"Hey, you don’t know this yet, right? That girl who came out of the Yihong Courtyard last night is named Jinghua. Just the name sounds amazing. I was feeling rather bored that day, so I went to the Yihong Courtyard. Unexpectedly, I happened to see this girl’s debut performance. Good heavens! She was singing the same song as Miss Yi Ling did during the Oiran competition. Her voice is so sweet, and she’s sweet as well. Well-endowed and wasp-waisted, with watery eyes. She almost melted me!"
"Could she be even more agile than Miss Yi Ling?"
"Perhaps, all I can say is that she definitely isn’t inferior to Miss Yi Ling."
"Did Yihong Courtyard present any other girls? Can they compete with the other girls from Huaman Building?"
The man shook his head: "Not really, of the girls who made their appearance yesterday, only Jinghua stood out exceptionally. The rest... well, they were somewhat similar, but noticeably less enchanting than the girls from Huaman Building."
Then, he paused before lowering his voice to say: "Actually, I feel that Yihong Courtyard is now trying its best to emulate the girls from Huaman Building. However, in my view, that will only go so far due to the limitations of their individual talents. Only Jinghua seems to have mastered the essence of it all and performed just as splendidly as Miss Yi Ling. The other girls who were introduced alongside Jinghua yesterday didn’t leave a strong impression on me."
"Tsk tsk, it sounds like this Jinghua girl is really something. I should go see her for myself someday."
"Let’s go together next time. The Yihong Courtyard does have some tricks up its sleeves. They can indeed produce some great goods. Previously, I thought that Huaman Building would eventually drive Yihong Courtyard out of business. Who would have guessed that the tide is starting to turn now? Astounding."
These men were obviously outsiders. Even though their tones carried both sighs and admiration, they had the attitude of mere spectators.
Upon hearing their conversation, Xinhe’s expression abruptly changed, her eyes forming a cold glint. She silently put her tea cup down and got up to leave.
Shulan and Xiaoyu were also feeling perplexed and confused. They barely had time to think, quickly paid the bill, and followed Xinhe out the door.
The men who had been talking seemed to notice the sudden commotion, and turned their heads to look. However, they only caught a side glimpse of Xinhe leaving in haste. They lowered their voices and laughed: "There sure are a lot of beautiful women in Lian’an Town nowadays. Even the men are becoming more attractive."
The tea house erupted in laughter again.
When Xinhe left the tea house, her face was clearly gloomy.
Xiaoyu rushed to catch up, her voice displaying her sense of urgency: "Young Master, this... "
"Go to the Huaman Building," Xinhe ordered in a deep voice, before stepping into a horse carriage.
Despite the shock of this unexpected news, she retained her basic judgment and composure. Without knowing the situation yet, she could not jump to conclusions. First, she had to go to Huaman Building to assess the situation.
Xiaoyu and Shulan quickly paid the coachman and followed. The horse carriage disappeared in a cloud of dust.
When the dust-laden carriage reached the entrance of Huaman Building, the gatekeeper didn’t pay much attention until he saw that the person getting off was Ji Xinhe. His face changed instantly, and he hurried forward to greet her: "Young Master is here."
Seeing the gatekeeper’s expression, Ji Xinhe knew something was amiss. She walked into the building quickly and asked, "Where is Madam Chen?"
The gatekeeper, flustered, followed her and said, "Madam Chen is upstairs. The Young Master is finally here. Since early this morning, Madam Chen had been sending men to fetch you. Unfortunately, no one could find you at your residence. We’ve searched everywhere. Now there’s chaos here."
As Xinhe entered the hall, she could vaguely hear the noise of a ruckus. There were screams, curses, and even the sound of fighting.
Xinhe’s brows furrowed at the ruckus, and she asked in a low voice, "What’s going on?"
It was broad daylight, and there would naturally be no guests. Nor could there be any disturbances. Otherwise, the guards would have already intervened. So, what exactly was happening?
The gatekeeper hesitated before saying: "It’s Miss Yi Ling and Miss Qiao Qiao... They’re fighting now. Madam Chen is trying to break it up, but she can’t control the situation."
The gatekeeper wiped the cold sweat off his forehead as he spoke. The current situation was no small matter. If the boss found out, there was no telling how she’d react. Just thinking about it made him swallow nervously, his manner becoming even more cautious.
Xinhe, however, had no time for him. Her face became even gloomier as she rushed upstairs. She saw a crowd in Qiao Qiao’s room, and several girls standing at the door watching.
The room was in chaos with Qiao Qiao and Yi Ling writhing in the middle, and Madam Chen trying to pull them apart unsuccessfully.
"You lowly wretch! You went so far as to destroy my future by revealing my talent to the Yihong Courtyard. Now that Yihong Courtyard has a girl performing like me, you have a ruthless heart! I’ve always tolerated you, but today, I won’t spare you! Do you really think I’m an easy target?" Yi Ling, with teary eyes, was ripping at Qiao Qiao’s clothes and fighting.
Qiao Qiao did not back down, fiercely headbutting Yi Ling in the chest: "What’s it to me? I haven’t done anything! Don’t try to cast blame on me! You despicable creature, you have been copied by someone else, but now you want to accuse me! You’re not good enough to compete with them and you still have the nerve to complain? Look at yourself in the mirror. Do you really think you are a great beauty? In the past, weren’t you just a lowly serving girl to me?"
Madam Chen urgently asked others to separate them: "Stop fighting, both of you! Stop it!"
But the girls, all delicate and tender, seeing this scene, who dared to intervene? If they accidentally got scratched or bruised their faces in the scuffle, it would not be worth it.
The girls outside the room were the first to notice Ji Xinhe’s arrival. They were taken aback and quickly made way for him. Xinhe walked in with a cold face and spoke in a frosty tone, "What is all this commotion?"
Ever since Ji Xinhe took over Huaman Building, he has always had a good temper and has been tolerant towards the girls. Even when there were some undisclosed disputes, he never sided with anyone. Even when Sun Yaowen created a ruckus, he protected his own girls.
The girls had always thought of him as a very mild-mannered young master. Today was the first time they had ever seen him speak with such a cold face. This icy tone, though not loud, sent a shiver through their hearts. All of them changed their expressions and immediately became quiet.
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