The capital government was restricted by the second prince's warning, and they knew that the owner of the Bao Yue house had a close relationship with the notorious young thugs of the capital. So, they turned a blind eye to the Bao Yue house. The Overwatch Council, however, did not have such concerns. Although they did not have the power to investigate the civil affairs of the capital, they used the excuse of investigating the capital government's malfeasance to find a lot of relevant information.
Fan Xian sat in his study and looked at the case in front of him. He could not help but frown deeply. There were two owners of the Bao Yue house, and they were very mysterious. Not many people had seen them before. As for the way the Bao Yue brothel did things, they were indeed extremely daring. They did things ruthlessly and ruthlessly. They had only opened this spring, and it had only taken a few months for them to use both force and money to shut down the businesses of the other brothels. They had forcefully taken many famous prostitutes into the brothel, and their reputation had suddenly increased.
In his trip to the Bao Yue house, Fan Xian could tell from the details that the owner of the brothel was a master of business. But under the methods of a normal merchant, there was a dark side to this business. Mu Tie was right. In just one month, four disobedient prostitutes had disappeared. They must have died a long time ago. The Bao Yue house did even more dirty things in the dark. They accepted young prostitutes and perverted businesses.
Fan Xian's frown deepened, and his heart grew colder and colder. Regardless of whether it was his previous life or this one, the world was always dirty. It was just that the sky above Jingdou in the Kingdom of Qing was easier to bring to the surface. The nobles relied on the power and position in their hands to endlessly exploit and oppress the common people. Just like what happened with Baoyue Brothel, in the officialdom of Jingdou, it was not an exception, nor was it the first. It was a method that all the nobles were used to accumulating wealth.
In regards to the poor, the lowly, and the unjust … in the past, Fan Xian was more of a bystander. He coldly watched the ugly things that happened in the world, and he subconsciously did not think about the unfairness and darkness. He was not the Bodhisattva of Guanyin, who saved people from suffering. He had received enough benefits and enjoyment from his position. As someone who had benefited from this, and as a member of the nobles, he naturally chose to be silent and accept it.
Silence and acceptance did not mean that he could get used to it. Even though he had been in this jar filled with dirty water for a long time, he still could not get used to it.
A mere Bao Yue house was not enough to make him change his mind. He might have done something good within his power, such as ransoming Sang Wen and suppressing the Bao Yue house. He wanted the nobles to be gentler when they did things, and he wanted to reconcile the conflicts between the different classes. But he would not try to react like a thunderbolt.
Because a thunderous reaction meant denying everything that the Baoyue House represented, it meant challenging the entire world. Such a heaven-defying thing, only Ye Qingmei seemed to have attempted it before. His mother seemed to have failed in the end.
But the Baoyue Brothel did not seem to be as simple as a brothel. Fan Xian could already smell the uneasiness hidden within. Deep in his heart, an ominous feeling welled up, and an evil fire was born out of nowhere.
So, he wanted to personally go to the Bao Yue House to confirm whether or not his judgment was correct.
— —
It was a sunny, autumn afternoon. As the leader of the Qinian Unit, Deng Zi Yue once again came to the Bao Yue House.
Seeing his lifeless face, the hired thugs of the Bao Yue House rushed forward, ready to beat him to a pulp. But when they saw his lifeless clothes, all the thugs took half a step back. It was as if they were afraid of the coldness that seeped out of his clothes.
Deng Zi Yue was wearing the uniform of the Overwatch Council, so his identity was different. The Baoyue Brothel believed that they had the backing of the Overwatch Council, so they would not do anything to offend the Dragon King. They immediately sent out a person of status to respectfully welcome Fan Xian into a quiet room on the third floor.
There was a curtain in the room, so it was impossible to see what was behind it.
Beyond the curtain was a round table made of Qingzhou stone. It looked very noble. Si Qing'er was full of smiles as she welcomed Deng Zi Yue to the table and sat down. She said, "Sir, you are from the Overwatch Council. Last night was very rude. If I had known you were from the Overwatch Council, I would have given Sang Wen to you. I would not have dared to accept your banknotes."
As she spoke, her eyes looked into the curtain. But she made no move to take out the banknotes.
Deng Zi Yue knew that there was someone behind the curtain. Perhaps it was the mysterious owner of the Bao Yue House. He had been in the Overwatch Council for eight years, and he had never done business that involved taking advantage of his authority. But Fan Xian had forced him to take back the 10,000 tael banknotes, so he had no choice but to make another trip. After a moment of consideration, he coldly laughed and said, "Lady Si Qing'er is very polite. It is just that last night when I left the house, I bumped into a few dogs. Today, I am here to ask if these dogs belong to the house."
Si Qing'er's face did not change, but she was a little worried. Last night, she thought they were from the 13th Yamen. She did not expect them to be connected to the Overwatch Council. The brothers of the second owner used to run amok in the capital, but last night, they were beaten to a pulp by this man. Today, the man had come to her door again, and his words were sharp and unkind. It seemed that it would be difficult to resolve this peacefully. It was a shame that time had been tight, and she had not been able to find out the man's bottom line.
Because of some reason, the Bao Yue House did not expect Mister Chen to be Commissioner Fan. But she still did not think much of the mysterious Mister Chen, and she would not spit out the 10,000 tael banknotes. This was because the person behind the curtain had given her enough confidence.
Si Qing'er's face turned cold, and she coldly laughed and said, "Sir, you are very funny. Since when did the Overwatch Council become involved in the business of a brothel? Shouldn't this be the business of the capital government? If you were bitten by a dog, you should be careful not to get sick. You should go home and rest. Why are you here to take care of our business? "She smiled and said," Sir, you are very fierce. "
Deng Zi Yue's face was stern, and he said, "Stop talking nonsense! If you do not give me an explanation for what happened yesterday, I will tear down this broken brothel of yours! " He had been ordered to come here, and he felt very uncomfortable. But his long years of working in the Overwatch Council made his words sound cold and oppressive.
Behind the curtain, someone coughed.
Si Qing'er's face darkened, and she slapped the Qingzhou stone table. She angrily shouted, "I don't know where this bastard came from! How dare he come to the Bao Yue House and extort money from us! The contract was written clearly. You have forcefully bought Sang Wen, and yet you are not satisfied? If you do not leave, I will strip you of all your clothes and throw you out the door. I will let everyone in the capital see how ugly you are. "
Deng Zi Yue stared into her eyes, and his ears listened to what was happening behind the curtain. He coldly said, "It looks like your brothel is ready to make an enemy of the Overwatch Council."
It was just a brothel, and it did not have the right to make an enemy of the terrifying Overwatch Council. But Si Qing'er did not panic. She coldly laughed and said, "Do not use the Overwatch Council to scare me. The six departments and three departments may fall for it, but the Bao Yue House will not!"
Deng Zi Yue laughed and said, "You have guts." He stood up, looked coldly behind the curtain, and waved his sleeves, ready to leave.
…
…
"Stop right there!"
It had been quiet, and only two coughs could be heard from behind the curtain. Finally, someone spoke. The voice was young, but it carried with it a sense of disdain and power. The green curtain slowly opened, and the owner of the Bao Yue House, who had never seen an outsider before, finally appeared in front of the world.
Deng Zi Yue turned his head, and his eyes narrowed. He did not know who this person was. He did not expect that he would meet with him.
He looked at the young man behind the curtain, who was wearing light yellow clothing. Deep in his heart, he felt it was ridiculous. The Bao Yue House was the largest brothel in the capital. It was a brothel that opened its doors every day to welcome customers. It was a brothel that was open every night, and its owner was a boy who was not even ten years old.
Deng Zi Yue stared at the yellow-robed little boy with his mouth agape. He suddenly furrowed his brows. Although the little boy's identity was not ordinary, he had suddenly become the owner of the Bao Yue Brothel. It was truly shocking.
After a moment of silence, he finally bent his knees and said, "Deng Zi Yue of the Overwatch Council greets the third prince."
The third prince?
…
…
The youngest son of the Emperor was the owner of the Bao Yue House.
Seeing the Overwatch Council official, who had always had a cruel expression on his face, admit defeat and kneel in front of the second owner, Si Qing'er's lips curled up, and she let out a cold laugh. So what if the Overwatch Council was powerful? They were just a dog of the Emperor. Her brothel looked ordinary, but behind it was the youngest son of the Emperor.
"Mister Deng, is there anything else you would like to say?" Si Qing'er's face was full of disdain.
Unexpectedly, after Deng Zi Yue knelt, he did not wait for the young man to speak. He stood up and spoke with a serious face, "I have come under the orders of the Emperor to ask questions. The girl has yet to answer. When I return, I will report back to the Emperor. As for what happens in the future, the Overwatch Council will be in charge."
The third prince was the youngest son of the Emperor of the Qing Kingdom. His mother was Yi Gui Pin, who was very favored in the palace. How could a child like him open a brothel? Although this reality was absurd, it was right in front of his eyes. Deng Zi Yue's temples jumped, and he suppressed the emotions in his heart. He bowed and said, "I will take my leave."
The Third Prince's face was still childish. Seeing that this little official wanted to leave just like this, a wave of anger rushed into his brain. He threw a teacup at him. Although Fan Xian had seen at the city gate that the Third Prince was young and had a lot of calculations in his mind, he was, after all, still a child. He did not receive the respect he wanted, so he flew into a rage.
The third prince walked forward, pointed at Deng Zi Yue's nose, and yelled, "You want to leave? Why did you stop investigating? Didn't you want me to pay you back 10,000 liang of silver? "
Deng Zi Yue had a wry smile on his face. No matter how powerful the Overwatch Council was, they could not compete with a prince for money. But according to the Emperor's way of doing things, the Overwatch Council did not give the prince any face. Fan Xian had warned him again and again last night. Deng Zi Yue was the Commissioner's trusted aide, and so he did not dare lose face in front of the prince. So, he maintained a polite expression and said, "The matter of the money will be discussed by the Emperor. But the third prince, it is best that you do not get involved in such places."
Si Qing'er, who was standing to the side, was shocked. She thought to herself that the Overwatch Council was as arrogant as the rumors said. They did not even give face to a prince.
…
…
The third prince was only eight or nine years old, but he was born into a royal family. The little boy was born with power, and his mind was not simple. He laughed coldly and said, "When did the Overwatch Council become beggars? Asking for money everywhere? How dare you not give me face? Cousin, do you know who this person is? "
As he spoke, the half-drawn curtains were pulled back to reveal a group of thugs lying in ambush. Looking at the faces of these thugs, Deng Zi Yue's expression froze. He felt that the strength of these thugs was far greater than that of the average thug.
And in front of these thugs stood two young men. One of them had a ferocious look on his face, and his right hand was bandaged. There was blood seeping from it. It was the man who had his hand pierced by Fan Xian's crossbow the night before.
Deng Zi Yue's eyelid twitched. He knew that today would not be a good day. But he looked at the person next to the young man who had his hand pierced. His face looked even worse. He was even more shocked than when he found out that the owner of the Bao Yue house was the young third prince.
He frowned and looked at the chubby young man's left cheek. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Young Master, are you also the owner of the Bao Yue house?"
This chubby young man was none other than Fan Xian's little brother, Fan Si Zhe.
Deng Zi Yue did not expect that the Bao Yue house that the commissioner wanted to investigate was owned by his own little brother.
…
…
Compared to the arrogant third prince, and compared to the thugs in the room who wanted to teach Deng Zi Yue a lesson, Fan Si Zhe's face looked particularly ugly. His face was pale, and aside from the occasional glint in his eyes, there was a fear that came from the depths of his heart.
He angrily looked at the third prince and said, "You idiot! Do you know who he is? "
The third prince was shocked. He thought to himself, "Even if you are my cousin, why are you insulting me?" He angrily retorted, "How dare you insult me!"
Fan Si Zhe gritted his teeth and took a deep breath. He knew what had happened the night before, and so today, he had brought people to take a look. These people who dared to cut off his path to riches were small characters from the 13 yamens. He did not expect them to be people from the Overwatch Council.
He closed his eyes and took two deep breaths. Looking at the third prince, he shook his head and said, "Look at what you have done!" His heart jumped, and he knew that someone was hiding something from him.
The third prince and Fan Si Zhe were cousins. At the beginning of the year, they had been persuaded to open the Bao Yue house together. Everything had been smooth sailing, and he knew that his cousin was a genius in business. But he did not understand why he was acting so strangely today. Even if they were people from the Overwatch Council, what was there to be afraid of? He was a prince, and his brother was the commissioner of the Overwatch Council.
His young face was full of confusion.
Fan Si Zhe sighed in his heart, and then he looked at Deng Zi Yue with hope. He asked, "Mister Chen from last night, was he …?"
Deng Zi Yue calmly looked at the young man. He did not know why, but he felt a little sad for Fan Si Zhe, and so he nodded.
Fan Sizhe's face was wooden. He seemed to be stunned, but his heart was quickly calculating whether or not he should kill Deng Zi Yue in front of him and then quickly escape from the Bao Yue Brothel. If his brother found out, what would happen to him?
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
