Chapter 1 Autumn Sounds (Part 5)

  Thinking of that white jasmine, since getting to know herself, she clearly knew it was impossible to marry into the royal family as a legitimate wife, yet she still catered to her own whims, fearing that one day she would lose interest and stop attending to her. While others held her like a treasure on their heads, she didn't care. Only with me, could I freely enter and exit her boudoir, freely get close to her fragrance, and do as I pleased.

  He himself was just a viscount with an empty title. Such noble young masters, you can easily find a handful on the streets of Chang'an. Their future prospects are not as good as those military officers who listen to music now, and their future is also not as good as those talented scholars who surround Bai Juyi every day.

  Wang Ming Rong, Wang Ming Rong, what virtue and ability do you have, to let the beautiful lady Qian wait for you in solitude until old age?

  She just wants a stable life, can you give it to her? Why are you hesitant to pay the price?

  As he thought of this, he heard the faint sound of spring sorrow and chamber complaints, and his eyes moved with a shaking spirit. He hated not being able to immediately call out Bai Huaqi, in front of everyone, to declare that he would give her a home. Just as he was dazed and confused, another urgent footsteps sounded from behind him. "Didn't I tell you not to disturb me?" Wang Xuan's spring sorrow was interrupted, and he turned around extremely angrily. The person who had pushed open the door was startled, with one foot inside and one foot outside, hesitantly responding, "Second, second brother, it's me, it's me!"

  "Shouxiao, how did you find this place!" Wang Xuan was also stunned for a moment, furrowed his brow, and looked puzzled.

  "Second brother, something bad has happened. Yuwen Xiaozi was caught by the government!" Seeing Wang Xun's tone calm down, Ma Fang's mouth twitched and he started wailing.

  "What has he done this time, that the government wants to arrest him?" Having had the experience of being deceived by Yuwen Zhi yesterday, Wang Xun's performance was much calmer today. He walked forward, held down Ma Fang who was crying and wailing, pressed him onto a tiger stool to sit properly, handed him a cup of water, and then slowly asked questions.

  "I don't know!" Ma Fang cried even more grievously, like an orphan who had just seen a relative.

  "Which yamen arrested him? Was it Wan Nian County, Chang An County or the Jingzhao Yamen?" Wang Xun furrowed his brow and continued to interrogate.

  "I don't know? Second brother, you'd better hide quickly. It's not just Yuwen Xiaozi, the government arrested many people today!" Ma Fang asked three unknowns, but always thought about the safety of his friends.

  "Then where did you get the news from, can't you tell me?" Wang Xuan was both angry and anxious, stretching out his hand to pull away Ma Fang's arm which was wiping away tears. "Don't cry, crying is useless! How do you know Yuwen Zidao was caught? When was he caught? Speak, speak first then cry."

  "I, I..." Ma Fang was intimidated by Wang Cong's rough attitude, with tears welling up in her eyes, "I, wu, I have nowhere to go today, none of you are willing to take care of me. So I went to find Yuwen Xiaozi. Just as I arrived at the neighborhood where he lives, I saw his personal maid, Yue Lian, running out while crying..."

  It was in bits and pieces that Wang Xun finally got a rough idea of what had happened. It turned out that after parting ways with Ma Fang, he too felt listless and went to the Yuwen family's house to see if Yuwen was ill. As it happened, at the entrance of Yongning Lane, he ran into Yuwen's personal maid, Yue Lian, who was crying as she rushed out. After stopping her to ask questions, he learned that early this morning, just after dawn, a group of officials had arrived at Yuwen's house and taken him away. By noon, he still hadn't been released. Yuwen's older half-brother, Yuwen De, worked in the Ministry of Works as a seventh-grade official and never interfered with family matters. The meager salary he received each year was barely enough for one person to squander. It was entirely thanks to Yuwen's earnings outside that his wife and children could put on airs in front of others. But today, this brother who had benefited from his younger brother's kindness without end had suddenly become arrogant, taking time off work to rush home and saying he wanted to rectify the family under the name of the elder brother. No one knew where Yuwen was taken, and Yue Lian and Wei Mo, the people from the second house, couldn't withstand the first house's bullying and could only sneak out to seek help in all directions.

  "Where is Yu Lian now?" Wang Xuan knew that continuing to ask would not get any useful information out of Ma Fang, so he interrupted his crying and asked in a low voice.

  "I hid her and Mei in a brothel in Pingkang. She doesn't dare to return to the Yuwen Manor, fearing that Yuwen De will take advantage of her!" Ma Fang wiped his nose heavily and said with a sob.

  "You really know how to pick a place!" Wang Xun shook his head with a bitter smile. Pingkangli was a famous pleasure district in Chang'an City, filled with brothels and gambling dens one after another, packed tightly into a single block. Hiding a woman there would make it difficult for Yuwen De to find her even if he searched for a while. But later on, when the news spread, the reputation of the woman's family would inevitably be affected.

  "That brothel was opened secretly by Yuwen Xiaozi. He took me there last time to show off!" Ma Fang glared with his bright red eyes, protesting in a low voice.

  "Right, this time you've hidden well!" Wang Xun said reluctantly, forcing himself to praise. The fact that Yuwen Zhi had opened a brothel in Pingkang Li was not something he had kept from him initially. However, both he and the Qin brothers thought that kind of simple flesh trade business was a niche market, earning little money, and would damage their family's reputation if it got out, so they didn't invest. They only helped with arranging the staff, leaving Yuwen Zhi to his own devices. It just happened that no one had expected that at a critical moment, a low-end brothel could become an extremely hidden hiding place. Perhaps even Yuwen Zhi himself would be both amused and annoyed by Ma Fang's clever arrangement.

  "I, I didn't think of it either. It's just that this morning when you said you were going to Pingkangli, I brought Yuelian and the others over there to look for you. Later, when we couldn't find you, I suddenly had an idea and hid Yuelian and the others away!" Ma Fang was frank, sniffled, and stuttered out his reasons for choosing Pingkangli as a hiding place for Yuelian.

  "Never mind that, anyway you've found me now!" Wang Xuan waved his hand and interrupted in a low voice, "You just said the government arrested many people. Who were they? Do you still remember clearly?"

  "Yes, it was Moon Lian who told me. She seemed to have heard it from that son of a bitch Yuwen De's mouth!" Ma Fang's mouth twitched again, and he began to cry and scold. "That son of a bitch Yuwen De bullied Zida because he was born out of wedlock, so when disaster struck, he immediately wanted to drive him and his mother out of the house. The money and property that Zida had earned before, Yuwen De that son of a bitch took them all away, not leaving a single penny for Zida!"

  "This shameless thing will have his day of regret!" Wang Xuan was so angry that he kept slapping the table, wishing he could personally drag Yuwen De over and give him a good beating. "Let him be arrogant for a few more days. Tell me, who exactly got caught?"

  "It seems like there's Xue Zijing from Hongde Alley. And Liu Xiong from Shengping Alley. And then there's a Zheng, his grandfather was once the governor of Guangzhou. And, and, oh yeah, there's Xiao Changshan who came to East Market last year to cause trouble and got beaten by you until he fled with his tail between his legs. And, and, others... I just can't remember them all, anyway there were many." Ma Fang lowered his head, trying hard to recall the information he had heard.

  The people he mentioned, Wang Xun had a rough impression of them in his mind. They were all sons of meritorious officials, who usually acted recklessly and unscrupulously within the city of Chang'an. However, these people usually either had grudges against each other or never interacted with each other, so how could they suddenly be brought together by the government? It was truly puzzling.

  Seeing him frowning and not speaking for a long time, Ma Fang wiped away her tears and added in a low voice: "It seems that Yuwen De, that son of a bitch, said that this time Yuwen Xiaozi won't be able to find you to back him up. It seems he said that you are also one of the people on the official arrest list!"

  "Who said that!" Wang Xuan's heart suddenly skipped a beat as he stood up and asked in a deep voice.

  "Brother Moon!" Ma Fang's eyes welled up with tears as he looked at him, "She also heard that son of a bitch Wuwendu say something. Second brother, you'd better hide quickly. If they catch you too, what will everyone do?"

  "Hiding?" Wang Xuan quickly walked to the window and looked out. There was no one lurking downstairs, he was just being too cautious. Now it's definitely possible to escape. But deep down, a strong sense of shame held his feet back. "Hiding? I'm hiding, what about the others in my family? Yun Niang is a woman. And I don't have any brothers to support this family."

  "But, but the government is going to catch you!" Ma Fang pulled his sleeve and tearfully advised.

  "What did I do wrong, why is the government arresting me?" Wang Xuan's heart was racing like being scratched by a hundred claws, but he had to pretend to be calm on his face. This matter definitely cannot rely on Ma Fang to take responsibility for, Ma Xiaozi is being controlled by his grandfather, if he is really called to the court, he will definitely admit to all the mistakes he has made. The Qin brothers are definitely not on the government's arrest list, first, they rarely cause trouble. Second, their family background is too deep, no one dares to provoke them easily.

  "You just bullied the carriage of Madame Guo yesterday and said it was nothing! What kind of background does the Yang family have now? Three madams, one noble concubine, and a current vice prime minister..."

  "Madam Guo said she wouldn't pursue it!" Wang Xun shook his head slightly, but in his heart, he didn't have the slightest confidence. Taking advantage of his family background to bully others was something he had done with people like Yuwen Zhi and Ma Fang, and he had even taken pride in it before. Now that he was being bullied by an even greater power, he found that the power he had relied on all along was so weak that there wasn't even anywhere for him to cry out for injustice.

  "Can that woman be trusted? What kind of person is her brother Yang Guozhong?" Ma Fang shook Wang Hua's arm, urging him to hurry up and escape. "You go hide for a while, come back when the storm has passed... As long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn..."

  "I can't hide!" Wang Jun stomped his foot and made a solemn decision. "Monks can't run away from the temple. If I really hide, small matters might become big ones. I have to go in, the Qin brothers won't just stand by and watch. As for you, hurry back home. If your grandfather investigates, either you'll claim ignorance or you'll push all the blame onto me and Yuwen Zhi. Don't try to be a hero!"

  "I won't!" Seeing Wang Jun taking out the attitude of handing over his affairs, Ma Fang cried again, "I have sworn to share good fortune and bad luck with you. A man's word is his bond, a promise cannot be broken like farting. You don't hide, I won't hide either. At worst, I'll accompany you to prison!"

  "Ha!" Wang Cong was so angry at his simple appearance that he burst out laughing, "You're still in jail. Believe it or not, if you voluntarily come out to take the blame, the government won't bother you. Your respected father will beat you to death himself! At that time, it would be a good opportunity for those aunties who are eyeing your family's position! Go home, I just figured it out, those who were caught, their families either have already declined or their parents have just lost power. Your Ma family is definitely not among them. As long as your grandfather doesn't fall, the government won't dare to bother you!"

  "What about you?" Ma Fang was taken aback by his confident appearance and asked with tearful eyes.

  "I'll head home first. I'd better make arrangements ahead of time, or else the officials will come to my door and won't be able to find me, disturbing others!" Wang Xun sighed, grabbed his cloak, and headed downstairs.

  The guests on the other side of the Bai Wei haven't dispersed yet. Jin Hua Lou's Aunt Hong saw that both Wang Xun and Ma Fang, two noble guests, had gloomy faces, thinking they were blaming her for not entertaining them well. She hastily rushed over from behind, grabbed Wang Xun's sleeve and coquettishly said, "Ah, my little Marquis, why are you leaving so soon? I just greeted Bai Niang and she'll be right over to attend to you. Jing Guan, quickly go take a look if everything is ready on Bai Niang's side."

  Wang Jun simply flicked his sleeve and sent her tumbling, "No need! I have urgent business today. Let Bai Niang continue to be busy, don't come out to greet me."

  "Ah!" Hong Jie's foot slipped and she almost fell to the ground. "Young Master Hou!" She forced a smile on her face, but her voice was already trembling, "Young Master Hou, please don't be angry, Ruo Xi, Ruo Xi today..."

  "Alright, I'm not angry, something really came up. I might not be able to come over often recently. You keep an eye on her, don't let anyone bully her. Otherwise, I'll definitely not forgive that troublemaker!" To protect Bai Huaqi from being taken advantage of, Wang Xuan drops a harsh warning and quickly walks away.

  Just as he walked to the side of his mount, Bai Wei had hastily caught up. "Second Brother, Second Brother, what's wrong with you today? Could it be that you think Sister is neglecting you?"

  "Mind your own business!" Wang Jun flipped over and jumped onto his horse's back, kicked his feet, and galloped away into the distance.

  Bai Wei's face immediately turned pale, her lips turned blue, and she endured for a while before tears almost fell. "This person doesn't know what's good for him, sister don't bother with him. Let him cool off for a few days, he'll come crawling back on his own!" Xiao Ping saw the situation and came forward to comfort her.

  "What do you know?!" Bai Wei slapped Xiao Ping, still not satisfied, and rushed up to kick her legs twice, "It's all you, it's all you, always coming up with stupid ideas..."

  Having vented, he suddenly lifted his head and saw many guests who were just leaving the door staring at him with shocked faces. Feeling even more embarrassed, he covered his face with both hands and walked back to his residence with his head hung low.

  Note 1: In the Tang Dynasty, Chang'an was divided into two counties by Zhuque Avenue, namely Chang'an and Wannian. The west belonged to Chang'an, and the east belonged to Wannian. The Jingzhao Prefecture administered the entire capital area, with a higher administrative level.