"I want to thank you, if in the future I can become famous, it will be all thanks to you." Fu Xiang's eyes were filled with affection, becoming even more charming and alluring.

Xu Qi'an knew what she meant. Throughout history, there have been many famous courtesans whose names have been passed down through poetry and literature.

Any woman in the brothel sector would be ecstatic to have this opportunity.

There are two types of people in the world who love fame - scholars and courtesans.

"I want your gratitude and loyalty..." Xu Qi'an smiled and showed a bit of frivolity, "How do you plan to thank me?"

The room was warm like spring, he had drank quite a bit of alcohol and had been sitting for a while, feeling hot and uncomfortable. He took off his outer robe and placed it on the round stool.

Fu Xiang bit her plump and alluring lips, shyly saying, "Young Master, the night is long, why don't you let me play a tune to help you relax?"

Xu Qi'an was taken aback, knowing that the other party would misunderstand. He smiled and didn't explain.

Women from ancient times were still elegant. When you went to bed with them, they would say, "Don't rush, let this little lady play a tune for you first."

Unlike modern girls, when you go to bed with them, they would say, "Hurry up!"

After patiently listening to a tune, Xu Qi'an had to admit that this courtesan had talent. She was skilled in both playing the qin and writing poetry. He didn't understand poetry, but her qin playing was truly excellent.

As someone who didn't understand music, he was still able to immerse himself in it.

Xu Qi'an took a sip of tea to relieve the dryness in his throat caused by drinking alcohol. He casually brought up a topic, "Fu Xiang, with your beauty, hasn't anyone tried to buy your freedom?"

This was clearly not a very pleasant topic. The courtesan sighed sadly, "For the girls in the brothel sector, it's not as simple as buying their freedom. Even if they meet a lover, the Ministry of Rites wouldn't agree."

In fact, it was too expensive. It was difficult for a popular courtesan in the brothel sector to buy her freedom because she was an official courtesan. It involved a lot of procedures and connections, and the amount of money spent was far greater than that of other courtesans in the brothels.

I remember Chief Wang saying that the price for an ordinary courtesan in a brothel was around 500 to 1000 taels. The price for a courtesan in the official brothel sector might be double or even more.

What does 2000 taels mean?

I would have to save for ten years without eating or drinking, and my income is considered above average... With so much money, wouldn't it be better to buy a few pretty concubines?

Xu Qi'an subconsciously calculated in his mind and came to the conclusion that this business was a bloodbath.

"Well, with Fu Xiang's beauty, even in the capital of Great Feng, there wouldn't be a second one like her." Xu Qi'an flattered.The flower courtesan chuckled and felt happy in her heart, but said with her mouth, "Don't make fun of me, young master. The number one beauty in the Great Feng's capital is the Northern King's consort. I am just a willow-like beauty."

She called herself from a servant to a person, feeling closer in relationship and even added a bit of coquettishness in her tone.

The Northern King's consort? It's this woman again. Xu Qi'an heard about this legendary number one beauty in the capital once more.

In his past life, he had seen countless beauties, but even when he saw Xu Lingyue and Chu Caiwei, who were almost flawless, he couldn't imagine how beautiful the consort must be to hold the title of the capital's number one beauty.

It's probably due to her status... he thought.

"That consort was born into a literary family in Jiangnan. When she was nine, she went to the Jade Buddha Temple with her parents to burn incense, and the abbot gave her a poem: 'A stunning beauty surpassing all others, with grace and elegance like the sun. Adored by all, she became the country's color, captivating emperors and kings with her soul.'

"From then on, her reputation spread far and wide, and at the age of thirteen, she was sent to the palace."

Xu Qi'an asked curiously, "So how did she become the consort?"

The flower courtesan Fu Xiang extended her slender jade hand from her long sleeve, picked up a porcelain bottle, and poured out some qin cream while taking care of her phoenix-tailed qin. She said, "Nineteen years ago, there was a great victory at Shanhaiguan, and the Northern King, as the second greatest contributor, was gifted the capital's number one beauty by the emperor."

The Northern King is the emperor's younger brother, so it's not surprising that he was given a beauty as a reward. After all, that beauty was undoubtedly a rare talent, but the emperor has been devoted to cultivating himself and no longer indulges in women... What Xu Qi'an was curious about was something else:

"Who was the greatest contributor?"

"Lord Wei. At that time, Lord Wei was the commander-in-chief of the three armies. If he wasn't a eunuch, the consort wouldn't have become the consort." Fu Xiang laughed, "I'm speaking so openly with young master because there's nothing that can't be said between us, but let's not talk about this outside."

Xu Qi'an suddenly realized, "It was him... Wei Yuan. I've heard of him before."

He was too famous.

Although he was a eunuch, he was incredibly talented, capable of governing the country with literature and suppressing rebellions with martial arts. If he hadn't lost his valuable rooster early on and achieved the top scholar and prime minister positions, it would have been easy for him.

The two chatted aimlessly, and Xu Qi'an was skilled at leading the conversation with gentle persuasion, a skill he had honed while practicing interrogation techniques.

After wandering around for a while, they finally talked about Zhou Lishen.

"This man is lecherous and frivolous, lacking in ink in his chest. I don't like him. Whenever he participates in tea ceremonies, I just treat him as if he doesn't exist," Fu Xiang said angrily."The Official Brothel Sector is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites. He's just the son of a Ministry of Revenue attendant. I'm not afraid of him."

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Xu Qi'an showed some curiosity and asked with a smile, "Where did you hear about this lewdness? Isn't it normal to seek pleasure and ask for companionship?"

"This matter involves some official secrets," the courtesan hesitated for a moment and said softly, "I only heard it from other officials. If Young Master Yang wants to know, I can tell you, but please don't spread it around."

Her tone was like a spoiled and pleading one.

Xu Qi'an pretended to be surprised and said that he was just interested and would not spread it around.

"This incident started from last year's Lantern Festival. Zhou Li was a lewd person and he saw a girl he liked at the lantern festival. He took advantage of the crowd and molested her, and even had the girl's attendant beaten up."

"Who would have thought that the girl had a background? She was the illegitimate daughter of the Marquis of Mighty Power. Originally, if she was just an illegitimate daughter, things wouldn't have been so troublesome, but the problem was that the girl's birth mother was the elder sister of the Marquis of Mighty Power's legal wife."

"With this blood relationship, the illegitimate daughter was favored by the main wife and was treated almost the same as the legitimate daughter. She just lacked the status."

Xu Qi'an quietly clenched his fists, "How was it handled?"

"The Marquis of Mighty Power reported it to the emperor, and the Ministry of Revenue attendant explained it in a memorial. The two sides argued for many days, and finally the emperor ruled that Zhou Li was not strict in teaching his son, so he was stripped of his salary for a year and had to compensate the Marquis of Mighty Power with five thousand taels of silver. Zhou Li was under house arrest for three months, and if he committed another crime, he would be severely punished without mercy."

"If he committed another crime, he would be severely punished without mercy..." This sentence seemed to strike Xu Qi'an's mind like lightning, inspiring him.

Zhou Li had long coveted the beauty of the Marquis of Mighty Power's illegitimate daughter. After suffering a setback, he was depressed and under impulse, he had the idea of taking the Marquis of Mighty Power's illegitimate daughter...

The information about Zhou Li that he had collected before suddenly came together like a cornerstone, adding to his plan.

So he sent someone to abduct the Marquis of Mighty Power's illegitimate daughter and hid her in a private house outside, planning to indulge in pleasure... and then kill her to cover up the crime... well, that makes sense.

"Of course, the purpose is to frame and set up. I don't need to kill an innocent girl. This is the initial plan, but the details still need to be discussed with Erlang. We must make it natural and reasonable..."

Seeing Xu Qi'an lost in thought, the courtesan called him with a pouty and complaining tone, "Young Master, are you going to sit with me all night?"

Uh... I can't lose my virginity yet, so not sitting with her all night, does that mean I have to do it all night?Translation:

PS: In about two or three chapters, the storyline of Zhou Shilang will be over.

Also, there have been some issues with updates recently, and I haven't been able to update at noon. Starting tomorrow, updates will resume.