The girl singing in the house was named Sang Wen, a famous singer in Kyoto. In the past, even ordinary dignitaries found it difficult to meet her.

Fan Xian recognized her because a year ago, while spending the summer with Wan'er, Ruo Ruo, and their family at a summer resort west of Kyoto, this Miss Sang Wen had accepted Wan'er's invitation and sang a few songs in the manor for a whole afternoon.

At that time, a gentle breeze came from the lake, and Fan Xian was sitting next to the three girls, Wan'er, and Ye Ling'er. It was truly the most wonderful time since his rebirth. Moreover, there was a line in one of the songs that Sang Wen sang, "Suddenly encountered in white sleeves and silk skirts," which perfectly echoed the scene of Fan Xian's first meeting with Wan'er at the Qing Temple, so he had a particularly deep impression of this girl.

After Sang Wen entered the house, she gave a slight bow and sat down in the lower corner expressionlessly, holding a lute-like instrument in her arms. She said in a clear voice, "What songs would the young masters like to hear?"

Fan Xian frowned slightly, knowing that the other party hadn't recognized him. But he wondered if she still remembered the lyrics he had written for her. Last summer, Fan Xian had copied a passage from Tang Xianzu's wonderful poetry in the summer resort and sent it to this Miss Sang Wen. Sang Wen relied on these lyrics to become even more famous in Kyoto, but following Fan Xian's instructions, she did not reveal the true author of the poem.

"Sing a 'Zhe Gui Ling'."

Fan Xian leaned back in Yan'er's soft embrace, his eyes slightly closed. He casually ordered a very common song, but was wondering how a singer of Sang Wen's status had been acquired by Holding Moon Tower and…sent out so easily? Plus, this Yan'er was obviously not an ordinary person either. Could it be that Holding Moon Tower's owner had already figured out his identity?

Two crisp "ding ding" sounds pulled Fan Xian out of his full of doubts. He smiled slightly, thinking that even if Holding Moon Tower knew his identity and was deliberately trying to please him, he didn't need to worry about anything. He was just a Secretary of the Night Entertainment Division, at worst the censors of the Censorate would impeach him a few more times.

Sang Wen's eyebrows were delicately curved, exuding an unspeakable gentleness. Her lips were not painted with vermilion, so they looked a bit pale. Her features were beautiful, but the only pity was that her cheeks seemed a bit wide, making her face appear a bit large, and her mouth seemed a bit wider than the standard for a beauty.

He saw her fingers sweep across the strings, and she opened her lips slightly, singing: "How did the skirt become so wide? The skin is as white as jade, the waist loses its fragrance. She doesn't touch the spoon for meals, she sleeps like a pancake, her breath is as weak as a thread. Enjoyment can be deadly, what excuse is there for sincerity? After all the fuss, it was originally marital bliss, but now it has turned into a thorough bone-deep longing." (Note 1)

Her singing was graceful and gentle. Especially when she sang the line "her breath is as weak as a thread," Yan'er's breathing, who was behind Fan Xian, became a bit heavier, extremely provocative. Fan Xian listened with his eyes half-closed, and noticed a wine cup at his lips. Without opening his eyes, he knew that Yan'er was feeding him wine. He opened his lips and drank it, feeling warmth all around him, in an enchanting and relaxing atmosphere. He felt really good, and even thought that it would be nice to relax like this all night. As for who the owner of Holding Moon Tower was, it wouldn't be too late to investigate later.

But when the song reached the last few lines, the atmosphere in the room became strange. Fan Xian slowly opened his eyes, looking at Sang Wen who seemed oblivious to everything. He confirmed that this girl had not recognized him, but was deliberately being cold, perhaps because she was having a quarrel with Holding Moon Tower.

The last few lines clearly described the meaning of this song. This short 'Zhe Gui Ling' used entirely colloquial language to vividly depict the pain of a wife's longing and resentment because her husband had gone away and not returned.

The song was simple, the lyrics were simple, but the meaning was not bad, worthy of Sang Wen's status, but…at this moment everyone was indulging in a night of pleasure with courtesans, but she sang such a song, which was really a bit of a killjoy.

Seeing Fan Xian's calm expression, Yan'er didn't know why, but felt a bit scared. She quickly poured another cup of wine and brought it to his lips, pleading in an extremely charming voice, "Young Master Chen, this Elder Sister Sang is a famous singer in Kyoto. Ordinary young masters can't see her. How about letting her pick a few more cheerful songs to sing for you?"

Sang Wen seemed to have not expected that this top courtesan of Holding Moon Tower would defend her. A trace of gratitude appeared in her somewhat desolate eyes. She didn't want Yan'er to suffer because of her resistance, and she also knew that the song she had chosen earlier was really inappropriate. She quickly got up, gave a slight bow and said, "This… Young Master Chen, Sang Wen's fault."

Fan Xian hummed and didn't say anything.

Everyone in the room was watching his face. Shi Chanli and Deng Ziyue had no idea what the adult was going to do. Unexpectedly, Fan Xian immediately turned into a smile and said, "The customs and people of Kyoto are indeed different from those of Jiangnan. The capital is the land of virtue, even the little tunes are to persuade people to be good."

Hearing this joking remark, the women finally breathed a sigh of relief. Yan'er quickly replied with a charming smile, "If you, Young Master, go to be good, how will we slaves make a living?"

Fan Xian smiled and patted her leg, his fingers sliding across Yan'er's slender and elastic thigh, taking full advantage of the situation. He stopped her from rubbing his shoulders, and leaned against her to drink wine side by side.

Sang Wen regained her spirit, smiled slightly, and sang another 'Zhe Gui Ling': "A true immortal in a dream of Luofu, double-locked snail buns, nine-halo pearl hairpin. Slender willows in the sunny day, delicate spring onions, evenly rounded autumn lotus roots. In the wine cup, I begged for some shyness, and summoned a beautiful woman from the painting. May I ask before you, the moon sets and the stars cross, what year is tonight?" (Note 2)

As soon as the song ended, Fan Xian took the lead in praising her, saying sincerely, "Good singing." He turned his head and looked at Yan'er's charming face, smiling and said, "This short poem is actually talking about Yan'er, delicate spring onions, evenly rounded autumn lotus roots…" His hand, without any restraint, followed Yan'er's fingers into her sleeve and squeezed it. He gently lifted Yan'er's chin with his other hand and praised, "What a beauty, but she drank a little less wine, missing that shy hint of blush."

He looked back at Shi Chanli below, whose eyes were already showing lust as he held a prostitute in his arms, his face flushed red. He teased, "It turns out this line is talking about you."

The women couldn't help but cover their mouths and laugh at his humorous words. Yan'er smiled sweetly, picked up two wine cups, touched his cup with hers and drank it all in one go. But for some reason, she felt a moment of daze. This young master was truly a master at mobilizing the emotions of the room. Could it be that, as Sister Yuan said… he was actually a government official?

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It was late at night, and Deng and Shi, who had long been eager to move, were sent by Fan Xian to the houses on the side of the courtyard. The soundproofing here was excellent, and for a long time, they couldn't hear the sounds of men and women enjoying themselves. Fan Xian couldn't help but smile, thinking that Deng Ziyue might still be able to maintain a trace of clarity in his mind, but he was not from the Third Department, so it would be difficult to get any information from these prostitutes. As for Shi Chanli, this scholar, he was probably already stripped naked and swallowed alive by those girls. When he was drinking earlier, he had tasted a small amount of aphrodisiac in the wine, knowing that it was a common trick used by these brothels, so he didn't care.

In the room, Sang Wen looked at the Young Master Chen on the couch with a hint of vigilance on her face, wondering what he meant by leaving her behind after the banquet and the songs.

Yan'er, with her clothes disheveled, pursed her slightly disheveled hair, glanced at Young Master Chen, and was also a little surprised. Thinking that the person Holding Moon Tower was targeting tonight actually wanted to kill two birds with one stone, she felt a little uneasy. No matter what, she was also a top courtesan of Holding Moon Tower. Who would have thought that this young master would not be satisfied and would insist on keeping Sang Wen in the room—she knew that the brothel had put in a lot of effort to snatch Sang Wen over, even tearing down a courtyard, but Sang Wen was a performer not a prostitute, and she had a small reputation in Kyoto. It was agreed that she would never spend the night with guests.

Just as she was about to put on a smile and say a few words to defuse the situation, the young patron of tonight suddenly turned her body around, and she felt a sudden heat in her body, and she weakly leaned into his arms.

Looking up, Yan'er could still see the faint smile on Fan Xian's face. She couldn't help but feel a chill in her heart. When this young man smiled, the few pockmarks on his face didn't seem so unsightly. The whole person exuded a gentle and approachable aura, indescribably tempting and close.

"I troubled you to rub my shoulders earlier, let me rub yours too." Fan Xian said gently, one hand stroking her waist gently, while the other hand gently rubbed her temples, not allowing Yan'er to refuse.

Yan'er's heart trembled, unable to resist the sense of stability brought by his steady fingers. Her consciousness gradually became blurred, and her long eyelashes fluttered closed, and she slowly fell asleep.

……

……

Seeing Yan'er lying on the man's knees with her head tilted, and no longer moving, Sang Wen stood up in surprise, covering her mouth, her eyes full of shock.

"Don't be nervous, she's just asleep." Fan Xian said gently, carefully placing the girl who had served him for half the night on the couch, and carefully took a pillow and placed it under her neck.

Yan'er grunted extremely comfortably, her eyes tightly closed, not knowing what she was doing in her dreams. Seeing this scene, Sang Wen confirmed that Yan'er had not died, but she still cautiously retreated towards the door, after all, this young master had actually hypnotized Yan'er with just two rubs, which was very strange.

Fan Xian sat on the edge of the couch, looking at Sang Wen with a smile that was not a smile, and raised his finger to make a silent gesture.

Sang Wen only felt a blur in front of her eyes. The next moment, this young master had already come to her side. She felt both frightened and ashamed, turned her head and prepared to escape this tiger's den, but unexpectedly heard the next sentence, so low that it was almost inaudible, in her ear: "Originally, the vibrant colors bloomed all over, seemingly all given to broken wells and dilapidated walls…Miss is so unfeeling, you don't remember me anymore."

Sang Wen felt that tonight was really extremely tense. She looked at this "Young Master Chen" in astonishment. After a long time, she finally found the trace of clarity and tranquility that she had always remembered in the other party's eyes, matching the face in front of her with the face in the hall last summer.

She opened her mouth wide, but a complex look of surprise and sorrow suddenly appeared in her eyes, as if she had countless words to say to Fan Xian.

Seeing her expression, Fan Xian knew that his luck today was really good, but he still shook his head firmly, stopping her from speaking. He walked to the lacquer red commode behind the bed, squatted down, mobilized the true energy in his body, and his fingers were like knives, silently tearing off the bed curtain, kneading it into a ball, and stuffing it into the hole behind the hollow copper armrest. (Note 3)

(Note 1: Yuan Dynasty, Qiao Ji's Zhe Gui Ling, Sending from Afar. Note 2: Yuan Dynasty, Qiao Ji's Zhe Gui Ling, Giving to Luo Zhenzhen. Note 3: Now, Mud Man's Country, Laoganma...)