Chapter 23: Houses of Pleasure, Beckoning Sleeves

Chapter 23: Red-Light Districts and Waving Sleeves

Ye Wanwan went to the ancestral hall and knelt before Lady Lin’s spirit tablet. Gazing at the memorial of her own mother, she found a thousand words caught in her throat, unable to be spoken.

After so many years, another cycle had passed. The sound of her mother’s voice and the sight of her smile had gradually faded from her memory. What was the warmth of her mother’s embrace like? She could no longer recall, yet she knew that those must have been her most carefree and cherished days.

"Mother..."

Ye Wanwan let out a long sigh and bowed slowly.

After offering incense, she stepped out to find Zhuang Qin waiting with the concubines and children of the Ye household to pay their respects. After all, Ye Wanwan’s status was no longer what it once was, and the proper formalities could not be neglected.

Zhuang Qin was a kind-hearted woman. Though she had no children of her own, she had always treated the children of the manor with fairness. The inner chambers of the Ye residence had never been tainted by scandal or deceit, which was precisely why Ye Wanwan held her in such high regard.

Surveying the young members of the Ye family, Ye Wanwan finally remembered someone: "Where is Ye Shaoyang?"

The eldest young master of the Ye family, her own brother. It was a testament to her preoccupation that after being reborn for so long, she had only just remembered such a person existed.

The usually composed Zhuang Qin wore a rare look of distress. "The young master has not returned for three days. He angered his father recently and received a stern reprimand."

Ye Wanwan had been a model daughter since childhood—well-read, disciplined, and a paragon of nobility whose poise rivaled that of a princess. Her brother, born of the same parents, was the polar opposite.

He was indolent and unlearned, prioritizing hedonism above all else and surrounding himself with a pack of sycophants. Let alone any academic pursuit, if he wasn't being disciplined every few days, he felt out of sorts. He had caused Ye Zhaoru no end of grief, and even the Empress Dowager held him in low regard, sighing whenever his name was mentioned.

It was said that their father was a man of great capability, yet he had produced such a useless scion—a piece of mud that could not be plastered onto a wall.

They were biological siblings and should have been close, but from childhood, Ye Wanwan had been either studying or in the palace. Even living under the same roof, they rarely crossed paths. When they did, Ye Shaoyang was always loitering about or breaking her things. Over time, Ye Wanwan lost all affection for him, to the point where she rarely even spoke his name.

Ye Wanwan stopped asking and ordered the gifts she had brought to be distributed. Although her return to the manor was low-key, she had prepared accordingly.

Her three half-sisters seemed eager to speak with her, but she had no energy for them and dismissed them, claiming fatigue.

Back in her chambers, Ye Wanwan changed her attire, veiled her face, and let her hair down, appearing as an ordinary noble lady.

Stepping out through the side gate, Yan Chen was already waiting.

It was easy for Ye Wanwan to leave the Prime Minister’s manor, and her goal today was to find Ye Shaoyang.

Gazing at the colorful, fragrant, and alluring pavilions, Ye Wanwan frowned deeply. Was this where Ye Shaoyang preferred to spend his time?

In all her years, she had only heard of such places. She had never even walked past the street they were on, let alone set foot inside.

The red-light district, with its beckoning sleeves.

"Your Ladyship," Yan Chen, for once, took the initiative to stop her. "This is a place of filth. It is better not to go."

A place of filth? Ye Wanwan had few inhibitions left. She had already walked through the gates of hell; was there anywhere she could not go?

However, while she did not care, she could not afford to leave behind any leverage. If she were discovered in these alleys and word reached Zhao Yi’s ears, she would have no peace.

At the corner of the street stood a teahouse. It was quiet at this hour, so she went to the second floor and chose a table overlooking the street.

Waiting was tedious. Ye Wanwan rested her chin on her hand, watching the people pass below—some dressed in finery, others in rags.

Within the pavilions, there was decadence and enchanting beauty; on the streets, there was wealth and poverty, the noble and the base.

One could not say this common world was better than the imperial palace, but it lacked the suffocating pressure and possessed a certain freedom.

Having seen enough, Ye Wanwan withdrew her gaze and caught sight of Yan Chen standing nearby. Seeing him staring at the building across the street, she raised an eyebrow and teased, "Little Chen, you have left the palace many times. Have you ever been to a place like that?"

Yan Chen replied, "I am a eunuch. How could I go to such a place?"

Ye Wanwan looked disappointed but did not press the joke. Her gaze fell back across the street, where several figures were stumbling out, arms draped over one another.