Wine-scented Beauty

Chapter 40: A Turning Point

She didn't really like to talk to Ji Meiqing; in her eyes, Ji Meiqing was a cunning and treacherous businessman who only cared about money and not about people.

"What do you want now?" She took a sip of tea, her attitude completely different from before. Ji Meiqing didn't mind, sat down beside her, and chuckled twice.

"I came here this time just to ask my mom for a favor."

"I'm just a madam, what can I possibly do to help you?" She gave her a sarcastic look and said, "But Miss Ji, you don't come here unless you need something. You must be asking me for a big favor, so you'd better not even think about it!"

"Hey!" Ji Meiqing quickly stopped her, and said at the same time, "I'm busy, but it's not a big deal. If Madam Hu is willing to help me with this, I'll let you know as soon as I know what benefits I can get in the future."

"Speak, what do you want to do?" Mrs. Hu glanced at her, her eyes filled with nothing but coldness and disdain. But Ji Meiqing pretended not to see it and continued talking. When she finished speaking, Mrs. Hu immediately slammed her hand on the table, rejecting her request.

"no!"

Knowing the outcome, Ji Meiqing patiently advised, "For this matter, Madam Hu only needs to arrange for someone to whisper in her ear. If anything happens, I'm willing to take responsibility myself; it has nothing to do with you. What do you think?"

Mrs. Hu was still not satisfied. "Aren't you just asking me to deliberately make things difficult for you, Miss Ji? You'd better think it over carefully!"

“I’ve already thought about it,” Ji Meiqing said earnestly. “If Aunt Hu is willing to consider it, then we won’t need to look for anyone else.”

After thinking for a long time, Mrs. Hu still refused. "This matter is too serious, and all the people who come here are high-ranking officials and wealthy businessmen. I have to receive so many guests every night, how could I possibly find someone with a good temper? Here, whoever has more money is the boss!"

"Aunt Hu!" Ji Meiqing had no choice but to use her last trump card, "Aunt Hu, if anything really happens, you just need to blame it on me. It really won't trouble you with anything."

Getting a little impatient with what she was saying, Mrs. Hu could only lead him to the door of a room. The door was closed, but there was a light flickering inside.

“The people inside are people we can’t afford to offend. So, whatever happens, it’s all up to your luck,” said Mrs. Hu, then opened the door and pushed her inside.

The people inside seemed to be doing nothing. There was no one around the small round table, and nothing around the bed either. The room felt completely empty.

Ji Meiqing glanced around for a while before finally entering the inner room. There she saw a naked couple lying on the bed; the man was resting with his eyes closed, while the girl, upon seeing Ji Meiqing, instinctively tried to scream, but Ji Meiqing covered her mouth.

"Don't make a sound, it was Aunt Hu who sent me to find you!" Only after revealing Aunt Hu's name did the girl calm down a bit. Ji Meiqing told her to get out of bed next time, and the two of them went outside together.

"What do you want?" the girl asked bluntly. "You're not trying to steal my business, are you?"

Ji Meiqing waved her hands repeatedly, "No, no, it's just that I need your help with some special things."

"What is it?" Her expression softened. "If it's too difficult, I won't take it."

"No, no." She waved her hand and laughed, "I just want you to whisper in that official's ear and persuade him to give me a piece of land outside the city."

She revealed her purpose for coming and looked expectantly at the person in front of her. The girl smiled and said, "I thought it was something important! You're acting all sneaky. Just wait and see, and come back tomorrow for the results."

Seeing that she agreed, Ji Meiqing immediately hugged her before leaving. Back in the main hall, seeing that Lu Yu was still being harassed, she quickly put on her hat to drive away the women around him.

"Things went quite well, now we just wait for tomorrow's results." Her tone was somewhat cheerful, and Lu Yu looked at her calmly, a hint of a smile in his eyes.

The two wandered around for a while longer before Ji Meiqing led the group back to the inn. This time, they had booked two rooms in advance. Otherwise, it would be as awkward as last time. An awkward situation only needs to happen once; he just didn't want to look so horribly ugly.

She first chose her own room; there were two rooms, one for Ji Meiqing and one for Lu Yu. The two rooms were quite far apart, and there was a staircase between them when Ji Meiqing spoke to him.

And a courtyard.

She walked around the room, put her things down, and went out. Lu Yu was also not in the room at the time. Ji Meiqing watched for a while and then went out as well.

The night market was incredibly bustling at night, with each shop displaying a small lantern covered in oiled paper.

Ji Meiqing touched it, and then left.

When there were hardly any people around, Ji Meiqing went back to find him. This time it was quite good; as soon as she entered his room, she saw him there.

"Brother Lu," she called out, "it's getting late, aren't you resting yet?"

Lu Yu turned his head, his voice light and cheerful, "I'm tired from walking around and want to rest for a bit. Why don't you go back and rest first, and we can go back to look around again tomorrow when we're both more energetic?"

“That works too.” Ji Meiqing said thoughtfully. Indeed, as he said, as long as the pillow talk was successful, the matter could be considered accomplished.

The ending, however, was something to look forward to. That night, the two quickly finished their business and then went to a nightclub together. Lu Yu followed behind her without saying a word, while for Ji Meiqing, only an hour or two had passed, yet it felt like an eternity.

Lu Yu looked bewildered and asked her, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." She looked at the person on the platform, her eyes fixed on the spot. Lu Yu was a little curious and looked over, but he didn't see anything.

She found the place too boring, so she took her to the shadow puppet show area. Ji Meiqing didn't know what was being played on the stage, and Lu Yu was even more confused.

The two found a spot and began to seriously perform the two shadow puppet shows.

Ji Meiqing looked at the small box in front of her, her heart filled with complicated emotions. She didn't know what was being shown inside, so she secretly asked and only found out the answer a while later.

She was too exhausted to watch any longer. Rubbing her aching eyes, Ji Meiqing got up, threw down two copper coins, and went back with him.

"Do you think that person will agree to what we asked for?" Ji Meiqing tilted her head and looked at the person next to her. "I suddenly thought that there's also Young Master Liu. He should be able to help us in some way."