Su Mingyu lowered her eyes to look at the peaceful scene below, then raised an eyebrow at Kang Zeyan. "Is this what you wanted me to see, Young Master Kang?"
Kang Zeyan squinted his eyes. "Don't be impatient, Miss Su. The real show hasn't started yet."
As if to prove Kang Zeyan's words, the dancing girls on the stage suddenly stopped.
An old madam with fading beauty walked out. Su Mingyu recognized her at a glance. She was the madam of the First Fragrance.
The First Fragrance was indeed one of Gu Ruobai's properties. Gu Ruobai had pretended before, saying that Mei Qing got in by her own efforts.
Seeing Su Mingyu's unpleasant expression, Kang Zeyan curled his lips. "Don't be impatient, Miss Su. The best is yet to come."
The madam looked at everyone with a beaming smile. "Today, our First Fragrance is honored to be fully booked by His Highness the King of Ruixian. All the girls, you must serve His Highness's guests well. Do you understand?"
A chorus of charming laughter from the girls rang out below, making Su Mingyu's skin crawl.
"Alright, let's get to the main point. As you all know, our First Fragrance recently organized a competition for the most beautiful courtesans with major brothels in the capital. All the top courtesans from our shops take turns visiting different brothels. But today! We've invited all the top courtesans onto this boat!"
The madam got more and more excited, her face turning a bit red. "Moreover! Five of the most beautiful courtesans have decided to auction their virgin nights on His Highness the King of Ruixian's boat! So, gentlemen! Place your bids!"
Upon hearing this news, the whole cabin erupted in excitement.
Only Su Mingyu frowned even more tightly, her expression extremely unpleasant.
She knew, of course, that these courtesans were willing to do this. But just thinking that these women, like herself, were being sold at a set price made Su Mingyu feel a bit uncomfortable.
Seeing Su Mingyu's bad complexion, Kang Zeyan thought she was dissatisfied that there were so many women around Gu Ruobai. So the smile on his lips became even more obvious. He winked at Su Mingyu. "Don't be impatient, Miss Su. His Highness the King of Ruixian hasn't even started bidding yet. Maybe he's just providing a venue?"
Although Kang Zeyan's words seemed to be for comfort, they sounded rather malicious.
Su Mingyu rolled her eyes at him. "Young Master Kang, you always talk in such a roundabout way. Aren't you tired?"
"Of course not!" Kang Zeyan hooked his lips and turned his gaze back to the scene below.
Perhaps the beauty of the courtesans was too stunning, and the prices offered by the gentlemen were quite high.
Although it was also an auction of courtesans, the gentlemen on this boat of the fake Gu Ruobai had quite good manners. Not many of them were lecherous. Everything was proceeding in an orderly manner, and the scene actually looked surprisingly harmonious.
As Su Mingyu watched, her eyes couldn't help but wander. Just as she was anxiously looking for the real Gu Ruobai in the crowd, a big hand tapped on her palm, once hard and once soft, following the code she and Gu Ruobai had agreed on before.
The stone in Su Mingyu's heart finally dropped a bit. Since the real Gu Ruobai was back, it meant he had contacted the people arranged by Mu Yi.
Just then, the fake Gu Ruobai below seemed to have received some news. He had been sitting still for a while, but suddenly he grabbed a woman beside him and pulled her onto his lap. Then he offered a high price to bid for the courtesan on the stage.
At the sight of this scene, Su Mingyu immediately put on an extremely angry expression and gritted her teeth. "This Gu Ruobai is really asking for death!"
After waiting for so long, Kang Zeyan finally heard Su Mingyu losing her patience. He hooked his lips. "Do you want to go down and have a look now, Miss Su?"
Su Mingyu nodded vigorously. "Go! Why not!"
Saying that, she stomped off in front. Kang Zeyan quickly followed. Just as Su Mingyu was about to reach the fake Gu Ruobai, a familiar voice suddenly rang out beside her.
"Gu Ruobai! I thought you were doing your best to look for Su Mingyu! I didn't expect you to be out here enjoying yourself!" The King of Yu stood in front of the fake Gu Ruobai with a solemn expression. His cold face was full of displeasure.
Su Mingyu was startled by the sudden appearance of the King of Yu. She quickly turned back to look at Kang Zeyan, asking him with her eyes what was going on.
Kang Zeyan also seemed to have not expected the King of Yu to cause trouble at this time. He frowned and held Su Mingyu back, signaling her to stay still.
Su Mingyu was obedient and stood beside Kang Zeyan, watching what the King of Yu was going to do.
The fake Gu Ruobai being questioned raised his eyes and glanced at Kang Zeyan obliquely. Then he said in a deep voice, "I've naturally sent people to look for my princess. There's no need for the King of Yu to worry. The King of Yu should take good care of the affairs in his own mansion. Whether it's Princess Wu Yurou or Su Yueyue, neither of them is easy to deal with. I'm afraid there's already a fire in the backyard of the King of Yu's mansion, right?"
"Gu Ruobai! Su Mingyu has only been missing for a few days, and you're already out here enjoying yourself. How can you be worthy of Su Mingyu!" The King of Yu's face was so gloomy that it seemed to drip water.
Su Mingyu didn't expect the King of Yu to come and speak up for her. When did their relationship become so good?
Moreover, according to the information from Mu Yi, Kang Zeyan's people had contacted the King of Yu. But judging from the King of Yu's appearance, he seemed to have no idea that she was taken away by Kang Zeyan. The worried look on his face really seemed to be genuine.
The fake Gu Ruobai glanced at the King of Yu contemptuously. "She's my princess. Isn't the King of Yu a bit too concerned about my princess?"
Hearing what the fake Gu Ruobai said, Su Mingyu raised her eyebrows. This fake Gu Ruobai really had a bit of Gu Ruobai's nerve to annoy people.
Sure enough, the King of Yu was so angry that his face changed. He simply picked up the teacup on the table and splashed it at the fake Gu Ruobai.
At the moment he splashed it, everyone present, including Su Mingyu herself, was stunned.
Although it was well - known that the relationship between the King of Yu and Gu Ruobai was not good, they had always hidden their animosity deeply. No one had ever shown it in public.
Now, the King of Yu had done such a thing to the King of Ruixian in front of so many people. The current emperor hated the enmity between his sons the most. So if this matter got out of hand, the King of Ruixian might not be affected much, but the King of Yu was the emperor's favorite son. If he did such a thing and fell out of favor, things would become serious.