Chapter 302: Deserted Street

By the fourth day, an anecdote had spread in the streets.

That is, a strange alchemist came to the Privy Council. He would spend a lot of time every day wandering around the brothels and incense shops. He also patronized a surprising number of women at the same time, and he would order dozens of them at a time. In order to entertain this distinguished guest, the normal business of some brothels was affected, so that when the doors were opened at the appointed time, other guests could not find any free girls.

This was simply a vulgar act that was despised by everyone!

It is understandable that high-ranking officials and wealthy merchants have some unusual habits. At least they entertain themselves behind closed doors, and they would not be as ostentatious as this person. The key is that although he orders a lot of girls, he rarely shows mercy to one person. Often, there are as many people as he enters the wing room as when he comes out, as if no woman has ever won his heart. This wasteful practice is undoubtedly adding fuel to the fire.

There are even rumors in the streets that the patrons want to boycott this person collectively.

The brothels have another attitude.

Most well-informed madams already knew Xia Fan's style. If they didn't want to offend the Privy Council, sending one or two girls away was an acceptable price. So much so that when Xia Fan just arrived at the door of the brothel, the shop owner had already summoned the girls to wait in the room in advance.

Since it was unavoidable, it would be better to let him finish his talk as soon as possible, so as not to delay the next business - this was also the consensus of most shop owners.

In order to avoid the top girls being poached, some madams would even prepare a few new girls with strong resistance and disobedience, or old girls who were ignored, and send them directly to Xia Fan. The more generous ones even waived the redemption fee directly, just to get a favor from the Privy Council.

Xia Fan was naturally happy to see it happen.

Anyway, it would not be him who would repay the favor at that time.

"Today's briefing... No, that's all for the talent recruitment. If you're interested in going to Jinxia City, you can come and talk to me in detail."

"Thank you for your kindness, sir." The girls stood up and saluted as if they had been told, and then filed out.

"Is it over?" Fang Xiandao poked his head out from the inner room.

"Well, the next step is to sign the three-party agreement."

"Three parties... what?" Fang Xiandao frowned slightly, but soon said with relief, "Forget it, tomorrow is the day of the ceremony, and we can go back to Jinxia soon."

"Indeed." Xia Fan walked to the window and opened the window sash. A cold wind suddenly rushed into the room. Although it was a bit chilly, it also dissipated a lot of the strong smell of perfume in the room.

At this time, the sky was getting dark, and the red lanterns on the street were lit up one by one. From a distance, it looked like two neat rows of lights. The direction of the palace was even brighter with fire. The blazing torches on the top of the city outlined the outline of the palace and illuminated the nearby stone streets. In terms of night view, in an era without electricity, the magnificent image of Shangyuan City was indeed worthy of the name of the capital of Qi State.

For the residents in the city, the ascension of the prince was undoubtedly a major event worth remembering for a lifetime, but they would not have thought that this was just the beginning of another earth-shaking upheaval, and the new emperor was just a footnote to the upheaval.

Of course, what kind of shock and change would be brought to the capital after the news was made public was no longer a problem that Xia Fan needed to worry about. During the time he came to Shangyuan, he not only obtained a lot of intelligence, secret records of magic and magic tools from the Privy Council, but also poached more than a dozen well-educated enlightenment teachers who could immediately take up their posts after a little training. It was already a fruitful harvest. When the ceremony was over, it was completely reasonable for him to ask to return home for the New Year.

In fact, even if he left without saying goodbye, the Privy Council would probably not be able to react in time - the news of the unification of the six countries would definitely impact the government and the public, and with the visit and hospitality of the Seven Stars Taoist priests, it would be difficult for them to stabilize the capital area, so how could they have time to care about Shenzhou Yancheng thousands of miles away.

Just as Fang Xiandao said, the day of return is approaching.

"But tonight is really a bit deserted." Fang Xiandao sighed, "It is obviously the time for the brothel to welcome guests, but there are few people on the street - could it be that everyone knows you are coming, so they all avoid this brothel?"

"You make me sound like a disaster star." Xia Fan sneered, "Why didn't they avoid it yesterday? There were even people who wanted to come to the door to find trouble."

"You beat that guy too hard and scared everyone."

"That's not to say there are no customers..." Xia Fan's voice suddenly lowered, he vaguely felt that something was wrong.

This street is not just a brothel, there are also wine shops and a small inn in the distance. But within the distance of two or three hundred meters, not even a single moving figure could be seen, as if the city was still under curfew. Xia Fan remembered that when he first arrived at this brothel, there were still many pedestrians on the street, and the lanterns were not lit - in other words, if there was really news that made the regulars agree to find another place to enjoy themselves because of his relationship, the residents on the street could not have been unaware of it. So why did they deliberately hang out the lanterns?

"What time is it now?"

"It's just after the fourth quarter of the evening." Fang Xiandao thought for a moment and answered.

"It may not be surprising in other places, but at this time in Shangyuan City, any street should not be so deserted, right?" Xia Fan questioned.

"It's a bit strange." Fang Xiandao also reacted, and he took out a jade the size of a fingernail, as if he wanted to tell fortunes, and at this time, hurried footsteps sounded outside the door.

A servant walked into the house out of breath, with fear in his eyes. When he saw the two people, he immediately handed over a note, "Master Xia, someone asked me to give this to you! Please spare my life!"

Xia Fan and Fang Xiandao looked at each other, took the note and opened it.

There were only a few words on it.

"Leave the attic immediately."

"Go out through the side door on the south, don't enter the main street, act now!"

"Just let this person stay in the woodshed."

What's going on?

Xia Fan stared at the servant and asked, "Who is the person who asked you to deliver the letter?"

"Master, I don't know, he is wearing a Taoist robe, and there is a hood on his head, I can't see his appearance clearly."

"Talent robe?" Fang Xiandao said in surprise, "Do you have such a relationship with someone in the Privy Council of the Capital?"

This is undoubtedly a warning message, and coupled with the abnormal phenomenon outside the street, its timing is indeed intriguing. But at the same time, it may also lead the two people to a preset trap.

A figure of a green sword suddenly flashed through Xia Fan's mind.

"Can you tell fortunes while running?"

"Of course not!" Fang Xiandao said this was an insult, "For divination, you need to concentrate and devote yourself to get reliable results. I am already gifted because I didn't ask you to bathe and burn incense."

"Then do what the note says first." Xia Fan said decisively, "If it is a trap, you'd better prepare your best combat skills."

Then he looked at the servant, "Can we go directly to the south wall from here?"

"Yes, yes. Go downstairs and cross the courtyard, then take the stone bridge on the left to cross the garden, then turn left, and go straight to the south end." The latter said tremblingly.

"Okay, you go to the woodshed, there is nothing for you to do here." Xia Fan winked at Fang Xiandao and walked downstairs first.