Amnesiac General and Infatuated Brothel Keeper 15

The letter was left by Feng Jiuli. He said the old emperor fell gravely ill last night and the court was unstable, requiring him to rush back to Chongluo at top speed. He promised to return immediately after settling everything, and told Su Jinzhi not to overthink it.

Su Jinzhi naturally wouldn't overthink it. It was just that with Feng Jiuli gone, it became difficult to grind Jun Changle's Progress Value. It was also inconvenient for him to leave the pavilion directly and run in front of Jun Changwu to save her. As for that Third Prince of Beiyou, there hadn't been a single trace of him so far, leaving him clueless on where to begin his salvation. Moreover, Qiu Yi's Progress Value had been rising in a very baffling manner. Therefore, Su Jinzhi could only stay in the Huaqi Pavilion, molding away along with the summer rain.

Today, outside the Huaqi Pavilion, the long street was still covered in fine drizzle.

"So boring." Su Jinzhi lay on the table in the Peony Pavilion, holding a black chess piece in his left hand and a white one in his right, playing against himself. "Can I play mahjong?"

No. 0 said earnestly, "But Lord Host, even if we include Brother No. 1, we are still missing one person for a four-player game."

No. 1 sneered and said coldly, "Gambling is strictly prohibited during working hours."

No. 0 immediately didn't dare to speak anymore.

Su Jinzhi stood up from the chess table, just about to persuade No. 1 to come and relax together, when Xile suddenly pushed the door open and entered. His face was filled with shock and anxiety as he fell to his knees in front of Su Jinzhi with a thud. "Y-Young Master!"

Su Jinzhi handed him a cup of tea and said gently, "What's wrong, Xile? Don't rush, speak slowly. Did something happen?"

Xile raised a finger pointing out the door, his eyes wide. "The King sent people over with a full twelve chests of grand gifts! He invited you to enter the palace to sing a piece. Eunuch Jin is waiting for you downstairs right now!"

Su Jinzhi's eyes widened slightly, his brows furrowing. He got up and walked downstairs the Huaqi Pavilion, with Xile hurriedly scrambling up from the floor to follow behind him.

In the main hall of the Huaqi Pavilion, Eunuch Jin, dressed in dark red palace attire, stood in front of the twelve gift chests. A palace maid stood behind him, fanning him with a small fan. Upon seeing Su Jinzhi come out, Eunuch Jin immediately smiled and called out to him with the sharp voice unique to castrati: "Young Master Wuyan—"

Su Jinzhi bowed in greeting and looked at the twelve gift chests. "Eunuch Jin, this is..."

Eunuch Jin held his chin high, his expression arrogant. The corner of his lips hooked to one side as he signaled his attendants to open the twelve gift chests one by one: gold and silk, precious porcelain, pearls and jade, antique calligraphy and paintings, and rare medicinal materials appeared in succession. Within these twelve treasure chests were practically all the things people in this world envied and dreamed of possessing.

"Young Master Wuyan, I am here today under the King's orders. As for the purpose, I presume your attendant has already made it clear to you, right?" Eunuch Jin walked over to Su Jinzhi with a smile, leaning close to his ear, his eyes glancing sideways at the twelve gift chests. "His Majesty knows you do not care for these worldly possessions, but as long as you attend this banquet in the palace, someone will erase your baseborn status. You only need to sing a song casually and dance a few steps. Why not gladly do it?"

Indeed, there were plenty of wealthy patrons in this world willing to squander a fortune for Hua Wuyan, but those who could remove his baseborn status were few and far between.

Back then, Li Feng kept claiming he had taken his jade pendant and insisted he had to stay. But in reality, even if he left with the jade pendant, it would be useless. A person bearing a baseborn status would not only live a lowly life into the dirt, but their children and grandchildren would also serve as slaves and servants for their entire lives, keeping company with dust and mud. Li Feng never brought this up simply because he didn't want him to sorrowfully overthink.

Moreover... Su Jinzhi raised his eyes and looked at the clanking, iron-clad imperial guards standing behind the twelve gift chests. He sneered disdainfully in his heart. For this palace banquet, he had absolutely no right to refuse.

Xile looked at him worriedly. "Young Master..."

"Alright, I'll go." Su Jinzhi turned to look at Eunuch Jin, wearing a smile on his face. "When does the palace banquet start?"

Hearing this, the smile lines at the corners of Eunuch Jin's eyes deepened. With a flick of his whisk, he clapped his hands in praise. "Good! Young Master Wuyan is indeed sensible. Please accept these few chests of meager gifts to properly nourish your body." As he spoke, he raised a hand and stroked Su Jinzhi's face twice. "You've gotten so thin that it makes my heart ache~"

A smile curved on Su Jinzhi's lips, and he remained motionless, letting him touch him.

"In three months, the palace will naturally send a fragrant carriage to pick you up. I hope you will prepare well." Seeing that his expression did not change, Eunuch Jin felt it was boring. He rolled his eyes, turned around, and left.

"Young Master!" Xile tugged at his sleeve, his eyes slightly red. "Why did you agree to Eunuch Jin? This, this is simply..."

"What right do I have to refuse?" Su Jinzhi smiled faintly. Walking up to a chest filled with fine silks and satins, he raised his hand to stroke a roll of dark green brocade and spoke, "The quality of this cloth is quite good. Send the things in this chest to Lan Wen. Ask her to use this brocade to embroider a set of clothes for me within three months. The remaining fabrics will all be given to her as remuneration."

Of course, he had to go to this palace banquet. He absolutely had to go.

Not because of the Zhuhua Kingdom King's name, but for that salvation target who hadn't appeared yet—the Third Prince of Beiyou, Yan Hui.

No. 0 had just told him that the host of this palace banquet was not the King of the Zhuhua Kingdom, but Yan Hui. Right after Feng Jiuli left, Yan Hui arrived in the Zhuhua Kingdom. He probably received some sort of news.

The battle Feng Jiuli had just concluded was a border war between Chongluo and Beiyou, which ended with Beiyou's defeat. But even so, the power of Beiyou could still not be underestimated. Among the five nations, Chongluo was the strongest, Beiyou came second, and the Zhuhua Kingdom was the weakest.

Eunuch Jin showing off his might in front of him was just like Yan Hui standing in front of the King of the Zhuhua Kingdom—a weak nation with only one city, what right did it have to refuse the demands of the Third Prince of Beiyou?

Three months later, late autumn arrived.

The day the palace banquet began happened to be the Mid-Autumn Festival.

And just as Eunuch Jin had said, the palace sent a shining, fragrant carriage drawn by precious horses to pick him up.

Gilded incense burners were placed at the four corners of the carriage, burning precious silver leaf incense chips inside. Scarlet brocade and pink gauze interwove into curtains around the carriage, fluttering in the wind. Several exquisite palace lanterns hung from the edges of the carriage roof, emitting a glowing halo. Palace maids carried flower baskets filled with petals, scattering them along the way as they welcomed Su Jinzhi out of the Huaqi Pavilion. Meanwhile, a lowly little eunuch from the palace knelt by the carriage, serving as a human footstool, waiting for the young man to board.

It being the Mid-Autumn Festival, the long street was already bustling. In the night sky, the moon was bright and the stars were hidden. Countless dazzling fireworks shot into the air and fell in flurries, illuminating half the sky. After the people from the palace created such a grand spectacle, the sides of the long street became even more packed with commoners, who were held back by imperial guards with long spears. This glorious scene, usually reserved only for traveling royalty and nobles, was now entirely bestowed upon a mere actor and prostitute.

"Ah, the totally evil feudal society," Su Jinzhi sighed to No. 0. "No wonder so many people want to be emperors. Little baby No. 0, when you have time, help me ask No. 1 to get me a throne to sit on too."

No. 0 agreed repeatedly, "No. 0 will definitely work hard to strive for this welfare for Lord Host!"

"Love you, mwah." Hearing this, Su Jinzhi finally smiled and stepped onto the carriage.

The eunuch who came to pick him up had been feeling uneasy seeing him expressionless earlier, terrified that Su Jinzhi might suddenly run away or cause some other mischief. Seeing him smile now, the eunuch let out a sigh of relief and dragged out his voice: "Set out—"

Su Jinzhi shivered from the sharp voice and continued to make requests to No. 0, "Also, don't get me guards like this. The ancients' system is truly too cruel. I am a civilized person."

No. 0 continued to agree repeatedly, "Yes! Yes! No. 0 will definitely fulfill Lord Host's wish!"

Listening to how obedient No. 0 was, Su Jinzhi let out a hiss, just about to test how many welfares he could get, when he heard No. 1's cold chuckle. "Lord Host wants to be an emperor that much?"

Su Jinzhi immediately chickened out. "Not forcing it, not forcing it. I'll leave everything to fate."

In just a few words, the carriage drove extremely fast. It didn't take long to arrive at the palace gates of the Zhuhua Kingdom, seemingly not wanting to make the person in the palace wait too long. The carriage passed through the vermilion palace walls that seemed to stretch endlessly, until it stopped in front of a palace with glazed tile eaves.

The great hall was magnificent. The King of the Zhuhua Kingdom sat on his high dragon throne, yet he looked as if he was sitting on a patch of thorns, fidgeting restlessly. Cold sweat dotted his forehead as he put on a fawning smile and cautiously asked the person sitting in an exquisitely and comfortably arranged guest seat to the side: "Is the Third Prince unhappy? Could it be that you blame these dancers for not having beautiful enough dance postures?"

The man in the guest seat was dressed in splendid clothes and wore a high jade crown. He was incredibly handsome, his pitch-black, deep eyes gazing with utter boredom at the scantily clad dancers below. Hearing the King of the Zhuhua Kingdom's question, he immediately sneered and smashed the wine cup in his hand heavily onto the table. "You call this beautiful? It's simply the height of vulgarity, an eyesore."

Upon hearing this, the King of the Zhuhua Kingdom's face instantly turned half-green, but he dared not say much. Just as he was feeling anxious, he heard the bells of the carriage he sent to pick up Hua Wuyan ringing outside the hall. He immediately craned his neck to look outside, pulling at Eunuch Jin who was serving beside him, asking repeatedly: "Has Hua Wuyan arrived? Quickly, let him enter the hall!"

After saying this, he immediately turned to the guest seat with a smile. "Please do not be angry, Third Prince. There is one more person you will surely be interested in meeting!"

Yan Hui also heard the carriage bells and knew exactly who was coming. However, upon hearing this, he still looked at the King of the Zhuhua Kingdom and slowly curled the corners of his lips, revealing his first smile since attending the banquet today.

The King of the Zhuhua Kingdom immediately slapped Eunuch Jin on the back and urged: "Hurry and let Young Master Wuyan come in!" With that said, he straightened his previously hunched back and looked toward the entrance of the great hall. He wore an expression of pride, as if the person approaching was someone even more noble than himself.

Seeing him like this, Yan Hui suddenly threw his head back and laughed heartily—this King of the Zhuhua Kingdom actually took pride in a poor and lowly actor. It was truly the biggest joke in the world, far more amusing than those cheap dancer wenches. And as for that whatever Hua Wuyan who was about to enter the hall, he really wanted to see exactly what kind of piece of work he was, to make Feng Jiuli willing to risk the wrath of the Chongluo King, refuse an arranged marriage, and hand over his military tally just to stay with him.

Thinking up to this point, Yan Hui stopped laughing and half-squinted his eyes to look at the person approaching from below.

The person wore an exquisite dark green ceremonial robe that tightly covered his snow-white skin. Intricate embroidered patterns lined the collar and lapels of the dark garments, while the hem and cuffs were embroidered with layers of fully blooming Guanshi Moyu Peonies and translucent white Kunshan Yeguang Peonies. His black hair, devoid of any hair crown, hung straight down behind his back, fluttering slightly with his forward strides.

Completely different from those servile, bowing, and spineless slaves he had seen in the past who only knew how to kneel at his feet and flatter him, the young man slightly raised his fine, white chin, his gaze looking straight ahead. His expression was indifferent, and his back was perfectly straight, as if concealing a piece of peerless, unyielding backbone. Even upon seeing them, the royals and nobles seated high above, he only gave a slight, neither servile nor overbearing nod, as if he, just like them, had unmatched noble blood flowing through his veins.

The young man had not a single trace of bright color on his entire body, yet to his eyes, it was an absolute vision of stunning beauty.

In that instant, Yan Hui was actually stunned for a moment, seemingly understanding why Feng Jiuli would be so deeply infatuated with him.

If Su Jinzhi could know what Yan Hui was thinking at this moment, he would also laugh at him with three loud "Hahaha"s, just as Yan Hui had laughed at the King of the Zhuhua Kingdom earlier. He would fluently and smoothly recite the Declaration of Human Rights to show him that human rights were endowed by nature, and that there was freedom and equality.

"Hua, Wu, Yan." Yan Hui carefully savored this name between his teeth and lips before reading it out softly. Resting his chin on his hand, he gazed down from his seat with great interest.

Seeing his expression clear up slightly, the King of the Zhuhua Kingdom quickly coughed lightly twice, signaling Su Jinzhi to begin dancing and singing.

Su Jinzhi cast a faint glance at the King of the Zhuhua Kingdom, who was so fat he looked pregnant, and gagged in his heart. Subsequently, he handed control of his body over to No. 0. As the stringed music began to play, he finally started to dance. He first raised his sleeves, revealing a section of snow-white wrist beneath the dark brocade attire, and then pressed down heavily, swirling and dancing to the gradually quickening music.

However, as he watched, the King of the Zhuhua Kingdom's face became even uglier.

Because what Su Jinzhi was dancing was the Array-breaking Song, performed when the soldiers of the Chongluo Kingdom returned in triumph. This piece was performed jointly by men and women, with the men wielding swords and the women waving fans. The dancers, however, could not be ordinary actors or dancers; the men had to be selected from among outstanding youths of noble families at the prime of their age, and the women naturally also had to be descendants of prominent and aristocratic families.

Su Jinzhi was, of course, dancing the male steps. Although he held no sword in his hand, the wild arrogance between his sleeve waves and footsteps was hard to conceal. If given a long sword, he would definitely be able to draw out world-shocking sword shadows and lights.

This dance was performed impeccably, but amidst his dance steps, there wasn't a hint of a smile on Su Jinzhi's face. His pinkish lips were pressed tightly together. Considering his status, this gave even less face than Yan Hui did before he smiled.

Not to mention that Beiyou had just been defeated by Chongluo. For Su Jinzhi to now perform this Array-breaking Song right in front of the Third Prince of Beiyou... the King of the Zhuhua Kingdom didn't even dare to dwell on his intentions. He opened his mouth, just about to call for a stop, but Yan Hui immediately raised his hand to stop him.

The King of the Zhuhua Kingdom turned to look at Yan Hui, only to see him staring unblinkingly at the dark green figure below. His eyes were brimming with interest, without the slightest hint of anger. Only then did the King slowly let out a breath of relief.

The music stopped, and the dance ended.

But the great hall remained dead silent.

Su Jinzhi stood in the center of the great hall with a straight back, looking fixedly at the people on the high seats. His chest heaved continuously as he panted slightly with his mouth open. In his heart, he secretly rejoiced: Good thing he had handed his body over to No. 0. If the real him were to dance, he'd probably bust out a whole set of broadcast calisthenics.

"Clap, clap, clap—" Several claps rang out. Su Jinzhi looked toward the source of the sound and found that the first person to applaud was actually Yan Hui.

On the surface, the King of the Zhuhua Kingdom sat at the highest position in this palace banquet, but everything was controlled by Yan Hui. Once he clapped, the King of the Zhuhua Kingdom and the rest of the ministers also followed suit, putting on smiling faces and clapping hypocritically.

"Lord Host! Yan Hui's Progress Value has increased!" No. 0 reminded him cheerfully. "It went up by 30 points!"

"Don't be too eager to get excited, the palace banquet isn't over yet. Who knows, it might increase even more later," Su Jinzhi conversed with No. 0 in his mind, but his face remained expressionless.

"Young Master Wuyan truly lives up to his reputation." Seeing him like this, Yan Hui smiled and asked, "It's just that, Young Master Wuyan—why are you unwilling to smile?"

Su Jinzhi did not look at him, but instead looked straight at the King of the Zhuhua Kingdom, asking him, "Does Your Majesty wish for me to smile?"

The King of the Zhuhua Kingdom cursed Su Jinzhi for being blind in his heart. The Third Prince asked him but he didn't answer, instead questioning him in return. He quickly turned to look at Yan Hui. Upon seeing the sudden ruthlessness in the man's side-glancing eyes, he was so terrified that he broke out in a heavy sweat. He casually grabbed a wine goblet from the golden table and threw it at Su Jinzhi, roaring, "The Third Prince told you to smile, why are you not smiling?!"

As bad luck would have it, that wine goblet smashed squarely on Su Jinzhi's forehead.

Su Jinzhi couldn't dodge in time and only felt a bang on his head. He immediately fell over, propping himself half-up with his elbow on the ground. Clutching his forehead, it took him quite a while to regain his senses.

Su Jinzhi stood up unsteadily from the ground, struggling to stabilize his posture. Lowering the hand covering his forehead, he saw that the area had been cut open by the sharp edge of the wine goblet. A bright crimson liquid was gushing out from it. Just looking at it seemed to make one feel the sheer pain.

However, the young man actually began to smile just as the King had commanded. This smile was like the melting of winter snow and the return of spring, causing the brilliant beauty around his eyes and brows to be fully revealed. Coupled with the line of blood meandering down the side of his face, he was gorgeous to the extreme.

"Smile, how could Wuyan not smile?" Su Jinzhi raised his chin, hooking the corners of his lips as he gave a sidelong glance at the people on the high seats. "Wuyan is merely of baseborn status, nothing but a prostitute and an actor, humble and lowly. If Your Majesty is willing to condescend and hire Wuyan with heavy gold to come perform a dance in the palace, and Wuyan cannot make Your Majesty fully enjoy yourself, then that would be Wuyan's fault."

Upon hearing this, the King of the Zhuhua Kingdom was frightened into trembling all over, his lips quivering without being able to utter a single word. Su Jinzhi's words sounded extremely humble and respectful on the surface, but covertly, he was mocking Yan Hui for being inferior to him, lacking the qualifications to make him smile.

"Oh, gold?" Yan Hui scoffed and stood up from the guest seat. The close attendants and maids beside him wanted to support him, but were waved away by him. "So gold can make you smile. Then if I were to gift you the very land you are stepping on right now, could I win a night with you, Young Master?"

Hearing Yan Hui say this, the King of the Zhuhua Kingdom immediately slumped down limply on his dragon throne. Just how powerful was the Beiyou Kingdom? Although Yan Hui was the Third Prince, he had long been the designated Crown Prince appointed by the Beiyou King. He only needed to finish having his fun playing in foreign nations and return to the court to take over monstrous authority. For him to now say he wanted to gift this piece of land under their feet to Su Jinzhi, he was clearly declaring his intent to trample the Zhuhua Kingdom!

The faint smile on Su Jinzhi's face, upon hearing Yan Hui's words, curved sharply at the corners of his lips, turning into a scornful sneer. He said firmly, "You cannot."

Being slighted by Su Jinzhi time and time again, no matter how interested Yan Hui was in him, his face couldn't help but turn cold at this moment. With a frosty expression, he said coldly to Su Jinzhi, "You're nothing but a whore anyone can fuck! What are you acting so high and mighty for?"

Su Jinzhi also stopped smiling and looked at him with a cold face. "Yes, Wuyan is dirty and lowly, anyone can play with and humiliate me. But before Wuyan entered the baseborn register of Zhuhua, I was a person of Chongluo. Your Beiyou invaded my Chongluo borders, slaughtered my Chongluo citizens, and insulted my Chongluo dignity. Today, even if I, Hua Wuyan, am fucked to death by a dog of Chongluo, I would never spend a single illicit night with you!"

If Jun Changle hadn't died, this was the kind of hot blood that should have flowed in his veins, and this was the kind of unyielding backbone that should have supported him to stand.

The young man's voice was clear, cold, and clean, like the striking of pearls and jade. It was melodious as a song, echoing off the beams of the great hall. The King of the Zhuhua Kingdom and all the ministers, who were originally scared limp, now all widened their eyes and stared at him in disbelief. They held their breath, not daring to pant loudly, terrified that the furious Yan Hui would chop them all down as well.

"Oh, is that so?" Yan Hui was also so enraged his eyes widened, glaring fixedly at Su Jinzhi. Then, he raised his hand to summon a subordinate and whispered a few words into the subordinate's ear.

Yan Hui's subordinate hurriedly ran out of the great hall. Su Jinzhi turned to look, only to see that it wasn't long before that man and some new soldiers carried in an iron cage large enough to hold several people. Inside the cage, three black hounds with soft, shiny fur and burly, robust builds were locked up.

Those three black hounds had ferocious gazes. The purplish-red sinful roots beneath their crotches stood straight up, hideously exposed. One look was enough to tell they had been fed drugs. They were growling anxiously in the cage. If it weren't for the ropes still collaring them, they would have probably rushed to the edge of the cage and roared at people long ago.

Seeing Su Jinzhi's expression remain indifferent, the flames in Yan Hui's heart burned even fiercer. Laughing out of extreme anger, he asked him, "My previous words still count. With this as your reward, I invite Young Master Wuyan to perform one final play for me! Men—open the cage and invite Young Master Wuyan inside!"

Seeing this, No. 1 even coldly mocked, "What a good play indeed."

Su Jinzhi: "..." He didn't want to act tough anymore; he wanted to go home.

Unbelievable, Yan Hui sure knew how to play hard. Was it still in time for him to take back those words he just said?

But clearly, it was too late. As soon as Yan Hui's voice fell, guards walked toward Su Jinzhi, wanting to drag him into the cage.

Su Jinzhi took a deep breath, turned around, and looked at Yan Hui.

The young man's forehead was covered in fresh blood, which traced past his fine, white jaw and slid into the dark green collar of his clothes. Yet, even with garments so loose and large, one could still discern his frail figure. Seeing the young man look toward him at this moment, Yan Hui thought he had yielded. His expression eased slightly, thinking in his heart that if the young man was willing to kneel down and admit his mistake now, he might as well spare him.

Who knew that Su Jinzhi would just turn around and give him a soft chuckle? Falling into Yan Hui's ears, it was filled with utter mockery. He was heard saying slowly, "No need for the Third Prince to trouble himself. Wuyan will go in by himself."

After saying this, the young man actually lifted his feet and walked steadily, step by step, toward that man-eating cage. Even Yan Hui couldn't help but widen his eyes, staring at Su Jinzhi's movements while holding his breath.

"Hold on—!"

Just at this moment, a loud, clear female voice rapidly approached from outside the hall. Upon hearing this voice, Su Jinzhi's eyes suddenly widened, and he raised his gaze toward the hall doors.

Su Jinzhi asked No. 0, "Why would Jun Changwu come here?"

"It seems your attendant tipped off Divine Doctor Yun..." No. 0 stammered for a moment before explaining to him.

Sure enough, Jun Changwu's pink silk skirt flashed past the corner of the door, and then she fully appeared in front of Su Jinzhi. It was already too late to hide his face, and making such a move would be too abrupt anyway. Su Jinzhi could only stand in place, allowing Jun Changwu to clearly see his face.

And the instant Jun Changwu saw Su Jinzhi's face clearly, her eyes naturally widened, her face instantly turning deathly pale, and she couldn't even steady her posture as she staggered a few steps back.