.”

You Shu quickly rushed out of the window.

Xiao Weixin turned his head and looked over: “…..”

This bastard really can’t be praised. The door is open so wide but he stubbornly insists on going through the window, are his eyes blind?

You Shu, who had fled far away, ran for a long time before coming to a stop. He couldn’t believe that not only was he not criticized and punished by Xiao Weixin but was even rewarded. It is important to know that, before his actions last night, he had already thought about where he was going to be whipped and had even prepared the wound medicine.

It seems that Xiao Weixin had really hated Xia Huaizhang for a long time now and he had unintentionally managed to flatter him correctly8.

Thinking of the reward, You Shu’s footsteps became a lot quicker. There is no one who dislikes money and he always likes to count his money when he has nothing to do. After all, once he is freed in the future, this will be his entire capital.

“You still have the face to come back?” Xie Feiyuan leaned against the door and looked at him coldly, “Are you really not afraid of something going wrong with what happened last night?”

You Shu saw Master Yingshou’s scowling face9 as soon as he returned but he has long since become immune to this cold-faced killing god so he walked forward calmly: “Since I dare to do it, I will naturally ensure that there will be no mistakes. Does Master Yingshou not understand me even after all these years?”

“Annoying brat.” Xie Feiyuan’s cold face softened somewhat and he punched him, reprimanding: “Fortunately, the prince is pleased with your actions this time or you would have been whipped till your skin peeled off!”

You Shu remained motionless as he received the light blow, his back straight as a ramrod.

Xie Feiyuan knew his character well and was only trying to scare him a little. In fact, You Shu’s attitude gave him the most peace of mind. In the entire Shadow Guard Camp, except for Ying Er, he is the most reliable in his work and never acts impulsively.

“The prince has ordered you not to leave the mansion to perform missions in the following days. You were very careful in your actions this time but there is no guarantee that the old man, Prime Minister Xia, won’t investigate. Although you went there in disguise, it is not impossible to say that your figure could have been remembered. ”

You Shu nodded very obediently: “I understand. I will keep a low profile for a while.”

Xie Feiyuan took out a silver banknote10 and handed it to him, saying teasingly: “The prince gave you a reward of one hundred taels. Brat, it seems you are about to rise up and out of anonymity.”

“How…how much?” You Shu picked out his ears, nearly losing control of his facial expression for the first time while outside.

Even for elite shadow guards like them, the salary for a month’s worth of hard work is only twenty taels. But once the prince casually feels like giving a reward, he directly rewards one hundred taels. This is what he earns after working for half a year!

Forcefully keeping a cold face to prevent himself from laughing, he took the banknote from Master Yingshou and put it away, pretending to be nonchalant and said: “If I become successful in the future, I will never forget Master Yingshou’s care and education.”

“Then I will count on you to take care of me after I retire.” Xie Feiyuan is only thirty-seven years old this year but he keeps thinking about retirement all day long. He patted You Shu on the shoulder and leisurely walked away with his hands behind his back.

As You Shu said, although this was indeed a big incident, it did not have any far-reaching consequences. Tingyue Tower was originally a romantic place where all kinds of people11 from all walks of life mixed together. Prime Minister Xia and his son had made too many enemies in the capital and it was impossible to discover the culprit.

Moreover, even though they turned Tingyue Tower upside down, they failed to find the tools used to commit the crime. The hidden guards guarding the roof also said that they did not see any strange people entering and no trace of any drug was found inside the private room. Therefore, their extensive investigation ended in complete failure.

No suspicion was placed on Ling Wang Xiao Weixin because he has delicate health and impeccable conduct and he has never been tainted by such a vulgar place as a brothel. The reputations of both Prime Minister Xia and his son were completely ruined and Xia Huaizhang became a laughing stock because of the rumors of his “tiny place”.

Prime Minister Xia had nowhere to vent his anger, so he picked one of his most annoying opponents to provoke and fought to the death12 with him in court.

In the end, Xiao Weixin took advantage of this situation and placed some of his own people in high-ranking positions while they fought amongst themselves and felt relaxed and satisfied for some time.

T/N: Hi guys! I am swamped with assignments and homework especially since I have to catch up with all the work I missed while I was sick. So only one chapter today. I will try and update at least 2 more this week. If I find the time.

1

侍郎(shìláng) is an ancient official title meaning assistant minister. Apparently, he isn’t a complete loafer and actually has an official rank (probably in name only).

2

Like in most Asian languages, there are two different Chinese words for ‘you’. One is 你(Nǐ) which is more casual and generally used. Using it for people of higher rank or position whom you aren’t close to is considered disrespectful. The other which is used here is 您(nín) which is the formal and respectful version of you.

3

I used singer but the raws said 清倌 (qīng guān). This is used to refer to a prostitute who has not received customers yet meaning a prostitute who hasn’t slept with a customer yet.

4

I realized I haven’t explained this yet. Tael is a piece of silver used as currency in Ancient China. It weighed around 40g (1.3 oz).

5

捉襟见肘 (zhuōjīnjiànzhǒu) is an idiom meaning unable to make ends meet. Can someone suggest an alternate better translation for it please? I feel like it doesn’t read that well.

6

Prospectless, unpromising, has no future, good-for-nothing.

7

I really should have used pinyin because now I have the image of a cold and beautiful immortal nonchalantly saying Viagra stuck in my head lmao.

8

bootlick correctly, kiss the right ass.

9

臭脸 means stinky, scowling, sour face. I feel like I should mention that when I searched this, most of the images Google gave me were of Kristen Stewart lol.

10

银票 (yín piào) means banknote with a value in silver.. Something like a cheque that you v=could collect from a merchant’s banknote shop. It has a detailed history so feel free to search it up. 

11

鱼龙混杂 (Yúlónghùnzá) is a Chinese idiom which literally means “fish and dragons mixed in together” and actually means “bad and good people mixed up” or “crooks mixed in with the honest folk”.

12

你死我活 (nǐsǐwǒhuó) meaning “you die, I live”. It means that two parties are irreconcilable adversaries and cannot coexist.

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