Chapter 28: Chapter 25 Brothel Farce
"Bang..." The door burst open, and a figure flew out from inside the house, crashing directly into the elegantly wooden door and falling onto the corridor outside.
Inside Chun Gui Pavilion, the brothel workers and customers, noticing the rare excitement, peeked out to watch, some even with disheveled clothes as though they were in the middle of coitus, couldn't contain their curiosity and came out to see what was happening.
After all, business could always wait, but the excitement at Chun Gui Pavilion was not a common occurrence. The enforcers from the Iron Saber Association didn't mind loosening up their fists.
The man lying in the corridor was dressed in blue brocade robes, wearing a golden crown and a fine jade ring on his belt; his outfit screamed of a dandy young man. Unfortunately, his face was swollen and bruised, the golden crown atop his head was askew, and a large gray footprint stained his clothes, as he lay on the ground moaning weakly.
"Song... you... dared to use poison, the Zhang Family will not... let you go..." He recognized the words, this must be the young master of the Zhang Family. As he saw the crowd gathering, he tried to rise and cover his face to leave.
Little did he think, his body was stiff, unable to exert any strength, even speaking was difficult. Realizing something was wrong with his body, he figured he must have been poisoned.
"Ha ha ha." A dashing young man who dressed similarly walked out from the house, handsome and tall with a beauty in his arms who seemed reluctant to speak. Unfortunately, his pale face and the typical signs of debauchery spoiled the image of his fine appearance.
"Zhang Mingyuan, just lie down on the ground, Miss Sisi and I will leave you be. A moment of spring night is worth a thousand gold; such a beautiful time cannot be delayed at all. Don't worry, it's just a potent sedative, lying on the ground for four hours will cool down your fiery heart. Ha ha ha ha..." Song Ziyu declared with the stance of a victor.
It's just a sedative... phew, Zhang Mingyuan sighed in relief, assured that Song Ziyu wouldn't dare to harm the only son of Family Head Zhang.
With the fear gone, the anger from being kicked out of the room and the embarrassment of being watched surged in his heart.
"You... despicable..." Zhang Mingyuan wanted to bitterly curse Song Ziyu, this shameless person, but alas, he could hardly speak, and even these three words took considerable effort.
"Say whatever you want, it doesn't change the fact that you are a drowning dog," Song Ziyu, seeing his usually superior foe Zhang Mingyuan now lying on the ground, was in high spirits. He didn't care what he said, treating it all as the wails of a defeated dog.
"Brothel owner, no need to change rooms." Song Ziyu, sharp-eyed, noticed the Brothel Owner about to speak, guessing she wanted to move them to another room to break up the disturbance.
Obviously, because these two, one being the only son of the Zhang Family head and the other the young master of the Song Family from the City Lord Mansion, with only one elder sister, being an only son was not far-fetched. Had they been ordinary people, they would have long been suppressed and beaten up by the enforcers.
"I, for fear that Brother Zhang might catch a cold on the ground, will spend the night with Miss Sisi in this doorless room. I hope this fiery spring passion will give Brother Zhang some warmth. Ha ha ha ha ha..." Song Ziyu, relishing his upper hand, didn't miss the opportunity to kick a man when he was down.
"..." Zhang Mingyuan's tongue was completely numb, he couldn't speak a word.
"This..." The Brothel Owner opened her mouth, hoping to mediate.
"Shut up, let him lie there tonight, no one can help," Song Ziyu glared at the Brothel Owner threateningly, his intentions clear.
The Brothel Owner hesitantly didn't dare say more.
Song Ziyu, with the girl in his arms, laughed heartily as he entered the room.
Zhang Mingyuan, seeing his smug look, felt the rage in his eyes about to burst forth; had his mouth not been numbed, he probably would have bitten through his own teeth.
The Brothel Owner of Chun Gui Pavilion, seeing that neither party could afford to offend them, chose neither side, dispatched enforcers to disperse the onlookers, sparing a bit of face for the only young master of the Zhang Family.
Among the dispersed crowd, there was a middle-aged man, silently watching this farce unfold, nodded subtly seeing events unfold as planned, and quietly slipped away as the enforcers cleared the crowd.
This farce had also been timely reported to Li Qiusheng, who was handling matters at the Li Family.
Li Qiusheng poured himself a cup of tea and set it beside him, supporting his forehead with his right hand, and took a moment to rest.
These past few days, Li Qiusheng had been arranging people non-stop to investigate and gather findings from his subordinates. He only managed to rest for brief moments each day, and it had been several days since he had comforted his cherished wife.
However, at this moment, his father was still busy with important matters, his second brother was not at home, and his younger brother had recently passed away, leaving him as the only one who could bear this heavy burden.
Squinting his eyes slightly, Li Qiusheng had just started to rest when a servant came to report urgent matters from Chun Gui Pavilion.
Li Qiusheng pressed his throbbing temples and waved his hand to signal the servant to let the messenger in.
The messenger from Chun Gui Pavilion quickly entered and meticulously recounted the night's upheaval at Chun Gui Pavilion.
Li Qiusheng listened without uttering a word, only indicating to the messenger that he could leave.
After a long while, with a loud "thud", Li Qiusheng slammed his palm onto the table, causing the tea cup to crash to the floor.
"Song Family..." the words burst forth from his lips one by one, his face stern and his eyes filled with coldness.
"Someone. Gather the men; follow me to Chun Gui Pavilion."
Immediately, someone outside responded and then departed to call the people.
"Wait," Li Qiusheng called out again, "Never mind, let him stop. Send someone to secretly investigate. I want to know the source of the sedative in Song Ziyu's hands."
Another servant went to stop the previous gathering.
Li Qiusheng suppressed the urge to immediately rush to Chun Gui Pavilion and capture Song Ziyu for questioning. Now was not the time to confront openly. Besides, it might be someone else framing him.
Li Qiusheng leaned back in his chair, troubled and silent for a long time.
Li Xin clenched his fist tightly, twisting the neck in his hand until it snapped. The body slowly slid from Li Xin's grasp, hitting the ground and raising a thin layer of dust.
Under the moonlight, Li Xin, wearing a headscarf, had the appearance of a corpulent middle-aged man who had prospered with age.
The middle-aged man who had quietly left the crowd at Chun Gui Pavilion was none other than Li Xin. The corpse in front of him had been during his lifetime a servant of Song Ziyu, bribed by Li Xin to offer the sedative to Song Ziyu to set up Zhang Mingyuan.
Li Xin sneered at the disbelieving eyes of the corpse in front of him. Previously, this man had demanded a large amount of money, not knowing that a destined dead man could never use the riches.
Li Xin crouched down beside the body and searched it, taking back the money he had given. It was not that Li Xin was greedy for money, but a common servant shouldn't possess so much wealth, even if he was a servant of Song Ziyu.
Excess money would only expose that someone was behind this, which would be detrimental to the execution of the plan.
Having made sure everything was handled, Li Xin turned and left.