Chapter 76: Third Miss Zhao

After being drunk for two straight days, he wasted two days’ time. According to Young Master Ye’s words, he delayed the birth of his son by two days—as if Third Miss Zhao was already waiting for him under the covers.

He pulled Liu Liwa along and ordered a servant to buy them a lavish breakfast. As they ate and chatted, Liu Liwa recalled that he had been busy dealing with Wen Jun these past two days and hadn’t had time to pay attention to Young Master Ye. He hadn’t given much thought to the so-called “hero by the side” plan either. Besides, he had never even met Third Miss Zhao. If he acted rashly, it might backfire.

However, having accepted the other’s hospitality, it was hard to refuse favors. There were two steamers of meat buns. Young Master Ye was refined and preferred to eat them only after they cooled down a bit, but before the steam had even dissipated above the buns, Liu Liwa had already begun digesting them.

Seeing his eating manners, Young Master Ye suddenly lost his appetite. His mind was filled with thoughts of how to become Third Miss Zhao’s personal hero. Liu Liwa told him that a hero was someone who helped others in their urgent needs and showed their skills in times of crisis. Young Master Ye immediately grasped the meaning. However, Third Miss Zhao was a lady from a noble family, immensely wealthy, and had a deep friendship with the emperor. There weren’t many things that could make her feel urgent—perhaps the only urgent matter was needing to use the restroom. So, Young Master Ye personally devised a plan: he decided to arrange for someone to steal her toilet paper while she was in the restroom, and then he would personally deliver it to her, thus helping her in her urgent need!

Liu Liwa was utterly speechless at his grand idea, but it had to be admitted that if this plan succeeded, the results would be quite remarkable. Besides, Liu Liwa himself didn’t have any better ideas.

Gradually, the main hall became crowded. It was breakfast time, and the girls started coming out to eat in small groups. Even when there were no guests, the girls didn’t slack off on their strict self-discipline. Early in the morning, they were already heavily made up, dressed appropriately, and full of energy. One by one, they passed by Young Master Ye, wafting strong fragrances and flirting with him through their glances.

Wu Liniang and Shen Zuijin also appeared. Wu Liniang simply came to greet Young Master Ye, showing that she valued his presence. Meanwhile, Shen Zuijin carried a stack of clothes and obediently went to the backyard to wash them. A snow-white leg of her underpants was exposed, revealing that her self-devised insect therapy hadn’t been effective, which was why her small eyes kept darting glances toward Liu Liwa.

Just then, from outside the newly opened doors of Intoxication Pavilion, the sound of urgent horse hooves and neighing suddenly rang out. A cloud of dust rolled in, forcing pedestrians outside to quickly step aside. Three carriages came to a stop right at the entrance of Intoxication Pavilion. The blue cloth curtain of one carriage was lifted, and a charming girl, about sixteen or seventeen years old, jumped down. She wore a light green silk dress, and a golden hairpin glittered on her head. Though youthful and lively, she was tainted by the gaudiness of gold and silver.

After getting off the carriage, the girl bounced cheerfully toward Intoxication Pavilion. The old coachman immediately stopped her and said awkwardly, “Third Young Miss, this is Intoxication Pavilion, a pleasure house. It’s not a place a young lady like you should enter.”

The old coachman was quite anxious and spoke loudly. The girls inside the main hall clearly heard him. Some were furious, while others felt sad and disheartened. Emotions ran high. Liu Liwa snorted to himself, thinking, If young ladies aren’t allowed into pleasure houses, wouldn’t that mean they’d go bankrupt?

The youthful and pretty young lady spoke in a bell-like voice, “The pleasure house is full of women. Since I’m also a woman, why can’t I go in?”

Bravo! Liu Liwa laughed heartily. He hadn’t expected this young girl to have such a perspective. Men’s bathhouses and restrooms were off-limits to women, but a pleasure house was full of people of the same gender—why couldn’t she go in? What was this talk of filthy places and indecent acts? Without such “indecent acts,” how would humanity reproduce? The world was full of hypocrisy, discrimination, and misunderstandings.

As she spoke, the girl in the green dress bounced cheerfully through the door. Before Liu Liwa could get a clear look at her face, he heard a clattering sound beside him. Turning, he saw bowls and plates scattered all over the floor. Young Master Ye had disappeared?!

Teleportation? Invisibility? Super-speed travel? Liu Liwa was filled with questions until he noticed the table trembling incessantly. Peering under it, he saw Young Master Ye, as if he’d seen a ghost, crouching beneath the table. When Young Master Ye noticed Liu Liwa looking at him, he frantically waved his hands, signaling that he wasn’t there, and tremblingly pointed at the pretty young girl who had just entered.

Given the status of this Son of the Vice Minister, even if his parents or wife showed up at the pleasure house, he wouldn’t be this frightened. The only person who could scare him like this was his dream girl, Third Miss Zhao. Liu Liwa took a closer look at the young girl. She had delicate features, a few adorable freckles on her cheeks, and a smiling face that made her look like a lively and cute elf. Two flowing braids hung from her head—all of this was quite charming. The only thing that stood out unpleasantly was the pure gold phoenix hairpin on her head, which gave the otherwise lovely young girl an air of vulgar wealth.

However, that shiny gold hairpin also indicated her wealthy and noble status. Many girls around them cast envious and jealous glances. Different people, different fates—comparing oneself to others could be deadly!

The young girl walked in and looked around, but she didn’t seem very interested. After all, there were only girls here—nothing new. So, after a moment, she grew bored and began shouting, “Who is Liu Xiaoqi? Come out and receive the goods!”

Liu Liwa was taken aback. Receive the goods? Was this girl a delivery person? No, more likely a human trafficker. Only human traffickers would “deliver” people to pleasure houses!

While he was quietly laughing to himself, he suddenly noticed everyone looking at him. Only then did he realize—Liu Xiaoqi was his stage name!

Following the gazes of others, the young girl hopped right in front of him and said, “You’re Liu Xiaoqi, right? Come out and receive the goods!”

Her sudden hop toward him brought with it a gust of fragrant air—a strong scent of makeup. However, Liu Liwa could still faintly detect a hint of cumin. He smiled slightly. Even all that powder couldn’t cover it up—it must be quite severe. Still, he didn’t show any reaction. It was a basic respect and courtesy. Making fun of others’ flaws was something only idiots did.

Liu Liwa pointed to his own nose and said, “Miss, you must have made a mistake. I’m just a worker here. If you’re making a delivery, you should see the Madam!”

“Why would I look for the Madam? The person who placed the order specifically asked me to deliver it to you,” the young girl said. She pulled out a small piece of silver from her belt and casually tossed it to him, adding crisply, “Here, that person already paid the silver and asked me to give you the leftover change.”

Liu Liwa took the silver and examined it. It was a small piece weighing three qian, with a tooth mark on it. In these times, there was probably only one person who would bite a three-qian piece of silver to check its authenticity.

That was right—this piece of silver was his. It was the same piece he had given to the drunkard last night, who was actually Wen Jun in disguise. Now the silver had returned to him, which meant the “goods” must be what he had sent.

Once he understood, Liu Liwa immediately pointed to his nose and said, “Me, it’s me! I’m Liu Xiaoqi. What am I supposed to receive? Is it gold, silver, jewels, or famous paintings?”

Liu Liwa expected Wen Jun’s gratitude to be something decent. However, Third Miss Zhao wrinkled her small nose and snorted, “Why are you always dreaming? Should I deliver a wife to you as well?”