Gathering information

Gathering information

The Prime Minister's residence, a grand and secluded mansion, with its pavilions and towers arranged in a harmonious and orderly fashion, usually exudes an air of respect, dignity, tranquility, and peace. However, recently, a sudden outbreak of red rashes on the face of the Second Miss Jiang, Jiang Chaoyu, has added a touch of sorrow to the household.

Jiang Chaoyu removed her veil in front of the mirror, revealing a face covered in dense, red rashes that were utterly repulsive. She raised her hand to touch the rash, thinking to herself that she had been too harsh on herself, taking too much medication.

When Jiang Yuyao saw Jiang Chaoyu about to touch the red rash on her face, she quickly stopped her, saying, "Little sister, do you want your face to get worse?"

He grabbed Jiang Chaoyu's hand to prevent her from touching the red rash on her face, and Jiang Chaoyu gave up.

Upon learning of Jiang Chaoyu's illness, Prime Minister Jiang was extremely anxious. He immediately ordered the most renowned doctor in the city to be summoned. Seeing Prime Minister Jiang standing nearby, Jiang Chaoyu glanced at the red rash on her face and quickly turned her head away. Seeing this, Jiang Chaoyu put her veil back on.

The doctor, with his white hair and beard, took out a pulse pillow from his medicine box and placed it on the table. Jiang Chaoyu slightly raised her wrist and then gently placed it on the pulse pillow.

The doctor extended his right hand, his fingers slightly bent, and with extremely gentle and precise movements, placed three fingers on the woman's pulse in turn. He narrowed his eyes slightly, concentrating intently on feeling the pulse.

His fingertips lingered on her pulse for a moment. He asked, "May I ask when the Second Miss developed the rash?"

Jiang Chaoyu replied, "Perhaps it's because I ate something a few days ago. A few days ago, I only saw one or two, which wasn't a big deal. I didn't expect them to multiply so much and end up like this now."

After asking the questions, the doctor put away the pulse pillow and placed it in his medicine box.

He then said to Prime Minister Jiang, "Second Miss has a blood heat syndrome. I will write some medicine to clear heat and detoxify, and dispel wind and heat. I will also decoct herbs and apply them externally to help dispel the heat. However, this illness cannot be rushed; she needs to rest quietly for a month."

Hearing this from the side, Jiang Chaoyu exclaimed that the medicine from this medical pavilion was truly remarkable. Even the most skilled doctor in the capital couldn't discern its effects, though she feigned a slight disappointment on the surface.

Prime Minister Jiang listened and nodded silently in agreement, after the doctor was seen off.

However, his expression tightened, and after thinking for a moment, he ordered, "From today onwards, until the Second Miss is fully recovered, she shall not be allowed to leave her own courtyard. If outsiders see the red rash on her face, it will inevitably lead to gossip and damage the reputation of my Prime Minister's Mansion."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuyao exclaimed, "Father!" and was about to offer some words of advice, but Prime Minister Jiang simply said, "She can come out whenever she is well."

These words left Jiang Yuyao speechless. She looked at Jiang Chaoyu, who was still caught up in her emotions.

At that moment, Jiang Yuyao thought she was extremely sad, but in fact, Jiang Chaoyu was extremely happy.

Jiang Chaoyu thought that she could finally be alone for the next month without worry. And when doing missions, she wouldn't need to worry about being discovered by the Jiang family.

Jiang Chaoyu pretended to be very sad and answered dejectedly, "Yes."

A few days ago, Jiang Chaoyu wandered around the courtyard aimlessly. When she got sleepy, she would sleep on the couch, and when she woke up, she would play shuttlecock with Cuicui. But just when everyone else thought she was confined to her own little courtyard, Jiang Chaoyu had already arrived at the Crescent Moon Gate.

After changing his clothes, he went straight to Li Yuanxiu.

Li Yuanxiu had been with the Crescent Moon Gate since childhood and was a member of the News Pavilion. He was older than me and was also someone I was very close to.

Jiang Chaoyu stood in front of her door and knocked three times. She pushed the door open and entered when she heard someone come in from inside.

The moonlight, like water, spilled onto the carved window lattice. At this moment, Li Yuanxiu was wearing a moon-white long dress, casually holding up her ink-black long hair with a plain hairpin, and her whole body was shrouded in a light frost.

As soon as Jiang Chaoyu entered the room, she saw a large pile of scrolls on her desk. At that moment, she was racking her brains to check the information on the scrolls and did not look up at Jiang Chaoyu at all.

Seeing this, Jiang Chaoyu stepped forward and pressed the scroll in Li Yuanxiu's hand down with her hand.

That's when her gaze shifted to Jiang Chaoyu's face. But the moment their eyes met, even though Jiang Chaoyu had seen her face a thousand times, she was still stunned by her beauty.

Upon seeing Jiang Chaoyu's face, Li Yuanxiu immediately noticed the red rash and frowned, asking with concern, "What's wrong with your face?"

"Of course, it's medicine from the Medical Pavilion!" Jiang Chaoyu's words reminded her of the last time Jiang Chaoyu used medicine to punish those who bullied them.

"What benefits has this medicine brought you?" Li Yuanxiu closed the scroll and listened attentively to Jiang Chaoyu's words.

“Then naturally I won’t be able to leave my own courtyard for a month.” Jiang Chaoyu was happy when she said this, as she wouldn’t have to worry about anyone coming to find her for a month.

Li Yuanxiu listened and realized it was indeed a good thing. He saw Jiang Chaoyu beaming with joy, her bright eyes conveying all her emotions.

"You must have come to see me about something else this time!" Li Yuanxiu looked at Jiang Chaoyu and knew that she must have come to see him about something else.

As soon as Jiang Chaoyu smiled, it was exactly as expected.

Jiang Chaoyu took out two pills from her hand and handed them to Li Yuanxiu. "Here, these are the gender-changing pills I got from the medical pavilion. Take them, and we'll go to the Red Mansion tonight to take a look and ask around. But it's been a long time since I've visited Lady Xin, and I miss her a bit."

Li Yuanxiu remained silent, simply accepting the gender reassignment pill, tacitly agreeing to Jiang Chaoyu's idea.

After taking the gender-changing pills, Jiang Chaoyu checked her body for any abnormalities and, sure enough, she had gained two ounces of weight. She gently touched her newly grown beard on her philtrum; it was a little prickly. Looking at Li Yuanxiu, she saw him as a handsome young man. The two dressed and dressed themselves before arriving at the Red Mansion.

The men and women who were greeting guests at the front, upon seeing that the two young men were handsome and refined, began to scramble to take them away.

First, a young man attached himself to Jiang Chaoyu's right arm and said in a very soft voice, "My lord, did you come for me? Come and listen to my musical skills. I can play all kinds of tunes, and I'm sure you'll be satisfied."

Another young lady, not to be outdone, grabbed Jiang Chaoyu's left arm as well, saying, "Nonsense! You've clearly come for me. Come watch me dance! I can dance any kind of dance."

The two argued and started fighting. "What's the point of you dancing? My piano playing is clearly more attractive."

"Your words are unpleasant to hear; my dance is clearly more captivating."

Seeing the two arguing, Jiang Chaoyu finally had a chance to go inside. Once inside, she discovered that Li Yuanxiu had been waiting for her for quite some time.

He stepped forward and said angrily, "Brother Li, why didn't you wait for me?"

Upon seeing this, Li Yuanxiu laughed: "It's clear that Brother Jiang is too engrossed."

Seeing that she couldn't win the argument, Jiang Chaoyu stopped arguing with her.

Seeing that they were guests and no one was serving them, the host came forward himself. "Are you two dissatisfied with the music played in this establishment?"

Jiang Chaoyu opened the fan in her hand and pretended to fan herself casually, quietly saying to the master, "Master is joking. I was looking for your top courtesan, Lady Xin."

Upon hearing that they had come looking for Lady Xin, his smile widened. "I see. Lady Xin happens to be upstairs right now, but..."

The host gestured for Jiang Chaoyu to give some money. Jiang Chaoyu took out some silver from her pocket, grabbed the host's hand, and placed it in her palm. "I wonder if this is enough?"

The heavy weight pleased the host, who smiled and instructed the pimp to take the two guests upstairs.

"That's enough, that's enough. I'll have someone escort these two distinguished guests upstairs."

As Jiang Chaoyu slowly walked upstairs, she looked down.

As expected of the largest Red Mansion in the capital, it was grand and packed with guests. The beautiful music, the graceful dance, and the applause from the guests were truly delightful.

The pimp stood at the door, indicating, "Esteemed guests, this is Lady Xin."

Li Yuanxiu also took out a few copper coins and gave them to the pimp, saying, "Thank you."

Upon seeing the tip, the pimp was overjoyed and couldn't stop smiling. "Thank you both, esteemed guests."

Jiang Chaoyu opened the door and saw Xin Niangzi wearing a pomegranate red gauze outer robe and vermilion lipstick, looking like a beautiful peony blooming in spring. She was making tea at the moment. "What wind blew you two here?"

Jiang Chaoyu bowed first, while Li Yuanxiu addressed him as "Master." The two then took their seats.

Xin Niangzi is the head of the News Pavilion, and her husband is the second-in-command. In recent years, in order to strengthen the Crescent Moon Sect, they formed alliances with others to jointly create the Red Mansion. As the sect gradually grew stronger, the news from the News Pavilion also increased.

The bride placed the brewed tea on either side and looked at Li Yuanxiu, asking, "How is your master's father doing these days?" This question was naturally directed at the second master.

Li Yuanxiu was once an abandoned child, but fortunately, she was saved by Xin Niangzi and her husband. Therefore, she also became their disciple and called them "Master".

"Don't worry, Master. Master's husband is doing well lately, but he misses you a little," Li Yuanxiu replied earnestly to Xin Niangzi.

Hearing Li Yuanxiu mention his longing for her, she found it somewhat amusing. She then took a small sip of tea, leaving a rosy hue on the cup. "Even though I miss him, he hasn't come to see me once."

Lady Xin then looked at Jiang Chaoyu, who was disguised as a man. "Little Yu, you went to the medical pavilion to get medicine again. Be careful that the Pavilion Master Leng doesn't see you one day."

Jiang Chaoyu sat down, took a sip of the tea brewed by Xin Niangzi, and exclaimed, "Uncle-Master, this is truly excellent tea." After praising it, she added, "However, I am on a mission, and Uncle-Master Leng has agreed to it."

Lady Xin became interested upon hearing this, "Oh, so what mission did you come to the Red Mansion for?"

Jiang Chaoyu put down her teacup and held up a finger in front of Xin Niangzi. Upon seeing this, Xin Niangzi guessed, "You even accepted a mere level one trial mission?"

Seeing this, Jiang Chaoyu shook her finger and said mysteriously, "No, no, no, Senior Uncle, how could a mere level one mission require so much of my effort? Of course it is..."

After saying this, Jiang Chaoyu deliberately left a mark, which aroused Xin Niangzi's curiosity. "Uncle-Master, I haven't asked my master about this yet, so please keep it a secret for me."

Upon hearing this, Xin Niangzi knew what Jiang Chaoyu was up to. "Xiaoyu, I might not be able to do that. Your master is the head of the Crescent Moon Sect. If I were to do something behind her back, you know the consequences better than I do!"

These words sounded more like Xin Niangzi was threatening Jiang Chaoyu, while Li Yuanxiu, standing to the side, couldn't quite understand what the two were saying.

"Alright, then I'll go back and ask my master." Seeing that Xin Niangzi was like this, Jiang Chaoyu had no choice but to agree.

"However, you can tell me first."