Chapter 43 Private Talk: A Plate of Jujube Blossom Pastries

The three left the private room, and after taking only two steps, Jin Suiqing pulled Gong Xiaoyang and Ji Saiyu to hide in a dark corner of the corridor.

Jin Suiqing lifted her veil and said in a trembling voice, "Jin Shiyu suspects me and will come after me soon."

Ji Saiyu frowned. Although Gong Xiaoyang was surprised, she reacted quickly: "When he comes out, we'll split up and run. I'll distract him, and you can take the opportunity to go back to the Jin residence."

Jin Suiqing shook her head: "It's too late. Jin Shiyu knows I'm going out tonight and he'll probably recognize me. We have to find a way to dispel his doubts."

Ji Saiyu relaxed her brow: "Has the young princess made up her mind?"

Jin Suiqing said, "I will stay at Zhanxing Tower tonight. You all go first. Gong Xiaoyang will impersonate me and rush back to the Jin residence with Huihong. You must pretend that I did not go out all night after returning home. Gong Dagou will guard outside Zhanxing Tower, listen for my news, and be ready to send me home at any time."

With the instructions clear, Ji Saiyu and Gong Xiaoyang didn't ask any further questions. They left with a "take care" message and hurriedly left.

Jin Suiqing took a deep breath, removed her veil, turned around and mingled with a group of women serving wine and other guests. She rubbed her face, grinned, and joined the back of the line, looking at the most introverted girl and said, "Sister, give it to me, let me do it."

The introverted girl blushed and said, "I...I've never seen you before."

Jin Suiqing smiled and said, "Sister, I'm new here. The head auntie told me to learn from you."

The introverted girl looked her over, hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded timidly, handing her the wine glass.

Jin Suiqing blended into the group. The introverted girl was probably a newcomer too. She just delivered the drinks to the door of the private room, and the men and women who were drinking with her would come to collect them. Before long, the drinks were all delivered, and the introverted girl finally breathed a sigh of relief. She pulled Jin Suiqing and quickly hid in the dormitory on the first floor.

She pushed open the door, and inside were her two older sisters who were on leave. The sisters smiled and said, "Qingqing is back! Oh, who is the girl next to you? We've never seen her before."

Qingqing mustered her courage and said, "It's...it's the new little sister. My aunt asked me to take care of her..."

The sisters exchanged a smile and pointed to the bed inside, saying, "Go ahead, that bed is big. The two of you can squeeze in and have a private chat."

"Please don't let me hear this."

The laughter was somewhat grating, but not malicious. Jin Suiqing could tell from it, so she smiled at her sisters and let Qingqing lead her to the bed. As soon as they sat down, Qingqing went to change and wash up. After washing off the makeup, she took out a new set of undergarments from the wardrobe, held them in her arms and rubbed them for a while, and asked timidly, "Do you have any clean clothes?"

Jin Suiqing shook her head: "No."

Qingqing handed her the undergarment, said nothing, and stiffly collapsed onto the bed.

Jin Suiqing thought to herself, "I chose an introverted one, but I didn't expect him to be this good."

After changing her clothes, which fit her fairly well, Jin Suiqing took the initiative to ask, "How did you come to Zhanxing Tower, sister?"

Qingqing replied stiffly, "I sold myself."

Jin Suiqing knew this, of course. After thinking for a moment, she played the victim and said, "I was sold into this family by my parents."

Qingqing said dryly, "How pitiful."

Jin Suiqing: "Actually, my name is also Qingqing."

Qingqing blinked, hesitated for a moment, and then said bluntly, "What a coincidence."

The atmosphere became completely awkward.

Jin Suiqing didn't say anything more, and lay back on the bed, rubbing against Qingqing as she rolled to the inside of the bed. Qingqing shrank back to make more room for her, and whispered, "You didn't wash your face, no... not washing your face will ruin your skin."

Jin Suiqing replied dismissively, "I'll wash it in a bit."

After a moment of silence, Qingqing said again, "It needs to be washed."

Jin Suiqing turned to look at Qingqing, making Qingqing feel embarrassed. She stiffened her neck and said, "Go to sleep... go to sleep."

Jin Suiqing answered "okay" and continued watching Qingqing, while listening intently to the two older sisters chatting and laughing outside.

One of the ladies smiled and said, "Young Master Jin has come again today. Have you gone to see him?"

"I've seen it all. Whenever he comes, every man and woman in our building will flock to see him. Who doesn't love to look at a handsome man?"

Jin Suiqing thought that it seemed that Jin Shiyu was the real owner of Zhanxing Tower, and the people in the tower did not know that he was a playboy who frequented the place.

After a few laughs, he added, "He's good-looking, and I've heard... he's quite the ladies' man in bed too."

"Oh, you've come to the right person. Don't underestimate me, I've already won him over."

Instead of discussing intimate matters, they started talking about private things, the content of which was quite explicit and explosive. With Jin Shiyu as the main character, Jin Suiqing's eyes widened as she listened.

"Tell me quickly, I've heard he's amazing, what do you think?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, just one word: fierce."

"Oh my," the woman across from me chuckled, "I've heard that the more hair a man has, the better he is in bed. I've seen Young Master Jin's hands up close, and they're hardly hairy at all?"

"Everyone who has seen him says that when he takes off his clothes, there's a lot underneath."

Upon hearing this, Jin Suiqing almost choked on his saliva.

The other end continued: "Dark and dense..." Jin Suiqing stopped paying attention to the even more offensive parts.

She also understood that once people reach adulthood and have those needs, regardless of gender, they inevitably start comparing and boasting. Who they saw today and who they touched tomorrow, who has a good figure, who is the best—these are all topics of conversation.

Moreover, Jin Suiqing lives in the modern era with the internet and platform supervision mechanisms. Brothers and sisters in the comments section can find all sorts of ways to "take their pants down." People are the same throughout history; it's only natural for them to brag about this. Let's understand.

Kim Shi-ok has no hair; it's as white and clean as you can imagine. Where did this black and thick hair come from?

This reminded her of that day, and Jin Suiqing's cheeks suddenly flushed red, her throat went dry, and she subconsciously cleared her throat. Her sister outside heard this, smiled, and went out to continue their conversation about topics unsuitable for children.

Qingqing blushed and whispered, "Don't listen."

Jin Suiqing asked curiously, "Why?"

After a long pause, Qingqing stammered, "That kind of...that kind of man is not clean."

Jin Suiqing thought for a moment and agreed, "You're right, it's not clean, it's dirty."

Qingqing fell silent again.

After a long silence, just when Jin Suiqing thought Qingqing had fallen asleep, Qingqing whispered again, "Go wash your face."

It seems that Qingqing won't go to sleep until she washes her face today.

Jin Suiqing resignedly got up, intending to splash some water to make it seem like Qingqing should go to sleep early. However, as soon as she got out of bed, the sisters outside the door turned pale and rushed to the bedside in a hurry.

One of the older sisters grabbed Jin Suiqing and said sternly, "You're not one of us! Your aunt is taking you away. Go now, don't drag us down with you!"

Jin Suiqing wasn't surprised; finding her was only a matter of time.

Since Jin Suiqing's purpose was to dispel Jin Shiyu's doubts, she did not deliberately conceal her whereabouts. With just a little questioning, Jin Shiyu could find her.

Jin Suiqing guessed that, in order to prevent the news from leaking out, Jin Shiyu would not explain the reason, but would only order the search for people.

This gives us more room to maneuver.

Jin Suiqing pinched the poison pill between her fingers, using it to create a time difference with Jin Shiyu.

The Soul-Dispelling Incense caused Jin Shiyu to faint. Gong Dagou then took her back to the Jin residence. An hour later, Jin Shiyu woke up and, upon discovering that she was not there, would immediately rush back to the Jin residence to check.

By then, everyone will be able to testify that Jin Suiqing returned home and has not left the house since. No matter how much Jin Shiyu suspects or distrusts her, he will have no legitimate reason to do so and will be able to delay until she leaves the Jin family.

She could give him the antidote within three hours, and as long as he was safe and sound, the system wouldn't punish her.

There is enough time.

As Jin Suiqing hid the pills and was about to leave with them, Qingqing jumped out of bed, grabbed her, and cried out, "Don't go, it's dangerous!"

The sisters screamed, "Let go! She'll get us in trouble!"

Qingqing stubbornly shook her head and pouted, "I knew from the beginning that she wasn't from the building. I think... I think, I think she had something she couldn't say, so she had to lie to me. I brought her back because I was afraid she would suffer."

Jin Suiqing's eyes widened, not expecting Qingqing to think that way.

The person she was using had already seen through her and was still thinking of her best interests.

My older sister said anxiously, "You silly girl, you'll ruin us!"

Qingqing's eyes were filled with tears: "Then we're going to hurt her?"

Seeing that Qingqing was extremely stubborn, the older sister paused for a moment, then gritted her teeth and said to Jin Suiqing, "Run, run quickly, run as far as you can!"

The other sister said, "We told you we couldn't keep an eye on you and you ran away!"

Qingqing wiped away her tears, grabbed Jin Suiqing's hand, pulled her towards the window, and opened the window to push her outside.

Jin Suiqing felt a lump in her throat and grabbed Qingqing's wrist with her other hand: "It's okay, I'll go with them, I'll be fine."

Qingqing said, "Don't lie to me. I don't believe you anymore. You should leave."

Jin Suiqing shook her head: "I'm not lying to you, I'll really be fine, don't worry."

Qingqing couldn't push her away. Her two older sisters, seeing that Jin Suiqing wouldn't leave, were both anxious and angry. They grabbed her and tried to leave through the door. Qingqing quickly blocked their way, pulled off the beaded bracelet on her wrist with a red thread, and stuffed it into Jin Suiqing's hand.

Qingqing said seriously, "You said you're also called Qingqing, so I accept it. This bead contains sleeping potion, which is for us girls in the brothel to use for self-defense. Here, take it and use it."

Seeing this, the older sisters also took off the beads from their wrists and stuffed them into Jin Suiqing's hands: "Take ours too. The building gives out these beads every month. We can ask for more. If there are too many people, we can use them all!"

It was clearly something Jin Suiqing didn't need, which made her eyes bulge.

Holding the three beads, Jin Suiqing was speechless for a long time, unable to even come up with a way to express her gratitude. After a long while, she bowed deeply to the three of them and then left with her two older sisters.

*

Jin Suiqing was led away from the main building, through several courtyards, and into a shady little garden.

The air is stuffy; it looks like it's going to rain.

The garden was quiet enough, and the buildings were much simpler than those of Zhanxing Tower. Jin Suiqing glanced at the trumpet creeper tree in the corner of the wall, which looked vaguely familiar. Before she could think about it, she was pushed by the back and politely led to the front of the transparent pavilion.

The men escorting her pushed her down the steps. Jin Suiqing felt a weight on her back and staggered halfway up the steps before stopping. The men behind her then left.

The pavilion was open on all sides, with several layers of white gauze hanging down to the ground in front, completely obscuring the interior except for a few clusters of flickering lights that resembled stars. Jin Suiqing couldn't see anything and became somewhat nervous, swallowing hard and clenching the three beads in her palm.

Just then, a night breeze blew through the hall, lifting the white gauze curtains, and Jin Suiqing looked inside.

Jin Shiyu sat cross-legged at the table, dressed in white. His thin clothes clung to his chest, seemingly damp from the night dew, and water dripped from his chin, dispelling Jin Suiqing's guess.

Kim Si-ok probably took a cold shower.

Jin Suiqing, emboldened, looked up along the slightly flesh-colored chest. When his gaze met Jin Shiyu's, even though he was prepared, his heart still skipped a beat.

A pair of honey-colored peach blossom eyes stared at her without blinking. There was nothing in Jin Shiyu's eyes, yet they seemed to contain everything.

As usual, Jin Suiqing couldn't see anything.

After staring at each other for a long time, Kim Shi-ok lowered his head and said, "Come here."

Jin Suiqing lifted her foot, and then heard Jin Shiyu say, "Watch out for the steps."

Jin Shiyu's tone was too familiar, exactly the same as when he was at the Jin residence, which made Jin Suiqing's heart skip a beat again. She gritted her teeth and endured it, and strode towards him.

When Jin Suiqing reached the table, she noticed the things on it.

It's a plate of jujube blossom pastries.

Author's note: No rankings, no rankings.

Here is seven thousand.

Effective revenue is low.

Vinegar is very sentimental.

Increase your collection.

Sprinkle some red envelopes~

Bro's inner monologue: Prepare jujube flower pastries, catch a girl, and spend Qixi Festival with her.