Chapter 8: The Number One Beauty
Even a top tier wastrel had his little admirers.
That was only natural. Just like those rich second generation kids on Earth who spent all day chasing internet celebrities, plenty of people still envied that kind of life.
Fu Tianling helped the blood covered Wang Dachui to his feet and showed a friendly smile. "This young master's doing you a favor. If you don't fix that habit of talking nonsense after drinking, sooner or later you'll run into real trouble."
"S-s sorry... Fourth Young Master. I won't dare again... Thank you for... your guidance."
Right now that sincere smile on Fu Tianling's face looked like the smile of a devil in Wang Dachui's eyes. His whole body shuddered.
Fu Tianling couldn't help thinking that being a villain really felt great.
He slept with someone's wife, and the man still came to deliver gold.
He beat someone up, and the person thanked him with a smile.
Judging from the system prompt just now, Wang Dachui felt more fear than anger, so the resentment wasn't actually that strong.
"All of this Brother Wang Dachui's expenses tonight are on me. Put it on my account."
Fu Tianling patted Wang Dachui on the shoulder and walked forward.
Wang Dachui stood there confused. How did the Fourth Young Master know my name? Could it be that I've already become famous in the Imperial Capital?
"Keep the music playing, keep dancing. Why are you all staring at this young master?"
Fu Tianling waved his hand casually and sat down in the very center. The people sitting there quickly gave up their seats.
Meng He sat beside Fu Tianling while scanning the surroundings with vigilance, never letting his guard down.
Soon the small disturbance ended and the Imperial Courtesan House returned to its previous lively atmosphere.
Meng He lowered his voice. "Fourth Young Master, he was just a nobody. There was no need to mix kindness and intimidation like that."
Fu Tianling gave a faint smile. "If he's just a nobody, why bother arguing with him? When you can spare someone, you should spare them."
Fu Tianling wasn't some saint, but randomly beating someone to death like the original owner did was something he simply couldn't bring himself to do.
Enemies deserved no mercy, but those people weren't enemies. There was no reason to wipe them out completely.
His reputation was already the worst in the entire Imperial Capital anyway. People gossiping behind his back was perfectly normal.
Meng He thought to himself, you say spare someone when you can, yet you still beat the guy up. Your actions and your words don't quite match.
Even so, Meng He felt that the Fourth Young Master had become a little more likable than before.
He seemed more measured now and much less irritable.
Fu Tianling didn't care what was going through Meng He's thick skull. His gaze landed on the woman playing the zither.
Her name was Wan'er, the courtesan queen of the Imperial Courtesan House.
She wore a blue dress that outlined her slender figure, and her delicate features were exquisitely beautiful. She carried a gentle temperament like the girl next door.
Her figure resembled that of a top tier model. She was at least a head taller than Su Huanxue, though her chest looked fairly modest.
Her flawless face glowed under the lantern light as her hands continuously plucked the strings of the zither. The scene looked like a painting, graceful and captivating.
Her temperament was completely different from Su Huanxue.
One glance at Su Huanxue made people instinctively want to keep their distance.
Wan'er, on the other hand, stirred a man's protective instincts. She looked like a porcelain doll that might shatter with a single touch.
Wan'er enjoyed great fame throughout the Imperial Capital. She sold her art but not her body, and people called her the number one beauty of the Imperial Capital.
Of course that title carried a bit of exaggeration. Women of truly high status weren't included in that comparison.
For example, Fu Tianling's two elder sisters were just as beautiful as Wan'er.
Still, anyone called the number one beauty of the Imperial Capital naturally possessed stunning looks.
The most interesting part was how Wan'er's fame had grown so large largely because of the original Fu Tianling.
When the original owner first saw Wan'er, he was completely stunned by her beauty and immediately developed certain thoughts about her.
Wan'er sells her art but not her body, yet how could she withstand the demand of the Fourth Young Master of the Prime Minister's residence?
Even the steward of the Imperial Courtesan House couldn't stop it and tried persuading Wan'er to accept the arrangement.
Wan'er looked gentle and soft, but in truth her temperament was extremely resolute. She actually attempted suicide and drove a dagger straight into her own abdomen.
In the end the Minister of Rites personally went to the Prime Minister's residence to plead for mercy. The original Fu Tianling was dragged back home and locked inside a room by his eldest sister.
Just like that, the matter of sleeping with the courtesan queen of the Imperial Courtesan House ended without a result.
After that incident, Wan'er's reputation soared throughout the Imperial Capital.
After all, she was the woman that even the beast Fu Tianling failed to sleep with.
And she even forced the Minister of Rites to personally visit the Prime Minister's residence.
What kind of concept was that?
Looking across a thousand years of past and future, that kind of story would still sound explosive.
As the story spread and people talked about it with relish, Wan'er's fame naturally rose higher and higher.
When Fu Tianling's gaze landed on Wan'er, her hands playing the zither trembled slightly.
It seemed Wan'er still feared him greatly. Just the feeling of his gaze falling on her caused a reaction.
Clearly Fu Tianling had left a deep shadow in her heart.
"Fourth Young Master, allow me to offer you a toast."
At that moment a young noble in luxurious robes stepped forward with a cup of wine. His posture was extremely humble.
He looked weak and sickly with a sallow face, clearly someone whose body had been drained by alcohol and women.
Fu Tianling used to look exactly like that, but after the system rewarded him with Ninth Rank cultivation his body became much healthier.
After the marrow cleansing earlier, Fu Tianling now looked fairly normal.
Fu Tianling lifted his head and glanced sideways at him. "State your name."
The young noble smiled obsequiously. "This humble one is Ruan Yuze. My father is Ruan Yutang. Greetings, Fourth Young Master."
That name sounded a bit familiar.
Right.
He was the one who provided the admiration points earlier.
Even though Fu Tianling's reputation was terrible and he was known as the number one wastrel in the Imperial Capital, being infamous still counted as fame.
Having one or two little fans was perfectly normal.
If it were the original owner with that twisted and solitary personality, he definitely wouldn't bother with him. But Fu Tianling was different. He felt having a few followers wasn't a bad thing. They might come in handy someday.
"So you're the son of the Minister of the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs. Sit."
From the original owner's scattered memories, Fu Tianling immediately knew who he was when he heard the name.
However, he only possessed fragments of those memories, probably because of the transmigration. They weren't complete.
Combined with the fact that he read at least a fifth of the novel before arriving here, he still recognized many characters.
The son of the Minister of the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs wasn't low in status, though compared to him, the true son of the Prime Minister's residence, there was still a gap.
Ruan Yuze froze slightly after hearing the invitation.
Fu Tianling's bad temper was famous throughout the capital. Everyone knew he was difficult to deal with.
He never expected Fu Tianling to invite him so kindly to sit down.
Ruan Yuze sat beside Fu Tianling and raised his cup, draining it in one gulp.
Fu Tianling lifted his own cup and finished it as well.
While drinking, Fu Tianling asked casually, "Brother Ruan, have you heard the rumors between this young master and Wan'er?"
Ruan Yuze forced a bitter smile.
How was he supposed to answer that?
Fu Tianling noticed his awkward expression. "Inside the Imperial Courtesan House, we're just chatting casually. No need to feel troubled."
Ruan Yuze replied carefully, "I've naturally heard some of it. Wan'er's fame today is largely thanks to Fourth Young Master."
"Brother Ruan speaks the truth. If this young master hadn't pushed her to attempt suicide, that girl wouldn't have the reputation she has now."
"She still refuses to sleep with this young master. No gratitude at all. Truly the most poisonous thing in the world is a woman's heart."
Fu Tianling patted Ruan Yuze's shoulder with a friendly attitude.
After hearing such shameless words, Ruan Yuze couldn't stop the corner of his mouth from twitching twice.