The voice sounded somewhat familiar. Ye Xi gently lifted the carriage curtain and looked out. There, standing beside the carriage with a bright and charming smile, was a delicate and pretty young woman, eagerly looking at her.
"Forgive this poor nun for being shortsighted. May I ask who you are, miss?" Ye Xi inquired with a hint of apology.
The young woman took a couple of steps forward, blushed slightly, and said, "It's me! Last time at the Curiosity Shop, thanks to you, miss immortal, for your timely help. Otherwise, I would have been deceived by that scoundrel who sold fake daggers."
With a playful wink, she added, "My name is Qiao Yan. I was dressed as a man last time at the Curiosity Shop, so it's only natural that you didn't recognize me at first."
"Ah—" Ye Xi remembered. It was the girl who had bought the "Qinggang" dagger last time. No wonder she had seemed familiar. She was the daughter of the Marquis of Changming and had always been at odds with Ye Jueyao.
If it weren't for the Ye family's strict restrictions on her socializing, Ye Xi would probably have recognized Miss Qiao at the Curiosity Shop.
Looking at her, it seemed that this encounter was no coincidence. Instead, she had come here specifically to wait for Ye Xi. It was highly likely that she had heard about the Ye family's in - depth investigation into Ye Jueyao's affair with Cao Sheng today and had come here to watch the show.
Ye Xi couldn't help but curl her lips into a smile. Pretending to be puzzled, she asked, "What a coincidence to meet you here, Miss Qiao. May I ask if you stopped me for something?"
Yes, she did have something.
Since the news of Ye Jueyao's affair with Cao Sheng had spread like wildfire throughout the capital, Qiao Yan had been overjoyed. She could eat two extra bowls of rice every day and had been eagerly waiting to see Ye Jueyao's downfall. For an important event like the Ye family's investigation today, she had come here early to get first - hand information.
Qiao Yan tried hard to suppress her smile and said tactfully, "I do have something to talk about. But it's noisy on the street. Let's go inside and sit down. I'll tell you slowly, miss immortal."
"Sure."
Ye Xi thought it would be foolish to let go of such a willing messenger. She happily followed the equally happy Qiao Yan into a private room in a nearby restaurant.
As soon as they were seated, Qiao Yan couldn't wait to ask, "I just saw the people of the Prince of Yu'an shouting that the Ye family had forced the second young lady of the Ye family to commit suicide. Is it true? If the second young lady has taken such a drastic step, does it mean that the affair between Ye Jueyao and Cao Sheng is real?"
"When did they start having an affair? I've always said that Ye Jueyao is so pretentious. She always acts so high - and - mighty on the surface, but in fact, she has affairs with different men secretly. Yet, no one ever believed me." Qiao Yan was fuming with anger.
Although Ye Xi had turned against the Ye family, the Ye family was still her client. She couldn't directly answer Qiao Yan's questions, so she just nodded vigorously and said, "This is a private matter of the Ye family. It's not appropriate for this poor nun to say too much."
Qiao Yan gave a look of "I understand" and continued, "So what's the current situation? Has the engagement between the second young lady and Cao Sheng been called off?"
Ye Xi could answer this one. She nodded again and said, "Yes. But now Miss Xi has severed ties with the Ye family, so we can't call her the second young lady of the Ye family anymore."
"Oh, right, right." Qiao Yan realized her mistake. "I just got used to the name. Well, it's a good thing the engagement was called off! I'd like to see how those two adulterers can show their faces in the future. Although I've never met Miss Xi, she's really a poor girl. Sigh..."
Qiao Yan looked excited, satisfied, and also indignant on Ye Xi's behalf. Then she asked many more questions about Ye Jueyao, Cao Sheng, and the Ye family.
Many of these questions involved privacy, and as the so - called Slow - Floating Immortal, Ye Xi wasn't suitable to elaborate. She just put on a show on the surface and gave evasive answers. In just the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Qiao Yan was so impatient that she was almost going crazy. She wished she could use the "Divination" technique to figure out the whole story clearly.
Seeing Qiao Yan's almost crazy look, Ye Xi kindly gave her a suggestion, "Miss Qiao, it's not convenient for this poor nun to elaborate on this matter. But Miss Xi probably won't have as many scruples as I do. If you really want to know the whole story, you might as well go and visit Miss Xi."
"This..." Qiao Yan looked hesitant.
She had thought about going to Ye Xi to inquire about the matter, but she had never had any interaction with Ye Xi. It would be inappropriate for her to suddenly visit and inquire about such an unpleasant private matter. Moreover, when "Ye Xi" was carried out of the Ye family, Qiao Yan had seen clearly that the hairpin in her chest was almost half - buried. It was really heart - wrenching. She didn't even know if Ye Xi could be saved. It just didn't seem right for her to go and ask so many questions.
Seeing Qiao Yan's concerns, Ye Xi bowed and said, "Miss Qiao has a straightforward personality. Miss Xi will surely like you. She doesn't have many friends. Now that she's seriously injured, if you're willing to go and see her, she'll be very happy."
Qiao Yan's eyes suddenly lit up, and she was eager to go. "Really? Then, then I'll go and have a look." As she said this, she told her personal maid, "Jian Yue, go and prepare some high - quality medicinal herbs and supplements. We'll go and see Miss Xi later."
Having achieved her goal, Ye Xi got up to say goodbye.
Now that her identity as the junior sister of the Hunyuan Sect had been revealed, there would only be more people coming to invite her for "Divination" in the future. Now that she had some savings, she wanted to find a good shop for her "Divination" business, so that she wouldn't have to receive messages in the small pavilion of the Sheng State Temple every time.
At the same time, she also had to change her previous practice of accepting all requests. As the saying goes, when the water rises, the boat floats higher. Now that she had a greater reputation, she should have her own style. She needed to limit the number of daily "Divination" requests and raise the deposit.
There was also the matter of the Qingyun Tournament. Since she had injured her forehead, Yi Yuan had been counting the number of arrows she shot every day for fear that sweating would cause the wound to become inflamed and leave a scar. She wasn't allowed to shoot even one more arrow. Her archery skills, which she had just improved, had regressed in the past few days. With only about two months left until the Qingyun Tournament, and her life at stake, Ye Xi couldn't help but feel anxious.
"Have you been busy recently, miss immortal?" Qiao Yan accompanied Ye Xi to the door and said with an embarrassed smile.
"Besides wanting to watch the Ye family's drama, I really do have something to ask you for help. Recently, my aunt's family has been having some troublesome private matters. Everyone has their own opinions, and they've almost quarreled. My aunt has always been very kind to me. Seeing her so worried and losing so much weight recently, I'd like to invite you to go and do a 'Divination' for them."
"Don't worry, miss immortal," Qiao Yan said seriously. "No matter what the result is, I won't short you a single silver coin."
Seeing Qiao Yan's clear - cut attitude, Ye Xi smiled knowingly and said, "Most of the previous 'Divination' requests have been completed. I do have some free time recently. When do you need the 'Divination', Miss Qiao?"
"It'll probably be a few days later. I need to talk to my aunt first." Qiao Yan scratched her forehead and took out a money - purse, stuffing it into Ye Xi's hand.
"This is the deposit. I'll send someone to inform you later. Please tell me how much time I've wasted of yours these days. I'll calculate it all for you later."
Knowing Qiao Yan's personality, Ye Xi didn't act coy. She took the money - purse, exchanged a few polite words, and then left with Lingyan for the real - estate agency.