“Chu Feng, it’s been so long, yet you are still as captivating as ever,” Who was Yan Yihuan, Yan Yihuan was no ordinary man—he was the foremost charismatic figure in Linjing, the third young master of the prestigious Yan family. Could he possibly be intimidated by a mere seventh-rank official?
He leaned closer with a grin. Although he was shorter by half a head, he reached up to stroke Zhao Chufeng’s chin, “I’d say all the young gentlemen along this whole canal combined wouldn’t match even half your beauty.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Yan Yihuan heard a soft gasp from the direction of the bow. He narrowed his eyes, but before he could think too much about it, he felt a tight grip on his wrist, and the hand that had been teasing was now firmly held in Zhao Chufeng’s palm.
“The third young master is truly full of interest, it has only been two days since you arrived at the capital and is already seeking the company of courtesans.”
Yan Yihuan was startled at first, but then he remembered that his arrival in the capital was no secret. “Why can’t I come if I have the money? You’re being a bit too nosy, don’t you think?”
“Then the third young master may try as he pleases.”
For some reason, Yan Yihuan felt that Zhao Chufeng was different from when they were in Linjing. His appearance and posture hadn’t changed, but the aura he exuded around him now had an intimidating pressure that made one instinctively feel fear.
This left Yan Yihuan feeling somewhat embarrassed and angry.
“What’s the matter, Zhao Chufeng? Now that we’re on your turf, you’re showing off your official authority, huh? You’re just a small official, you can’t control me!”
The ship’s owner finally understood the situation and hurriedly stepped in with a forced smile to mediate.
“Young master, you see, there are so many mouths on this humble one’s boat waiting to be fed. If we don’t make any income tonight, we’ll have to go hungry tomorrow,” the shipowner said as he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and began dabbing at imaginary tears. “Since this official came looking for you, why don’t you just go with him? I’ll even gift you this jug of wine.”
“How could I, this young master, care about such a trivial amount of money!” Yan Yihuan, never having endured such humiliation, immediately pulled out a silver ingot and slammed it onto the table with a loud thud. “Just you wait, Zhao Chufeng. I’ll make sure to deal with you someday!”
After spitting out those harsh words, Yan Yihuan stormed out of the cabin with his head held high. But what good was his imposing demeanor? Once outside, he froze. The boat was drifting in the middle of the river, there was no way to get to shore.
It was only then that he noticed two small boats at the bow, each with four guards armed with swords standing ready. Surrounding him, there were also two rows of guards with gleaming sabers.
“My, what a grand display,” Yan Yihuan sneered as he turned his head. “No wonder you dare to talk back to this young master.”
At this moment, Zhao Chufeng also stepped out onto the bow. One of the guards on a small boat immediately stepped forward respectfully, extending an arm for Zhao Chufeng to hold onto as he boarded. Zhao Chufeng then turned and shot a sharp glare at Yan Yihuan.
“Get on.”
Yan Yihuan’s heart skipped a beat, but his rebellious streak flared up again. He snorted coldly, grabbed the still-stunned A-Ying next to him, and leapt onto the other small boat. The sudden movement caused the boat to lose its balance, and with a loud splash, river water poured in, drenching them both. His footing slipped, and Yan Yihuan fell flat onto the boat with a thud. The pain made him groan, a few tears welled up uncontrollably at the corners of his eyes.
Zhao Chufeng frowned slightly, the guards on that boat had already steadied the vessel by the time he took a small step forward. Seeing that the danger had passed, Zhao Chufeng’s expression was cold yet accompanied by a hint of a mocking smile.
Clutching his backside and with tears brimming in his eyes, Yan Yihuan glanced up, only to see that irritatingly ambiguous smile on Zhao Chufeng’s face. What stung the most was losing face in front of everyone, which only fueled his annoyance and deepened his sense of grievance.
He hadn’t even done anything wrong, how could he be so unlucky to cross paths with him!
Zhao Chufeng gave a brief instruction to someone nearby, and soon the shipowner brought over two blankets for Yan Yihuan and his servant. Yan Yihuan buried his entire head inside the blanket, not emerging until the boat finally made its way to the dock.
Once ashore, Zhao Chufeng seemed to have urgent matters to attend to and left in a hurry, leaving a few men behind to escort Yan Yihuan and A-Ying back to the inn. Seeing that Zhao Chufeng didn’t follow, Yan Yihuan couldn’t tell whether he felt relieved or disappointed.
The last time he had seen Zhao Chufeng was around this same time last year, when he stayed at the Residence of King Yan for a month with officials from the Inspectorate on their routine inspections.
From the moment Yan Yihuan laid eyes on him, he was stunned by his beauty. He couldn’t help but think that someone as breathtaking as Zhao Chufeng would be better off by his side than wasting away as a lowly seventh-rank official. Thus, he began pursuing him relentlessly, teasing him in every possible way.
At first, Zhao Chufeng was visibly annoyed but endured it, unwilling to offend someone of Yan Yihuan’s status. Later, perhaps having come to terms with it, he allowed the provocations to continue without so much as a change in expression.
It wasn’t until the farewell banquet on the final night that things took a surprising turn. Both men ended up drunk, and in the privacy of the side room, sparks ignited into a blazing fire. At the time, Yan Yihuan was thrilled—though Zhao Chufeng was taller than he had imagined, not exactly the soft and tender beauty he’d envisioned, his extraordinary looks more than made up for it. Yan Yihuan thought to himself that sleeping with such a stunning beauty would be something worth bragging about for at least half a year. However, he didn’t expect Zhao Chufeng to have the audacity to make a move on him!
Thinking back to that night, in a moment of desperation, Yan Yihuan attempted to counterattack several times, but Zhao Chufeng’s strength far exceeded his expectations. Gradually, he found himself completely overpowered. In a moment of panic, he bit down hard on Zhao Chufeng’s shoulder and seized the chance to make his escape.
Now, seeing Zhao Chufeng again, Yan Yihuan found himself just as defenseless against that face. But the thought of the terrifying strength hidden behind such an exquisite visage made him falter.
He felt a bit intimidated.
However, being cowardly is one thing. If he could actually stay obediently in the inn, he wouldn’t be called Yan Yihuan.
The capital was enormous, and running into Zhao Chufeng had been pure coincidence. Since Zhao managed affairs on the waterways, wouldn’t it suffice to stick to the land instead?
After only one day of keeping still, Yan Yihuan could no longer bear it. Leaving his room, he went out to look for the guard captain, but after searching all over, he couldn’t find him. He grabbed someone nearby to ask, but noticed the person’s expression turn a bit odd.
“Captain Wang has been reassigned elsewhere and won’t be returning for the time being,” the person replied.
“Oh,” Yan Yihuan said, not giving it much thought. He instead pulled the person aside and whispered, “Brother, do you know where the biggest male courtesan house in the capital is?”
The man’s face instantly turned ghostly pale. Hurriedly yanking his sleeve from Yan Yihuan’s grip, he looked nervously around before stammering, “This… this humble one doesn’t know. Third Young Master, you’d best not ask about such things anymore.”
Yan Yihuan assumed he was just shy, so he chuckled mischievously.
“Fine, I’ll find it myself.”
This person watched Yan Yihuan’s figure as he swaggered away, thought for a moment, and then called out to him.
“Third Young Master!”
He quickly stepped closer and whispered into Yan Yihuan’s ear, “This humble one has never been there, but I’ve heard that the Fengyue Tower at Jinliu Alley is the largest male brothel in the capital.”
Yan Yihuan’s eyes gleamed with approval as he generously handed over a few small silver pieces.
“Thanks, brother.”
The man bowed as he sent Yan Yihuan off. Then quickly turned around to grab another guard, whispering something to him in a hurried tone. The guard nodded and immediately disappeared down the corridor.
Truthfully, Yan Yihuan wasn’t particularly determined to visit such a place, but before coming to the capital, he had boasted to his friends about seeing the finest courtesan house in the city. If he didn’t actually go, wouldn’t it make him seem cowardly?
“A-Ying, why are you still wearing that worried look? If someone didn’t know better, they might think I was taking you to sell yourself.” Yan Yihuan pulled A-Ying to his side and said in a low voice, “Cheer up, I’ll even let you pick out a beauty to indulge with later.”
A-Ying’s face went from ghostly pale to beet red. “I don’t want to. Before we left, the lord specifically ordered me to watch over you and not let you visit such places.”
“My father is all the way back in Linjing, what are you afraid of? If neither of us says anything, who will ever know?”
A-Ying felt his eyelid twitch as an ominous feeling crept over him.
“Young Master, this servant just doesn’t feel right about this. I’m afraid something bad will happen.”
With a loud thwack, Yan Yihuan’s folding fan landed on Ah Ying’s shoulder. It didn’t hurt, but it made quite a noise.
“In places like this, you don’t need to be afraid as long as you have money. Just stick close to your young master, let’s go!”
