This afternoon,
After He Heng helped Qiao Ran finish harvesting the wheat, he returned to the County Magistrate. However, as soon as he sat down, not even warming his seat, a guard hurriedly ran towards him.
The guard’s speech seemed urgent,
“Lord He, just a moment ago, a spy contacted us, stating that the Eldest Princess has already arrived in Mingcheng and wishes to meet with you. The designated meeting place is at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion.”
Cough! Cough!
While the guard was speaking to He Heng, he was in the middle of drinking water. Upon hearing the news, he choked on his water, coughing abruptly.
The Drunken Immortal Pavilion was the largest brothel in Mingcheng, with a reputation so widespread that practically everyone knew of it. True to its name, it was a place where even immortals would be intoxicated and lose themselves.
So when He Heng heard that the Eldest Princess wanted to meet him at the brothel, he immediately raised an eyebrow.
A brothel?
Is that appropriate?
In a modern context, it’s akin to your fiancée suddenly saying, “Come on, let’s go to a strip club together.”
Worried that He Heng might choke himself, the guard patted his back and said, “Lord He, take it easy.”
By now, He Heng had recovered. He placed the tea cup on the table, asking, “Did she mention the specific reason for wanting to meet?”
The guard just shook his head.
At this, He Heng furrowed his brow. In recent days, he had already noticed something unusual around his mansion. According to the steward tasked with guarding the mansion, there were signs that someone had been snooping around and searching through their belongings.
However, He Heng rarely stayed overnight at his own mansion, so he had never come face to face with these “uninvited guests.”
Now, the sudden visit from the Eldest Princess deepened his suspicions. Combining the various clues from before, a thought suddenly crossed He Heng’s mind.
Could it be that the unusual activities around his mansion were because the other party had sent spies to monitor him?
And had they already discovered the fact that he was staying at Qiao Ran’s place every day?
He Heng’s thoughts followed this line of reasoning, and ultimately, he arrived at a conclusion:
The Eldest Princess must suspect a connection between him and the mermaid. His actions as a son-in-law certainly tarnished her reputation, prompting her to rush to Mingcheng to “deal with the matter”.
As for why she wanted to meet him at the brothel, He Heng couldn’t fathom the reason. However, he was certain that what awaited him there was likely a challenging situation.
In a simple cottage,
After He Heng left, Qiao Ran sat at the wooden table as usual, weaving bamboo crafts to be sold at the market the next day.
However, at that moment, there was a sudden “creak!” from outside, accompanied by the sound of the old wooden door being pushed open. Following that, the room was filled with the “tick-tock” of footsteps.
Qiao Ran immediately became alert, setting aside the craft he was working on. He reached for his cane next to the chair, preparing to stand and approach the wall.
He tentatively turned his head towards the direction of the sound and asked, “Who’s there? What do you want?”
Although Qiao Ran had lost his sight, his hearing had become particularly acute as a result. So, at the first sign of the commotion outside, he recognized that it wasn’t He Heng, and the footsteps indicated there were several people.
Facing the mermaid’s question, Fu Runyu casually stepped over the threshold with her entourage. Observing Qiao Ran’s vigilant expression and his constant searching gaze, she couldn’t help but find it amusing.
Why was Qiao Ran so guarded against others but showed no defenses against that “scumbag” in particular?
With this thought in mind, she spoke, “Don’t be afraid. Our sudden visit today has no ulterior motives; we just want to inform you of something.”
Fu Runyu’s clear voice carried a gentle tone that could easily evoke a favorable impression. However, this did not succeed in easing Qiao Ran’s guarded demeanor. He reached out, finding his blind cane placed in the corner against the wall.
“You don’t even tell me who you are. How am I supposed to believe what you’re saying?”
“You’re right,” she conceded.
Qiao Ran’s reaction was within Fu Runyu’s expectations, and she showed no irritation. Instead, she smiled slightly and said, “Then how should I introduce myself for you to believe? Should I say I’m a deaf person who just arrived from the neighboring village today, named ‘Da Zhu’?”
Her words carried a clear intention of irony.
As expected, Qiao Ran’s frown deepened after hearing this.
“What do you mean?”
Fu Runyu straightforwardly revealed her intention, “The guy you live with is called ‘Da Zhu’, right? Are you blind, so you believe whatever he says? If he makes up a pitiful story, do you really think he’s a mute person from the village?”
“Have you never been suspicious about what he does during the day when he leaves early and comes back late?”
Under a series of questions, Qiao Ran’s voice lowered, but he still firmly believed that He Heng couldn’t deceive him. He said somewhat hesitantly, “Da Zhu just went to work.”
“Oh?” Fu Runyu raised an eyebrow. She found this person, who seemed so naive and innocent, quite amusing.
“Well, why don’t you come with me then? I’ll show you what kind of work he usually does.”
Inside the Drunken Immortal Pavilion,
The sheer curtains in the luxurious chambers revealed enchanting figures. On the stage, the music and dance created a lively atmosphere, and a subtle fragrance of cosmetics wafted through the entire courtyard.
Amidst the laughter and conversations between the madam and the dancers, Qiao Ran also sensed that something was amiss. He furrowed his brow and turned to the person beside him, asking, “Is this a brothel?”
The surroundings and atmosphere were unusually distinctive, immediately bringing to Qiao Ran’s mind the largest brothel in Mingcheng—the Drunken Immortal Pavilion.
However, Qiao Ran was unwilling to believe that He Heng worked in such a place regularly. He immediately stopped in his tracks, unwilling to move forward.
“Are you saying Da Zhu works in a place like this regularly?” he questioned.
Fu Runyu didn’t give a direct answer and instead said, “You’ll find out if you follow me.”
After all, the real show was yet to come.
However, as Qiao Ran pondered for a moment, he became puzzled.
The mermaid asked, somewhat confused, “But Da Zhu usually goes out to work during the day. Who comes to a brothel during the day?”
Fu Runyu: “…”
She was indeed caught off guard by his question.
Fu Runyu originally planned to provide this mermaid with a straightforward “caught in the act” scene, but she hadn’t considered this aspect.
Indeed, no one would come to a brothel every day during the daytime for clandestine meetings.
“Um,” she struggled to explain, attempting to cover up the oversight, “There are many things one can do in a brothel, not just what you’re thinking.”
“Who says you can’t come to a brothel during the day? Have you heard the music around?” Fu Runyu concocted a story, and seeing the mermaid completely silent, she continued confidently, “If no one comes to the brothel during the day, why would these musicians still be playing music?”
With her nonsense, she saw that the mermaid was at a loss for words, so she continued walking forward confidently.
Guided by the madam, they traversed through numerous corridors, finally stopping at the ornate carved wooden door at the end of the hallway.
Hearing the faint sound of “ding-ling-clang,” Fu Runyu curved a confident smile. She believed that no man could resist the top performer at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion. She imagined that He Heng was likely indulging in pleasure with someone at this moment.
With that in mind, she grabbed Qiao Ran’s hand and placed it on the door panel.
“Why don’t you go in and see for yourself?”
Half an hour earlier,
Following the agreed-upon time, He Heng arrived at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion and was immediately led by the madam to the largest private room on the top floor.
Upon entering the room, a pleasant and subtle fragrance filled the air. The madam then gave him a mysterious smile and swiftly closed the heavy wooden door behind him with a “clap”.
He Heng looked around, feeling puzzled by the surroundings.
As he looked around, he noticed that the room was elegantly decorated. There was a tranquilizing incense burner in the room, a desk with writing materials, and a small tea table with tea sets and exotic fruits.
He wondered if the princess truly found the atmosphere here appealing, hence choosing the Drunken Immortal Pavilion’s private room for a formal conversation with him.
However, at that moment, the door behind him suddenly creaked open.
Turning around, He Heng saw the madam ushering in a man dressed in semi-transparent blue garments with a smile on her face.
“This is the star performer of our Drunken Immortal Pavilion — Master Qingchuan. Many guests throw away a fortune just for a chance to meet him,” she said with a grin.
“I’ve arranged it for you~” said the madam with a mischievous grin.
He Heng: “…”
Why was she making decisions on his behalf? He didn’t even order anything.
The courtesan was a handsome man, holding a pipa. Upon seeing He Heng, he immediately walked up to him with small, delicate steps and softly called out, “Sir.”
This “Sir” made He Heng’s scalp tingle. Startled, he took several steps back, almost raising his hands in surrender.
While he never found anything unusual when he was with Qiao Ran, suddenly having a man presented before him, especially one addressing him so affectionately, gave He Heng a creepy feeling, and he felt goosebumps all over his body.
In order to maintain a safe distance from the other person, He Heng retreated all the way to the edge of the bed.
Seeing the reaction of the man before him, Mu Qingchuan smiled. He casually placed the pipa on a chair and walked toward He Heng.
As his delicate hands were about to touch He Heng’s chest, they were suddenly blocked by He Heng’s waving hand.
“What are you doing?”
He Heng’s demeanor, which entirely resisted any close contact, resembled that of a modest housewife being flirted with.
Observing this, Mu Qingchuan curled his lips and said, “Since Sir has graced the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, this humble one is naturally devoted to serving Sir wholeheartedly. I mustn’t let you leave in disappointment.”
With his words, the room fell into a silent stillness.
After a moment, He Heng suddenly thought of something, looking at him seriously.
“Are you saying you’re willing to do anything?”
Mu Qingchuan smiled and nodded, “Yes.”
Observing this, He Heng thought for a moment, rubbing his chin. “I heard you’re the star performer here.”
Mu Qingchuan replied, “That’s correct, Sir.”
“Oh,” He Heng suddenly became interested. He raised an eyebrow and said, “To become the star performer at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, you must have some exceptional talents. So, Master Qingchuan, why don’t you showcase your skills for me? If I am pleased, we can continue our conversation.”
Mu Qingchuan thought He Heng wanted to hear a musical performance. He immediately cradled the pipa in his arms, fingers poised on the strings, and asked, “What would you like to hear, Sir?”
Unexpectedly, He Heng smiled slightly at his words. “Who said I wanted to hear you play? I got tired of that ages ago.”
Hearing this, Mu Qingchuan was a bit taken aback. “Oh, then, what kind of talent would Sir like to appreciate?”
In that moment, looking at He Heng’s sly smile, Mu Qingchuan felt a sudden “thump” in his heart.
Having spent a long time at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, he had naturally encountered various types of patrons.
He had heard that some patrons had peculiar fetishes, concealing them well in public but unleashing them on the attendants at the brothels.
There were those who treated people like dogs, those who inflicted physical harm, and all sorts of bizarre requests.
As Mu Qingchuan assessed He Heng’s handsome face, a sense of unease suddenly rose within him. Sometimes, the more perfect someone appeared on the outside, the more flaws they had inside.
Could this Lord He be a deviant of some sort?
He Heng remained oblivious to Mu Qingchuan’s rich inner thoughts. Nonchalantly, he took out a sheet of paper from his robe and placed it neatly on the desk, then proceeded to write.
By the time Mu Qingchuan regained his senses, He Heng had finished writing. He casually dried the ink on the paper and handed it to the other man.
As Mu Qingchuan looked down, he saw a line of bold, confident characters:
“If a function set {fn} is a uniformly continuous sequence on the interval [0, 1] please prove the uniform convergence of {fn} on the interval [0, 1].”
Following the puzzled and incredulous gaze of Mu Qingchuan, He Heng’s voice, like that of a devil, softly echoed in his ear once again.
“If you can solve this problem within half an hour, then we can continue discussing other matters. After all, I only enjoy conversing with intelligent people.”
Intelligent people?
What did that mean?
Was he implying that Mu Qingchuan was not intelligent?
Stirred by the opponent’s last words, Mu Qingchuan immediately picked up a pen, sat at the desk, and began fervently solving the problem.
Meanwhile, He Heng casually peeled grapes while sitting with crossed legs, calmly observing Mu Qingchuan’s struggling and contemplative demeanor.
As he watched Mu Qingchuan scratch his head and ponder, He Heng thought to himself:
Go ahead, try your best. It would be a miracle if you could solve it.
Not to mention whether this person had the intellectual capacity for mathematical proofs, He Heng deliberately omitted a crucial condition from the problem. No matter how Mu Qingchuan tried to prove it, he would inevitably be unable to deduce the desired result due to this intentional omission.
Sure enough, half an hour later, Mu Qingchuan seemed out of sorts. He looked like a wilted plant, supporting his head with his hand as it threatened to fall. His once well-styled hair now appeared disheveled.
Throughout his life, Mu Qingchuan had always been the cleverest person in their village. Even the madam of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion had held him up as an example for the other attendants, encouraging them to learn from him. His eloquence had always allowed him to shine, even in the presence of well-educated scholars among his patrons.
However, at this moment, looking at the densely packed symbols before him, the feeling of intellectual oppression, as if his intelligence was being crushed on the ground, made his breathing start to become irregular.
“How’s it going?”
Having had his fill of grapes, He Heng wiped his fingers with a nearby silk handkerchief, then lifted a porcelain cup and took a sip of tea. He casually asked,
“Any insights yet? I see half an hour has passed. How about giving Mr. Qingchuan another half hour?”
What could most crush a person’s confidence?
Was it failing to solve a mathematical problem within the allotted time during an exam?
No, not quite.
It’s that feeling of defeat when the professor gives you an extra half hour, but deep down, you know that even if he gave you another day, you still wouldn’t be able to figure it out.
Sure enough, as soon as He Heng finished speaking,
“Ah!!!”
Mu Qingchuan finally snapped. He stood up, crumpled the paper into a ball, and then stumbled towards the door,
“I’m not doing it anymore!”
After saying that, he even knocked over several tables and chairs in succession, creating a series of clattering sounds in the room.
So when Qiao Ran pushed open the door, Fu Yunyu almost collided with Mu Qingchuan, who was rushing out like a gust of wind.
She looked into the room with surprise, only to see He Heng sitting calmly in a chair, sipping tea.
However, at the moment he caught sight of Qiao Ran, He Heng’s expression suddenly changed. He froze, holding the tea cup as if he were a wooden figure, afraid to make any movements that might be heard.
If Qiao Ran were to discover him in a place like a brothel, then no matter how eloquent he was, he wouldn’t be able to explain himself.
“Da Zhu? Are you here?”
However, Qiao Ran was unaware of everything that had just happened in the room. He was clumsily feeling his way into the room, stumbling a bit as he reached for the door panel.
Seeing this, He Heng remained silent while sitting at the table. As long as he didn’t speak, there was a chance that Qiao Ran might not notice him right there.
As there was no response from the room, Qiao Ran could only fumble around, feeling his way through. However, without his usual guide cane and with no understanding of the layout of this unfamiliar room, he stumbled after taking a few steps and was tripped by a candlestick in front of him.
“Um!”
Qiao Ran, lost in complete darkness, lost his balance and tumbled forward uncontrollably. In the moment when the candlestick crashed down, He Heng hurriedly walked over and pulled the little merman into his arms.
The next second, with a loud “clang”, the candlestick fell behind the two.
Because it was daytime and the candle wasn’t lit, the falling candlestick only knocked down some miscellaneous items and didn’t cause any further damage.
In the urgency of the moment, He Heng had pulled Qiao Ran into his arms without much thought. Now, he realized that his arm was still around the slender waist of the little merman. Through the thin fabric, he could feel the warm touch of the other’s skin.
Realizing that this posture seemed a bit inappropriate, He Heng quickly steadied Qiao Ran and withdrew his arm.
Because of the sudden loss of balance moments ago, Qiao Ran’s half body still leaned against He Heng. His palm bones pressed against the other’s shoulder, feeling the familiar embrace of the man. The little merman tentatively asked, “Da Zhu?”
“It’s me.”
He Heng took Qiao Ran’s wrist and wrote on it, “But let me explain, I came to this place not for…”
However, Qiao Ran didn’t want to hear his explanation at all. “Why are you here?”
Thinking about “Da Zhu” working in the brothel instead of selling blood as he claimed, Qiao Ran’s brain buzzed, and his thoughts became chaotic.
So, what kind of work does ‘Da Zhu’ do every day in the brothel?
Following this line of thought, Qiao Ran’s thinking began to diverge. The more he thought, the more he felt his scalp tingling.
Seeing the mixed emotions on the little merman’s face, He Heng probably guessed what he was thinking. He quickly explained, “Don’t overthink it. I go out to work during the day. How could I come here? And, who comes to the brothel during the day?”
With this statement, He Heng felt that the balance representing “axioms” began to tilt towards his side again.
Who wouldn’t applaud and say “makes sense” after hearing that?
However, unexpectedly, the little merman’s mood became even more subdued after hearing this. His fingertips weakly clutched the fabric of He Heng’s chest, and his voice sounded somewhat lifeless.
“No wonder…”
“They all say you sell art, not your body.”
He Heng: “?”
Author’s note: If absurdity counts as art, then indeed.
Once again, Heng Bao has driven someone crazy with his abilities.
The mathematical problem that couldn’t be solved due to a missing condition has the power to drive people crazy, but it does have that ability.
