Chapter 171: Chapter 171: A Shameful Hobby

Seeing her brother’s strong emotional reaction, Ming Lingyi hesitated, unsure if she should tell him her decision.

Part of her reasoning was for Li Yun’s sake, it was true. But more importantly, she knew Wangxian Building was just a small part of the Xie family’s business. Not everyone in the family would be involved, so even if they wanted to get a handle on Xie Ruijing, it wouldn’t be easy. High-ranking aristocratic families were always fond of using scapegoats, and there was nothing she could do about that.

Rather than having a complete falling out with the Xie family, it was better to deal with them ruthlessly from the shadows.

Ming Lingyi glanced at Zhang Sifan beside her. She felt this sort of thing was best discussed quietly among family, behind closed doors. She was a little embarrassed to bring it up in front of an outsider.

But Ming Chengyu spoke up directly, "Just say it. You don’t have to avoid the topic for his sake. Right now in Shangjing City, it’s just the two of us from our family. Huiya isn’t an outsider. He might even be able to offer some advice."

When Ming Chengyu said this, Zhang Sifan couldn’t help but feel a little touched.

However, that feeling lasted less than a second before it was utterly shattered by Ming Chengyu’s next words.

"You need connections to get things done in Shangjing City. It’ll be much more convenient to do the dirty work if you drag him into it," Ming Chengyu said with a perfectly straight face.

He might as well have had "You should totally take advantage of him" written on his forehead.

Ming Lingyi wanted to laugh, but a sideways glance at the white-robed young man sitting beside her made her think it would be too much like bullying if she laughed out loud right now.

’Two against one? What a terrible rumor that would make!’

"Well, I really must thank you for not treating me like an outsider," Zhang Sifan said through gritted teeth, glaring at his friend.

Ming Chengyu chuckled. "Heh heh. We’re bros. It’s what bros do."

Zhang Sifan was speechless. "..."

’This is really *not* treating me like an outsider...’

Seeing this, Ming Lingyi laid out her general idea.

"Xie Ruijing, huh? I know him," Ming Chengyu said, the realization dawning on him when Ming Lingyi mentioned him as her starting point. He looked at Zhang Sifan. "Huiya, you should remember him too."

"Yeah. When we first started the poetry society, he came around wanting to join," Zhang Sifan said.

Neither of them was the type to judge people by rank or status. Ming Chengyu, in particular, had no half-siblings, so he found it hard to be prejudiced against sons of concubines.

But in the end, he and Zhang Sifan just didn’t get along with Xie Ruijing.

"If he had genuinely wanted to join the poetry society, we would have welcomed him. There are plenty of people in the Xianyun Liushui Pavilion without official titles or ranks. We all gather there out of a shared passion. But Xie Ruijing didn’t want to join us because he liked poetry," Zhang Sifan said.

Ming Lingyi asked curiously, "Oh? Then what was it? For fame?"

But when the Xianyun Liushui Pavilion was first founded, it wasn’t very famous.

"Ahem, well..." Zhang Sifan glanced in Ming Chengyu’s direction. If Ming Lingyi were a man, he could speak freely, but she obviously wasn’t.

And since he could see how much Ming Chengyu doted on his sister, there was no way Zhang Sifan would run his mouth.

"What was it?" Ming Lingyi turned to look directly at her brother.

Ming Chengyu: "..."

Under Ming Lingyi’s gaze, he finally surrendered.

"It wasn’t for fame. He wanted to join the poetry society to scout for young men."

Ming Lingyi’s eyes widened in astonishment, her mouth falling open. "Huh? Huh? For young men?"

’It couldn’t be what I think it is, could it?’

"He has a preference for men," Zhang Sifan stated bluntly, offering an explanation.

Ming Lingyi: "..."

That was completely unexpected.

So... so shocking. For a moment, she had no idea what kind of expression to make.

"So, if you want to tie up Xie Ruijing and keep him out of sight for a while, we have a way," Ming Chengyu said.

Xie Ruijing liked men. Ming Lingyi wouldn’t even need her Hidden Guards to tie him up and lock him in a dark room for five or six days. They just needed to send him to the Qin Lou Chu Guan and deliver seven or eight handsome young men to his room. He would get lost in the pleasure quarters and not be seen for days.

"As for businesses that compete with the Xie family’s shops... what a coincidence. My family doesn’t own any restaurants, but we do have two clothier shops. We can make a move on that front," Zhang Sifan said.

If he was unenthusiastic about being "used" before, he was now rubbing his hands together, looking thrilled.

After all, of all people, Xie Ruijing just had to go and harass him back then.

Zhang Sifan still remembered the skin-crawling feeling of being targeted. Even after so many years, the memory alone made him feel physically ill.

Back at the poetry society, Xie Ruijing had sat next to him. When they clinked cups, he’d taken the opportunity to touch Zhang Sifan’s hand, but he hadn’t thought anything of it at the time. It wasn’t until later, when they were playing a game of passing a flower to the beat of a drum to compose poetry, that Xie Ruijing deliberately tickled his palm while handing him the "flower." Only then did Zhang Sifan realize he was being harassed by another man.

And after he realized it, he saw Xie Ruijing was even giving him flirtatious glances. In that instant, he nearly threw up last year’s New Year’s Eve dinner.

When he got home, he scrubbed his hand with scented soap a hundred times, practically wishing he could chop off the hand that Xie Ruijing had touched. But that shameless Xie Ruijing had even sent an invitation to his residence the very next day, asking him to go admire flowers in the countryside.

Just thinking about that incident made the feeling of disgust well up in Zhang Sifan again.

Disgust turned into motivation. He couldn’t wait to deal with a person like that.

Ming Lingyi wanted to ask how exactly they planned to lure him into the Qin Lou Chu Guan, and what kind of person could entice Xie Ruijing into willingly staying away from home for seven or eight days.

But as soon as she asked, both Zhang Sifan and Ming Chengyu put on cryptic expressions.

"That’s not something a young lady like you needs to know," Ming Chengyu said with a serious face.

Zhang Sifan nodded in agreement.

Ming Lingyi: "..."

’I really want to scoff at them right now.’

"But for surveillance, you’ll still need to use your Hidden Guards," Ming Chengyu said. "If anything goes wrong, your guards can just knock Xie Ruijing out and toss him into the room."

Ming Lingyi: "..."

’Fine.’ She had no idea what expression Li Yun would make if he knew the Hidden Guards he gave her were being sent to spy on two men "wrestling with fairies."