Chapter 208: line with translation of chapter title

The year‑end is fast approaching, and the streets of Shang Jing are becoming ever more bustling, with people coming and going, exceptionally prosperous.

Today the streets have an extra special liveliness, for it is the day of Shang Jing's annual contest for the Flower Queen.

Yi Hong Courtyard, Yan Chun Tower, Mei Xian Courtyard, Lan Xiang Ban…

All the Qin Lou and Chu Guan establishments vie to showcase their finest girls; those who win the Flower Queen must parade around the southern streets of Shang Jing, but they cannot go to Chongwen Street, after all it is a lowly activity.

In the past, the Flower Queen was always Miss Ruo Xi of Yi Hong Courtyard; every year, countless people have spent fortunes just to catch a glimpse of Miss Ruo Xi's beauty.

This year's Flower Queen competition, held in Wan Fu Tower, is especially eye‑catching because of the sheer number of participating houses and the multitude of beauties.

Each year the selection follows a rule: first, a sea‑wide audition yields seven candidates, dressed as the Seven Fairies, and then one Flower Queen is chosen from those seven women.

They must compete in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry and couplets; the talents required of these women are cultivated from childhood, no less rigorous than the training of aristocratic daughters.

The only difference this time is that among the selected there is also a girl from an obscure little house.

It's called Yun Xiang Ge; in Shang Jing, Qin Lou and Chu Guan are classified by size—larger ones are called courtyards, then halls, then classes, and the smallest are these Ge.

They normally cater to lower‑middle people, only a little better than the hidden courtesans.

So when Miss Qiu Shui of Yun Xiang Ge managed to be among those seven candidates, it caused an explosion of gossip.

Soon the talent performances will begin, and the seating arrangement on the stage is very clear.

The women from the other six houses sit together, while Miss Qiu Shui of Yun Xiang Ge sits alone on the side.

Even though she is being scrutinized and shunned by many, she remains calm and self‑satisfied.

The other women wear light‑colored or colorful garments, but she alone dons a dark long dress with scarlet trim, which highlights her fair, supple face and adds a mysterious aura.

She gives the impression of not being a courtesan at all, but rather like a princess of a nation—dignified, noble, graceful.

She does not at all care about the surrounding gazes of surprise, jealousy, or mockery.

Between heaven and earth, she stands alone, fearless and unafraid.

She has erased everything of her past into bygone days; from now on, that happy little princess of Fu Yu Guo is dead, no longer existent.

She is Miss Qiu Shui of Yun Xiang Ge, a courtesan that Yun Xiang Ge bought at a high price from who‑knows‑where, an object that can be bought, sold, and trampled at will.

"Miss Ruo Xi, have you seen through that one's background?" asked Song Qing Yu, the Light Rain girl of Yan Chun Tower, who excels at zither playing and tea ceremony and is a cold, noble person; looking at Qiu Shui's bearing, she could not fully suppress the stir in her heart.

Miss Ruo Xi's eyes flashed, and she pinched the finger hidden in her sleeve; just now Gu Jiu Ling had ordered someone to give her a silver note, and the feel of it was quite pleasant.

Gu Jiu Ling's instruction to her was: today, ask her to relinquish the Flower Queen's position to this mysterious Miss Qiu Shui.

Although she felt uneasy, she still relied on Gu Jiu Ling and the Rui Wangfu to overturn her father's case, so she agreed.

She was also puzzled how this Qiu Shui, who suddenly appeared in Shang Jing, could have such a deep background that Gu Jiu Ling personally arranged things for her.

But she will eventually leave this circle, and need not care about those empty titles any longer.

At this moment, in a private room on the third floor of Wan Fu Tower, Gu Jiu Ling sits at an intricately carved table, sipping tea and eating snacks.

Sitting beside her is Xiao Yin; it is rare in Shang Jing for a married couple to stroll together through the brothels, a precedent with no past and no future.

Xiao Yin's slender fingers shell peanuts and sunflower seeds, placing the kernels on two small porcelain plates set on an orchid base; after filling both dishes, he pushes them toward Gu Jiu Ling.

Gu Jiu Ling simply lifts the plate and grabs to eat.

Lately she has become increasingly lazy; her due date is after the Spring Gate.

Just as it's time to eat, Xiao Yin lifts his hand and wipes the stray seed at the corner of her mouth with his sleeve.

"Princess Consort, are you sure she can take the crown?"

Gu Jiu Ling lifts her tea, takes a sip, and looks at Xiao Yin: "According to the two dances I designed, there's absolutely no problem."

"Men are visual animals; they're after something fresh."

"And… while women are gentle like water and men like that, men love even more to conquer women who don't seem theirs, especially those proud princesses, you understand?"

Xiao Yin's eyes flicker slightly, and he slowly rotates the onyx finger ring on his thumb, giving a half‑smile as he looks at Gu Jiu Ling: "Princess Consort seems to understand men quite well?"

Gu Jiu Ling freezes on the spot, her expression slightly stunned, the peanut she is chewing still un‑swallowed, forming a round bulge on her white cheek like a frightened little hamster.

She realizes that Xiao Yin is truly scheming, always stabbing her with a knife in disguise, testing her.

She quickly swallows the food, takes a sip of tea, and forces a laugh: "Prince, you flatter me; I am indeed that kind of pure and harmless woman."

"Having never left the main gate or entered the side gate since childhood, how could I have ever seen any man!"

"What are you afraid of? I'm just asking casually!" Xiao Yin lowers his head, continues shelling seeds for Gu Jiu Ling, and softly says, "It seems the biological father of the child in your womb has finally taken shape."

Gu Jiu Ling's eyes widen instantly; Xiao Yin slowly says, "I hadn't wanted to bring it up before, but this time he came with you to rescue me, and I think the matter among the three of us must be clarified."

Sweat beads form on Gu Jiu Ling's forehead; the man before her is Xiao Yin, and there seems to be nothing in the world he cannot uncover—he is so shrewd it's hair‑raising.

Has he discovered some clue?

Gu Jiu Ling dares not speak; after all, the more one says, the more mistakes one makes.

Xiao Yin, without looking at Gu Jiu Ling, calmly says, "During that palace banquet, when you had the accident, there were seven people who could enter the row of vacant rooms behind the Imperial Garden."

Gu Jiu Ling's fingers gripping the cup tremble slightly.

Xiao Yin seems to be speaking of something unrelated to Gu Jiu Ling, yet his demeanor remains so calm.

Based on Gu Jiu Ling's recent understanding of Xiao Yin, the calmer he speaks these words, the bigger the problem becomes; the matter has escalated and is hard to settle.

"Oh?"

"All… who are they?"

Xiao Yin pauses before continuing: "Two senior imperial physicians who were summoned by the elderly consorts of the harem for a peace pulse; each is nearly seventy years old. Those two old men, you could defeat ten of them by yourself."

Gu Jiu Ling's eye twitches, and she smiles awkwardly: "Prince… you really know how to compliment people!"

Xiao Yin continues: "There are also two palace maids; don't you think you were violated by them?"

Gu Jiu Ling laughs nervously: "Maybe it's possible; if it were true love, the scope could be broadened, and the gender shouldn't be so rigid."

"Gu—Jiu—Ling!" Xiao Yin grits his teeth.

Gu Jiu Ling quickly shuts her mouth.

That guy blew up, and his hair's standing on end again!

Xiao Yin gave a cold laugh: "There are still two left—they are two old eunuchs; they lack the basic qualifications, so it's absolutely impossible for them to be the two."

"Only one remains..."

Xiao Yin slowly turned away and looked seriously at Gu Jiu Ling: "Do you want to know who it is?"