Chapter 7 — To Play Gangster (2)
Su Xin and Shu Juan moved to the second floor. The room was much different than the one they had before. It was gloomy and cold. Also situated on the farthest part—making it the most remote room on the second floor, hence moisture had acc.u.mulated overtime.
“Young lady.." Shu Juan bit her lip and fought back the urge to shed tears.
Su Xin somewhat understood why some people said that women were made of water. The girl, Shu Juan, could cry a river, yet she could always stop without a hitch. It was like a faucet which could be turned off and on at will. Su Xin was at a loss on how to deal with this emotional servant of hers.
After all, emotions were not her strongest suit.
Su Xin tentatively touched Shu Juan"s double top knots and gently rubbed the small buns. This caught Shu Juan"s attention successfully and she stopped crying, looking instead at her master questioningly.
“Don"t worry, this road was chosen by myself. I need to bid my time before I can seize my slave contract without trouble, and then make haste to the capital."
The requirement to attend the Banquet of the Four Countries was very strict, actually akin to the imperial examination. Although the former is an formal occasion, it is still below than the latter.
The place she was staying at was quite distinguised and she even had a bit of reputation for herself. However, it still won"t hold a candle to the courtesans in the capital.
The system for the Banquet of the Four Countries is akin to a black box.1 There"s no transparent procedure on how decisions are made or which guests are chosen.
However, high officials and n.o.ble members of the imperial households are sure to be the majority of the attendees in the banquet. Hence, Su Xin must have a striking reputation to be chosen out of the numerous courtesans or else, she would be squashed like a potato.
Her initial plan was to befriend someone of high status once she arrives in the capital. However, she realized it may take plenty of time and shamelessness. Her face might grow too thick. With Fourteen"s help, she seemed to have found a faster way—by becoming good friends with He Yunshu. She just needed to coerce Miss Mary Sue to her side and the road will be paved for her.
As the the protagonist, He Yunshu"s status is unusual because she is not an upgrade event offered by the system. She just needs to properly coerce her to her side which at the moment, was very beneficial to the task.
Especially to get inside the Banquet of the Four Countries.
After cleaning the room spotless, Shu Juan sat on a chair and blankly stared for G.o.d knows how long.
Su Xin wasn"t doing better either. She was looking at the floor in a daze thinking, ancient days were truly very dull. There were no TVs, computers and mobile phones—there wasn"t anything to do to pa.s.s time, ah!
The hours of slacking was very dragging!
Su Xin felt her sanity was dwindling by the minute. The former owner would usually do embroidery, write characters, play the Guqin and dance until her feet were sore. All of which did not fancy a modern-day girl like Su Xin. She even felt incredulous at knowing the former"s days pa.s.sed just like this.
Su Xin hasn"t touched such a thing like the Guqin. After all, she didn"t need to have this skill in the past for her missions, but with nothing to do, the Guqin suddenly piqued her interest. She placed it on the edge of the table and gently plucked its string with her fingers. Experimenting.
It was kind of fun.
It filled the room with a pleasant tune which was much better than the empty silence.
Evening came and dinner was served early as usual. Afterall, workers have to replenish their energies as the late hours were quite eventful and the patrons expect no less from them.
Shu Juan went out to take Su Xin"s dinner. Ta Yan did not give excessively but it was still the same quality as before.
A delicious dish gives the person an appet.i.te and it brightened the mood of the room once more.
—
At night, He Yunshu wandered around the brothel in her men"s clothes and was surrounded by several women.
Spring is boundless in color—this was the sole statement that was inside the overwhelemed He Yunshu.
She was savoring everything when, in the midst of the decadent music being played, she could faintly hear someone playing a little tune akin to a ballad.
Her eyes wandered, and she came across a sight of a woman standing on the railing of the second floor. She was dressed in muted aqua blue and looked refined, quiet—out of step with the hustle and bustle of the room.
He Yunshu unconsciously went in her direction to have a closer look.
Cheeks powdered with rogue, eyebrows as distant as mountains—it was the beautiful girl she saw on the brothel"s third floor earlier, the Young lady Xue Yao.
"Young lady Xue Yao." He Yunshu softly called out to her.
There is such a charm in the world that can blur the distance between the s.e.xes.
There was an impregnable silence before Su Xin saw her. Su Xin recognized her instantly but quickly hid her astonishment. This must be her lucky day!
She walked towards He Yunshu, stopping extremely close and making the poor girl nervous.
He Yunshu held her breath, only to hear the woman in front of her laugh and say:
"This is not a very suitable place for a n.o.ble family"s daughter to play.”
He Yunshu"s eyes bulged, she couldn"t believe what she heard. She quickly scanned their surroundings to make sure no one was within hearing range.
“Pardon? How did you know… Ahem… Who says I"m a girl?” He Yunshu tried making her voice masculine, but it did little to hide her flaming cheeks.
Su Xin laughed even more. For her, He Yunshu"s reaction was priceless.
“Young master"s disguise is very clumsy. Tsk, tsk.” Su Xin pointed at He Yunshu"s bundled chest with an amused stare.
On instinct, He Yunshu took a step back to protect her chest. How very cra.s.s!
This young lady must have played as a gangster in her past life!
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An opaque system is one in which you cannot tell how it works—the infamous "Black Box". It is a system where the schematics are unavailable for inspection.