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Chapter 961: Oh, a Sentimental Fool!

At once, the atmosphere in the courtyard grew distinctly unsettling.

Zhu Piaoling froze, cursing inwardly. "Damn it," he thought. "I came here on the Heavenly Lord's orders to do good, but now I've ended up the villain, tearing apart these lovebirds?"

Li Daoxuan also stiffened for a brief moment. But as a modern man, he was broad-minded and highly adaptable. He thought, "This girl seems to genuinely care for the prefect. If that's the case, I can't force her away. It would be better to let her stay and be with him."

Li Daoxuan lowered his voice, speaking in a tone only Zhu Piaoling could hear. "Give her the choice. Let her decide whether to stay or leave."

Upon receiving the "highest directive," Zhu Piaoling brightened instantly. He cleared his throat and announced, "Ah, so that's the situation! You two have feelings for each other. Our Prince of Qin's Mansion is very reasonable, especially His Highness the Heir Apparent, who is the most fair-minded person. So, Xue'er, the decision is entirely yours. If you wish to stay, the Prince of Qin's Mansion will not buy you."

The Suzhou prefect beamed with delight.

Zhu Piaoling turned to the madam. "This girl is quite beautiful, I think. You owe me eighty taels back."

The madam began fumbling for the money...

However, just as everyone expected Xue'er to choose to stay, the sorrowful expression on her face suddenly vanished, replaced by a blank, emotionless gaze. "This humble concubine is willing to enter the Prince of Qin's Mansion," she declared.

Zhu Piaoling was also bewildered. "Why?"

Even Li Daoxuan was greatly surprised. "What the hell is going on?"

Xue'er's expression was utterly calm. The sorrow and deep affection from moments before seemed entirely feigned. She turned to the Suzhou prefect, her face impassive. "Prefect," she stated, "you just said we've been together for many years, yet... you've never once thought of buying my freedom."

The Suzhou prefect spluttered, speechless.

Everyone gasped.

Xue'er continued, "Every day in this Pear Garden, this humble concubine must entertain several batches of guests – singing for them, drinking with them, writing poetry, painting. I spend my days plastering on a smile, living like a dog. Prefect, do you truly believe you are any different from those other guests? If you truly were, why didn't you buy my freedom? Why didn't you take me as your concubine? My demands weren't high; I never dared to aspire to the position of primary wife. All I wanted was to stop forcing smiles for guests, to leave the Pear Garden, to become a demure concubine in your prefectural garden, yet even that simple wish was denied."

The crowd was left speechless.

Xue'er spread her hands. "I had intended to leave you with a beautiful memory, Prefect," she explained. "To let you believe that even after we parted, there was a woman in this world who adored you. But what kind of farce are you trying to stage now?"

She continued, expressionlessly, "Finally, this humble concubine can leave the Pear Garden and live a peaceful life in the Prince's Mansion's back garden. As long as I don't compete for favor with other concubines or make enemies in the inner court, I could peacefully spend the rest of my life enjoying music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Wouldn't that be wonderful? Yet... you still wish to keep me in the Pear Garden, to visit me only when you occasionally remember me. And when I'm out of your mind, should I continue to fawn over other men here?"

The Suzhou prefect was dumbfounded, his lips trembling, unable to utter a word for a long while.

The thirty-four courtesans nearby all had very strange expressions on their faces.

Zhu Piaoling froze for several seconds, then suddenly burst into loud laughter. "Hahahaha! Hahahaha! Amusing! Fascinating! I've... I've truly learned another lesson today! This is so interesting, hahahaha!"

He truly felt happy. It was indeed right to come out and see the world.

If he hadn't come out, how would he ever know what a courtesan truly thought? Hearing her accusations now, it was as if a new world had opened up to him.

No wonder the Heavenly Lord wanted me to save these girls!

These girls genuinely needed saving.

No matter how glamorous their lives in the brothel appeared, it was only superficial glamour.

Those high officials and noble lords who swore they loved them—how many truly cared for them?

Just as Xue'er said, if you truly loved her, why didn't you buy her freedom? Don't just talk big, dammit! If you truly loved someone, could you bear to see her smiling and entertaining other guests every day? Wouldn't you be jealous? Wouldn't you feel like you were being cuckolded?

You could accept it only because you never truly cared for her.

Zhu Piaoling's tone turned fierce as he snapped at the Suzhou prefect. "Get out of my sight! If you dare to cast another glance at Xue'er, believe me, I'll submit an impeachment memorial. The Emperor will dismiss you from office, arrest you, and send you to Ningxia to herd horses!"

The Suzhou prefect was startled and stumbled back several steps.

Even the eunuch from the capital couldn't help but shake his head, glancing at the Suzhou prefect with disdain. He thought to himself, "We eunuchs, if we enter a 'paired meal' relationship with a palace maid in the palace, we would cherish her dearly. We'd want to give her every good thing we possessed, not like this fellow, so full of feigned affection."

Xue'er curtsied gracefully to Zhu Piaoling. "Thank you, Manager, for standing up for Xue'er."

Zhu Piaoling chuckled. "You, woman, are truly formidable! If I were the Heir Apparent, I truly wouldn't dare take you as a concubine. I fear it wouldn't be long before all the other concubines in the inner court were eliminated by you, and the position of the Heir Apparent's Consort would surely be yours."

Xue'er said softly, "Manager, you jest. I just said I would never compete for favor in the inner court. I only wish for a quiet life, to spend the rest of my days in peace."

Zhu Piaoling nodded. "Indeed! What you desire will surely come true."

With Xue'er's outburst, the thirty or forty courtesans stopped pretending. They quickly rushed to stand behind Zhu Piaoling.

Zhu Piaoling stood up. "Let's go!"

"Mhm!"

The group swaggered out of the Pear Garden.

The Suzhou prefect, his face ashen, watched them disappear into the distance.

After they had gone some distance, Xue'er, the boldest among them, asked Zhu Piaoling, "Manager, where are we going now? Are we traveling to Shaanxi by carriage?"

Zhu Piaoling chuckled. "Traveling to Shaanxi by carriage would be a death sentence. We'll go to Anqing first and find a large ship to take us to Shaanxi from there."

"By ship?"

The courtesans collectively breathed a sigh of relief. These days, the Central Plains were in chaos, and traveling through them to Shaanxi by carriage was little different from seeking death. What's more, they were all beautiful women with almost zero combat ability; even if they bravely resisted, all they could do was 'excite the ruffians.' If they fell into the hands of bandits, their fate would likely be worse than death.

The women began to fantasize about hiding away in the Prince's Mansion's inner court, no longer having to entertain all sorts of guests, and only having to deal with the Heir Apparent himself—how much easier that would be.

However, among this large group of women, only Chen Yuanyuan's attention wasn't on the Prince's Mansion at all, but entirely on the embroidered image on Zhu Piaoling's chest.

Just moments ago, while Xue'er and the prefect were performing their emotional scene, she seemed to have seen it again: the embroidery appeared to be speaking, and Zhu Piaoling seemed to be listening... but she couldn't be sure.