Quick Transmigration: Leisure

Chapter 576 The Mystery of Bianjing: A Tale of Love and Debauchery (41 chapters)

Outside the city, at Fayun Temple.

In the afternoon, the sunlight evenly spread across the courtyard where they were. Lying around chatting any longer would feel a bit too restless, so Xia Youmi suggested going for a walk. This beautiful scenery shouldn't be wasted; even if they were to bring up accusations, perhaps they could be made to be less harsh and hasty.

Fu Miao'an agreed and, without any servants or guards, nimbly followed Chi You onto the path outside Fayun Temple.

Every step reveals a beautiful view.

They walked for a short while, then bypassed the mountain path and came to a stream valley in the forest.

There were several flat stones, their surfaces polished smooth and rounded. Xia Youmi naturally chose the most comfortable one, the one where she could lean against the clean bamboo strips to sit on. Fu Miao'an didn't ask any questions and also generously chose a stone to sit cross-legged on.

"It's a good place for spiritual practice."

"It is also."

Fu Miao'an felt the restlessness rising from the outside quickly dissipate with the environment. He looked at his companions with a relaxed smile. He couldn't think of any other words to describe the feeling of spending so much time with Chi You, except for being happy and forgetting his worries.

If he hadn't been trained by his master from a young age and received absolutely objective training, he probably would have been shrouded in a hazy mist when alone with this person, unable to see clearly.

They were simply carried away and immersed in pleasure.

Xia Youmi tilted her head slightly, closed her eyes, and listened to the crisp sound of the stream cascading down the mountain ravine. The air was pure and fragrant. If this were a world of cultivation, it would be a place where rare treasures were nurtured, a secluded retreat for eminent figures.

Fu Miao'an seemed to be struggling, enjoying it while trying to break free.

After Xia Youmi finished receiving oxygen, she looked at the people on the fringes of the story with amusement.

"Lord Fu, is there anything you wish to say?"

She wasn't opposed to the other party following the clues, and was even a little curious about how far they had gone and whether they had avoided the traps and pitfalls they had set up.

Fu Miao'an was aware that he had inappropriately disrupted the atmosphere.

However, if Chi You brings it up herself, there will be no need for hesitation or concealment.

He was certain that the other party was not afraid of his suspicions at all.

After thinking for a moment, I decided to start from the source of the incident and ask, "Do you know Lord Cao?"

"Who? Cao Hege, or Cao's second son?" Xia Youmi quite admired his straightforward style, so she didn't beat around the bush. Speaking of which, besides these two who were quite famous in the court, her fourth son and fifth daughter were also regulars at Feihua Pavilion. They were the lucky "commoners" who were randomly selected by Xia Youmi in the first batch.

Later, I got used to it and rarely concealed my name anymore.

After all, the Cao family is full of talented people, and it's no problem for them, as the younger generation who haven't yet entered officialdom, to find some safe entertainment.

Feihua Pavilion's reputation was completely cleared.

The women gain a greater sense of accomplishment and satisfaction from the praise and admiration they receive than from any other brand they've ever had. Inside the pavilion, there's a special room open to everyone, filled with inscriptions and verses written for them by famous figures and scholars.

Occasionally, you can even see one specifically designed to correspond to your own character.

If one is exceptionally talented and widely praised and admired, it would be a fortunate thing to become famous through poetry and have one's name passed down through the ages.

Therefore, there is no need for Pan Lan to emphasize this now. They will consciously erase the flavor of the flesh trade from their bodies and put more enthusiasm and focus into it, which will then infect the guests. The effect will not deceive people.

Now,

Even though many brothels in the city have tried to imitate them, none have been able to achieve such ingenuity.

Some customers are drawn away by the gimmick, but that's only temporary. Regular customers trust them, and some even want to join in after secretly observing.

With plenty of money to nourish their bodies, there's no reason for anyone to ruin their future.

Therefore, aside from assigning a few troublemakers to inspectors he liked to boost their performance, Xia Youmi rarely needed to personally smooth things over with others. It is said that Cao Erlang was persuaded by his younger siblings to go and see him, and Cao Hege also came once, but Xia Youmi did not rush to receive him.

The connections in Yueying were solid enough, and given what had happened to Ya Yun, Feihua Pavilion no longer sent people to Yueying for rehearsals. Any outsiders or high-ranking officials who wanted to watch had to personally step into the banquet.

They were the ones who were blacklisted.

However, the situation favored Fei Hua Ge, who held a high position and was unwilling to attend the banquet, thus breaking the rules.

in this way,

Several years later, Cao Hege, now a powerful official second only to the emperor, entered Feihua Pavilion to watch the performance. No matter how low-key he tried to be, he could not hide it from those who were interested.

Fu Miao'an's approach was quite precise.

“A few days ago, Lord Cao Hege came to see Master in person, asking him to help find someone.” Fu Miao paused, first confirming her guess, then sighed, “Although Master agreed, he entrusted the whole matter to me to investigate.”

"Oh? How's the investigation going?"

"It didn't go well." Fu Miao'an shook his head and looked at her.

"Tsk, what a pity. I thought nothing could stump you, Judge."

"In fact, a long time ago, a good friend asked me to find the same person, but this person disappeared without a trace. I searched Bianjing City and even his residence, but I couldn't find a single clue. There wasn't even a strange corpse."

Xia Youmi nodded, understanding that Wen Ziji and Zhou Yin must have verbally mentioned it to Fu Miao'an.

It wasn't that he didn't care; he simply couldn't find it.

Miya's image has long since faded from my memory, but that sense of vulnerability has never been forgotten.

It's almost become an obsession.

It wasn't until Cao Hege personally came to provide clues that the tangled mystery began to unravel.

"Seeing that I have been searching in vain, a long-standing secret has been strangely connected with another unrelated case. And perhaps Miss Chi You can help me find the answer."

"Please explain in more detail."

Xia Youmi ignored Fu Miao'an's seemingly eager gaze and continued to ask about his progress.

"Where to begin? It's all so complicated..." Fu Miao'an cupped a handful of clear spring water in his hands, softening his tone slightly. "At Feihua Pavilion, the current Panlan Mama had a sister more than ten years ago named Chi Hui..."

Speaking of this surname, it's hard not to think of Chi You right now.

No name is chosen arbitrarily, not even nicknames.

Xia Youmi smiled slightly upon hearing this, without denying that she cared.

"The old pimp with the good memory said that Chi Hui and Pan Lan weren't actually twins. When they were listed for sale, their former mother planned to sell them together under the guise of sisterly unity. However, before they were listed, the older sister, Chi Hui, was bought and raised in a nearby house, so few people remembered her. Pan Lan, on the other hand, shone brightly and has remained successful to this day..."

"I see."

"The important person who supports Chi Hui is none other than the suddenly deceased Lord Zhao Yuanqing. He was the behind-the-scenes treasury of Feihua Pavilion and had a close relationship with Panlan." Fu Miaoan looked at Xia Youmi, afraid that his words might inadvertently hurt her.

But she always had a faint smile on her face.

Fu Miao'an then continued to recount the part of the story that he understood.

The gist of the story is that Chi Hui was Zhao Yuanqing's mistress, whom he greatly favored, and she even bore him twin daughters. Unfortunately, at that time, Zhao Yuanqing received a transfer order and could no longer remain in Bianjing. Upon learning of her husband's impending departure, Chi Hui was heartbroken and died during her postpartum period after only a few moments with her children.

A man's heart is easily broken; faced with an increasingly promising future, Zhao Yuanqing didn't take her seriously at all.

They sent a message to Panlan, telling her to take the child to the estate to be raised, where someone would take care of him, and that they would also give her a reward.

In Zhao Yuanqing's view, whether or not he could support them was irrelevant. He already had wives, concubines, and sons. His mother was a girl from such a background, and even if she was a rare and beautiful twin, she was not worth his time.

They raised him like that until he was a few years old, when he returned to the capital. At that time, Panlan had just taken over Feihua Pavilion, and it was a time when she needed a lot of money.

Then someone led Zhao Yuanqing to take a look at the child.

His circumstances were different now; he was enjoying immense success and everyone around him fawned over him.

However, they discovered that the children had grown up to be wild and unruly, completely unlike human beings.

He summoned Panlan while expressing his disgust, and handed the girl over to her to raise again. He told her that if she didn't want her to learn 70% of the girl's manners, she should at least cultivate half of the charm a young woman should have; otherwise, it would be a laughing stock.

Thus, it seemed that they were all on the right track, and with Zhao Yuanqing's support, Feihua Pavilion gradually became more prominent.

Panlan also went to great lengths to repay Zhao Yuanqing, cultivating the twin flowers to an extraordinary level of beauty. She even managed to provoke the old scoundrel into wanting to pick them himself.

Fu Miao'an gritted his teeth as he said this, but soon became mischievous again.

Zhao Yuanqing only learned of his mortal enemy's involvement shortly before his death.

If Fu Miao'an hadn't been unable to uncover the truth, Cao Hege wouldn't have revealed that one or two of Chi Hui's children were actually his, and that he was Chi Hui's true lover. At that time, Zhao Yuanqing had married his legal wife and neglected Chi Hui, while Cao Hege and Zhao Yuanqing both had their eyes on Chi Hui, but in order not to reveal their feelings to others, they lost the opportunity first.

Later, he also genuinely fell in love with this woman.

She gradually won him over with her sincerity, intending to confront him directly. However, a vicious power struggle erupted in the imperial court, drawing in many parties. Unfortunately, both men went to explain things to her and then disappeared from public view for an extended period.

Chi Hui then discovered that she was pregnant while waiting.

Not daring to mention Cao Hege's involvement, she implicitly admitted to Zhao Yuanqing when Pan Lan asked her, though she herself was unaware of it.

Overthinking caused Chi Hui to be unable to face anyone after giving birth, especially when she saw someone who resembled Zhao Yuanqing and someone who looked like Cao Hege. She left, neglecting her physical exhaustion.

Her departure was also silent and without a trace; Fu Miao'an could not find any clues about Chi Hui's funeral arrangements.

Later, the two children became Day Chant and Night Chant.

Zhao Yuanqing has a fair complexion, while Cao Hege has a darker, more military-like appearance.

Logically speaking, Cao Hege should have recognized Zhou Yin as the one with the corresponding characteristics at a glance. However, Zhou Yin did have opportunities to interact with him after arriving at the Wen residence.

But he still felt something was wrong.

Without seeing Miya, I cannot believe that Zhouyin is my biological son.

After numerous entanglements with the Wen family, Cao Hege still sought out Master Fu Miao'an.

No one is seen.

They also wanted to see Miya's body.