Heaven is the shore of mortal dust

Chapter 58

It's obvious without even thinking that this must be the madam.

"Are you two gentlemen bullying us, a widow and her orphan, just because this garden doesn't belong to the government?"

Wei Zijun saw that the woman was quite pretty and didn't find her repulsive, so he replied kindly, "Shopkeeper, you've misunderstood. We were just walking along the road when these girls forcibly dragged us in, so it's understandable that I, as her brother, am a little angry."

"Oh, is that so? Then the girls were wrong. I apologize." The madam curtsied, then straightened up and said, "Gentlemen, you must rarely come to such places. Now that you're here, how can you leave without sitting down? Wouldn't that make me, your host, seem impolite?"

"Shopkeeper, you're too kind. My brother and I are busy with other matters today, so we won't bother you any longer," Wei Zijun said politely.

Upon hearing that she was leaving, the woman who had been leaning against Wei Zijun earlier hurried forward, grabbed Wei Zijun's collar, and gazed at her silently.

A courtesan, with such longing eyes, cautiously tugs at your sleeve, gazing at you pitifully; anyone would sigh in sympathy.

Wei Zijun felt a slight pang of sadness and said softly, "Miss, is there something you want to say to me? If not, may I visit you another day?"

"Would you please stay and listen to me sing a little song, sir?" The woman gently shook Wei Zijun's clothes, her eyes filled with longing as she looked at him.

Wei Zijun sighed softly. This beauty did not want to be hurt, but she had no choice but to be.

"Oh, sir, how can you be so heartless? Yiren just wants to sing you a song. Please listen to it before you leave!" The madam reached out and stroked the trembling hair ornament on her head, trying to persuade her.

“This…” Wei Zijun looked at Li Tianqi, somewhat embarrassed.

Li Tianqi was already displeased when he saw the woman come over to pull her, and now seeing her hesitate because of another woman, a strange feeling welled up in his heart, a sour taste spreading through him.

"Fourth brother, just say you want a woman! You've made me, your elder brother, completely clueless and making wild guesses." Anyone with common sense could hear how sour his tone was. Even Li Tianqi was startled by his own jealousy.

As if trying to convince himself that he wasn't jealous, or as if trying to prove something, Li Tianqi said to the madam, "Prepare the cleanest superior room for my brother, and hurry up!"

"Yes!" the madam exclaimed excitedly and went to greet her.

Li Tianqi leaned down and whispered in Wei Zijun's ear, "Fourth brother! If you've fallen for someone, just say so. Why would your second brother stop you?"

“Second Brother—” Wei Zijun said helplessly, “I don’t even want Xinhe, a pure and innocent woman, so why would I be thinking about such things? Could it be that Second Brother has fallen in love? If so, Second Brother, just say it. I’m right here.”

Li Tianqi laughed loudly. Indeed, his worries were unnecessary. His fourth brother was not the kind of person who indulged in sensual pleasures. If he really wanted to stay here, he would definitely stop him. How could he let these women, who were loved by thousands, defile his fourth brother? But why was there still a pang of jealousy? Was it because he saw him treating a courtesan so gently?

"My lords, the room is ready. Please follow me." The infatuated woman, named Yiren, led the way.

Wei Zijun glanced at Li Tianqi, remaining silent, somewhat annoyed by his impulsive actions earlier.

“Then… let’s prepare some wine and food.” Li Tianqi turned to Wei Zijun and said, “We’ve never drunk wine in a brothel before! How about we try some wine from a brothel today?” Without waiting for a reply, he pulled Wei Zijun away.

Wei Zijun was forcibly dragged into a side room. The room was covered with scarlet curtains, and a four-cornered palace lantern hung in the center. On the wall opposite the door was a landscape painting. A painted screen stood at the corner, and beyond the screen was a low couch with a low table on it, on which wine and dishes were already prepared.

The private room was surprisingly elegant and clean, without the decadent atmosphere I had expected. Moreover, there was even a zither placed under the diamond-shaped window on the right. I never thought that such a place of pleasure would have such an elegant place.

Seeing the satisfied looks on their faces, Yiren introduced, "You two gentlemen said you wanted a clean room, so this is it. This place only caters to guests who want to listen to music, so there are no brocade quilts, and no guests have stayed here before. It is a pure and tranquil place."

"Hmm! Very good." Li Tianqi nodded in satisfaction and pulled Wei Zijun to sit down with him on the couch.

Seeing that Yiren was still standing beside her with her hands at her sides, Wei Zijun took out a silver ingot and handed it to Yiren, saying, "Thank you, Miss Yiren! Please go and rest."

“Young master, these dishes and wines don’t need this money.” Yiren looked up at Wei Zijun, but didn’t dare to accept it.

"Oh, these are for the young lady, consider it as a token of appreciation for her service to us." He felt guilty for betraying the young lady's kindness and could only offer some silver as compensation.

"Thank you, young master!" Yiren took the silver, turned away somewhat disappointedly, and closed the door behind her.

"How could Fourth Brother be so clueless about romance, causing the young lady such heartbreak?" Li Tianqi filled two cups with wine. "Zijun, try this wine from the brothel! I've heard it has aphrodisiac properties!"

"An aphrodisiac!? Did they add drugs?" Wei Zijun asked, raising her eyes.

"Of course not. This wine contains natural medicinal herbs such as tiger penis, deer antler, and seahorse, making it a nourishing and strengthening product. Don't worry, it won't cause any problems!"

"Second Brother, drink first. Rong Zijun, have a couple of bites of food first." Tiger penis! Deer antler! Seahorse! If she drinks this wine, won't she get a nosebleed?

Seeing Li Tianqi drink a cup, she said with some concern, "Second Brother, don't drink too much. I'm afraid this wine is too nourishing and might cause you heatiness."

"Hmm," Li Tianqi replied casually, ate a couple of bites of food, and drank a glass of wine.

After eating for a while, Wei Zijun noticed that something was off. She looked up at Li Tianqi and was startled.

At this moment, Li Tianqi's face was flushed, and his handsome eyes were staring straight at her, filled with blatant desire.

"Zijun, Second Brother is so hot." Without waiting for a reply, Li Tianqi took off his outer robe in front of Wei Zijun and opened the collar of his inner robe, revealing his firm chest.

Wei Zijun was extremely embarrassed, wondering why two cups of wine had changed Li Tianqi's temperament.

"Zijun, it's so hot." Li Tianqi seemed to be trying his best to suppress something, and wanted to take off his inner shirt as well.

"Don't take it off, you'll catch a cold." Wei Zijun sensed something was wrong, quickly went around the low table, leaned against Li Tianqi, and touched his face with her hand. Ouch! It's so hot, is this wine really that strong?

Little did she know that Li Tianqi was like a raging torrent, ready to erupt at any moment, and the contact with her skin caused his remaining rationality to collapse instantly.

Before she realized something was wrong, Li Tianqi had already pulled her into his arms.

[Volume 1, Deer City Chapter: Chapter 52 Poisoning (Part 2)]

His heavy breathing sprayed onto her face, and seeing that his eyes were about to spit fire, Wei Zijun thought to herself: Oh no.

"Second brother, what's wrong? Don't scare Ziju." The person being hugged was flustered.

"There's an aphrodisiac in this wine!" Li Tianqi gasped for breath, his eyes filled with a desire that seemed to want to devour her. "Zijun, help your second brother."