My Years in the Jianghu with the Prince: A Time of Unethical Conduct

Xie Yan woke up early in the morning feeling refreshed, it seemed that Chu Ling's skill was not in vain.

At the dinner table——

It's rare to see so many people gathered together today; even Meng Lan, who has been bedridden for several days, was able to get up and eat breakfast.

Xie Yan was sitting with Wu Ya on his left and Chu Ling on his right. He was putting a bowl of soup into his mouth when he heard Wu Ya suddenly speak to him.

"Brother Xie, is your back alright?"

Xie Yan stopped what he was doing, looking completely bewildered. How come he didn't know there was something wrong with his back?

Uya's bowl was piled high with food as she ate, glancing at Xie Yan and the person to his right.

“I saw my handsome brother go into your room last night.”

Xie Yan: "..."

Uya rolled her eyes. "Sometimes my dad would sneak into my mom's room in the middle of the night, and the next day my mom would complain of back pain."

Xie Yan: "..."

The people at the table: *Pfft—*

No, didn't you go to sleep? How come you always manage to stumble upon everything?

Also, Chu Ling only stayed for a quarter of an hour, and left after the massage. The relationship between the two of them is not like that of your father and mother, okay?

Xie Yan dared not look at Chu Ling when she saw the gazes of the others, and only dared to linger on her waist, feeling that her reputation was seriously threatened.

He gave a forced smile and said, "You're overthinking it. Last night, the prince was just treating my headache."

The group looked away and murmured, "Mmm-hmm."

Xie Yan put down her chopsticks: "Your Highness truly loves the people like his own children, and cares so much about us subordinates."

He silently emphasized a few words.

Several people: "Mmm-hmm-hmm-hmm."

The prince never treated any headaches for his actual subordinates.

Xie Yan paused for a moment, glanced at Chu Ling who was watching the show from the side, and decided to change her approach to the argument.

"If my relationship with the prince were truly like that, do you think that with the prince's abilities, I would be completely unscathed by now?"

The others gasped upon hearing this, but then realized Xie Yan's words made perfect sense. Seeing that he showed no signs of anything amiss, they finally believed him.

Chu Ling: "..."

For a moment, I don't know if he should feel gratified that everyone thinks he is very capable.

The meal was finished in an eerie silence.

Because of what happened at lunch, Xie Yan felt she needed to maintain a distance that would be good for both of them. Instead of traveling with Chu Ling, she disguised herself and went to the teahouse.

Xie Yan entered the teahouse, found a quiet spot to sit down, and poured herself a cup of tea.

The storyteller on stage was recounting how, when Emperor Taizu was fighting bravely on the battlefield, he suddenly heard the devastating news of a plague coming from Yongcheng.

"...Emperor Taizu beheaded the bandit leader with a single stroke, which immediately intimidated everyone. He then raised the bandit leader and shouted: 'Those who lay down their weapons and surrender to me will not be killed!'"

"In an instant, a golden light descended from the sky and shone on the Emperor Taizu, followed by a faint dragon's roar in the sky. This was the true sign of a dragon! Upon seeing this, everyone threw down their weapons, knelt down, and kowtowed."

"This great victory brought Emperor Taizu one step closer to unifying the country, but just then—"

The storyteller struck the wooden clapper, abruptly waking the audience who were engrossed in the story.

He slowly took a sip of tea, listening to the urging from the crowd below as if it were nothing new, before speaking again.

"Just then, urgent news arrived from the rear that a plague had broken out in Yongcheng..."

Xie Yan munched on sunflower seeds, utterly astonished by the shamelessness of the founding emperor. What golden dragon roar? He was just using it to stack buffs for himself.

The storyteller above was passionately recounting his tale, while the audience below whispered amongst themselves.

"Hey, speaking of the Flower Goddess, have you heard about the Flower Goddess who was chosen recently being murdered?"

"Oh, Young Master Tang? I was also at Xunfang Pavilion the night before last, and I even drank with him!"

"Then tell me quickly, what exactly happened?"

"What could it be? That night, Young Master Tang asked Lady Hua Ran to spend a night with him at Xunfang Pavilion, but he was rejected. So, in a drunken rage, he smashed things up and left."

"Hmm, it seems he was still angry after leaving, so he went back and killed Hua Ran."

"Definitely. If you ask me, Hua Ran really deserves it. What's with all the pretense of being high and mighty?"

"Exactly, poor young Master Tang, spending so much money on a prostitute in a brothel and still being hung up. If it were me, I would have already—"

While spouting disdainful nonsense, the man picked up the tea that the waiter had just served and prepared to pour himself a cup.

Suddenly, the hand holding the teapot went numb, and he lost his grip, causing the still-steaming hot tea to spill onto his lower body.

"what!"

You can imagine how pungent and sour it must be.

The man screamed as he stood up, frantically trying to find some cold water. But then, his leg went numb, and he involuntarily fell to the side, his elbow striking his companion hard in the face.

After a loud bang, the two of them rolled around on the ground in a sorry state.

"What's wrong? What's going on?"

"Hey, what's going on with these two? Hugging each other in broad daylight."

"It's unbearable to look at, a disgrace to civilization!"

Amidst the murmurs and gossip, the two were speechless and unable to explain themselves, so they could only slink away with their tails between their legs.

Xie Yan contentedly popped a peanut into her mouth.

It's a pity that after the two left, Xie Yan sat in the teahouse for an entire afternoon. Although some people discussed what happened inside Xunfang Pavilion, they didn't get any useful information.

But he didn't, while the others who went off to inquire separately made a great deal of progress.

As soon as Xie Yan pushed open the mansion gate, Yu Bai, who was anxiously waiting inside, immediately ran out and pulled him inside.

Looking inside, everyone was there, just like at lunchtime, waiting for him.

Under everyone's gaze, Xie Yan paused for a moment, then silently sat down in a seat far away from Chu Ling.

Chu Ling smiled slightly.

Yu Bai was oblivious to the subtle interactions between the two, preoccupied only with the information he had gathered.

"I've heard that Hua Ran isn't the first person to get into trouble in Yongcheng."

He swallowed hard: "In recent years, several prostitutes have mysteriously disappeared."

"what?"

Meng Lan gasped softly, "Could it be that they also met with misfortune? What is the government doing?"

But if such murders happen one after another, why does Yongcheng still appear peaceful and prosperous?

But soon, Yu Bai shook his head, "Because of the legend of the Flower Goddess, there are many brothels here, so women often sneak out from them."

"In the past two years, the government would go to the people who reported the cases, but as more and more cases came up, they became too lazy to deal with them."

Tao Xian frowned. "So, even if those women were actually murdered, no one would know?"

Everyone looked at Yu Bai, knowing that the information he had gathered must contain some clues.

"Without exception, all the women who have gone missing in recent years were once considered top contenders for the title of Flower Goddess."