My Years in the Jianghu with the Prince: A Time of Unethical Conduct

The argument between the people on the two boats intensified, and their voices grew louder, causing the boats to rock violently.

The two men glared at each other, each looking as if they wanted to grab a nearby oar and slap the other into the river.

Just as the commotion these two were making was about to surpass the performance of the courtesans, it suddenly fell silent.

With a "plop," the group looked over. It turned out that the arrogant and domineering Young Master Tang had slipped and fallen into the river.

A few scattered jeers of laughter suddenly came from the shore. Tang Gongzi slunk back onto the boat, no longer caring about arguing with Shi Hanxi, and immediately ran away with his tail between his legs.

The painter gave him one last disdainful look, then turned and went back to the boat, picking up his brush to continue painting on the stage.

His brows were furrowed, his hand continued to wield the pen, but his complexion showed no improvement; on the contrary, it grew increasingly grim.

Time flew by, and the Flower Goddess selection was coming to an end in the blink of an eye. Several young women lined up on the stage, quietly waiting for the votes from the audience.

The so-called selection of the Flower Goddess was based on the votes cast by the audience holding flowers.

A magnolia costs fifty coins, a crabapple tree costs five taels of silver, a peony costs fifty taels of silver, and a lotus flower costs five ingots of gold.

Finally, a specialist will tally the flowers received by the most beautiful courtesan, and she will be crowned the Flower Goddess.

It's all about whose fans are more willing to spend money to get their favorite idol in the center position.

It seems that fanatical celebrity worshippers have existed since ancient times, Xie Yan sighed.

With the sound of a gong, the selection of the Flower Goddess officially began.

In an instant, the crowd on the shore became incredibly noisy, with shouts rising and falling, calling out the names of various courtesans.

People flocked to the counting area, vying to throw their flowers at their favorite flower girl.

Among them was the young master Tang who had just fallen into the water and run away.

He was soaking wet, clearly having not had time to change. He then spent lavishly, showering hundreds of lotus flowers upon the woman named Hua Ran.

Xie Yan was engrossed in watching when she suddenly remembered that she had also bought a crabapple tree before boarding the ship, and she was about to join in the fun. But when she turned around, she found that the crabapple tree, which should have been on the table, was being held in Chu Ling's hand.

Chu Ling lowered his eyes and smiled faintly, seemingly unaware, and raised the crabapple to gently smell it.

The delicate pink petals trembled in the wind, brushing against Chu Ling's face. The dew still clinging to the flowers slid down and slowly moistened his lips.

She is more beautiful than the flowers.

These four words suddenly popped into Xie Yan's mind.

Seeing Xie Yan looking over, Chu Ling lazily glanced at her and smiled, "What's wrong?"

Intuition told Xie Yan that it was best not to delve too deeply and not give Chu Ling any room to maneuver. So he silently turned his head back and said, "It's nothing."

A soft laugh came from beside me.

The voting ended quickly.

As expected, this year's Flower Goddess is Lady Hua Ran from Xunfang Pavilion.

Hua Ran Niangzi is the courtesan who danced with the umbrella at the beginning.

She wasn't exceptionally beautiful, but her figure was slender and graceful, like a willow swaying in the breeze, and her eyes were full of affection, like autumn water brimming with tears. She possessed a unique and delicate charm.

After Lady Hua Ran was elected, the happiest person was actually Young Master Tang.

He was completely drunk, waving his hands and shouting on the riverbank, "Hua Ran, Hua Ran! It's me! I'm the one who made you the Flower Goddess! Don't forget my kindness!"

"That's truly a deep and unwavering affection."

Xie Yan looked at the stage and made a meaningful remark.

Hua Ran smiled, her red lips pursed, her delicate face flushed with shyness. She didn't even glance at the young master Tang, who was desperately trying to attract attention on the riverbank.

Wearing a floral crown and a dress adorned with flowers, she danced gracefully on the stage once more, her adoring gaze occasionally drifting towards the audience.

There, Shi Hanxi stared at her with fervor, his eyes unblinking, his brush moving swiftly across the canvas without pause.

After watching the highlight of the Flower Goddess Festival, it was time for the group to head home.

For some reason, the closer Xie Yan got to her residence, the more uneasy she felt.

Xie Yan pondered: Hmm, this feeling, could it be...?

The mansion gates opened, and a purple figure rushed out, about to throw herself into Xie Yan's arms—

"Brother Xie! I've missed you so much!"

But she failed, because a delicate paper fan was pressed against the girl's fair forehead.

The fan looked incredibly light and thin, but at this moment it seemed to weigh a ton, pressing down on the girl so that she could not take another step.

She looked up in confusion, her eyes suddenly lighting up as if she had discovered a priceless treasure. Completely disregarding what Chu Ling had just done to her, she instead broke into a radiant smile, her face beaming with delight: "Another handsome brother!"

Chu Ling slowly withdrew his hand and casually picked up a folding fan, gently fanning himself.

He glanced at the girl first, then shifted his gaze to Xie Yan, looking relaxed and asked, "And who is this?"

Before Xie Yan could speak, the girl answered first, proudly patting her chest: "I am Brother Xie's fiancée."

Chu Ling: "..."

Xuanfeng: "?!!"

A group of people peered out from inside the door: "Hiss—"

Xie Yan's temple throbbed with pain, and she pulled the person inside, saying, "Let's go in, let's go in and talk."

The pretty young girl intimately linked arms with Xie Yan and walked inside, resting her head on Xie Yan's shoulder in a dependent manner.

From behind, the two certainly looked like a perfect couple.

Xuanfeng glanced at Chuling furtively, but couldn't discern anything from his face.

Xie Yan led his entourage into the mansion, where everyone in the courtyard stared at him with gossipy expressions. Even Tao Xian looked at him with a reproachful gaze.

"You have misunderstood."

Xie Yan withdrew her hand and placed it on the girl's head, giving a forced smile, "We're not in that kind of relationship. She's just joking with you."

The girl narrowed her eyes, glanced at him thoughtfully a few times, then looked at Chu Ling who had followed her in, and smiled knowingly, "Brother Xie is right, I was just joking with you."

Upon hearing this, everyone felt bored, but the next second, Xie Yan's words stirred their emotions.

"She is the Gu Master from Southern Xinjiang that I summoned, and she is also the current number two in the Fengyun Tower."

The crowd hadn't quite reacted yet.

Tao Xian had already mentioned that this girl was a Gu Master, but she never expected that she would also be the number two in the Fengyun Tower.

"Call……"

Xie Yan was about to continue her introduction when she suddenly stopped.

"What's your name?"

Everyone: ...Now we believe you don't have such a deep relationship.

“Uya.”

The girl's clear and melodious voice, like a silver bell, rang out.

Everyone nodded: Oh, Miss Uya... Wait, something seems off.

A faint smile played on Wuya's lips, her eyes crinkling at the corners. Under everyone's gaze, her originally jet-black pupils slowly turned a vibrant turquoise.

She turned her body slightly, and a scorpion tail tattoo was faintly visible on the back of her fair neck, protruding from her collar.

"The one who cast the curse on you, Wu Li, is my own brother."

Everyone: "!!!"

Xie Yan: "!!!"

Everyone: ...Wait, why are you so surprised too? Wasn't this the person you called? How come you don't know anything about this?