The fatty: "..."

"Doctor," the fatty asked, "where do we go next?"

Jiang Cheng held up half a brocade pouch. There were a few words embroidered on the side of the pouch. After staring at it for a while, Jiang Cheng said to himself, "Meixian Courtyard, Xiaowan."

The fatty licked his lips, his face full of anticipation. "Doctor, this Meixian Courtyard...doesn't sound very proper, does it?"

"It depends on who's going," Jiang Cheng said, putting away the pouch. "If enough proper people go, it becomes proper."

As soon as he saw the words "Meixian Courtyard," the fatty subconsciously associated it with a brothel, but judging from the doctor's reaction, he shouldn't be wrong.

They chose a quiet path to the courtyard wall, then climbed over it one by one. The fatty kept telling the doctor that it might be dangerous to leave like this, what if the middle-aged woman came looking for them later...

"If you're scared, you can go back first," Jiang Cheng said very naturally as he walked down an inconspicuous alley.

The fatty, taking small steps behind the doctor, shook his head repeatedly. "Doctor, you know I don't mean that." He explained, "I mean, should we notify Xia Meng before we leave? That way, if the middle-aged woman comes, she can help us deal with it."

Hearing this, Jiang Cheng stopped and turned to stare at the fatty sideways.

The fatty felt his heart pounding.

After a moment, without Jiang Cheng prompting him, the fatty figured it out himself.

Based on the relationship between the doctor and Xia Meng, if the latter knew that the doctor had secretly run out to find clues, she would immediately go to the middle-aged woman and Zhou Butler to snitch.

Finally, they walked out of the alley. The fatty was worried that their opera costumes were too conspicuous, but after walking on the street, he realized that no one paid any attention to them at all.

After asking a few people along the way, they quickly found the luxurious building.

It was located at a street corner. Before they even got close, a delicate fragrance mixed with rouge and powder wafted over.

The fatty went in with the attitude of broadening his horizons, while Jiang Cheng...the fatty felt like he was here to learn from experience.

The first floor of Meixian Courtyard was not much different from a normal theater. Directly opposite was a wooden stage. Perhaps it wasn't prime time, so there weren't many people below the stage.

The performance on stage wasn't very attractive, and the people below were chatting and drinking, enjoying themselves.

"Doctor," the fatty looked around, unable to hide the disappointment in his eyes, "is this a brothel? It's too plain, not even as good as the karaoke place outside my neighborhood."

Jiang Cheng pulled the fatty to a secluded place and said, "Brothels aren't all about damsels in distress waiting to be rescued. There are levels here too."

"The higher-level ones are more talented, understand music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and will chat with guests, giving them a feeling of being at home."

"They won't easily do what you think, otherwise they'll be devaluing themselves." Jiang Cheng said animatedly, "Only those lower-level girls with tragic backgrounds will do that." He paused, pointing to the stairs and saying, "And they're not here, they're usually upstairs."

The fatty glanced upstairs and said eagerly, "Then Doctor, let's go up quickly, let's hurry up, we can save one if we can, and it won't be a wasted trip."

Jiang Cheng sighed, "Do you have any money?"

"We're here to save them," the fatty said righteously, "what do we need money for?!"

"Let's go upstairs!"

"Doctor," the fatty said as he walked, carefully listening to the sounds around him, "do you think this Xiaowan might be the name of the female ghost? Was she here before?"

"Probably." Jiang Cheng explained, "It's also because of her status that Young Master Huang couldn't marry her openly, and could only secretly use a sedan chair to bring her into the mansion at night."

The fatty nodded as he thought about it, which corresponded exactly to the wedding scene at night.

Jiang Cheng suddenly stopped in front of a door that looked unusual. The fatty followed his gaze and saw a wooden sign next to the door with the words Xiaowan written on it.

Sure enough, this was the place...

Just as Jiang Cheng was about to push the door open, a sound suddenly came from inside, it was music.

"Someone's inside!" the fatty exclaimed in surprise.

Jiang Cheng didn't hesitate any longer. He told the fatty to keep watch nearby, then slipped into the door.

The room was very spacious and decorated tastefully. Musical instruments such as zithers and *pipas* were hung on the walls in twos and threes. A game of chess was laid out on a low lacquer table.

The chess pieces in the incomplete game were exquisite, and the porcelain vases nearby were also not ordinary.

One could imagine the status of this woman named Xiaowan here.

Jiang Cheng estimated that she, like himself, was a top courtesan.

Following the music, he slowly walked inside until he saw a graceful figure behind a curtain. The woman was facing away from him, bowing her head to play the zither. The music was melodious, and a white fox fur shawl was draped over her shoulders.

It was probably early autumn now, and the weather could only be described as cool, but the woman was indoors and still needed such an outfit, one could imagine how weak she was.

Jiang Cheng cleared his throat, "Miss Xiaowan?"

The music stopped, and the woman immediately turned around. Her face changed when she saw Jiang Cheng. "Who are you? How did you get in here?"

"So you're Xiaowan." Jiang Cheng walked closer, took out the brocade pouch and said, "Please explain this to me, why is your name on it?"

"Don't come over here!" The girl named Xiaowan's voice changed in fear. "I'll call for someone if you come any closer!"

"Call them if you want." Jiang Cheng walked to a spot two meters away from the curtain, sat down, poured himself a cup of tea, and said leisurely, "But I advise you to think about it, if someone rushes in later, what will I say?"

Jiang Cheng showed a very rogue-like smile. "I'll say that you seduced me first, taking advantage of the fact that no one was around to invite me here for a secret rendezvous, and that our affair has been going on for more than a day or two." He paused, pretending to be fierce and threatening, "I'll completely ruin your reputation."

Xiaowan said angrily, "Do you think I haven't seen scoundrels like you before?"

Jiang Cheng grabbed a handful of melon seeds, cracked them open, and said, "You may have seen scoundrels, but I guarantee you've never seen one like me."

"I don't just want your body, I want your heart too!" Jiang Cheng said, taking a pear from the fruit plate.

Through the curtain, Xiaowan gradually saw the face of this scoundrel. After a moment, the young girl shook her head and said, "I don't believe that Young Master is such a person."

Jiang Cheng pointed to the brocade pouch on the table, and said with a grin, "What's wrong, do you want me to take off my pants to help the lady get in the mood?"

"Young Master is not that kind of person." Xiaowan said firmly.

Just then, the door suddenly opened, and a large head poked in, "Doctor, hurry up," the fatty said anxiously, "there are a lot of people coming..."

He paused, and the fatty's gaze subconsciously focused on Xiaowan, then he licked his lips unconsciously.

The next second—

"Don't do this!" Xiaowan immediately looked at Jiang Cheng and pleaded, "Young Master, you can ask me anything you want."