After Crossdressing and Provoking Long AoTian

“We’re just preparing for both possibilities.” Yu Qingtang gave a dry laugh and muttered under his breath, “It’s not like I can help much right now anyway—but are you seriously planning to take both of us with you while you search?”

He phrased it tactfully. “You’re going to look a little... abnormal.”

Ye Chenyan glanced at the sleek, well-fed waterbird, then lowered his eyes to the God of Wealth statue in his arms.

He raised an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t feel safe leaving either of you behind.”

Qingzhu glanced at him but chose not to point out that there was probably only one particular God of Wealth statue he was actually worried about.

“Where do we start?” Qingzhu asked thoughtfully. “The old Pill King isn’t stupid. With them searching this openly, he must have gone into hiding. He won’t reveal himself easily.”

“We need some way to prove we’re on his side before he’ll show himself.”

“Senior Brother Du gave us a code before we split up, just in case. It should be enough to win the old Pill King’s trust.” Yu Qingtang was not particularly worried about that part. “But we can’t exactly say it to everyone we meet.”

“Physician Sun probably has plenty of eyes throughout Pill City. If he finds out we have a second code, we’ll have trouble.” Ye Chenyan nodded slightly. “We’ll start with their code. Only if we’re eighty percent sure should we use ours.”

“Fine.” Qingzhu had no objection. “So where do we begin?”

Ye Chenyan looked down at the God of Wealth statue. “Somewhere information travels fast. Somewhere the man whose identity I’m wearing would naturally go.”

Yu Qingtang immediately answered, “A pleasure house?”

Ye Chenyan: “...”

Yu Qingtang chuckled. “Did I get it right?”

Qingzhu slowly turned toward Ye Chenyan.

“What are you looking at me for?” Ye Chenyan raised an eyebrow. “I only thought of it because this Young Master Ye used to frequent Flower Warmth House.”

Yu Qingtang teased, “Not because you want to go yourself?”

“I absolutely do not.” Ye Chenyan lifted the God of Wealth statue and, taking full advantage of Yu’s complete inability to resist, tapped him on the head. “If I wanted to go, would I be bringing you?”

“Oooh—” Yu Qingtang dragged the sound out before asking, “So this Young Master Ye used to visit pleasure houses often? Judging by the Ye family, I always thought he was useless, sure, but not that much of a wastrel.”

“Flower Warmth House only sells performances, not bodies,” Ye Chenyan added. “Apparently the owner has some background and is very protective of the women there.”

If Yu Qingtang had been capable of making expressions, he would absolutely have been grinning obnoxiously at him.

Unfortunately, his God of Wealth form severely limited his performance options, so he had to settle for an exaggerated, suggestive, “Ohooo.”

“You sure know a lot, Young Master Ye.”

“That’s exactly why I have to take you with me.” Ye Chenyan raised him to eye level and stared straight at him. “If I went alone, who knows how long you’d nag me afterward?”

“So you’re going to watch carefully. Even if I’m standing inside Flower Warmth House, I won’t do anything except what we came there to do.”

Qingzhu glanced at them. “And me?”

“You’re the witness.”

With outrageous audacity, Ye Chenyan poked the God of Wealth statue.

“So nobody can deny it later.”

Qingzhu sighed soundlessly.

Yu Qingtang exclaimed in shock, “Birds can sigh?!”

Qingzhu: “...”

“I’m not going.”

“I’ll search the river.”

...

Flower Warmth House.

Normally, an establishment like this would not be open during the day.

Perhaps a place that sold entertainment rather than flesh kept different hours.

Or perhaps Young Master Ye was simply rich enough that opening hours did not apply to him.

Whatever the reason, Madam Peony, who welcomed guests at the entrance, greeted him with tremendous enthusiasm. She even asked why he had not visited in so long and how things had gone with the Yu-family young lady, fussing over him like one of his own elders.

Ye Chenyan answered each question according to the memories he had inherited, revealing nothing unusual.

“I thought you’d stopped coming altogether.” Madam Peony had a round, prosperous face and a warm smile. “I figured if you really married the Yu-family young lady, you’d finally have to settle down and stop coming out to squander your days in places like this.”

She sighed regretfully.

“But the moment I saw you walk in, I knew you little brat must’ve ruined things again.”

Ye Chenyan raised an eyebrow. “Ahem. Some things can’t be forced.”

Madam Peony noticed the God of Wealth statue in his arms and asked curiously, “And what’s the story with that statue?”

“Changed your mind again and decided to figure out how to make money?”

Ye Chenyan held the statue up. “I told my father I was planning to marry the God of Wealth.”

Madam Peony: “...”

“Master Ye didn’t break your legs?”

“He wanted to.” Ye Chenyan chuckled. “Someone stopped him.”

Madam Peony shook her head in amused exasperation. “You...”

“I truly wonder what kind of girl could ever make you settle down.”

“Maybe not a girl.” Ye Chenyan meaningfully tapped the head of the God of Wealth statue in his arms. “Maybe a fake girl.”

Yu Qingtang: “...”

Madam Peony hurriedly slapped his hand away. “Don’t be disrespectful to an immortal!”

Ye Chenyan laughed and let her usher him inside.

The women within were clearly familiar with him too. They exchanged a few pleasantries, and a few even pouted that he had arrived far too early and forced them out of bed before their usual hour.

Once wine and food had been served and Ye Chenyan felt he had laid enough groundwork, he finally got to the point.

“Have there been any strange people around Pill City these past few days?”

The women exchanged glances.

Forsythia smiled. “That depends on how strange you mean.”

“People in Pill City come down with soul-loss sickness every so often. We see all kinds of bizarre things. What kind of strange people or strange incidents are you asking about, Young Master Ye?”

Ye Chenyan gestured for them to lean closer.

“I recently heard that people have been asking around Pill City about a strange prescription. White perilla, Omphalia, and some third medicinal ingredient.”

Silk Tree laughed softly. “What kind of prescription is that? How could three ingredients possibly make up a proper formula? Even if you were putting together a card table, you’d still need four people.”

Ye Chenyan raised an eyebrow. “Doesn’t that make it even stranger? Who knows what they’re actually looking for?”

“And from what I saw, it wasn’t just one person asking. Plenty of people have been going around posing the same question. There has to be something behind it.”

“You just love sticking your nose into things like this.” Balsam gave him a sidelong look. “Now you’ve got me curious too.”

“Why not ask little Bellflower? Doesn’t she know something about medicine?”

Everyone turned.

Bellflower was leaning against the window, looking outside. She swept them with an indifferent glance.

“There is no such prescription.”

“There you go again.” Forsythia could not resist giving her a shove. “Look at that face. Still sulking?”

“Hmph.” Bellflower turned her back and looked out the window. “If I don’t know, I don’t know.”

“She’s angry.” Balsam laughed softly and gave Ye Chenyan a push. “She heard you were going to see the Yu-family young lady and got so upset she didn’t eat for two days. Hurry up and coax her.”

“Why bother?” Bellflower kept her face turned {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} toward the window. “He didn’t even ask how I was doing when he came in. He’s probably forgotten all about me.”

“Oooh—”

The other women immediately dissolved into laughter, nudging one another.

Then Silk Tree suddenly looked puzzled.

“Hm? I could’ve sworn I heard a voice I didn’t recognize...”

Without changing expression, Ye Chenyan glanced at the God of Wealth statue and promptly clamped a hand over its mouth.

“Must’ve imagined it.” Ye Chenyan laughed, carefully holding the statue without looking toward Bellflower. “I assumed Bellflower wouldn’t know either. Three medicinal ingredients obviously don’t make a proper formula, so it’s probably some kind of code.”

“Hmph.”

Bellflower suddenly stood, swept her sleeves back, and strode over to him.

“Of course three ingredients don’t make a formula. But what you just said—I’ve heard it before.”

Ye Chenyan raised an eyebrow. “Then...”

Bellflower sat down in front of him and propped her chin on her hand.

“Depends how well you coax me. Then I’ll decide whether I remember anything.”

Ye Chenyan gave a helpless laugh.

He felt the purse at his waist, shook out several silver ingots, then placed a few banknotes on the table.

“If the information is useful, all of this is yours.”

Bellflower pressed her lips together.

“What do you take me for? You think you can just throw money at me?”

“I don’t want your silver. I want you to coax me!”

Ye Chenyan pressed his fingers against his temple and shrugged, lowering his eyes to the God of Wealth statue in his hands.

“That’s probably not happening.”

Bellflower shot to her feet, her eyes immediately reddening.

“Well, look at you, Young Master Ye! Too noble for us now? You can’t even spare me two nice sentences?”

“If you have someone in your heart, saying sweet things to them is coaxing.” Ye Chenyan looked up at her. “If you don’t, it’s just lying.”

Bellflower bit her lip. “You won’t even lie to me?”

“Ah.” Ye Chenyan sighed. “What’s so good about being lied to? You get a moment of happiness in exchange for pain later.”

He muttered under his breath and squeezed the God of Wealth statue.

“Though I’m hardly in any position to criticize anyone else. It’s not like I’ve handled things much better myself.”

Yu Qingtang: “...”

“Ahem.” Ye Chenyan cleared his throat and looked back up at Bellflower. “Instead of wasting your heart on me, you’re better off keeping some silver for yourself. You still have a whole life ahead of you.”

Bellflower stared at him with reddened eyes.

The atmosphere had become too awkward for Ye Chenyan to keep questioning her.

He stood and bade them farewell.

“This matter is extremely important to me. If any of you remember anything, please have someone send word to the Ye residence. Thank you.”

He was just about to leave when Bellflower’s voice came from behind him.

“Stop.”

She still had her back to Ye Chenyan.

“Go ask Madam Peony.”

“Someone asked the same question before, a long time ago. That was the first time Madam Peony heard it, and she went to ask the person about it.”

“She should know something.”

Ye Chenyan turned back and thanked her.

Then, without looking back again, he picked up the God of Wealth statue and walked out.

Yu Qingtang asked quietly, “Could it be Madam Peony?”

Did the old Pill King come into the Reincarnation Pill alone and secretly decide to cut loose?

“I don’t know.” Ye Chenyan was not certain either. “Let’s ask.”

Yu Qingtang hesitated, then said quietly, “I’m not actually that petty.”

Ye Chenyan raised an eyebrow. “Hm?”

“She was almost crying.” Yu Qingtang muttered. “You could’ve coaxed her a little. At least compliment her first and then say you can’t lead her on.”

Ye Chenyan gave the God of Wealth statue a little shake. “Absolutely not.”

He laughed.

“No room.”

“No room in my heart.”

“If there’s no room for anyone else, why give someone false hope?”

Yu Qingtang fell silent for a moment before he could not resist muttering, “...How exactly did you ever manage to build a harem in the first place?”

Ye Chenyan: “Hm?”

“Nothing. Just questioning Hua Shimiao’s life choices.” Yu Qingtang hurriedly reminded him, “Hey, Madam Peony’s over there. Go, go!”

Ye Chenyan quickly called out.

The prosperous-looking Madam Peony paused, then turned around and approached with a smile.

“Why are you leaving so soon?”

“Did one of those little girls say something you didn’t like? Don’t hold it against them, Young Master Ye. You haven’t visited in ages. They’ve missed you terribly.”

“It wasn’t that.” Ye Chenyan smiled. “I actually came because I wanted their help asking around about something.”

Madam Peony looked curious. “What?”

Ye Chenyan lowered his voice.

“White perilla, Omphalia, and a third medicinal ingredient.”

Madam Peony laughed. “Never heard of it. What is that supposed to be?”

Ye Chenyan looked deeply at her. “I’d appreciate it if you asked around for me.”

“Of course.” Madam Peony wore her usual smile. “I have no idea what it means, but if I hear anything, I’ll tell you.”

Ye Chenyan did not press her.

He studied her thoughtfully, then continued, “There’s another line.”

Madam Peony looked up in surprise. “Another one?”

“Someone asked me to pass it along.” Ye Chenyan chuckled. “They said...”

“Half a pound of Du Heng, eight ounces of Sanqi. It cures gloom and melancholy and leaves people laughing with delight.”

Madam Peony looked even more baffled. “There’s a prescription like that? Even better—now you only need two ingredients to make a whole formula.”

Ye Chenyan laughed. “I suspect it doesn’t work on everyone.”

“Very well.” Madam Peony readily agreed. “I’ll definitely ask around for you.”

Only then did Ye Chenyan turn to leave.

Once they were outside, he said with certainty, “It isn’t her.”

“She had heard the first code before. She deliberately pretended she hadn’t. But she genuinely didn’t understand the second one.”

Yu Qingtang’s stone head turned slightly.

“So she’s another soul-loss patient? Or... she knows the answer from somewhere, but doesn’t tell ordinary people.”

“We’ll wait and see.”

Ye Chenyan asked him, “Have you decided what answer you’re giving tonight?”

“Not yet,” Yu Qingtang admitted honestly. “I almost forgot about that. Give me a second, I’ll make something up now...”

“You forgot?” Ye Chenyan raised an eyebrow. “Then maybe we shouldn’t answer today.”

“Huh?” Yu Qingtang sounded surprised.

“Maybe that’s your good fortune telling you it’s better not to answer.”

Ye Chenyan gave Flower Warmth House one last, meaningful look before turning away.

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