Chapter Twenty: Imprisonment

The night was cool, the fireworks had faded, and the streets were empty of pedestrians. Tea houses nearby began to tidy up and close for the evening. In a tavern, the innkeeper, aided by the glow of a single candle, was counting the day’s earnings.

A waiter, a towel draped over his shoulder, straightened the crooked tables and chairs, then gathered the leftovers from the tables and offered them to the mongrel dog outside, who wagged its tail with eager anticipation.

After finishing the accounts, the innkeeper, smiling, picked up a jar of wine and a hefty bag of silver coins, preparing to head home. He called out to the waiter, instructing him to continue attending to the guests upstairs.

The waiter responded promptly. Before leaving, the innkeeper tossed him an extra piece of silver as a reward for the day, prompting the waiter to offer his thanks repeatedly, his face breaking into a delighted grin.

On the second floor of the tavern, one gentleman refused to depart, drinking alone, cup after cup, in silent gloom. The servants had been dismissed; he sought solitude.

This man was Su Liuyun.

As he drank, Su Liuyun’s gaze lingered on Drunken Moon Pavilion in the distance, focusing on the second room of the third floor—Lychee Yan’er’s chamber, the famed courtesan.

The lights in her room burned through the night. He did not care what Li Pingyang and Lychee Yan’er might be doing inside; his heart was troubled, unable to fathom what flaw he possessed.

How could he be inferior to a rustic, uncouth man, a nobody?

He continued to drink, watching until the light in Lychee Yan’er’s room was extinguished, but Li Pingyang never emerged. Furious, Su Liuyun hurled his wine cup to the floor.

Lychee Yan’er, who had never allowed anyone to stay overnight, had finally broken her rule.

Staggering, Su Liuyun descended the stairs. The waiter tried to assist him but was waved away. He stumbled onto the street, at times chuckling foolishly, at others grumbling in anger.

His cheeks were flushed with drink, his steps uncertain—two steps forward, three steps back.

“I am the heir of the Su family, hic…”

“Lychee Yan’er, you should be grateful I chose you…”

“Why, why do you never glance my way? I am Su Liuyun! One day, you’ll come begging to me!”

Su Liuyun crouched, pointing at the mongrel dog feasting nearby, his tone stern. The dog turned its head, baring its teeth in warning.

In his drunken haze, he saw the dog’s fierce face as Lychee Yan’er’s mocking smile. Enraged, he slipped off his shoe and hurled it at the dog.

That was a mistake.

The dog chased Su Liuyun through the street. He ran, glancing back to gauge the distance, narrowly avoiding its jaws several times.

Watching this ludicrous yet pitiful scene, the waiter shook his head and extinguished the lights upstairs. The street fell into darkness, not a single light remaining.

Only now and then, from a shadowy corner, came the sound of barking dogs or a man gasping for breath.

Hiding behind a wall, Su Liuyun, now somewhat sober, peeked out, leaning on the bricks to survey the scene. Seeing the dog had not caught up, he patted his chest in relief.

But just as he relaxed, a chill ran down his spine. Turning, he found the dog squatting right behind him. His face fell, and he resumed his desperate flight.

…

The next morning.

Li Pingyang awoke in Drunken Moon Pavilion, roused by a pressing need. He sat up abruptly, surveyed the room, and glanced at himself in confusion.

His memories slowly returned.

He found himself lying on a bed. Last night’s recollections went only as far as the sweet moments with Miss Lychee; after finishing that glass of wine, he remembered nothing.

He had no idea how he ended up in bed. At that moment, a gentle female voice startled him, shrinking to the edge of the mattress.

“You’re awake?”

Turning, Li Pingyang saw Lychee Yan’er beside him, smiling coyly.

Lifting a corner of the blanket, he peeked inside—he wore only underclothes, while Lychee Yan’er was even more scantily dressed. His cheeks flushed crimson.

Could it be… last night I…?

But why do I feel nothing at all?

Damn it! At such a crucial moment, why did I have to get drunk?

Li Pingyang frowned, lost in thought. Lychee Yan’er leaned closer, covering herself with the blanket, gazing at his face, leaving him somewhat dazed.

“We…”

Li Pingyang asked hopefully. Lychee Yan’er didn’t reply, only blushed and rested her head on his chest.

Looking at her fragrant, snow-white shoulder exposed above the blanket, Li Pingyang felt all the more aggrieved—why did he feel nothing at all? He’d suffered a real loss!

“Ahhhhhhh!!!”

Suddenly, a piercing scream echoed nearby, seemingly from the next room. Surely the woman sleeping like a log had discovered the corpse at her side.

Hastily dressing, Li Pingyang hurried to the next room, uncertain of what awaited. Just as he opened the door, he collided with the sobbing woman fleeing inside.

Seeing him, she threw herself into his arms, as if struck by terror, burying her face in his chest, trembling as she whispered, “D-dead… there’s a dead man!”

Her fear was understandable; even Li Pingyang, upon seeing the scene inside, was badly shaken.

On a fragrant sandalwood bed, the white curtains were stained red. Blood streaked the wall. A young man lay flat on the bed, a wound on his neck.

His face was contorted with pain, eyes open in death. Sharing a bed with a corpse for a night—the woman would surely be haunted for life.

The madam of Drunken Moon Pavilion was the first to arrive, and seeing the man dead—who had been alive and well the night before—her heart sank.

She collapsed, powerless; she knew the dead man’s identity. It was likely that Drunken Moon Pavilion’s business had reached its end.

The deceased was named Guo Xian, the only son of Guo Qishu, Minister of the Treasury. Guo Qishu, who had his son late in life, valued him more than his own existence.

Before long, the authorities detained everyone, holding them temporarily in the city jail. Word reached Guo Qishu, who, upon learning of his son’s death, coughed up blood and fainted.

Upon waking, he refused food and drink, immediately boarding a carriage and rushing toward Tianyu City.

With only a wall between Guo Xian’s chamber and theirs, Lychee Yan’er and the overnight guest Li Pingyang were the first suspects, unable to clear their names.

Of course, the traumatized woman might also be the culprit.

The constables assigned to the case were shaken, unable to sleep through the night. Though it appeared a murder, it was entangled with political intrigue.

Guo Qishu, the Minister of the Treasury, had saved the life of the Second Prince, so he belonged to that faction, not someone to offend.

On the other side, the suspect Li Gou Dan was just a commoner from Lanzhou City, no powerful background, but after the poetry contest he had gained some fame.

Most importantly, it was well known that Li Gou Dan had close ties with the Third Prince, making him part of that faction.

Now, with neither side to stand with and neither to offend, the constables found themselves caught in the middle. Learning that Guo Qishu was on his way by carriage, they were at a loss as to how to resolve the situation.