On a rainy night, the river surface was tranquil and serene.
Outside the painted boat, four or five party boats were brightly lit, circling around Zhu Pingniang’s large vessel. The lively young won ran about inside, clinking glasses and laughing joyously.
Soon after, when Ah Qing led the girl in yellow to the banquet and sat in a corner, she was thinking about the upcoming sword dance.
Performing in front of the young master, of course, she had to do her best.
She paid no attention to her surroundings, or rather, even if she did, it was of no use. Shi Qingjun’s presence was well concealed, and in Ah Qing’s current state, she couldn’t perceive his presence at all.
Instead, the girl in yellow glanced again at the woman in the distance with several red strips on her face.
She looked rather unfamiliar.
"What are you looking at?" Ah Qing asked casually after sitting down.
"Nothing." The girl in yellow glanced at the platform, then whispered, "Ms. Qing, they’re not looking at you."
"What’s there to look at?" Ah Qing said helplessly.
"I thought..." The girl did not continue.
Reasonably, after Ah Qing’s half-demon identity was exposed, her entry into this banquet hall should have drawn many gazes. But in fact, no one had looked her way at all, as if... before the dance had even begun, everyone had already adapted to her half-demon identity and did not cast unusual glances her way.
"It’s Pingniang, isn’t it?" Ah Qing picked up a fruit from the table and took a light bite.
"Ms. Qing, you an... Pingniang instructed them not to look at you like that?" The girl blinked.
"That’s the only possibility." Ah Qing nodded.
The girls of the Flower Moon Building, no matter how adaptable, would not ignore her different-colored eyes like this. At the very least, they would have glanced at her.
But up till now, not a single person had cast their gaze over, which already spoke volus.
Ah Qing glanced at the banquet stage.
She could clearly sense the presence of several people above, including Zhu Pingniang, Li Zhibai, Wen Li, and of course... Xu Chang’an and Yun Qian.
What was strange was that Ah Qing rembered when she first t them, it was very difficult to catch Xu Chang’an and Yun Qian’s presence. But now... she could clearly sense them, she could even faintly sll Yun Qian’s fragrance.
It was interesting.
Ah Qing couldn’t understand why it was like this.
In fact, it was quite simple.
Compared to outsiders like Shi Qingjun who couldn’t feel Yun Qian’s presence, Miss Yun was more fond of Ah Qing. Naturally, soone close to Yun Qian could clearly capture her presence.
So she unknowingly won against Shi Qingjun once again.
Ah Qing smiled helplessly, "Pingniang probably gave orders like anyone who glanced at before the banquet would be fined ten taels of silver."
"Pingniang, she’s really kind," the girl whispered.
"I didn’t know she was such a worrying person before," Ah Qing smiled, her hand brushing over her slightly short skirt, her heart full of oddities.
So... how did things turn out like this?
She was about to go on stage to perform soon?
Performing for Zhu Tongjun, Li Zhibai, Wen Li, and other mbers of the Chaoyun Sect?
To this day, when she thought about it, she still felt a bit helpless and dazed. She sotis wondered how she had ’fallen’ to such a state, even when she saw the flower-adorned stage, she rarely had the urge to retreat.
But this urge to retreat quickly disappeared entirely.
The people of the Chaoyun Sect were unimportant, the key was that Young Master Xu and Miss Yun were also present, especially the latter...
Thinking of Yun Qian, Ah Qing’s eyes shone with layers of ripples, but beneath these ripples were hidden waves of doubt.
Ah Qing clutched her chest.
She always felt... a bit uneasy.
Ever since stepping into this banquet hall, she felt a sense of heart palpitations, as if sothing heavy weighed upon her. It was as though the entire Spirit Platform was shrouded in a mist, an inexplicable feeling that sothing beyond her control was happening... it was quite annoying.
But she really couldn’t find the reason and could only assu that this feeling was ’nervousness.’
Because it had been so many years since she felt nervous, she could only assu this unfamiliar palpitating feeling was because she was about to perform a dance in front of two people dear to her heart.
"Really... absurd." Ah Qing clicked her tongue.
"Absurd? What’s absurd?" The girl blinked, looking at the newly set up seven-stringed zither on the platform, "Ms. Qing, Sister Lan hasn’t even started playing yet, how can you say she’s absurd?"
"...You." Ah Qing helplessly tapped the girl’s forehead, without explaining.
She just felt that she, a woman who had touched Qiankun, was here in a brothel performing to please so ’ordinary’ people... It seed like nothing so absurd existed in this world before.
Lost in thought, Ah Qing really had no energy to pay attention to the woman in so corner holding a Jade Token.
Shi Qingjun placed down the last Jade Token and gently stuck a white slip on the tear-streaked face of the girl before her, softly saying, "I win again."
"Sister... Sister, you’re amazing," the girl’s voice trembled.
As Shi Qingjun gradually beca familiar with the rules, she once again ended up at the bottom... and it wasn’t long before her face couldn’t hold any more.
"Alright, let’s stop, anymore and this girl will start crying." A woman beside them stretched lazily, then looked at Shi Qingjun.
She hadn’t expected that Shi Qingjun, who obviously looked like a lady from a noble family, would be so easy to get along with. Upon their first eting, she could play together with them, these won full of seductive allure.
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