Chapter 33 - His Majesty arrives at the ‘Fragrance of a hundred flowers’ (2/2)

Gu Yuanbai couldn’t help but glance at his neck. There were two bite marks on his neck, one right and one left. The wound was deep and done ruthlessly. If someone saw it without knowing the truth, they would probably sigh and think Xue Yuan, just how wanton were you last night?

Gu Yuanbai asked with a blank face, “Oh? How did guard Xue get such a wound?”

Guard Xue played along. “Of course, it has nothing to do with Your Highness.”

Tian Fusheng laughed aloud, amused. “Guard Xue is so funny.” Of course, it had nothing to do with His Highness.

Gu Yuanbai lifted the corners of his mouth, smiling in warning at Xue Yuan, and then walked into a teahouse.

There were still seats on the second floor of the elegant teahouse. After Gu Yuanbai took a seat, Tian Fusheng spotted the sweat on his forehead and ran to the teahouse’s kitchen to see if they had anything to relieve the heat.

Gu Yuanbai picked up a towel and wiped his sweat. Xue Yuan, on the side, poured out two cups of tea from the teapot and handed one to him, smiling. “Should I test it for poison first?”

“Drink,” Gu Yuanbai said. “Drink up.”

Xue Yuan picked up the cup and smacked his lips after drinking. “It’s hard to drink.”

He chugged things down just like Prince He, but at least Prince He wouldn’t speak out after drinking. Gu Yuanbai couldn’t help himself and he chuckled before taking the cup and saying, “Drink your tea and don’t say anything unpleasant.”

Xue Yuan saw him smile and take a sip of his celadon2 cup, the light liquid touching his lips. Xue Yuan bowed his head. “Your Majesty’s cup looks sweeter.”

Gu Yuanbai raised his eyes and glanced at him. “It’s all from the same pot.”

Xue Yuan frowned. He naturally knew that as well, and he didn’t understand why he felt like that was the case, so he simply stopped talking.

A cool breeze blew in from the window, and Gu Yuanbai looked outside. The people who had gathered together had dispersed. He was about to withdraw his gaze when Gu Yuanbai spotted a slightly familiar figure.

Gu Yuanbai paused, and then stared at the young, tall man outside. It was Li Yan, the eldest son of the Marquis of Pingchang.

Li Yan walked in a hurry. He had no subordinates following him. He walked to an alley next to a tavern, his expression also hurried.

Gu Yuanbai calmly took a sip of tea. After a while, in the same place, he spotted Tang Mian, the son of the Minister of Revenue and member of the Hanlin Academy.

Tang Mian also walked into the alley, but, compared to Li Yan’s hurried look, he looked calmer.

Gu Yuanbai set down his cup and squinted towards the alley. What was in that alley that could attract the son of the Marquis of Pingchang and the son of a second-ranking official, and that they would coincidentally go in at the same time?

Gu Yuanbai raised his chin and asked, “What’s in that alley?”

Xue Yuan glanced down, not very interested, and said casually, “A tavern, I imagine.”

Gu Yuanbai didn’t manage everything. If he really did that, he wouldn’t be an emperor and he’d exhaust himself to death. Seeing the two youths walk in only made him curious. Gu Yuanbai was about to look away when he saw a carriage slowly approaching the street.

By coincidence, the carriage also stopped at the entrance of the alley next to the tavern.

Gu Yuanbai: “…”

”

”

Who is it now?

Prince He stepped down from the carriage, wearing dark clothes and a dignified expression. A groveling servant was next to him, leading the way towards the depths of the alley.

Gu Yuanbai stood up right away and glanced at the alley thoughtfully. “Guard Xue, let’s go. Accompany Us to see what treasures might be hidden within that alley.”

Surprisingly, it can attract so many people.

Xue Yuan got up, straightened his robe, and said, “As Your Majesty pleases.”

Gu Yuanbai walked out ahead. Xue Yuan wanted to follow. However, he glanced that the young Emperor had left half a cup of tea on the table, and he picked it up and gulped it down.

It was already paid for, so it shouldn’t go to waste.

The alley was small, and the three people who had just entered had also been very low-key. Gu Yuanbai asked the rest of the guards to wait in the teahouse and took Xue Yuan down to the alley alone.

After crossing the street and walking to the entrance of the alley, Gu Yuanbai, who had originally thought it was a residential courtyard, discovered a gate painted with red lacquer and hanging lanterns. Next to the door, there was a flag with the words ‘Fragrance of a hundred flowers’.

There didn’t seem to be any fragrance. Gu Yuanbai sniffed, feeling that something was off.

He turned his head to the side and asked Xue Yuan, “What do you think?”

Do you smell anything, mad dog?

Xue Yuan glanced at him confused, his eyebrows furrowing. “Isn’t it just a tavern?”

In the Great Heng, probably one in ten taverns were called ‘Fragrance of a hundred flowers’.

Gu Yuanbai sighed and walked slowly with Xue Yuan into Fragrance of a hundred flowers. As soon as they crossed the door, the strong scent of wine and flowers wafted over. The courtyard was extraordinarily large and decorated with red gauze, which gave it a romantic air.

In the courtyard, there were about a dozen beautiful men scattered around accompanying the clients to admire the flowers and the scenery. Gu Yuanbai looked around and then looked at a man who was walking towards him, with a face full of makeup. The corners of his mouth twitched stiffly.

Ah, so this was the rumored Nanfeng Pavilion.3

The Great Heng Dynasty explicitly prohibited government officials from visiting prostitutes.

Gu Yuanbai looked back at the building, his lips arched without a real smile. Once again, court officials, and the Nanfeng Pavilion. But how come that he didn’t remember that Prince He liked men?

Special translator note:

I’ve seen some people had questions in the comments, and I have to admit I’m not 100% sure there won’t be a plot twist later on, but I think this is what happened with Prince Qi and the Imperial Censor.

Prince Qi is a member of the Imperial clan (the extended royal family) and his household has chances of succeeding the throne, specially since Gu Yuanbai has no immediate relatives, is sickly and isn’t even married nor has concubines. He wanted to gain support from other officials, and the Imperial Censor got greedy and accepted, as well as the others involved, but they didn’t get very far with it. Their conspiracy wasn’t developed enough to get them punished, but at the same time trying to get rid of the current Emperor is a worse crime than simple embezzlement, that’s why the Imperial Censor chose to confess and get out rather than let things continue to snowball while directly antagonizing the Emperor.