Chapter 82
He walked past the market, and he could hear how crowded it was. Sellers tried to sell their goods at high prices, but customers tried to get the lowest prices by bargaining.
That kind of thing was normal. Even the rich with fat pockets still wanted to get the cheapest price when they came to the market to buy something, and the sellers looked annoyed when people in nice clothes still acted like that in front of poor people like them.
The lively conversation in the market entered his ears, but he didn’t pay any attention to it as he continued walking somewhere.
There was a red building not far from the market, and the appearance of the building was in stark contrast to the market which looked dirty and smelly.
The red building stood proudly there regardless of its poor surroundings, and the man’s brown eyes were fixed on the building.
There was no denying that the red building was the largest in the area. The other buildings looked humble compared to the red building, and maybe that was also the reason why they had quite a number of visitors.
He could see several men entering the building, and he knew that those men would rather buy ‘something’ inside the building than at the market.
Seeing how the horny men were still visiting the building even though it was still broad daylight, the man in red smirked as he continued walking towards the building. He did want to visit that building too, but his goal would not be the same as those horny men.
.....
The door was wide open when he arrived at the place, indicating that such a place was a legal business in the area. It could even stay open in broad daylight in such a busy district, and it showed that the building was powerful in that area.
In fact, the place wasn’t even far from the imperial palace of the human empire, but the owner of the place didn’t seem afraid of the people in the palace.
The doors of the red building were kept open whether it was day or night, and people could also enter the place freely as long as they were adults with money.
Of course. Money could indeed buy anything, and people could even buy humans in the red building.
When his feet finally stepped into the red building, he could see that the place was as lively as the market. Even if he didn’t see any women in the building, the presence of men of any kind in the building managed to create a lively atmosphere.
“Oho! Look who just returned to my pavilion!” Someone suddenly shouted, and the voice was loud enough, successfully attracting the attention of the people in the building.
Due to his loud voice, the people who were previously busy with their ‘business’ now turned towards the person who dared to make such a loud noise within the building.
They fixed their eyes on a man wearing a pink hanfu who had just shouted loudly, but the man paid no attention to them as he continued walking towards the man who had just arrived at the pavilion.
The man indeed just stopped walking inside the pavilion, and he was even still standing near the entrance.
“I thought our Zhu Ge would forget me forever after he managed to get into the Prince’s pants,” the pink-robed man stopped in front of the man in red who was called ‘Zhu Ge,’ and he even used his bony finger to touch the taller man’s chin.
But, Zhu Ge immediately slapped the finger as he glared at the other man. “Who said I managed to get into the Prince’s pants? I didn’t expect the Prince to act so expensively in front of me.”
Hearing Zhu Ge’s statement, the man in the pink robes formed an “O” shape with his lips. “Did Yu Ming hear wrong? Why did the seductive Prince refuse to let you in his pants? I thought he was crazy about you?”
Zhu Ge rolled his eyes after hearing Yu Ming’s question, and he ignored it as he continued walking toward the table inside the pavilion and sat down on one of the chairs.
Just like a little rabbit, Yu Ming made small jumps as he followed the taller man. Placing his butt on the chair opposite Zhu Ge, he frowned as he studied the man’s expression.
“You failed to get into the Prince’s pants, but it seems that your mood is not that terrible,” Yu Ming commented.
Hearing that comment, Zhu Ge smirked at the other man. “You think so?” He jokingly asked the man.
Yu Ming knew Zhu Ge quite well, and that was why he could read the meaning behind the man’s question. “Something good happened even if you couldn’t get into his pants, right? Did you finally manage to get what you wanted?” He asked back instead of answering.
Yu Ming was very excited, but Zhu Ge remained with his playful expression. “As I told you before, I managed to attract Prince Bai Chen’s attention, and I even managed to get a job as his servant in his palace. But, it won’t be easy to get what I want since Prince Bai Chen doesn’t even live in the Imperial Palace.”
When Bai Chen asked Zhu Ge to tell Yu Ming that he would start working as a servant in the palace, Zhu Ge said that he didn’t have to. However, unbeknownst to Bai Chen, Zhu Ge had told everything to Yu Ming in secret.
“You know about it, but you still chose Prince Bai Chen as your target,” Yu Ming commented again.
“What do you expect from this situation?” Zhu Ge annoyedly asked the man. “You know that I have to infiltrate the palace to get what I want, and Bai Chen is the easiest target. Do you want me to approach Bai Renshu when he isn’t even interested in another man’s dick?”
Perhaps Zhu Ge was indeed annoyed by the question, and he even spoke like that about the Prince and Crown Prince of the Dong Lang Empire.
Yu Ming had expected the black-haired man would react like that, and he couldn’t help but sigh before replying, “Then, you will return to Prince Bai Chen’s palace after this?”
“Yes,” replied Zhu Ge without hesitation. “Even if it’s not easy for me to enter the Imperial Palace with just help from him, he’s quite interesting, and I want to play with him a bit.”
Before this, Yu Ming thought that he knew Zhu Ge quite well, but Zhu Ge who was sitting in front of him suddenly showed a strange expression that he had never seen before.
For some reason, he thought that he saw the spark in Zhu Ge’s eyes when he spoke of Prince Bai Chen, and he didn’t know what flash it was.
Yu Ming felt like he saw a blurry image in front of him, and he shook his head before asking, “So, you’re going back to Prince Bai Chen’s palace in two weeks?”
The fact that a full moon night would affect werewolves was also known to Yu Ming, and when Zhu Ge heard the question, he didn’t look surprised by it.
“No,” it was Yu Ming who looked surprised when Zhu Ge’s answer greeted his ears. “I haven’t told you about this yet, but the old man wants me to go home in two weeks. I need to do something for him, so I can’t go back to Prince Bai Chen’s palace right away.”
“Your father called you? That’s quite a shock, ah? But yeah, gold and silver nests can’t beat one’s family kennel[1],” Yu Ming asked in surprise, but then he smirked as he teased.
“Not really a surprise,” replied Zhu Ge with a shrug. “I know what I have to do for him, and that’s also very interesting.”
Once again, Yu Ming’s forehead was wrinkled after Zhu Ge answered his question. He was about to question the man further, but he couldn’t because a man suddenly approached their table.
“You laoban,” the man’s voice sounded in the air as he smiled until his eyes formed a twin crescent moon. “I see that you are chatting with a handsome man here. How much should I pay for this handsome man?” He dared to ask the Red Pavilion boss while glancing at Zhu Ge, who was sitting across from the boss.
Hearing the sudden question, Yu Ming looked amused as he looked at the man. “So, you want to buy this man, ah?” He asked back while pointing at Zhu Ge who looked bored. The unknown man nodded, and Yu Ming continued, “Unfortunately, this man is not one of the hares belonging to the Red Pavilion, and perhaps you would even be surprised if you knew who he was.”
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Footnote:
[1] Gold and silver nests can’t beat one’s family kennel: form Chinese proverb means “East, west, home is best.”