Chapter 52
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Chapter 52:
The Second Prince reached out to catch her. His hand felt slightly cool, almost like it couldn’t warm up despite the summer weather. Li Chunzhou looked up at him and met his gaze.
The Second Prince sat on the grand chair, his expression calm as usual. Relaxed and composed, he waited for Li Chunzhou like a skilled hunter, ready to welcome her like a captured bird into his arms.
Li Chunzhou gazed up at him, her eyes sparkling with affection. Her face radiated a bright smile like a spring flower. She said, "I heard the court has been busy with the imperial exams these days. I thought the Second Master would be too busy to see me…"
She stopped mentioning about meeting Jian Hou, and simply presented a charming smile.
The Second Prince casually said, "The purpose of the imperial examination is not only to select talents, but also to use fame and fortune to keep most scholars focused on studying the Confucian classics, in order to secure the prosperity of Daliang… Whether I go or not, what difference does it make?"
The Second Prince glanced at her, reached out and gently touched Li Chunzhou’s soft cheeks, recalling the reports from his subordinates.
Although yesterday seemed calm to Li Chunzhou, in fact, there were two groups planning to capture people at Spring Flowers Tower at night, but they were all stopped by the Second Prince.
Jian Hou originally planned to mobilize the Jinwei Guard bestowed by the Emperor last night, but the orders were intercepted before reaching the barracks. The other group were a band of traders who openly ventured out after curfew and were intercepted by the martial scouts in front of Spring Flowers Tower, and are now detained in the yamen.
Second Prince had already briefly negotiated with Jian Hou before coming to Spring Flowers Tower today.
Second Prince looked down at Li Chunzhou, her black, long eyelashes blinked rapidly, her cheeks slightly reddened from running moments ago, looking warm and soft. Second Prince couldn’t help but cup her face with one hand and pinch it for a moment, before casually mentioning, "That maid by your side, Chihong, the court officials need to take her on a trip today."
Although it sounded like a discussion, there was no room for negotiation in his words, more like a simple notification.
Li Chunzhou’s perfect smile froze for a moment, then quickly returned to normal. She avoided looking at Second Prince and lowered her head, saying, "Second Master… What if I don’t want her to go?"
The Second Prince was surprised by her reaction. He gently lifted Li Chunzhou’s chin with his hand, forcing her to look up and not hide her expression.
The Second Prince’s face showed no emotion, as he stared at Li Chunzhou with a hidden look of displeasure, making his feelings unpredictable.
"Why?" He seemed genuinely confused, yet his eyes did not show much blame, as if dealing with a stubborn and naughty child.
Li Chunzhou remained silent, expressing her resistance through silence.
The Second Prince lightly scratched Li Chunzhou’s chin, like soothing a cat, and calmly said, "Lady Chun, I do not need servants, I prefer… intelligent children who can help me, do you understand?"
Li Chunzhou gently held his hand supporting her chin with her pale hands, leaning her face into his palm, then looked up at Liang Changfeng, appearing obedient but with no hint of compromise in her eyes.
The Second Prince gazed at her, smiled, and suddenly said, "Does the cat I sent you like it? After the Oiran Contest, bring it to live in the royal palace."
Daliang has a law that "good girls cannot be sold into marriage." Many women in the flower streets and alleys, whether famous courtesans or lowly prostitutes, often come to unfortunate ends.
Among these ill-fated women, some are from poor backgrounds forced into such work, some are from respectable families led astray, and others were originally noble ladies who suffered due to their family’s mistakes… Spring Flowers Tower in the entire Pingkang Alley is considered a decent place of belonging, where the women in the building are at least not abused and can choose whether to sell themselves.
But if a woman is a prostitute, she cannot be taken as a wife and brought home. At most, she can be a concubine. So, some high-ranking officials and nobles would buy a house outside their home, use gold to redeem the girl they like, and place her there as a "second household woman".
Or, simpler still, they would not redeem her, let her continue living in the brothel, but pay the madam a sum of money every day as a way of "buying her out". This girl would then not entertain other clients, but only serve this special guest.
The Second Prince keeps Li Chunzhou in this manner, except that Li Chunzhou also acts as his spy. Therefore, the Second Prince does not mind the common visitors who interact with her on a daily basis.
Li Chunzhou silently gazed at the Second Prince, unsure of what made him change his mind and want to bring her into the mansion. But suddenly, she found it all very boring.
Ever since witnessing Zhao Er’s death yesterday, Li Chunzhou lost interest in this cycle, to the point where she even lacked the patience to play along.
This was her one hundred and twenty-first time experiencing the cycle.
In her second cycle, she thought everything she experienced was a dream, only to realize that everything in reality was just like in her dreams.
By her third cycle, she started using the time in the cycle to practice playing musical instruments, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
In her sixth cycle, she discovered the presence of players and realized that she could see their dialogue boxes.
On her ninth reincarnation, she noticed that the red beans would always die tragically and then kill the players who entered the back mountain by mistake, so she started interfering with the Sub-dungeon.
On her twentieth reincarnation, she suddenly realized that the mute boy who had been following her all along had grown so tall without her noticing.
On her thirtieth reincarnation, she completely learned the language used by players and figured out the three Sub-dungeons in this world.
On her sixtieth reincarnation, she set fire to the Spring Flowers Tower, then laughed hysterically at the frightened crowd.
On her ninetieth reincarnation, she had an unrealistic and bold idea.
On her one hundred twenty-first reincarnation, when she saw Jian Hou messaging Qi Leyuan, she couldn’t help but smile.
Li Chunzhou grew up in the Fireworks Alley, watching Mama Li gradually develop the Spring Flowers Tower into one of the top brothels in Shengjing City. She knew how cruel this world could be and didn’t mind using subtle rules to get what she wanted.
So, she used her beauty to please the Second Prince and other influential people with power, seizing the gifts that fate bestowed upon her and climbing higher.
Li Chunzhou understood early on that there were many people in this world who were just kindling, and only a small fraction at the top could be the flames. Only those standing at the top didn’t have to care about rules and restrictions.
She had gotten used to relying on Second Prince for survival, but with each passing day she couldn’t help but wonder what it all meant – why she was constantly seeking his approval.
This seed inside her was growing day by day, sometimes Li Chunzhou could even hear her bones creaking.
Zhao Er’s death only added to Li Chunzhou’s confusion, so when Second Prince asked her to move into his mansion, she just stared ahead blankly and said softly, "I’ve been having strange dreams since eight days ago."
Tilting her head, Li Chunzhou spread her fingers wide as if remembering the feeling of soaring through clouds. She whispered, "I dreamt of turning into a bird, flying aimlessly in the sky, forgetting even my own name. But upon waking up, I turned back into a human…"
Li Chunzhou sounded disappointed.
Resting her head on Second Prince’s chest, Li Chunzhou leaned her cheek against his exposed skin, looking dazed as they hugged each other in that strange position.
Second Prince wasn’t a comforting presence, but Li Chunzhou didn’t mind. She didn’t even care how he saw her anymore, just muttering to herself, "I used to be easily happy, but… I can’t even remember how long ago that was."
After a moment of silence, a smile appeared on Li Chunzhou’s face as she brought up a random topic, "Second Master, have you heard about the demons infiltrating Shengjing?"
Her eyes were unfocused, like she had stayed up all night and couldn’t concentrate, but there was a hidden sense of madness simmering beneath the surface, a calmness of an impending storm.
The Second Prince quietly looked at her expression, his eyes filled with a hint of surprise, as though he suddenly realized he didn’t know her at all.
Li Chunzhou tilted her head and asked, "Second Master, have you ever seen a talking chicken before?"
She picked up Li Li, patted his back, and said, "Li Li, say something to Second Master."
Qi Leyuan couldn’t understand what Li Chunzhou meant, feeling confused, but after Li Chunzhou urged him several times, he hesitantly cleared his throat and said, "Um… hello?"
The Second Prince, usually calm and composed, showed a crack in his perfect façade, his eyes widened suddenly, with a vigilant and dangerous gaze fixed on Qi Leyuan.
Li Chunzhou suddenly laughed in a carefree and innocent manner.
The Second Prince’s surprise only showed briefly on his face, and soon he regained his composure, stopping Jian Yi who was about to step forward with a knife in hand.
The Second Prince knew about the strange occurrences happening around Li Chunzhou these days, but he was always willing to give her a lot of freedom. As long as Li Chunzhou was safe, he wouldn’t restrict her actions too much. However, he hadn’t expected her to give him such a big "surprise"…
After her little prank, Li Chunzhou seemed satisfied, with her usual obedient and gentle smile back on her face. She said in a clear voice, "Which grown-up wants to arrest someone? I understand, I won’t stop them."
"It all depends on whether they can take Chihong away… It all comes down to their abilities."
The Second Prince silently studied Li Chunzhou’s face, his expression unreadable. Li Chunzhou looked up at him, noticing Liang Changfeng’s light-colored irises and deep crimson eyes that seemed to draw people in like an abyss.
The two individuals stared at each other in silence, like two equally twisted yet calm lunatics quietly observing each other.
The Second Prince raised his hand, seemingly unfazed by what had just happened. Instead, his interest in Li Chunzhou seemed to grow more intense. He lightly brushed her soft cheek with his knuckles and leaned in to quickly peck her.
Seeing Li Chunzhou’s bewildered expression, he had a pleased smile on his face.
The Second Prince had always known he was different from others. It started the year the late Queen passed away when his siblings were all crying in the mourning hall. Liang Changfeng just watched apathetically until the late King twisted him viciously in a place out of sight, forcing him to kneel and put on a sorrowful expression, tears streaming down his face.
In the first decade of his life, he always pretended. The most extreme thing he did was training his dog to catch sparrows for his own amusement.
He was skilled at deception, and other than that, there was nothing beyond the norms of society.
Time flowed through his life like a calm stream. When Liang Changfeng crouched to look at the dead sparrow, he could hear the wind whistling through the hollow within his chest. In such moments, he realized something was wrong with him.
…
Inside the room, two people were in a stalemate, when a loud voice came from outside the door, "Servant, who gave you the courage to stop me? That’s my brother inside! Why can’t I go in?!"