“You two brothers have worked hard!”
“I still have things to do, so I’ll be leaving first!”
Jiang Wangzu patted A-Long and Ah Hu on the shoulders, then swaggered away from Xianle Gate.
“Having accomplished his task, he brushed off his clothes and left, hiding both his merit and his name.”
“This Rumeng is no simple woman, and her suitors are even less simple.”
“I’d better keep a low profile for a while.”
“That way, I won’t get targeted by one of Rumeng’s rabid suitors and end up not even knowing how I died.”
Jiang Wangzu did not leave through the front entrance.
He slipped out through the back door, taking a winding route before leaving the Upper City District.
…………
Xianle Gate.
Rumeng limped into a luxurious two-room suite on the third floor.
This was the room of the xianle gate boss.
Rumeng pushed open the door and dropped onto the soft sofa without a hint of restraint.
Instead, with some lingering morning grumpiness, she said lazily:
“Sister Qiao, why did you wake me up so early?”
“So early?”
“Look at the time! It’s almost noon, and you still haven’t gotten out of bed!”
“I heard from the people downstairs that a pretty boy entered your room last night and left this morning.”
“You… gave yourself to him?”
A stunning woman in a gorgeous red Qipao and red high heels, with wavy hair and exquisite makeup, walked out of the bedroom.
The woman looked about thirty. She was mature and beautiful, with an air of heroic authority, like a fully ripened peach.
This woman was Han Qiao, the Xianle Gate Boss.
“He insisted!”
Remembering the madness of the previous night, Rumeng’s heart tightened, and a faint blush appeared on her face.
“He insisted, so you gave in?”
Han Qiao widened her eyes and raised her voice in exasperation.
“Little Brother Azu is handsome and talented. How could I not fall for him?”
Rumeng said coquettishly to Han Qiao.
She and Han Qiao had known each other since childhood, and the two were as close as sisters.
Although one of them was now the xianle gate boss and the other the Golden-Voiced Queen of Xianle Gate,
the two were not strictly in a superior-subordinate relationship.
In private, they addressed each other as sisters.
“Support your ass!”
“Right now, I wish I could have someone chop that pretty boy into pieces and throw him into Longjiang to feed the fish!”
“Rumeng, Rumeng, do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve caused?”
“If word of last night gets out, what will those Powerful Officials and Nobles who worship you think?”
“They may not be able to obtain you, but they can destroy you!”
Han Qiao pointed at Rumeng’s nose and berated her.
Although many forces stood behind Xianle Gate,
and Han Qiao had managed to establish Xianle Gate, Shen City’s foremost Dance Hall, in the valuable Shencheng Upper District,
she naturally had her own methods and confidence.
But that did not mean she could single-handedly offend all of Rumeng’s suitors.
Although Rumeng’s origins and background were also far from simple,
the backgrounds and methods of people like them could only be used after they had completely fallen out with their enemies.
They could never use them in public!
“Sister Qiao, I make my living through my own ability, not through their adulation!”
“Besides, you have no idea how outstanding Little Brother Azu is.”
“Not only is he handsome, but he is also a gifted writer. The song he wrote for me on a whim would be enough to become a masterpiece remembered for generations.”
Rumeng spoke with utter infatuation.
A woman in love has negative intelligence, and Rumeng embodied that saying.
“Stop, stop, stop!”
“I don’t want to hear any more of your romantic love story.”
“I’ll cover this up for you. No one at Xianle Gate will gossip about it, but you and him must end things here. I won’t send anyone to cause him trouble, either.”
“But if you insist on staying with him, you won’t merely get him killed—I won’t even be able to protect you.”
“You should know that Young Marshal Du, Marshal Du’s son and the Governor of Shencheng, is very interested in you. He has always wanted to take you as his Ninth Concubine. Once he learns that you gave yourself to a pretty boy, what do you think he will do?”
“The reason Xianle Gate has been able to stand firm in Shen City and become its foremost dance hall is also thanks to Marshal Du’s support.”
“Have you considered the consequences if this matter causes you to offend Marshal Du?”
“Even if Young Marshal Du’s interest in you is temporary, what about the other Powerful Officials and Nobles pursuing you?”
“President Ding of the Shencheng Chamber of Commerce, who has lavished thousands of gold on you, and Chief Xu of the Police Station, who divorced his first wife to pursue you.”
“And there are the other wealthy and powerful young men. I won’t list every one of them.”
“Any one of them could retaliate against you and reduce you and your lover to dust, condemning you to eternal ruin!”
“You and I are as close as sisters, so don’t blame me for breaking up the lovers.”
“If that pretty boy truly has feelings for you, let him show what he is capable of and protect you completely.”
“But you also know that this is impossible.”
“If you truly love each other, I will gradually reduce your presence over the next few years.”
“Once you are over thirty, these people probably won’t be as interested in you. Then you can withdraw from the limelight and spend the rest of your lives with your lover. I’ll offer you both my blessings.”
“What do you think?”
Han Qiao looked at Rumeng. Her tone was calm, but every word was as sharp as a blade, and Rumeng’s face grew increasingly pale.
“Everything… will be as Sister Qiao says!”
After Rumeng finished speaking, she seemed to lose all her strength.
…………
Jiang Wangzu accomplished his task, brushed off his clothes, and left, hiding both his merit and his name.
He had no idea what had happened at Xianle Gate.
After leaving the Upper City District, he passed Longjiang Wharf and saw a large crowd gathered there.
“Someone else is dead!”
“Yeah, that makes thirteen this month!”
“Will the Cao Gang do anything about this? Longjiang Wharf is under their protection, and they’ve collected plenty of Protection Fees from us over the years!”
“My friend, you’re being naive. How could a murder case fall under the Cao Gang’s jurisdiction? That’s the Police Station’s business. Who knows when the Police Station will solve it!”
“I think this case is hopeless. I heard the killer isn’t even human but a Water Kui. Apparently, the killer bit the victims’ necks to pieces and sucked all their blood dry.”
“Not only did it drink their blood—even their Internal Organs and brain matter were eaten. Their deaths were horrific. Otherwise, the people at the wharf wouldn’t have stuffed the corpses into burlap sacks. It’s terrifying!”
“If we don’t drive away or kill the Water Kui soon, who will dare go into the water to fish? It will destroy the fishermen’s livelihoods too.”
“In this world, are they really not letting people live?”
“Who says otherwise? If we don’t go into the water for even one day, how are ordinary people like us supposed to survive?”
“……”