World's First Traitor System (398)

Chapter 398 - The Courtesan’s Mansion

After much hemming and hawing, Fan Li finally understood what was making Fan Chun so nervous. A love triangle? Or rather, a love… octagon?

For him, marrying any one of the three women would be joyous news. But marrying all three at once was, well, a little terrifying.

“What you’re experiencing is the result of your own actions, you brat!” Fan Li said with a hint of annoyance.

“Second Brother!” Fan Chun exclaimed anxiously. “My original intention was to cooperate with you, wasn’t it? What good could come from being the brother of a treacherous minister? Of course I'd indulge in drinking, gambling, and frequenting brothels.”

“Why are you dragging me into this?” Fan Li grumbled.

His brother's words, while sounding logical, also had a strange feel of utter nonsense.

“Brother! I don't care; you have to help me with this!”

The commander of two hundred thousand garrison troops was acting like a spoiled child.

Seeing no escape, Fan Li reluctantly asked, “Fine, what do you want? Are you marrying all three women or not, and how many?”

Fan Chun's eyes lit up at this.

“All of them!”

“I want them all!”

“Brother, you must help me marry all three of them smoothly.”

Fan Li kicked Fan Chun squarely in the backside.

How infuriating!

The backside of a Unity Realm cultivator was too thick; Fan Li nearly fell over, while Fan Chun didn't even flinch.

“Brother, don't be angry. If you’d said you were going to hit me, I would have dropped my protective aura. Hit me as much as you like!” Fan Chun said, smiling as he helped Fan Li up, dog-like, brushing the dirt from his clothes.

"This matter won't be easy!" Fan Li said, annoyed.

To expect a woman to be magnanimous, avoid jealousy, and forgive a man's lies and deception? Was that even possible?

There were two things that were particularly difficult for women.

"Who taught you to go after three women at once, you brat?"

Fan Chun looked at Fan Li pitifully, as if to say, "Who do you think?".

"Let's go!"

"Brother, where are we going?"

"Where do you think? I'm going to help you propose!"

…

Having been removed from the registry of common prostitutes, Su Qingfang, Chen Shishi, and Qin Hongyu moved out of their respective brothels.

Perhaps through some unspoken connection, or the shared experience of their joint performance, the three incredibly beautiful courtesans bought the same mansion and became close, cohabitating friends.

The capital of Great Chu was incredibly expensive, but with their status, buying a tasteful mansion wasn't too difficult.

They say it was once a mansion passed down by a meritorious family, a mansion gifted by the Chu Emperor centuries ago.

But the family had declined; subsequent generations wasted their fortune and sold their ancestral mansion for cheap.

The mansion’s original name had long been forgotten, and now, the citizens of the capital simply called it ‘The Courtesan’s Mansion.’

The brothers, Fan Li and Fan Chun, arrived at the Courtesan's Mansion. Seeing that the main gate was open, they headed inside.

Then, a servant appeared from the side, a maid.

“Who are our esteemed guests? Do you have an appointment with our mistresses?” The maidservant asked.

An appointment?

Fan Li was startled, and finally remembered that the servants didn't know his identity.

Otherwise, in Great Chu, even to enter the palace, he wouldn't need to ask, he could simply charge right in.

“Do Su Qingfang, Chen Shishi, and Qin Hongyu reside here?” Fan Li said with a smile. "I...we don't have an appointment. I was just wondering if we could see your mistresses?"

"You don't have an appointment?"

The maidservant frowned, looking troubled.

“Our mistresses don’t receive strangers, only some old acquaintances.”

“If you two are not among their acquaintances, then please excuse me for not announcing your arrival.”

Fan Li and Fan Chun looked at each other in surprise.

They didn't receive strangers?

Only their acquaintances?

Could they be former patrons of the three courtesans?

Fan Chun's face flushed red, while Fan Li's brow furrowed.

He knew about the courtesans' history, and if they had any former patrons, Fan Li couldn’t object.

But today, he was here to propose marriage for his brother. If he happened to walk in on the three courtesans entertaining their former patrons, even if it was just for conversation or music, it would still be highly inappropriate.

“Forget it, let's go home," Fan Li said, shaking his head at his brother.

Fan Chun felt as if his soul had left his body.

He seemed to foresee that if he left, his relationship with the three women would be completely over.

But Fan Chun was, after all, the commander of two hundred thousand garrison troops, not an indecisive scholar.

He gritted his teeth and said to Fan Li, “Second Brother, so what! A real man can find a wife anywhere!”

The two brothers turned to leave, when they heard the sound of footsteps within the mansion, accompanied by the delightful laughter of several women.

The footsteps were light and quick, clearly the gait of women with incredible figures.

The laughter was even more delightful, like the song of a nightingale.

"Esteemed guests, my mistresses are here to see their guests out. Do you want me to ask them something?” The maidservant asked kindly.

"No..."

Fan Chun was about to decline when Fan Li grabbed him.

He had noticed that those who were approaching were all women, and there were no sounds of men's footsteps or voices.

"Guests?"

Su Qingfang walked at the front of the group.

When she saw the two men standing by the gate, she cried out in surprise.

“Ah? Duke Jin? General Fan?”

Fan Chun, with no other option, turned to say a few polite words and leave.

However, when he saw the group, he couldn't look away.

Before him stood seven or eight women, each incredibly beautiful, with unique and captivating auras.

Fan Li, too, guessed their identities.

They were likely, like Su Qingfang and the others, the most sought-after courtesans in their respective brothels.

“Duke Jin?!”

When they heard Su Qingfang’s address to Fan Li and Fan Chun, those who were unfamiliar with them changed their expressions.

The women hesitated slightly, then prepared to bow to Fan Li.

In Great Chu, everyone knew that Fan Li was, in all but name, the true Emperor.

"Please, no formalities, please,"

Before Fan Li could speak, Fan Chun quickly stopped the women.

He looked like a fool, asking, "Fang'er... Cough, I mean, Lady Su, what’s going on here?”

Fan Li rolled his eyes.

Good grief!

“Fang’er?”

He was certainly familiar with them.

Su Qingfang’s face flushed slightly, sensing the strange glances from her companions.

Even more significant were Chen Shishi and Qin Hongyu who seemed intensely interested, as if they had heard some incredible secret.

While Su Qingfang was bowing her head in embarrassment, Chen Shishi gracefully walked towards Fan Chun.

"General."

Her voice was like a spring breeze, creating gentle ripples, as if silk was softly wrapping itself around him.

"Today, some sisters from the Morning Star Pavilion and the Spring Beauty Hall came to celebrate our new residence," she said.

“I was not aware that Duke Jin and General Fan would also visit."

"Forgive my unceremonious welcome. But I can’t help but wonder, General Fan, did you come to see Qingfang, Hongyu… or Shishi?”

The woman’s eyes were gentle, her voice gentle, her expression gentle.

Everything was gentle.

But hidden behind that gentleness was a blade, in the question that she had asked.