"A poor kid? I've never seen a poor kid with your kind of spirit." The handsome man directly exposed him.

Qiao Qiu waved her hand and laughed, "I'm just living a little more freely, is that wrong?"

"That's true, but in this kind of world, how easy is it to truly live a carefree life?"

Qiao Qiu raised an eyebrow. "You seem to have something on your mind."

The handsome man laughed and said, "What worries could I possibly have?"

"Judging from your distinguished bearing and expensive clothes, you're clearly not from Xiangzhou. Let me guess... well, never mind, I'm too lazy to guess. How many days do you plan to stay in Xiangzhou?"

The handsome man's smile deepened, even his deep eyes were filled with laughter. "You really are an interesting person. I don't know how many days you'll stay in Xiangzhou. I'm here to visit someone."

"who?"

"Shen Junbai".

"Who are you talking about?!" Qiao Qiu turned to look at him.

"Shen Junbai." The handsome man repeated, and seeing her reaction, he became a little curious. "Your reaction is so strong, you don't know Shen Junbai, do you?"

"know."

"oh?"

“I know him, but he doesn’t know me.”

"Hehe..." The handsome man chuckled, amused by Qiao Qiu, "Young man, what's your name?"

"Qiao Qiu." Shen Junbai's reputation is too great, so she'd better keep a low profile for now, since no one knows who Qiao Qiu is anyway.

"A good name."

"You flatter me." Qiao Qiu didn't ask any further questions. She knew that this person would never tell her what he wanted to do with Shen Junbai.

"Judging from your refined manner of speaking, are you a scholar who has passed the imperial examinations?"

"I've only read two books, which is nothing compared to those great figures. I have no interest in taking the imperial examinations."

"If everyone were like you, wouldn't the court be missing many pillars of society?" The handsome man reached out to flick her forehead.

Qiao Qiu instinctively stepped back and dodged.

The handsome man was slightly taken aback, then laughed and said, "I didn't expect you to be a trained fighter. Let me test you."

After speaking, he struck Qiao Qiu on the forehead with a palm. Qiao Qiu bent over to dodge, turned around and took two steps forward. Hearing the sound of cranes crying behind her, she moved to the left and a chop to the side of her cheek.

Qiao Qiu's forehead was covered in fine sweat. The handsome man slapped her shoulder with his palm. Qiao Qiu simply didn't dodge. The palm looked powerful, but its actual strength was average.

The handsome man didn't expect her not to dodge, and slapped her directly on the shoulder.

Qiao Qiu lost her balance from the force of the blow and fell onto the rock. Injuries to her tendons and ligaments would weaken her lower body compared to an average person.

"Why didn't you dodge?" Seeing her pale lips and a light sweat on her forehead, the handsome man couldn't help but become suspicious. He was just testing her and didn't hit her hard, so why did she look like she was seriously injured?

Qiao Qiu felt some pain in her shoulder, but it was nothing compared to the pain in her foot. Luckily, she hadn't exerted herself much, otherwise the pain would have made it impossible for her to walk, which would have been a huge loss.

She stood up and said, "My martial arts skills are just so-so. I only know some self-defense techniques. How can I withstand a beating like this?"

She recovered in a short while.

Seeing that she was alright, the handsome man was relieved. "You hid quite well before. You have the makings of a martial arts student. Have you ever thought about becoming a disciple to learn martial arts?"

"I don't like martial arts. For me, enough is enough for self-defense." Qiao Qiu dusted off her clothes and said, "Let's go."

"good."

The two barely spoke for the rest of the journey, and parted ways at the exit of Hundred Flowers Valley.

The handsome man watched her retreating figure, shook his head and sighed, "What a pity for such a promising talent."

"Young master, should we send someone to follow him?"

"No need, we should focus on finding Shen Junbai."

"yes."

...

Qiao Qiu returned to the Shen residence, took a bath, used a special "medicine" to wash off her makeup, changed back into her own clothes, then took out unsightly scars and applied them around her eyes before putting on a mask.

Through their brief interaction, Qiao Qiu summarized several points about the man: First, he must have held a high position for many years; that kind of demeanor could be concealed, but his unintentionally revealed habits were hard to change. Second, he was eager to recruit talent; he was willing to lower himself to befriend capable individuals. Third, he knew some martial arts, but he wasn't a top-tier master; even with his palm strikes reduced in power, he couldn't control them freely, indicating some shortcomings in his martial arts skills.

He said he was coming to see her, and Qiao Qiu didn't doubt the truthfulness of his words; she just didn't know how he would come to see her.

Thump thump thump—

There was a knock on the door, and Qiao Qiu asked, "What is it?"

The steward said respectfully, "There is a young master named Li outside who requests an audience."

"The one surnamed Li? He's here really fast." Qiao Qiu snorted, then raised her voice and said, "Tell him I'm busy and can't meet anyone. Please forgive me. Ask him to leave his address, and I will personally visit him another day."

"yes."

The butler withdrew, and Qiao Qiu stroked her smooth chin. Her dark eyes darted around. "There are many people with the surname Li in the entire Southern Chu Kingdom, but not many with noble status. It seems this person must be a member of the royal family. I wonder which prince he is. He wants to see me? He'll have to show some tricks first."

The royal family is the most chaotic place; once you join, it's probably not as simple as just making friends. No monarch has ever ascended to the throne easily; it seems she'll have to find a way to avoid it.

She'd got it. Profit was the key. Merchants were driven by profit, so she'd negotiate with him using profit as leverage, never mentioning personal relationships. As long as she didn't get involved in the messy affairs between the prince and the emperor, anything was fine.

Let's test this person's character first.

Outside the gates of the Shen residence, Young Master Li was somewhat surprised after hearing the steward's reply.

This young master Li is the same one Qiao Qiu met in Hundred Flowers Valley today.

The guard beside Young Master Li said, "Young Master, this Shen Junbai is far too ungrateful. You came in person, yet he refuses to see you."

Young Master Li laughed and said, "Well done, Shen Junbai. He's indeed no ordinary man. Let's go."

"yes."

He didn't leave his address; Shen Junbai was far more formidable than he had imagined. Before meeting Shen Junbai, he had visited the homes of the top ten wealthiest families in Southern Chu. Upon hearing his surname, they would send someone to welcome him in, if not personally. Only Shen Junbai would refuse him entry.

It seems that if I want to see Shen Junbai, I'll have to resort to some coercive tactics.

The next day, Qiao Qiu received an invitation from the prefect, inviting her to his residence for a chat.

Qiao Qiu placed the invitation on the table, turned around, and took out a dress embroidered with green bamboo to change into. She didn't believe it was the prefect who wanted to see her; it must be that 'Young Master Li'. If he really wanted to recruit her, he would surely be 'pleasantly surprised' to see her in this outfit.

After putting on her mask, Qiao Qiu went out through the main gate, sending dozens of servants ahead to clear the way and block those who wanted to see her, while she herself rode in a sedan chair behind.