“Yes, yes!” I nodded my head like a rattle-drum, not caring about anything else, just trying to bluff my way through.
Qi Yueran stared at me sharply: “If you know him, why didn’t you visit openly during the day?”
I rolled my eyes and answered impatiently: “Everyone knows the Second Young Master is confined at home. If I came during the day, would you allow me to see him?”
“Who are you exactly?” Qi Yueran narrowed his eyes, suspiciously examining me.
Feeling a bit guilty under his gaze, I turned away: “I said I’m a friend of the Second Young Master. If you don’t believe me, just take me to confront him!”
Qi Yueran looked at me for a while, then suddenly said: “I remember you. You’re the person who was wandering outside the Qi mansion a few days ago!”
“Hehe!” I laughed awkwardly: “You noticed!”
Suddenly, Qi Yueran shouted coldly: “Stop acting. Tell me, what is your real purpose for coming to the Qi residence?”
I couldn’t help but let my face fall, reiterating: “I really did come to see the Second Young Master! Why is it that these days, even telling the truth isn’t believed?”
Qi Yueran’s face darkened, and he immediately attacked me: “Since you refuse to be honest, I’ll have to hand you over to the authorities!”
His movements were swift, but fortunately, my martial arts skills were not weak, and with timely reactions, I barely managed to dodge. A look of surprise flashed in his eyes, apparently not expecting me to evade, and his attacks became even more fierce…
I dodged while urgently saying, “Hey, can’t we talk this out? Is it necessary to be so aggressive?
I truly just wanted to see what the Second Young Master is like, with no bad intentions. Besides, I just tried to help you earlier, so how can you be so ungrateful…
Could I have run into a ghost?
But Qi Yueran completely ignored what I was saying, determined to capture me. Since our martial arts were evenly matched, after dozens of moves, there was still no clear winner…
Seeing he had no intention of stopping, I couldn’t help but retreat towards the Qi residence exit while shouting, “Enough! If we continue like this, we’ll be fighting until dawn with no resolution!”
He finally stopped, maintaining a cold expression, warning: “If you don’t want to see the authorities, don’t let me see you again!”
I scoffed, “Not seeing you is fine. Do you think I’m eager to see you? Your martial arts aren’t as good as Bei Ting Zi Chen’s, you’re not as handsome as Xi Lin Yan, and your personality is more arrogant than Mei Ying. I wouldn’t want a man like you even if you were given to me!”
Leaving the Qi residence, I walked under the moonlight, constantly feeling like someone was following me. But every time I turned back, I saw only empty streets, not even a shadow.
With my speed, if someone were truly following me, they shouldn’t have gone undetected…
Strange.
I stood at the front of the stage, bowing gracefully with a charming smile. “Today is the first time Qinhuai has taken the stage. Thank you, gentlemen, for your support. Qinhuai knows you are curious about what performance I will present. However, I’m sorry, Qinhuai has made no preparations today!”
Someone from the audience couldn’t help but tease: “We’re tired of those songs and dances. Why don’t you remove your veil and let us see your true face?”
As soon as these words were spoken, others immediately chimed in: “Yes, yes! We’ve paid to be here. Miss Qinhuai isn’t going to brush us off with just a few words, is she?”
We heard a stunning beauty has come to Yixiao Tower, but we haven’t even seen her face. Is she just playing mysterious?”
Seeing the guests’ emotions rising, Qin Jie hurriedly came on stage to mediate: “Gentlemen, please be patient. Miss Qinhuai is just joking and won’t let you come for nothing!”
Then, she kept signaling me with her eyes. I smiled nonchalantly and continued: “Don’t be anxious, everyone! Qinhuai hasn’t finished speaking!”
“It’s natural to be skeptical of rumors, and seeing Qinhuai’s appearance is not difficult. However, Qinhuai has her own rules – she will only meet one guest per day!”
The audience immediately became discontented, shouting: “What? With so many of us, you’ll only see one? What about the rest?”
Qin Jie couldn’t help but furrow her brow, lowering her voice to question me: “Girl, what are you doing?”
“Sister Qin, don’t be anxious. You’ll understand soon!” I held her hand to comfort her, then turned to the crowd, slowly curving my lips with an extremely seductive smile: “It depends on which gentleman is most interested in Qinhuai’s appearance!”
Qin Jie was stunned, looking at me questioningly. The audience was buzzing with discussion. Soon, a rough male voice called from the crowd: “I’ll pay twenty taels to see Miss Qinhuai’s true face!”
Qin Jie, being extremely shrewd, immediately understood, putting on a smiling face and waving her handkerchief: “Good, good! Master Wang offers fifty taels.
The bidding continued, escalating quickly, with prices rising from fifty to one hundred, then to five hundred taels.
Just when it seemed the bidding was over, a new voice called out: “I’ll offer one thousand taels…”
“O-one thousand taels?” Qin Jie’s jaw dropped. The crowd gasped and turned towards the entrance.
Qin Jie took a moment to recover, asking the newcomer: “And you are?”
The man replied seriously: “Madam doesn’t need to know who I am. Just tell me if these thousand taels are enough to see Miss Qinhuai.”
Qin Jie laughed, her eyes narrowing: “Enough, of course it’s enough. I believe no one will offer a higher price. You are the first guest Miss Qinhuai will see today!
Who would have known that the man would shake his head and say, “Mother misunderstood. The person paying is not me, but our young master. I’m just here to help him pay. My young master had something to do tonight and has already left. He specifically instructed me to leave the silver and hand it to Mother. As for meeting the Qinhuai courtesan, it can be postponed until he has time!”
Qin Jie, hearing that money was involved, didn’t care about what else was said and just kept nodding, “Good, good, good! Your young master can come see our Qinhuai courtesan whenever he wants!”
The man nodded, stepped forward, and directly handed the thick stack of silver notes to Qin Jie’s hand, then turned to leave…
“Wait a moment!”
I couldn’t help but call out to stop him: “Who exactly is your master?”
The man smiled mysteriously and said, “When the lady meets him, she will naturally know!”
“Can’t you tell me now?” Subconsciously, I still thought it was Xi Linyan.
The man apologetically shook his head: “I’m sorry, my young master didn’t instruct me to reveal his identity. I cannot speak of it!”
My heart suddenly felt empty…
Why, why after so long, haven’t you… come to see me?
At the entrance of Yixiao Tower, they had prepared a sedan chair that took us directly to Mochou Lake in Quanzhou City. By the lakeside, a luxurious pleasure boat was moored, surrounded by lanterns that illuminated the entire boat brightly.
Wan Wan helped me out of the sedan chair. The lakeside breeze carried a hint of coolness. Through the half-open window of the pleasure boat, I could vaguely see a figure in blue clothing sitting with their back facing the shore, the silhouette seeming somewhat familiar…
Unexpectedly, it was actually him.
“Young master, the Qinhuai courtesan has arrived!”
The person guarding the shore turned and respectfully reported to someone inside the boat.
“Please invite her aboard,”
A low voice emerged from the boat, strange yet slightly familiar, clearly not West Yin’s voice, which made me feel a sudden sense of disappointment.
Just as I was in a daze, the man opposite me smiled and reminded, “Miss, my young master requests your presence!”
