Note: During the period of the new book release, we urgently need collections and recommendation tickets, I beg of you.
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Wangcheng Zidu was simply too vast, the streets so crowded that people were shoulder to shoulder. Some women were scantily clad, exposing most of their skin, while others were completely shrouded in robes, with only their eyes visible.
The architecture within the Royal City was almost as dense as the crowd, with five or six-story buildings ubiquitous and lining up one after the other.
The scent of women's makeup, the sweat of men, the stench from the sewers, the aroma of meat from street-side food stalls, a multitude of smells mixed together, forming a very strange and complex odor.
Ye Jingyu wrinkled her nose and said, "Zidu still smells as bad as ever."
Lanling looked curiously through the window at everything outside, all of which was real, much more shocking than anything seen in the movies. Especially this city, a blend of Eastern and Western architecture, something you couldn't find in films.
Even the carriages of the nobility moved slowly within the city, for the people were just too many.
"Is that Young Master Suo Lun returning in the carriage?" Suddenly, a surprised and delighted shout from a woman erupted outside.
Lanling lifted the curtain and looked out, where, atop a resplendent and glittering building, stood a dozen scantily dressed women striking seductive poses. On seeing Lanling's face, the women burst into a series of shrieks, "Young Master Suo Lun is back, Young Master Suo Lun is back..."
There was no doubt this was a brothel.
Then the women began waving their sleeves frantically, gesturing for Lanling to come closer.
"Suo Lun, come quickly, come. We've missed you so dearly..."
Then, several women dashed down from the building, seemingly intent on throwing themselves onto the carriage.
Lanling inside the carriage suddenly felt a tingling scalp, realizing the Suo Lun he was impersonating must be a regular patron of such places, or these women wouldn't have been so enthusiastic.
Ye Jingyu said with an awkward look, "Mrs. Suo Lun used to frequent such places and wasted who knows how much money. Hence, the women of the pleasure quarters all know him and treat him as if he were their ancestor."
Suddenly, Lanling felt an immense pressure. On Earth, he had been nothing more than an innocent fledgling, and now he was expected to impersonate such a debauched libertine, which was quite difficult indeed.
Ye Jingyu directly lashed the whip to speed up, shaking off the women who were about to pounce and hastened toward the earl's manor.
...
Count Tianshui's manor was within the inner city of the Royal City, where all the houses belonged to the kingdom's powerful and noble families.
After entering the inner city, the smell of the air instantly changed to something fragrant and pleasant. The roads became smooth and spacious, and there were fewer people. Everyone who came and went rode in luxurious carriages.
On both sides of the broad flagstone street were long, high walls, behind which lay the estates of the noble families.
Because the roads were wide and sparsely populated, they traveled much faster. As Lanling whipped through, gazing at the beautiful scenery outside the window, suddenly the carriage came to a halt.
"What's wrong? Have we arrived at the earl's manor?" Lanling asked.
Ye Jingyu jumped off her excellent horse and said to Lanling in a low voice, "Quick, get out of the carriage and stand by the roadside. You need to bow and keep your head down in a respectful and solemn manner."
Lanling hurriedly got out of the carriage and stood by the roadside with Ye Jingyu, slightly bowing his head. Looking at the other carriages on the road, they all stopped as well, and the nobles inside got out and stood beside the road, bowing in silence.
He couldn't help but be amazed. Who could this important person be, passing by? Could it be someone from the royal family?
Moments later, before he saw anyone, Lanling caught a whiff of an odd fragrance, very faint yet lingering and ethereal. Then, he saw a procession of four people emerge from around the corner ahead, walking down the middle of the road.
The four individuals were entirely draped in snow-white robes, with only their eyes exposed. Their faces were not clear, but their figures were graceful and enchanting. As for their eyes... Lanling had never seen such a gaze before, one so pure and immaculate, with a sacred light that seemed capable of purifying one's soul.
These four moved quickly, yet it seemed as if they weren't even taking steps, almost as though they floated past everyone, and the entire street fell into complete silence.
Only after the four cloaked women had entirely passed did everyone climb back into their carriages and continue onward.
After boarding the carriage again, Lanling remained silent, though his curiosity was piqued.
"That was Snow Attire Emissaries from the Dragon Temple, messengers of the Divine in this world. Whenever you encounter them in the future, you must stand by the roadside and wait quietly. You cannot lift your head to look, you cannot move, and you must not speak a single word," Ye Jingyu explained.
"I understand," Lanling nodded, the term Dragon Temple deeply etched into his mind, likely signifying the most transcendent religious organization of divinity in this world.
The carriage drove on for a quarter of an hour more within the inner city before suddenly coming to a stop. Ye Jingyu announced, "Young Master, we have arrived home."
Lanling's heart skipped a beat, inexplicably filled with a surge of tension, though there was no apparent reason for it.
He pushed open the carriage door and looked towards the earl's manor before him.
...
Truly a vermilion gate and jade doorway, a deep, deep courtyard—how deep exactly?
The two large stone lions in front of the gate, the vermilion door, the gilded grand plaque.
The blue surrounding wall stood four or five meters tall and spanned hundreds of meters, stretching beyond sight. It concealed the landscape within, with only the occasional flowering tree peeping over the wall.
In Earth's Lanling, his family had just managed a modest level of comfort, living in a house more than twenty years old, barely a hundred square meters in size. In contrast, the Earl's mansion spread across at least a hundred acres; he was indeed somewhat overwhelmed by the grandeur confronting him.
Yet, the gold foil on the plaque seemed a bit faded, and the trees inside the walled compound had grown somewhat unruly, as if unpruned for some time.
Moreover, the mansion's great doors were shut tight, with no sound coming from within. For some reason, this vast Earl's mansion emitted an air of desolation.
"Young master, please wait here for a moment while I go in to inform the young lady," Ye Jingyu said.
To be honest, Ye Jingyu was also very nervous, even worried. The idea to have Lanling impersonate Suo Lun was entirely her own, and the young lady didn't know about it yet. Although the young lady treated her as a sister, she had certainly overstepped her authority in this matter.
When the Earl was alive, bedridden for years, and Suo Lun, the young master, led a profligate life, it had always been the young lady who had been in charge of the mansion, her word was law.
But for such a significant matter as Lanling impersonating Suo Lun, if the young lady disagreed, Ye Jingyu would have truly wrought a disaster.
Seeing her nervousness, Lanling could not help but smile at her, a gesture of solace.
This clean and kind smile immediately endeared her to Ye Jingyu. Drawing a deep breath, she stepped forward to knock on the door.
"The Earl's mansion is closed to visitors. Please leave your name, and our master will come to apologize another day," an elderly voice came from inside.
"Steward, it's me, I've returned," Ye Jingyu said.
Inside, there was a moment of silence, then the great doors swiftly opened, and an old man asked tremblingly, "Lord Ye, where is the young master..."
Ye Jingyu did not answer, but instead stepped directly into the Earl's mansion.
Meanwhile, the maids and servants inside the mansion quickly emerged to greet Ye Jingyu with bows, their gaze drifting towards the person behind her.
What they cared most about was whether Young Master Suo Lun had returned. It wasn't that Suo Lun was particularly beloved; rather, if Suo Lun did not return, then the Tianshui City Earl's mansion would cease to exist. Without the 'skin,' how could the 'hair' adhere? They would also be without a home.
...
The beauty of Suo Ningbing, the Earl's daughter of Tianshui City, was famous throughout the kingdom, rivaling that of Princess Zhining.
In his early years, when he was only thirteen, Count Suo Long had taken her to a royal banquet, where King Quo Bian had exclaimed in admiration, "All the essence of Tianshui Lake seems to be concentrated in your daughter; she is truly the Tianshui Fairy."
So, the nickname "Tianshui Fairy" Suo Ningbing began to spread, becoming known throughout the Rage Wave Kingdom as a breathtaking beauty.
She stood before Ye Jingyu now, in a snow-white dress, her hair done in the style of a married woman, with a white ribbon tied to it, signifying mourning.
She appeared haggard and frail yet incomparably beautiful, like a fairy indeed. Against her beauty, the originally glamorous Ye Jingyu immediately paled.
"Jingyu, you've returned? Where is Suo Lun?" Her voice was slightly hoarse, from crying too much.
Ye Jingyu closed the door and after ensuring that no one else was around, she spoke in a low voice, "Miss, no matter what I say next, please don't make any sound and let no third person hear."
Suo Ningbing's stunning face blanched, then she nodded.
"Young Master Suo Lun is dead, likely perished in some kind of energy field relic within the Heavenly Demon Mountain Range," Ye Jingyu said.
Suo Ningbing staggered immediately, tears that had dried up now gushing forth like a fountain. Clutching her mouth tightly with her jade hands, she let out a mournful sob. Then, unable to stand any longer, she collapsed into a chair.
In just a short time, she had lost the only two family members she had left, and suddenly she felt utterly forsaken.
"Young Master Suo Lun was the sole heir to the family, with his death, the royal house will seize the opportunity to reclaim the Tianshui City Territory. The Suo Family's two-hundred-year legacy is about to be destroyed in one fell swoop," Ye Jingyu said.
Suo Ningbing's anguish intensified as she wept, "It's my fault for not teaching Xiaolun well. If I had been stricter and hadn't let him overreach in pursuing Princess Zhining, he wouldn't have died, and the Suo family legacy wouldn't have been severed."
Ye Jingyu sighed internally. With the reckless personality of Young Master Suo Lun, no one could have restrained him. He had even managed to stay away from home for extended periods, despite slightly fearing his gentle yet strict sister.
"Miss, I have found a way that might preserve the century-old legacy of the Suo family," Ye Jingyu said, then firmly knelt down, "But I acted very rashly and took liberties far beyond my station."
Suo Ningbing shuddered, saying, "Speak, but stand up to speak."
"I've found someone to impersonate Young Master Suo Lun and return to inherit the title," Ye Jingyu did not rise, remaining rigidly on her knees, "I was brazen, please punish me as you see fit, miss."
Suo Ningbing was completely stunned for a moment, staring incredulously at Ye Jingyu.