Chapter 56: Beautiful Like a Heavenly Fairy

When she heard the word “bug,” Shen Zuijin’s whole body got goosebumps. She jumped three feet high and immediately reached to feel inside her skirt. She wanted to pull the bug out before it found a warm cave, so she wouldn’t have to spend the latter half of the night naked, fumigating with incense!

Luckily, Wang Meng coughed in time, so she stopped her hand and avoided great embarrassment. Shen Zuijin carefully assessed her feelings; there was none of yesterday’s numb, itchy, hard-to-describe sensation. This meant the suspect had confessed—it was him who tampered with her underpants. Shen Zuijin’s anger instantly flared. Fresh and old grievances surged in her heart. Seeing her expression, Wang Meng immediately stepped forward, glaring fiercely at Liu Liwa, ready to strike at any moment.

But Liu Liwa stood up slowly and unhurriedly. He stretched and pretended to look out the door. “Oh my, I wonder when the Son of the Vice Minister will return today. I still need to tell him a story later!”

Once the Son of the Vice Minister was mentioned, who could compete? Even the important figure Wen Jun, who was coming later—even though the imperial guards he led were directly under the Imperial Family, and he himself held the military rank of Supervisor-General—from an orthodox perspective, the Vice Minister of War, Lord Ye, was his direct superior.

Both of these individuals were ones the Intoxication Pavilion could not afford to offend. On the contrary, they needed to desperately win them over. Moreover, between winning over a young master who only knew eating, drinking, and having fun, and winning over a battle-hardened general with extremely high loyalty, which was easier? The Madam of Intoxication Pavilion surely understood better than anyone.

Liu Liwa didn’t know if they were trying to win over these distinguished guests for reasons beyond just having the Intoxication Pavilion act as a protective umbrella. But one thing was certain: the Intoxication Pavilion was putting great effort into courting Wen Jun, and he would definitely not advertise for a pleasure house in front of the Emperor. But if they won over the Son of the Vice Minister, this wasteful playboy might even drag his Vice Minister father along to visit a brothel!

Liu Liwa understood this reasoning, and Shen Zuijin understood it even better than him. She even knew about other purposes behind it. So, she obediently suppressed her temper, pushed Wang Meng aside, and quietly stepped to the side, showing she temporarily yielded.

Liu Liwa, like a victorious general, stuck out his neck and walked with measured steps, slowly moving to the door. He craned his neck to look out. He was hoping, hoping—the east wind came, the footsteps of winter drew near, and the footsteps of the inspection team coming from the countryside also drew near.

The morning street was foggy. Low houses were hidden in the thin mist, like a mirage. The newly risen sun cast soft light onto the fog, shimmering with colorful rays, incredibly magnificent. Through the fog, heavy and orderly footsteps could be heard. Not far away in the misty haze, shadowy figures were approaching steadily without hurry.

The fog gradually dispersed. The group of people came closer and closer. Liu Liwa saw clearly—it was actually a team of soldiers clad in armor, with steel blades at their waists, looking majestic and imposing. Each had an expressionless face, emitting a stern, murderous aura. One glance told they were warriors tested through blood and fire.

The soldiers divided into two teams, occupying both sides of the street. There seemed to be about a hundred of them. In the middle, they escorted a sedan chair, carried unsteadily by eight people. Before Liu Liwa could get a clear look, he was thrown aside by Shen Zuijin. Wang Meng led seven or eight bodyguours rushing out the main door, automatically spreading out to be on alert. Shen Zuijin, dressed gaudily, waited flirtatiously at the entrance to welcome them, her posture alluring, especially with her legs tightly closed together!

Liu Liwa was flung into the front hall. He found it was already empty now, leaving only a clean, bright room without a speck of dust. The whole building seemed made of a large mirror, shining brilliantly. The air was filled with the fragrance of women’s makeup, overwhelmingly fragrant.

At the top of the stairs, Wu Liniang stood side-by-side with a girl. The Madam also wore a white dress, still full-figured and charming, but a cold, fierce sharpness could be seen between her brows. The girl beside her, also in a snowy white dress, seemed as if she were shrouded in mist and fog, her whole body enveloped in a light haze, both real and illusory. Her pitch-black hair cascaded down like the Milky Way scattering. Her eyebrows were like distant mountains tinged with azure, her eyes like autumn waters deep and clear, her nose like a bright pearl, her lips like touched crimson, her jade cheeks slightly flushed. Exquisitely beautiful beyond compare, she was like a fairy in the clouds—elegant, detached from the mundane world, stunningly gorgeous.

Liu Liwa felt as if his heart stopped beating. Although he had transcended worlds, he had only lived two lives. A fairy-like person like this before him—even cultivating for eight lifetimes he wouldn’t dare hope to touch her. Maybe he was originally an eight-life virtuous man, and in this ninth life his character exploded, actually allowing him to dual-cultivate with such a peerless beauty!

Liu Liwa stood foolishly alone in the center of the hall, dumbly watching the fairy slowly descend from the clouds. If Qin Wan’er hadn’t secretly winked at him, Liu Liwa wouldn’t have believed his own eyes. But that blink of hers somewhat spoiled her ethereal, fairy-like aura. Even so, she was still shockingly beautiful, and even more real. It was indeed the girl who dual-cultivated with him last night!

But Liu Liwa knew she was dressed so splendidly not to show herself off to him, but to welcome another man. This made his heart feel as if cut by a knife. It was so damn frustrating. It was like personally giving his own wife to a superior to seek an official position for himself. If this were a later era, everyone would understand: to get by in life, one must wear a little green on the head. But this was a standard feudal era; conservatively estimated, it was a thousand years before Empress Dowager Cixi lost her virginity. In this era, even Wu Da dared to crack down on pornography and vice. He, a person who had transmigrated and restarted cultivation, actually had no way to deal with it. It really felt worse than death!

The two women slowly walked down from upstairs. Both wore white as snow. One was graceful as a startled swan, stunningly beautiful beyond compare. The other swayed her figure, exuding charm all around. Two flowers on one stalk, each with their own fragrance.

What to do? What to do? From behind came the sound of Shen Zuijin’s cackling laughter, like a hen laying eggs. It seemed they were about to receive the guest. Qin Wan’er and Wu Liniang also came closer and closer. The human tragedy of sending one’s wife to the leader was about to happen to him. Heaven would not tolerate this!

Liu Liwa was so anxious he felt fire rising in his heart. Suddenly, he felt a strong force pulling him away hard. When he came to, he realized it was Yang Xiaosi who had dragged him into a side room. Yang Xiaosi breathed heavily, nervous. “Brother, are you crazy? Supervisor Wen is about to enter, and you’re still standing there! Supervisor Wen is moody and unpredictable. He doesn’t punish women, but he shows no mercy to men. Light punishment means caning; severe punishment means beheading. Do you not want to live? No matter how beautiful that woman is, she’s not for the likes of us!”

Liu Liwa was already upset. Hearing this, he glared fiercely at him sideways, thinking, “Who’s ‘us’ with you? A beauty like this definitely isn’t for you, but that doesn’t include me!”

But Liu Liwa also knew Yang Xiaosi meant well. Every man had hot-blooded moments; anyone could pick up a blade and risk their life to fight. Even Wu Da dared to fight the high official to the death. But that would only achieve the eternal love story between the high official and Jin Lian. The only plan now was to use wisdom to win!