Chapter 68 – A Big Problem

Among all the buildings on Flower Street, the tallest was none other than Xiaoqing Tower.

Standing on its rooftop, Mu Nanjin enjoyed the cool summer breeze while quietly extending her divine sense to observe the situation across Flower Street.

Aside from witnessing a few eye-searingly indecent scenes and overhearing some rather suggestive noises, everything appeared peaceful and pleasant.

No one knew how much time had passed when a sudden boom echoed from outside the city.

Mu Nanjin immediately focused her divine sense in that direction. She saw Feng Sinan, together with men from Six Gates, chasing a pitch-black monster.

The creature was cunning and agile. After a fierce battle, it quickly burrowed underground. Because Feng Sinan had to suppress his strength for certain reasons, he couldn’t take the beast down for the moment.

The monster tunneled beneath the city, causing the ground to quake wherever it passed. Houses collapsed, and many citizens were caught in the chaos.

However, the townsfolk had no idea a monster was behind it; they thought it was merely an earthquake.

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“Though we didn’t slay the creature, it was frightened enough that it won’t appear again soon. Everyone may go back and rest.”

“Yes, Lord Feng.” Superintendent Ji and the others dispersed.

Then Feng Sinan turned to Mu Nanjin. “Guard Mu, everyone else is injured, but you remain unscathed. Continue patrolling here until someone comes to relieve you.”

Mu Nanjin: “…”

【He’s still holding a grudge against me.】

【Fine, hold it then.】

【They say the deeper the resentment, the deeper the love.】

【One day, you’ll resent me so much you won’t be able to stop, and that’ll be when you love me most.】

Feng Sinan: “…”

That day would never come.

After they left, Mu Nanjin patrolled Flower Street once more before heading home.

---

At dawn the next morning, Six Gates finally sent someone to relieve her. But when they arrived at Flower Street, Mu Nanjin was nowhere to be found.

They sent another to check the Commandant’s Office, but she wasn’t there either.

Captain Liu hurried to the Mu Residence.

The Mu family’s butler told him, “The young lady left about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea ago.”

“Do you know where she went?” Liu asked.

“She said she was going on duty,” the butler recalled, “but before leaving, she also mentioned, ‘I’ll go find the Commander first.’ So I think she went to see the Commander.”

Several veins twitched on Captain Liu’s forehead.

Could that little girl have gone to help the Commander wash his undergarments again?

The thought made him break into a cold sweat. He quickly mounted his horse and raced back to the Commandant’s Office, heading straight for the Commander’s study.

Seeing no white undergarments hanging in sight, Liu let out a sigh of relief.

Still uneasy, he pretended to pass by the Commander’s study and glanced inside.

Inside, Feng Sinan sat frowning at a red invitation card?

Was it from an enemy?

Otherwise, why did he look as though he’d just been gravely insulted?

Captain Liu didn’t think much of it. Since Mu Nanjin wasn’t there, he returned to his own office.

A moment later, he overheard Captain Liang reading aloud:

“Inviting all colleagues to a flower-viewing banquet aboard a pleasure barge on Qingyu Lake, to admire the lake, the moon, and the courtesans…”

Captain Liu frowned. “Courtesans?”

Liang and the others burst out laughing, handing him the invitation. “See for yourself.”

Captain Liu glanced over it and felt his lips twitch. “Mu Nanjin is inviting us to attend a Courtesan Banquet in two days?”

“It’s our first time attending one, we have to go,” Liang grinned. “But this time, we can’t wear our Jinyiwei uniforms.”

Captain Liu scowled. “Who knows what kind of mischief she’s up to this time.”

“Whatever it is, Lord Kan and the others will be there. It’s not our problem.”

“She invited Lord Kan too?” Liu asked.

“Not just Lord Kan,” Liang said, laughing. “She even invited the Commander himself.”

Captain Liu couldn’t help but laugh and sigh at the same time. “Only Mu Nanjin would dare send the Commander this kind of invitation.”

Liang slung an arm around another captain. “Place your bets. Do you think the Commander will go?”

“I doubt it,” said the one on the left.

“Me too,” said the one on the right. “He never joins in these lively events.”

Liang chuckled. “Shall we wager on it?”

Captain Liu quickly stopped him. “If you don’t want to be punished by the Commander, it’s best not to gamble with him as the subject.”

Liang waved his hand. “Just a joke, I wouldn’t really.”

Captain Liu set down the invitation. “Where’s Mu Nanjin now?”

“She went to the palace.”

“To the palace? For what?”

Captain Liu frowned. She hadn’t been summoned, nor was it her turn for palace duty today.

“She said she was delivering invitations.”

Captain Liu’s voice shot up. “Delivering invitations? To whom? Who could she possibly be close with in the palace?”

“If you don’t know, how could we?”

Captain Liu thought long and hard, and only Princess Xueyu came to mind. Ever since the matter of the Jade Beauty Pill, the princess had developed a rather favorable impression of Mu Nanjin.

He had even once run into Princess Xueyu, who specifically asked after Mu Nanjin’s well-being.

But never in his wildest dreams would Captain Liu have guessed that the very same invitation sat upon the Emperor’s dragon desk in the Imperial Study.

When the Emperor returned from court and saw the invitation, he asked the Chief Eunuch, “Who delivered this?”

The Chief Eunuch questioned the young eunuch guarding the door, who looked utterly baffled.

“Reporting to Lord Eunuch, no one came to the study this morning, nor did anyone deliver an invitation.”

The Chief Eunuch pointed angrily at the card. “Then how do you explain this?”

The young eunuch took one look and dropped to his knees. “This servant truly saw no one enter the study!”

“You…!”

The Emperor interrupted him calmly. “Just open it. We’ll see who it’s from.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The Chief Eunuch dismissed the trembling boy and opened the card.

“Your Majesty, it’s an invitation to attend a Courtesan Banquet in two days’ time. But there’s no signature.”

“Courtesan Banquet?”

The Emperor immediately thought of Mu Nanjin.

He smiled faintly. If he wasn’t mistaken, she had sent it.

So, Mu Nanjin was confident in his attitude toward the Princess of Great Chen, was she?

【The Emperor’s seen the invitation.】

The Emperor raised an eyebrow. This little girl was nearby?

【He’ll probably come to the banquet, won’t he?】

【If he does, then security won’t be an issue.】

【If anyone dares cause trouble, I’ll just shout: Protect His Majesty!】

The moment that thought crossed her mind,

Dozens of shadow guards and imperial bodyguards appeared at the doors of the Imperial Study, surrounding it entirely.

The Chief Eunuch nearly had a heart attack.

The Emperor looked at the crowd of guards filling the courtyard and felt a mixture of helplessness and amusement.

【Hahaha, yes! Exactly like this! If I shout ‘Protect His Majesty,’ all these guards will come rushing out from everywhere! Then not only will the Emperor be safe sitting on that brothel’s pleasure barge, but my brothel girls will be safe too!】

Just as she was laughing to herself, Mu Nanjin realized something was off.

【Wait… why are all the shadow guards and imperial guards here? Did an assassin appear?】

Everyone: “…”

They all wanted to strangle someone.

【Since there’s an assassin, I’ll leave it to Brother Tian Yuan. I’ll go deliver the other invitations to the Empress Dowager and the others.】

And with that, Mu Nanjin quietly slipped away.

The Emperor: “…”

She was actually going to invite the Empress Dowager to a courtesan banquet?

With a sigh, he waved his hand. “Stand down, all of you.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” The guards vanished with lightning speed.

The Chief Eunuch peeked at the Emperor’s expression, uncertain whether His Majesty would actually attend the banquet.

The Emperor glanced again at the invitation, checked the date, and tucked it into a drawer.

Then he picked up a memorial submitted by the Six Gates’ Superintendent Ji, reading through it. His brows furrowed slightly.

“Monster disturbances…”

So such creatures truly existed in this world?

Of course they did,

One was standing right outside Dengxing Pavilion.

When Mu Nanjin went to deliver Feng Sinan’s invitation, she found Heitan still standing at the gate. She walked up and tore off the sealing talisman. “Why are you still here?”

Heitan snorted angrily. “I carry you every day, take you to and from duty, and yet you left me sealed here! Heartless little girl!”

Mu Nanjin hadn’t meant to ignore him; she had simply forgotten. “I told Uncle Xu to prepare a basket of fresh grass for you.”

Heitan huffed. “I’m not happy. You can’t buy me off that easily.”

Mu Nanjin thought for a moment. “I also asked Uncle Xu to pick out a beautiful mare from the market this morning…”

She had planned to use the horse to pull a cart for collecting wild grass outside the city. It would also make errands for the household easier.

Heitan grumbled twice, then dashed back to the Mu Residence and into his old stable.

When he saw the new animal inside, he was thrilled, until he realized what it was.

His smile froze.

“Master Heitan, what brings you here?” Uncle Xu greeted him cheerfully, holding a basket of fodder.

Heitan pointed at the creature inside the stall, his voice full of outrage. “That’s a donkey! A donkey!”

Uncle Xu blinked. “Yes, it’s a donkey. What’s wrong with that?”

Heitan’s eyes widened. “Mu Nanjin tricked me!”

Uncle Xu was confused. “How did the young lady trick you?”

“She told you to buy a mare!”

Uncle Xu nodded. “She did. But horses are expensive, so I bought a donkey instead.”

Heitan: “…”

“Ahhh, ahhh,” the female donkey walked up and sniffed him curiously, her eyes lighting up before she eagerly bit his sleeve.

“Don’t bite my sleeve!” Heitan tugged, afraid to rip the fabric.

The donkey released it, only to lick his face affectionately.

“You, you, you…” Heitan was speechless.

Uncle Xu chuckled. “Seems this donkey is quite fond of Master Heitan!”

The next instant, Heitan’s eyes rolled back, and he fainted on the spot.

“Master Heitan! Master Heitan!” Uncle Xu panicked. “Zhenzhu! Hurry, fetch a doctor, and find the young lady!”

When Mu Nanjin returned home that afternoon, she learned Heitan had passed out.

After hearing what happened, she discovered the proud Horse King of the first rank had fainted because of a donkey.

Mortified, Heitan hid in his room for an entire day and night, too ashamed to show his face.

Mu Nanjin, preoccupied with the upcoming Courtesan Banquet, had no time to worry about him.

Finally, the long-awaited day arrived.

At dawn, the leading courtesans of every brothel in the capital began dressing and adorning themselves. The madams draped them in the finest jewelry and most exquisite silks.

By noon, the beautifully dressed courtesans paraded through the streets, so the townsfolk could admire them and choose their favorite candidates for the title of Courtesan Queen.

That night, the people would cast Golden Flowers for the courtesan they favored most.

The courtesan who received the most Golden Flowers would be crowned the new Courtesan Queen.

Each person received their first Golden Flower for free, but if they wished to cast more, they had to purchase them, each flower costing one tael of silver. The purchased flowers were shaped slightly differently from the free ones.

After the banquet, the courtesans could exchange the purchased flowers for silver, making the event a contest of both charm and wealth.

Every courtesan strove to display her beauty to the fullest. During the parade, some performed seductive dances, trying to capture as many hearts as possible.

But not all courtesans relied on such tactics. For instance, the leading courtesan of Yixin Courtyard was different. She sat gracefully in a carriage, playing a soft melody on her zither. The carriage’s windows were covered with white gauze, through which only her faint silhouette could be seen.

Even though no one could see her face clearly, the crowd’s attention was wholly captured. Many unconsciously followed her carriage down the street.

Even the women who had been cursing the courtesans as shameless and indecent stopped yelling, stunned into silence by the beauty within the carriage.

“Who… who is that young lady?” someone asked.

A man nearby laughed. “That’s the top courtesan of Yixin Courtyard! Why don’t you be kind and give her a Golden Flower?”

The women instinctively nodded. Only after the carriage had gone did they realize their hands now held delicate little flowers folded from gold paper.