Chapter 297: Tingxiang Pavilion

Chapter 297: Listening to Fragrance Pavilion

Guo Wanzhen didn't know as much as Bian Erxing, but she provided a very crucial clue—Bian Erxing... had actually lost his mind long ago.

Song Tingzhou pressed further: "What do you mean by mad? Driven mad by someone? Beaten into madness, or did he just go mad for no reason?"

Guo Wanzhen sank into recollection, gradually revealing a fearful expression. "I don't know. He was the steward of the Bian household, and the master thought highly of him. He'd always had a bad temper at home. Then one day, out of the blue, he went mad—hitting people, biting people. When he was in a good mood, he was attentive to me and the child; when he was in a bad mood, he'd want to strangle us."

Song Tingzhou lifted his brush to record something on paper, his expression grim and taut. "Did Bian Erxing act this way before or after what happened to the Bian family?"

Guo Wanzhen tried hard to recall. "Before the master died, I think he had one episode... no, not exactly. That time his eyes were red, but he didn't lay a hand on me. Later, after we were sold off, it became more and more frequent." As she spoke, her eyes darted away, a hint of guilt in them.

Song Tingzhou's brush hovered in the air. He let Guo Wanzhen's unspoken words slide and asked another question instead. "You said the master valued Bian Erxing—how exactly? Did Bian Erxing ever tell you anything about Master Bian's affairs?"

Guo Wanzhen shook her head. "Erxing kept his mouth shut. He never talked about what the master entrusted to him, and he wouldn't tell me either. So whenever the master went out to meet friends or go on long trips, he'd bring Erxing along."

Back then, because of Bian Erxing, she'd enjoyed a fair bit of respect in the household. Other servants envied their family, and there were even young maids who, to make life easier for themselves, would fool around with Bian Erxing for small favors. Guo Wanzhen knew all about it, but there was nothing she could do.

Song Tingzhou's brush came to a slight pause. "Meet friends? Did Master Bian often meet friends?"

"The master loved company and often went out to meet with close friends." When it came to things everyone knew, Guo Wanzhen was still in the know.

"Where did Master Bian go to meet his friends?"

Before Guo Wanzhen could answer, a Vice-Prefect in the hall suddenly spoke up: "Your Honor, Xiao Lü went out with Master Bian twice—he might remember something too."

Song Tingzhou turned and gave him a slight nod. This Vice-Prefect was none other than Ma Wudi, father of Second Brother Nie's husband. Capital officials were hard to transfer, and this Vice-Prefect Ma, already in his forties or fifties, remained stuck in his position, probably never going to be transferred in his lifetime.

Speaking of which, whether through Lin Yi or Teacher Nie, the two were closely connected. Yet in the prefectural office, they kept their interactions deliberately distant. Song Tingzhou had never openly granted Vice-Prefect Ma any privileges, treating all six Vice-Prefects equally, so nobody knew they were close.

Right then, Vice-Prefect Ma was subtly tipping Song Tingzhou off.

Vice-Prefect Lü hadn't wanted to wade into these murky waters, and being pushed out now, he shot Vice-Prefect Ma a resentful glare.

Vice-Prefect Ma kept his eyes down, refusing to meet his gaze.

"Vice-Prefect Lü." Song Tingzhou said in a deep voice.

Though he hadn't been in office long, he acted with decisive efficiency. Having been through a lot and seen much of the world, his brow carried a heavy, imposing dignity.

The officials of the prefectural office were a shrewd bunch, knowing Song Tingzhou wasn't to be trifled with. No one dared cross him.

Lü thought for a moment and replied, "Your Honor, I once saw Master Bian on Yongle Street. He did have a servant with him at the time."

"Yongle Street? Where is that?" Song Tingzhou went back and forth daily between Shichun Lane, the prefectural office, and the imperial palace. He was familiar with the counties under his jurisdiction but still somewhat unfamiliar with the city streets.

The Vice-Prefect looked a bit uncomfortable, but he dared not withhold information. "Your Honor, it was Tingxiang Pavilion."

Song Tingzhou, imposing in his crimson robes, looked at him with cold eyes, his deep black pupils seeming capable of seeing right through a person.

A chill went down the Vice-Prefect's spine. His survival instinct made him wisely add the rest. "Your Honor, Tingxiang Pavilion is a famous brothel in the capital. I only stopped outside the building."

"Yes, that's right, I remember now—it was Tingxiang Pavilion. Erxing went there with the old master." No matter how tight-lipped Bian Erxing was, he'd inadvertently let something slip to his bed partner. Guo Wanzhen truly hadn't remembered before, but the moment the Vice-Prefect said the name, it all came back to her.

"Saddle up. Change into plain clothes and come with me to Tingxiang Pavilion."

When Guo Wanzhen had no more useful information to give, Song Tingzhou decisively rose from his seat, summoned the Vice-Prefect and Xue Sheng—who had been following him since entering the capital—and they all changed into plain clothes before heading to Tingxiang Pavilion.

Yongle Street lived up to its name; the whole street was a playground for eating, drinking, and having fun, beloved by the young gentlemen of Shengjing. At the street's end stood Tingxiang Pavilion, composed of three low buildings and a row of single-story rooms, named Tinglan, Xiangxue, and Xieting.

Xieting was the two-story structure at the very back, beautifully built over the Jade River. Open the window and you'd see a lake below. It was also the most expensive—only the highest officials and nobles could enter.

Song Tingzhou hadn't brought much silver with him and had to borrow money from colleagues at the yamen. The prefectural office had six Vice-Prefects; the one accompanying him was Lü Su, who managed grain storage—the youngest and most capable of the six, just twenty-seven years old. He'd been promoted often even back when Master Bian was in charge.

New rulers bring in new officials. Though the prefectural office wasn't the imperial court, as a pivotal yamen it was fully staffed, with everyone harboring different ambitions—some seeking advancement, some hoping to transfer, and some older ones just wanting to coast until retirement.

Vice-Prefect Lü was young and clearly wasn't one of those. Yet as an "old hand" who'd been favored by Master Bian, he followed behind Song Tingzhou looking especially uneasy, head bowed and silent, playing the role of Song Tingzhou's servant.

Tingxiang Pavilion differed from ordinary brothels. There were no women soliciting at the entrance—only two burly bouncers standing straight and a doorman dozing at a table in the gatehouse.

Xue Sheng's former opera troupe had many actors who, lonely and restless, would spend their earnings at brothels until they went broke. He walked ahead of Song Tingzhou, steps light and nimble, without waking the sleeping doorman.

"Hey, gatekeeper—we've got customers." Xue Sheng knocked sharply twice on the window frame.

The doorman first muttered impatiently, "What time is this to be coming to a brothel? Tingxiang Pavilion's entry fee is two taels."

He looked up, still bleary-eyed, and his eyes landed not on Xue Sheng, who was closest, but on the tall man a few steps away.

Broad-shouldered, narrow-waisted, with sharp brows and striking eyes—when he noticed the doorman looking, he examined him with an icy stare.

The doorman instinctively swallowed, then noticed the jade ornament at the man's waist—a so-so piece of green jade.

His racing heart calmed a little. He repeated his earlier words, though in a much more polite tone: "Entry fee, two taels."

Xue Sheng frowned. "I heard you. Take it." He fished two taels of silver from his pouch and tossed them to the doorman.

A mere entry fee of two taels—no wonder it was called a money pit.

The doorman hefted the silver in his hand and casually dropped it into the coin box beside him. Perhaps sensing that Song Tingzhou was someone special, he added a tip: "At this hour, the girls have just woken up. Give them about half an hour to finish dressing. You three can head inside and grab a good spot."

The first building inside was Tinglan Tower, and as the doorman said, only two older madams were there, eating melon seeds and chatting.

"Oh, where's this handsome young gentleman from? You want to sit inside or outside?" Since they made money off the brothel, the madams greeted customers with far more enthusiasm than the doorman, though their smiles were fake, with no real warmth.

"What does 'sitting in the hall' mean?" Song Tingzhou asked calmly, his tone less like someone visiting a brothel and more like a scholar researching a topic.

"First time here, young master?" The madams got even more curious, waving their handkerchiefs as they approached, only to be blocked by Xue Sheng. "This is our master, not a young gentleman."

The madams laughed even harder. A master was even better—masters spent more freely than young gentlemen.

It wasn't just Tingxiang Pavilion—all the top brothels in Shengjing had rules. The entry fee was just the price of admission. Once inside the brothel gate, you could only sit in the courtyard, where two rows of tables stood. The back row was free with the entry fee, but the front row, closest to the door, cost extra.

Why?

Because inside the door, singing girls and dancing girls performed. Whether you could see the beautiful women—that was the difference between sitting inside or outside.

The next tier up was the second-floor private seats, reserved for wealthy young gentlemen who threw money around, tipping at least five taels at a time—a world apart from the patrons downstairs who quibbled over two or three taels. Of course, the doormen and madams preferred serving them.

Song Tingzhou walked around the courtyard. Inside Tinglan Tower before him hung three portraits of beauties, with small text beneath—illegible from outside, but presumably depicting the top courtesans of Tinglan Tower.

Passing through the arched gate beside Tinglan Tower, further in lay Xiangxue Tower, similar in layout, except the portraits hanging there were of young men, each with a red mole on their face. One of them had a mole remarkably close to where Meng Wan's was—though slightly nearer to the outer corner of the eye, a perfect teardrop mole. That young man was also alluring, with a seductive, flirtatious look.

"Does the young master like the young men of Xiangxue Tower? Ordinary ones are fine, but our three top courtesans aren't for just anyone." The madam of Xiangxue Tower smiled as she came out to greet them. She had a kind face, no heavy makeup, and spoke slowly and pleasantly, which wasn't off-putting.

Song Tingzhou pointed to the most elegant little building on the Jade River. "I want to go there. How much silver?"

A gate stood on the path leading to the small building, with a row of single-story rooms in front. People frequently passed by the gate, but nobody went in or out.

The madam froze for a moment, then her smile deepened. "The young master wants to go to Xieting? That place is reserved exclusively for Tingxiang Pavilion's flower queen. Money is useless there—and as for power, unless you're royalty, our flower queen only sees people she considers destined."

Song Tingzhou remained indifferent, showing neither a desire to meet the beauty nor any worldly craving. He asked coolly, "What counts as fate?"

The madam tucked her freezing red hands into her sleeves. "Naturally, it means someone the flower queen herself personally invites in."

—What a useless thing to say.

Song Tingzhou turned and walked away. The madam of Fragrant Snow Tower stopped him. "Young master, why not wait a moment? The music and dance in the tower are about to begin."

She wasn't wrong—the two madams at Tinglan Tower were already busy greeting guests, but they still wouldn't put down their melon seeds.

Song Tingzhou suddenly tossed a small piece of silver to the madam of Fragrant Snow Tower. "Where do you get your melon seeds?"

The madam took the silver, stunned. "Huh?"

Later, Song Tingzhou headed back to Shichun Lane, lugging two big bags of melon seeds.

Meng Wan asked, puzzled, "What made you want to buy melon seeds? It's the dead of winter—they'll freeze your hands."

Song Tingzhou was about to answer when he saw A Yan beside him, watching him with those peach blossom eyes just like Meng Wan's, looking at him curiously, like he was waiting for an answer.

"Cough, it's nothing. Heard this place has good dried fruit, so I grabbed some for you." Song Tingzhou cleared his throat and handed the things to A Yan.

A Yan grabbed them and started ripping the bag open. "Good dried fruit? Are they as good as the ones from Dad's workshop?"

Song Tingzhou wanted to get rid of him, so he said, "Take a bag to your grandma. Your dads will be over for dinner soon."

A Yan looked at Meng Wan, then at Song Tingzhou. "Oh, okay. Hurry up, then—Grandma said dinner's been ready for ages."

Once A Yan was gone, Meng Wan caught on. "What's going on?"

Song Tingzhou swapped his official robes for a thick, soft cotton gown at home, then told him everything that had happened at the Ministry of Justice and what he'd seen later at Tingxiangxie.

"So even money can't get you in?" Meng Wan was quite intrigued.

Song Tingzhou pressed a cool finger to Meng Wan's lips in warning. "Don't go alone. A brothel that can secretly lure an imperial official is no ordinary place."

Meng Wan took his hand and kissed it, and they both smiled, their eyes full of shared amusement. "I know. I won't do anything rash unless I'm sure."

"Oh, by the way, I wrote to Huang Zheng to check on Guo Wanzhen and Bian Erxing. I still think there's something off about them." Meng Wan was going half on instinct, half on the little details he'd noticed.

Song Tingzhou had dealt with Guo Wanzhen more. "When she saw Bian Erxing's body, she wasn't all that upset. Based on her testimony, what about his strange illness... How's her son doing now?"

"The fever's gone down. Yue Mei's watching him in the gatehouse." Actually, Meng Wan had been thinking about something ever since Song Tingzhou brought up Guo Wanzhen's testimony.

"Quick to anger, restless, and prone to addiction—though we can't confirm that last one yet, Bian Erxing's symptoms are eerily similar to Lord Shen's when I was on Gibo Island. But those two are a world apart—there's no way Bian Erxing went to Gibo Island too, right? Could Xiao Ci's master have come to the capital? But the timing doesn't line up."

That sorcerer was truly like a demon, exceptionally skilled at winning people over. His martial arts might not have been formidable, but his mastery of poison-making was enough to make anyone pale at the mere mention.

Song Tingzhou showed little concern. He said calmly, "No need to worry for now. The path ahead will reveal itself."

In the latter half of the night, even the boisterous brothel gradually quieted down, yet the lights in that mysterious tower never went out.

"What's the background of that man who came today? Have they investigated him thoroughly?" A stunningly beautiful woman leaned half against the railing, asking.

The madam who had spoken with Song Tingzhou stood respectfully at the door. Her voice was low but clear. "Reporting to the mistress, the men below have checked. He's the newly appointed magistrate of Shuntian Prefecture, said to have been transferred back from Lingnan."

The stunning woman was not made up, her hair loose over a pristine white cloak, the cinnabar-red polish on her fingers catching the eye. "Lingnan? I think I know. Interesting. Does he want to see me? Or is it about Bian Huanren's matter?"

The madam stood silently outside the door, offering no answer.

The woman indeed needed no reply. She murmured to herself, "Not a single one of those sent to kill the Bian family's servants came back alive. Who knows who's hiding behind all this? Let's test the waters first. After all, we can't let what happened to the Bian family affect Tingxiangxie."