Hua Qianqian wore a confident smile on her lips. Gu Jiangyue, on the other hand, was a bit flustered. She stared at Hua Qianqian in shock and instinctively took a step back.
"What do you mean, Miss Qianqian?"
As soon as the words left her mouth, Hua Qianqian stood up without hesitation. She deftly took out a hairpin from her own head and stabbed it towards where Gu Jiangyue was standing.
Hua Qianqian moved very quickly. Gu Jiangyue could tell at a glance that she knew martial arts. The distance was too close for Gu Jiangyue to dodge. She had no choice but to raise her hand to block. However, the expected stabbing pain didn't come the next moment. Gu Jiangyue only felt a looseness on her head, and then Hua Qianqian's smiling voice came.
"Miss Gu, do you still want to keep pretending?"
The hair ribbon that had tied up Gu Jiangyue's long hair had been cut off by Hua Qianqian. Her long hair fell loose. Coupled with her originally delicate appearance, there was really no need for Gu Jiangyue to pretend anymore.
Gu Jiangyue looked at Hua Qianqian warily, who had a smile on her lips. It seemed that Hua Qianqian had no intention of killing her, so Gu Jiangyue also relaxed.
"Miss Qianqian has sharp eyes. I do have something to ask of you."
Before Gu Jiangyue could finish what she wanted to ask, Hua Qianqian interrupted her by holding out a finger. Then she smiled coquettishly.
"Let Qianqian guess. Miss Gu, aren't you here for the Wood Spirit Moon Orchid?"
Since Hua Qianqian had guessed correctly, Gu Jiangyue didn't need to say more and simply nodded in response.
"You guessed right, miss."
Hua Qianqian leaned towards Gu Jiangyue. Then she held out a finger and lifted Gu Jiangyue's chin, making her look directly into her eyes. Hua Qianqian's alluring voice rang in Gu Jiangyue's ear.
"That's easy. The young master who paid the silver just now came with Miss Gu, right? As long as the two of you pass my test together, I'll give you the Wood Spirit Moon Orchid."
Hua Qianqian's eyes were slightly upturned at the corners, and her tone was extremely familiar. Gu Jiangyue felt a bit strange under her gaze and immediately turned her head and broke free from her hand.
"Can't one person do it?"
What Gu Jiangyue meant was about the test. Why did it have to be with Xie Jiuan?
It seemed that Hua Qianqian could tell that Gu Jiangyue was very protective of Xie Jiuan. A faint sneer appeared on the corner of her lips. Then she said,
"I only accept lovers to take the test here. If Miss Gu feels sorry for your lover, please leave. I'll return today's silver to you."
Hua Qianqian had been hanging around brothels all year round. As soon as Gu Jiangyue and Xie Jiuan walked in side by side, she understood their relationship. Hua Qianqian's tone was frivolous and ruthless, but there was a hint of playfulness in her eyes as she glanced at Gu Jiangyue from time to time.
After a long time, seeing that Gu Jiangyue still didn't want to leave, Hua Qianqian pretended to be puzzled and looked at Gu Jiangyue and asked,
"Why haven't you left yet, Miss Gu? Qianqian is tired today and needs to rest."
As she said this, one of Hua Qianqian's hands naturally touched her forehead. There was also movement from Gu Jiangyue's side.
"We agree to your request."
Gu Jiangyue looked serious, with determination in her eyes. She wanted to treat Gu Yi's illness. Since she had come to Liangzhou, she was definitely going to take something back.
"Come in."
Seeing that Gu Jiangyue had agreed, Hua Qianqian directly shouted towards the door. After a while, a person dressed as a servant came in from inside the door. He bent down towards Hua Qianqian and said,
"What are your orders, miss?"
"Bring that person in just now."
Hua Qianqian's tone towards the servant was much colder, but her eyes looking at Gu Jiangyue became enthusiastic again.
"I won't trouble Miss Gu to go there again."
Gu Jiangyue understood that the person Hua Qianqian was going to call was Xie Jiuan. Judging from Hua Qianqian's appearance, she probably wouldn't do anything to Xie Jiuan. Gu Jiangyue nodded and didn't say anything else.
Sure enough, after a while, Xie Jiuan pushed the door open and came in. He was smiling. He calmly looked around and didn't see anyone else, then walked over and sat down beside Gu Jiangyue.
Since Gu Jiangyue's identity had been exposed, she didn't pretend anymore. She wiped her face clean and loosely tied up her hair. Even so, her appearance was no less beautiful than Hua Qianqian's.
"You two are really a perfect match."
Seeing the two sitting side by side, Hua Qianqian couldn't help but raise her hand and clap gently twice. Although Xie Jiuan was smiling amiably, he was too lazy to listen to Hua Qianqian's nonsense.
"Miss Qianqian does have sharp eyes. But I wonder why the test must be taken by two people together. Could Miss Qianqian please tell me the reason?"
Xie Jiuan bowed his hands towards Hua Qianqian, being very polite. It seemed that Hua Qianqian had dealt with many people and replied flawlessly,
"Why are you in such a hurry, young master? The test is very simple. As long as the two of you can cross a suspension bridge together, the Wood Spirit Moon Orchid is on the other side. You can just take it."
Hua Qianqian's tone was casual and she made it sound easy. But why was it that the Wood Spirit Moon Orchid, such a precious natural treasure that had caused such a stir in Liangzhou, had no one been able to obtain it? Xie Jiuan felt that there must be something fishy about it. But so what? By now, they had no choice but to believe it.
Gu Jiangyue wasn't stupid either. She also realized that something was wrong. She smiled and probed,
"It's so easy. Could it be that Miss Qianqian sees our deep affection for each other and has a good impression of us, so you've lowered the difficulty for us?"
For some reason, a certain word seemed to have stimulated Hua Qianqian. For a moment, a cold hatred flashed in Hua Qianqian's eyes, but she quickly suppressed it.
"My test has never been difficult. Lovers will surely be able to cross it. It's better for the two of you to see it for yourselves than to listen to rumors."
Hua Qianqian forced a smile. Seeing that Hua Qianqian still didn't want to tell the truth, Xie Jiuan was too lazy to say more. He directly took out his prince's token and gently placed it on the table in front of Hua Qianqian. He said with a gentle smile,
"We're new here. I hope Miss Qianqian won't deceive us."
Hua Qianqian stared at the token. It seemed that she could also tell the background of Xie Jiuan and Gu Jiangyue. A momentary panic flashed in Hua Qianqian's eyes, but the next moment she smiled coquettishly again.
"How could I..."
The hype about the Wood Spirit Moon Orchid was too great, and many people had come. Hua Qianqian was still flawless. Gu Jiangyue and Xie Jiuan couldn't find out anything, so they had to give up.
"Then may I ask when we can come to Miss Qianqian to take the test?"
Since the prince's token had been shown, even if Hua Qianqian wanted to play tricks, she had to think twice. At least she wouldn't get any benefits. Hua Qianqian understood this very well.
"The two of you can come here to find me tomorrow. Qianqian will be here to welcome you."
After getting the information they wanted, Gu Jiangyue and Xie Jiuan didn't stay any longer and left. They both had this matter on their minds. Early the next morning, they came early. But this time, the two of them entered through the back door.
They found Hua Qianqian. Hua Qianqian didn't renege on her promise. She led Xie Jiuan and Gu Jiangyue out of the brothel and walked in a direction they had never been before.