Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 868 - 545: Chance Encounter

Chapter 868: Chapter 545: Chance Encounter

After finalizing the arrangements for the Earth Palace Remnants, Xu Yuan and Bai Muxi didn’t linger there for long and took a carriage non-stop to the famous Huaijiu Alley in Di’an.

Just as most people would think of the Longping River when Yanyu Alley was mentioned in Di’an City, Huaijiu Alley was one of the most well-known commercial streets in Di’an City, famous for its expensive goods.

They found a stable to park their carriage at the roadside, and Xu Yuan led Bai Muxi onto the main road.

Although named after an alley, Huaijiu Alley was comparable in size to the city’s spacious main roads after several expansions. Pedestrians and carriages crisscrossed, making the whole street district lively and prosperous.

As he mingled in the crowd, Xu Yuan felt a certain leisurely contentment in his heart.

Blue skies, ink-like distant mountains, and the cool breeze of spring and winter met them head-on, refreshing but not biting.

This stirred up some memories in him.

In his previous life, he disliked shopping, even detested it, because of the internet.

In this life, he quite liked it; after all, there were not that many forms of in-home entertainment, and he didn’t have to struggle for a living. Hence, going out for a casual stroll became one of the few pastimes he had.

Of course, the main reason was still for the pursuit of romantic encounters.

The love bought with silver in the Hook Bar was just temporary. Only the true love found in seduction had the power to soothe the soul.

He had become a regular visitor to Huaijiu Alley.

The reason was simple: due to the high prices of goods, almost everyone walking down this alley came from wealthy families, and there was a much higher chance to encounter beauties from such households than ordinary ones.

Thinking to himself, Xu Yuan habitually scanned the noble ladies walking down the street.

There were heroines with veiled hats and longswords on their backs, and delicate, soft, and quiet ladies from esteemed households.

Indeed, his memory hadn’t deceived him.

Walking down the familiar streets, the memories in Xu Yuan’s mind began to resurface gradually.

Memories of the past surfaced in his mind; Xu Yuan suddenly remembered his notorious reputation, which seemed to have spread from here, and he unconsciously chuckled.

The word around the market was that Third Young Master of the Prime Minister’s Mansion was excessively debauched and forced himself on common girls.

But did he actually need to force anyone?

Other profligate sons might indeed need to, but Xu Yuan certainly did not.

That was completely off-base.

Setting his identity aside for the moment, just taking off the human skin mask on his face would cause his head-turning rate to sky-rocket, overshadowing those well-shaped noble ladies and heroines by dozens of times.

Could consensual affairs be called coercion?

Now, thinking back, Xu Yuan realized that among the noble ladies he had been with in Di’an, quite a few must have deliberately approached him.

However, it was true that he had killed a man on the street, but that was the other party provoking him first.

While courting beauties, he occasionally encountered those sycophants who would make snide remarks, and even after he spent a love-filled night with a beauty, they would gather a group of friends to block him in an inn.

Of course, many of these people were well-known.

In this era, many noble ladies were betrothed at a young age. While pursuing romantic affairs, Xu Yuan often encountered betrothed noble ladies, but what was that to him? If the lady didn’t mention it during their intimacy, how could he be aware of her engagement?

After the bad reputation had spread, over time, some literati smelling an opportunity approached him.

Xu Yuan, after all, was the son of the current Prime Minister. Relying on their prestige, they used the name of righteousness and cited classics to verbally humiliate him.

This was a distinctive way of gaining fame in this era.

The literati with titles were protected by the Imperial Court; the Yamen had to go through various levels of approval to arrest them, and usually, profligate sons just had to endure being cursed on the streets. But who was Xu Yuan?

Four words:

Beat the hell out of them.

They taunted with words, he responded with fists—fair and square.

Towards these literati, Xu Yuan initially just beat them enough to feel satisfied, knowing well that if such public violence reached his elder brother’s ears, he would undoubtedly be hung up and whipped upon returning home.

But later, he found that moderation was pointless for these scholars; they seemed even more eager after a beating.

And when he got back home, as long as Xu Changge heard that he had caused trouble outside, he would beat him, even if he hadn’t killed anyone.

Xu Yuan had a moment of realization.

Since he was going to be beaten anyway, he might as well just kill them next time; at least that would keep the flies in line.

Thus, the first literary man to lie dead in the streets soon appeared.

Unfortunately, these scholars seemed to be pursuing a spotless reputation in life; not only did they not settle down, but their verbal and written censure of him only intensified. And when he got home, Xu Changge also got rougher.

Feeling a growing bitterness, the second and third "pioneers" were directly beheaded by him in public with a knife.

It was this merciless method that finally calmed the scholars, but his reputation spread even further as a result.

These scholars didn’t dare provoke him in real life but used their pens to spread his infamy across the whole territory of Dayan.

And then those who came to pick fights were disciples from the Sects and the Noble Clans, and the vicious cycle continued.

Thinking of this, Xu Yuan couldn’t help but sigh softly to himself,

"What the hell are all these affairs...."

"Hm?"

Bai Muxi, standing beside him, heard this and asked subconsciously, "What was the Young Master just saying?"

Xu Yuan glanced at Mu Xi, still veiled with purple gauze, her fair skin dazzling under the warm noon sun, and shook his head,

"Nothing, just remembering some things from the past."

As he spoke, Xu Yuan pointed his hand toward a shop not far away, famous for being deserted: