পঞ্চাশতম অধ্যায়: ঝাও জির বೇಶ্যাভ্রমণ

আসlve, actually, very few people paid attention to Zhao Mao's illness.

After all, not everyone was as anxious about Zhao Mao as Zhao Xu and Liu Qingqing, nor did everyone know that Zhao Mao's days were numbered like Zhao Yu, Zhang Chun, and Empress Dowager Xiang.

For most people, Zhao Mao being ill had nothing to do with them; naturally, they continued singing and dancing as before.

Zhao Ji was one of such people.

After the early court session that day, Zhao Ji quickly put the frowning Zhao Xu behind him and headed home with attendants like Gao Qiu, planning to eat, drink, and make merry.

To be honest, it wasn't really Zhao Ji's fault that he didn't take Zhao Xu's worries to heart.

Ever since he ascended the throne, Zhao Xu had frequently looked gloomy and unhappy, something Zhao Ji was long accustomed to, and he didn't feel this time was any different.

Furthermore, Zhao Ji was merely an idle prince. Zhao Xu and his ministers only allowed him to enjoy wealth and luxury without letting him do anything meaningful. Therefore, even if Zhao Xu truly had troubling matters, he couldn't help, nor would the ministers allow him to help.

Thus, Zhao Ji's mind was entirely occupied with what fun thing he should find to amuse himself once he got home.

Passing by the imperial tailoring workshop in the capital, Zhao Ji saw Cai You, the eldest son of Cai Jing.

Cai You dismounted, cupped his hands in greeting, and stood politely by the roadside with an upright posture, refined features, and a pleasing appearance.

This was not the first time Zhao Ji and Cai You had met.

In fact, Cai You frequently used his official position to calculate the time when court ministers finished their sessions, deliberately intercepting the fun-loving Zhao Ji on his way back to his mansion in order to forge political connections.

Such frequent and regular "chance encounters" quickly caught Zhao Ji's attention.

Zhao Ji had long been curious about the handsome and well-mannered Cai You. When he asked his attendants about his identity and learned he was Cai Jing's son, his impression of him deepened.

Having resonated with each other from afar for so long, Zhao Ji felt it was time to officially get to know Cai You and become friends.

Consequently, Zhao Ji instructed Gao Qiu to invite Cai You over.

Zhao Ji and Cai You hit it off immediately, conversing merrily. Zhao Ji promptly invited Cai You to his mansion to eat, drink, and make merry together.

As it happened, Li Bangyan also arrived at the Prince Duan's Mansion shortly after.

Sharing similar tastes, the group composed poetry, set common street sayings to music, and sang them aloud.

Cai You even went so far as to wear tight short-sleeved clothes, paint his face with blue and red cosmetics, and mingle among singing girls and dwarfs, reciting vulgar street jokes and flippant jests about dissolute men and women to win Zhao Ji's favor.

As days passed, the group eventually steered the conversation towards Nie Shengqiong, the famous courtesan of the Fan Lou pavilion.

Upon hearing Nie Shengqiong's ci poetry piece "Partridge Sky: Sent to Li Zhiwen," Zhao Ji praised her talent immensely. Hearing the story of Nie Shengqiong and Li Zhiwen, he praised their romance just as highly.

Meanwhile, Gao Qiu, Li Bangyan, and Cai You lavishly praised Nie Shengqiong's beauty. Li Bangyan even declared that none of the women in Prince Duan's Mansion could surpass her.

Despite Li Bangyan disparaging the beauties of Prince Duan's Mansion to elevate Nie Shengqiong, Zhao Ji felt no anger at all; instead, his curiosity about Nie Shengqiong grew.

Cai You asked, "Is this Lady Nie truly such a peerless beauty?"

"Words cannot do her justice," Li Bangyan replied.

"Why don't the few of us pay her a visit before Lady Nie redeems herself and becomes an ordinary citizen, lest we be left with lifelong regrets?" Gao Qiu suggested.

"How could Lady Nie be so easily seen?"

"To win the favor of a courtesan leader like Lady Nie, one must compete with all the talented scholars of Fan Lou, and there is only one winner. Without peerless talent, it is utterly impossible."

"Not to mention the two of you, even I have no chance of winning."

At this point, Li Bangyan looked at Zhao Ji and said, "Only if Your Highness goes in person might you be able to see Lady Nie."

Hearing this, Cai You stirred up trouble by suggesting, "Since that is the case, why doesn't Your Highness give it a try?"

Nie Shengqiong was the premier courtesan of her time, renowned for her beauty, sought after by scholars and young nobles alike, and quite famous among official circles.

Egged on by Gao Qiu and the other two, Zhao Ji felt an itch of curiosity and longed to behold her beauty with his own eyes.

Naturally, Gao Qiu's trio encouraged Zhao Ji, solemnly swearing that no news of the excursion would leak out.

Unable to resist the temptation, Zhao Ji disguised himself, traveled under an assumed name, and went to Fan Lou accompanied by the three men.

Zhao Ji truly possessed genuine literary talent. With his thoughts flowing like spring water, he composed several fine poems on the spot, wrote with peerless calligraphy, and most importantly, spent money like water. Consequently, he quickly gained an audience with Nie Shengqiong, who wished to make a final harvest of dowry money before retiring from the demimonde.

However, while Zhao Ji was enjoying listening to music in Nie Shengqiong's room, Cai You, the pampered playboy, picked a fight with someone out of jealousy and started an argument.

The official courtesan system of the Song Dynasty explicitly forbade prostitutes from entertaining officials, but this rule primarily targeted the courtesans rather than the guests.

Therefore, officials or members of the imperial family visiting in a private capacity were not directly bound by it.

Precisely because of this, although they suspected that Liang Shicheng might want to teach Zhao Ji a lesson, Gao Qiu and Li Bangyan chose to betray their master. They figured that even if Zhao Ji was caught visiting a brothel, he wouldn't face severe punishment, whereas if they didn't help Liang Shicheng, not only would their lucrative financial source vanish instantly, but they might also offend the person behind Liang Shicheng—someone daring enough to discipline even imperial princes.

In fact, many powerful officials and nobles of this era frequented brothels using aliases or covert methods. Zhao Ji was neither the first member of the imperial family to visit a brothel, nor would he be the last.

Literary figures and scholars of this era regarded visiting brothels as a refined pastime; lyricists like Liu Yong and Zhou Banfang maintained close associations with courtesans and even composed a vast number of poems and songs about them.

This cultural atmosphere also provided a sense of legitimacy for Zhao Ji's brothel visit.

Thus, unable to resist the temptation, Zhao Ji had followed the three men to Fan Lou to see for himself.

Yet, having said that, although society in this era was relatively tolerant of courtesan culture, members of the imperial family openly engaging with brothels could still provoke public criticism and controversy.

Worse still, if a member of the imperial family were caught visiting a brothel, it would harm not only their personal image but also cast a poor reflection on the imperial house as a whole.

Put simply, the artistic aura of high-end brothels provided a veneer of "refinement" to Zhao Ji's outing, making it easier for society to tacitly condone, but public pressure still needed to be avoided.

To spell it out, as long as Zhao Ji wasn't caught visiting the brothel, everyone would tacitly pretend nothing happened. But if he were caught, he risked violating official norms and moral boundaries, triggering political fallout.

Fully aware of all this, Zhao Ji certainly didn't want the matter to blow up.

Therefore, seeing Cai You quarreling with someone, Zhao Ji rushed out to smooth things over and prevent the situation from escalating into negative consequences.

Unexpectedly, the other party had no regard for fair play. Seeing Zhao Ji appear, a sturdy young nobleman strode forward and punched Zhao Ji straight in his left eye.

Fearing that real harm might come to Zhao Ji, Gao Qiu and Li Bangyan rushed forward to shield him.

Instantly, the two sides descended into a full-scale brawl, exchanging blows.

Remarkably, Zhao Ji, whose physical condition was quite good, proved quite valiant. Amidst the chaotic melee, he even managed to kick over one of the opposing youths.

For Zhao Ji, who had never experienced anything like this, it felt intensely thrilling and even somewhat exhilarating.

Just at that moment, someone shouted, "That slender, refined man is Prince Duan! Have you all lost your minds? How dare you beat Prince Duan—run for your lives immediately!"

Hearing that an imperial prince was among their opponents, the group of young noblemen let out yelps of shock and scattered instantly like birds and beasts.

Zhao Ji's reflexes were relatively quick; he hurriedly used his sleeve to block his face and bolted from the scene.

Yet no matter how fast Zhao Ji ran, gossip traveled even faster.

The very next day, rumors spread far and wide that Zhao Ji had patronized courtesans, fought over jealousy, and ended up with a bruised black eye. A children's rhyme even began making the rounds:

"His Highness Prince Duan loves seeking fun,
Sneaks out of the palace to visit everyone.
Through brothels and alleys he runs all day,
Living a life of leisure and play..."