"I think you're into both guys and girls."
So flamboyant.
Li Qiong Yu snorted lightly, "I won't argue with you. Come on, this lord will take you to eat well."
Yanzhou was a border city with a mixed population, including Hu merchants smuggling from the desert and people from neighboring countries paying tribute. The streets were bustling with activity.
Ye Luan walked along the wide street, casting extra glances at the stalls on both sides.
"A'luan, look, that person is breathing fire."
"Look at the jewelry that auntie is selling, let's go take a look."
Lan Mu Rou had always stayed close to Tantai Ye and rarely had the chance to venture out. Now that no one was supervising her, she let loose completely.
She dragged Ye Luan along, browsing the small stalls on either side, excitedly picking out many pieces of jewelry. Li Qiong Yu, with a look of utter resignation, followed behind, paying for everything.
"I say, my grand ladies, I'm starving to death. Can we go eat first?"
Ye Luan chuckled at Li Qiong Yu, who was laden with items.
"Mu Rou, let's go eat first. I'm hungry too."
Hearing that both of them were hungry, Lan Mu Rou retracted her excited gaze and nodded, "Okay."
The most famous establishment in Yanzhou was the Baiwei Tower, which served many specialty dishes.
After winding through the East Market, they saw a crowd gathered at the entrance ahead, with people coming and going, making it extremely prosperous and lively.
"Whenever I came to Northern Qi before, I always ate here a few times. Their crab-stuffed oranges were exquisite."
After handing over the items he was carrying to his guards, Li Qiong Yu led the two inside the restaurant.
He skillfully led them to a private room on the second floor and ordered many dishes.
"See what you like to eat, order it yourselves."
Ye Luan only asked for a dish of perilla shrimp, as this guy had ordered too much, which was wasteful.
"After eating, I'll take you to the Fanlou to listen to music."
"Fanlou?"
Li Qiong Yu fanned himself and said with a smile, "If you don't want to listen to music, how about I take you to a pleasure house?"
It sounded like an improper place.
Ye Luan also smiled, "Alright, listening to music isn't very interesting. Are there any South Courtyards or anything? Let's go see some handsome men. I heard that Northern Qi has a lot of people who favor male partners, so there should be no shortage of business."
"Tsk." Li Qiong Yu teased, "Aren't you afraid he'll skin you alive?"
Ye Luan drank her tea, "Whatever."
Lan Mu Rou said, "I heard there's a very famous opera troupe in Yanzhou that often performs various acts at the Fanlou. Are we going to see them?"
"Yes, their water puppets are exquisite. Since we're bored, I'll take you."
The dishes at the restaurant were served quickly. After a brief chat, the food arrived. As expected of Yanzhou's famous cuisine, the colors were vibrant and the aroma was intoxicating.
Especially the steamed goose and duck ribs, which were rich and juicy, with a slight spiciness that left a lingering fragrance.
"When can we leave?"
Ye Luan took a bite of the lamb and asked Li Qiong Yu, who was drinking.
She felt a vague sense of unease, fearing some mishap.
Li Qiong Yu said, "There's been unrest in Yanjing. We can leave in a couple of days."
Upon hearing this, Ye Luan narrowed her eyes slightly, "Then what about Xie Beihan?"
"Tsk, you're not concerned about whether Xiao Chi Zhan is in trouble, but about other men."
"----" Ye Luan lowered her head to eat a dumpling, "What's there to be concerned about? He'll probably leave Northern Qi before us."
Li Qiong Yu squinted at her, "How do you know?"
"Just guessing."
"Don't worry, Xie Beihan doesn't have the time to come to the border to arrest you. There are too many affairs in the palace. Wait a couple more days, they'll reach an agreement, and we can leave the pass."
Lan Mu Rou sat quietly, eating and listening to them talk, showing no concern for Tantai Ye at all.
After the meal, Li Qiong Yu took the two to the Fanlou to listen to music, and in the evening, he took them to Shuilinglong for a pleasure boat ride and to watch performances.
In short, they spent the entire day playing.
After they were tired from their activities, Li Qiong Yu sent them back to the inn and then left.
He was dressed in a dark red close-fitting outfit, which was particularly striking in the dark night. The moonlight spilled onto his flamboyant clothes, emitting a faint, cold light.
With a creak, the door was pushed open from the inside.
The steward of the mansion saw the person who had arrived and said respectfully, "Young Master."
"She really came?"
Li Qiong Yu was smiling, as if the mask that had always been fixed on his face was torn off, revealing endless greed.
"Yes, she came to deliver information."
The old steward bowed respectfully and led the person inside.
"After our hidden spies discovered the young lady's whereabouts, they brought her back."
Since the Qixi Festival last year, the young master, who had always been indifferent to women, had suddenly gone mad, searching for a bunch of women, but soon after, all those women were driven out.
The next morning, the young master issued an order under the Kyushu Dark Pavilion, demanding a certain young lady.
Later, wherever that young lady appeared, they would secretly capture her and allow the young master to play with her.
This had become a customary practice across the regions.
"Did you knock her out?"
The steward replied, "After the young master's instructions last time, no medicine was given. She's awake."
Li Qiong Yu smiled maliciously, "Well, it's no fun if she's knocked out. I really want to hear her voice." He paused, "Where is the information?"
The steward respectfully handed over the letter tube.
After glancing at it a few times, his expression turned slightly colder.
"This old rascal, at such a critical moment, he actually let her come to deliver such dangerous items. Damnable!"
Hearing his young master's somber words, the steward's back broke out in a cold sweat, and he didn't dare to say another word.
"Where is she?"
"In the Moon Tower."
The young master was moody and particularly fond of poisonous things. Moon Towers were built in various regions specifically to store poisons.
The Moon Tower was an extremely tall palace, built in the form of a pagoda.
Upon entering, there was a circular staircase, and the creaking sound of footsteps was particularly chilling and eerie in the silent night.
Two wet nurses guarded the door on the top floor. Seeing the person arrive, they respectfully stepped aside.
Li Qiong Yu's expression was blank as he slowly pushed open the door with his jade-like fingers.
What met his eyes was a very large secret room, dim and pitch black, extremely eerie and terrifying.
It contained many animals, including snakes, scorpions, foxes, and poisonous insects. The hissing sounds mixed together, sounding incredibly frightening.
He walked past the cages and headed towards the moonlit platform outside.
The moonlit platform, as the name suggested, was an outer corridor shaped like a moon.
Outside the corridor, there was an ice-blue glazed platform.
A girl was chained to the glazed platform, her limbs bound by shackles. A white silk ribbon covered her eyes, presenting her in a sacrificial posture.
She was naked, and the bright moonlight cast upon her snow-white skin, which was spotless.
"Wh-what who?"
The woman heard the faint sound of footsteps, and her terrified voice echoed in the silent Moon Tower.
Li Qiong Yu smiled faintly, leaning lazily against the doorframe, his beautiful peach blossom eyes nakedly gazing at the woman who was forced to be chained.
Her glossy black hair cascaded onto the azure ice platform. A white silk ribbon covered the upper half of her face. Her shoulders and neck were delicate and slender, and her skin was smooth as jade, flawlessly beautiful.
His gaze was like that of someone admiring a perfect work of art, nakedly and explicitly.