Both are Foxes Chapter 28

Chapter 28: Beautiful Man

Of all the three cities and seven counties, Ye Yin liked Yue city the best because Yue city had Cloud-wave Crest mountain. At the foot of the mountain was a spring that Yue city was renowned for, Clear Melody.

To Ye Yin's knowledge, Clear Melody was the best mountain spring in the entire continent. Its spring water was completely transparent and clean, carrying a tinge of sweetness. It was best steeped in tea.

Actually, Ye Yin wasn't really a tea person, but when he drank tea, he always drank the best of the best. A good cup of tea did not only need good tea leaves, but also high quality water. Because of Clear Melody, visiting Yue city had always been on the back of his mind. Now, today he was going to enter Yue city.  

The carriage slowly ambled along. Ye Yin lifted the carriage curtain slightly and peeked out. The outside appeared chaotic, yet within the chaos, there was order. Various kinds of people were on the street, yet everyone was cautious, but this seemed to be… fear of outsiders! Ye Yin smiled, intrigued. This would be a headache!

These people had not become poor or dest.i.tute from the chaos of war, nor lost any faith. They only seemed to have lost trust in outsiders….

What a terrible phenomenon!

Ye Yin sighed. Seeing Yue city this way, Lequan and Jiangyou were most likely this way too. The circ.u.mstances in the south of West Zhi were far worse than he had imagined. It would be difficult to regain their trust when reuniting with East Zhi, but… There was nothing you couldn't do if you put your mind to it. Taking care of them would be easy; they only needed to take control of their leader.

The carriage slowly advanced. As she drove the carriage, Dong Chen looked back and said, "Young master, are we first visiting the Fusheng base?"

Inside the carriage, his eyes still closed, Ye Yin contemplated, then said, "No, first go to the biggest restaurant in Yue city, "Jufeng". Around noon, there will be many people there eating. We will also join in on the ruckus."

Join in on the ruckus?! Dong Chen curled her lip. Young master's words sure were…

Inside Jufeng, just when Ye Yin and the two girls entered, a small water welcomed them. "Customers, please come!"

The moment Qiu Xing entered, she was shocked. There were so many people! "Water, are there any private rooms?"

"Oh, customer, all the private rooms have already been booked. If you feel the lobby is too noisy, you can go to the second floor. There are fewer people there, but the prices are…"

"Hmm? Do the lobby and second floor have different prices but the same menu?" Ye Yin asked faintly.

"Before, they were the same, but these days, there have been too many people in Yue city. Every day, we are packed with people and there are often fights with tables being knocked over and the like, so the owner added a new rule: the prices on the lobby remain the same, but the prices upstairs increase twofold. The private rooms are even more…" The waiter suddenly lowered his voice. "Dear customer, there is no other way. The recent influx of  customers are all a little… They are all unwilling to eat with crude, boorish people, so the owner set up this rule in order to prevent such people from disturbing young masters of status. Heehee, by the way you are dressed, you must also be a young master and wouldn't want to eat with these people in the lobby, but the private rooms have already been long reserved. Would you like to eat on the second floor?"

Seeing the water cautiously present their opinion, Ye Yin smiled. With a nod, he started his way to the second floor. He hadn't planned on going to a private room in the first place. Going to the second floor was perfect for listening to idle gossip. This Jufeng owner seemed interesting, thinking to devise such a rule. Truthfully, the people in the lobby were as crude as bandits. He was indeed a little unwilling to eat with them.  

There were not many customers on the second floor. After Ye Yin seated himself at a table next to the window, he said to the waiter, "What dishes do you have? Choose a few good ones for us. Also, Yue city is known for its tea. Bring your best tea and tea set."

"Alright! Dear customer, please wait for a moment. Your food will be ready in a moment!"

Who were those coa.r.s.e and vulgar people on the lower floor? Mercenaries? Or…

As he pondered, Ye Yin accepted the tea that Qiu Xing pa.s.sed over. The cup to hips lips, right before he could take a sip, a carriage approaching caught his attention. What an ostentatious carriage!

The carriage was a little too gaudy. Ye Yin shook his head. They were just asking to be robbed. It would be strange if they weren't!

Just as expected, something happened to the carriage!

The carriage also seemed to have been heading to Jufeng, but before the carriage stopped at the entrance, an old man suddenly dashed out of Jufeng, hitting the carriage perfectly, as if he had timed it. Then Ye Yin saw that the old man was lying on the ground. A fifteen or sixteen year old boy immediately dashed over to the old man and started sobbing. This… wasn't this too fake?!

Ye Yin was stunned. What kind of morals were those? This was clearly fraud.  

A crowd quickly formed, the majority of them the crude men from the first floor. Ye Yin could clearly hear shouts of condemnation. A brow raised, Ye Yin sighed. Were they robbers? Ye Yin inwardly sympathized with the owner of the carriage.

"Young master, what happened? What are you looking at?" Qiu Xing noticed her young master was staring outside the window and occasionally shaking his head and sighing. She couldn't help but crane her neck to see.

"Watching a ruckus! A very interesting scene!"

The carriage driver, a handsome man with tanned skin, was furious, so angry, his expression was warped. Without a word, his expression alone silenced the jeers.

The young men bent over the old man was still continuously sobbing. Because his back facing Ye Yin, Ye Yin couldn't see his expression, only his shoulder shuddering. He sure seemed grieved. If he didn't sound so fake then… Ye Yin laughed quietly. What a good show!

"Young master, how fake. Clearly, they're trying to con them!"

"Yes, but so what? If anyone's to blame, it's the ostentatious owner. He's just asking to be robbed! You can't really blame them."

Ye Yin then shook his head regretfully. "But those two sure are something! Even with such pitiful acting skills, they still dare to try to exhort others! Look at that old man's rosy skin color! They didn't even try to use make up!"

Qiu Xing didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Young master, you seem to be taking joy in their misfortune…"

"Why can't I? It's not like I'm the one being exhorted." Ye Yin chuckled, still gazing out the window. Strange, the owner had not made a sound, unexpectedly keeping their composure.

Just when Ye Yin was pondering, there was suddenly a charming voice. "Nan An, stop arguing!"

The moment he heard "Nan An", the carriage driver immediately respectfully withdrew to the side. His expression was dark, completely unwilling, but he seemed to fear his master only fiercely glaring at the crowd. Ye Yin got up and then leaned lazily on the window, eyes cast downward, a pondering expression on his face. Was the carriage owner about to appear?  

A slender yet elegant hand extended out the silk embroidered carriage curtain, the hand sparkling like jade. Surely, such a hand belonged to a woman.

Such thoughts were quickly dispelled. As the carriage curtain lifted, a young man in an dazzling fur coat came out.

A man? Such a beautiful hand and such an exquisite face actually belonged to a man! They could see a prominent Adam's apple at his throat. Ye Yin frowned slightly. His Adam's apple was real. He involuntarily touched his own fake Adam's apple, then sighed. So a man more womanly than women existed.

What an alluring, attractive man. His face was so refined, his skin as fair as his hands, his eyes as l.u.s.trous as jade. His long hair was tied loosely, draping elegantly behind him, giving off a languid air. His gorgeous clothing and appearance contrasted with his beautiful, yet merciless eyes. What a beauty!   

The moment the man appeared, the crowd fell silent. As if pleased with this result, the man smiled charmingly. "Everyone, there is no need to be this way. Since it was my carriage that ran into someone, I will simply be responsible!"

Ye Yin laughed silently. He didn't believe the man would stupidly be taken advantage of!

"Young master, what do you think that man will do?"

"How do I know? Watch yourself!" Ye Yin walked back to the table and sat down. The dishes had arrived and he didn't want to watch on any more. The man was either going to be exhorted or the two con men were going to be overpowered, there was nothing to it!

"Young master, that man paid quite a large sum of money to that young man, but even we could tell it was a con! How could he not tell?"

"So what if he could? This isn't their territory." Ye Yin laughed quietly. "These past few days, the people who have entered Yue city are all no ordinary people. The one in glamorous clothes downstairs is no exception, so don't look down on him."

Qiu Xing nodded, continuing to gaze out the window. Meanwhile, Ye Yin concentrated his attention to the people eating and chatting.

"……is that Rouge really so beautiful?"

"No kidding. If Rouge wasn't so beautiful, how could so many outsiders be attracted to this place? Let me tell you, Rouge is not just a beautiful woman, she is skilled in all of the four arts of zither, Go, calligraphy, and painting! Rouge has a very high status. Many people are unable to see her."

"Don't think you only need money. You also need talent, otherwise Rouge won't even look in your direction."

"Tch! A mere prost.i.tute, what is she so arrogant for!"

"Shh, let me tell you, Rouge has a large backing. I heard that the Lequan and Jiangyou county lords both have an eye on her. On the sixth day of the sixth month, the Lequan and Jiangyou county lords are going to battle it out for Rouge's first night. Others won't have chance!"

"That can't be! Rouge sure is impressive, able to cause two county lords to fight. I can't miss out on such an exciting event, I'll definitely be there that day to not miss out on the fun!"

"You? Don't even think about it. Those without at least thousands of taels of silver cannot even enter the Intoxicated Dream brothel. You should give up. But you can still stay outside and wait to see the outcome. There have been many people visiting Yue city lately, but the number of those who can actually enter Intoxicated Dream are slim!"

Qiu Xing pouted, "Young master, did we rush here traveling day and night just because this 'Rouge' prost.i.tute is selling her first night?"

"Correct. Because of her, many outsiders have come. They are all here for Rouge's first night. So are we."

Suddenly Dong Chen and Qiu Xing had strange expressions on their faces. Dong Chen cautiously asked. "Young master, did you just you want Rouge's first night?!"