Chapter 63: “Ghost Thief” Is Helping Him!

Xu Kang saw everyone as Ye Anling, getting excited and flying into action, kissing here and touching there, with nonstop flirtatious talk.

The girls initially didn’t think much of it, assuming Xu Kang had drunk too much.

To earn some tips, they happily played along, pretending to be Ye Anling to appease him.

One moment he was whispering love, the next moment he was claiming affection.

Xu Kang was completely out of his mind, pulling over one of the girls and attempting to perform a forbidden act.

Although the girl sold her body, she would never do such a thing in front of a crowd.

“Young Master Xu, please no, let’s go to the flower room.”

But Xu Kang, burning with desire, lost all reason and didn’t care for the girl’s resistance.

All he knew was that Ye Anling loved him and wanted to give herself to him.

Therefore, he couldn’t wait for a moment longer.

“Anling, I love you, please be mine.”

The sound of tearing fabric echoed.

The girl, whose clothes were ripped, screamed.

“Young Master Xu, please stop!”

Her resistance made Xu Kang burn with anger. He raised his hand and slapped her.

“Slap!”

“Anling, be good,” he said.

The other girls finally realized something was wrong and rushed over to stop Xu Kang.

“Young Master Xu, you can’t do this.”

Xu Kang smiled like a lovesick fool. “So many Anlings, come, let’s have fun together.”

Although the number of guests in the Spring Reception House was few, there were still over ten people.

The commotion in the second-floor private room caught everyone’s attention.

They all turned to see Xu Kang stripping off his clothes, tearing at the girls’ clothes, trying to force himself onto them.

The girls, half-dressed, helped each other escape from Xu Kang’s hands, scattering like birds and beasts.

Xu Kang, naked, chased after them, shocking everyone.

“This Young Master Xu usually just drinks a little, how did he go mad today?”

“He admires Miss Ye, but she is about to marry Lord De, so he must be in turmoil.”

“Pfft! What’s he even thinking? Even if Miss Ye doesn’t marry Lord De, she wouldn’t choose him.”

While people were gossiping, the bouncers in the Spring Reception House took action.

They didn’t dare touch the son of the Grand Minister, so they could only shield the girls behind them.

To Xu Kang, these bouncers were preventing him from having his way with Ye Anling, and he went berserk.

He felt like he was about to explode, his whole body burning with discomfort, his eyes bloodshot.

“Anyone who dares take my woman, I’ll kill you!”

He grabbed a chair and swung it wildly.

Ye Chutang saw Xu Kang making his way to the stairs.

Taking advantage of the girls’ distraction, she flicked a flower seed at him.

The seed struck Xu Kang’s injured knee.

His leg buckled, and he tumbled down the stairs.

When Qi Yanzhou arrived, he witnessed this scene.

He instinctively tried to save Xu Kang, but was a step too slow.

Xu Kang had already fallen down, breaking his leg and cracking his head, losing consciousness from the pain.

Only then did people realize something was terribly wrong. His pale body looked as if it had been boiled in hot water, red all over.

The area between his legs was swollen beyond belief.

“Did Young Master Xu take some kind of spring drug? Did he take it himself, or…”

“Spring Reception House is a reputable establishment, they wouldn’t do something to ruin their reputation.”

“Indeed, looks like Young Master Xu must be madly in love with Miss Ye!”

The waiter quickly placed a towel around Xu Kang’s waist.

The madam came out from the back with a long robe in her hands.

She draped the robe over Xu Kang and instructed the waiter, “Take him to the back room. Let Dr. Qin treat him. We cannot let him come to harm.”

“Yes, madam.”

The madam then summoned another servant and ordered, “Hurry, go inform the Xu family. This matter is suspicious, and we need to see if the Xu family will report it to the authorities.”

“Yes, madam.”

After giving her orders, the madam came before Qi Yanzhou and knelt.

“Esteemed Prince, I greet you.”

At these words, the onlookers finally realized that Qi Yanzhou had arrived and quickly bowed in respect.

Qi Yanzhou had come directly from the Ministry of Justice.

He was dressed in official robes, his right hand clasped behind his back, standing tall and majestic, his gaze sweeping over everything.

“Rise.”

He then looked at the madam. “What happened here?” The madam knew he was asking about “the person.”

She glanced at the second-floor private room.

Upon closer inspection, the man who had been with the girls was nowhere to be found!

Qi Yanzhou followed her gaze and only saw the alluring girls.

He immediately realized—he had run away.

He quickly ascended the stairs, questioning the girls.

“Where’s the person you were serving?”

The girls finally noticed that the once charming and sweet-talking young master was missing.

“He was just here…” one girl began.

Before she could finish, Qi Yanzhou moved quickly, heading for the nearest window overlooking the street.

He threw open the window just in time to see a familiar shadow vanish around the corner.

He was about to chase after him when he noticed a small red cloth package on the eaves.

The wind blew, and the package began to fall.

Between chasing the man and catching the package, Qi Yanzhou chose the latter.

He slapped his palm on the window ledge and leapt down, catching the package and landing smoothly.

He opened the red cloth to reveal a small golden nanmu box, about two fingers wide and three inches long.

There was white lime powder at the seam of the box’s lid.

Without needing to open it, he immediately guessed what it was.

The root of Lord De’s descendants!

“Why did the ‘Ghost Thief’ leave this for me?”

Qi Yanzhou had a bold guess.

He had made no progress in investigating the “Ghost Thief.”

Once the three-day period was over, Lord De would undoubtedly seize the opportunity to hold him accountable.

But if he had the root of Lord De’s descendants as leverage, he could turn the tables on the eunuch.

The “Ghost Thief” was helping him!

Qi Yanzhou looked down at the empty street corner, wrapped the wooden box back in the red cloth, and tucked it into his sleeve.

He returned to the Spring Reception House to learn about Xu Kang’s madness.

It was clear that he had been drugged.

The drug was not from the Spring Reception House, nor could it have been from Xu Kang himself—only the “Ghost Thief” could have done this.

Qi Yanzhou furrowed his brows as he stared at the girl in a red gauze skirt, her eyes full of flirtation.

No matter how he looked, she bore no resemblance to Ye Anling.

“Are you sure that the young master said your eyes resemble Anling’s?”

The girl nodded firmly. “I’m sure. Many people heard it.”

She added with a slight grin, “Your Highness, there are many girls named Anling.”

Implicitly suggesting that Xu Kang had misunderstood and was making trouble for no reason.

Qi Yanzhou felt something was off.

The “Ghost Thief” must have been enraged because a girl was taken from him, and that’s why Xu Kang was drugged.

But he had specifically mentioned “Anling,” as if directed at Xu Kang. It seemed too coincidental—this was far more complicated than it appeared!

But he couldn’t figure out the details just yet.

At that moment, Xu Kang’s grandfather arrived with officials from the Capital’s Ministry of Justice to investigate the matter of his grandson’s injury.

Seeing Qi Yanzhou, he immediately knelt and cried bitterly.

“Your Highness, this evil brothel has harmed my Kang’er. You must seek justice for him!”

The Xu family had no idea that Xu Kang frequently visited the Spring Reception House, confusing the girls with Ye Anling.

So, Xu Kang’s grandfather thought his promising grandson had been ruined by the Spring Reception House.

Qi Yanzhou didn’t have time for such small matters. “Old sir, you should first take a look at Young Master Xu.”

He then called the madam over and instructed her to cooperate with the investigation.

As for him, he summoned a famous painter from the capital.

The girls who had served Ye Chutang were asked to describe his appearance in detail so the painter could draw a portrait.

By the time nightfall came, the portrait of the “Ghost Thief” was finished.

Qi Yanzhou paid for the portrait and left.

On his way back to the Ministry of Justice, people were gossiping about Xu Kang and Ye Anling.

“Young Master Xu really is bold, daring to covet Lord De’s future bride!”

“Not just that, he even stripped off his clothes, mistaking the brothel girls for Miss Ye, and wanted to turn the world upside down with them!”

“They say Young Master Xu is deeply in love, but I think he hates Miss Ye. Otherwise, how could he do something so disgusting?”

Qi Yanzhou listened to the chatter along the way.

A sudden thought crossed his mind, and he realized he had figured out the key clue about the “Ghost Thief.”

He turned and headed straight for the Ministry of the Right.