“Dunrao, immediately dispatch the Black Ice Terrace to investigate the situation surrounding Great Qin.”
Ying Zheng turned his gaze toward a thin, frail-looking elderly man. This individual was in charge of the Black Ice Terrace, Great Qin’s premier intelligence agency.
“Understood!”
Dunrao gave a slight nod.
“Your Majesty, would it be possible to have the Fifth Prince refine this map a bit further?”
“That way, it will also be more convenient for the Black Ice Terrace to carry out their reconnaissance.”
“Once the Fifth Prince has detailed it further, we can send the Black Ice Terrace out.”
Hearing that Ying Zheng was about to deploy the Black Ice Terrace, Li Si hurriedly voiced his suggestion.
“Mm! It seems I was being a bit too hasty.”
“Come, summon Qingye here.”
“Understood!”
Meanwhile, at the Zuiyue Pavilion!
This was the largest and most famous pleasure house in Xianyang City, frequented exclusively by high-ranking officials and nobles. (Ancient courtesan houses and ordinary brothels were quite distinct; the former focused on artistic talents rather than physical intimacy, while the latter did the opposite.)
At this moment, Ying Qingye was in a private room listening to music, surrounded by beautiful women accompanying him as he drank.
Ever since he had left the palace, he had headed straight here. Entertainment options in the Qin Dynasty were pitifully scarce, and as a natural-born playboy, he didn’t hesitate for a second. He had booked the house’s top headliner to play the qin and blow the xiao for him, while also calling in a few top-tier maidens to share a drink.
“Aiya! What kind of tunes are you even playing?”
Failing to achieve his goal of returning home back at the palace, Ying Qingye was feeling pent-up and urgently needed an outlet to vent. The headliner’s playing was far too elegant and refined; it offered no release for his frustration whatsoever. (A wild boar simply cannot appreciate fine rice.)
“Does the honored guest not like it?”
Ziyuan’s delicate brows furrowed slightly as she parted her lips to speak.
“Not a fan. Not a fan at all.”
“Play something more lively, something explosive!”
“Explosive?”
Ziyuan clearly didn’t understand what he meant by that term.
“What, you don’t know how?”
“Please forgive Ziyuan’s shallow knowledge; this humble one fails to understand the honored guest’s meaning.”
Ying Qingye rose to his feet, swaying slightly as he walked over to her and waved a hand to signal that she should stand up. He then dropped right down onto the bench before the guqin.
“Watch closely!”
“I’ll only demonstrate this once.”
With that, his hands swept across the strings. The music began soft and melodious, but as the rhythm picked up and the tempo accelerated, a majestic, sweeping momentum surged forth. It gave listeners the feeling of standing amidst a grand, flourishing era, carrying a distinct, exotic frontier flair.
The music felt like encountering a tranquil, detached gentleman—one with a far-reaching vision who remained unburdened by fame and wealth. Immersing oneself in it for long subtly transformed the mind, granting a god-like clarity of thought.
The people inside the room were struck completely speechless by shock. To maintain their prestigious status in the Zuiyue Pavilion, they naturally had to be well-versed in musical theory; otherwise, they wouldn’t have survived here.
Ziyuan, in particular, looked at Ying Qingye with entirely changed eyes, as if she had suddenly caught sight of a brilliant beam of light radiating from him.
As the song came to an end!
Ying Qingye let out a long breath, feeling as though his earlier frustration had finally been alleviated.
“Honored guest, may I ask what this tune is called?”
“This humble servant has never heard such a wondrous piece in all her life.”
Ziyuan snapped back to reality, desperately holding back her inner agitation.
“This is a piece imbued with the mysterious charm of the Orient.”
Ying Qingye returned to his seat and poured himself a cup of fine wine.
“Might this melody have a name, honored guest?”
《Galuo》.
“Galuo?”
Ziyuan murmured softly.
“Such a lovely name!”
“Honored guest, would you be willing to teach this tune to me?”
Ziyuan cast a charming, seductive glance in Ying Qingye’s direction.
“Uh…”
“Aiya, honored guest, this humble one wants to learn it too!”
“Me too, me too!”
“…”
The surrounding maidens also crowded around Ying Qingye, clinging to him and pouting coquettishly.
Good grief!
Who on earth could possibly withstand this kind of assault?
“Stop!”
“I’ll teach all of you, alright?!”
“Yay! I love you to death, honored guest!”
“Muwa—”
The beauties showered him with enthusiastic kisses. In an instant, Ying Qingye’s face was completely covered in lipstick marks.
“Hahaha…”
“Come on, time for your lesson!”
Ying Qingye led the young women over to the guqin and had just settled down to begin teaching them when—
Suddenly—
Bang—!
The door was kicked wide open!
A young man swaggered in, accompanied by four or five followers, looking exceedingly arrogant.
Ying Qingye, whose rhythm had just been brutally interrupted, instantly flared up with anger.
Dang!
I was right in the middle of teaching a young beauty how to play the qin! Who the hell comes barging in to ruin the mood?
How is he supposed to keep up his charismatic act in front of the ladies like this—uh, wait, how is he supposed to focus on teaching his students?!
“Who do you think you are?”
“Can’t you see your daddy here is busy?”
Ying Qingye glared darkly at the newcomers. Judging by their flashy attire, they certainly weren’t commoners.
“Puny brat, so you’re the one trying to muscle in on Lady Ziyuan?”
The leading youth looked at Ying Qingye with utter contempt.
“Muscle in?”
“I got here first, and I paid top dollar! What? Is this Ziyuan Pavilion your family’s property?”
“If Lady Ziyuan belongs to you, why don’t you take her home and marry her?”
Ying Qingye stared at the absolute moron standing before him. How was it that he managed to stumble right into such a cliché, brain-dead plotline? He had no idea what kind of drugs the author of this story was on!
Speechless!
“You’ve got a lot of nerve running your mouth, punk!”
” Tired of living, aren’t you?”
“Do you even know who my father is?”
Hearing those words, Ying Qingye cast a sidelong glance at him.
What’s next, is his old man Zhang Erhe?
“What? Is your dad Zhang Erhe or something?”
“Get lost, get lost! Don’t ruin my high spirits!”
Ying Qingye waved his hand impatiently at the group.
“Boss, he’s looking down on you!”
A sycophantic lackey chimed in from behind.
“Dammit! No one in this entire city of Xianyang has ever dared to look down on me, Feng Tong.”
“Beat him up! If you beat him to death, I’ll take the blame!”
With a grand sweep of his hand, Feng Tong ordered his thugs forward, and the bunch began clamoring as they rushed to give Ying Qingye a severe thrashing.
“Wait!”
Ying Qingye barked out sharply.
“Punk, scared now?”
“Let me tell you—it’s too late!”
Feng Tong glared fiercely at Ying Qingye.
“I’m not scared!”
“I just want to know—are you guys really going to just use your bare hands?”
Everyone: ？？？？？
Huh?
What on earth is this?
The crowd was completely thrown off by Ying Qingye’s question.
“Don’t just use your hands!”
“Use your swords!”
With that, he flopped straight backward onto the floor.
“Come on, come on!”
“Hurry up!”
Everyone stared in absolute bewilderment! Does this guy have a screw loose in his head?
“Hurry it up!”
Seeing that Feng Tong and his men were still hesitating, Ying Qingye cracked open one eye to urge them on.
The onlookers stared at him in horror. This guy was genuinely out of his mind.
“B-Boss… Is this guy some kind of lunatic?”
A lackey whispered nervously into Feng Tong’s ear. In all his years, he had never encountered someone with such a bizarre request—actually urging people to hack at him with a sword.
He’s sick in the head. Definitely psycho!
“Let’s go! No point wasting time with a mental patient.”
Muttering under his breath, Feng Tong turned around, ready to storm out with his men. Seeing this, Ying Qingye scrambled up to his feet in a flash. How could he possibly let such a golden opportunity slip away?!
“Hold it right there!”
“What? Trying to run away now?”
“Didn’t you say you were going to wipe me out? A real man doesn’t go back on his word, does he?!”
Ying Qingye drew the ceremonial sword resting on the table.
“Punk, don’t push your luck!”
Feng Tong glared back at him with a dark expression.
“Aside from my own old man, I’ve never given a damn about anyone else’s face.”
“Come on! If you’ve got any guts, run me through with a single sword stroke!”
He shoved the hilt right into Feng Tong’s hands.
“Do it!”
“Hurry up!”
“Right here—stab it right here!”
Ying Qingye pointed straight at his own chest, staring at Feng Tong with an expression of ecstatic anticipation.