Chapter 626: The Cold-Hearted Beauty with a Red Face

It was also the time when commoners who went out to work or do business returned home, so the streets gradually filled with more people. Among them were several carriages adorned with pink floral decorations, all featuring dark, slightly worn carriage bodies. As these carriages passed by, passersby would turn to glance at them; sensing the scent of cosmetics inside, many young men showed expressions of envy.
These were the official courtesans from the courtyards in Goulan Hutong, near the East Fourth Archway!
Since there was no ban on official courtesans at that time, although officials were prohibited by regulations from staying in brothels, violating this rule would result in impeachment. However, it was acceptable to invite one or two official courtesans to a family banquet to keep the atmosphere lively. Thus, aside from poor officials, wealthy officials would often send someone to Goulan Hutong to invite courtesans when gathering friends at home.
At that moment, one of the carriages moved along Chongwenmen Street, crossed Yinding Bridge over Shichahai, and soon entered Qunli Hutong next to Chongguo Temple. Soon after, four young women got out of the carriage—two in peach-colored dresses and two in green ones—graceful and stunning in appearance. They entered a large mansion through its dark, oiled doors.
Of course, these official courtesans had no right to use the main entrance nor the west corner gate used by guests. Yet the west corner gate was also bustling with activity. Those who arrived wore official attire—black hats, round collars, and sashes. Someone at the door welcomed them inside, while the two porters busily bowed and greeted them. A steady stream of carriages and sedan chairs filled half of the hutong, with voices of greetings coming from inside. It was hard to tell how much of it was mere formality and false flattery.
Just then, a group of people passed by the entrance of Qunli Hutong. Zhang Yue, who led the group, held back his horse and glanced thoughtfully inside. Many nobles and important civil officials lived in this western part of the city, and he happened to remember who resided here. However, his own home was further south, so he rarely passed by here. He had only heard of the reputation of this chief censor for indulging in banquets with courtesans. In just that brief pause, he saw two more dark carriages with pink floral decorations turn into the alley, with even more carriages following.
“Young master, standing here too prominently will draw attention,” Peng Shisan reminded him.
Hearing this, Zhang Yue quickly snapped out of his thoughts, nodded, and spurred his horse onward. Only after walking over a hundred steps did he slow down again, deep in thought.

Zhu Di seemed suspicious, but as long as no one offended him, the ministers fared much better than those in the Hongwu era. Just as at the beginning of the dynasty, although Zhu Yuanzhang established brothels with official prostitutes, few officials dared to order them to come and accompany them at banquets. Now, when Liu Guan hosted a banquet for the censors of the Censorate, dozens of official prostitutes were brought, drawing much attention. He believed that since Yuan Fang had gone to such lengths as to amputate Liu Guan’s arm, if that charge were effective, he would not stay idle; yet Liu Guan still acted ostentatiously, showing that Zhu Di didn’t take these things seriously.

Peng Shisan had followed Zhang Yue for many years and could tell what he was thinking just by looking at his expression, so he rode forward, only half a step behind Zhang Yue: “These days, when officials hold banquets, there are always singers and dancers around—all official prostitutes summoned by order. Besides, if those in high positions act improperly, why should others hesitate?”

Zhang Yue shook his head and said, “The salaries of officials in the capital are too low. Many of them live alone there and can’t even afford servants. In such difficult circumstances, banning the use of official prostitutes at banquets would only force them to turn to other alternatives. But for someone like Liu Guan, summoning a dozen or so at once is purely to show off his power and wealth. Anyway, with the Censorate in such a mess, it’s amazing that some people can still stay there.”

“Are you referring to the seventh young master of the Gu family? That fool is extremely upright. It’s not easy to pull him down!”

Hearing Peng Shisan call Gu Bin a fool, Zhang Yue almost choked and then burst into laughter. After all, although Gu Bin wasn’t as aloof as he used to be, some deeply ingrained habits remained unchanged. For example, he could accept Yang Rong’s arrangements but wouldn’t readily accept promotions from others. It was said he even declined many offers of support from his own family in Kaifeng, preferring to live in a rented house with his parents. He must have turned down countless marriage proposals as well.

This guy was already twenty-two!

But what he thought of right away wasn’t just Gu Bin—it was also Yu Qian, who had yet to be officially appointed as a censor after two full years. It seemed he hadn’t inquired about this man’s situation in a long time. Though he was a famous figure in history, in this era he was still just a probationary censor struggling at the Censorate. To remain upright under Liu Guan was extremely difficult! After all, why should only Liu Guan be allowed to use Zhang Liang’s tactics, while he wasn’t allowed to use a scaling ladder?

Since he had to go to the Imperial Armory again after work today, Zhang Yue had to take a long detour back home via Beianmen. By the time he turned into Wuanhou Hutong, it was already mostly dark. Standing at the entrance of the alley, he could clearly see lanterns hung in the two adjacent houses inside, while the entire alley was eerily quiet. Probably because Marquis of Wuan, Zheng Heng, was away on duty, the main gate and the east and west side gates of the Marquis’s residence were all tightly closed. The east and main gates of the Zhang family were also shut tight, with only the west side gate guarded.

“Young master!”

Unusually, it wasn’t the gatekeeper who rushed out to greet him this time, but Lian Hu. He helpfully assisted Zhang Yue off his horse, then rubbed his hands together and said with a grin, “Young master, my wife… she gave birth! You promised to help pick a name for the baby. Now… now…”

“You waited at the door just for this? You’re really thoughtful. Do you think I’d refuse you?” Zhang Yue was both annoyed and amused. Seeing Lian Hu, who was usually smarter than his brother, smiling foolishly, he didn’t bother teasing him any further. “Alright, I’ve got it noted. I’ll definitely think of a good name for you.”

“Thank you, young master. I was just anxious,” Lian Hu said, his face lighting up at the thought of the adorable baby with a tiger-like appearance. Then he remembered another matter. “Someone came to see the young mistress this afternoon. Since they kept talking in the main house in the west courtyard, the young mistress ordered food to be prepared. She specifically asked me to wait here and inform you in advance. That person’s surname is Tang. Please be prepared before meeting them…”

Zhang Yue, who had slowed down upon returning home, felt a jolt in his heart upon hearing the surname Tang. Just as he was about to scold Lian Hu for not prioritizing matters, he remembered there were still a few servants around, so he forced himself to keep walking. It wasn’t until he reached the second gate that he turned around and glared at Lian Hu angrily.

“If you keep putting important things at the end, I’ll make you guard the gate forever!”

Seeing Zhang Yue enter without even looking back, Lian Hu was stunned for a moment before making a pained face. Having guests wasn’t a big deal. He could just have some fun being a child once in a while. If he really had to guard the gate forever because of this, his father would surely beat him to death!

Entering the inner courtyard, Zhang Yue unconsciously quickened his pace. There were few people he knew with the surname Tang, and even fewer he was close to. The only one who could possibly prompt Du Wan to give such an order was definitely that person. Hurrying into the western courtyard, he saw that the maids who usually followed in front were nowhere to be seen. Knowing full well that Du Wan must have sent them away under some pretext, he stepped forward and lifted the door curtain to enter, only to find the outer room empty. As he hesitated, he saw the green, soft curtain in the inner room slightly lifted, revealing Amber with a vigilant expression.

“The young master is back!”

There were indeed guests in the inner room, but they were two women. The one on the left was indeed the elusive and troublesome leader of the White Lotus Sect, while the one on the right appeared younger but had a frosty expression. The moment she saw him, her icy gaze, filled with unmistakable hatred, shot toward him.

Seeing no other maids in the room except Amber, Zhang Yue understood that Du Wan was also afraid of this matter leaking out, so she had found someone who knew about it. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, he became fully alert the moment he stepped into the room.

Ever since Du Wan sent Qiu Hen to deliver a message to the Duke of Yingguo’s residence in the afternoon and called him in to keep her company, and then he met Tang Sair, this guest of extraordinary background, Amber had known that today’s situation was unusual. Now that Zhang Yue had returned, she, who had been waiting by the curtain, stood up and said, “Young master, young mistress, I’ll go watch in the main room to prevent anyone from sneaking in!”

After Amber left, Tang Sair smiled faintly and said, “Lord Zhang, if word gets out that I came to your place today, I’m afraid that no matter how favored you are by the emperor, you won’t benefit from it.”

Seeing Zhang Yue remain silent, she paused briefly before speaking seriously, “Although I’m just a woman, what I said to you back then still holds true. I’ve come to see you today because of my master. After learning the news from Miss Meng, I had people search everywhere within Shuntian Prefecture, turning the place upside down, but still found no trace of him. Now, aside from Qing Shuang, he’s the only family member I have. That’s why I’m asking you to do your best to find him. If we can locate him, I promise to do anything you ask, no matter what it takes. Though I’m not a man, I’ll never break my word.”

Hearing that decisive tone at the end, Zhang Yue was momentarily stunned, thinking that Feng Yuanming’s disciple really had character. Yet instead of picking up on that remark, he asked directly, “Master Tang, before agreeing to your request, may I ask why you’ve come to the capital again?”
Tang Qingshuang beside him couldn’t help but retort sarcastically, “Does my third sister need to report to you just for coming to the capital?”
“Qingshuang, shut up!” Tang Sairu snapped at her, then lowered her head and gently rolled up the sleeves of her green silk robe before saying coldly, “It is said that messages were sent from the capital to Shandong, reporting that people from the Han King’s mansion had disappeared without reason, which even alarmed the authorities. But that’s just the surface story. From what I’ve found out, the Han King’s second wife met the same fate as the previous one. With such tension there, plus some rumors in the capital, I came to take a look—just as an observer. Who would have thought I’d encounter such a thing?”