Chapter 13 The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. She wasn't one to be manipulated...
The owner of Zuixianlou used the woman downstairs as bait to lure her out; while Jin Shiyu came to Zuixianlou using Jin Suiqing as bait to lure Qin Xianglan.
Jin Shiyu kept her locked up for a few days, keeping Boss Qin in suspense. Given enough time, Boss Qin would naturally take some measures to test Jin Suiqing.
When Jin Suiqing got into trouble, Jin Shiyu appeared at the opportune moment, giving the person behind him a legitimate reason to intervene in Zuixianlou.
Jin Shiyu didn't come to Zuixianlou to protect her; he came to deliver her as bait to Zuixianlou.
What a perfect example of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
Only when she, Jin Suiqing, was injured did the world achieve its goal.
Jin Suiqing took a few deep breaths to quickly calm herself. The higher her expectations of Jin Shiyu, the greater her disappointment.
If her guess is true, and she rashly takes the bait, revealing that she has overheard something she shouldn't have, she will be facing the owner of Zuixianlou head-on.
This would benefit Kim Shi-ok, and it wouldn't align with her goals; she would also risk being put in danger.
She doesn't know who's behind Kim Si-ok, but judging from the way they've used her as bait, they can't be friends.
She can no longer sit idly by and wait for her fate.
Behind the curtains, Jin Suiqing recalled the three-story structure of Zuixianlou and quickly devised a way to leave the third floor.
After the performer finished his show, he returned to the third floor and went into a room in the far corner. Jin Suiqing guessed that it was probably where the performance props were stored and where the performer rested.
Taking advantage of her small stature, she ran while taking off her bright yellow outer garment and curling up in a corner.
This morning, Jin Suiqing specially chose a simple and low-key inner shirt, which Huihong jokingly said made her look like a little old lady, so she paired it with a bright outer shirt.
Dressed in dark green, she almost blended into the gauze curtains of Zuixianlou. Jin Suiqing lowered her head and ran close to the wall, hiding behind the screen whenever she encountered someone.
Fortunately, Zuixianlou was big enough, and she was small in stature. Although she was plump, she was still easy to hide.
After deliberately circling between the three buildings, Jin Suiqing finally found her way to the prop room. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, she slipped inside, quickly rummaged through the room, and hastily pulled out a set of clothes to change into.
She rubbed two fingers of rouge on the dressing table, mimicking the assembly-line makeup of a kindergarten talent show, and applied gold-flecked rouge to her cheeks, pressing a red dot between her eyebrows.
Almost instantly after the wiping was finished, the prop room door was suddenly pushed open, startling Jin Suiqing so much that she almost screamed.
He was the male zip-lining performer who had just done the zip-lining act.
The male dancer was also startled: "Why aren't you waiting downstairs? What are you doing upstairs? And why are you making your face look like this?!"
Jin Suiqing reacted quickly and improvised, scratching her head awkwardly: "I was just curious about the third floor and wanted to come up and take a look."
"Never mind, never mind, saves me the trouble of picking you up." The male performer was so busy that he was dizzy. He skillfully took off his coat, revealing his tanned, towering chest and eight-pack abs, as strong as a male bodhisattva in a mural. He grabbed a Fuwa head and put it on Jin Suiqing's head. "Brother Zhang downstairs is singing Pingtan so badly that he's urging us to hurry up and go on stage."
The male craftsman handed the flower arrangement to Jin Suiqing: "Be quick-witted later and identify the distinguished guests. Give them peonies if they are distinguished guests, and peonies if they are ordinary guests."
The male acrobat politely put on the arm sleeve, scooped up the gold fragments and held them in his arms, weighing them in his hand with a firm shake, and asked in a puzzled tone, "Have you gained weight?"
Jin Suiqing Yanran didn't have time to speak. Through the eye holes of the Fuwa head, all she could see were the large breasts of the dark-skinned male bodhisattva swaying wildly.
Male bodhisattva! Please stop this nonsense, I'm dizzy from milk!
The male bodhisattva didn't care about anything else. He used a thin rope to tie the gold fragments to his body, pushed open the door, strode out of the prop room, and swung in the air with a wrist rope.
The feeling of weightlessness was too intense, and Jin Suiqing, barely suppressing a scream, couldn't help but reach out and pinch the male Bodhisattva nipple hard.
The male bodhisattva hissed and cursed in a low voice, "You little brat, let me go!"
Jin Suiqing, quickly let go.
After swaying a few times to the music, Jin Suiqing barely adjusted to the feeling of weightlessness. The male bodhisattva urged her in her ear, "Be smart, we need to deliver the flowers."
Jin Suiqing touched the flower basket. The silk flowers were tucked into a cloth bag and then secured in the basket to prevent them from falling off as she wandered around. Each time she approached the railing, she would pluck a flower and toss it to the person who reached out their hand.
During this process, she had a complete view of the entire Drunken Immortal Pavilion.
Whether it's people rushing among the children on the third floor looking for her, or distinguished guests drinking and chatting on the first and second floors.
When the male bodhisattva swung to the far east side of the second floor, the wind blew up the gauze curtain of the private room, revealing the person inside.
Beneath the hood, Jin Suiqing's eyes widened.
She saw Kim Si-ok.
There were only two people in the private room; it was definitely not a place to accommodate family members.
Opposite Jin Shiyu sat a woman, and the two were talking about something. Jin Suiqing couldn't see the woman's face.
She pinched the male Bodhisattva's nipple hard and pointed to the private room, saying, "There are important people there, go swing over there."
"Hiss! You little brat!"
Jin Suiqing urged, "Hurry, that's the young master of the Jin family."
The Bodhisattva chuckled: "Tsk, he's nothing more than a dog of the Jin family, what kind of distinguished guest is he?"
Jin Suiqing frowned, instinctively defending his own son: "He is also the young master of the Jin family."
"Hehe, I think you just heard he's good-looking and want to take a second look."
Jin Suiqing: "Mind your own business."
The male bodhisattva chuckled and swung over, saying, "Alright, alright, as you wish."
The wind brought by the two of them completely lifted the gauze curtain, and Jin Suiqing finally saw the woman's face clearly.
She was Huangfu Ying's female attendant.
The one who handed Kim Si-ok a handkerchief at her first birthday party.
The male bodhisattva remained suspended in the air. Seeing that the child in his arms seemed to have frozen, he teased, "What's wrong? Are you stunned by seeing Young Master Jin's face up close?"
The golden shattered green heart felt half-cooled, alarm bells rang, and things suddenly became much clearer.
Behind her brother were Lady Huangfu, her aunt who kept testing her, and her cousin who wanted her dead at any moment.
It was a weight pressing down on the fake heiress, one she couldn't resist—a plot twist resembling fate!
Jin Suiqing shook her head repeatedly. Although she was attracted to good looks, she didn't care about Jin Shiyu's face at all at this moment: "Leave here quickly."
She felt a sense of fear and unconsciously felt the urge to escape.
Don't listen to them, don't look at them, and don't get involved with them.
Jin Suiqing, Jin Shiyu is not your brother.
He will eventually take your life.
"Aren't you going to throw the flowers away?" The male bodhisattva tapped her headgear.
Jin Suiqing stopped wallowing in useless sadness, casually plucked a bright peony, and threw it forcefully into the private room.
It just so happened to fall right next to Kim Toki's hand.
Jin Shiyu looked outside warily, but could only see the backs of the performer and Futong walking away.
Although Shang Tingzhi had always served as an official in the Imperial Palace, he was also somewhat familiar with folk customs. Pointing to the peony beside him, he said, "That one is the King Peony. The flower girl will give it to the most beautiful guest in this building."
"Is that so?" Jin Shiyu lowered his eyes, stared for a while, and calmly pushed the peony to the ground. "It was probably thrown to the wrong place."
Shang Tingzhi looked at the young man in front of her.
Despite his young age, he suppressed his deep-seated hatred so thoroughly that he didn't reveal a single flaw.
A person whose heart is filled with thunderous turmoil, yet whose face remains as calm as a still lake.
Jin Shiyu was no ordinary person.
Shang Tingzhi lowered her head, picked up the giant peony, and examined it: "Truly composed."
Kim Si-ok quietly drank his tea.
Shang Tingzhi chuckled lightly, flicked her fingers, and the peony flew out of the railing and fell towards the first floor.
As Jin Suiqing landed and was carried by the male bodhisattva to the rest room, she happened to catch a glimpse of the person who had just sung Pingtan.
He was wearing a mask, holding Ruan in his arms, and limped away from behind.
Jin Suiqing struggled and said, "My stomach hurts, I need to go to the toilet, please put me down."
"Hey, what's wrong with you today?" the male bodhisattva said, quickly unlocking the chains. "Why is everything so complicated..."
Before he could finish speaking, the person wearing the hood ran away in a flash.
The male bodhisattva scratched his head: "So rushed, you didn't even bring toilet paper?"
He turned to walk towards the lounge, only to be bumped into by a child who popped out from around the corner. The child rubbed his head, recognized him, and shouted, "Gong Da Gou! Can't you learn to watch where you're going?"
The male bodhisattva asked in surprise, "Didn't you just go to the toilet? How come you're here so quickly?"
Gong Xiaoyang rolled her eyes: "Bro, are you having face blindness again? You've mistaken someone for someone else. Has the show started yet?"
Gong Dagou is face-blind and cannot distinguish between men and women, or beauty and ugliness. His zipline can only catch money, not flowers, so flower girls are needed for his performances.
Gong Dagou: "The performance is over."
"ah?"
*
Jin Suiqing threw off the hood and, while the man was resting against the wall, washed her face with the water vat in the corner. Hearing the noise, the man suddenly turned around.
Jin Suiqing quickly curled up and hid behind the water vat.
Fortunately, due to his leg injury, he only turned his head to look for a moment before continuing to walk forward while holding onto the wall.
Jin Suiqing clung to the edge of the water vat, peeking out half his head, watching his limping figure.
When he was in Jingxietang, his leg was clearly still in good condition.
Jin Suiqing wasn't surprised that his leg was lame.
Since the matter involved fraud, Qin Xianglan wouldn't let anyone leave; since Young Master Li's status was higher than his, he naturally became the scapegoat to bear the blame for theft.
This sacrificial pawn was used to make its final contribution, to test whether Jin Suiqing was aware of the situation.
What puzzled Jin Suiqing was that, despite being accused of a crime and having his leg crippled, he was still able to move freely without restraint.
Wasn't Qin Xianglan afraid he would run away?
Without time to think, seeing that the two had already created some distance between them, Jin Suiqing got up and chased after him.
Jin Suiqing controlled the distance, so that she wouldn't lose him if he went too far away; and because of her small size, she wouldn't be easily discovered if she got too close.
He walked slowly, but was very vigilant, looking back every now and then.
Jin Suiqing pretended to dodge left and right before following the people through the commotion and into a small alley.
Once inside the alley, his pace quickened considerably.
At another corner, Jin Suiqing hurriedly followed and hid behind the wall. Just as she was about to see where he lived, she heard someone call out.
He removed his mask and lowered his voice, saying, "Didn't I tell you not to come?! Why did you still come?!"
The woman spoke softly, "Brother Yu, I heard you hurt your leg, so I came to bring you some medicine."
It was that familiar voice again, and Jin Suiqing suddenly opened her eyes wide.
Huihong?
A note from the author:
Thank you, everyone! Vinegar has reached its second ranking. This week's update will be 15,000 words. Updating...
Please add this to your favorites if you like it. I will update daily after it becomes a paid service!
As usual! There will be twenty little red envelopes in this chapter!
The Gong Brothers' Little Theater:
Gong Dagou touched his chest, hissing in pain several times. He questioned his younger brother, Gong Xiaoyang, "Why did you pinch me just now?"
Gong Xiaoyang rolled her eyes: "I think you were having a wet dream and pinched yourself."
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