It turns out, they were the main characters.

There must be some reason for this.

Bai Ruoxi is an extremely intelligent woman, and she also considers herself a great beauty.

This isn't narcissism; it's just the truth.

Indeed, in the entire Tianxuan City, there is no other woman more beautiful than Bai Ruoxi.

Women of similar looks have smaller breasts than her, and women with breasts the same size are not as attractive as her.

Although Mu Zhian's current behavior suggests he doesn't seem very interested in her, it's absolutely impossible for him to dislike her completely.

He must have had something to do that led him to the Jiaofangsi... but what exactly was it that required him to go there?

Bai Ruoxi quickly came to her senses, politely thanked the servant, and left with the umbrella she had borrowed from the Mu family the night before.

……

The Imperial Music Bureau.

Mu Zhian leaned lazily against the soft couch, while Yang Yanyan, a courtesan dressed in a half-covered outfit, gently massaged his shoulders from behind, and said softly, "Young master, you haven't been to the brothel for the past few days. Have you found a new lover outside?"

In Tianxuan City, people everywhere would avoid Mu Zhi'an and refrain from any contact with him, except for places like the Jiaofangsi and Goulan.

On the contrary, they welcomed Mu Zhi'an.

On the one hand, Mu Zhian has very handsome features, and it is often pleasant to chat with him. On the other hand, sometimes when he gets into a good conversation, he will give him a small tip.

In Tianxuan City, there aren't many young masters who can spend money lavishly and tip generously, but Mu Zhian happens to be one of them.

Mu Zhian smiled, gently patted the beauty's slender, snow-white hand, and said, "I have some clan affairs to attend to these past few days, so it's really inconvenient for me to come out and play."

Yang Yanyan's eyes flickered slightly, then she smiled sweetly and said, "I see. You must have had a hard time, Young Master Mu."

Although she didn't believe that this spoiled brat could handle the Mu family's affairs, since he had already said so, she naturally couldn't contradict him and would continue to say what Mu Zhi'an had to say.

Mu Zhian clearly saw that Yang Yanyan didn't believe him, but he just smiled and didn't explain.

While enjoying Yang Yanyan's shoulder massage, he picked up his teacup, took a sip of tea, and chatted with the courtesan for a few minutes.

Then, he casually asked, "By the way, has Gongsun Zan come by these past few days?"

Yang Yanyan was taken aback. While massaging Mu Zhian's shoulders, she looked up and recalled, saying softly, "I saw him come last night, but the person who received him was not me."

These courtesans from the brothels generally sold their art but not their bodies, and Yang Yanyan was no exception. Unless she was particularly pleasing to the eye or the other party offered her too much, she would usually go home after her performance.

"He hasn't come today yet?" Mu Zhian asked.

Yang Yanyan gently shook her head: "I'm not quite sure about that... Why is Young Master Mu suddenly asking this?"

As she spoke, a hint of curiosity appeared in her eyes as she looked at Mu Zhian.

Although Gongsun Zan's clan was equally powerful, unlike Mu Zhi'an, most people, including the courtesans of the Jiaofangsi, did not like him much.

On the one hand, it was because Gongsun Zan had done many bad things that made him despicable, and on the other hand... it was because Gongsun Zan was not very good-looking.

Mu Zhian gently patted the courtesan's buttocks and laughed, "Why are you asking so many questions?"

The courtesan flirted slightly and said in a soft, seductive voice, "I hate you," but she did not push Mu Zhian's hand away.

Then, she hesitated for a moment, then suddenly lowered her voice and said:

"Speaking of which, I did hear something from the servants who serve Young Master Gongsun yesterday."

Mu Zhian raised an eyebrow and asked, "What is it?"

The courtesan glanced around, seemingly afraid of being overheard.

She leaned close to Mu Zhian's ear and whispered, "I heard that Gongsun Zan is going to lead a group to raid your home today."

Mu Zhian seemed to be deep in thought.

Confiscating property was not uncommon. Tianxuan City was so large that the Gongsun family, the Mu family, and even the Bai family all had deep ties with the imperial court. Sometimes, the task of confiscating property was entrusted to these three families.

It was said that all the property after the confiscation would be confiscated, but the three major families would always embezzle some of it each time, which was within the scope of tacit approval.

"Whose house are you raiding?" Mu Zhian asked.

Yang Yanyan shook her head gently: "I don't know, Gongsun Zan didn't say anything about that."

Mu Zhian gave a soft "hmm" and did not ask any further questions.

Since Gongsun Zan went to confiscate his property today, we can only wait until later to have some contact with him... Thinking of this, Mu Zhian put down his teacup and stood up.

"Young Master Mu is leaving?" Yang Yanyan asked, somewhat surprised.

Mu Zhian smiled and said, "I have some things to take care of later, so I'll be leaving now."

Despite Yang Yanyan's repeated attempts to persuade him to stay, Mu Zhian politely declined.

After leaving the Jiaofangsi, Mu Zhian was heading towards the teahouse not far across from it.

At this moment, he saw a young man of average appearance, about thirty years old, walking towards him. He had thin lips and a pair of triangular eyes that looked somewhat gloomy. He exuded an unruly temperament, and his appearance alone was enough to make people want to stay away from him.

This man was Gongsun Zan, the third young master of the Gongsun family.

If Mu Zhian, this "bad boy," takes the boy-next-door route, then Gongsun Zan takes the pure "bully" route. He doesn't care about his appearance; with the power of the Gongsun family, getting anything is not difficult, so there's no need to pretend.

I guessed right, Gongsun Zan did indeed arrive... Mu Zhian smiled and said, "Young Master Gongsun, did you just arrive?"

Gongsun Zan was taken aback, seemingly not expecting Mu Zhian to greet him first.

Although they both had terrible reputations, the two had never crossed paths before.

Gongsun Zan nodded slightly and smiled, "I haven't seen Young Master Mu for the past few days. I thought he had reformed, but now it seems that he was probably confined for a few days?"

It sounded like a greeting, but the tone actually carried a hint of sarcasm.

This is only natural... because Gongsun Zan looks down on Mu Zhi'an, or rather, he is jealous of him.

Despite both being notorious young scoundrels, Mu Zhi'an received far better treatment at the brothel than Gongsun Zan. Sometimes, even the most sought-after courtesans chosen by Gongsun Zan might not accept him.

But if it were Mu Zhi'an, none of the courtesans of the Jiaofangsi would refuse him so far.

This was purely because of Mu Zhian's handsome face, which easily evoked the affection of mature women.

Before Mu Zhian could speak, Gongsun Zan cupped his hands and said, "I have some things to take care of later, so I'll be leaving now. Please make yourself at home, Young Master Mu."

As he spoke, he walked past Mu Zhian into the brothel, glanced at Mu Zhian's handsome face, and curled his lip in disdain.

Even if he's from the Mu family, so what? This eldest young master of the Mu family is still a good-for-nothing like him, only able to find a sense of existence by sleeping with the women in the brothel.

How dare you pursue Bai Ruoxi just a few days ago?

Doesn't he even realize that arrogant woman would ever be interested in him?

"Then I won't disturb Young Master Gongsun any longer."

Mu Zhian also cupped his hands in greeting. He saw Gongsun Zan curl his lip in disdain before leaving, but he just smiled and didn't care.

Since he's already like this, why not just go along with him?

In the Gongsun family, Gongsun Zan held the lowest position; even his two younger brothers could instigate him at will.

This is purely because Gongsun Zan is already thirty-two years old this year, yet he still lacks ambition and remains in the Refining Essence stage.

However, precisely because of this, it was easier to extract information from Gongsun Zan.

Just spend more time with him afterward... After all, people like him have very weak inner defenses.

Mu Zhian glanced sideways at Gongsun Zan as he entered the Jiaofangsi, smiled, and then turned and walked into the teahouse across the street.

Bai Ruoxi was already waiting in a bright tea room. Today she was wearing a white low-cut dress, with a bit of her fair skin exposed, which added a unique charm to her.

She sat with her legs long and shapely, knees together, and her fair and flawless face was exquisite and captivating, a feast for the eyes.

Upon seeing Mu Zhian, Bai Ruoxi's eyes immediately lit up, and she said softly, "Young Master Mu, please sit here."

She gestured to the seat opposite her.

Mu Zhian smiled and nodded, then sat down next to Bai Ruoxi.

Bai Ruoxi glanced at Mu Zhian with a quiet look, but did not tell him to leave.

After pouring Mu Zhian a cup of tea, Bai Ruoxi said softly, "Young Master Mu just went to the brothel; there must have been something important, right?"

“Miss Bai is indeed clever,” Mu Zhian smiled. “I’m going to see Gongsun Zan.”

"The third young master of the Gongsun family...?" Bai Ruoxi's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly.

After all, the Gongsun family was one of the culprits behind the Bai family's current predicament, so Bai Ruoxi's mood naturally changed upon hearing about the Gongsun family.

Mu Zhian slowly took a sip of tea and continued, "Today I received a message from a spy that Gongsun Zan and Ye Yu seem to have some close connection."

"Ye Yu? How could he be with Gongsun Zan?" Bai Ruoxi asked incredulously.

The Ye family and the Bai family have a relationship, after all. Now that the Bai family is in trouble, it's understandable that the Ye family doesn't intervene, but they shouldn't be cooperating with the Gongsun family...

Mu Zhian laughed and said, "They probably got the news from somewhere and don't want the Mu family to get involved in this matter, so they used Ye Yu to disrupt our good deed."

"The reason Ye Yu was able to reach the Mu family a couple of days ago must have been because the Gongsun family leaked the information."

Upon hearing the word "good thing," Bai Ruoxi seemed to recall something, her cheeks flushing slightly. She glanced at Mu Zhian furtively and whispered, "I'm really sorry about what happened to Ye Yu that night."

Ever since returning home that day, Bai Ruoxi had been worried that Mu Zhian was angry because Ye Yu had splashed tea on him, and that he would no longer consider whether to step in to help the Bai family out of the predicament.

Although Mu Zhian brought the umbrella that night and said he needed to think about it again, no one knew what the other party's true thoughts were.

At this moment, Mu Zhian gently held Bai Ruoxi's soft little hand and smiled, "What does Ye Yu's matter have to do with you?"

Bai Ruoxi stiffened slightly, secretly glancing at that handsome face, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

Sometimes she couldn't tell whether she didn't resist because she had no other choice... or if there were other reasons?

This teahouse was located not far from the Jiaofangsi (Imperial Music Bureau), and high-ranking officials would often come in after their business to order a pot of hot tea and chat with their colleagues.

The teahouse where Mu Zhian was located was in a relatively remote location, so not many people passed by.

He glanced casually at the curtain outside the tea room, and behind it seemed a figure was quietly retreating.

Mu Zhian had a sudden thought.

Someone is eavesdropping...?

Are they from the Gongsun family or the Chenxi Chamber of Commerce?

No... they probably don't have the guts. If the Mu family finds out, the consequences will be severe.

Is it that mysterious man in black robes who wants Ye Yu...?