Chapter 55

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Chapter 55:

Shortly after Second Prince left, the Jinwei Guard surrounded the Spring Flowers Tower, blocking all entry and exit, and drove out all the guests inside.

Red Bean was initially uneasy seeing the Jinwei Guard surrounding the courtyard, but after half an hour of watching them being pushed back and unable to suppress Chihong, her anxious heart finally calmed down.

More than ten martial scouts with knives couldn’t catch a girl with bare hands. Even the silliest of them realized that something was wrong. Those martial scouts who had fought with Chihong before now looked at her as if she were a monstrous creature, and quickly sent someone to report to Jian Hou.

Ignoring the commotion outside, Li Chunzhou hid in the house to change her clothes, and threw Li Li, who had been following her, out of the window.

Qi Leyuan strutted over to Ming Xiang who was shelling peas under the eaves. The rain had cleared up, and he flapped his wings, flying to the perch where the colorful parrot usually stayed.

In their natural state, birds’ claws are not completely open but in a semi-grasping position. There was a crossbar in the claws of the colorful parrot that was barely open, as it was usually not home, so many things were now used by Qi Leyuan.

When Red Bean came to feed the birds, she filled a large bowl for Qi Leyuan. All the animals in the yard were under her care – Li Li, the silent bird (colorful parrot), the raccoon cat brought by the Second Prince, including Ming Niang… all of them were well taken care of by Red Bean.

Seeing such a big event unfold, all the girls at Spring Flowers Tower stopped working. Many of them stood on the upper floor to watch the commotion from a distance.

Taking advantage of the situation, the players in the tower sneaked into the courtyard. Kong Yangping, the brothel security guard, had met Ming Xiang before, so he easily recognized her under the eaves.

He and Cheng Yingchu came in over the wall, each sitting on one side of Ming Xiang. Ming Xiang was a bit surprised and hesitated whether to tell Li Chunzhou that the players had come. However, she was sandwiched between the two and before she could stand up, she was pushed down, somewhat forcibly.

"Li Li…" Ming Xiang called out quietly to Qi Leyuan, giving him a subtle glance, trying to signal him to tell Li Chunzhou about the players who had arrived in the house.

Qi Leyuan changed position and gave Ming Xiang a reassuring look, planning to listen first to what these two people were up to.

Cheng Yingchu casually picked up a green bean to help snap it, while Kong Yangping curiously asked Ming Xiang, "Is this all you usually have to do now? Seems too easy!"

Ming Xiang timidly asked, "Is your current job very tiring?"

Kong Yangping also helped snap green beans, sighing when the topic came up, "It’s alright, but apart from completing tasks, we also have to bow and scrape to NPCs. One slip-up and we end up hungry. It’s quite frustrating."

Bringing up this topic, Cheng Yingchu nodded silently and said, "Isn’t Spring Flowers Tower supposed to have four players? What about the other person who got stuck with the prostitute? Hasn’t she come looking for you?"

"You mean…?" Ming Xiang asked with a strange expression.

"Yeah, I remember that player named ‘Qi Leyuan,’ right?"

"Here." Qi Leyuan replied, standing on a pole.

"Wow!!" Kong Yangping was startled by the talking chicken above his head, quickly looking up, "Why is there a talking chicken?!"

Cheng Yingchu was calmer than Kong Yangping, and quickly realized that Qi Leyuan must have used something like a voice orb. Still, it was a surprising thing, "Can you use skills and items?" she asked.

Qi Leyuan nodded and said, "I don’t know what’s going on, but it seems I can use skills inside this Dungeon."

Kong Yangping said, "But having your consciousness placed into a chicken is just too funny, isn’t it…?"

Qi Leyuan silently swallowed the fact that he had used an S-level skill before entering the Dungeon.

Kong Yangping asked again, "Hey, why did Ming Xiang call you ‘Li Li’ just now?"

Qi Leyuan looked away and said with a serious tone, "I have no Lady Chun, without whom I would not be here today…"

As Cheng Yingchu was pondering, she suddenly blurted out, "Being a chicken is better than being placed inside a prostitute, unexpectedly."

"True, as a chicken, investigation is easy, and you don’t have to deal with clients," Kong Yangping nodded, looking at Cheng Yingchu with a strange expression, "But how have you been these days? It’s not…?"

"…selling a libido booster, as long as you make money, the madam won’t care what you do in your free time."

"Oh? Where did you get the potent medicine? You are really something!"

"I made it by mixing flour with dirt."

Ming Xiang couldn’t help but let out a smile.

Kong Yangping leaned back with his hands behind him and said casually, "Once we solve the last Sub-dungeon, we can leave. S-ranked Dungeons are a piece of cake, easy peasy!"

However, Qi Leyuan couldn’t force a smile. He remembered what Li Chunzhou had said to him in the parlor just now, and couldn’t help but wonder, what if they still couldn’t leave even after completing the four Dungeons…?

Cheng Yingchu glanced at the chat channel and said, "There was a big commotion with Jinwei Guard at Spring Flowers Tower today. Almost all the townspeople know about Liu Yuming’s situation… They say someone stole the offerings from his grave."

Qi Leyuan brushed aside his unease and shook his head with emotion, saying, "Between the former Minister of Punishments and the offerings, an unknown champion of justice made their choice."

Kong Yangping dismissed it, "You don’t really think these NPCs are standing up for justice, do you? They are all just programmed to go wherever the wind blows."

Qi Leyuan side-eyed him, not fully agreeing with Kong Yangping but choosing not to argue with him.

After the two people left, Qi Leyuan flew down from the pole and asked Ming Xiang, "Do you know the difference between a normal senior and a pretentious senior, Kong Yangping?"

Ming Xiang continued to shell peas with her hands and shook her head, saying, "I don’t know."

Qi Leyuan said, "A normal senior will explain the reasons to you when you ask, while pretentious seniors like Kong Yangping prefer to explain things that you didn’t ask for, and they go with the flow…"

Ming Xiang fell silent for a moment and softly said, "But… I didn’t ask you anything either, did I?"

Suddenly realizing, Qi Leyuan cleared his throat, whistled to cover his embarrassment, and flew back to the pole to eat bird food with his head down.

After a moment of silence, Ming Xiang hesitantly looked up at Qi Leyuan above her and asked, "Um… Li Li, do we have to leave the Dungeon immediately after completing the task?"

"Do you want to stay a few more days?" Qi Leyuan was surprised because he thought Ming Xiang would be eager to leave, "Of course, we will automatically leave the Dungeon after completing the task… but I can’t be sure about this Dungeon, the situation may change. If you don’t want to leave, you should be able to stay here for a few more days."

Ming Xiang scratched her face, smiled awkwardly, nodded, and then lowered her head deeply.

***

Three days before the Oiran Contest, Li Chunzhou saw Gu Lingfan and then came back to try on various clothes, excitedly preparing for the contest and wanting to pick the most satisfactory outfit to wear on that day.

Suddenly, the carved wooden door was pushed open from outside, and Li Chunzhou thought the person coming in was Chihong, so she asked without turning her head, "Have they all left?"

The voice coming from behind, however, was a deep voice like a male duck, "This jacket is so beautiful, why haven’t I seen you wear it before?"

After seeing that the person coming in was Mi Hongbao, Li Chunzhou was a bit surprised, "Mi Hongbao, why are you back? Didn’t the Second Master send you back…? How did you manage to come in with so many Jinwei Guards outside?"

"Hmph! Anyway, my legs are on me. Can they control where I go?" Because he came in a hurry, Mi Hongbao’s hair was messy, like a stray puppy, making one wonder where he came in from.

Mi Hongbao’s first action upon entering the room was still to chase Li Zhexuan out, and then he sulkily poured himself a cup of tea.

He didn’t seem to be in a good mood. Li Chunzhou thought for a moment and felt that Mi Hongbao might still be upset about what happened in the morning, so she untied her hair, and her black hair hung down, falling on one side of her face.

The flickering light hid her expression beneath layers of hair. Li Chunzhou deliberately sighed softly and said, "Luckily, Mi Hongbao didn’t argue with the Second Prince in the morning."

Mi Hongbao reached out, intending to lift the long hair on her cheek to explain himself, but as he looked up, he unexpectedly met Li Chunzhou’s face, which seemed very sad, and he froze.

The two of them looked at each other through Li Chunzhou’s long hair, as if peering through layers of curtains. Li Chunzhou closed her eyes and nestled her face into his hand, "Second Master treats me like a toy. He would rather destroy me than let anyone else have me… If A’bao had insisted on fighting for me at that time, Lady Chun would probably have died there."

She opened her eyes and looked up at Mi Hongbao’s eyes as if he was her only support.

Mi Hongbao seemed sincere, hesitated for a moment, and then stammered, "Lady Chun… I… I will help you regain your freedom!"

Li Chunzhou smiled, shook her head to refuse his offer, and seeing that he was not angry with her, she turned to continue putting on makeup.

Chihong is currently fighting with the Jinwei Guard outside, so Li Chunzhou did her own makeup. She was capable of doing it, but she usually didn’t bother.

Mi Hongbao was calmed by her serene mood, and gradually became quiet. He walked back and forth in front of Li Chunzhou, looking at her curiously, and asked, "Lady Chun, what makeup are you doing? Why is it different from usual?"

"Do I look good?" Li Chunzhou turned to Mi Hongbao and blinked, "This is the makeup for the Oiran Contest. I still need to wear a formal dress, I have already put on half of it, and I need to put on another outer garment."

The Oiran Contest ranks the girls according to the titles of their accomplishments, with first, second, and third place corresponding to "champion," "runner-up," and "third place."

However, no matter how grand the event, it is essentially just a way for the wealthy and powerful to seek pleasure, much like the corrupt imperial examination system in the decaying officialdom of Daliang.

The rules for the Oiran Contest are very detailed, including things like music, art, calligraphy, and poetry. On that day, all the famous courtesans from different brothels in Shengjing City dress up beautifully and eagerly attend the event. Every year at this time, Pingkang Alley is crowded with people, and it’s very lively.

Li Chunzhou took off her shoes and walked on the bed, stepping on the blankets as she moved around. Mi Hongbao watched her from under the bed, with a silly smile on his face.

After going through the whole process, Mi Hongbao excitedly said, "Lady Chun, you are so beautiful! Especially on the day of the Oiran Contest, I will definitely help you become the Oiran! By then… would you like to stroll the streets with me…?"

Mi Hongbao looked very animated after saying this to Li Chunzhou, or rather, even before Li Chunzhou gave her answer, Mi Hongbao had already guessed what it would be. So, his face showed a mix of shyness and anticipation.

However, Li Chunzhou’s thoughts seemed somewhat pessimistic.

The person who gets the most votes for the Oiran can invite her to accompany them for a whole day. But no matter how rich Mi Hongbao is, how could he compete with the Second Prince?

Whether it’s the Oiran or the person who bids for Li Chunzhou, everything seems to be predestined.

Li Chunzhou felt a bit reluctant to remind him, so she just said, "Alright, then let A’bao practice with me."

Her attitude when she said this seemed more like a form of compensation.

Li Chunzhou’s face lit up with a smile, singing as she slowly moved around the room. The setting sun cast a warm light inside, making even the dust in the air visible. She kept her eyes on Mi Hongbao, and as the song ended, Li Chunzhou gracefully bowed to Mi Hongbao. Just as she knelt halfway, Mi Hongbao rushed over and caught her by the shoulder.

Mi Hongbao knelt on the bed, avoiding her gaze, blushing as he said, "Lady Chun, you don’t need to bow to me. I understand your feelings. You don’t have to bow to me or anyone else in the future…"

Their shoulders were touching, and when they turned their heads, their eyes met. Despite the dim light in the room, they could see each other’s faces clearly. Li Chunzhou fell silent, gazing at Mi Hongbao as he earnestly and nervously expressed his feelings. His lips moved, his eyes shining bright, his thick eyelashes fluttering like fans.

Suddenly, Li Chunzhou tiptoed and lightly touched Mi Hongbao’s cheek with her lips for the first time.