Xiao Shao's brow twitched.

Lady Qi's Last Letter?

In his past life, Xiao Shao was intent on traveling and enjoying the scenery, paying no attention to court politics. He was unclear about the aftermath of the Silver Case. Looking at it now, to think she had actually been relegated to Jiuli Alley.

Xiao Shao: "Tell Fu Dehai to prepare a horse, I'm taking a trip to the alley."

Jiuli Alley was located in the West Market of the Capital City. There were over ten large and small alleys. If laid out flat, they could stretch for over nine li, hence the name Jiuli Alley. Hundreds of brothels and pleasure houses were scattered here like stars. And brothels also had first and second-class distinctions. The young miss of the Qi family was a daughter of an upright official family with superior character and appearance. Even in the government-run Jiaofangsi, she was an extremely outstanding figure.

Xiao Shao didn't expend much effort to find the pavilion where Miss Qi was staying.

Xiao Shao stepped inside. He was dressed luxuriously, adorned with a jade belt and crimson tassels, and his appearance was exceedingly striking. Even if the manager didn't recognize the Second Prince, he knew this person was either rich or noble, and immediately came up to greet him.

Xiao Shao: "The Lady Qi who was banished here a few days ago, is she at your place?"

The manager was taken aback: "She is, but..."

Xiao Shao frowned: "But what? Take me to her room, you won't be short on silver."

The manager smiled apologetically: "This lady already has a guest. There are many beautiful ladies in my pavilion. Could you make it easier for us and see if there are others that catch your eye?"

Saying that, he dipped his finger in water and wrote the character "Yong" on the table.

Marquis Yongyi, Xie Huaiyi, a prominent figure among the nobles of the Capital City, could even speak his mind in front of the Emperor.

His father was once the late Emperor's companion. When encountering a wild boar at the hunting grounds, he sacrificed himself to protect his master, losing a leg to keep the late Emperor safe. From then on, they enjoyed generational grace and glory, attaining the noble status of a wealthy and prominent Marquis family. And the current heir of Marquis Yongyi was Xie Guanghong.

Xiao Shao let out a silent sneer: "Heir Xie?"

Living another lifetime, he had long warned Xie Guanghong not to casually provoke Qi Yan, to save himself from dying such an ugly death like in his past life with no one to even collect his corpse. Yet this Heir Xie hadn't listened to a single word, treating his advice like bullshit.

The manager, however, thought he was afraid of Marquis Yongyi's reputation, and merely said: "Indeed, it is the young Lord Xie. If you ask me, a nobleman of such high rank and immense wealth taking a liking to Lady Qi is her blessing."

What blessing? The blessing of writing a Last Letter?

Xiao Shao curled the corners of his lips: "Immense wealth?"

The Marquis Yongyi household had long declined by this generation, with each successive heir more useless than the last. Could they actually be considered figures of immense wealth? Was it Lady Qi's blessing?

Then what did that make Qi Yan, who followed him?

He couldn't be bothered to talk more with the manager and handed over his waist token: "Lead the way."

The manager took one look and immediately shuddered. If noble heirs were still figures one could encounter in Jiaofangsi, then Xiao Shao was truly a divine dragon whose head could be seen but not its tail. He would tag along to play, but rarely revealed his identity. This time was considered an exception.

Xiao Shao pondered for a moment and frowned: "Why am I always making exceptions for Qi Yan?"

Before he could figure out the reason, the manager had already led him through a series of twists and turns, stepping into a courtyard with a winding path leading to seclusion. The sky wasn't dark yet, so it wasn't the lively hour for the red-light district. The courtyard was quiet, the slanted branches of banyan and willow trees swaying in the dusk like phantom ghosts.

Gradually, Xiao Shao heard a woman's crying.

Hidden right inside the two-story building.

Cold sweat broke out on the manager's forehead: "Heir Xie plays a bit fancy, it's usually like this."

Xiao Shao sneered: "It's usually like this?"

Xie Guanghong always pretended to be quite the respectable gentleman in front of him.

Xiao Shao quickly went upstairs. The closer he got, the louder the woman's crying became, mixed with shouts and the sound of fingernails scraping.

Finally, they reached the door. Just as the manager was about to knock, Xiao Shao lifted his hem and kicked the door.

The door burst open with a bang.

The manager was about to enter but was pulled by his belt and pushed aside. Xiao Shao completely blocked the view of the room with his back. He only looked up and took one glance inside before slightly lowering his eyes. Looking straight ahead, he walked in, grabbed Xie Guanghong, threw him out of the room, and closed the door behind him with a backhand motion.

The manager was stunned, and Xie Guanghong was even more stunned. He stared blankly at Xiao Shao: "Your, Your Highness, why are you here?"

Xiao Shao raised a foot and kicked him to the ground.

Before Xie Guanghong could speak, Xiao Shao leaned down and grabbed his collar, smiling without reaching his eyes: "Xie Guanghong, you've grown bold, haven't you? If you have grievances or grudges with Qi Chen, settle them. Qi Chen impeached you for galloping your horse through the streets. You didn't dare curse him back while he was in office, but now that he's dead, you've come here to bully his wives and children?"

Xie Guanghong was a pure dandy, not someone who practiced martial arts and archery like Xiao Shao. He immediately stumbled from the kick and collapsed onto the ground unable to get up. He let out an "Ouch" and muttered in defense: "T-then isn't Qi Chen dead? Since I can't find him in person to take revenge, I can only..."

Xiao Shao slapped him: "Well done, Xie Guanghong. You're bullying a defenseless girl and still making excuses for it? Do you want me to carefully record what happened today and report it to Marquis Yongyi, so he can see what kind of thing his son has done?"

Marquis Yongyi was old and muddle-headed, but he was also someone who knew propriety and abided by the law. His old colleague in the court had just been beheaded, and his son eagerly came to sleep with the other man's daughter. For anyone with a sense of dignity, this was a scandalous affair that brought shame to the family.

Xie Guanghong was in pain but didn't dare contradict Xiao Shao. He stumbled as he scrambled up: "Don't, please don't!"

He usually played well with Xiao Shao. Usually, Xiao Shao was careless and acted like a cynical dandy, so Xie Guanghong wasn't afraid of him. But now, with the other party putting on a cold face and his brow sinking heavily, Xie Guanghong found his legs trembling for some unknown reason. He couldn't utter a single word of rebuttal, only awkwardly cupping his hands in salute: "My mistake, it's my mistake... Don't tell my father, I'll leave right now."

Then he limped away, hurrying down the stairs while holding the railing. His steps faltered, but he didn't dare stop, fleeing as if running for his life, acting as though Xiao Shao was some man-eating beast.

Xiao Shao's sudden outburst had thoroughly frightened the manager as well. He watched Xie Guanghong's retreating back disappear at the end of his line of sight, then looked at Xiao Shao with trembling hands: "Your, Your Highness?"

Xiao Shao turned around: "How many of the Qi family are still with you here?"

"Besides Lady Qi, there are also two young girls."

Xiao Shao nodded.

The young girls should be Qi Yan's younger female cousins.

However, in his past life, Director Qi was all alone, and he had never heard of him having female cousins. Xiao Shao then asked: "How old are those two girls, and what are they doing now?"

The manager: "The younger one is seven, and the older one is nine. They are too young, so we haven't made them do anything, it's just..."

Xiao Shao: "Just?"

The manager gritted his teeth: "Just that the young Marquis Xie said he wanted them to serve tea, so they are currently learning the etiquette of serving tea."

Although he called it serving tea, for a nobleman visiting a brothel or pleasure house to specifically request two little girls, of course it wouldn't be as simple as just serving tea.

"Crack—"

"Crash—"

Two sounds rang out simultaneously. Xiao Shao tore off a section of the wooden railing barehanded, and Lady Qi inside the room smashed a vase.

"Good, very good." Xiao Shao squeezed the words out of his throat. "Setting his sights on seven or eight-year-old little girls, I didn't realize Xie Guanghong was so capable."

Although Xiao Shao couldn't be considered a man of extraordinary moral character, he could barely be counted as a gentleman. He first hated those who bullied the weak, and second hated those who abused young girls. Xie Guanghong had thoroughly stepped on all of his landmines.

He thought to himself, 'Xie Guanghong's death in the past life wasn't unjust.'

Once Xiao Shao came to power, if he found out that Xie Guanghong had done this sort of thing, he would have died all the same.

The manager trembled by the side, not daring to speak for a long time. Xiao Shao pulled out some banknotes: "Lady Qi, along with those two young ones, I'm buying them. Later, find a quiet courtyard in the alley and settle them in properly. Keep the rest for yourself."

These girls were sinners designated by imperial decree. Xiao Shao couldn't take them out of the alley, but it was still possible to protect them within the alley.

The manager took them. The denomination of the banknotes was quite large, so he joyfully agreed. Only then did Xiao Shao signal him to step back, raising his hand to knock on the door.

A woman's cowering voice came from inside the room: "C-come in."

In that short span of time, she had already cut the red string at her waist and gathered her clothes. The garments had been torn to shreds by Xie Guanghong and were barely hanging onto her body, so she pulled a blanket from the bed to wrap herself up, looking as though she was still recovering from a terrible shock.

Xiao Shao kept his eyes lowered, not glancing at her in the slightest. After a long while, Lady Qi seemed to judge that he harbored absolutely no malicious intent, and finally spoke with deliberation: "Are you... related to Qi Yan... in some way?"

Now that the Qi family had fallen and its members scattered like monkeys from a fallen tree, the only one still able to maneuver on the outside and find someone to save her was Qi Yan.

Xiao Shao thought to himself, 'I am Qi Yan's master,' but when the words reached his lips, he said: "Oh, a friend."

He roughly discussed a few words about Qi Yan's current situation and mentioned the arrangements with the manager, then stood up to take his leave. The woman, however, hurriedly got up: "Wait—"

She called out to Xiao Shao: "I have a presumptuous request... I am truly worried about Qi Yan. If you can see him, could you deliver a letter from home for me?"

Xiao Shao naturally agreed.

Lady Qi then unrolled a piece of Xuan paper, suspended her wrist, and picked up a brush. Xiao Shao took a look. The Qi family truly deserved to be a scholarly and cultured family for generations. Qi Yan's handwriting was beautiful, and his older sister's handwriting was unexpectedly good as well. Her suspended needles, hanging dewdrops, connections, and turns were all executed with vigorous and full-bodied strokes. Before long, a letter from home was written.

Xiao Shao raised his hand and took it.

He nodded in acknowledgment and left the brothel.

System 55 was thoroughly frightened. Xiao Shao beat up Xie Guanghong as if it were child's play, and his expression was terrifyingly cold. It waited numbly until Xiao Shao finished beating him, taking quite a while to recover and regain its senses.

"..."

It felt like something was wrong.

No, everything was wrong!

By this time, Xiao Shao had already boarded the carriage. He lay horizontally on the soft cushions of the cabin, the sharp momentum from just now completely dissipating. He grabbed a landscape folding fan with his left hand and played with it idly. The clothes at his chest were mostly unfastened, drooping loosely, grand and imposing like a collapsing mountain of jade, adopting the leisurely demeanor of a wealthy young master going out for a spring outing.

System floated ahead with a blank screen. It didn't want to talk to Xiao Shao, but had to, so it coldly displayed: "Host, I must remind you."

"According to our contract, 50 points is the baseline for achievement."

"If you fail to achieve it, this world may experience unpredictable deviations."

"This is absolutely not something you want to see."

Behind the cold and stern screen, System 55 was streaming with tears.

It didn't want to speak to its host like this either. The previous hosts had all been spoken to with kind words, but Xiao Shao, Xiao Shao just didn't play by the rules!

Xiao Shao paused weirdly for a moment, feeling a bit guilty.

When signing the so-called "contract" back then, he hadn't really read it and just signed it directly. The Son of Heaven's word was as heavy as nine tripods; he really shouldn't have deceived System 55 like this.

But the Last Letter...

Was he supposed to go back now and force Lady Qi to write a Last Letter?

Xiao Shao pondered for a moment, pulled Lady Qi's letter out of its envelope, and took out a new envelope.

System 55: "?"

Xiao Shao: "The mission item, Lady Qi's Last Letter, right?"

"...Right."

Saying that, Xiao Shao's brush moved like dragons and snakes, writing two bold, forceful characters on the envelope—Last Letter.

System 55: "..."

'Are you sick in the head? It's Lady Qi's Last Letter, not your Last Letter!'

Xiao Shao folded the letter from home and stuffed it into the envelope: "Alright, now this is Lady Qi's Last Letter."

System 55: "..."

'Is this guy really sick in the head?'

But as things stood, expecting Xiao Shao to perfectly follow the plot was unrealistic. System 55 shut itself down by turning off its small screen, leaving Xiao Shao to his own devices.

Forget it, long live 50 points.

Meanwhile, Xiao Shao pinched the letter in his hand and leisurely returned to his residence. By the time he walked across nearly half of the Capital City and entered his home, it was already dead of night, the time to rest.

Qi Yan was currently settled in the side room next to the main hall, separated from Xiao Shao by just a wall. The lights in his room were currently on, with maids going in and out, carrying water basins back and forth.

Xiao Shao casually stopped someone: "How is Qi Yan?"

The maid said: "The young master took his medicine and developed a light fever. After resting, he seemed to have suffered a nightmare, panting and falling out of bed. His wounds split open again, so we are changing his dressings."

Having a fever was normal. Qi Yan's body was depleted inside and out. Having been trapped in prison for a long time, he had been forcibly suppressing it, hanging on by a single breath. It was better to use some medicine to draw the illness out. The imperial physician had also said he would be uncomfortable for a while, it's just...

Xiao Shao raised an eyebrow: "A nightmare?"

What kind of nightmare was so severe that it scared Qi Yan like this?

Xiao Shao stepped into the room, saying: "Let me see."

Qi Yan had indeed just woken up. Gathering his cloak around him, he half-sat by the edge of the bed with his eyes closed, continuously sweating cold sweat. There was a patch of wetness on his forehead, and even his long hair was soaked with sweat, hanging down strand by strand.

Xiao Shao lifted the curtain: "Being this terribly sick, yet you're not sleeping in the middle of the night. What are you doing here? If you really don't take your own body seriously, at least pity the medicine from my manor."

Hearing his voice, Qi Yan caught his breath and seemed to calm down a little. He wearily opened his eyes, revealing a weak but gentle smile: "I've troubled you..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Qi Yan's gaze landed on Xiao Shao's hand.

His pupils suddenly shrank. His complexion, which had finally gained some color, turned deathly pale again. He stared unblinkingly at Xiao Shao's hand, as if he had seen something terrifying.