Cultivation Begins with Caring for Sister-in-law-Chapter 560 Immortal Powder, Flower Fragrance Building
Before Chen Mo arrived in Yangzhou, a man dressed as a dockworker entered a quiet little tavern in Qinhuai City.
The tavern was empty except for the shopkeeper sweeping with a feather duster.
Seeing the man come in, the shopkeeper set down the feather duster and approached with a smile: "What would you like to drink, sir? We have Peach Blossom Brew, Hua Diao, sorghum..."
"Two taels of Hua Diao and a dish of peanuts."
"Alright, just a moment, please. It’ll be ready shortly."
...
Soon.
"Sir, here are your Hua Diao and peanuts, enjoy." The shopkeeper placed the wine and peanuts down, preparing to leave.
The man dressed as a laborer picked up a peanut with his chopsticks, ate it, and said while chewing, "Shopkeeper, those lotus flowers at Guanshan Lake should be blooming soon, right?"
The shopkeeper paused, then said, "They’ve started to bloom. If you plan to see them, you should go early; if you’re late, you won’t get a good view because of the crowds."
"I don’t wake up early; I’ll go see them at night. The lotus flowers are prettier at night."
"You must be joking, sir. During the night, the lotus flowers close up, what’s there to see?"
"But the Noble hasn’t arrived, how can the lotus flowers close?" The man sipped his wine as he spoke.
The shopkeeper was stunned, then glanced at the tavern entrance, and spoke in a lowered tone, "Which Noble?"
"From Chongzhou."
"What does the Prince wish to instruct?" The shopkeeper, who had originally bent over, suddenly straightened up, his eyes flashing with a hint of shadow.
Jiangnan has always been a bustling place filled with wealthy merchants and scholars, leading to significant population flow, allowing various forces to leave their own scouts and spies in Jiangnan. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶
This little tavern was one such hidden post left in Yangzhou by Prince Huai.
"Chen Mo is about to come to Jiangnan, the Prince has given strict orders to activate Flower Shadow, and assassinate Chen Mo," said the man dressed as a laborer.
"Ah..."
The shopkeeper froze, thinking he heard incorrectly, but after staring at the man for a moment and realizing he wasn’t joking, said, "Chen Mo is a Divine Power Realm Martial Artist, even Liang Xuan, who was also in the Divine Power Realm, died by his blade. Flower Shadow is only a Lower-Grade Martial Artist; how could she possibly assassinate Chen Mo?"
"There are many ways to assassinate someone, power is just one. This is Immortal Powder from the Western Regions, colorless and tasteless. If it’s mixed into tea or wine and drunk, even if it’s an Upper-Grade Martial Artist, once the drug’s effects begin, it will corrode the meridians, rendering them powerless and unable to mobilize their Innate Spiritual Qi. At that time, even a common person can easily kill them." The man took out a small porcelain bottle from his pocket and handed it to the shopkeeper.
...
Flower Fragrance Building.
A high-class brothel in Qinhuai City, where any girl picked out could pass as a courtesan in other brothels.
Moreover, the girls inside all claim to be courtesans, selling art not their bodies.
Of course, the "not selling bodies" claim is just Flower Fragrance Building’s outward assertion.
In reality, their methods are even more sophisticated.
They are masters of playing hard to get, maintaining a distance just out of reach.
They entice the men entering Flower Fragrance Building to spend more money willingly. Only when the money reaches a certain price in the women’s minds will they be willing to sleep with them.
Of course, they won’t bluntly ask for more money, as that’s too crude and diminishes the sense of conquest for the men.
Instead, they engage in little games.
Like the arrow tossing game.
A vase is placed fifty steps away, and whoever lands the most arrows in the vase gets the opportunity.
Of course, the arrows for the arrow tossing game are specially made porcelain arrows that must be purchased from Flower Fragrance Building, fifty taels each.
Because they are porcelain arrows, they must remain intact after being thrown into the vase; broken arrows don’t count.
Alternatively, one can directly pay for the company of the ladies without playing games.
However, those who can afford Flower Fragrance Building are people with status or reputation; they all value face. They’re out for enjoyment, and if they just brutally splurge money like a nouveau riche, they’ll inevitably be looked down upon by peers and ridiculed by spectators.
Also, directly spending money might even cost more than the game.
Therefore, since Flower Fragrance Building was established, very few have chosen to directly spend money.
Outside room three on the fourth floor of Flower Fragrance Building.
Footsteps echoed on the floorboards, followed by a knock: "Miss Zhihua, your requested rouge has arrived."
"Come in." A voice like a yellow warbler called from the room.
The door opened, revealing a figure seated at the dressing table.
"Just place it next to me." The room’s owner, Zhihua, said.
The person delivering the rouge glanced at the copper mirror on the dressing table, seeing a face not quite typical of Jiangnan beauties—high nose, cherry lips, porcelain skin, and fiery red lips—giving an impression of restrained allure.
Unlike other women who emphasized their petite grace, Zhihua’s shoulders were wider than usual. According to Chen Mo, she was a standard "clothes hanger."
The person delivering the rouge set the rouge box on the table beside and then took out a small porcelain bottle from their pocket, placing it in front of Zhihua: "Flower Shadow, the Prince has issued a command: you are to assassinate Duke An, Chen Mo. This is Immortal Powder from the Western Regions, and the mission details are in the rouge box. It’s time for you to repay the Prince."
Zhihua paused her makeup, then continued grooming herself after a moment: "Flower Shadow acknowledges the order."
After the man left, Zhihua retrieved a note from the rouge box and read it for a long time. She then stood up and removed the loose gauze dress she wore, revealing her arms, navel, collarbones, and a hint of snowy roundness. She then approached the wardrobe, removed a red vest adorned with pearls and put it on.
As a brothel girl and an undercover agent for Prince Huai, Zhihua systematically learned how to enhance a woman’s beauty. She then draped a red veil over her face.
After dressing up, she went to room one on the third floor and knocked on the door: "Ms. Shu Xiang, I heard the lotus flowers at Guanshan Lake have bloomed, shall we go see them together?"
...
"Jiangnan is truly lively; in Qinhuai City alone, there are more people than in Longyou State City," mused Yue Ruyan, the Yue Family’s patriarch, who had seen much of the world but only realized true bustling upon arriving in Jiangnan.
Just then, a gentle breeze brought a fragrance-laden handkerchief fluttering onto Yue Ruyan’s face. Yue Ruyan picked it up and looked up, noticing a young girl at a window on the second floor of a pavilion. Realizing her handkerchief had landed on the wrong person, she quickly withdrew her head.
Yue Ruyan examined the handkerchief and found delicate characters embroidered on it—"Duke An, little miss Huang Yan sends her regards."
Yue Ruyan handed the handkerchief to Chen Mo, softly commenting, "Another admirer of yours."
Chen Mo let out a bitter smile.
Since entering the city, numerous girls had tried various ways to capture his attention and express their affection for him.
For heaven’s sake, weren’t Jiangnan girls supposed to be shy?
This certainly doesn’t appear to be the case.
