Chapter Twenty-Seven: Straight (Part One)

When the sons of other families frequent brothels, it is for the sake of pleasure and dalliance; their parents might threaten to break their legs, yet others look upon them with envy.

Lady Lu, however, was deeply troubled. Her own son went to brothels, but he did not indulge in debauchery; instead, he went specifically to fight. Once might be excusable, but if it happened every time, something was amiss. What kind of place is a brothel? If you go there and don't confide in the courtesans or flirt with the maids, but insist on picking fights instead, what on earth are you playing at?

Could it be that her youngest son, completely ignorant of romance or the intimacy between man and woman, simply mistook such places for venues to drink and brawl?

Lady Lu’s hair was turning white from worry. She would have preferred him to visit brothels to sleep with women every day, as that would at least prove the foolish boy was normal in certain respects. Given his current behavior, she could not help but harbor doubts about his capabilities.

Then, quite inadvertently, Lady Lu recalled some words that had been circulating through the palace lately:

"From the moment we marry, you must be good only to me; you must pamper me and never deceive me; you must fulfill every promise you make to me; every word you speak to me must be from the heart. You must not lie to me or scold me, but care for me; when others bully me, you must be the first to step up and protect me; when I am happy, you must share in my joy; when I am sad, you must coax me into happiness; you must always believe I am the most beautiful; you must see me even in your dreams; in your heart, there must only be me..."

While others dismissed this as a joke, Lady Lu perceived something extraordinary in it.

One might ask, is it possible for a man to say such things to a woman? Fang Jun, who had traveled through time from a later age, would surely say yes—the world is vast and full of all sorts of creatures. But to Lady Lu, a woman of the ancient era with a narrow perspective, she believed such a thing was absolutely impossible.

So, why would her son say such things?

It was simple: her son’s ideal partner was someone who could pamper him, be good only to him, never lie to him, step up to protect him the moment others bullied him, share his joy, and think he was the most beautiful person...

Could such a woman exist? If one were to ask Fang Jun, he would again say yes; his own era was full of "tough women" who were unimaginably strong. But if one asked Lady Lu—it was the same answer: absolutely not!

Under what circumstances, then, could her son utter such words?

Combined with his behavior of going to brothels not to solicit women but specifically to fight, the answer was clear, though Lady Lu dared not accept it. Yet, refusing to accept it was futile, for if the truth were indeed so...

Did her son have a penchant for same-sex relations?

Heavens! Buddhas! Ancestors!

When this thought surfaced in her mind, Lady Lu nearly fainted. To her, beating up a prince was a trifle; that her son did not like women and might be unable to carry on the family line—that was a catastrophe, a disaster of heaven-shaking proportions!

Although she had two sons, her eldest, Fang Yizhi, had only one daughter since marrying and had produced no further heirs, even after taking a concubine. Thus, Lady Lu had pinned all her hopes for a grandson on her youngest son.

If her youngest son were truly...

Lady Lu grew increasingly terrified and cold-hearted, the more she thought, the more horrific it became.

She hurriedly ordered for Qiao’er, her son’s personal maid, to be brought in for a detailed interrogation.

"Qiao’er, has the Second Young Master shown any... peculiar tendencies lately?"

Qiao’er blinked, not understanding.

"That is to say... does the Second Young Master... act improperly toward you?"

Lady Lu didn't know how to phrase it. She could see that Qiao’er was still a virgin, but perhaps the foolish boy had the desire but not the nerve, only daring to tease his maid without ever crossing the final threshold.

Qiao’er’s face turned crimson, her voice as faint as a mosquito's: "That... no, he hasn't..."

"He hasn't?"

Lady Lu was truly anxious. She had hand-picked Qiao’er and brought her into the manor to serve her son. She had been a beauty since she was young, and although she was still a bit young, girls