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Chapter 411 Good idea

"Could it be that they go out there specifically to find thin, fair-skinned young men who are just as beautiful as women?" Zhu Yu asked hurriedly. "Could it be that they also specialize in raising male prostitutes?"

"That's not true at all." The musician shook his head. "I heard it from someone else. They said that Xiaoshanlou doesn't like those thin and weak young men. The ones they chose from other people's homes are all big-boned, strong boys who look like they'll grow up to be strong and sturdy."

As for their looks... not all of them are particularly good-looking, just generally passable.

This answer surprised Zhu Yu somewhat. After all, wealthy families who were bored and wanted to keep male concubines or male prostitutes usually looked for handsome men. They had never heard of anyone keeping male concubines based on the standards for hiring farmhands.

Seeing their surprised expressions, the man with the oval face laughed and said, "The three young masters should be careful. That little mountain building is very strange. None of us dare to wander around there normally."

Zhu Yu felt something was off. Jiang Hongming had told Yan Daoxin that a family had come looking for their daughter, but they waited outside and couldn't see her. When they finally saw their daughter going out with the old nanny, she acted as if she didn't recognize them. This attracted a lot of attention, and the old nanny had no choice but to take the whole family into the building.

But according to these musicians, the small mountain building was clearly in a remote corner where few people went. How could others know about the family waiting outside the building for so long?
"Has this little mountain building always been in such a secluded place?" Lu Qing clearly had the same question as Zhu Yu, and asked it casually.

The musician with the oval face smiled and shook his head: "That's right. In the beginning, they rented a small building in the most bustling street of our Lianxiang City. The signboard was extremely elegant, and they burned incense every day. Half the street was filled with the sandalwood scent emanating from their place. It smelled wonderful."

Back then, many people in the city didn't know what kind of place it was, and even speculated that it might be an antique shop.

It was only after a long period of curiosity that people discovered it was actually a place specifically for finding beautiful women for wealthy and powerful families.

Later, whether it was because the tree was tall and attracted the wind or because there was something really strange, rumors started to circulate in the city. People said that there was something strange about that small building. Some people were afraid, while others were curious and went to peek inside.

Later, probably because they got tired of it, they bought a piece of land behind the woods, built a small house, and moved there.

Since then, far fewer people have gone there on their own initiative.

Especially for people like us, who are looked down upon, there's even less reason for us to try and get close to them.

Lu Qing nodded and waved his hand, signaling the musicians to take the silver melon seeds from the table and distribute them, indicating that they could leave.

The musicians were slightly disappointed, but when they tidied up the silver melon seeds on the low table, they smiled again.

After all, these women didn't even think about a chance encounter, let alone expect these three handsome guests to show them any special favor.

Ultimately, they were happy to see handsome customers, but what made them happiest was the heavy silver coins that could be stuffed into their pockets.

Several musicians quietly left with silver melon seeds, and the private room became exceptionally quiet, with only the noise from downstairs coming through the thin wall.

“This is not a good thing…” Without those few flirtatious musicians, Yan Daoxin felt much more at ease. He leaned back lazily, frowned, and looked at Lu Qing. “The place is so remote, and they are so heavily guarded that they don’t let outsiders get close. I don’t believe there’s nothing fishy going on here.”

But this makes it quite difficult to figure out exactly what's going on here.

"Regardless, we really need to see what's going on here." Zhu Yu frowned, his expression filled with deep worry. "The descriptions of the girls in the small brothel by those musicians are definitely not right. Moreover, outsiders can't take a girl away from the brothel no matter how much money they have, only the brothel owner can personally arrange the meeting, and even send them to places like the capital..."

This is definitely not as simple as the Yangzhou "slender horse" incident; there must be something much bigger going on.

We absolutely must find out what's going on here. I'm afraid that if it really is connected to that fake fortress lord and the incident Situ Jing encountered earlier, then the conspiracy here will be much more complex than just robbery and murder.

Yan Daoxin nodded repeatedly in deep agreement.

Lu Qing remained silent, frowning as if pondering a solution to the problem.

Zhu Yu waited for a while, but when he didn't say anything, he opened his mouth to speak, but was immediately stopped by the admission.

"No." He shook his head at Zhu Yu with a serious expression.

Yan Daoxin looked at Zhu Yu with a mixture of confusion and surprise, then at Lu Qing: "She hasn't even said anything yet... How do you know it's not allowed?"

“It’s not hard to guess,” Lu Qing replied with certainty. “She wanted to disguise herself as an ordinary woman and go near that small building, hoping to attract the other party’s attention and be taken inside.”

"Is that really what you're planning?" Yan Daoxin asked Zhu Yu for help.

Zhu Yu nodded somewhat helplessly: "This is the only method I can think of."

"You know what, this actually works!" Yan Daoxin clapped his hands, seemingly very interested. "It doesn't matter if he disagrees, I agree!"

"Don't make things worse here." Lu Qing frowned and glared at him. "Although she has unique skills in autopsy and a courage that most women don't have, she only has the ability to defend herself."

The origins of that small mountain building are shrouded in mystery; to go there alone would be tantamount to venturing into a dragon's den or a tiger's lair—fraught with danger!

“You’re right, going alone is definitely not an option,” Yan Daoxin patted his chest. “I’ll just go with her!”

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yu's eyes lit up.

Yan Daoxin's face was no joke; it was absolutely the most handsome face Zhu Yu had ever seen in both his lives combined.

There is absolutely no intention to belittle Lu Qing's appearance. Lu Qing is the kind of person who is tall and heroic, with a natural masculine beauty.

Yan Daoxin, on the other hand, embodies a pure beauty that transcends worldly gender limitations, appearing perfectly natural regardless of whether he is male or female.

"I think this is a great idea!" she quickly said.