"I... let's just consider him a servant of his family?"
The old man's face was full of wrinkles, with a few sparse white hairs lying on his head. He didn't look like he had many years left.
But Yang Xianxian, who had already elevated the mysterious assassin to an infinite height in his mind, felt a deep chill emanating from the old man's eyes.
Completely nerve-wracked, he cried miserably, "Sir, I promise to keep a close eye on that person next time, never to lose him again. Please, have mercy on me and spare my life!"
The old man remained unmoved.
Slowly, he extended his claw-like hand, like dried bones...
"Crack!"
The sound of bones shattering echoed, and Yang Xianxian's limbs were broken, contorted into a grotesque death pose.
The pain caused Yang Xianxian to faint.
The old man looked at his handiwork and finally laughed silently, then slowly vanished.
After who knew how long, another figure appeared in the carriage.
The newcomer was an old woman, carrying a long whip with hooks.
Seeing Yang Xianxian, who had been manipulated into almost an unrecognizable form, a fleeting look of surprise crossed her face.
After a moment of silence, she wordlessly infused vitality into Yang Xianxian's body.
Madame Yu had said she wanted certain people in the court to remember a lesson, so she couldn't afford to be discreet!
With her vitality nourishing him, Yang Xianxian gradually regained consciousness!
As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw the old woman in the corner, and his face was full of horror.
"Come on, I... lost an assassin..."
...
The next day, in the Qingle Alley!
"Tsk tsk tsk, Yang Second is pitiful!"
Hearing about Yang Xianxian's tragic fate, Chen Zhian slurped down a mouthful of wine, expressing indescribable regret.
Yang Xianxian had no sense of honor, so Chen Zhian naturally wouldn't let him off easily. He had pondered over a hundred ways to retaliate, but unexpectedly, none of them were needed...
"I heard that Young Master Yang returned home completely maddened, repeating nonsense about losing an assassin and being too scared to do anything anymore..."
Beside Chen Zhian, Li Lanqing, known as Chang'an's number one beauty, sighed softly, her face also full of regret.
Unlike this little marquis with nothing but good looks, although Young Master Yang was also a waste, his family managed the money, so he was generous with his spending.
Thinking that her patron was now gone like this, Li Lanqing felt genuine regret.
Surprisingly, she felt more upset than when she was forcibly robbed of her innocence years ago.
But being born in a muddy pond,
There was no room for lamenting lost love or missed opportunities.
Losing one patron meant treasuring the rest even more.
With this in mind,
Her cheeks blushed slightly as she licked her lips coyly, "Young Marquis, Little Bunny also wants to drink!"
Chen Zhian lowered his gaze and waved his hand, "Let's drink together, let's drink together..."
...
"Did I come at an inconvenient time?"
Just as the situation was about to get out of control, a figure in white slipped in sneakily.
"Li Lao San, it took me a lot of effort to make progress, and you're fucking here now to mess things up?"
Chen Zhian glared fiercely at the newcomer and casually threw a jug of wine at him.
The newcomer caught the jug steadily, lifted it to his lips, and drank it all in one gulp, "Refreshing, for some reason, I always feel like the wine in the brothels tastes particularly good!"
"What a bum!"
Chen Zhian sneered.
He had no respect for Li Cheng'an, who didn't seem like a prince at all.
After all!
No matter how powerful a noble was when he stayed butt-naked with you for a long time, it would be difficult to maintain a sense of superiority.
"Speak up, what big treasure did you come to show me, young master?"
Taking another sip of wine, Li Cheng'an asked nonchalantly, crossing his legs.
Chen Zhian made an excuse to send Li Lanqing away, then began, "Let's not rush into the treasure, I have a business opportunity with limitless prospects, promising great returns. Are you interested in learning more?"
"Doing business? Are you out of your mind?"
Li Cheng'an reached out to touch Chen Zhian's forehead, "Who in Chang'an doesn't know we're useless? If you have this kind of ambition, you might as well take in a few more concubines and work hard to produce heirs. Maybe you'll even give birth to a dragon, and father a phoenix. We should just live aimlessly and wait for death. What business are you talking about?"
Chen Zhian remained silent.
He found himself oddly unable to refute, feeling that Li Cheng'an's words made sense. Looking at Li Cheng'an's casual expression, Chen Zhian couldn't help but think that this guy was probably beyond help.
With no other choice, Chen Zhian resorted to his strongest argument from his past life, persuading, "You make a good point, but since you're already here..."
Sure enough!
With this statement, even Li Cheng'an, who had already resigned himself to a life of mediocrity, couldn't refuse and quietly waited for more.
Seeing this, Chen Zhian took out the plan he had stayed up all night writing, and enticed, "I want to open the most profitable brothel in Chang'an! For this, I have endured three years of tarnished reputation and finally come up with the perfect plan! As long as we follow my plan, one day, we will surely reach the pinnacle of the entire brothel industry and become the leader of the industry! Even the entire world of brothels will change because of us!"
Li Cheng'an took the plan book and looked at it dismissively.
Although Chen Zhian spoke grandly, Li Cheng'an was unimpressed.
Not only had Li Cheng'an completely given up, even if he still had some fighting spirit left, a prince of the Great Tang opened a brothel...
Wasn't that trampling the royal dignity into the ground?
Opening the plan book, he glanced at the bluntly written "Six Elements of Brothel Money-making" at the top, and Li Cheng'an chuckled.
He thought this guy had no talent.
With such an ugly and crooked font, it was worse than that of a three-year-old...
About to make a joke or two, he caught sight of a few lines of small text and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. He began to read carefully.
Chen Zhian raised his glass and drank alone, looking relaxed.
Knowing Li Cheng'an well, he was sure that once he saw this plan book, he would be deeply attracted.
It had nothing to do with making money.
Most importantly, this guy was an elegant guest.
He had complained more than once about the girls in Chang'an taking off their clothes too quickly and drinking too boldly...
He wanted refinement and vulgarity to coexist.
Unfortunately, the girls were vulgar enough, but they couldn't afford elegance.
Chen Zhian's plan book...
Was like a bright light suddenly appearing in the night, allowing the prisoner struggling in the darkness to see the way forward.
Li Cheng'an was that prisoner lost in the dark.
After reading the thick plan book,
Li Cheng'an raised his head, and grabbed Chen Zhian's hands tightly, "Good brother, how much do you need?"
Chen Zhian held up two fingers, "Sixteen thousand two hundred silver taels. You'll be the second boss, holding twenty percent of the shares, and as for the leading courtesan... you get to pick first!"
"Really?"
Li Cheng'an's eyes gleamed brightly.
Slapping down a stack of silver bills, he declared, "This project, I, Li Cheng'an, invest in!"