Su Mingyu pursed her lips. "His Highness, the Prince of Ruixian, is really living a carefree life."
Hearing Su Mingyu's voice, Gu Ruobai put down the teacup in his hand. "What's up? Is our Miss Su in a bad mood?"
Su Mingyu shook her head. "Not really. It's just that I've been so busy here while you're enjoying such a peaceful time. I'm just a bit unbalanced."
"You're quite honest." Gu Ruobai found it amusing. Who would be so straightforward about their unhappiness?
Raising his eyebrows, he glanced at Xia Mian behind Su Mingyu. Gu Ruobai more or less guessed what Su Mingyu was up to.
"Mei Qing will be here soon. Sit down and wait."
This was obviously addressed to Xia Mian who was standing.
Suddenly being sized up by Gu Ruobai and then offered a seat, Xia Mian stiffened up all over, looking quite uncomfortable.
Su Mingyu comforted her. "It's okay. Sit down when you're told to. Why are you so scared?"
Saying that, Su Mingyu pulled her down to sit and even poured a cup of tea for Xia Mian.
Xia Mian knew that Su Mingyu was kind to her, but she had never received such treatment before. For a moment, she was flattered. "Um... Miss Su, why did you ask me to come today?"
Even if Xia Mian was a bit slow, she should have already noticed that the purpose of this gathering was related to her, or rather, this gathering was centered around her.
Seeing Xia Mian's uneasiness, Su Mingyu gave her a mysterious smile. "Don't be so nervous. You should trust that I won't hurt you, right?"
Xia Mian had never doubted this. However, even so, she still felt a bit worried.
The Gu Ruobai in front of her was nothing like the useless person in the rumors. If this Prince of Ruixian got angry, he would be extremely terrifying. If she accidentally offended him, she would be doomed.
Xia Mian sat there nervously for quite a while. Finally, a gentle voice suddenly came to her rescue. "Mei Qing pays respects to Your Highness and Miss Su."
Su Mingyu raised her eyebrows. "Long time no see. Miss Mei Qing is still as beautiful as ever."
"Mei Qing?" Xia Mian frowned. "The top courtesan of the First Fragrance?"
"It seems that Mei Qing's name is not unknown in the capital." With that, Mei Qing walked up.
Gu Ruobai nodded at her. "This is Miss Xia Mian that Mingyu mentioned last time. Mei Qing, take a look at her."
Xia Mian was wondering what they wanted her to be examined for when Mei Qing suddenly leaned in front of her.
Suddenly seeing such a beautiful face so close, Xia Mian was startled. If she didn't know that the people here wouldn't hurt her, she might have instinctively run away.
Mei Qing stared at Xia Mian's face for a while, then rubbed her hands and whispered, "Miss Xia Mian, please forgive my rudeness."
After saying that, Mei Qing reached out and touched Xia Mian's wound.
Feeling the discomfort of her already scabbed wound being touched, Xia Mian simply closed her eyes and tried to hold her breath, so as not to make any strong movements.
After fumbling for a long time, Mei Qing finally withdrew her hand. "Miss Xia Mian, the wound on your face was self - inflicted, wasn't it?"
"Ah?" Su Mingyu was stunned. Xia Mian didn't tell her this before.
Xia Mian herself was also stunned. She didn't expect that the secret she had hidden for so long would be exposed by someone who had only seen the scar once.
"Why do you say so?"
Su Mingyu used to be a special agent and had suffered many injuries. She should have learned how to identify wounds through all her experiences.
But the wound on Xia Mian's face didn't seem to be self - inflicted at all.
As if knowing the doubts of Su Mingyu and the others, Mei Qing pursed her lips and smiled charmingly. "The reason is very simple. Look at the wound on her face. The upper part is obviously too thin and shallow, while the lower part is much deeper."
Su Mingyu nodded. "I've noticed this too. But when being scratched, there should be a reaction of the strength of the blow. This doesn't prove much, does it?"
Mei Qing raised her eyebrows. "That's not what I'm talking about. Miss Su, as a young lady, you haven't seen much fighting. So it's natural that you don't know this.
"If someone else wants to hurt you, they will surely act quickly, accurately and ruthlessly, and won't leave such a long and obvious light - injury mark.
"But if it's self - inflicted, one will usually hesitate before actually hurting themselves. That's why the wound shows such a difference in depth."
After hearing her explanation, Su Mingyu immediately understood. This was a tentative cut.
It seemed that she had been living too comfortably here and had almost forgotten her professional skills.
Su Mingyu nodded to show that she understood. Then she turned to look at Xia Mian. "Why did you lie to me?"
Xia Mian bit her lip and lowered her head. "My mistress... I didn't mean to lie to you."
"But..." Xia Mian seemed to have a hard time speaking.
Seeing this, Su Mingyu waved her hand. "Forget it. I don't really want to know. I'll just ask you one question. Will you hurt me?"
Xia Mian quickly waved her hands. "No! I would never hurt my mistress. My mistress has saved my life. How could I hurt her?"
Since that was the case, Su Mingyu raised her eyebrows. "Okay, you don't need to explain. I believe you."
"What..."
This time, not only Xia Mian herself but also Mei Qing was surprised.
Just based on a few words from this woman, Su Mingyu believed her?
In Mei Qing's memory, Su Mingyu was not such an easy - to - deal - with person.
Did Su Mingyu really trust Xia Mian so much?
Gu Ruobai on the side was quite calm. He slowly took a sip of tea and didn't join the conversation among these women. He just quietly listened.
Xia Mian herself didn't expect that Su Mingyu would let her off so easily with just a few words. For a moment, she felt ashamed of herself for hiding things.
Xia Mian clenched her fists and bit her lower lip. As if making up her mind, she said, "Actually, it's not a big deal. After all, I'm from a brothel. Although I'm the top courtesan, there are many times when I have to receive clients I don't want to.
"Once, I met an official. Somehow, he took a fancy to me at first sight and then asked the madam to buy me for one night. I didn't expect that he was really into strange things.
"At this point, a pained look appeared on Xia Mian's face. "Every time after I received him, I couldn't get out of bed or move for a long time. So gradually, I started to be afraid of that official. But the more terrified I looked, the more excited and crazy he became.
"Until one time, I almost died of excessive blood loss in the brothel. When the madam heard the news, although she felt sorry for me, the top courtesan, for getting so badly injured, that official was someone a small brothel like ours couldn't afford to offend. So the madam just invited a doctor to treat me and then suppressed the matter."