What to Do When You're the Villain and the Female Lead Likes You - Chapter 5

The main clientele of the Spring Breeze Tower are mostly self-proclaimed charming gentlemen or wealthy young masters. This group of people are skilled in words but often lack true martial skills.

Upon seeing the score of “8 to 2” in favor of Chu Fan and his opponent on the martial arts stage, a group of people couldn’t sit still.

“Nonsense! It was clearly an evenly matched fight, how can the scoring be so biased? It’s too obvious!”

“Brother Liu, don’t worry. We will ensure fairness for you.”

“That’s right, even if you lose, you should lose fairly!”

Liu Kaixiong was the defeated party, and he looked embarrassed, saying, “No need, since I lost, it doesn’t matter how the scores are.”

The group of people’s loud complaints drew quite a few glances.

Returning to his seat, Chu Fan also felt puzzled.

“Xiao Xiao, the Spring Breeze Tower isn’t simple. I intentionally held back and pretended to have a slight victory over Liu Kaixiong, but I didn’t expect them to see through it.”

Chu Xiaoxiao pointed at the martial arts stage and smiled, “Brother, don’t underestimate the martial artists of Yinjing. This is the capital of Great Qi Kingdom, and it’s natural for there to be hidden talents.”

Chu Fan’s eyes brightened. “Right! Du Yinyin is Du Lie’s daughter, born in a family of martial artists. It’s not surprising that she could see through my actions.”

Du Yinyin!

The sweet smile still hung on Chu Xiaoxiao’s face. However, underneath the table, her two fair, tender fingers kneaded the sides of the glass, effortlessly grinding a crystal wine glass into powder.

“Brother! It’s not her!” Chu Xiaoxiao said playfully.

Chu Fan then realized that there were not only five girls sitting on the martial arts stage but also a well-known dandy – He Yunxiao.

“Could it be He Yunxiao?”

Chu Xiaoxiao’s eyebrows curved as she tilted her head slightly, playfully.

“Uh… probably him. I’ve heard that this young duke has the strength of a seventh-ranking warrior.”

“Seventh-ranking strength is pretty good.”

Due to the natural favor toward “generals” and “warriors,” the more Chu Fan thought about it, the more certain he was about his speculations regarding He Yunxiao’s behavior.

He couldn’t help but whisper, “Xiao Xiao, do you think He Yunxiao might not be such a dandy, but rather acting arrogantly to protect the reputation of the Marquis Wuqing Mansion?”

Chu Xiaoxiao waved her hands on her lap and tilted her head slightly, looking cute.

“I don’t know, but I trust your judgment, Brother.”

Chu Fan phrased the question differently.

“Do you dislike He Yunxiao?”

After thinking for a moment, Chu Xiaoxiao shook her head slightly.

“I don’t dislike him.”

Chu Fan nodded, thinking to himself: Xiao Xiao’s instincts are always accurate. If she says she doesn’t dislike him, He Yunxiao is probably not a bad person. But, wait a minute, how could Xiao Xiao not dislike someone who spoke disrespectfully to her and even got physical with her?

Xiao Xiao is sixteen this year, the age of a blossoming young girl. When she went to buy sugar-coated haws earlier, He Yunxiao even helped her…

The more Chu Fan thought about it, the more he felt that something was amiss.

“Xiao Xiao, do you dislike me?”

Chu Xiaoxiao blushed at the sudden question and her gaze shifted, her words becoming slightly rushed, “Brother, why are you suddenly asking this for no reason?”

Seeing his sister reluctant to answer, Chu Fan had to smile and change the subject.

However, even he didn’t know that as he looked at He Yunxiao on the martial arts stage, his gaze became strangely dangerous.

[System Prompt: Goodwill with Chu Xiaoxiao has increased from 25 to 55.]

Huh?

Increased by this much?

Is it possible to get to 80 with a bit more effort and receive a strategy reward?

He Yunxiao suddenly felt a chill on his neck, as if he saw Chu Xiaoxiao smiling at him with a chopper.

Hold on, stay calm!

The top priority is to prevent this unfortunate girl from looking at Chu Fan!

Otherwise, someone might really get hurt!

【Reminder: To view the target’s goodwill towards others, both individuals need to be within your line of sight.】

Within the line of sight?

A sudden idea struck He Yunxiao, and he quickly stood up.

“Sister, is your shoulder sore?”

Jiang Wuyou didn’t know what He Yunxiao was up to, so she advised, “The next martial arts match is about to begin. Since you plan to score for me, just watch it carefully.”

“What’s so interesting about a bunch of men fighting? Sister’s sore shoulder is the most important matter.”

He Yunxiao stood behind Jiang Wuyou and without a word, started massaging her shoulders.

For modern people, this action might be ordinary, but in the technologically limited era of the Great Qi Kingdom, it held significant meaning.

Children massaging their mother’s shoulders showed filial piety; wives massaging their husband’s shoulders were considered virtuous; husbands massaging their wives’ shoulders represented affection. Apart from these three circumstances, due to the separation of genders, holding hands, let alone massaging shoulders, was an intimate gesture not commonly seen.

What’s more, He Yunxiao was not an ordinary man; he was the son of a Marquis!

In the Great Qi Kingdom, titles were hereditary, and He Yunxiao was the legitimate eldest son, the designated successor of the Marquis Wuqing Mansion. Although he had a poor reputation, his official status was extraordinary. Even if others didn’t care about He Yunxiao, they would have to care about his father, a general with military power.

Therefore, even though He Yunxiao had always been arrogant and impolite, this young man massaging a courtesan was truly shocking.

Not only the girls, including Du Yinyin, but also the diners downstairs who didn’t care about the martial arts competition were all stirred up.

“Yang Qi, look!”

They looked up and were immediately taken aback.

“What! The prestigious He Yunxiao, massaging a courtesan? What is this behavior?” Yang Qi, in his early twenties and handsome, was greatly astonished when he saw He Yunxiao’s actions.

“Brother Yang, you are this year’s top scholar and also an official in the imperial court. He Yunxiao’s humble status is suppressing us warriors. How can this be good?”

Yang Qi said solemnly, “I am an official, but He Yunxiao is a young duke from the Marquis Wuqing, with deep-rooted power and influence. I’ve just entered the service recently, so my influence is limited, and it’s probably useless.”

Everyone present was in their twenties, consisting of scholars who came from distant places to study in Yinjing, as well as various mansion guests who hadn’t obtained official positions yet.

Yang Qi continued, “Brother Qian, you are currently residing in the Ministry of Rites, right?”

The young man named Qian Yuan immediately said, “That’s right. I am from Jiangnan and currently residing in the same hometown as Minister Li.”

“The Minister of Rites is the current Empress Dowager’s nephew and the Grand Princess’s cousin. With this connection, you should be able to influence Marquis Wuqing. However, directly inviting the Minister would be too abrupt, so it’s better to invite Young Master Li, the son of Minister Li, to come forward.” Yang Qi suggested.

Qian Yuan and the others were a bit confused; why did they suddenly mention a minister, and then the Empress Dowager?

Finally, Qian Yuan asked, “Brother Yang, why invite Young Master Li over? What’s the purpose?”

Yang Qi signaled them to come closer with a wave of his hand.

“Ten years ago, the late emperor personally led a campaign against Northern Yan and returned. Soon after, he passed away. At that time, the crown prince was still young, so he ordered the empress and the prime minister to govern the country. The prime minister is now the powerful Prime Minister Han Wenxin, while the empress is the current Empress Dowager.”

Everyone nodded to show their understanding.

Yang Qi continued, “The Empress Dowager lacks the ability to govern the country and appointed relatives to govern. The officials almost forced the Emperor to revoke the late emperor’s decree.”

At this point, he paused for a moment.

Everyone exchanged glances, and they all knew that the current Emperor, who was just eleven years old, was a child when the officials tried to force him to abdicate. He didn’t understand the concept of a decree. It was obvious that Prime Minister Han Wenxin was seizing power from the Empress Dowager.

Yang Qi continued, “The Empress Dowager was forced and didn’t want to give power to Prime Minister Han. The Emperor was still young at the time, so she had no choice but to give power to the Emperor’s elder sister, Princess Meng Qingqian.”

“Recently,” Yang Qi lowered his voice even more, “recently, the situation in the court is tenser than before. Marquis Wuqing belongs to the Prime Minister’s faction, while the Ministry of Rites is firmly aligned with the Empress Dowager. Princess Meng Qingqian won’t miss the opportunity to suppress the Prime Minister’s influence.”

After hearing this, everyone sat up straight, except for Qian Yuan, who quickly bid farewell and rushed to the Ministry of Rites.