#12: The Fragrant Pavilion

Compared to Di Jiang, Wu Ruian’s afternoon was much calmer. After he arrived at the Ministry of Justice, all the officials there were as sweet as honey, constantly fawning over him. Originally, he was just an eighth-grade record keeper, but the Minister and Vice-Minister of Justice were both respectful to him, as if he were the head of the ministry.

For the entire afternoon, Wu Ruian sat in the Minister’s seat. Minister Song Li’s explanation for this was: “The office area for the record keepers is a mess. It is being cleaned and renovated today and will take some time to be ready for you. In the meantime, please temporarily use my office.”

Then, the Vice-Minister of Justice brought him a large stack of comic books, which made Wu Ruian roll his eyes.

“What is the meaning of this?” Wu Ruian slammed his hand on the desk, causing the comic books to tremble.

“Reporting to Your Highness, your servant was worried you would be bored, so I specifically found some things for you to do,” the Vice-Minister said with a bowing smile.

Wu Ruian glared at him and said, “Do you receive a government salary just to look at these books every day?”

“This...” The Vice-Minister’s expression stiffened, unable to respond.

Wu Ruian said impatiently, “Go get all the case files from Kangping Ward for the past three years. I want to look through them one by one!”

“Yes, yes, your servant will go get them now.”

The Vice-Minister bowed and left immediately. Before long, he returned with a stack of case files as tall as half a person. After he put the files down, Wu Ruian waved his hand, dismissing him.

After the Vice-Minister left, Wu Ruian looked through the case files alone. In the past three years, there had been nine murder cases in Kangping Ward, seven of which were still unsolved. There were three arson cases, and the three suspects were all punished. There were two attempted poisoning cases, which were not thoroughly investigated because they were unsuccessful, and remain cold cases. There were sixty-four missing persons cases, and all sixty-four people are still unaccounted for. These were the more significant cases; the others were trivial matters. Compared to the ministry’s typical seventeen-person serial murder cases, the crimes were indeed relatively minor.

However, even if the cases were minor, they should not be ignored.

The investigative effort for these cases was less than one-tenth or one-twentieth of that for other wards, which showed how neglected they were.

“Your Highness, you’ve been looking all day. Have you found any clues?” Lu Chenfei yawned beside him.

Since Wu Ruian’s return, Lu Chenfei had been transferred back to be his personal guard. Although the position was a step down from a city gate guard, Lu Chenfei was willing and content with it!

Wu Ruian was seriously reviewing the files, seemingly unaware of his surroundings. When Lu Chenfei asked him again, he said seriously, “The prosperity and civilization of a country are not judged by how comfortable the rulers live, but by the standard of living of the common people. When their lives are good, that is the true measure of a developed country.”

Lu Chenfei nodded, his face full of admiration.

But it was clear he didn’t really understand. However, he knew in his heart that His Highness was genuinely thinking of the common people, which made him admire him even more.

Wu Ruian read the files late into the afternoon. Eventually, he and Lu Chenfei were the only two left in the entire Ministry of Justice. When he finally looked up from the files and saw that it was completely dark outside, he asked in surprise, “What time is it now?”

“Reporting to Your Highness, it’s Shenshi.”

“Shenshi!” Wu Ruian exclaimed, quickly got up, and hurried out. As he walked, he said, “Tidy up the files. I’ll continue looking at them tomorrow!”

“Yes!” Lu Chenfei gave a proper military salute, watching Wu Ruian leave in a hurry without looking back.

Lu Chenfei was a little curious.

Looking at His Highness’s appearance, he seemed to have an appointment for the evening.

But there was a curfew at night... so the date would likely have to be at a brothel!

Lu Chenfei was filled with envy and wanted to go along, but since His Highness didn’t ask him, how could he go on his own?

Lu Chenfei yearned to go, but he could only stay behind and silently pack things up.

...

Wu Ruian returned to his palace, changed out of his court clothes into a casual outfit, and rushed to the Jiansu Clinic. But he didn’t see Di Jiang there.

“Where is your manager?” Wu Ruian asked Shuxiang.

“The manager just left. He said he was going directly to the Fragrant Pavilion.”

“Ah... thank you.” Wu Ruian said, and immediately rushed to the Fragrant Pavilion in a hurry. He walked so fast he crossed half of Taiping Prefecture, finally arriving at the entrance of the Fragrant Pavilion in Anyi Ward just as the youshi drum sounded.

The Fragrant Pavilion was located in the most prosperous part of the capital, near the pleasure district.

Anyi Ward was different from ordinary pleasure districts; ordinary people were not allowed to enter. Only nobles and officials could frequent the area. It was the most elegant place of pleasure and the most luxurious comfort zone in Taiping Prefecture.

The entrance to the Fragrant Pavilion was exquisitely crafted and lavish. Standing at the bottom of the steps was a tall and slender figure.

Wearing purple and adorned with silver, with the breeze gently tousling his hair, he looked remarkably handsome.

Who else could it be but Di Jiang?

Wu Ruian quickened his steps and ran over, patting her on the shoulder. Di Jiang turned around and saw a red-faced, out-of-breath Wu Ruian.

“I’m sorry, I’m late,” Wu Ruian apologized.

Di Jiang shook her head and said, “Listen.”

“Listen to what?” Wu Ruian was puzzled.

“The drum.” Di Jiang’s eyes curved as she smiled. “You’re not late, I’m early.”

Wu Ruian breathed a sigh of relief, his heart at ease.

Di Jiang looked at the anxious Wu Ruian and naturally understood why he was like this. Only when you truly care about someone would you be so concerned about even a small detail. This meant that her place in his heart was still very important.

Di Jiang looked at Wu Ruian, who had changed into a dark red casual outfit, wearing a gold and jade crown, a gold dragon-claw embroidered sash around his waist, and black leather boots. The collar, cuffs, and front of his clothes were embroidered with gold dragon patterns. Although his attire was a little messy from rushing, his tall stature, fair complexion, and handsome appearance made people completely overlook these small details.

Under the light of the eight large lanterns at the entrance of the Fragrant Pavilion, the gold and candlelight intertwined, making him seem as if he were bathed in golden light, dazzling and magnificent.

In the whole world, Di Jiang had never seen a more handsome man.

At this moment, Wu Ruian extended his hand to her. Without thinking, Di Jiang instinctively placed her hand in his.

“Hiss—” At that moment, a series of gasps rang out around them. It was then that Di Jiang remembered she was also in men’s clothing, and being so intimate with Wu Ruian... was scandalous.

Di Jiang immediately bent down and patted her shoes, even though they were spotless. Then, she stood up, pulled her hand away from Wu Ruian, and stood properly. It was as if she had just held his hand because she was afraid of losing her balance.

The gasps from before were gone, replaced by sighs of relief.

Di Jiang’s face was flushed, and she also let out a sigh of relief with them.

Wu Ruian put his hand over his mouth, unable to stop a quiet chuckle.

“How can you still laugh?” Di Jiang glared at him. “Don’t forget, if they find out I’m a woman, you won’t have an easy time either.”

“They won’t find out you’re a woman.” Wu Ruian cleared his throat and said seriously, “You look very handsome today.”

“Only today?” Di Jiang lifted her head and smiled confidently. “This young master has always been so handsome.”

“Yes, yes, you are the most handsome,” Wu Ruian said with a doting smile, leading Di Jiang forward.

Their clothes, one gold and one silver, one red and one purple, walked side by side. Standing together, they seemed to light up the scenery of the entire street.

Gongsun Qi stood on the top-floor terrace, looked at the two people below, and wondered, “Who is that young master next to Prince Wu? Does anyone know him?”

Everyone looked at each other and shook their heads, saying they didn’t know.

Beside him, Wu Yu glanced at them and immediately recognized the person as Wu Ruian’s love interest, Di Jiang.

In the afternoon, after Wu Yu returned to his residence, he also received an invitation from Gongsun Qi. The invitation was very formal, simply stating that there would be a great show tonight and hoping he would honor them with his presence.

This was the first invitation he had received from a member of the gentry since arriving in Taiping Prefecture, so he had no reason to refuse. He arrived at the Fragrant Pavilion early.

Wu Yu looked at the two people below, smiled subtly, and then returned to his seat to calmly continue drinking tea.

Clearly, no one in the room expected the newly arrived Wu Yu to know the young man next to Wu Ruian, so no one asked for his opinion.

At this moment, Wu Yu felt that tonight’s show was going to be very, very, very interesting...