The Magnolia Beauty 13 The Sweet Fragrance

The plates of rice with stir-fried vegetables, rice, and broth were left with bits of crumbs by the time the dishes returned from the lobby. Weizhe would offer a drink (which was poisoned with scorpion powder that would temporarily paralyze everyone) to the workers around the house in disguise as the chef.

He was able to knock the original cook unconscious and "borrow" his clothes to be in disguise so he wouldn't stand out from the crowd. It was a perilous, yet simple mission that Weizhe was ordered to do.

It was wise of Qin Fuhua to recognize Suyin in the attire of a man (and her fragrance) when she stepped into the inn. He detected her from their roof but didn't attempt to make a move to cause a commotion. He ordered Weizhe to keep an eye on the troublesome girl in case anything goes down.

Suyin's sleeping powder was effective, but it wasn't sufficient enough for them to sleep so long. Without the aid of Weizhe's scorpion powder blown with a pipe into all of the rooms, they would have already been up and running. It was planned for the guards hiding in their secret den to not use the scorpion powder, thus the chaos of the guards chasing to find the culprit.

Besides that, the customers were practically frozen stiff in their sleep (sleep paralysis) for a good 30 minutes. With all of the guards and Huang Liwei out of the inn to find the criminal, it was accessible for Weizhe to finish his mission that was entrusted by Qin Fuhua.

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Suyin's POV

After Suyin retrieved the Jade of the dragon from her room, she casually skipped outside of the inn, wearing a plain attire. A peach white pure robe with a bun bouncing on top of her hair as small strands of hair fell at the side of her face. She stuck out her hand, revealing her right palm to show the jade of the dragon lying in the middle.

"Here," Suyin leaned in closer to the Qin Fuhua, "did the Prince not come with you?" She asked Qin Fuhua, who took the jade out of her hand immediately right after. He disregarded her, marching back down the road in the dark.

"W-Wait!" Suyin took one step, her words stuttering because she wanted some answers from him. Qin Fuhua turned to Suyin. His presence and gaze could stare through her soul. She halted, stiff as a stick. Qin

Fuhua then spun to head back to Weizhe.

"T-Thank you!" Suyin blurted out.

It felt that every time she was in trouble, this man would come and save her miraculously. Call her lucky, but without him, she would have been dead already.

Qin Fuhua paused for a second to glance at her from the corner of his eyes. He didn't respond to her, only raising his left hand with the jade of the dragon. "I only came for the jade of the dragon. More than ever, you were practically in the way." Qin Fuhua responded.

Suyin furrowed her eyebrows with a pouted expression.

"In the way?!" She could only hear all the excuses that he could make up if he lingered. It was good that he wasn't there anymore, otherwise, she would have been annoyed by him.

It did bother her that he appeared out of nowhere, but Suyin was not in the right position to be nosey and get her nose into something that wasn't her problem. Annoyed, she stomped off back into the inn to stay with Areum.

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Qin Fuhua's POV

Qin Fuhua rested on top of the rooftop back at the Xinyu brothel, patiently waiting for Weizhe to come back with the items that he had requested him to "borrow." It was impressive enough for the male to find Suyin at the brothel of all places. He leaned back under the night stars. The moon appeared to look bigger in the dark skies as the stars dimly lit. With a cup of rice wine held with his right hand, he calmly sipped once or twice, appreciating the taste and flavor.

"A Bit Of Fragrance Clings To The Hand That Gives Flowers*"

***In life, the art of giving is important. It is often said that by helping others, the person on the giving end will feel a little of what the person on the receiving hand feels.

His mind was filled with Suyin, who risked her life to save others. Even his men in the battlefield wouldn't be daring like her, who was hard-headed and determined.

"Master." Weizhe hopped to the rooftop, kneeling with his hands cupped in front of him. At the corner of Qin Fuhua's eyes, he could see that Weizhe came back with nothing but a mere face of defeat. "I apologize for failing. There was no sight of the key shaped like a rose anywhere in the brothel." Qin Fuhua lowered his cup and then placed it on the tile, reflecting on the location of the key.

"While the commotion with Suyin's presence and the girls running away, do you think that one of those ladies was actually an agent?" Qin Fuhua muttered. Weizhe paused at Qin Fuhua's words, absorbing in his theory.

"Maybe you're right. The last time we came here, I remember seeing Liwei holding a key to his waist when he traveled to the brothel, but when he came back out that day, the key wasn't with him anymore." Weizhe agreed, rubbing his chin with his index finger. "Your Highness, do you think that Suyin has anything to do with the key?" He speculated that Suyin may have known that the key shaped like a rose led to one of the most precious and rare herbs known in the territory of Qin.

This herb was known as the 100-year-old- Hong Teng. The herb was a Sargentodoxa vine that would be used to temporarily cure the Princess's muscle pain that she had been enduring for two years now and Qin Fuhua had been desperate to find the cure to save her. She was his precious little sister that was the only light in his life. He was prepared to risk his life to save hers if he had to.

"No. I don't think she understands how dangerous the brothel is, for her to go in as a man defenseless." Qin Fuhua gripped the cup of rice wine tighter this time, angered that he didn't find what he needed. It was a waste of his time and was a hassle to go through all of this to figure out that someone had stolen it. Although Suyin was smart, she wasn't someone who would just go in head-on. Having the key in your possession was dangerous, and Qin Fuhua understood how dangerous the location of the 100-year-old Hong Teng would be.

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Back to the POV of Suyin

Three days passed since Suyin saved the ladies from the brothel. Areum and Suyin needed to find a job so that they would have an income, but there was no luck due to Suyin's will to learn medicine also. The income that Suyin and Areum came with was slowly running out. They could only stay in their inn for another day and needed money if they wanted to stay there longer.

Rumors circulated about a lady who was desperate to study and work in a medicine shop, and many had recognized Suyin as the person. She was often ridiculed and looked down upon by various of low-lives men.

The women, on the other hand, wordlessly gave her their support with their eyes of sympathy. Areum went to the other side of the place to find a job while Suyin was out on the streets scanning around for vegetables with an empty, brown basket on her elbow until a tall, muscular man obstructed her path.

"What are you doing?" Suyin warned at the man, who mocked her.

"You little ant. You think that you have the power and ability to do anything you want in here? Who do you think you are?" The man defied, his hands on his hips with a cocky character to his face. He was a muscular man, about six feet tall, who wore nothing but a thin shirt. He wasn't a nobleman for sure, and he appeared to be nothing but a little, unknown soldier that patrolled the streets.

"I heard about someone who was brave enough to scatter around here to learn about medicine. Is that you?" He bent forward to Suyin, who lowered her knees so she would avoid his hideous face. She laughed, browsing around her. A crowd of people began gathering up the scene, engaged in the two.

"It seems like I'm a little well known here already?" Suyin returned with a convinced tone. She shifted her feet to move aside from the man that stood in front of her. "To have someone find me because of the rumors they heard, oh how dearly impressed I am." She sarcastically stated, placing her right hand to her forehead, pretending to be a vulnerable, little woman.

"You---" He took one step ahead, recoiling Suyin's response. "You think that I wouldn't dare to hurt you?!" He lifted up his hand, clenching into a fist.

"Hurting a woman because of the words that seem to pierce through you like an arrow? A man who appears scary to others due to his physical appearance is actually hurt by that?" Suyin giggled, covering her mouth as his face turned bright red.

His clenched fist was shaking with Suyin's word literally through him. Suyin really blew it this time.

"How dare you!" His fist flew towards Suyin, who dodged his fist and swiftly grabbed a jar of wine from the table a couple of feet near her and slammed it on his head. The man was soaked in wine and dropped down on the dirt, dazed from the impact on his head.

"M-My wine!" The customer cried. Suyin apologized with a bow to her head and handed them the last of her money. She promptly scurried off as the crowd dispersed, walking back to do their usual business.

"Great. The last of my money." Suyin let out a sigh, racing back to the inn after paying the customer. She was bummed out that she couldn't find any way to learn their medicine and find a way to make money. It was hard enough as a woman to be looked down upon due to their gender, and Suyin was hoping to beat that. At all cost, she felt that maybe they (the men) were right about a woman's destiny to stay at home and bear children.

Right before she turned to a corner to head back to Areum at the inn, a figure popped out of nowhere in front of her, startling her. She jumped back, recognizing the man that blocked her way. It was the person earlier! His head was now bandaged up and gave her a big grin, ready to swallow her whole if he could.

"You-"

"You think that you can just hurt me and leave like that?" The man cut Suyin off from her words, stepping in closer to Suyin's personal space. "Just because you are a woman does not mean anything to us!" He clenched Suyin's wrist, squeezing it along the process. "You hurt my pride and my dignity, what should I do with that?" He observed Suyin from the bottom to the top with a smirk on his face, which made Suyin afraid. She tried her best to let herself free from his grasp but he was too strong for her to even move an inch.

"What the hell are you gonna do?" Suyin hissed at the male, attempting to break free with every ounce of struggle.

"Hm... what do I have here now?" Another voice called out from the darkness.

"Tienzheng?!" Suyin's eyes lit up with a hopeful expression that he was coming to help her. The silhouette came out of the darkness, showing a figure of a beautiful man.

"I-It's you!" Suyin cried out. The man was the person that Suyin had suspected when he first emerged at the abandoned house near the plum blossom trees. He credited his family was learning and are experts in medicine, but Suyin felt that it was too good to be true.

"What do you want?! This is none of your damn business!" The man cautioned the male beauty who laughed at his comment.

"That's kind of funny, considering the fact that this woman is someone that I am actually quite interested in." Wansun held a fan with his right hand, fanning himself composed as ever.

"If you don't get out of here soon, I'm going to kill you." The man threated Wansun, who bluntly snubbed his threats. Wansun closed in the gap between the man and Suyin, causing the man to take a small step back because of his boldness. Wansun gently touched the man's shoulders.

Right as the man swung his fist at Wansun, he evaded and sprayed some white powder that came out from the palm of his hands. The man froze in place, unable to move a single inch of his body. Taking the chance, Suyin hurried to the side as she watched the scene unfold.

"If you move a single inch starting from now to thirty minutes, the yin and yang in your body will begin to fight against each other, causing your blood and nerves to go to an unimaginable breakdown in the brain." Wansun then gave a hard pat to his back, then shifted his attention to Suyin, whose face was pale white.

"What the hell have I gotten into?!" Suyin thought to herself. She was glad that this person didn't have anything against her otherwise, she'd be dead from his poison just like the other guy standing near them.

He grinned at Suyin, ushering her to come over to him. With a cautious mindset, Suyin slowly walked towards Wansun. She didn't want him to do the same thing to her if she didn't listen to him, after all, he was the scariest one at the moment.

Wansun chuckled at her frightened appearance, deciding if he should just approach her with fear or kindness since she was skeptical of him.

He fixed his throat, putting on a dreary grin on his face as she advanced to him.

"Ahem." He stretched his right hand to hold her wrist, not gripping too hard to hurt her, but tight enough to install fear in her. "You are going with me somewhere." He said, dragging her away. Suyin had no idea whether or not this guy was a bad or good guy, but her instincts immediately told her to follow where he was going.

Chapter end