Chapter 2 I am... Miao Cuihua!
Chapter 2
Within fifteen minutes, Wan Hua Lou was completely sealed off, and government officials even came to the door, saying they were searching for a notorious womanizer. All guests, servants, and girls inside Wan Hua Lou were forbidden from leaving.
Shen Suining stayed in her room, not afraid of being searched.
She had anticipated that her visit to see Sheng Qingge would not go smoothly, so she made arrangements with an insider at Wanhualou, having Shen Fengyu disguise herself as a man as "Rongjun," a regular customer of Wanhualou, while she herself disguised herself as Yinyin, a girl Rongjun often chose.
Yin Yin is a dancer who often wears various exotic clothes to please guests. Shen Suining was the one who temporarily replaced her on stage to dance just now.
But the thought of having to wear that barely-there red gauze dress again made Shen Suining's expression painful.
Shen Fengyu, who didn't need to change clothes, calmly took out her ledger and reminded her without looking up, "Hurry up and change. Let me calculate how much more money we'll have to spend if we're forced to stay here overnight."
Shen Suining: "..."
With prior preparation and tacit cooperation, the two easily evaded the government's search and capture.
But simply hiding won't do, since Shen Suining's purpose in coming here is to meet Sheng Qingge and find out exactly who wants to kill her.
With Sheng Qingge's whereabouts currently unknown and the other party's origins unclear, Shen Suining is worried that what if the other party is after Sheng Qingge... then she really needs to hurry.
Shen Suining got up to take action, but when she saw Shen Fengyu still holding her tattered account book and not moving, she was immediately filled with anger and took a few steps forward to pick him up and walk out.
"We'll calculate it later! I'll pay the difference!"
While Shen Suining was dragging Shen Fengyu along to search for people, He Hansheng's men were also secretly searching for Sheng Qingge and other suspicious individuals.
Jiang Yuchu found He Hansheng, "Young Master, Prefect Xu Lin of Hangzhou, upon hearing that you have come in person to handle this matter, is willing to cooperate fully with us. However..."
"But they can only help us find Sheng Qingge's whereabouts, right?" He Hansheng said without looking up.
“Young Master is truly insightful,” Jiang Yuchu said. “Lord Xu said that although Shuyu Manor is a martial arts sect, it never gets involved in politics. Although its actions are different, it has never done anything to harm the people. For many years, Shuyu Manor and the prefectures of various states in Jiangnan have maintained a delicate relationship of non-interference. Lord Xu’s meaning is… that he does not want to disrupt this balance for the time being, so as not to cause trouble.”
He Hansheng pondered for a moment and asked, "Does he know that we came here this time because of Princess Biyue's case?"
"Know."
"He didn't say anything?"
Jiang Yuchu glanced around, then leaned forward and lowered her voice: "Lord Xu said that Princess Biyue's husband had a brief affair with Sheng Qingge. Even after marrying the princess, the husband and Sheng Qingge met privately more than once. Last month, someone came to Shuyu Manor to buy Sheng Qingge's life, and Lord Xu is also investigating this matter. He suspects that it may be the princess's doing."
“Even if the princess is unhappy with her husband’s extramarital affair, she wouldn’t go so far as to secretly spend a large sum of money to kill Sheng Qingge. Besides, Princess Biyue died in an accident more than two months ago, along with her unborn child. Even if she gave the order before her death, it wouldn’t have taken until last month to find Shuyu Manor. Now, the most suspicious husband is nowhere to be found. If we want to find the husband’s whereabouts and the princess’s true cause of death, we must find Sheng Qingge.”
He Hansheng narrowed his eyes slightly, "We must do it before the people from Shuyu Manor make a move."
"clear."
Just as Jiang Yuchu finished speaking, a scream suddenly came from outside.
Shen Suining, who was searching for someone, also heard the commotion and quickly ran to the stairwell to check.
Hearing the commotion, Shen Fengyu rushed over and exclaimed, "Someone has fallen from a building!"
"I know. Take care of yourself. If you get a chance, notify the guys on the perimeter and prepare for a backup!"
Shen Suining spoke very quickly, and as she spoke, she started to run downstairs.
Shen Fengyu grabbed her arm: "And what about you?"
"I saw Sheng Qingge!" Shen Suining rushed down immediately without having time to explain much.
At the same time, He Hansheng, who had come out after hearing the commotion, also caught a glimpse of a red figure flashing by in the direction of the fall.
He immediately jumped over the railing and used his light-footed skill to fly towards the red figure, bumping right into Shen Suining, who was also rushing over.
He Hansheng's expression hardened.
Shen Suining reacted extremely quickly, grabbing several pendants from her waist and throwing them out, turning off the lights in the nearby corridor, while simultaneously attacking He Hansheng.
He Hansheng quickly dodged, and the two exchanged a few blows with their bare hands.
Shen Suining was still wearing Yinyin's dance costume and her face was covered by a veil, which severely restricted her moves. In addition, she did not want her opponent to see her face clearly, so Shen Suining was very passive. She was also anxious to find Sheng Qingge, so she kicked out and shouted angrily: "Get out of my way! Don't get in my way!"
He Hansheng nimbly dodged the attack, showing no intention of backing down, though he did not make a move.
He pressed closer and closer, almost cornering Shen Suining, and asked in a deep voice, "May I ask what your background is? Could you please state your name?"
Driven to desperation, Shen Suining shouted, "I am your ancestor!"
As the two were locked in combat, Sheng Qingge's figure disappeared at the end of the corridor. The two blocked the entrance to the corridor, neither willing to give way, and remained locked in a stalemate for a long time.
Shen Fengyu and Jiang Yuchu rushed over, eager to help, but the corridor was too small. Before they could even get involved, they heard the two fighters shout almost simultaneously—
"Stay and keep watch!"
"Stay here and don't let them get away!"
Shen Fengyu and Jiang Yuchu exchanged a glance, then secretly clenched their fists.
Shen Suining and He Hansheng fought their way to the room at the end of the corridor, both panting heavily as they leaned against the door.
Knowing she couldn't win a direct confrontation, Shen Suining wanted to call a truce. She cupped her hands and praised He Hansheng, "This young master... truly has excellent skills!"
He Hansheng caught his breath and returned the greeting with a cupped hand: "I suppose your skills are quite good, young lady."
"Likewise."
Shen Suining responded weakly, her back pressed against the door to prevent He Hansheng from having any further opportunities to attack. She tried to reason with him, "Young master, you see, we've been fighting for so long and it's still not a good fight. This dragging on isn't good for either of us. How about this, you should do me a favor today and let this young lady out of the brothel. Once she's out the door, I won't stop you from killing her if you want to. What do you say?"
He Hansheng laughed, "Does the young lady mean she wants to make peace with me?"
"If that's how you want to think, then so be it. We're all people in the martial world, and it's inevitable that we'll fight each other for our own missions. But I'm really not in a good position today. Even if you win, it won't be good for your reputation if word gets out. It would be better for both of us to call a truce."
"You're quite clever, young lady. You say you're doing this for my own good, but who knows if it's because you can't beat me?"
These words struck a nerve with Shen Suining, who instantly bristled and raised her voice angrily, asking, "Then do you want to fight again?!"
He Hansheng stared intently at Shen Suining, who resembled a fierce, baring tabby cat.
Although the tabby cat's skills were inferior to his own, the space here was too narrow, which imposed too many restrictions on his moves. It would be difficult to determine the winner in a prolonged fight. Moreover, He Hansheng's original intention was only to ensure that Sheng Qingge could live so that he could interrogate her in the future and find out the cause of the princess's death and the whereabouts of the prince consort.
He Hansheng pondered for a moment and agreed to stop the fight. "As you wish, Miss Sheng, I will let you leave Wan Hua Lou. However, once you leave Wan Hua Lou, you must come with my men."
Shen Suining laughed angrily, "Are you even speaking human language? Once we're out the door, you're yours. What's the difference between that and asking me to admit defeat now?"
He Hansheng refused to back down, saying, "The difference is that the girl didn't lose too badly."
Shen Suining: "It seems we can't reach an agreement."
He Hansheng: "It seems so at the moment."
"..."
The two completely broke off their conversation.
After a moment of silence, Shen Suining suddenly crouched down and swept her foot. He Hansheng leaped into the air to dodge, and kicked open the door behind Shen Suining. At the same time, Shen Suining also kicked open the door behind He Hansheng.
Behind each of the two doors were two pairs of eyes, staring in shock and confusion at the two people who seemed frozen in time.
He Hansheng and Shen Suining: "..."
Undeterred, the two took a few steps forward and pushed open the doors to the rooms on either side again.
This time it was a scream, accompanied by some obscene images. The two quickly closed the door again, covered their faces, and turned their backs to the room.
Shen Suining felt her neck burning. She stole a glance at He Hansheng across from her. Even though she couldn't see his face clearly, she could still see that He Hansheng's face was full of embarrassment and awkwardness.
Seeing this, Shen Suining sneered, "Looks like a playboy who enjoys a life of pleasure. Is this your first time in a place like this?"
He Hansheng rolled his eyes at her, then retorted irritably, "A young lady like you, do you come here all the time?"
"Oh, maybe a little more times than you."
For some reason, Shen Suining felt a sense of superiority. Although she couldn't beat He Hansheng, she had visited brothels more often than him!
Sensing Shen Suining's emotions, He Hansheng was speechless and almost couldn't catch his breath. But after thinking about it carefully, he was too lazy to argue with her.
Seeing that the remaining room doors in the corridor were tightly closed, and even though the person hadn't been found, He Hansheng couldn't bring himself to open the next door. After all this commotion, they could only wait until they left the Wan Hua Lou before each of them could use their own methods.
He Hansheng said with a low, self-deprecating tone, "Looks like we're both going to lose today."
“It’s alright, I’ve never cared about winning or losing,” Shen Suining said with a smile. Seeing that He Hansheng seemed a little frustrated, she couldn’t help but lean forward and add, “Besides, the thought that you didn’t find anyone either makes me even happier.”
He Hansheng felt a lump in his throat and was about to retort when Shen Suining stepped back and bowed, saying, "Today we've met our match, so it's a draw."
"A draw? If I were to play seriously, the young lady might not be able to lose gracefully."
"Hey, you're a grown man," Shen Suining poked He Hansheng's shoulder, tilting her head and laughing, "Why are you so concerned about winning and losing?"
He Hansheng's body stiffened, and half of his body went limp instantly.
Shen Suining watched his reaction with satisfaction, then leaned closer and whispered in his ear, "If you really care so much, there will always be another chance to settle things in the future. But this time, I still have a slight edge!"
She took a half step back and patted He Hansheng on the shoulder, "Let's go!"
"Wait!"
He Hansheng gritted his teeth and spoke, his body motionless, his eyes fixed on Shen Suining's face, which was half-hidden under a red veil, and said unwillingly, "I still don't know your name, young lady."
"Your name..."
Without hesitation, Shen Suining replied, "I am... Miao Cuihua!"
A note from the author:
----------------------
[Mini Theater]
He Hansheng: That year, amidst the apricot blossoms and light rain, you said your name was Miao Cuihua.
Shen Suining: Brother Tiezhu, how have you been? [Let me see]
Author's note: This is a bit of a mishap; we haven't reached this part yet.
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