How could my childhood sweetheart be the current empress?

The Tianshi Department has now intervened in the investigation, and during this process, the figure of a ninja from Izumo Province was discovered.

These ninjas from Izumo Province are very proficient in assassination and their methods are cruel and ruthless. Most importantly, ninjas are very good at hiding their whereabouts.

Those assassinated by the ninjas were all Dayan's ministers. If they did not have extremely sufficient intelligence, it would be impossible for these ninjas to succeed every time and escape unscathed.

This made one wonder if there was a spy from Izumo lurking in the capital.

This spy was extremely well hidden and was able to deal with high-ranking officials, thereby obtaining important intelligence and then carrying out assassinations.

The task of investigating the spies of Izumo State finally fell into the hands of Xu Chengling.

For this purpose, His Majesty gave him a golden imperial decree that allowed him to mobilize the Astronomical Bureau at will, and he must find the spy.

At present, Xu Chengling already has a target in mind, but he cannot alert the enemy.

Last time, he went to Huaying Tower with a finance minister named Jin. If the other party’s goal was to get rid of Dayan’s important officials, then Minister Jin was definitely one of their targets.

But Xu Chengling seemed to have overlooked one problem, as if he was also an important official of Dayan, and the most important prime minister.

After all, it was a task assigned by His Majesty. If he could complete it, he could gain His Majesty's trust and avoid being beheaded.

"My lady, please go back first. I have somewhere else to go."

Inside the carriage, Xu Chengling said to the lady in front of him.

At this time, the carriage was passing through the East Market area, and the streets were bustling with people and traffic.

Most people would keep out of the way when they see this carriage with four claws carved on it. After all, the person sitting inside is definitely not a big shot they can afford to offend.

"Are you going to Huayinglou again?"

Yan Jixue's eyebrows trembled slightly, and she asked with a somewhat dissatisfied look.

In response to this, Xu Chengling couldn't help but sigh and replied:

"I have a duty to fulfill. There is nothing I can do. But don't worry, my lady. You are the only one in my heart."

After saying that, he asked Uncle Gu to stop and got off the carriage himself.

After watching the carriage slowly drive away, Xu Chengling turned around and walked straight towards Huaying Tower.

As usual, Tong Xin followed by his side, never leaving.

Soon, the two came to a brothel with extremely luxurious decoration. On the plaque in front of them were three large and vigorous characters: Huayinglou.

"Sir, come and play, there are many fun things here."

In front of Huaying Studio, several girls dressed up gorgeously were soliciting customers.

Even the girl standing outside the door was pretty, but still inferior to the girls inside.

Xu Chengling was also a frequent visitor to Huayinglou. He walked in with Tongxin, who was in disguise, as if he was familiar with the place.

I saw that the architecture inside the building was even more luxurious, with sandalwood as beams, crystal jade disks as lamps, pearls as curtains, marble as pillars, and the ground carved into lotus flowers and covered with warm Lantian jade, which gave a warm feeling when stepping on bare feet.

On the top of the first floor, there is a huge moon pearl hanging, shining brightly like a bright moon. Once night falls, this moon pearl is like the bright moon in the sky, illuminating the entire Huaying Tower.

With such luxurious decoration, only the rich and powerful can afford to visit Huaying Studio. Ordinary people cannot afford to visit Huaying Studio even if they spend all their money.

But the most profitable service of Huayinglou is of course the girls here.

The girls in Huayinglou are not only young and beautiful, but also proficient in poetry, songs, music, chess, calligraphy and painting. They are no worse than the talented women outside, and they are even more proactive than these talented women.

Although the main selling point of the girls in Huayinglou is that they sell their art but not their bodies, problems that can be solved with money are never a problem. This is also the unspoken rule of Huayinglou.

Among these girls, the most eye-catching one is naturally the signature courtesan of Huayinglou, Yu Xianglan.

All you need to know is that countless dignitaries who came to this Huayinglou spent a fortune just to see this courtesan.

It is also said that Yu Xianglan only sells her art and not her body in Huayinglou, so it is very difficult to see her. Even if you spend a lot of money, you can only see her sitting behind a gauze curtain and performing folk songs from her hometown.

It was not yet evening, and there were not many guests in Huaying Studio. Only a few people were sitting here and there, watching the girls from Huaying Studio perform their talents.

At this time, a heavily made-up woman came over. The frost on her face showed that she was no longer young, but she still had her charm, which showed that she was also a beauty when she was young.

"Oh, isn't this Mr. Xu? Are there two people this time?"

The madam of Huayinglou came over with her hips raised, and she looked charming and attractive in every frown and smile.

"Yes, but I want to meet Miss Yuxianglan."

Xu Chengling nodded and stated his purpose directly.

If an ordinary person asked to see Yu Xianglan, he would probably have been kicked out of Huaying Tower.

But Xu Chengling's identity was not ordinary, and the only person who knew his identity was this brothel owner.

The bustard couldn't help but smile and said with some embarrassment:

"Master Xu, our Miss Yu Xianglan can only receive one person at a time. I'm afraid two people won't be enough."

As she spoke, she looked at Tongxin, who was in disguise beside Xu Chengling, and gestured.

Xu Chengling also understood what the brothel owner meant. If he wanted to see Yu Xianglan, he had to go alone.

So he asked Tongxin to stay here, find a girl to listen to some music, and wait for him to come down.

"Haha, Master Xu, then come with me."

The madam smiled slightly, twisted her slender waist, and led Xu Chengling upstairs.

This scene was seen by guests not far away.

"Hey, that man seems to have gone upstairs."

"Wait, that direction seems to be Yu Xianglan's room."

"Wow, who on earth is this person, and how could he meet Yu Xianglan in person?"

"Don't look at it. If you have money, you can give it a try. For people like us, the most we can do is come to Huayinglou to look at girls and listen to some songs. If you want to see the oiran, just go to bed."

Everyone was talking behind the scenes, and Xu Chengling, led by the brothel owner, came to a door upstairs.

This room is different from other rooms. Not to mention the exterior decoration, the area alone is several times larger than that of an ordinary room, and there is only one room around it.

"Haha, Master Xu, Miss Yu Xianglan likes quiet places, please go in."

Soon, the brothel owner explained the situation to him.

Before leaving, the brothel owner gently patted Xu Chengling on the shoulder and whispered:

"Young Master, I haven't found anything suspicious about her yet..."

"Well, continue investigating."

Xu Chengling nodded, then pushed open the door in front of him, ready to meet Miss Yuxianglan.

"who is it?"

As soon as he pushed the door open, a sweet voice like the chirping of an oriole came from inside the room.

Chapter 156 A Little Song and Eighteen Touches

Xu Chengling pushed the door open and walked in.

As soon as he came in, a faint sandalwood scent filled his nose. A ray of fine sunlight came in through the hollow carved windows. After a careful look, he found that it was an elegant place.

The woman's boudoir came into view. A guqin stood in the corner, a bronze mirror was placed on a wooden dressing table, and in front of her was a blue gauze curtain. A graceful and beautiful figure sat behind the curtain, but her face could not be seen clearly.

However, judging from her graceful figure and the beautiful face that was vaguely visible behind the curtain, she must be a great beauty.

If you think about it carefully, someone would spend a fortune to see her, so you can imagine how beautiful she is.

But in Xu Chengling's opinion, this is somewhat of a marketing hype, the purpose of which is to raise the value of this courtesan and make her full of mystery and romance.

After all, in reality, this is how stars are created.

However, even if this is a marketing tactic, the premise is that the person is good-looking. If someone spends a fortune just to see her true face, and ends up seeing a Qiao Biluo, he would have to report it as a scam directly.

"Are you Miss Yuxianglan?"

Xu Chengling closed the door gently and came to the blue gauze curtain. There was a small stool there, and he sat down on it directly.

The woman sitting behind the gauze curtain nodded slightly, opened her cherry lips slightly, and said:

"Yes, I am the young lady. May I ask who you are, young master?"

"My name is Xu Chengling, and I am a little book boy in the Xiangguo Mansion."

Xu Chengling replied calmly, remaining very calm in the face of the courtesan who he had to spend a fortune to see.

"Mr. Xu, you are joking. If you are just a book boy, how can you meet me?"

The woman behind the gauze curtain smiled without showing her teeth, and her laughter was as sweet as the clear sound of a silver bell, which made people feel relaxed and happy.

An oiran is an oiran. She not only has to be pretty, but also have a nice voice and some talents. It would be best if she can do some tricks in bed.

Yu Xianglan did not ask any further questions. Generally, guests who come here do not want to be asked about their identity and family affairs.

"Mr. Xu, are you here to listen to the little girl play a song? Or is there something else?"

Yu Xianglan asked lightly, exhaling the name of Xianglan.

She was holding a musical instrument in her hand, which looked like a pipa and a erhu, but not like either.

Xu Chengling couldn't help but smile slightly as he looked at the charming woman in front of him. She was wearing a pink and white robe with wide cuffs, and her waist-length purple hair was tied with a pink butterfly headband.

Yu Xianglan's outfit reminded Xu Chengling of a shrine maiden's costume, but they were not quite the same.

Behind Yu Xianglan there was a knife rack with a knife more than two meters long on it. The blade was red and it looked like a decoration.

"So, Miss Xianglan means there are other services?"

He couldn't help but speak, testing the other party's reaction.

"Haha, if you want other services from me, then you'll have to see what you can do."

Yu Xianglan pursed her lips and smiled slightly.

"Then let's listen to a little song first."

"Then please listen, sir."

Yu Xianglan held a zither in her hand, and with her slender hands she grasped a small thing that looked like a paddle and plucked the strings.

A beautiful and melodious piano sound echoed in the room. This melody was somewhat different from other melodies Xu Chengling had heard, but it gave him a familiar feeling.

This feeling is like a ditty from home.

Yu Xianglan played a song, then gently put down the zither in her arms. She looked at the man in front of her and said in a tender voice:

"What do you think of my song, sir?"

"It's like listening to fairy music and my ears are temporarily bright."

Xu Chengling couldn't help but smile and said lightly.

"Haha, Master Xu, you are too kind."

"Now that we are here, I wonder if Miss Xianglan knows any other songs?"

"What kind of music does Master Xu want to listen to?"

"For example, all the girls in this brothel have a talent. How about asking Miss Xianglan to play Eighteen Touches?"

As soon as Xu Chengling finished speaking, Yu Xianglan, who was sitting behind the gauze curtain, changed her expression slightly, but soon regained her smile and said lightly:

"I'm afraid the little girl can't do this eighteen touches."

When Xu Chengling heard this, he was immediately unhappy and said:

"As the most beautiful lady in Huaying Tower, Miss Xianglan is much better off than the other girls downstairs in terms of both status and treatment. Why can't Miss Xianglan play the little songs that all the other girls can play?"

These words immediately stopped the woman behind the gauze curtain, and she fell into silence.

After a long while, Yu Xianglan slowly opened her mouth and said with a smile:

"Master Xu, in fact, I have never played the Eighteen Touches, and I don't know how to play them."

As if he had guessed what the other party would say, Xu Chengling didn't care and said:

"That's no problem. If you don't know how to play, I'll teach you. It's very simple."

Seeing that Xu Chengling insisted on letting her play the Eighteen Touches, Yu Xianglan finally became a little uneasy and had to say: