After Being Mistakenly Taken for a Fellow Traveler by Emperor Long Aotian - Chapter 52

The crowd outside was still noisy. Zhou Xun massaged his ankle, gritting his teeth, carefully checking its condition.

After a while, he finally got used to the pain in his ankle—perhaps because the pain had become numb, or maybe because he had learned to endure it. Supporting himself against the wooden wall, he gathered his strength, trying to stand up.

Just as he was about to rise, his gaze slid down and caught sight of a mask someone had left there.

It was an unremarkable fox mask. Zhou Xun had seen an old man shaking a palm fan and selling these masks by the roadside when the carriage passed through the street earlier. In the crowd, a few people had been wearing these masks, probably to avoid being recognized while frequenting the brothels.

Zhou Xun hesitated as he stared at the mask.

In the bustling Flower Street, he might run into someone he knew, or someone who knew him… Being misunderstood as frequenting such a place was really…

After some thought, he eventually reached out, picked up the mask, and put it on his face.

In the distance, at a restaurant.

“I wasn’t lying, was I?” His friend smiled. “I told you, the beauties of Yunyun Lane are different from elsewhere. They are the most beautiful in the whole capital… no, in all of the Great Jing. Look at that flower carriage. The person sitting on it is the courtesan chosen as the most beautiful this year from Yunyun Lane.”

“Yunyun Lane” was a collective term for many streets and alleys in this area. Yunyun Lane was home to countless brothels, housing thousands of geishas, singers, dancers, and even beautiful young men. Many sons of officials, talented scholars, and wandering swordsmen frequented this place, drinking and mingling with the talented and beautiful geishas.

“Every year, the most beautiful courtesan is chosen and called the Heavenly Maiden. Of course, Nan Feng Street does not participate in this selection. The Heavenly Maiden’s parade is a regular event in Yunyun Lane, where all the guests come to admire her unparalleled beauty…” His friend spoke enthusiastically, sounding like a seasoned visitor.

However, the young man sitting opposite him seemed entirely uninterested. He showed no sign of joy, only saying in a deep voice, “Is this how you relax in the evening?”

His friend pushed him, laughing, “You’ve been at the border for so long. The northern frontier is so harsh, you probably haven’t seen a beautiful woman in years. Now that you’re finally back in the capital and busy with military funds every day, you don’t even get to go home. I’ve visited you several times, but you were either at the Ministry of War or out at Shenji Camp. Now that things have finally settled, I brought you out to have some fun, and you’re still frowning. Aren’t you wasting my good intentions?”

The young man opposite was indeed Xie Zhengqing, and the friend who was now chatting with him incessantly was the same childhood friend who had once tried to dissuade Zhou Xun from joining the army. Now, several years later, Xie Zhengqing had returned from the frontier, while his friend was still living a carefree life in the capital. Xie Zhengqing replied, “If you had told me earlier that we were coming here, I wouldn’t have come. After working hard in the camp for several days, I would rather have a good sleep at home!”

He didn’t like this place and made it obvious. His friend said, “You must be tired of the camp by now! By the way, A Cai has been looking for you these past few days. Now that you’re free, why don’t you send him a message?”

Xie Zhengqing was stunned. “What happened to A Cai?”

He had been so busy with camp affairs that he didn’t know Zhou Cai was looking for him. His friend noticed his reaction and felt a bit annoyed. “What? Something serious happened in his family, and you don’t know anything about it?”

“I…”

Xie Zhengqing wanted to say he had been busy with important matters at the camp, but he felt that would diminish Zhou Cai’s issue. Respecting his friend, he stayed silent.

His friend, thinking he was feeling guilty, continued, “A Cai’s brother, I’ve met him. He’s a kid, impatient and likes to play the hero. When it happened, it was an accident, and the situation wasn’t clear. They had a bit of an argument, and he pushed someone without meaning to. The merchant who was pushed has recovered and is fine. They could have resolved it with an apology and compensation, but the merchant insisted on suing, and Jiang Wei has it out for A Cai. That girl, Shangguan Mingjing, is jealous of A Cai, and her father, Shangguan Tai, is using this opportunity for personal revenge. It’s all just…”

“A Cai’s brother has been in the imperial prison for half a month. Shangguan Tai is deliberately delaying the trial to make him suffer, clearly to humiliate A Cai!” His friend said angrily, “But I’m just a playboy and can’t do anything to help!”

Xie Zhengqing was hearing the details of this for the first time. He realized that ever since his last brief encounter with Zhou Cai in front of the Xie residence, all this had happened in the past ten days.

The last time he had returned from the palace, he had run into Zhou Cai at the gate. Zhou Cai mentioned Zhou Xun, worried about him being humiliated… Xie Zhengqing had been in a daze then and hadn’t had time to talk much. He had just briefly told him there might be some misunderstanding between him and Zhou Xun.

Misunderstanding, another misunderstanding. The misunderstandings between Lu Xiandao and Zhou Cai, Zhou Xun and Zhou Cai. In Xie Zhengqing’s mind, Lu Xiandao was a good person, Zhou Xun was a good person, and Zhou Cai was a good person. He had a bit of a motherly nature, feeling the need to resolve misunderstandings between good people.

Right! Xie Zhengqing suddenly remembered.

He frowned.

His friend thought he was worried about Zhou Cai and smiled wryly, “A Cai knows this is because of Shangguan Tai’s personal grudge. He didn’t want to involve you, so he didn’t come to you. I’ve seen him walk to the Xie residence gate several times but leave worried, not wanting to bother you. We’re the only ones who can help him now.”

Xie Zhengqing, deep in thought about the misunderstandings between Lu Xun and Zhou Cai, nodded. “You’re right. I must help him.”

His friend sighed with relief and was about to say something when he heard Xie Zhengqing continue, “I know A Cai is a righteous person. He values brotherhood but also understands that personal feelings shouldn’t interfere with justice. I respect his principles.”

Friend: ?

“So, I can only do what I can from the sidelines,” Xie Zhengqing said.

His friend was pleased and smiled. They exchanged a look, everything understood without words.

The Heavenly Maiden’s flower carriage gradually approached the restaurant below them. His friend craned his neck to look. He nudged Xie Zhengqing, “Look, isn’t she beautiful? Keep that numbered token safe. Tonight, the Heavenly Maiden will choose one person to spend the night with.”

His words were suggestive, but Xie Zhengqing showed no interest. He didn’t look at the Heavenly Maiden, his gaze instead scanning the crowd until it settled on one spot.

Following his gaze, there was a person in white, sitting quietly, wearing a mask, and holding an ankle. With long black hair, they looked like one of the women from the brothel.

Meanwhile, the flower carriage slowly passed his position.

From a balcony draped with bead curtains came the faint sound of a string instrument.

The Heavenly Maiden looked up, her gaze falling on Xie Zhengqing in the restaurant. However, his attention was elsewhere.

At the same time, inside the beaded curtain, a young man in purple retracted his hand from the instrument and gave a strange smile towards Xie Zhengqing, several feet away.

Just as Zhou Xun was getting lost in the crowd, the emperor’s carriage rushed to the scene. The emperor watched Zhou Xun disappear into the crowd, letting out a low cry as if witnessing a ten-car pileup.

“Find him!!” The emperor rolled up his sleeves impatiently. “Search for him now!!”

“Your Majesty!” The secret guard tried to dissuade him. “Your Majesty, the crowd is dense here, it’s not safe for you to show yourself…”

The emperor thought for a moment. “You’re right.”

He grabbed a mask from a nearby stall and put it on. “How about this?”

Secret guard: …

Zhou Xun struggled to stand up.

He leaned against the wall, his previously tied-up hair now loose. Zhou Xun had no doubt that even ten years from now, this would be a memory he would not want to revisit.

Fortunately, the mask on his face hid some of his embarrassment. As long as he could get out of here, return to the palace, and discard the mask… no one would know that someone like him, who seemed so aloof, had been here.

His right ankle still hurt, but it was better than before. Just as he was about to put weight on it, he heard a voice that made him freeze.

“Young lady… Miss, have you seen someone? About this tall, this thin, big eyes, very pale, looks very weak?”

Zhou Xun: …

The last voice he wanted to hear appeared.

The emperor’s voice came from behind him. Zhou Xun faced away from him, staying silent. He stared at the ground, wishing he could disappear into it.

…Why was the emperor here?! Shouldn’t he be back at the palace?!

Countless questions rushed through Zhou Xun’s mind, but they all condensed into one thought.

The emperor must have been searching for him in the crowd, desperate and trying anything, and had mistaken Zhou Xun, in his current disheveled state, for a woman in the dark night.

Zhou Xun: …

No matter what, he couldn’t let the emperor know he had come here!

The emperor watched the “woman” in front of him turn around.

“She” clutched her throat, facing him, and firmly shook her head.

“You are…”

Damn it!!!

As he recognized the person in front of him, the emperor’s words from moments earlier echoed in his mind.

The emperor: …

It seemed Zhou Xun didn’t want to recognize him either. If that was the case…

The emperor suddenly had a brilliant idea.

He decided that they should pretend not to know each other!

This was the best way to avoid embarrassment!

The word “Xun” twisted awkwardly in the emperor’s throat and turned into another term.

“You’re mute? No worries, I can help you!”

Zhou Xun: …

Did the emperor really not recognize him? And why was he so enthusiastic towards someone he had just met?