Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 398 - 325: I Am Surrounded_1

Chapter 398: Chapter 325: I Am Surrounded_1

Through the wide-open vermilion gate, Li Xuan saw beautifully carved beams and painted rafters, green tiles and red eaves, multiple layers of buildings and pavilions, brightly illuminated - this was quite the opposite of the dilapidated Earl’s mansion he had imagined, which had been abandoned for three years. It was more like a newly-renovated mansion. The gate was unusually high, presumably for the convenience of the Fumo Vajra’s passage.

A large group of attendants were still waiting outside the mansion. Li Xuan recognized the middle-aged man leading the group, Li Sihai, a veteran in Earl Chengyi’s mansion and the father of Li Dalu. He used to be the housekeeper of the East Wing of the earl’s mansion and was presumably dispatched by his parents to Beijing to look after the Earl Jingan mansion for Li Xuan.

"What’s going on?" As Li Xuan entered the mansion, he looked around in confusion, "This is more exquisite than our Earl Chengyi mansion. Did the Court fund its repair?"

"It’s not the Court, but Princess Changle." Li Sihai followed Li Xuan closely, explaining, "Recently, a group of people from Princess Changle’s mansion arrived, and within two to three days, they transformed the mansion into what it is now, using only high-quality materials."

After hearing this, Luo Yan’s eyes darkened, and she couldn’t help but chuckle, "This Princess must be considering this place as her husband’s mansion, isn’t she?"

Li Xuan also had the same thought, but he shook his head, "Yan, don’t say that. The Princess has always been generous. This might be her way of repaying me for the matter in Jinling."

Luo Yan snorted and walked away, "You stay here, I will find another place. I’m not comfortable here."

She looked sideways at Yue Qianqian, "Qianqian, do you plan to live under someone else’s roof too?"

Yue Qianqian also felt uncomfortable, and after thinking about it for a moment, she finally mustered the courage to say, "Let’s find an inn then, it won’t cost much."

With a helpless look, Li Xuan tried to block their way, "Don’t leave! Doesn’t the nameplate clearly read Earl Jingan mansion? Which part of it reminds you of a husband? Where can two weak women go at this late hour? If I let you two leave today, won’t Peng laugh at me——"

But Luo Yan didn’t change her mind and went around Li Xuan with Yue Qianqian.

Li Xuan had a headache as he rubbed his forehead, "Yan, just tell me straight, what needs to be done to make you stay? Wait, wait! I mean what needs to be done for both of you to stay?"

"Really?" Luo Yan stopped, turned back, and looked at Li Xuan with a mock smile, "If you want me to stay, let me and Qianqian choose our own place."

Li Xuan thought that her demand wasn’t asking for much and was surprisingly simple. He couldn’t help but laugh, "Of course, you can stay wherever you want."

But to his surprise, Luo Yan directly chose the main yard of the Earl Jingan mansion and pointed to a lakeside tower, "Qianqian, you stay over there."

The place she pointed out for Yue Qianqian was the most scenic location within the whole mansion.

Having no other choice left, Li Xuan also picked a yard nearby and put his luggage inside. He then took a tour around the Earl Jingan mansion with the housekeeper, Li Sihai.

After the tour, Li Xuan raised his eyebrows: "Only five rooms and two towers available inside?"

This means that the mansion could only accommodate seven groups, including the mansion owner and guests. Aside from his, Yue Qianqian, and Luo Yan’s rooms, there are two more rooms prepared for Peng Fulai and Zhang Yue, leaving only two more.

Li Xuan thought that this amount wasn’t enough and even if they kicked out Peng Fulai and Zhang Yue in the future, they would still need more rooms.

"Yes? I also feel the same, we need more rooms." Li Sihai quickly added, "But this is already the maximum I could negotiate. Initially, according to the princess’s servant, four rooms should be enough. But I figured that if you, your parents, and my son and his wife visit in the future, this won’t be sufficient. And if you take more wives, have more children, it will become even more congested——"

"Stop!" Li Xuan interrupted Li Sihai: "Tell me, who are the neighbors, and can we acquire them for expansion?"

"Expand?" Li Sihai wrinkled his eyebrows with a look of worry, "That might not be easy."

"What do you mean?" Li Xuan jumped on a wall to look around, "No one seems to be living in the surroundings. As I can see, there’s nothing at the back, it’s completely dark, not even a shadow of a person."

Li Sihai chuckled, "My lord, the land behind us, including half of the Er Tou Hutong, was confiscated from sinful officials by the Court and is now bestowed to Princess Changle by the Emperor. It seems that the Princess is planning to relocate her mansion here, but construction has not yet started."

Li Xuan held his breath for a moment and then whispered, "Remember, don’t ever let Duwei Luo hear this."

He then pointed to the east: "What about our east side? It seems that there are three or four ten acres of yards there, which are uninhabited."

"That’s also not possible." Li Sihai respectfully replied, "Just two days ago, someone from the Tianshi’s mansion bought a few tens of acres of residence next door. They plan to build a Taoist temple here, apparently spending tens of thousands of dollars, double the market price."

Li Xuan’s face turned greenish-black. He had no choice but to look to the other side, "What about our west side? No one is building houses or temples there, right?"

Li Sihai shook his head right away, "No, there isn’t, but it seems a new medical center is being built. Our famous Nanjing Jiangnan Medical Center plans to open a branch here in Beijing."

Feeling confused, Li Xuan thought he was being surrounded. So he scratched his head, realizing there was no immediate need to expand the Earl Jingan mansion.

What Li Xuan didn’t know was that not far from the outside of the Earl Jingan mansion, someone was standing on the walls of Beijing, looking towards the Earl Jingan mansion.

One of them was the young swordmaster who had once interacted with Xiahou Ying by the canal of Taierzhuang. Not far from him was a young girl in golden armor.

The girl held a golden hourglass in her hand, her gaze focused on the sand falling within. "In just one day, the Heavenly Chaos has surpassed its previous state."

"It must be related to the case in the East Palace. Li Xuan’s involvement has caused everyone’s fate to change." The expression of the young swordmaster was extremely solemn, "This is the greatest variable in the universe. The Wenshan Seal also must be retrieved from him."

"Don’t worry, older brother, I have already arranged it."

The girl put away the hourglass, "In the near future, the Wenshan Seal will return to its rightful place."

※※ ※※

Meanwhile, Zhang Yue was awakening from his unconsciousness.

"Sir, you are awake?"

That was a delicate, pleasant voice, "I’ve been waiting for you for a long time."

Zhang Yue instinctively became alert and started using Xingtian’s Overbearing War Secret. But soon, he was slightly taken aback, finding that the owner of the voice was a beautiful, innocent girl sitting on his left.

She leaned her soft and fragrant body against his chest, and used her tender fingers to handle a grape, then brought it to Zhang Yue’s mouth, "Sir, do try it. This grape is said to have been cultivated by immortals using magic, it’s very fresh. Here, open your mouth."

Zhang Yue was taken aback, thinking how could there be such a woman in the world? Her voice and movements were seductively charming, but her face revealed an innocence like a young girl in her first love, infatuated with her lover.

Zhang Yue suppressed his stirring emotions, frowned, and looked around, "Where is this? I remember I was kidnapped before I passed out?"

He instinctively reached for the sword at his waist, but it had been taken away.

Instead, the girl propped her leg against the bedframe.

"Be gentle, sir. Don’t be so rough."

The girl frowned, but did not resist, "This is Earl Huichang’s mansion, the residence of the current royal uncle. He wanted to invite you over, but the people below may have misunderstood his orders."

Zhang Yue didn’t really hear her words, his heart though was pounding furiously. He realized in an instant, he must have been drugged.

It wasn’t a strong drug, but the kind used for arousal in brothels.

The problem was the girl’s gentle and enchanting voice, her every move was seemingly imbued with magic, not only dissolving his hostility, but also completely capturing his soul.

Under normal circumstances, he would definitely ask who the royal uncle was, but at this moment, all he saw was the enchanting woman in front of him.

He took a glance at the girl and inevitably swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

"What do you want with me?"

"What do we want?" The girl blinked her eyes in surprise and retorted, "Of course, whatever you want, sir. I’m just a small dancer at your disposal. The royal uncle instructed me to satisfy you entirely."

Zhang Yue’s breath quickened. He struggled to maintain his composure and said, "Then let me leave, I need to go to Earl Jingan’s mansion."

"If sir wishes to leave, he can leave at any time. No one is stopping you."

The girl giggled and said, "But sir doesn’t want to try it? I know many tricks."

She listed several sexual acrobatics, all seductive acts performed by courtesans by the Qinhuai River.

This rendered Zhang Yue spellbound, his mind utterly clouded, eyes flashing with desire, "Can you do the Ant Climbs the Tree?

"Ant Climbs the Tree? What’s that?" The girl thought for a moment with a genuinely innocent look then shook her head, "Sir really knows a lot about the ins and outs of the ten miles of Qinhuai. Why don’t--"

She looked at Zhang Yue with sparkling eyes, "You teach me?"

Before her, the burly man transformed, in her eyes, into a wild bear.