That night, just as Governess Hsu had predicted, Ye An snuck out of the palace clothed in dark commoner's clothes. She was dressed as a traveling scholar, the upper half of her hair pinned into a bun on top of her head with a hat made from thin rattan that had a hole in the middle placed through her bun. The hat even had black organza flowing down from its rims past her waist to conceal her face.
Through the organza, Xi Chen saw that the young emperor even carried a small bag made from cloth on his back to complete the look. Xi Chen had been keeping an eye on the emperor's residence since late afternoon. The young emperor waited for an hour after lights out before sneaking out of his residence and selected a quiet area to climb over the palace walls as Xi Chen watched. Xi Chen noticed how skillful and familiar the emperor was in his motion as he climbed the wall and knew that this was not the first time the emperor had done this.
Once out of the palace, Ye An walked towards the direction of the city square and passed through it. As she reached the outskirts on the other side of the city, she turned south. As Xi Chen followed behind the young emperor while keeping in mind to be at least a few meters away, his alertness started to sky-rocket. How did the emperor know of such a place? Did he come to this place in his previous outings as well?
It was Xi Chen's first time here and the place they ended up at seemed to be the red light district of the city. Shady bars and taverns lined the streets that were dotted with semi-conscious drunkards. There were high-pitched peals of laughter and loud voices. Men were stumbling out of brothels with women hanging onto them. Some of the men were even wearing their official uniforms as they exited the brothels.
One of the government officials who stepped out of a brothel with a throng of women nearly knocked into Xi Chen. It was this brothel that the young emperor stepped into. Xi Chen was taken aback. He thought that this was extremely out of character for the seemingly stoic young emperor. But what did he know, technically he only had his first meeting with him this morning.
As Xi Chen entered the brothel, a group of women rushed over to welcome him, their hands all over him.
"Sir! Welcome! What service would you like to have?"
"Good sir, come follow Xiao Xi to Xiao Xi's room!"
"Sir, I can play guzheng for you to fall asleep to. Come to my room!"
The women blocked him from following the emperor deeper into the brothel. He lost sight of the emperor as Ye An went down one of the many corridors leading away from the entrance.
*******
Ye An walked through a maze of corridors until she reached the large manmade pond in the middle of the brothel. The pond reflected the perfectly clear night sky overhead as Ye An headed towards the third room on her right. She had been here multiple times and it was easy to find her way in this labyrinth of a brothel. She knocked on the wooden door frame of the sliding door covered in parchment paper in a staccato rhythm of 2-3-2.
"Come in." A sweetly feminine voice called out from inside the room.
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THE NIGHT EMPEROR: 夜安王 【The Night Emperor Book 1】| ✔️
Historical Fiction☑ COMPLETED "There are enough bad things in life, hold on to whatever it is that gives you joy." For the past 22 years, the Empress Mother has held onto the Dragon Throne that was rightfully Ye An's. Now, Ye An has finally ascended to the throne. Bu...
