Chapter 166 - 56: The Prince’s Dirty Secrets

Words : 1859 Updated : Sep 19th, 2025

Let’s turn back the clock by half a day, to the night before Yue Jinghua and Fa Xiaoyi went boating on the lake. Clashing goblets, rouge and fragrant dresses, various lewd tunes played amidst the mingling shadows of red lanterns and willow trees, igniting one’s wildest fantasies. As the saying goes, when warm and well-fed, thoughts turn to lust. With Shang Kingdom flush with wealth for years, its citizenry hoarding substantial riches, Polo City and its environs are home to many dens of vice and pleasure. Among these places, one is quite unique, filled with handsome young boys. In ancient times, such a place would be called the Dianlong Pavilion, and within Polo City lay one, hidden in Qingliu Lane. A setting where youthful beauties indulge with patrons, inseparable through nights of spring passion beneath brocaded canopies—such is the best depiction of this alley. Within the largest Dianlong Pavilion in Polo City, that night saw the arrival of two extravagant guests. One of these guests was fair-faced with a hint of shyness, evidently still a fledgling. The other, half his face masked, the revealed half peerlessly handsome. The handsome guest was generous with his money, scattering dozens of Gold Coins to each person as soon as he entered, as if the money were not his own. This immediately won the favor of the establishment’s matriarch, Madam Cui, As Madam Cui fawned and stepped forward to inquire if the handsome guest would like to select a few comely child prostitutes to serve him, he repeatedly shook his head and whispered a few words into Madam Cui’s ear in a hushed voice. Madam Cui, upon hearing his request, wore a look of utter disbelief. Stuttering, she said, "Sir, are you sure you wish for Scar Zhang, Kidnapper Li, and Lai Liqiang to monopolize the floor? They are, after all, the pimps of our establishment, and their appearances..." "That’s right, those three. Their looks may be shabby, but it’s fine as long as they’re sturdy and willing to work. Once the lights are out, it’s all the same. My master has quite the heavy taste," and with this revelation, everyone knew that the handsome man was merely an errand runner. With a runner possessing such demeanor and lavishness, his master must indeed be a person from the high heavens. Madam Cui dared not ask further and immediately summoned the three homely pimps. The handsome client left behind over a thousand Gold Coins and strode away. Afterward, Madam Cui pondered the incident all night long. In this day and age, customers’ tastes are indeed peculiar. Could it be that the beautiful child prostitutes are no longer in demand? While Madam Cui contemplated whether she should change her business strategy, the rest were secretly speculating about the identity of the guest who had booked the three ugliest child prostitutes, when a series of explosive news arrived. The perspective shifts, the day is already bright. People having tea, eating breakfast, and strolling the morning markets gather together. "Last time, the tale was of the Prince indulging with three uglies in the night. Today’s story is about an ugly girl with a decade-long unrequited love," in a tavern within the city, a storyteller was so impassioned that his spit flew as he spoke, captivating the customers and listeners with every word. "Previously, there were rumors of Prince Xiao Yi’s absurd debauchery. During the day appointed by the Empress Dowager for the lake excursion, he housed child prostitutes on the one side while he feasted and reveled with his fiancée Yue Jinghua on the other. After Yue Jinghua left, he engaged in strenuous activities with the three ugly child prostitutes, grinding an iron rod into a needle, lasting three hundred rounds and yet another three hundred," the storyteller said, his face glowing red and foam flying from his excited recounting. "Prince Duke Fa Xiao Yi, being a paragon among men, how could he engage in such shameless acts? Could it be a slander?" someone from the audience questioned. "Truth cannot be feigned, and falsehoods cannot stand as truth. If you, sir, doubt it, you can take a look in the small boat by Cuiwei Lake, where that awe-inspiring bed is still on display. Tsk tsk, according to people fishing by the lake, that day, Duke Fa withstood the bursting of three chrysanthemums, his power profound, stirring Cuiwei Lake into a veritable storm. Let me tell you a little secret: the owner of Qianbin Building in the city, Boss Xie, is said to be another of Duke Fa’s paramours. Hearing of the allegations, he went first to the boat to catch them in the act, only to find Duke Fa and the three ugly child prostitutes piled together, engaging in sordid deeds. Boss Xie was so enraged his face turned red and he cursed, ’To think you could stoop so low, you, you...’ It’s said that afterward, Duke Fa still had to be carried off the boat by his soldiers, his legs shaking, nearly tumbling into the lake," the storyteller narrated vividly, leaving the tea customers so engrossed they forgot to drink, their mouths agape. "What is to become of Duke Fa’s fiancée, Miss Yue?" At some point, a fair and lovely young lady with a Jade Bow strapped on her back had taken a seat, and across from her sat an ordinary-looking young woman. "What else can we do? The Empress Dowager was enraged and said she would no longer involve herself in their marriage affair. The Monarch wrung his hands and sighed, punished Prince Fa with secluded reflection, and a deduction of three years of his stipend. That good-for-nothing miss from the Lie Family Mansion has not eaten or drunk for three days and nights, purportedly on the brink of death," upon hearing this, everyone cursed Fa Xiaoyi even more abusively. It’s truly hard to predict people’s hearts. Just a few days ago, when the news of Yue Jinghua and Fa Xiaoyi’s boating trip on the lake had just spread, the entire populace of Polo City pointed to Yue Jinghua’s spine, scolding her for being an ugly toad lusting after swan meat, daring to aim high for Prince Fa. But ever since the absurd scandal of Prince Fa with the child prostitutes on the pleasure barge was revealed, public opinion in the city has completely turned in support of Yue Jinghua. "That Miss from the Yue Family has suffered so much. Even though she might be a bit ugly, she’s still a girl from a decent family, now tied to such a debauched prince, it’s just pitiful. I think the prince is detestable, Miss from the Yue Family should break off the engagement. Breaking it off isn’t enough; there should be compensation for mental distress," said a young married woman, indignant. "Right, he should compensate. It’s just because he relies on being a prince. If it were me, a Black Tiger Heart Dig would scoop out his dark heart," "Such a scoundrel and ruffian truly brings shame to the people of the Shang Kingdom, he should be sent to military service" "The Emperor breaks the law, he should be punished as a commoner. In our countryside, for such a thing, he would be drowned in a pig cage," Taking advantage of the uproar among the people, Hongling and Hong Yao sneaked out. They had already visited several taverns in a row. "Why did Miss order us to run around spreading rumors, and even mention compensation for mental distress?" Hongling, though used to playing the role together with Hong Yao, found such actions of slandering others very new to her. However, Hong Yao, who was originally from a nightclub, accustomed to taking advantage during chaos and stirring up trouble, had smoothly recited the lines taught by Yue Jinghua, "I’m not sure myself, Miss told me to say it." "But those people, they exaggerate too much, where is Miss running out of oil and being at death’s door? Miss is clearly still in closed-door training," Hongling was baffled, "But I am indeed curious, what actually happened on the pleasure barge that day? Prince Fa, ahem, was he really...?" "That day, Miss had me disguise myself as her, I boarded the pleasure barge and after Prince Fa arrived, I spoke the lines she had arranged beforehand, then pretended to drink some tea. As for when Miss took action to kill those two Hidden Guards, I’m not clear on that. Afterwards, Miss ordered me to serve him several cups of the Rain Tea he had brought, and tossed him into the rear chamber of the drawing-room on the pleasure barge. I seem to have heard a scream during that time. Later on, Miss suddenly said she wanted to enter secluded cultivation for a few days. She seemed to have made some breakthroughs. Before leaving, she only had us spread rumors in the taverns and tea houses, claiming it would be useful in the future," Hong Yao showed no sympathy for Fa Xiaoyi. Ten years of friendship, even without affection, should have developed some gratitude, yet that man not only coerced Miss to break off the engagement but also wanted to send someone to humiliate her. Such scum, in Miss’s words, just seeing him living so splendidly was a hindrance to mental and physical health. Blasting his chrysanthemum with three shots, confining him to bed for three days and nights, was already being considerate due to old times’ sake. Hong Yao, who had suffered greatly from Yue Jinghua’s torment, openly found excuses for her own Miss. After quietly conversing, the two looked back to ensure no one was following them, then hurriedly turned into an alley, heading towards a different residence. Within the Prince Mansion, a Hidden Guard crawled on the ground, not daring to let out a breath. Lying sideways on the bed with his buttocks pouted, Fa Xiaoyi’s face was livid as he cursed, "Yue Jinghua, you whore, you wretch, how dare you frame me like this." He had just tried to move when there was a burning pain beneath him. "Prince, those three men didn’t know anything, they were only aware that someone paid them well to render devoted service." The Hidden Guard also had a face full of misery after his master, Prince Fa, had his reputation collapsed in a moment when he was pressed down by a few ugly men under the public eye the other day. "Since everything is clear now, why ask further? Chop them into pieces and throw them into the Blood Lotus Pond, do I need to teach you what to do? You’re useless, all useless, get lost! You several, go monitor the Lie Family Mansion, find out what exactly Yue Jinghua is planning," Prince Fa yelled furiously, accidentally touching the bed with his body as he lay there, and recalling how he was pressed down by several grotesque men, he felt an urge to immediately flay and dismember the ringleader Yue Jinghua. He didn’t have a clear recollection of what happened on the pleasure barge that day, but Fa Xiaoyi felt that something even worse might be looming near.

Chapter 166 - 56: The Prince’s Dirty Secrets

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