Qiao Zhen went to Hua Man Lou to watch a play, but it wasn't just for entertainment. She had two purposes: first, to flirt with the handsome young man; and second, to subtly express that she still liked Lu Yuanchuan.
Combining these two points, Qiao Zhen began searching upstairs at Hua Man Lou for young men who resembled Lu Yuanchuan.
There were some who resembled Lu Yuanchuan, but their features were either gentle or lewd, and they all lacked Lu Yuanchuan's cold aura.
Qiao Zhen rested her chin on her hand, watching the actress twirling downstairs, her thoughts wandering elsewhere. She was troubled, wondering how to make Lu Yuanchuan remember her deeply. After all, Lu Yuanchuan was extremely cold-hearted, and she had spent very little time by his side before, and now she hadn't spent any at all.
Moreover, Lin Yuyun is always by Lu Yuanchuan's side, which makes Qiao Zhen feel quite threatened.
Qiao Zhen rolled her eyes listlessly. She wanted to find a young master who looked like Lu Yuanchuan, with similar eyes, nose, and mouth, but she couldn't find one. Hua Man Lou was the busiest place in Qi Jing. If she couldn't find one there, Qiao Zhen would have to ask Xu Ruan Kuang to continue searching in secret.
She beckoned to Xu Kuang, "Kuang, send someone to keep watch in Hua Man Lou. If anyone looks like Lu Yuanchuan, immediately... no, you don't need to keep watch anymore."
Qiao Zhen saw the young man walking in from the entrance of Hua Man Lou. He looked five or six parts like Lu Yuanchuan, especially his demeanor, which was just as cold as Lu Yuanchuan's. She immediately pushed aside Xu Ruan's basket, picked up walnuts from the table, and threw them at the young man.
The young master wasn't annoyed when he was hit by a walnut; he looked up at the building.
Qiao Zhen leaned against the railing, looking at the young man with a shy expression. She took out a handkerchief from her sleeve, twisted it a few times, and threw it at the young man. Then she used her wide sleeve to half-cover her face.
The young master saw that Qiao Zhen's face was not ruined and thought it was extremely beautiful, but he still left with a cold face and his head down.
Qiao Zhen lowered her sleeves. "A-Kuang, find out who that young master is, where he lives, and whether he is married."
"Yes." Xu Ruankuang replied, his heart filled with bitterness. The princess still liked Lu Yuanchuan, didn't she? That person just now clearly looked exactly like Lu Yuanchuan.
Having achieved her goal, Qiao Zhen put the curtain on her head and then took Xu Ruan's basket back.
Lu Yuanchuan stood in a private room upstairs, watching Qiao Zhen leave side by side with Xu Ruankuang. His expression remained unchanged, and he silently looked away.
The young master in Hua Man Lou who looks very much like Lu Yuanchuan is actually the second legitimate son of Prime Minister Lu, named Lu Yuanliu. The two brothers' names are taken from the phrase "flowing river without ceasing".
Qiao Zhen was somewhat conflicted about whether to drag Lu Yuanliu into this troublesome love triangle as well.
"A-Kuang, secretly investigate whether Prime Minister Lu has any other sons?"
Xu Ruankuang answered directly: "Prime Minister Lu has three legitimate sons and two legitimate daughters. Lu Yuanchuan and Lu Yuanliu were born to the former Madam Lu, and the current Madam Lu gave birth to Lu Yuanyu, who is practicing Buddhism with his hair still intact at Guanlan Temple."
In just a few words, all of Qiao Zhen's previous guesses were overturned, but the entanglement between Lu Yuanchuan and Madam Lu must be related to Lu Yuanyu.
Let's start with Lu Yuanliu then. If he doesn't go to hell, who will?
Qiao Zhen instructed Xu Ruankuang to send people to keep an eye on Lu Yuanliu's whereabouts, and they discovered that Lu Yuanliu's favorite place was Hua Manlou.
Lu Yuanliu rarely smiled, and when he did, it was always a wicked smile. Yet, he was so handsome that even his wicked smile had a unique charm, attracting the girls of Hua Manlou to flock to him. However, Lu Yuanliu only liked women who were beautiful as flowers.
After thinking about the scars on her face, Qiao Zhen decided that she should stay in the princess's residence for now. At least she couldn't leave Lu Yuanliu with the impression of being an ugly woman, because first impressions are always very deep. If she wanted to clear her name later, it would be almost hopeless. She didn't want to waste her energy on a cannon fodder.
The scars on her face became increasingly itchy, and Qiao Zhen would unconsciously place her fingernails on the scars every time, which Xu Ruan Kuang would stop her in time and then persuade her with many words.
Three months passed in the blink of an eye, and the scars on Qiao Zhen's face had faded completely. She was still the radiant and beautiful Princess Zhu Yu. Looking at her smooth skin in the bronze mirror, she said, "Ah Kuang, I will always remember this." Her rounded fingertips touched the place where she had been injured inch by inch. "This place was given to me by you. If you hadn't persuaded me to seek medical treatment in time, this place might never have been able to recover to its former state."
Xu Ruankuang felt a fullness in her heart, as if it was about to overflow.
Qiao Zhen had a magical medicine hidden in her sleeve, and she didn't bring any curtains with her when she went out. She went to Hua Man Lou again.
Lu Yuanliu was upstairs with one woman on each side. When she looked up, she saw that Lu Yuanliu's face looked very much like Lu Yuanchuan's, which made her even more determined to drag Lu Yuanliu down with her!
She went straight to the third floor, changed into an actress's costume, pretending to be a woman of the night, and then walked over with graceful steps, saying, "What are you doing, ladies? I don't see you practicing your singing backstage today. It's quite strange."
Lu Yuanliu looked up at Qiao Zhen, feeling that the woman in front of him seemed familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen her before. "Miss, we hit it off immediately. My name is Lu Yuanliu. May I ask your name?"
Qiao Zhen covered her upturned lips with her sleeve, "This humble woman finds you, sir, to be an old friend."
"Oh? Who is it?"
"My former husband."
Lu Yuanliu pushed away the girl in his arms, stood up and walked to Qiao Zhen's side. He lifted Qiao Zhen's chin with his slender fingers, and his thumb rubbed against Qiao Zhen's chin. Every movement was very flirtatious. "Miss is really joking, but I like bold people like you."
Qiao Zhen raised her hand to push away Lu Yuanliu's hand, "Between women, you are the one who is joking."
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
