"Yu Rou, I have a question for you."
She nodded obediently.
Her lips a bit dry, she saw her fiancé wanting to drink water, walked over, took the teapot from the man's hand, poured him a full cup, and then poured one for herself.
Taking a sip, the girl's blushing cheeks slightly faded in color. She glanced at Jiang Feng stealthily; perhaps because of the sweat, the young man subconsciously opened his collar revealing his firm and chiseled chest.
She sneaked a peek, fully aware that such behavior was unseemly, and that she should remind Jiang Lang to watch his manners, but she couldn't help it.
And she looked a few more times.
Before she could swallow, a sentence made her spew it out!
"Do you know anything about the Ethereal Violet Pavilion? What's the consumption level there, are the visitors usually diverse, what about its background?"
Pfft—
She closed her eyes reflexively.
Even with a swift reaction, she was bewildered as the water sprayed all over her face, even drenching her chest.
While Jiang Feng looked completely befuddled, mouth opening as if to say something, but his clear-headedness hazed by the spewed mouthful.
"Sorry, sorry, I... I didn't mean it, but why do you ask about the Ethereal Violet Pavilion, you... how did you get corrupted by those young masters!"
Full of apology, she quickly grabbed a handkerchief, frantically wiping the handsome youth's cheeks, but even amidst the apologies, she didn't forget what she wanted to say.
Her pretty face immediately showed a sense of grievance, the misty tears in her eyes were so touching that they wrenched one's heart. The long-idle brain finally started running again.
"What's wrong?"
Usually, with Jiang Feng's emotional intelligence, he wouldn't ask such a question, but now his head was full of Mr. Xue's daily routines, whereabouts, and how to use the special nature of the brothel to fulfill his plans.
And to take revenge without implicating others as much as possible.
"You should know better than to ruin your body in such a place, especially when you haven't fully recovered, and then, deliberately to upset me…"
"Normally, you seem so honest and well-behaved, why the cunning mind, could it be you really think Yu Rou has no temper?"
"Going to a brothel will only taint you, and besides, it's bad for your health. If Jiang Lang insists on going, I... I naturally can't stop you."
"If it's really necessary, just, just find a cleaner girl, wuuu wuuu..."
A series of interrogations completely baffled Jiang Feng, who finally sat down straightforwardly, wiping his tears.
He sighed, realizing that this girl hadn't caught up with his train of thought at all.
His fiancée had been protected too well, never encountering society, completely unaware that he was already one foot into the underworld, but in some ways, it was also a good thing.
After all, her innocence was enough; he didn't want Yu Rou to be scheming like himself.
Now he had to race against Mr. Xue, to strike first. From last night, Mr. Xue would spare no cost to eliminate him, whether to hire outsiders or use his own people, it was unclear.
After all, judging by the coachman's tone, that bastard's father seemed to be gathering Elixirs and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures everywhere.
And he had to act before him, as for who would be faster, it was up to fate.
But before that!
He definitely had to earnestly apologize and explain clearly.
"Well, Yu Rou, don't be angry, just listen to my excuses, I wasn't going there to mess around…"
"I can't listen, I won't listen! Wuuu wuuu~"
He felt numb.
He found that when any woman gets angry, they are all alike, whether a fairy or his fiancée.
The autumn sun climbed overhead.
By midday, Yan Yurou finally decided to leave, and even as she walked out the gate, tears still glistened in her eyes. This undoubtedly made the passersby talk, and he had no doubts that if he were to go out now, he would be lynched.
He sighed. After all, it took a lot of sweet-talking and effort, nearly talking his mouth dry, to somewhat convince the lady to believe his words and to coax the little ancestor back home.
But.
As she left, the young lady left something behind.
Looking at the stack of silver notes on the table, Jiang Feng's numb expression took on a shade of deathly gray. He let out a long sigh to the sky and rubbed his sore glabella.
The stack of silver notes was substantial. Two pieces of Silver would already cover an entire year's expenses for an ordinary family, and here there were at least dozens of notes, all with double-digit denominations. And Lady Yan had carelessly tossed them to him like it was nothing.
It was clear that Lady Yan was indeed wealthy and lavish—after all, within hundreds of miles, no one was richer than the Yan Family. However, strictly speaking, this money also belonged to Jiang Feng himself.
In his youth, his parents had been concerned that he couldn't protect his wealth, so they left him only a piece of land and an inn, entrusting the rest of their riches with the Yan Family to manage on his behalf. Every month, they would give him some Silver Taels, enough for him to live a stable and peaceful life.
Although he didn't understand why his parents trusted the Yan Family so much and knew little about the older generations' affairs, over the years, the Yan Family had never committed any acts of betrayal or embezzlement.
Initially, it was Mr. Yan, Yan Yurou's grandfather, who was responsible for sending someone to deliver the Silver to him every month. But later, perhaps Mr. Yan found it too troublesome, or maybe he wanted the engaged couple to interact more and develop feelings for each other.
Hence, he transferred the management of his parents' inheritance entirely to his granddaughter, who would bring Jiang Feng his living expenses each month.
Usually, his expenses were not high, and with the inn being self-sufficient, he definitely didn't have too many problems. But.
Whenever there was a need for high spending, he had to shamelessly ask his fiancée for money...
For instance, when going to a brothel.
Logically, he should be happy to be engaged to such a wealthy lady, anticipating a bright future, and she even willingly let him squander money at the brothel.
So what if he was living off a woman? That too was a skill.
But even he, whose shamelessness was thick as a city wall, sweated profusely due to the day's events.
"An engaged man asking his betrothed about the brothel."
"Not only did the fiancée explain, but she also gave him the Silver with a wronged face, afraid that her fiancé would be looked down upon outside."
"Worried that her fiancé would contract a disease, she even advised him to find a somewhat cleaner girl, preferable to buy one's chastity."
"And she also informed her fiancé very considerately."
"If the silver notes weren't enough, she could provide quite a bit more."
"Then the useless fiancé took his betrothed's silver notes to swagger around in the brothel, leaving behind a tearful fiancée sadly departing."
His blood pressure rose.
Usually, when he read such plots in novels, his blood pressure would soar dramatically, but he never imagined that one day it would happen to him.
"But how did that girl know about the Ethereal Violet Pavilion?"
"And how did she know the prices? How could she even be aware of someone's background?"
Rubbing his sore glabella, he was now too lazy to ponder these things. Instead, he sat down at the desk, picked up paper and pen, and started to sketch.
"Three days. It's a bit urgent."
"The only worry now is that within these three days, that little beast would hire a few experts to crack my head open."
"Uncle Yan just left yesterday. The round trip alone takes at least seven or eight days, not including the time for handling affairs; he definitely won't make it in time."
"And three days from now is the appointed time with the Ethereal Violet Pavilion. In these three days, I must finish grinding all the necessary components."
Without a word, he dipped his finger in the tea and drew a very simple and sloppy pattern on the table. It was odd-looking, but Jiang Feng's grim expression seemed to reveal that it was not something harmless.
"Now, I can only hope..."
"That Miss Lu Luo is charming enough."