A bright moon floated in the pool beneath the bridge. Several Black Bureau Constables stood at the bridgehead, hands on their sabers, eyes fixed straight ahead.
Hua Qingzhi sat in her wheelchair, holding a rouge box inside her sleeve as she gazed toward the island in the lake, her expression tranquil. Behind her, however, her maid Green Pearl was extremely nervous, gripping the wheelchair with both hands, poised to push her mistress away at the first sign of trouble.
After only a short wait, an instruction came from the distant pavilion:
"Let this young lady in."
The voice was soft and alluring, sounding like a woman with a rather ample bosom.
Confusion entered Hua Qingzhi's eyes at the voice, but the imposing Black Bureau Constables standing there were inwardly jolted as though they had seen a ghost. They exchanged glances, not daring even to turn their heads, and hurriedly stepped aside with the utmost respect:
"This way, miss."
Hua Qingzhi did not notice the deeply guarded look in the constables' eyes. With the cowardly Green Pearl pushing her, she crossed White Stone Bridge and arrived before the pavilion on the island.
Looking up, she saw lights illuminating the ground-floor hall, but there were no maids or servants. Only a woman in a fiery red dress stood in the central hall, looking up at the plaque bearing the words "The Highest Good Is Like Water."
The woman was very tall, almost the tallest woman Hua Qingzhi had ever seen, barely two fingerbreadths shorter than Ye Jingtang. Her waist was slender, but her hips were full. With her long, ink-black hair, she looked like the most sought-after courtesan in the pleasure quarters-the sort who could stir a man's lust with a few glances, never mind actually touching and fondling her...
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