Chapter 59 – The Three Brothers (2)
Raising an eyebrow, He Chang’an continued, “Rarely come out and, since we have finished our task, I say we should take time to have fun.”
Hua Chun instantly felt relieved at the change of topic. That, and she was interested—what did the ancient folk do for fun? So, she said, “Brother, how do you play, ah?”
At that question, He Chang’an merely turned to look at Yu Wenjie, a small lopsided smile etched onto his lips. Curiously, the latter seemed to immediately understand and, after a small pause, nodded his head and took the lead in walking out of the room, leaving Hua Chun bewildered.
Just like that, the three of them left the restaurant and continued to move forward. On the way, Hua Chun felt uncomfortable. Turning her head to look over her shoulder, Hua Chun frowned. She could’ve sworn that she felt someone was watching them but the streets were crowded with too many people.
Unwilling to let this go, Hua Chun turned towards He Chang’an and raised his voice, almost shouting to be heard: “Second brother! Do you think someone is following us?”
“Yes. Those are the secret guards.” He replied casually before his movements stilled for one moment upon registering her words. Turning to look at her, He Chang’an threw her an incredulous look before shaking his head and picked up his pace: “Eh? Little brother, you can’t fight but you managed to sense that someone was following us? Amazing.”
‘Nonsense! Is a woman’s intuition a joke to you?!’ Hua Chun mentally huffed, feeling smug. On the outside, she merely smiled. “Eh, maybe I have the talent to learn material arts. It’s a shame that my parents didn’t think I was suitable thus, I wasn’t able to practice.”
After that short talk, they continued their walk in silence. During that time, Hua Chun took the opportunity to gather her thoughts.
‘Hmm… So, there were secret guards… What is the Emperor planning? If he had secret guards lying around, why didn’t he make them move in the beginning? So, he can personally stand out? No—what a load of bull!’
Narrowing her eyes, Hua Chun stared at the backs of the two walking ahead of her before sighing. ‘It’s futile. Trying to guess the purpose of this trip is too hard. I can only guess that he was trying to draw someone out. If so… did he achieve his aim?’
As her thoughts continued to whirr, the two influential figures in front of her stopped in their tracks, causing her to almost hit her nose against He Chang’an’s back.
‘We’re here?’
Reorienting herself, Hua Chun let her gaze wander to the entrance that they were standing in front of and the plaque that was standing above it.
‘Eh?’
At that point, Hua Chun strongly believed that the Emperor most definitely achieved his goal.
Why, you ask?
Because no one would think of coming to this kind of place if they had more pressing manners!
‘This is definitely—you can tell by its name!’ Hua Chun’s thought as her jaw dropped in astonishment. ‘One of the most ultimate plot-rendering spots in ancient dramas, a brothel!’
At places like this, the female lead in a drama can perform to their heart’s content, winning the hearts of many. Through a series of events, they’ll eventually bump into the emperor or a young master of a noble household and rise up into a phoenix. Or, they’d become the most popular entertainer in the industry—such that, their value would skyrocket through the roof.
Or the female lead would frequent the brothel, dressed as a man, to snatch women from horrid men! But, in the end, despite her bias against them, they will ultimately still fall in love with the male lead.
‘It’s one of those places!’
As a member of the female faction that pretends to be men, Hua Chun felt very complicated. She had a rather conventional mindset—she wasn’t very interested in seeing a live show nor a beauty exposing flesh.
But… the two figures in front of her were.
“He Chang’an… This kind of place… By you, of all people …”
“Hey! Don’t misunderstand! This was recommended to me.” The male quickly replied. “Don’t say it like that! I don’t surround myself in flowers whenever I come to the capital!”
Mentally, Hua Chun retorted: ‘Brother, you replied far too quickly.’
Meanwhile, Yu Wenjie, who still had no expression on his face, grunted. Though expressionless, from his eyes, one could clearly see the interest in his eyes.
‘Tsk. What a beauty-loving emperor, such a cliche.’
Needless to say, He Chang’an quickly led the way in. Very naturally, might one add.