Gu Ci’s face turned slightly red, and he gave a low, awkward cough. Keeping his head down, he quickly stood up, tilted his body to remove his own large cloak, and draped it over the woman. Seeing that the woman’s semi-revealing body was wrapped up tightly, he patted his chest and let out a long breath of relief.
Jun Yichen was left amused by his antics, letting out a chuckle.
At this moment, Yan Niang was momentarily stunned as she looked at the expensive, silver-white large cloak that had suddenly been added to her shoulders.
Raising her head, she encountered this scene: the taller, handsome youth was gazing affectionately and smiling gently at the flushed, handsome young master. The scene appeared bizarrely harmonious.
“Th-Thank you, my lord.” Blushing, she stood in the center of the room, feeling somewhat at a loss. She had originally intended to come in and dance a piece first, but now… She glanced at the cloak on her body and almost wanted to laugh.
Perhaps realizing her embarrassment at last, Gu Ci spoke with some stiffness, “Uhm, why don’t… you play a tune for us to listen to?” With that, he picked up the teacup on the table and took a small, gentle sip of tea.
Yan Niang didn’t seem to expect him to suddenly request a tune at this moment. After a brief pause of a few seconds, she came to her senses and hurriedly walked over to the side near the zither table.
“Uhm, you aren’t allowed to take off the clothes.”
Just as she seated herself steadily, she heard the young man add another sentence. Upon hearing clearly what he had said, Yan Niang nearly tumbled right off her stool.
When she recovered from the shock, she was filled with terror. Crawling on her hands and knees on the floor, Yan Niang hastily pleaded for mercy, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, please forgive me, honored guests!”
Jun Yichen could no longer hold back his laughter entirely. He looked at Gu Ci and smiled, saying, “Ah Ci, you are truly interesting.” Presumably, this Yan Niang was also seeing a patron as interesting as Ah Ci for the very first time, which explained why she looked so thoroughly frightened out of her wits.
Gu Ci offered a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, replying, “Hehe, if Brother Chen finds it interesting, that’s fine.” He genuinely wished he could vanish on the spot.
Although he had frequented brothels in the capital quite often over the past few years, those visits only involved drinking a bit of small wine and listening to light tunes; the courtesans there were always properly dressed. A setup as… inappropriate as this was something he, a young master, had never witnessed before.
Seeing his face grow redder and redder, resembling a freshly boiled crab, Jun Yichen stopped teasing him.
Instead, he turned to Yan Niang, who was still kneeling on the floor, and said, “It’s fine. You may continue playing.”
Hearing this as if granted a general amnesty, Yan Niang expressed her gratitude profusely before quickly adjusting her state of mind and beginning to play the zither.
Soon, as her delicate fingers plucked the strings, the zither music flowed leisurely, resembling clear springwater streaming through mountain ravines, every single note acting like a crystalline droplet of water that sent layer upon layer of ripples across the lake of one’s heart. At times it was lingering and subdued, sounding like weeping or complaining, while at other times it was soaring and passionate, inspiring and uplifting.
When the tune came to an end, even Jun Yichen, who was usually sparing with words, couldn’t help nodding and praising repeatedly.
By this time, the flush had faded from Gu Ci’s face, replaced once more by the demeanor of a high-and-mighty noble young master.
With the music finished, it was time to get down to business.
He grabbed a handful of melon seeds, casually cracked them open, and asked as if inquiring quite casually, “When did you enter this Spring Welcome Pavilion, Miss?”
Following the earlier commotion, Yan Niang had long since lost the reserve she carried when she first entered.
She knelt and sat before the zither table, smiling as she replied, “This maid was raised in Spring Welcome Pavilion since I was a child, and only began receiving guests in the past two years.” Within her tone, there was no shame over falling into the dust of the demimonde; instead, there was an inexplicable sense of pride…
Gu Ci’s gaze darkened slightly, and thoughts brewed in his mind. It appeared this Yan Niang was not simple at least, she wasn’t as simple as she appeared to their eyes.
“Then do you know Caiyu? I heard she was murdered a few days ago.”
As if not expecting Gu Ci to ask so straightforwardly, Yan Niang appeared somewhat stiff.
Seeing her stiff expression, Gu Ci wasn’t in a rush, continuing to leisurely crack melon seeds.
Ultimately unable to withstand the piercing gazes of the two, Yan Niang stammered out, “I… I knew her. She was a sister in our house, but on ordinary days we didn’t have much interaction, and… and she was a person who was very difficult to get along with, constantly flirting with other sisters’ regular patrons. I heard she was murdered… and the sisters in our… house are also very frightened…”
Yan Niang knew in her heart that since they were asking, their identities were extraordinary; today, they had likely come specifically for this matter, and if she didn’t say something, it would make her look all the more guilty.
Jun Yichen slowly curled his lips into a cold smile, toying with his folding fan while his words exuded a biting chill, “Oh? The sisters in your house are all very frightened, but what about you? You just said you weren’t close, so why didn’t you answer immediately when you were asked just now? Furthermore, you said she was difficult to get along with and frequently flirted with other people’s patrons—did she ever flirt with yours? Might this imply that she deserved her death?”
The sharp, incisive questioning pointed out the flaws in Yan Niang’s words with pinpoint accuracy.
Frightened out of her wits, Yan Niang instantly lost her footing. Kneeling wretchedly on the floor, she trembled slightly with a tearful choke in her voice: “I didn’t kill her! I beg the lords to investigate clearly; I… I have clues to provide!” With that, she broke down in tears as if her emotions had utterly collapsed.
Gu Ci was somewhat dumbfounded. Just like that… they had clues?
As expected of someone capable of becoming a Big Shot.
Gu Ci looked toward the doorway with a wary eye.
Jun Yichen clearly understood his concerns. He gave a snap of his fingers, and instantly, two men in black materialized within the room, taking up positions on the left and right sides of the door under his instructions.
A trace of fear couldn’t help rising in Gu Ci’s heart. Those two people had been inside this room just moments ago, yet he hadn’t noticed them at all. If the other party were enemies, the consequences would be unthinkable.
“Ah Ci, let’s begin. It’s safe now.”
His words seemed to possess magic, instantly smoothing away the gloom in Gu Ci’s heart.
Adjusting his state, Gu Ci retrieved a token from his bosom and held it slightly paused before Yan Niang’s eyes. “I am Investigator Gu of the Imperial City Guard Bureau. Now, state everything you know from beginning to end. Any concealment or deception will be treated as the same crime.”
With that, he put away the token, settled back into his seat, and watched her with the air of one waiting leisurely to watch a play.
Compared to her previous loss of emotional control, Yan Niang’s mood had calmed down considerably by now.
She had indeed heard other patrons mention that the capital had dispatched people to investigate Caiyu’s case, but she hadn’t expected it to be the renowned Imperial City Guard Bureau, let alone two such youthful young masters.
Yet, after what had just transpired, she had witnessed the methods of these two youths, and the last shred of lingering opportunistic luck in her heart vanished completely.
Amidst Yan Niang’s intermittent narration, Gu Ci and Jun Yichen gained a preliminary understanding of the sequence of events.