The next day.
Early in the morning.
At the Ministry of Justice, Li Anning walked into the government office and saw a figure seated in a chair. Surprised, she asked, "How come you have time to come here today?"
Li Nuo hadn’t actually planned on coming.
But early in the morning, Phoenix had come over to teach the wife how to play the piano.
Li Nuo eventually didn’t have the heart to be as ruthless as Phoenix.
Rather than suffer at home, it seemed better to space out at the Ministry of Justice.
Li Anning handed over a bun and asked, "Have you had breakfast yet?"
Li Nuo had left in a hurry and truly hadn’t eaten breakfast.
He didn’t stand on ceremony and took a bun from Li Anning’s hand.
As Li Anning bit into her bun, she asked, "By the way, what’s going on with you and Phoenix?"
Li Nuo replied, "Nothing much."
He glanced at Li Anning and questioned, "Why are you so interested in Phoenix?"
As Li Anning looked down at her bun, trying to appear nonchalant, she said, "Just curious, can’t I ask?"
Actually, on her way to the Ministry of Justice that day, she had accidentally heard some news.
About the rumors involving him and Phoenix that had been circulating recently, Phoenix had unexpectedly issued a rebuttal.
Li Anning knew exactly what Phoenix was plotting.
For her to take the initiative to clarify—could she have been mistaken before?
At that moment, many others shared the same doubt as Li Anning.
Jade Sound Pavilion was just a small music workshop and could not compare with the likes of Sky Sound Courtyard and Happy Building, which were massive establishments. However, over the past few months, its fame had steadily overshadowed these long-established music and brothel institutions, all thanks to the Minister of Justice’s son.
Unexpectedly, once Jade Sound Pavilion became the top music venue in Chang’an, she immediately disassociated herself from that influential figure.
Initially, rumors surfaced that she had been discarded by him, seeking to find a more prominent suitor.
But soon, someone confirmed that Miss Phoenix was still a virgin.
It wasn’t difficult to ascertain this detail; martial artists from High Realm could determine whether someone still possessed their original yang or original yin based on their aura.
With that, those rumors were utterly crushed.
Certain circles in Chang’an also began to stir.
The woman of the Minister of Justice’s son—none dared to harbor intentions toward her.
Since their relationship wasn’t of that nature, it was now up to anyone’s ability to win the beauty’s favor.
Although Chang’an had just selected its ten top Oirans,
In people’s minds, the top Oiran was someone else.
Phoenix was already a top-tier beauty.
A top-tier beauty who still had her chastity was even more likely to stir men’s desire to conquer.
Jade Sound Pavilion had become famous because of the Minister of Justice’s son.
But after severing ties with that figure, Jade Sound Pavilion’s reputation had grown even larger.
To the upper-class nobles and officials of Chang’an, the romantic affairs of brothels were of little concern.
But in the libertine circles of Chang’an, the impact of this event was truly significant.
In an ancient, tranquil garden,
Elegant little buildings nestled within, with melodious music occasionally flowing from inside.
This place was Happy Building, one of the largest music venues in Chang’an.
Happy Building, despite being named a music workshop, was in fact a complex that included a brothel, music venue, dance pavilion, and tavern, targeting Chang’an’s high-ranking officials.
The reason for adopting the name of a music workshop was because "music" was one of the Six Arts, and some high-class brothels didn’t want to use vulgar names like Hundred Flowers Building or Joyful Building.
In Happy Building, on the second floor of a particular building, a middle-aged woman furrowed her brows and asked, "Is it true?"
A youth in green clothes stood below, bowing as he responded, "Absolutely true. The news came directly from Jade Sound Pavilion. That Miss Phoenix and the Minister of Justice’s son—aren’t involved in that way. He hasn’t visited Jade Sound Pavilion for over a month…"
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged woman also realized something and anger flashed across her face as she said indignantly, "We’ve been duped by that wretched woman! This entire affair, from start to finish, was probably a performance of her own making!"
The middle-aged woman clenched her teeth in anger.
Had Jade Sound Pavilion not interfered, Happy Building was likely to have secured two more Oiran spots this year.
They had spent considerable effort, paying for poetry, throwing money into promotions, supporting their two Oirans, only to have them usurped by two from Jade Sound Pavilion.
Failing to become Oirans meant all the resources spent on them had been wasted.
The squandered money and effort were secondary.
Most importantly, she had already found places for the two designated Oiran.
These talented beauties, if bearing the name of Oiran, were very popular among the circles of lesser nobles, even just being a concubine could bring significant benefits to Happy Building in the future.
Having failed to become Oiran, the two were neglected, and her great expectation fell through.
Not only that, many regular patrons of Happy Building were also poached by Jade Sound Pavilion.
She had disliked Jade Sound Pavilion for quite some time, especially recently.
Meeting once cost fifty taels of silver, was her face plastered with gold? Even the most famous girl at Happy Building did not cost more than that.
Had it not been for the man backing her, Jade Sound Pavilion would have been removed from Chang’an long ago.
In fact, seriously speaking, her background was not lacking either, being able to reach such a scale in Chang’an, who didn’t have several powerful people behind them?
But still adhering to the principle of avoiding trouble when possible, she had been tolerating this grievance.
If Jade Sound Pavilion had always been bluffing with borrowed power, she would not mind settling both new and old scores with them.
However, to be cautious, she still needed to investigate first to see if she was really a virgin.
Other things could be faked, but this one could not.
…
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Song Residence.
Li Nuo sat in the courtyard, listening to the sounds of the qin coming from the room…
Let’s just call it the sound of the qin.
He looked down and saw his arms were covered in goosebumps.
After a while, Phoenix walked out of the room looking haggard.
Li Nuo, even from such a distance, felt uneasy, let alone she who was up close.
Li Nuo couldn’t help but feel a touch of pity for her, poured a cup of tea for her, and said, "Have some water."
Phoenix took the teacup with both hands, a cup of cooled tea which strangely gave her a sense of happiness.
It was the first time he had offered her tea.
She was indeed thirsty; after finishing the tea, she handed back the cup and said, "Thank you…"
Li Nuo took the empty cup. Phoenix noticed a stain on his sleeve and hesitated before saying, "Young Master, your clothes are dirty. Take them off; I’ll wash them for you..."
Actually, it was just tea on Li Nuo’s sleeve.
Just now, when he had just picked up the teacup, the sound of his wife playing the qin suddenly came from the room.
He was startled, and the tea splashed onto his sleeve.
Li Nuo waved his hand and said, "No need, the maids at home will take care of it."
But Phoenix had already grabbed his sleeve, insisting, "This is a tea stain; it needs to be washed quickly or it won’t come out clean. Sir, just take it off. I’ll wash it quickly…"
While they were talking, Li Nuo’s outer garment was forcibly removed by her.
Without waiting for Li Nuo’s refusal, she pushed him towards the room, saying, "Young Master, go change into another outfit, don’t catch cold…"
It was indeed cold to be undressed in the courtyard. Li Nuo returned to the room, where his wife was focused on playing the qin, but not following the musical score.
He changed into a different outfit and when he came outside, he saw his clothes soaking in a basin, with Phoenix squatting on the ground, vigorously scrubbing the stain on his sleeve.
The winter water was cold and biting even the maids at the Song Residence mixed hot water when washing.
Her hands were red from the cold, blowing warm breath on them every few scrubs.
Seeing this, Li Nuo felt guilt.
The Jade Sound Pavilion Master, who was sought after by thousands in Chang’an and could make hundreds of taels of silver in minutes, not only had to endure immense mental torture at Song Residence but also suffered physical torment.
Li Nuo walked forward, grabbed her arm, and pulled her up, saying, "Forget it, don’t wash it…"
Phoenix, rubbing her delicately fair but now red-raw hands, had tears swirling in her eyes, looking pitifully at him, and whispered softly, "Can you forgive me then?"
At that moment, Li Nuo felt an unprecedented emotion surging inside him.
His wife was upset, and he needed to coax her.
Li Anning was upset, and he needed to find a way to make her happy.
It was always him placating others, but he never thought being consoled by someone else could feel so good...
Coming back to his senses, he waved his hand, his tone slightly lighter, and said, "Not this time..."
Phoenix finally smiled, wiped her tears, and said, "Thank you, Master!"
As she walked out of Song Residence, a faint smile played on her lips.
Childish temper, so easy to appease...
If she had such a husband, life would surely be interesting.
She wondered why Miss Song still had complaints, the two were still completely innocent; didn’t she worry that someone else might take him away…