The Prime Minister's mansion, cut off from descendants?
Third Brother castrated them all?
Qi Hui isn't that easy to castrate, is he…
[Stay in the manor and recover well. If anything comes up, have Yuan Xiang find Chu Laokou. I'll repay the favor when I'm back.]
Yuan Xiang was Xie Xinglang's personal attendant. Xie Suisui didn't know who Chu Laokou was—probably one of Third Brother's unsavory friends from outside. But even in such a dire situation, Third Brother had still made arrangements for her.
Xie Suisui's heart ached.
In her past life, the Crown Prince died, her father took his own life in atonement, and the entire family was exiled.
In this life, she hoped her brothers would stop the tragedy in time. As for castrating Qi Hui's entire family—she'd do it herself!
The next day, Xie Suisui summoned Yuan Xiang.
"Yuan Xiang, help me arrange a meeting with Chu Laokou."
"Second Master Chu?" Yuan Xiang said with a grin. "Where would you like to meet him, Miss?"
"Where does Third Brother usually meet him?"
"The Liuli Pavilion." As Yuan Xiang spoke, he stole a few glances at Xie Suisui and added, "Miss, if you're going to see him, it's best to go during the day."
"Does he not see people at night?"
"No, it's just that—the Liuli Pavilion has mostly male patrons at night."
"Is the Liuli Pavilion a brothel?"
"No, it's just that business dealings happen at night…" Yuan Xiang grinned, wearing a "you know what I mean" expression.
She knew the Liuli Pavilion was a famous tavern and had assumed it was just for eating and drinking. So it was actually a high-end pleasure house.
She felt a flash of anger. "Are you telling me my Third Brother goes there often?"
"Third Young Master only goes there to discuss business—he's never touched any of the girls there." Yuan Xiang quickly cleared things up. "Every man in the General's Manor is an upstanding hero."
Xie Suisui was somewhat displeased, but since Third Brother had told her to seek out this Chu Laokou if she needed help, the man's abilities were probably considerable.
"Arrange a meeting with Master Chu. I'd like to see him."
Yuan Xiang immediately went to make the arrangements. Within half a day, he returned to Qingwu Courtyard to report that everything had been settled.
At noon that day, Xie Suisui took a carriage, accompanied by Haitang, to the Liuli Pavilion.
When the General's Manor carriage arrived, Yuan Xiang greeted the young attendant, who said little and led the way ahead. Xie Suisui and Haitang followed him up the back stairs to the fifth floor.
The Liuli Pavilion's public business was conducted on the lower three floors. The fifth floor was eerily quiet.
They stopped before a heavy wooden door in the middle of the corridor. The attendant knocked, and the door opened from within. Against the backlight, Xie Suisui saw a tall figure.
She couldn't make out his face at first, only that he was very tall and lean.
"Miss Xie?" The voice was clear and crisp—a young man's.
Xie Suisui bowed in greeting. "Greetings, Master Chu."
He extended a hand, inviting them inside.
Only upon entering did she realize the room was quite spacious. The ornaments on the display shelves and the calligraphy and paintings on the walls all merited the word "elegant."
Chu Laokou, whose full name was Chu Qianxing, courteously invited Xie Suisui to sit. Glancing at the people she'd brought, he said, "What business does Miss Xie have with me?"
This man appeared utterly refined and young—nothing like the "Laokou" she'd pictured in her mind.
Xie Suisui said to Haitang and Yuan Xiang, "Wait outside. I have matters to discuss with Master Chu."
Chu Qianxing added, "There's no one else in this room. You may leave without worry."
Once Haitang and Yuan Xiang had stepped out, Xie Suisui said, "My Third Brother said I could come to you if I needed help."
"Speak freely. I'll collect my fee from him."
"You can ask me directly."
"That works too. Go on—what's the matter?"
"No killing! Help me make sure Qi Hui's line ends—no descendants, no heirs."
"Pfft—" Chu Qianxing nearly choked. "You really are Xie Sanlang's own sister."
"Will you do it or not?"
"My rates aren't cheap."
"How much?"
"Three legitimate sons of the Prime Minister's mansion, two illegitimate sons, one grandson, two daughters… oh, that doesn't include you, Miss Xie!"
"I've severed ties with Qi Hui!"
"Nine people in total. Nine thousand taels."
The current Xie Suisui was not short on money! Nine thousand taels to uproot Qi Hui's foundation and sever all of Qi Yurou's support and future—worth it!
She directly produced a ten-thousand-tael banknote and handed it to Chu Qianxing. "Don't implicate the General's Manor."
Chu Qianxing clapped his hands. Deal!
"Three days at the earliest, half a month at the latest."
"Agreed!"
Even three months she could wait. Qi Hui was, after all, a Prime Minister with deep roots. She couldn't even get through the gates of the Prime Minister's mansion now, let alone get close enough to administer poison or slice his waist.
Before leaving the fifth floor, Xie Suisui paused and asked, "How do you plan to do it?"
Chu Qianxing grinned wide again. "I thought you'd never ask!"
He told Xie Suisui he would ensure the entire Prime Minister's mansion was left without heirs.
Xie Suisui laughed heartily. Worthy of being Third Brother's friend—wicked enough!
He handed Xie Suisui an envelope and said, "I hope Miss Xie will burn this immediately after reading it. Best if no one else sees it."
Xie Suisui: "Agreed!"
Chu Qianxing called for the attendant. "Bring Miss Xie some of the Liuli Pavilion's signature dishes. Let her have a taste."
He was indeed a stingy old miser, but Xie Xinglang's sister was a very interesting person… She'd been interesting ever since she lay in that basket all those years ago!
It was just that over the years, Xie Sanlang and Lady Xie had refused to let him through their doors. He knew of her, but she didn't know of him.
Xie Sanlang wanted to castrate Qi Hui, did he? Sorry, but I'll vent for his sister first!
Coming out the back door, Xie Suisui boarded the carriage, and the three food boxes from the Glass Pavilion were loaded inside.
She opened one to take a look—all hearty signature dishes, plus a basket of apples, a rare treat these days, big and red.
As the horse trotted off, she lowered the curtain and opened the letter from Chu Laokou.
At first she was surprised, then she read it again and couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Miss, what does it say?" Haitang asked.
"Nothing. Bring me the fire tongs."
She lit the letter and watched the flames devour it, then covered her mouth, shaking with laughter.
[After four doses of the medicine, the poison seeps into the marrow. From top to bottom of the Prime Minister's mansion, regardless of gender, back pain will begin after seven days, and after ten days, abdominal pain like knives cutting—by then, it will be beyond saving. Even a Daluo Golden Immortal descending to earth could not rescue them. You will watch helplessly as those seed sacs vanish into thin air…]
The Prime Minister's mansion was doomed.
Literally—the staff still there, but the balls gone!!
Her lips curled upward as she lifted a corner of the curtain, turned her head to look back at the Glass Pavilion, and recalled the understated luxury of Chu Qianxing's room. She pinched her chin.
Just who was this Chu Laokou?
That night, Qi Ziyu, as usual, slipped into the gambling den and never looked back. He lost every last silver in his pouch and wanted to win it back, but all he had left was a single tael of loose change.
The clerk rousted him from his seat and made him give up his spot to someone else. Unwilling to quit, he asked the gambling house to lend him a hundred taels, promising to repay within a month.
The boss refused.
A young man standing nearby, shabbily dressed but with an imposing bearing, said to him, "Brother, the art of Lanmen is vast. Playing the way you do, even the greatest family fortune won't hold out. If you trust me, let me take you for a round?"
Qi Ziyu asked, "How do you want to play?"
"Lend me your one tael of silver, and I'll return it tenfold."
Qi Ziyu had only that one tael left. Fine—he'd gamble on this man winning!
He handed the loose silver to the stranger.
And strangely enough, the man placed his bets and won every single round. Bold and skilled, he went all-in each time, and in a single night, he won over a thousand taels.
Qi Ziyu practically worshipped him as a god!
He pressed for the man's name and insisted on swearing brotherhood with him.
The man said his surname was Sha, his given name Guang, and his courtesy name Huangjun.
"Brother Huangjun, that hand of yours is incredible—why haven't I seen you play before?"
"Alas, I'm ashamed to say it. My family has fallen on hard times. I came to the capital hoping to seek out a relative, but they've vanished without a trace. I've been watching you all play, but my purse is empty…"
To gamble, you need stakes. With not a single coin to his name, what could he wager?
Qi Ziyu, swept up in fervor, immediately took charge and declared that he would provide the capital while Sha Guang handled the play, splitting the winnings sixty-forty.
Sha Guang was overjoyed.
Their first collaboration earned a thousand taels, and Qi Ziyu treated him to a night at the Glass Pavilion, watching the courtesans play music and sing, toasting back and forth, drinking to their hearts' content.
During the feast, Qi Ziyu learned that Sha Guang had nowhere to stay for the time being, so he invited him to live with him.
Sha Guang was delighted. The two slung arms around each other's shoulders, moved into the Prime Minister's mansion, and called each other brothers.
From then on, by day, Sha Guang repaid Qi Ziyu's kindness by teaching him gambling techniques, and by night, the two dominated the gambling dens, raking in money hand over fist.
Though Sha Guang dressed plainly, he was strikingly handsome, modest, skilled at the zither, and—most dangerously—brewed a superb cup of tea.
Every time he made tea, his every gesture flowed like water, a pure pleasure to behold.
Qi Ziyu was utterly won over, and even the mansion's maids, young and old, were so charmed they wished they could collapse into his arms.
The entire mansion was intoxicated by his fragrant brew. Even Qi Yurou summoned him several times to perform his tea ceremony for gatherings of her close friends, marveling at the aromatic tea he crafted.
Within seven or eight days, everyone in the mansion—from Qi Hui at the top to the steward at the bottom—had appreciated his zither playing and tea ceremony, and had tasted his brew.
Qi Yurou had seen tea ceremonies performed in the modern world, but compared to Sha Guang, they were worlds apart.
Sha Guang was a true prodigy who had mastered all six arts.
Watching him, Qi Yurou felt a pang of regret: "If only his status were a bit higher."
Every day, Sha Guang and Qi Ziyu went to the gambling dens to slaughter the competition. With his forty percent share, he bought all sorts of small gifts for the mansion's residents, and there wasn't a single person in the household who didn't adore him.
After ten days at the mansion, Qi Ziyu's gambling skills had improved by leaps and bounds. Under Sha Guang's tutelage, his win rate had reached fifty-fifty.
Sha Guang repeatedly praised Qi Ziyu as a true genius born to eat from the bowl of Lanmen. Now that he had nothing left to teach him, he announced his departure.
Qi Ziyu was loath to let him go. In those ten days, he had won back nearly four thousand taels.
If he and Sha Guang kept working together, wouldn't a hundred thousand or a million be well within reach?
"Brother Huangjun, has the household been treating you poorly? If so, I'll set up a private courtyard just for you—how about that?"
"Second Young Master, all feasts must end. It's time I returned to my ancestral home. Until we meet again."
That day, Sha Guang left, and Qi Ziyu even gifted him a carriage.
Qi Ziyu rubbed his hands together, eager to make a killing at the gambling tables.
But for some unknown reason, his true colors came out. Not only did he lose the four thousand taels he'd so painstakingly won back, but he also ended up owing the gambling house ten thousand taels.
The gambling house caught him and beat him half to death. He didn't dare send someone to the Prime Minister's residence for money, so he begged them to find his elder brother, Qi Ziheng.
Qi Ziheng was furious—where would he get ten thousand taels?
He wrote an IOU to the gambling house, promising to repay within a month. This counted as usury; if repaid in a month, principal and interest would total fifteen thousand taels.
Qi Ziheng had no choice. The gambling house would beat Qi Ziyu to death, and the Prime Minister's residence couldn't afford to lose him. More importantly, these past days he had felt constantly fatigued with aching in his waist and abdomen—he needed to rest early.
After signing the promissory note, Qi Ziheng returned and locked Qi Ziyu up, working desperately to raise money to pay off the debt.
On the thirteenth day, someone delivered a letter to Xie Suisui.
The letter contained only two words—"Done!"
The men and women of the Prime Minister's residence, "finished"? Finished!
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