Can a Scholar Be Called a Villain

Chapter 7: Great oiran selection

Translator’s note:

Changes:

Thanks to Nyx for editing this chapter.

After changing with the aid of female servants, Murong Lin entered the hall to eat his breakfast. The thirteen servants summoned from the system had already been assigned to a small court in his palace and given equipment so that they could accompany him on his daily outings.

As someone who had read Fang Ying Kan’s emergence, he was sure that no one could resist his charm and prestige anymore.

Old Man Bai stood by his side, reporting what had happened yesterday, “Your Highness, those three people had been taken care of, and I have also assigned someone to clean the study again.”

“En, got it.” Murong Lin nodded as a female servant wiped his mouth. He mischievously slapped the buttocks of the servant, causing her legs to go soft and making her body quiver, as she tried her utmost to prevent any euphonious gasps from leaking out of her mouth.

Looking at how terrified the servant was, he felt vainly satisfied.

“Hah, you’re frightened of me?” Murong Lin asked viciously.

The female servant was on the verge of tears, her face was aghast as her hands were clasped together, and was at a total loss for words.

Luckily, the chief guard Chen Yong brought in a chubby man at that moment, saving the female servant from any subsequent misery.

Looking at Chen Yong and the chubby man beside him, Murong Lin waved his hand for his servants to clean up the rest of the food on the table. With a minute sigh, the female servant got up and quickly darted away. She gave a grateful look to Chen Yong before leaving the room.

But Chen Yong wasn’t aware of what had happened, and even if he was, he didn’t understand what his actions did. Bringing the pudgy man with him, he walked over to Murong Lin, “Your Highness, young master Ma is here.”

“I got it, all of you, return first and prepare some dishes.” Murong Lin waved his hand, and Chen Yong savvily bowed and returned to guard the palace, while old man Bai also went to prepare some food for this guest.

Ma Jian Chou was the full name of Young Master Ma, who was currently seated in front of Murong Lin.

Similar to his name, even a horse would feel sorrowful looking at his obese figure.¹ But actually, his body was plumb due to the cultivation method he was practising. It had made his body resistant to attacks, and he was capable of withstanding far more bodily pain than one can imagine.

And despite his simple and honest looks, he was extremely greedy and promiscuous, with a hobby for torturing and killing women.

His mother was a disciple of Murong Lin’s maternal family, the Xue clan, who was a cousin of Murong Lin’s mother. As such, Ma Jian Chou would often come to play with Murong Lin when he was bored. But, generally, he came only when he needed help.

“What? Are you out of money again?” Looking at Ma Jian Chou, who sat down next to him, Mu Rong Lin asked with squinted eyes.

“No, no, no, I am not. It’s just that there are some foolish people who have recently offended me.” Ma Jian Chou spoke resentfully, a fierce expression appeared briefly on his fat face before quickly being replaced by a subtle smile.

“What? There are people out there with the guts to offend you?” Murong Lin laughed as if he was astonished by the statement.

“The problem is the little young master from Sheng Guo Gong’s clan, Sheng Yi is his name. That guy has been quite weird these past few days. He used to be a weakling and a bookworm, but suddenly started cultivating at an astonishing speed!”

“Oh? Be more detailed.” Murong Lin’s interest was piqued.

‘It can’t be, it can’t be? Did another protagonist show up already?’ Murong Lin thought as he listened to Young Master Ma’s Story.

“You know Sheng Yi, right? Sheng Guo Gong is the famous elder of the third dynasty, and one of the country’s royalists at the Sky Reaching Realm. Sheng Yi, his youngest son was a bookworm that avoided cultivating and instead focused only on reading all sorts of books, and was known as one of the “Four Oddities of the Capital’ as a result. We used to mess with him every day, but recently, he got knocked out for a day by the third prince and when he woke up his personality had changed. Since then he has been cultivating at a fierce speed. ”

“Fierce?” Murong Lin raised his brow, he was already sure that Sheng Yi was a protagonist.

An epiphany and forgoing knowledge for martial arts.

It was obviously the style of a reincarnation or a time travel novel!

“Fierce! He’s super fierce! I don’t know what cultivation method he is using, but it has great momentum, completely different from his father and the rest of his clan. We saw him two days ago, and he… he strangely, had reached the Crystalline Realm at 16 years old! I’m also in the Crystalline realm, but I am also three years older than him. Fuck, Brother, I think that he was actually just pretending to be a bookworm, so that he can shock everyone when he revealed his strength!”

“Furthermore, he even personally requested Sheng Guo Gong to send him to the south to suppress the beast wave. You should know how troublesome and dangerous the beast waves are, and he voluntarily wants to go there? I feel like he’s trying to put on a show for the sixth princess! To salvage their engagement!”

This……

He inexplicably wanted to go and suppress the beast wave?

Beast waves were a standard scene for protagonists!

It seems like he was a cliched time-traveller?

If that was true, then is he aware of some kind of fortuitous opportunity in the beast wave?

Hahahaha, Sheng Yi, you’ve exposed yourself too early!

Murong Lin smiled wickedly as he looked at the dishes old man Bai had served, “Go and gather some information about the son of Sheng Guo Gong, be detailed.”

“Yes.” Old man Bai stood down.

After he left, only Murong Lin and the busily-eating Ma Jian Chou remained.

The second generation of the capital was divided into the factions of the princes according to their families.

The first prince had the biggest influence, and most of the second-generation officials were friendly with him.

The second prince resided in the royal family, rarely leaving his residence, and was known as a martial arts maniac.

The third prince, who was Murong Lin, had ties to merchant disciples and fallen nobles.

The fourth prince travelled around, aiding the emperor in inspecting the 32 counties.

The fifth prince was unruly, and was known to spend his time playing around with the other rich sons in the capital.

The sixth princess had a coddled upbringing, causing many to covet the position of her husband and alienate her fiance, Sheng Yi.

The seventh prince was talented as a scholar and a martial expert, and he was currently busy researching classic literature.

The eighth prince was still young, and he was sent to one of the three great sects of Yan – “Mo Shan sect” for training and suitable upbringing.

Ma Jian Chou was considered to be under his influence, and had always disliked the fifth prince. He was seen as a mad dog, willing to bite anyone.

“Old Lin, you can’t be thinking of finding trouble with him, are you?” Ma Jian Chou asked in shock.

“Of course not, right, what exactly are you here for today?”

“Nothing much, it is just that the Apricot Flower establishment is picking out Oirans these few days, and tonight is the last day of the event. It’s very lively and entertaining right now, so I came to ask if you wanted to go.” Ma Jian Chou spoke.

“Hah, you must be afraid of Xue Ling Na.”

“Hehe, you completely saw through me. As the top genius of the Xue clan, rather than staying in the clan and cultivating, she loves coming out and betting with us. It’s not like I can beat her in betting or a fight, so I’m here for your help, also I still owe her thirty thousand taels of gold.”

Murong Lin had a smile on his face as he listened to Ma Jian Chou’s grumbling, but a hint of resentment was hidden deep in his eyes.

Xue Ling Na!

The top genius of the Xue clan!

And she was also the woman that had rejected Murong Lin’s advances.

Murong Lin had planned to fortify his position within the Xue clan by marrying Xueling Na. It would have allowed him to gain more access to the clan’s cultivation resources, but alas he was viciously humiliated by her.

One of the reasons for Murong Lin’s resentment towards the Xue clan was due to the humiliation he suffered at the hands of Xueling Na.

And, alas, because of that, she will die by his hands!

“Hey? You going?” Seeing that Murong Lin was silent in thought, Ma Jian Chou asked.

In response, Murong Lin raised his head and smiled brightly, “I’m going, of course I’m going. The Apricot Flower establishment has the backing of the Hundred Flower Sect’s ‘Hundred Flower Fairy’, why wouldn’t I go?”

“Right! She’s coming as well, it’ll definitely be very lively tonight! Hehe.” Ma Jian Chou laughed, “If so, three of the ‘Four Beauties of the Capital’ will be there, except for the ‘Art Fairy’.”

The Four Beauties of the capital referred to the sixth princess, Murong Liu, the Xue clan’s Xue Ling Na, the Wang clan’s Wang Ren Mei and the Hundred Flower sect’s Zhu Zhu Mei. They were not only known for their extraordinary beauty, but also for their high cultivation and immense backgrounds. Each having the nicknames, ‘Gorgeous Swallow Fairy’, ‘Frost Fairy’, ‘Art Fairy’ and the ‘Hundred Flower Fairy’ respectively.

The Xue clan, Wang clan, Du clan and the Li clan were known as the four great families of Yan, each having an elder of the Sky Reaching realm. And despite being lacking when compared to the three Sky Reaching experts of the Murong clan, they were already considered to be tremendously powerful. Each of the four great families was located along the cardinal directions, with the Xue clan of the North and the Wang clan of the East situated in the capital, the Du Clan known as the heroes in the West, and the Li Clan, who were called the tyrants of the South.

Similarly, there were three great sects in Yan, the Mo Shan sect, the Hundred Flower sect and the Moon Fire clan, each with a sect master of the Sky Reaching realm, situated in the east, north and south.

Aside from them, there was the prime minister of the court, Sheng Guo Gong, the Willow Sword Saint from the island of the North Sea, the South Village King of the South and the Poisonous Old Ghost of the West border. All of them were in the Sky Reaching Realm.

Murong Lin suddenly realised that he was wrong.

He didn’t have to just look for protagonists.

He could also use these women, instead.

Protagonists had great love fortunes, and if he just kept note of the beautiful women around, such as the “Four Beauties of the Capital”, those protagonists wouldn’t be able to escape his surveillance. This was the effect of the protagonist’s halo, and now also something that he could take advantage of.

1. The direct translation of his name would be around the lines of something a horse would look sorrowfully at.