Su Xueying was panicking. She was the princess of Danyan, and stepping foot into a filthy place like a brothel where females, once inside, were given the worst of the worst reputation, made her panic.
She had heard stories where the underground trade connecting with brothels didn't even consider the status of the women they bought, and that even the highest-ranking officials have had daughters mysteriously disappear. Years later, their daughters would be found working in these brothels, sold by the enemies of their fathers, and by then, who would still want to claim such a tainted woman as their child?
A brothel like this… wouldn't do the same to their princess, right?
"Gongzi?" The middle-aged woman patted her arm again, and Xueying jumped back to her current state. She remembered that she was in the disguise of a handsome young man, and that her good luck would not betray her in any way.
Right. Luck would always be by her side. Xueying regained her confidence, taking a deep breath, ready to say something such as, "I am leaving. Do not stop me! I am a strong, independent man." which, by her definition, sounded pretty masculine and awe-worthy when it was truly not.
Yet before she can say anything, a shrieking voice, not too deafening but still considerably loud, erupted from the middle-aged woman.
"Girls!"
It was as if the word 'girls' was some sort of magical spell, because the moment the word was yelled, a group of women swarmed forward from almost nowhere, crowding around Xueying and clutching both of her arms. One of the hands even moved over to pat in her chest area, which Xueying was thankful, for the first time in her life, that she had a considerably flat chest, also including the fact that she wore multiple layers as part of her disguise.
Chestless or not, it felt like harassment nevertheless.
"What do we call you?" The middle-aged woman spoke out while Xueying struggled against the grasp of the group of women.
"X-Xue?" Nervously, Xueying stuttered, attempting to raise her hand to pull off some of the touchy hands on her but not being able to because of the fact that her arms were weighed down by the group of women.
"Oh, so it's Xue Gongzi." One of the girls cooed, throwing a wink at Xueying that almost made her throw up.
"Xue Gongzi, you're so charming." Another one of them traced a long, painted fingernail along Xueying's face.
"How old are you? With such smooth skin, even I am jealous."
"Have you seen me dance before? I am renown throughout the entire city for my incredible dancing skills that I'm very willing to show you."
"Xue Gongzi, your name is certainly fitting of your stature. With such a fine personality, as clean as snow, we are sure that you will enjoy your time here."
Enjoy? Did they expect her to enjoy this sort of treatment? How could she be interested in these things?
'I am a female, not a male!'
Xueying wanted to dig a hole for herself and hide in there for an eternity. But alas, this was all happening, and she couldn't do anything about it. Unless…
… money solved everything, right?
Xueying dug through the satchel of coins that she carried by her side, fishing a heavy golden coin out, stuffing it into the hands of the middle-aged woman who seemed to be in charge.
"Here, take this! Is this what you needed? Will you let me go now?"
The woman's eyes widened, and all of the girls surrounding Xueying glued their eyes onto the golden coin as well. Xueying wasn't sure how much golden coins were worth outside the palace, but she expected it to be enough to end the torture she was currently trapped in.
Instead, contrary to her expectations, the woman waved her hands. "Xue Gongzi, this is…?" She pointed to the pouch of money.
Xueying nodded, unsure of where the woman was going, but certain that as long as it would take her out of this misery, she would be willing to do what the woman wanted. "Yes, yes, I have a whole bag of golden coins with me! Just let me go—"
"— to the camellia flower, right?" The woman vigorously nodded. "With Gongzi's wealth, you are very qualified to see the camellia."
What camellia flower? Xueying did not care for any camellia flower. She just wanted to leave! She was paying the woman to let go of her, not to take her to some flower-sighting… If they were suggesting some sort of perfume that was formed of the camellia flower, she had to reject it. What else could camellia flower possibly mean?
'Luck, where did you go? You were just on my side a minute ago…'
Luck seemed to reply to her that this woman who she handed gold to was too persistent. Even good luck would not be able to shake her from her greed of earning the gold coins in Xueying's pouch. Luck cannot handle this; Luck will go ahead and leave now…