Qingyin was lost in thought, completely unaware that a plump little girl next to her had been staring at her for a long time.
Ah Huan, whose full name is Liu Yuhuan, is the second daughter of the magistrate of Dongjiao County. Compared to her generous and eloquent elder sister, she is much softer. In her sister's words, she is a softie. If it weren't for her noble background, someone would probably have wanted to bite her long ago.
Ah Huan didn't dare to refute her sister's words, but she also liked her sister very much.
The eldest sister has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. Although she seems fierce towards her, she actually likes her very much and would never harm her. Unfortunately, after the last Flower Festival, the eldest sister became the first place winner and, after gaining fame, married the heir of an earl's mansion in the capital as his primary wife.
Ah Huan didn't know why her father and mother were so happy that her older sister had married so far away, but looking at the lively mansion, she still held back her tears and didn't spoil the mood.
On the last night her eldest sister left, she secretly came to her room, hugged her, and cried for a long time. Her eldest sister didn't say anything, only saying, "She's silly. She'll understand when she grows up." Ah Huan didn't understand; she only knew that her eldest sister was leaving her.
Now that she has come of age, her father has arranged for her to join the Flower Goddess competition team. Ah Huan looked at the girls in the room who were filled with various anxieties, expectations, or joys, and seemed to understand what her elder sister had said.
Ah Huan was sent to register by her father a long time ago. She has been in this room for a long time. Some people recognized her and wanted to say hello, but Ah Huan made excuses and hid in a corner where she could be seen but not noticed by anyone.
That's why Ah Huan discovered a strange girl who was completely different from the others. Unlike the others, she didn't seem to be nervous or expectant. Instead, she was slowly wandering around the room, as if she was looking for someone.
Ah Huan was inexplicably curious about the girl, and with a feeling of attraction in his heart, he mustered up his courage and walked towards her.
"Hello, miss?"
A strange girl's voice rang in her ear, and she could hear the girl's timidity and nervousness. If the two hadn't been so close, Qingyin probably would have ignored it.
Qingyin turned her head and found that it was a cute, round-faced girl who didn't look aggressive at all calling her name.
The unfamiliar young girl was adorned with various gold hairpins and jewelry, clearly indicating her extraordinary status, but she appeared to be very introverted.
Qingyin was a little curious as to why the little girl had suddenly called out to her, and said, "Hello."
The girl was visibly pleased to receive a response, and smiled with her eyes crinkling, saying, "I just noticed that you seemed to be looking for something, Miss. If you don't mind, could you tell me and I can ask someone to help you look for it?"
Upon hearing this, Qingyin raised her eyebrows, which were hidden by her veil. Tsk tsk, this is a local nepotism case.
With a slight curve to her lips, Qingyin smiled and said, "Thank you, Miss. I was just wandering around out of boredom. May I ask your name? I am Lin Erhua."
Unexpectedly, the girl told her her name. Ah Huan's round eyes widened. She nervously and stammered as she introduced herself: "Hello, Miss Lin, my name is Liu Yuhuan, the daughter of the county magistrate of Dongjiao County..."
Seeing the silly girl who could recite her identity and family background word for word without any guidance, Qingyin sighed. She was just another innocent and adorable girl.
Qingyin, hidden behind the curtain, blinked. "Miss Liu, may I call you Yuhuan? Of course, Miss Liu can also call me Sister Hua."
"Ah, of course, Sister Hua," Liu Yuhuan said hurriedly, almost biting her tongue, but a sense of joy rose in her heart.
"Yu Huan, could you introduce me to the people participating in the Flower Goddess selection? I saw a lot of people queuing up to register outside, but it seems like there are fewer people inside?"
Liu Yuhuan didn't think much of it and assumed that Qingyin was just curious, so she explained the reason in one breath: "Sister Hua, you are from out of town, right? You probably don't know that those who participate in the Flower Goddess selection are not only girls with clean backgrounds like us, but also those, well, women in the brothel."
At this point, the young girl became noticeably shy, and pointedly referred to the women in the brothel as the people in the building.
Qingyin clearly understood, and she nodded.
Then the little girl continued, "Because the selection of the Flower Goddess only considers appearance, those women can naturally be selected as well. The selection of the Flower Goddess in the East Suburbs County is fair, but some women dislike being with them, so Father specially arranged two courtyards for them to stay in another place."
I see. No wonder she searched for so long without finding it.
Qingyin nodded and chatted with the little girl, making the waiting time less boring.
But the girl chatting with Qingyin couldn't help but shiver. Why did she feel like someone was staring at her fiercely?
The little girl looked around suspiciously and fearfully, but saw no one.
Liu Yuhuan subconsciously thought of the supernatural tales she had read, and fear began to grow in her heart.
Qingyin looked at Liu Yuhuan in confusion: "What's wrong, Yuhuan?" Why did she suddenly look like a quail frightened?
Liu Yuhuan clung tightly to Qingyin in fear and whispered in Qingyin's ear, "Sister Hua, I think this place might be haunted? I felt someone staring at me just now, but when I looked over, there was no one there. There must be a ghost!"
Qingyin: "..."
Duan Heng, who was staring intently at Liu Yuhuan, watched as the strange woman walked up to Qingyin and chatted happily. Now, she was even more intimately close to Qingyin, and the tall, handsome man's aura of coldness grew even stronger.
Qingyin, who had no idea where Duan Heng was hiding, turned pale. She had guessed without any difficulty who the little girl was talking about.
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