The maids had prepared hot water, and Li Qi An reluctantly bathed under their small hands’ service. As his clothes were removed one by one, what was revealed to the two young maids was a tall, athletic, and masculine body.
His muscle lines were smooth and full, containing inner strength, and exuding the charm of a strong man.
The two young maids were not novices but experienced hands who had served many important men during baths. Some were pot-bellied, some were thin, some had knotted muscles… But they had seen very few like Young Master Yang, with such a well-proportioned, muscular body that didn’t lack explosive power.
This was the mystical quality bestowed by the peak of the Essence Refining realm, the body in its most combat-ready state, without excess fat, and without muscles being overly bulky to affect flexibility.
When Li Qi An, wearing only underwear and bare-chested, came to the bedside, the courtesan sitting cross-legged on the brocade couch in a sheer gauze robe, her gaze instantly became dreamy, staring fixedly at Li Qi An’s chest and abdominal muscles.
The maids consciously withdrew from the main bedroom. Li Qi An lifted the brocade quilt embroidered with mandarin ducks. Just as he slipped in, Fuxiang snuggled up to him, her arms around his neck, her soft, full body clinging to him. She breathed fragrant breaths in Li Qi An’s ear and said in a coquettish voice, “My lord.”
Waves of delicate fragrance entered his nostrils. Li Qi An, an honest man who never visited brothels, had a serious expression and tensed his body.
The courtesan was surprised for a moment, then giggled coyly, “Could it be that the young master is inexperienced?”
Thinking of this possibility, her body softened even more.
No, I’ve experienced women in my previous life… just never slept with such a beautiful woman like you… Li Qi An pondered for a moment, then said, “Miss Fuxiang, have you ever heard of a divine skill?”
“What divine skill?”
“Touching the pillow for three seconds can make one fall into a deep sleep.”
“… Hehe, I don’t believe it.”
“Then move away from me, I’ll demonstrate it to you.”
The courtesan smiled and moved back a bit, thinking he was just playing a game.
Three seconds later…
“Snore, snore.”
Fuxiang pushed him gently, “Young Master Yang…”
“Snore, snore…”
Fuxiang: ???
…
In the night, Li Qi An jerked awake with a start. After a silent sigh, he heard the long, steady breathing beside him, felt the soft, silk-like body pressed close to him, and with great willpower forced himself back to sleep.
The next day, at dawn, Li Qi An’s biological clock naturally woke him. Feeling something heavy pressing on him, he opened his eyes to see the courtesan sleeping soundly next to him, one of her long, fair legs draped over his waist, her snow-white arm resting on his chest.
Li Qi An carefully removed her hand and leg, got out of bed, and quickly dressed. As he was arranging his clothes, he angrily discovered that the banknotes in his money pouch were missing.
Only a small jade mirror, no bigger than a palm, remained in the pouch.
Li Qi An’s first reaction was that a maid from the Plum Shadow Pavilion had stolen the banknotes while he was asleep, which wasn’t impossible.
Yang Ling was just a scholar, and although his social status wasn’t low (falsely), the Imperial Music Bureau was no ordinary place. It was an official brothel, backed by the Ministry of Rites.
For a mere scholar, if they stole the money and refused to admit it, what could Li Qi An do?
The Imperial Music Bureau didn’t care about reputation.
The Imperial Music Bureau might not care about reputation, but Miss Fuxiang surely did. If this matter spread, which customer would dare to spend money here… Li Qi An judged that the courtesan probably didn’t know about this, and it was the maid who, seeing the money, couldn’t resist the temptation of the banknotes.
He was both annoyed at his carelessness in not safeguarding the banknotes well, and walked towards the bed, intending to wake Fuxiang.
But just then, as his gaze casually swept across the mirror’s surface, Li Qi An’s expression suddenly froze.
On the originally clean jade mirror surface, something vague had appeared. Looking closely, he could see the faint outlines of several banknotes.
The texture was faint as if engraved inside the mirror.
What? A series of question marks appeared in Li Qi An’s mind.
How did my banknotes get inside the mirror? This is my hard-earned money… You better spit them out, or I’ll smash you to pieces…
He gripped the small jade mirror and shook it vigorously as if pouring something out.
With a “rustle…” sound, the banknotes appeared out of thin air, floating gently in the air for a moment before slowly falling to the ground.
In the quiet room, Li Qi An held the mirror, speechless for a long time.
So, this mirror is a treasure? Is it my supreme luck, or did that Taoist intentionally gift the mirror to me?
If it’s the latter, what was his purpose? Why would he give such a treasure to me? Did he discover my inexplicable good fortune?
How is that possible? Even Cai Wei from the Imperial Astronomy Bureau, who is skilled in the art of reading auras, didn’t notice anything special about me… Taoist, I’m completely unfamiliar with the Taoist system.
After a while, he drew in a sharp breath, his teeth aching.
This inexplicable gift made him uneasy… Hiss, better pick up the banknotes first.
Li Qi An hid the jade mirror in his bosom and put the banknotes in his money pouch, keeping them separate. Then he quietly left the room and enjoyed breakfast under the maids’ service.
“Isn’t the young master waiting for the miss to wake up?” a young maid asked.
Usually, when a guest wakes up, the courtesan serving him would wake up too, but this guest was a bit strange, sneaking out alone.
No, no need, I’m afraid she’ll scold me for being worse than a beast… Li Qi An said calmly, “I have urgent matters to attend to.”
…
Several hours later, at the Xu mansion.
Xu Xin Nian and Xu Ping Zhi sat in the study, with steaming tea beside them. Xu Ping Zhi looked energetic and showed no signs of fatigue.
Second Young Master Xu looked somewhat listless.
Neither father nor son spoke, tacitly avoiding mentioning last night’s events, as if they had never been to the Imperial Music Bureau.
The silent atmosphere was a bit stiff until Li Qi An’s arrival broke the awkward air between father and son.
“Why were you gone so long, and you took a bath as soon as you came back? Couldn’t you wash at the Imperial Music Bureau?” Second Uncle Xu complained, raising his eyebrows.
Xu Xin Nian coughed, not wanting to hear his father talk more about the Imperial Music Bureau, and said, “Did you gain any information?”
Second Uncle Xu immediately stopped complaining and assumed a serious listening posture.
Li Qi An told them the information he had obtained from Fuxiang and explained his plan.
“The core of this problem is, how will you kidnap that Marquis Wuwu’s concubine-born daughter?” Xu Xin Nian pointed out the key issue, getting straight to the point:
“If we can’t solve this step, this plan is impossible to succeed.”
Second Uncle Xu pondered and said, “First, we’ll have someone keep watch, then find an opportunity to make a move. The Marquis Wuwu’s concubine-born daughter will surely have escorts when she goes out, but not too many, after all, she’s not the legitimate daughter. We can create chaos and then take advantage of it to kidnap her.”
The Li Qi An brothers listened. In terms of experience in handling affairs, Second Uncle Xu had more say.
“But if we act during the day, it will be difficult to kidnap someone in broad daylight. Once we attract the attention of the city patrol guards, we’ll suffer the consequences. And at night, with just the two of us, it’s impossible to break into the Marquis’s mansion.”
Li Qi An smiled mysteriously, “What if I can solve this problem?”
…
In the front hall of the Xu mansion, as Old Zhang, the doorkeeper, passed by the flower bed, he found a servant had fainted among the flowers. He hurriedly went to check and found the servant was just unconscious.
Old Zhang shook him awake and asked, “Why did you faint here?”
The servant looked confused for a moment as if remembering who he was and where he was. Facing Old Zhang’s inquiry, he scratched his head:
“I was just boiling water for the eldest young master, he was bathing in the room. I only remember the eldest young master suddenly calling me into the room… then I can’t remember anything after that.”
Doorkeeper Old Zhang scrutinized the servant for a moment, “How do you feel?”
“My head hurts a bit.”
“Does your bottom hurt?”
“… No.”
Old Zhang and the servant looked at each other, both relieved.
…
At the Imperial Astronomy Bureau, Song Qing, with increasingly severe dark circles under his eyes, was hunched over his desk, which was cluttered with various bottles and jars.
Today he wasn’t conducting alchemy experiments but was writing furiously at his desk.
“Why are the fruits after grafting superior? What mysterious rules of heaven and earth are involved? If the grafted results are indeed better, then if I graft people and horses together, the Great Fan Dynasty won’t have to worry about the scarcity of war horses anymore.”
“Every soldier would be a horse, able to make long-distance raids on their own and fight bravely. This would enhance the combat capabilities of the Great Fan army…”
As he wrote, he became more and more excited, his whole person glowing with enthusiasm.
At this moment, a White Robe entered and excitedly called out, “Senior Brother Song, the alchemy prodigy Li Qi An is here to see you.”
“Alchemy prodigy” was the nickname the White Robes of the Imperial Astronomy Bureau had given Li Qi An.