The deflated cultivator refused to give up and vowed to turn the tables.

Two days later, the owner and his wife of Qin Tianzhuang returned to the manor.

Huang Chenghe took Su Zinong to pay his respects.

When Qin Xiangxue mentioned her intention to attend the ceremony at the Goddess Palace, the Qin Manor Lord readily agreed, saying, "I've inquired about many cultivation families, and they've all sent their younger generation, either young masters and misses, or their eldest and second disciples, to attend the ceremony. Since Xiangxue is going, let her go with Chenghe. Be careful on the road and avoid causing trouble."

"Don't worry, Uncle, I'm the most law-abiding and law-abiding person," Huang Chenghe habitually boasted.

By this time, Qin Xiangxue's needle marks had disappeared, leaving only a tiny trace that was barely noticeable unless you looked closely.

She went to collect her luggage and silver notes and was about to leave when Huang Chenghe borrowed 30,000 taels of silver notes from her.

"You only have 20,000 taels, and you dare to go out? How pathetic! Here, take this 30,000 taels of silver, and you'll pay me back 40,000 later." Qin Xiangxue took the opportunity to ask for an exorbitant price.

"No problem!" Huang Chenghe agreed without hesitation, and didn't even bother to return the money. "I never thought I, Huang Chenghe, would end up like this, having to borrow money from a young lady!"

The three of them set off in Qin Tianzhuang's spacious carriage, this time without even bringing a maid.

Su Zinong and Qin Xiangxue initially felt awkward meeting, but over the next few days they gradually became acquainted and began exchanging a few words.

Huang Chenghe has disguised himself; just in case, it's best to be careful.

The day before the wedding banquet at the Goddess Palace, Su Zinong and his two companions arrived in Lishui City, which was already packed with people.

This city was originally small, belonging to the category of medium-sized cities, located at the foot of Goddess Mountain.

The Goddess Palace is located on Goddess Mountain, only twenty miles away from Lishui City. All the guests who arrived early stayed in the city, and the inns were fully booked in no time.

The three of them rode in a carriage and asked from house to house. When they arrived at a remote place, the innkeeper said that there was only one room left.

"Could you give me another room? I can pay ten times the price." Huang Chenghe acted with great pomp, exuding the air of a wealthy heir.

"Sir, there's really no way! We've been fully booked for the past two or three days. We've even vacated the storage room and rented it out. This room was just vacated by a guest who had an urgent matter. If you don't book now, other guests will be looking for rooms soon." The innkeeper was very tempted, but he was troubled by the lack of rooms.

Before he could finish speaking, sure enough, several people tried to peek into the shop. Huang Chenghe immediately seized the opportunity and said, "I'll take it!" He then took out a silver note and paid.

"What's the use of just one room?" Qin Xiangxue asked, puzzled.

"Let's settle on a decision first, then we'll go out and look for more places. If there are plenty of rooms elsewhere, we won't come back here. If there aren't any rooms elsewhere, then we'll have to come back here. It's better than sleeping on the streets or in dilapidated temples or caves." Huang Chenghe's analysis was also quite reasonable.

But after wandering around the entire city and checking out all the guesthouses, big and small, there really weren't any rooms available.

He recognized many people; Huang Chenghe identified at least a dozen familiar faces. However, because he was disguised, he refrained from greeting them and forced himself to remain silent.

"I wonder if our old acquaintances, Young Master He and Young Master Li, have arrived yet? Have they found a room? If they have, we can even freeload at their rooms, or even let them come out and play mahjong all night, they don't even need to sleep," Huang Chenghe sighed.

"You're overthinking it!" Su Zinong said. "In our current state, it's inconvenient for us to greet or talk to acquaintances. You should just behave yourself, keep a low profile, and avoid trouble. Preserving your life is the most important thing."

"What should we do?" Qin Xiangxue asked.

"Let Miss Qin stay in this room. We'll see what else we can do. We can sleep on the street, on the roof, or even go to a bathhouse for a bit," Su Zinong said with great composure.

"What bathhouse? No, no, no, the mere mention of a bathhouse gives me a headache. It's a huge psychological trauma, like a mountain," Huang Chenghe said, shrinking back.

"Huang Chenghe, even Young Master Su is so gentlemanly, what's wrong with you? Are you going to fight me for a room? You can't possibly sleep in the same room as me, can you? I'm a virgin, if word gets out, will I ever be able to get married?" Qin Xiangxue glared at Huang Chenghe and launched into a tirade.

“Sister Xiangxue, you’ve misunderstood! Do you think I’m that kind of person? Just relax in this guest room. Brother Zinong and I will use the room to wash up and take a shower first, and then we’ll leave when you want to sleep. I have a good plan!” Huang Chenghe looked confident, and even Su Zinong thought he really had a brilliant idea.

As night deepened, Huang Chenghe indeed pulled Su Zinong out of the inn, ordered two jugs of wine, and asked Qin Xiangxue for some rouge.

The two arrived at the yamen, and Huang Chenghe said, "Brother Zinong, do you trust me? If you do, I'll do as I say, and I guarantee you'll have a place to sleep."

"I don't believe you for a second," Su Zinong said with a bad feeling. "But I can't think of a solution either, so I'll just have to do as you say."

"Smart!" Huang Chenghe gave a thumbs up, then took a few sips of wine, splashed some on his clothes, and told Su Zinong to do the same.

Huang Chenghe then took out rouge and applied it to his and Su Zinong's faces.

Then he ran to the front of the hall, beat the drum, grabbed Su Zinong by the collar, and pretended to hit him.

Upon seeing this, the constables of the yamen quickly pulled the two men apart. They noticed that the two men reeked of alcohol and their faces were covered with red marks that looked like fresh blood, but there was no blood. They didn't investigate further, but instead locked the two men in separate cells to avoid waking the yamen master. They would be released the next day when the alcohol had worn off.

"What a brilliant plan!" Huang Chenghe couldn't help but feel smug, and he looked at Su Zinong with a smile and said, "Praise me!"

"How clever!" Su Zinong said, giving a thumbs up with both hands. "A house to sleep in, a roof over one's head, protection from wind and rain, safety, a single room, and it's all free. I don't think anyone else in the world could come up with such a brilliant plan except for Brother Chenghe."

"Brother Zinong, you're too kind, you're exaggerating." Huang Chenghe chuckled, like a child.

"Brother Chenghe, are you really that clever or just pretending? Is it really necessary to go to such lengths? If you wanted to sleep in the yamen, with our combined strength, there are plenty of empty rooms and plenty of places to sleep here. The courtroom, the storeroom, the storage room, the woodshed—any of them would do. But you insist on sleeping in the prison cell. What bad luck! And you've got your face and head covered in rouge and your clothes soaked with wine. Is this how complicated people from cultivation families think?" Su Zinong couldn't help but complain to Huang Chenghe repeatedly.

"Huh? That's so simple? I didn't expect that, hehe, sorry!" Huang Chenghe scratched his head and laughed awkwardly.

“If the yamen runners are woken up while they’re sleeping, they might get angry and give each of them fifty lashes. Our already injured buttocks will be sore all over again…” Su Zinong said, and the two men’s buttocks trembled with fear at his words.