sbdcsierra Chapter 66 Searching for someone
Chapter 66 Searching for someone
At Yuexi Tower, Nangong Ming had previously instructed the madam to find a painter and have her paint a portrait of Long Chuqing to give to him.
After receiving the order, the madam found two painters the next day. Based on the recollections and descriptions of the people at Yuexi Tower, they painted more than twenty pictures, but she was not very satisfied with any of them. The madam always felt that they could not capture the spirit of the woman.
However, Long Chuqing was unconscious at the time, with her eyes closed the whole time. It was quite dark in the courtyard that night, and she was wearing a fake face, so she couldn't quite get the eyes right and always felt that the drawing didn't look right.
Finally, the madam picked out two cards that were relatively close to the real Nangong Ming's eyes and handed them to him. One card had the eyes closed, and the other had the eyes open.
Nangong Ming examined the portrait carefully for a while. Even though he had run a brothel for many years and had seen countless beautiful courtesans, the portrait still made his eyes light up.
Seeing Nangong Ming's expression change slightly, the madam chimed in with a smile, "Young master, this painting only looks about 70-80% like the real thing. The girl in the painting is even more beautiful! If we could find her, business would be..."
After hearing this, Nangong Ming glanced at the madam with a cold look. The madam was so frightened by his gaze that she shut her mouth and dared not say another word.
"You've been in the world of pleasure for so many years, I thought you'd be smart, but it seems you still can't see the bigger picture," Nangong Ming said calmly. "You only see that her beauty can bring you business, have you forgotten her martial arts skills, or do you think you can control her?"
"I wouldn't dare," the madam said nervously. "Young master is right. I spoke rashly without thinking. I will be more careful with my words in the future."
"And another thing," Nangong Ming stared at the madam and continued coldly, "Don't forget that Yuexi Tower is a music hall. Although it tacitly allows customers, it is only on the premise of their consent. You cannot use despicable means to force the girls in the tower, and you certainly cannot allow the use of methods to abduct and deceive women into prostitution. If I find out that such behavior has occurred, you know the consequences."
“Absolutely not. I have always followed the rules and dared not overstep them.” The madam’s forehead was already covered in beads of sweat as she said tremblingly, “That girl fell into the backyard on her own. I did not abduct her.”
Nangong Ming gave the madam a cold look: "Go down! Just remember to do your job."
"Yes." The madam dragged her slightly trembling legs out of Nangong Ming's study.
She was secretly relieved that Nangong Ming hadn't dismissed her from her position as manager. If she had left Yuexi Tower, she wouldn't have been able to make a living in the capital.
Over the years, she has always acted in accordance with the rules and has not done anything out of line.
It's also my fault. When I saw how beautiful she was, I was blinded by her beauty and thought that something good had fallen from the sky for me. So I wanted to take a gamble and forgot the rules.
No, it should be said that she exploited a loophole, because she did not break any rules. The woman was not someone she abducted; she appeared in the courtyard on her own.
Later, Nangong Ming asked someone to go to the household registration office to look up Long Chuqing's information.
Liu Yu, the subordinate, reported back, "Young Master, we have searched everywhere, but we have not found any information about Long Chuqing. We don't know if her name is fake, or if she is not registered in the capital."
Nangong Ming sat in a chair, one hand supporting his forehead and the other tapping the table, looking languid. He muttered, "Unregistered resident."
Liu Yu listened thoughtfully and said, "Young Master, the madam once said that the woman was seriously injured and collapsed in the backyard. She is probably a martial arts practitioner. Do you think she may have already left the capital?"
Nangong Ming lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment before slowly saying, "Then order our people from other prefectures to investigate at the local government offices."
Liu Yu didn't understand why her master insisted on finding her, but she didn't dare to say anything and went to relay the order as he instructed.
After investigating for several days, Liu Yu reported back again, "We have sent people to inquire in the surrounding prefectures and counties, and they all say that there is no woman named Long Chuqing, or that is not her real name."
Nangong Ming leaned against the daybed, twirling a wine glass in his hand. After hearing the report, he grinned and tilted his head back to drink the wine in the glass in one gulp.
"It really is an unregistered resident."
Based on her behavior that night, that should be her name, but he was puzzled as to why no such person could be found.
He glanced at the empty wine glass in his hand, put it down, and slowly walked to the desk. He picked up the portrait and turned to hand it to Liu Yu.
"Find someone to draw more portraits based on this one, then issue a missing person notice. Don't write her name, just say her surname is Long, and say that a young lady from our Yuexi Tower has gone missing. We will reward her handsomely if she is found."
Liu Yu asked, puzzled, "Young Master, if her portrait is posted under the name of Yuexi Tower, won't this anger her if she is still in the capital?"
Nangong Ming looked at him with a smirk upon hearing this: "She will only come out when she is angry, and I want to force her to come out."
He had money and free time, and felt that his days were extremely boring. He finally found a worthy opponent. The last time they sparred, the outcome was still undecided, so he thought of finding her to compete with again.
I had originally planned to check her household registration and visit her home to find out more, but after checking everywhere I went, I still couldn't find any news about her, so I had no choice but to resort to this last resort.
Although his actions were unethical, he couldn't be blamed. After all, she seemed to have vanished. If she had truly left the capital, then posting her portrait wouldn't have affected her much.
Royal Palace
Since Emperor Sukang allowed Xiao Han to receive proper treatment at his residence, he has gradually handed over his affairs to Prince Yu and has not attended court for the past few days.
After the court session today, Prince Jin, Prince Qi, and Prince Xuan were kept in the Imperial Study.
Half an hour later, the three princes emerged from the imperial study looking dejected.
King Xuan, dejected and with his shoulders slumped, said, "Alas, it must be hard on Father. Seeing him so angry, I feel sorry for him."
Prince Qi said helplessly, "You still dare to talk! It's all because of you that I got angry. Didn't we agree to talk less? You still kept babbling on and on, saying things that Father Emperor doesn't like to hear. You deserve to be scolded."
Prince Xuan sighed softly and looked at him with a hint of resentment: "I was just trying to draw the fire away from Third Brother, otherwise Father would have kept harassing him endlessly!"
The King of Jin patted the King of Xuan on the shoulder and said gratefully, "Good brother, you've gone to a lot of trouble. Next time, I'll help you out."
King Xuan patted his chest and said righteously, "We're all brothers, let's not talk about these things." He thought for a moment and continued, "By the way, I haven't seen the seventh brother lately! He wasn't here when he was being scolded today, so he escaped a disaster."
Prince Qi blinked and said, "I have heard about what happened a while ago, but I don't know if it's true or not. He has recently handed over all the military affairs to my elder brother. It seems that he is not in good health and has been recuperating in the mansion."
"Is he unwell? How come I didn't know?" Upon hearing this, Prince Xuan straightened his expression and asked hurriedly, "I happen to have some free time today, let's go to his residence to see him!"
Prince Qi nodded and said, "Alright, let's go take a look! I'm not busy today anyway."