move at all, Qing was left with no option but to admit defeat. He was always an impatient person, and before the tea time was up, he had already reached his limit."Come on, you damn it, why don’t you...Chapter 8: Peony Tears (Part II)

Taking advantage of this moment, Qi Lin completely revealed her interest in singing. After a sufficient amount of singing, she cleared her throat and stretched, only to find that the sleepiness had completely vanished.

Suddenly, amidst the wind sounds, there came faint sobs. At first, Qi Lin thought she was mistaken. But upon listening carefully, there were indeed the sobs of a woman. It seemed they were coming from near the artificial hill. Qi Lin stepped forward and just then, a cold gust of wind blew by, making her skin crawl. Would this scene turn out to be one of those haunted tales

Qi Lin sucked in her breath; she had initially intended to pretend not to have heard and go back to bed, but her body wouldn't obey her will. She actually walked over to the artificial hill area herself. Only from here could she clearly hear that it was indeed a woman's crying sound. Could it be that this woman had drowned here, and now comes out at night to trouble others

With such an anxious heart, Qi Lin peeked her head out. Vaguely, she saw a figure; with the dim candlelight and moonlight, it seemed like someone of courtesan status. The attire was rather splendid for just any common servant girl, even her hairstyle looked beautiful, and the ornaments on her head were glistening in the light—these were not ordinary maidservants' possessions.

In the dead of night, a woman is crying here, and she's even a high-class courtesan. Could something bad have happened to her Was she dumped by her lover Or was she bullied by her colleagues Qi Lin made all sorts of assumptions. She didn't have the habit of prying into others' private affairs, so she didn't plan on making herself known and asking for details; she just wanted to go back to sleep because she had a lot of things to do tomorrow.

Unfortunately, as Qi Lin turned around, she slipped on a stone, causing a commotion. She froze in place, almost petrified.

"Who's there"

As expected, she was discovered. Qi Lin didn't plan to hide and slowly emerged from behind the rock garden. The woman who had been crying earlier stood up already, her face obscured by backlighting, but the white peony flower in her hair gave Qi Lin a hint.

The courtesans of Drunken Flower Pavilion are all named after flowers, except for the newcomer from last year, now the pavilion's queen. This woman had a peony on her head; she must be the Peony Lady who was said to have been demoted.

"Who's there" Despite seeing someone, Mudan asked again as she didn't receive an answer. "Who are you What are you doing here"

"Uh... My name is Ashue, a third-class maidservant who lives here. I couldn’t sleep and came out for a walk; I had no intention of disturbing the lady. Please forgive me. I’ll go back immediately and won't mention this to anyone else." Just as Qi Lin was about to slip away quietly, she was called back.

"Ashue Are you the maidservant who made that peculiar washing tub the other maids were talking about" Mudan approached Qi Lin slowly. Although from a distance Qi Lin seemed well-proportioned and Mudan had thought she might be pretty, she unexpectedly had a conspicuous red patch over her left eye which almost covered half of her face. Could this maidservant have such ability

Hearing Lady Mudan's evaluation about the washing machine, Qi Lin felt embarrassed. Even though it looked like a wooden tub, there was nothing strange about it, right She bent respectfully and said, "That’s... me."

Mudan scrutinized Qi Lin carefully; she didn’t seem out of the ordinary at all, which made Mudan more curious. She softened her voice and asked, "This truly is a restless night; since you’ve seen it, there's no need for me to hide it from you."

"Sorry, Miss Peony, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, it's just..."

"I understand; you didn't do it on purpose. Even if you did, it was me disturbing you," Peony's gentle voice carried a hint of melancholy in the breeze.

Qi Lin looked at Peony with surprise; she wasn't as haughty as Qi Lin had imagined. Instead, she seemed like a pitiable maiden who had made her delicate and beautiful face even more enchanting by crying. Even under weak light, Qi Lin found her very appealing, confirming the saying that there were many beauties in ancient times.

"Miss Peony, you are too kind; I am merely a servant and could not possibly disturb you," Qi Lin answered cautiously, afraid of making a mistake that would get her locked up in the storage shed.

Qi Lin lifted her gaze slightly and appraised Peony carefully. Unexpectedly, the saying about beauties under the moonlight proved true. Even though she had never met the legendary queen of flowers, Qi Lin found Peony very attractive. Unfortunately, a crying beauty couldn't elicit any sympathy from Qi Lin. Just as Qi Lin was looking for an excuse to leave, Peony stopped her.ng hair cascading over her shoulders without any additional decorations except for numerous flowers adorning her attire. The red and white blooms highlighted her pale, clear face perfectly, while yell...