Poisonous Goddess: I'm just lazing around in the mortal realm.

"Everyone~ Everyone~"

The guests below the stage looked in the direction of the sound and saw the madam swaying her still charming figure onto the central circular stage, introducing the identity of the courtesan in the center of the stage to all the guests present.

The girl sitting on the cushion slowly rose to her feet.

She was draped in a thin purple satin dress, revealing her slender waist and the delicate skin beneath the shawl that seemed about to fall from her shoulders, making the guests present hold their breath.

The guests who have come to Zuixianlou today are all here to catch a glimpse of the courtesan's beauty.

Every month, a new courtesan is chosen to take the stage at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion for an auction. It is said that the winner of the first auction can ascend to the most mysterious eighth floor of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion.

Thirteen watched as the madam on stage boasted and talked, all she could do was try to get a good price for the courtesan tonight.

Looking at the guests crowding the first floor, all of them eager to try their luck, she thought to herself that this profession was definitely more lucrative in ancient times.

"How much does it usually cost to buy a courtesan?"

Thirteen lowered her voice and turned her head to see Zhou Jinghuai looking lustful, staring straight at the courtesan on the stage.

"Is it average? Around three thousand taels, I guess," Zhou Jinghuai replied.

"Three thousand taels? For one night? Young Master Zhou, you must be a regular customer."

She might not be able to understand this kind of thing yet, after all, based on what she knew before, the monthly salary of A-Yue, a maid in the Third Prince's mansion, was only around two taels of silver.

As expected, this Drunken Immortal Pavilion is so magnificent; it's truly a highly profitable business.

"What do you know?"

Zhou Jinghuai rolled his eyes at her upon hearing this. He was very self-disciplined, okay? He was just venting his frustrations.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Shen Mu, who remained silent. Unlike Zhou Jinghuai, who seemed to want to stare directly at the stage, he was sipping his tea with his head down.

"Lord Shen really is indifferent to women," Thirteen remarked awkwardly.

Immediately afterwards, shouts from the madam came from below the stage.

"Now, let's begin our auction! The starting price is one hundred taels!"

Before the madam could finish speaking, someone in the audience raised their hand, holding a wooden plaque.

"Three hundred taels!"

"Five hundred taels!"

"Eight hundred taels!"

The sounds of bidding rose and fell, with everyone shouting out their prices. Thirteen, seated in a private booth on the second floor, couldn't help but shake his head, deeply moved.

"I've never seen anything like this before: a hundred taels of gold for a fine horse, a thousand taels for a beautiful woman."

Looking at the lively scene below, Zhou Jinghuai smiled and said...

"That's because your life is too bland and boring. I'll bring you to places like this more often in the future, and you'll get used to it."

“My hobbies can’t compare to yours,” Thirteen retorted instinctively.

"What do you mean?"

Shen Mu suddenly interjected, "She said your hobbies and tastes are vulgar and crude, which means she looks down on you."

Zhou Jinghuai was taken aback for a moment, then immediately understood, and subconsciously threw the melon seeds in his hand at Thirteen's head.

Who are you talking about?

"It wasn't me who explained it, you're embarrassing Lord Shen."

Thirteen glared at him, yet he dared to bully only her.

"Three thousand taels!"

Suddenly, the voice of the boy at the next table interrupted them. The three of them turned to look and saw the boy raise the mahogany plaque in his hand and call out the highest price currently available.

So much so that the guests in the downstairs hall dared not bid any higher, since the highest price for the most beautiful courtesan at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion auction was only three thousand taels.

Seeing that there was no sound downstairs, Zhou Jinghuai finally raised the mahogany sign and said loudly.

"Five thousand taels!"

The young man in white glanced at them sideways upon seeing this, then raised his hand and said...

"Six thousand taels!"

"Eight thousand taels!"

Zhou Jinghuai wanted a quick victory. When it came to money, even the current emperor of Nanyang was probably not as rich as him.

A murmur rippled through the crowd, everyone looking up at the second floor. The white-clad youth lowered his voice, gritting his teeth as he spoke.

"Please do me the honor, young master. I truly desire this courtesan."

Seeing this, Zhou Jinghuai shook his head at him, his voice somewhat cold.

"No."

Their goal today is to get to the eighth floor; they're determined to win over the courtesan no matter what.

Favor? Not at all.

The young man in white glanced at his robes, then raised his hand and said...

"Eight thousand five hundred taels."

"Ten thousand...five hundred taels."

Zhou Jinghuai glanced at the young man with a half-smile. It wasn't that he didn't like him; it was just that the young man hadn't checked the date before leaving home and happened to bump into them while they were investigating a case.

The young man in white turned around and glared at him, but he had no choice but to grit his teeth and hold his breath because he didn't even have ten thousand silver notes in his hand.

The madam called out Zhou Jinghuai's final price three times, but no one took the bid.

"Ten thousand five hundred taels! Congratulations, table number two!"

With the madam's voice fading, the auction came to an end.

The crowd downstairs applauded and cheered, all looking up to see whose young master was spending so lavishly today.

"Little man!"

The white-robed youth cursed angrily, slammed his hand on the table, and stood up to walk downstairs. In a daze, Thirteen seemed to see the token at the youth's waist, but she couldn't make out the words on it.

Before he could even think, two servants rushed up from the first floor and respectfully approached Thirteen.

"Young master, I will take you to the eighth floor."

"I?"

Thirteen looked surprised and turned around to see Zhou Jinghuai with a smug look on his face.

"What do you mean? What the hell?"

"That's right! You go. I spoke with the madam before she came downstairs. If we win the bid for the top courtesan, you'll go. After all, we're friends, so I'm giving you a chance."

Thirteen found Zhou Jinghuai's reason hard to believe. Looking at the mocking smile in his eyes, she knew he had ill intentions.

"I……"

At this moment, she really wanted to say that it wasn't that she was unwilling, but that she just couldn't... accept it!

"Brother, don't forget I'm injured, this..."

As Zhou Jinghuai slowly explained, he subtly pointed to Shen Mu, who had a dark expression on his face, standing to the side.

He is averse to women!

Thirteen felt dizzy and realized that Zhou Jinghuai must have already planned for her to come and buy information when he brought her out of the manor. She had been asking all sorts of questions, but she didn't expect that these two had already set a trap for her.

"I see!"

Thirteen had no choice but to swallow her anger; after all, she was the most suitable among the three. She could only endure it for now!

She stood up and took a deep breath.

"Please lead the way."

After the auction ended, Zuixianlou returned to its previous decadent and extravagant state.

On the other side, in that dark and cramped room

The white-clad youth who had just been bidding against Zhou Jinghuai at Zuixianlou slammed his fist heavily on the tea table, accidentally spilling hot tea from his cup and scalding his hand.

"It's all my fault! If I hadn't not brought too many silver notes today..."

The boy suppressed his voice, trying to control his temper, completely unaware that his hands had been scalded red by the hot tea.

"Don't blame yourself. Everything is predestined. Since it's fate, you can't be blamed."

A soft voice came from inside the room, and then a courtesan in purple robes came out from the inner room.

"How can it be fate? If it weren't for me, how could you..."

The young man looked up at the courtesan, whose face was veiled, obscuring her expression. However, he could still detect a hint of fear in her watery eyes.

"This has nothing to do with you. If you hadn't insisted on participating today, this play would have been none of your business."

The courtesan composed herself, trying to conceal her emotions. Her slender hands grasped the boy's burning red hands, the cool temperature transferring to his skin.

The young man was so busy that he was surprised to find that the courtesan's hands were so cold, and he took her small hands in return.

“I didn’t want you to get involved, Asang.”

"It was my own choice, Shi Ning, and it has nothing to do with you. Even if you buy me today, so what? I have already decided on the path I want to take."

When she met the boy's gaze again, his eyes were filled with unwavering determination that was impossible to refuse.

“A-Sang…”

The boy called out the courtesan's name softly in a trembling voice, his eyes reddening.

"In this world, there will never be another Asang."