The Drifting Fragrance Courtyard could be called famous in the White Horse Constellation. Besides young ladies like Mu Fuping, almost everyone knew about it.
Large crimson lanterns were hung high in the air, and the road was lined with drooping willows. The Drifting Fragrance Courtyard was located in a very inconspicuous location, quiet and not ostentatious. There was no one on the road, but an intoxicating fragrance drifted out from the courtyard.
The Drifting Fragrance Courtyard was called as such because it was planted with numerous azaleas, which flowered throughout the year and filled the air with their fragrance.
Through the gate was a large courtyard in which several dozen chairs and tables had been set up, and across from these was a dancing stage. At night, there would be song and dance atop the stage, but it was still early, so there were only a few people lingering around. Several women in resplendent clothes were moving between guests, and joyous laughter filled the air.
Xia Fei and Ludi found a quiet place to sit. Ludi waved his hand, throwing out four grade 4 Origin Crystals as he said, “Get some good things to eat and drink, and please, don’t try to save money on my behalf.”
These girls, who grew up in this environment, had seen every kind of rich guest. Neither servile nor overbearing, they served fruits and snacks as they poured. In addition, two rather pretty young women sat down next to Xia Fei.
Xia Fei said nothing, but Ludi drove these two girls away, his eyes occasionally glancing at the second floor for some reason.
“Strange. Someone who failed three tests normally wouldn’t be in the mood to enjoy the beautiful spring scenery, but you suddenly had a change of heart today and came with me to Drifting Fragrance Courtyard,” Ludi smiled and said.
Xia Fei gave a mysterious smile. “I’ve been too depressed after the last three days of testing, so I need to relax a little.”
Ludi said nothing. He was a frequent patron of this establishment and treated the place like home, feeling no restraints. He was quite happy to see Xia Fei accompanying him.
However, as time went on, Ludi realized that something strange was going on. It was not long before the courtyard was packed with people, and he knew all of the visitors. He had seen all of them before on the testing ground.
“Weird. What’s up with today? Are all the examinees so depressed that they’ve all decided to come to Drifting Fragrance Courtyard?” Ludi muttered to himself.
Xia Fei casually said, “Who knows? It might be a coincidence.”
What weirded out Ludi even more was that, despite there being so many examinees here, none of them ordered a girl and just sat there. This place was a brothel, yet none of them had come here to seek pleasure. Why was that?
Ludi frowned and said to Xia Fei, “This is bad. It seems like these fellows are all after Miss Yanqiu. It seems like I have a lot of rivals today.”
Xia Fei was unaware of the situation and asked, “Is Miss Yanqiu very famous?”
Ludi sighed. “If she were famous, I wouldn’t find this situation so weird. Each night, a girl will take the stage to display her skills. Of course, I’m not talking about those girls who just do a little song and dance but rather the last person to take the stage every night.
“The last one to take the stage tonight will be Miss Yanqiu. I only found this out a few days ago, and I immediately developed a liking for her, but this is Miss Yanqiu’s first time at Drifting Fragrance Courtyard. How could I already have so many competitors?” Ludi was very frustrated, believing that everyone was his rival in love.
“Haaa, when the final song is done, according to custom, Miss Yanqiu will take the man that she’s taken a liking to her room and spend a night of pleasure. I wonder if she’ll choose me?”
Xia Fei found it very laughable, but he kept his silence, sipping tea and eating melon seeds.
More and more people gathered in Drifting Fragrance Courtyard, one hundred percent of them being examinees of the Dragon Ascension Conclave. At dusk, there were more than a hundred in total. Of the ten thousand-some examinees in the preliminary exam, ten percent of them had come to Drifting Fragrance Courtyard as if they had all agreed on it.
Somewhat far from Xia Fei’s seat, Mu Fuping, Mu Qingping, and those two stalwart men quietly entered in disguise. Even after she found out what sort of place Drifting Fragrance Courtyard was and despite her status, Mu Fuping still stubbornly insisted on going, so the girls had disguised themselves as men to get into this place.
As the curtain of night fell, the lanterns were lit and the dancing on the stage commenced.
Xia Fei absentmindedly watched while Ludi anxiously awaited the arrival of Miss Yanqiu. Everyone around him was an opponent, leaving him very restless.
Mu Fuping observed Xia Fei for a very long time, and when she saw that he was really just here to see the song and dance, her face gradually relaxed.
“I just knew that Big Brother Xia Fei wasn’t that sort of person,” Mu Fuping told herself.
Time went by very quickly, and it was finally time for Miss Yanqiu to appear.
The moment the master of ceremonies announced Miss Yanqiu’s name, Ludi stood up and clapped for all he was worth.
*Whoosh!*
One hundred pairs of eyes turned to Ludi, all of them dripping with scorn and disdain. No one else besides Ludi was clapping.
Finding this rather funny, Xia Fei pulled Ludi back down.
Ludi frowned. “What’s going on here? Isn’t a brothel a place you’re supposed to have fun? Why are they all so grim and stern? Did I do something wrong?”
Xia Fei put on a naughty smile. “In any case, you can relax. No one will be competing for you over Miss Yanqiu.”
A few moments later, a cold-faced woman of thirty-some years stepped onto stage. She wore no makeup and had a grim gaze, appearing very much like a tigress.
Ludi got very excited, but just when he was about to stand up and shout Yanqiu’s name, Xia Fei pulled him back down.
“If you want to keep embarrassing yourself after this, I won’t stop you,” Xia Fei mysteriously said.
Miss Yanqiu stood on the stage and coldly swept her gaze over the crowd.
“Some of you might have already guessed that I am the chief proctor of this Dragon Ascension Conclave’s preliminary examination, Lu Qiuyan! All of you are very perceptive examinees, to see the true meaning behind the first three exams, possessing excellent observation and analytical abilities! Let me first congratulate all of you.”
Ludi’s eyeballs almost fell out of their sockets after he was done hearing all this.
No wonder all of the visitors tonight were examinees! This was a secret riddle!
The girl he was set on was the chief proctor?!
He had only moments ago been trying to get in the good graces of the chief proctor to spend the night with her! What sort of situation was this?
“So you already knew?” Ludi sobbingly asked.
Xia Fei silently nodded.
Ludi’s heart thumped in fear. It was a good thing that he had done anything out of line just now, or else he would have died without a grave.
In the distance, Mu Fuping and Mu Qingping were also stunned beyond compare. So Xia Fei did not come to have some fun at a brothel? Rather, it was a requirement of the riddle!
“Hmph! I can’t believe I got fooled by him,” Mu Qingping spat.
On the stage, Chief Proctor Lu Qiuyan deliberately coughed and sternly spoke. “The first topic was observation. All the examinees who have completed tonight’s riddle will receive an additional 30 points on the next four tests as a reward for completing the secret riddle.”
Saying this, Lu Qiuyan glanced at Mu Fuping and said, “Your Mu family’s people can attend the proper exam without attending the preliminary examination. Miss Fuping is so attentive when it comes to the exam, and so intelligent to guess the answer to the hidden riddle. I will explain things to the chief proctor of the proper exam and ensure that you are given a suitable reward.”
Mu Fuping’s face went red. She knew nothing about any secret riddle and had simply been following Xia Fei. She had never imagined that this would result in bonus points.
At this time, Xia Fei gave Mu Fuping a nod. It seemed that Xia Fei already knew that she was here and had just been pretending not to see her.
“However,” Lu Qiuyan’s tone changed, and she glared at Ludi, saying viciously, “there are some examinees who should know their place. If they do anything so frivolous again, they should take care that I don’t crush them to bits!”
Everyone laughed, knowing that she was referring to Ludi.
Everyone here came tonight because they had noticed the secret riddle. Only Ludi had been foolish enough to believe that Lu Qiuyan was an actual prostitute, even wanting to spend a night with her.
However, Ludi’s luck was really rather good. Even like this, he had still gotten the secret riddle and obtained extra points.
…
The crowd dispersed. Xia Fei, Ludi, Mu Fuping, Mu Qingping, and the two guards from the Mu family walked out together.
Ludi’s legs were still trembling as he grumbled, “Brother Xia, why didn’t you say anything earlier! You made me make a fool of myself tonight.”
Xia Fei nonchalantly replied, “Don’t take it too seriously. Although you didn’t notice the secret riddle, you still came to Drifting Fragrance Courtyard tonight and got the bonus points. This is luck, and at times, good luck is very important to a warrior.”
Ludi pursed his lips. Xia Fei’s words made some sense. From the first day he came to Drifting Fragrance Courtyard, Ludi had set his sights on Lu Qiuyan. Tonight, even if Xia Fei had not come with him, he still would have come.
“However, I truly must beg to differ when it comes to your taste,” Xia Fei casually said.
Everyone laughed. Lu Qiuyan was a fierce and savage woman. For Ludi to feel love at first sight could only mean that he had rather eccentric tastes.
Mu Fuping blinked and admiringly said, “Big Brother Xia, you’re truly formidable. How did you notice the secret riddle?”
Ludi asked, “That’s right! We’re both examinees, so how come I didn’t notice any secret riddle?”
Xia Fei smiled. “What was the topic of the first day’s math question?”
“The derivation of concentric circles.”
“The second day?”
“A music test, performance and tune, the Butterfly Fragrance Travels One Hundred Li.”
“And what was the topic of the third day’s painting exam?”
“A landscape, cuckoos amid drifting leaves.”
Xia Fei nodded. From the first topic, we get the word ‘circle’, from the second we get ‘fragrance’, and from the third we get ‘drifting’. Put them together—”
“I get it!” Before Xia Fei could finish, Ludi excitedly said, “Around the fragrance drifts, Drifting Fragrance Courtyard! So that’s the secret riddle! Drifting Fragrance Courtyard is most known for its azaleas. The final topic matches precisely that place’s scenery!”
Xia Fei replied, “Not just that; on the little booklet we received the first day, by taking the first word of every line and putting them together, one would get this phrase, so the examinee could easily notice the secret riddle.”
“You’re talking about the examinee manual? I threw that thing away without even looking at it,” Ludi said in frustration.
“The topic of the third day also had one last hint. There were three lines in all, and by taking the last word of each line, one would get ‘See’, ‘Rock’, ‘Autumn’, ‘See Yanqiu’.” Xia Fei smiled. “That made it very obvious that there’s a secret question in the exam, and the subject of the riddle was to go to Drifting Fragrance Courtyard and see Yanqiu. Yanqiu is none other than Lu Yanqiu.”
Mu Fuping’s eyes shone with admiration. She had not expected that Xia Fei would notice such a well-hidden riddle. Mu Qingping pursed her lips. Though she did not want to admit it, she was forced to acknowledge Xia Fei’s impressive observation and analytical abilities.
After saying all this, Xia Fei strode toward the inn he was staying in. Before leaving, he said, “From now on, Miss Fuping, please don’t follow me unless you need me for something. Even if I want to go to a brothel, it has nothing to do with you.”
