The two women walked to the center with waves of fragrance, curtsied gracefully and said: “Chenxiang (Xixiang) greets the two lords. May the lords enjoy ten thousand blessings!”

It took Wang Wei and his companion quite a while to come back to their senses. They quickly had the women rise, and after greedily examining their graceful figures, looked questioningly at Li Shimin: “They are…”

Li Shimin smiled: “These two are the most famous courtesans from Wanhua Tower. They are twin sisters who not only look exactly alike but also share a mental connection. Knowing that you two lords have traveled far and worked very hard, Shimin specially invited them to entertain you.”

Hearing “Wanhua Tower,” the two knew exactly what kind of place it was – they had visited such establishments frequently. Gao Junya asked curiously: “A mental connection? Could such a thing really exist?”

“Shimin wouldn’t dare deceive Lord Gao. If you don’t believe it, we can test it on the spot.” Hearing this, the two immediately became interested and asked Li Shimin to prove it to them.

Li Shimin agreed and had someone blindfold Xixiang and turn her around. Then he had someone bring in a red lacquered tray decorated with gold, on which were placed more than ten pearl hairpins. He had Chenxiang pick out two of them without making a sound, and after placing them back, Li Shimin said to Duan Zhihong standing beside Xixiang: “Alright, remove the cloth from her eyes.”

Just as Duan Zhihong was about to untie it, Wang Wei suddenly said: “Wait.”

Under everyone’s puzzled gazes, Wang Wei took one of the pearl hairpins that Chenxiang had just selected from the tray and hid it in his sleeve, then said: “Alright, remove it now.”

After Xixiang adjusted to the light in the room, Li Shimin pointed to the tray full of pearl hairpins: “Pick out the two that your sister selected. If you choose correctly, you sisters will be rewarded.”

“Yes.” Xixiang answered sweetly and walked over, quickly selecting one pearl hairpin. When choosing the second one, however, she hesitated, reaching out several times only to draw back, unable to decide for a long time, with a puzzled expression on her face. After a while, she looked up: “Second Young Master, did sister truly select two?”

“Correct.” After Li Shimin gave a definitive answer, Xixiang looked carefully once more at the pearl flowers on the tray, then shook her head: “That’s not right. Apart from the one in my hand, sister never selected any of the remaining hairpins.”

Wang Wei deliberately said: “But we all clearly saw your sister select two. Could it be… that your mental connection isn’t accurate?”

Xixiang immediately replied: “Impossible. Since childhood, my sister and I have been able to sense each other’s moods and preferences. If there truly were another one here that sister liked, I couldn’t possibly fail to sense it.”

Wan Shi laughed lightly: “Lord Wang, it seems you’ve lost.”

Wang Wei laughed heartily, then said: “Indeed, indeed, this official has lost.” With that, he took out the pearl hairpin he had hidden in his sleeve and personally placed it in Xixiang’s hair: “This is your reward!”

Xixiang curtsied shyly: “Thank you, my lord!”

“No need for such courtesy.” Wang Wei personally helped her up, grasping Xixiang’s hand and reluctant to let go, while Gao Junya on the other side stared fixedly at Chenxiang.

Taking advantage of Wang Wei and his companion being distracted by Chenxiang and her sister, Li Shimin quietly gestured for Yunyi to withdraw.

Understanding his meaning, Yunyi immediately led Jiang Caiping and the others in quietly withdrawing from Lanyue Tower. Before leaving, she heard Li Shimin’s voice: “You sisters must serve the two lords well. If there’s any negligence, I won’t patronize Wanhua Tower anymore.”

Not until she returned to her room did Yunyi finally breathe a sigh of relief, removing her mask with lingering fear. That had been truly dangerous – she had almost been seen by Imperial Physician Zhu. It seemed that until they left Honghua Commandery, she couldn’t be careless. Fortunately, she could go home to stay for two days the day after tomorrow and return on the second day of the new year.

Jiang Caiping didn’t notice Yunyi’s unusual behavior and sat down while talking to herself: “I’ve heard people mention the twin courtesans of Wanhua Tower before – so this is what they look like. If you ask me, they’re not even as beautiful as sister. But their mental connection ability is truly remarkable.” Then she said with disgust: “Sister, did you see how those two so-called lords were staring at them? So lustful, their eyeballs nearly popped out. I never imagined that lords from the capital would be like this. And Second Young Master too – I always thought he was a man of integrity, but I never expected he would bring courtesans to the residence. The way he spoke so knowledgeably, he’s probably been to Wanhua Tower more than once. Yes, yes, when we left, Second Young Master mentioned ‘patronizing’ – it seems he really does frequent Wanhua Tower. How disappointing. This kind of man who spends all his time with flowers and willows is the most detestable.” At this point, she suddenly stood up from her chair with a shocked expression: “Oh right, that Lord Wang earlier was forcing sister to remove her mask. He… he couldn’t have taken a fancy to sister, could he?”

Yunyi found her slowness both amusing and exasperating: “Finally figured it out?”

“How… how was I supposed to know they’d be so filthy?” Saying this, Jiang Caiping patted her chest with a frightened expression: “Thank goodness those two courtesans happened to come in, otherwise sister would have been in trouble. Sister, you must be more careful in the future – it’s best not to let those two see you.”

“I understand.” Even without Jiang Caiping saying so, she would definitely do everything possible to avoid those people to prevent unnecessary trouble.

After a moment of silence, Jiang Caiping said: “What I’m worried about now is whether they’ll call us to perform at Lanyue Tower again tomorrow. If those two men’s lustful hearts aren’t dead, then sister…”

Yunyi interrupted: “Early tomorrow morning I’ll go see Nanny Yang and ask her to let me go home a day early.”

Jiang Caiping nodded: “That’s the only way now. Hopefully when we return on the second day, they’ll already be gone. Oh, and Second Young Master…”

Hearing Li Shimin’s name, Yunyi felt an indescribable irritation and interrupted: “Don’t mention him. It’s late – let’s rest early.”

After washing up, Yunyi lay in bed but couldn’t fall asleep. Li Shimin’s last words kept echoing in her ears, impossible to dispel. It was only after a long time that she drowsily fell asleep.

The night passed without incident. The next day, as soon as dawn broke, Yunyi went to see Nanny Yang, only to discover someone had arrived even earlier. Yunyi said in surprise: “Second Young Master?”

The visitor was indeed Li Shimin. He smiled: “Let me guess – you’re here now to ask Nanny Yang to let you go home today, aren’t you?”

Yunyi lowered her head: “Yes, father is alone at home, and Meixue is very worried about him, so I want to return early to keep him company.”

Li Shimin smiled without speaking. Nanny Yang standing to the side laughed: “Meixue, you’re a bit late. Second Young Master already spoke first. Not only you, but everyone from the dance pavilion is being sent home today, to return after the fifth day, and everyone gets a reward of five hundred coins.”