Chapter 941: People in the Capital Really Know How to Have Fun

Sang Qian trembled with anger. All along the way, she had been curious about where Zu An was taking them, but she never expected it to be a pleasure house.

If young ladies of their status frequented such places, their reputations would be ruined once word got out. At that point, no one would even propose marriage to them.

After all, what respectable woman would go to such a place? There's no shortage of gossips in this world; once they started spinning tales, you might end up being seen as someone who occasionally 'moonlights' at a brothel.

Zu An received a continuous stream of rage points from Sang Qian: +233, +233, +233...

Noticing the constant influx of rage points, Zu An was a little surprised. "Is there any need to be this angry?" he asked.

"How can I not be angry? Why did you bring us to a place like this?" Sang Qian wondered how he could even ask such a question.

"That's why I had you dress as men," Zu An said, a smile touching his face as he watched her fuming.

"But we could still be recognized like this!" Sang Qian panicked. Dressing as men wouldn't fool someone who was paying attention.

Zu An glanced at her chest. "Don't worry," he said. "Your sister-in-law might be recognized, but you won't."

Sang Qian looked bewildered, wondering what he meant.

Recalling his gaze from earlier, she instinctively looked down at her own unremarkable chest. Then she glanced at her sister-in-law, whose chest was noticeably fuller. She finally understood.

In fact, she had been a bit puzzled when changing clothes earlier. Although her height was similar to her sister-in-law's, her sister-in-law's clothes felt a bit too large on her, particularly loose around the chest.

"Sister-in-law isn't fat either," she had thought then. It was only now that she realized the problem, feeling a critical hit instantly.

"That scoundrel!" Seeing the playful smile on Zu An's face, Sang Qian was consumed by shame and indignation.

Sensing her murderous gaze, Zu An decided to explain. "The reason we're here is that I have a friend who might know something about your sister-in-law," he said. "If you have reservations, you can wait outside."

"No, I need to protect my sister-in-law," Sang Qian said, her eyes filled with suspicion, as if saying, "Who knows what you're really up to?"

Zheng Dan couldn't help but smile; this sister-in-law was quite interesting.

Zu An, of course, didn't mind. He led the two women towards the entrance of the Crimson Sleeves Pavilion.

"What kind of friend would be in the Crimson Sleeves Pavilion?" Sang Qian asked suspiciously. Even Zheng Dan became curious.

"A friend I met by chance previously," Zu An explained vaguely.

Sang Qian inwardly scoffed, thinking, *One listen is all it takes to know that's no respectable friend.*

Upon reaching the entrance, a doorman was already there to greet them. "Gentlemen, are you here for drinks and music, or...?" he asked.

"We're here to find someone," Zu An said.

The doorman smiled. "Everyone who comes here is looking for someone," he said. "But young masters, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. The ladies are still resting now."

Sang Qian inwardly scoffed again, thinking, *This place is indeed full of lewd talk.*

"No need. I'm looking for Miss Nanxun," Zu An said.

Zheng Dan's ears perked up instantly, wondering who this Miss Nanxun was.

She had been tormented by nightmares recently and hadn't had much interest in news from outside.

Sang Qian, however, frowned slightly. She seemed to have heard the name before but couldn't recall it immediately.

The doorman chuckled. "Everyone who comes here wants to see Miss Nanxun," he said. "She's the pillar of this establishment, not someone just anyone can meet."

Sang Qian finally remembered. The widely spread rumor in the capital recently was about Yu Nan and Zu An vying for affection at a brothel, which even led to Yu Nan's dismissal from office. As the object of their contention, Nanxun's fame had naturally grown.

Zheng Dan felt a bit resentful. *This guy really is something; he's involved with courtesans wherever he goes. If I recall correctly, last time in Bright Moon City, it was someone named Qiu Honglei.*

Seeing the doorman's various evasions, Zu An naturally understood what he meant. He tossed a small piece of silver. "Go tell Miss Nanxun that Ah Zu is here to see her," he instructed.

Holding the silver, the doorman's face immediately broke into a fawning smile. "Please come in, gentlemen. I'll inform her right away," he said. "However, Miss Nanxun has a special status. Whether she's willing to see you is not something I can decide."

He wanted to make the disclaimer upfront, to prevent the man from demanding his silver back if Miss Nanxun refused to see him.

"It's fine, she'll definitely see me," Zu An said, as if it were the most ordinary thing.

The doorman thought, *What a bold claim! How many princes and nobles in the capital have to queue up just to see Miss Nanxun these days?*

Of course, he wouldn't voice his inner thoughts and offend a guest. With an ingratiating smile, he led them to a private room. "Please have some tea here, gentlemen. I'll be right back," he said.

After speaking, he hurried towards Nanxun's courtyard. At the same time, he found it a bit strange that the two people next to the guest seemed excessively handsome.

Having worked in brothels for so long, he had sharp eyes. He wasn't entirely sure about the thinner one, but the other one was definitely a woman.

*Tsk, tsk, tsk,* he thought. *These gentlemen in the capital really know how to have fun. They even bring their female family members along.*

The doorman's face was full of envy. He wasn't unfamiliar with such things in this place, so there was naturally nothing strange about it.

Soon, he arrived at a small courtyard. Given Nanxun's current status, she naturally had the right to her own private courtyard.

Hearing his report, the maid at the entrance immediately refused. "Go away, go away," she scoffed. "What kind of status does our young mistress have? She's not someone just anyone can see."

The doorman wasn't surprised by this response. He was about to turn and leave when he suddenly remembered the guest's instruction. For the sake of the silver, he added, "That person said he's Miss Nanxun's friend, something like 'Ah Zu' or similar."

"Ah Zu?" The maid was startled. *Why haven't I heard of him?* she wondered. But she didn't dare to be careless. People in the capital were either rich or noble, and it would be troublesome if she accidentally offended someone on her mistress's behalf. "Wait here," she said, "I'll go ask."

After saying that, she picked up her skirt and jogged inside.

In the innermost room of the courtyard, the highly sought-after courtesan, Nanxun, was currently massaging the shoulder and neck of a beautiful woman reclining on the bed. "Mistress," she sighed, "your figure is truly enviable."

The beautiful woman smiled faintly. "You're not bad yourself," she replied.

"Far inferior to Mistress," Nanxun said softly, her gaze lingering on the other woman. She had always been confident in her own looks and figure, but compared to the other woman, she still fell short. *Are all demon women's figures this unbelievably perfect?*

The beautiful woman was, of course, Kong Nanwu. She clearly wasn't interested in this topic. "By the way," she said, "has that Zu An not come looking for you? It seems you didn't try hard enough that night."

"How could I not have tried hard?" Nanxun said plaintively. "My mouth was sore for a long time after that night. I can only say that men are fickle and heartless; they would never truly care about people like us."

As soon as she finished speaking, the maid's voice came from outside. "Mistress, Mistress," she called, "there's a guest outside who says he's your friend and wants to see you."

"I won't see him. Don't just bring anyone to me," Nanxun said, feeling annoyed. Lately, many young masters had claimed to be her friends. *Could they not distinguish between a polite smile and genuine friendship?*

"Oh, that old pimp must have taken their silver and tricked me into thinking Ah Zu was Mistress's friend. I'll scold him to death," the maid muttered as she turned to leave.

"What did you say that person's name was?" The next moment, she heard the door open. Nanxun was already standing at the doorway, looking at her nervously.

Inside the room, Kong Nanwu pursed her lips. *Heh, women. Just a moment ago, what was she saying about him?*

The maid stared in shock at Nanxun's bare, pale feet. *Mistress didn't even put on her shoes!* "His name was 'Ah Zu,' I think," she stammered.

"Quickly, invite him in!" Nanxun's breathing suddenly quickened. "No, I'll go see him myself."

After saying that, she hastily adjusted her hair and ornaments. The maid quickly reminded her, "Mistress, your shoes... your shoes..."

Nanxun secretly stuck out her tongue. In her current form, wearing shoes or not made little difference, but if people saw her feet not touching the dust, it might cause unnecessary trouble. She quickly put on her shoes, then picked up her skirt and ran out.

The doorman, who was about to return to report, stared dumbfounded at the scene. *So that person really knows the courtesan! And judging by the look of it, he's not just a friend, he's clearly a lover!*

On the other side, Zu An was leisurely sipping tea. Zheng Dan, feeling unwell, was leaning back in her chair, dozing.

Sang Qian, meanwhile, was secretly observing her surroundings. Although she expressed disdain verbally, she was also a little curious about such a place. After all, the Crimson Sleeves Pavilion had a very famous reputation in the capital.

After marveling at the dazzling decorations around them, she gradually regained her composure. Smelling the strong scent of cosmetics in the air, she said with disdain, "Why is there still no news? It would be embarrassing if we don't even get to see anyone."

Zu An smiled. "Don't worry," he said, "she's my friend."

"Usually, I find you quite clever," Sang Qian said earnestly, "but now you seem a bit foolish. You're not actually falling for the sweet talk of women in pleasure houses, are you?"

Before Zu An could answer, a wisp of fragrant breeze wafted in, and a graceful figure stood at the doorway. "Gossiping about people behind their backs isn't the way of a gentleman," a voice said. "And this... young lady isn't jealous, is she?"