"What did the Duan family used to be associated with?" Zhou Jinbai immediately repeated what Cen Zhiyuan had just said, and then fixed his hawk-like gaze on Cen Zhiyuan.
He had always wanted to investigate Lin Xingwan's affairs with his own strength, but now Zhou Jinbai was eager to know the answer, wishing Cen Zhiyuan would tell him everything she knew.
"It's nothing," Cen Zhiyuan smiled slightly, but her expression clearly conveyed 'I absolutely won't tell you.'
Zhou Jinbai eventually gave up asking. He knew Cen Zhiyuan wouldn't tell him now, but the future was uncertain.
Soon, after the banquet dinner ended, the guests began to chat again.
As the waiters in the Star Picking Tower cleared away the tables and chairs, the entire banquet became lively with music and dance.
Even Duan Muxing and Lin Xingwan were surrounded by many people.
Of course, most of these people were chatting with Duan Muxing, desperately trying to make their presence known to him.
"If you feel tired, you can rest over there. I'll be done soon." Duan Muxing saw the fatigue and disinterest on Lin Xingwan's face and said gently to her in front of the people around them.
Lin Xingwan nodded. She truly had no interest in such meaningless social interactions.
However, just as Lin Xingwan sat down, Xue Manting appeared before her.
Seeing Xue Manting again, Lin Xingwan felt that the woman had grown a lot, and the sharp aura around her had become even more pronounced.
But why would Xue Manting come to her for no reason?
Did she recognize her?
Just as Lin Xingwan was feeling flustered, Xue Manting had already walked up to her.
"You're not used to this kind of scene, are you?"
Xue Manting sat beside Lin Xingwan and casually ate the exquisite pastries on the table.
Her carefree demeanor even gave the impression that she was the hostess.
"A little. May I ask who you are?" Lin Xingwan cast a somewhat frightened glance at Xue Manting. She was currently impersonating Duan Muxing's fiancée, Xu Qingdai, and Xu Qingdai rarely appeared in front of these people. Therefore, it was inevitable that she would be nervous and flustered in such a situation.
"My name is Xue Manting. I'm the daughter of the Xue family. You can call me Manting," Xue Manting said to Xu Qingdai with a smile and friendliness. Then, holding Xu Qingdai's hand, she continued, "I think you look so lovely and well-behaved. You make people feel happy at first glance. Have we met somewhere before?"
"I don't think so. This is... my first time attending such a banquet. Before this, I always stayed at home with Muxing and rarely went out."
Lin Xingwan replied cautiously, always lowering her head and avoiding eye contact with Xue Manting. The interest in Xue Manting's eyes slowly turned into a hint of boredom.
It seemed she had been mistaken. The moment Xue Manting saw Xu Qingdai, she had a strong sense of familiarity.
But seeing Xu Qingdai's timid and submissive demeanor now, Xue Manting wondered why Duan Muxing liked this type of woman.
Her Lin meimei was dignified and generous, not at all petty like the woman in front of her.
"Alright, alright. It seems I remembered incorrectly. But Miss Xu gives off a very friendly feeling." Xue Manting's tone was devoid of any extra emotion.
Just then, a few wealthy ladies also approached Lin Xingwan.
They began to engage Lin Xingwan in conversation, trying to build a relationship. Although Lin Xingwan didn't say much, the topics the wealthy ladies discussed were relatively ordinary, and they flattered Lin Xingwan. Lin Xingwan didn't even realize when Xue Manting left.
"Miss Xu, I heard that the Duan family's beauty pills have miraculous effects. Even an old person with wrinkles all over their face, after using the Duan family's beauty pills for a while, their skin will become as fair and smooth as a peeled egg. Your skin is so good; you must be using the Duan family's beauty pills, right?"
"How could Miss Xu, who is naturally beautiful, be using beauty pills?"
"Even the most beautiful woman can't rely solely on innate conditions. She must rely on later maintenance. In my opinion, Miss Xu is not only beautiful but also good at maintaining her appearance."
The topics among women, besides jewelry and men, were only about their looks.
And every woman wished to remain young forever and become an ageless goddess.
Duan Muxing had also mentioned this to her not long ago.
In fact, Duan Muxing had predicted that these women would approach her at this banquet to discuss the beauty pills.
It was known that the Duan family's beauty pills had always been developed for and enjoyed by royalty and nobility since ancient times.
Even ordinary wealthy families didn't have the right to even look at them, let alone obtain them.
They didn't even know what beauty pills were.
And these noblewomen who could now chat with Lin Xingwan about beauty pills already possessed a certain status in society.
"Are the beauty pills you're talking about this?" Lin Xingwan took out a small bottle from her pocket and poured out a small white pill with a hollow pattern. "Although I've never asked Muxing what he has me eat, he told me to take this small white pill daily. It not only beautifies and nourishes the skin but also adjusts the body, making it younger and younger."
Lin Xingwan's words drew the attention of all the surrounding noblewomen to the small white pill in her hand.
One of the women spoke, "I haven't seen beauty pills before, but I heard that if you take this thing out and hold it in your hand, it will melt if you don't eat it immediately."
As soon as the woman finished speaking, someone exclaimed, "It's melting... Oh my god... it's really melting... Could this be the legendary beauty pill?"
Indeed, some were starving while others were drowning in abundance. Who would have thought that the beauty pills they had been desperately seeking for years were now being wasted like this?
The women even looked at Lin Xingwan's hand, wishing they could drink the melted liquid of the beauty pill.
Lin Xingwan poured out another pill from the small bottle and placed it in her hand. To her surprise, it melted quickly, just like the first one.
"It seems this is really a beauty pill, doesn't it?" Lin Xingwan cast a confused gaze at the people around her. Seeing the expressions on the faces of these wealthy ladies, which were as pained and angry as if they had been disfigured, Lin Xingwan found them utterly ridiculous.
In fact, they had no idea that this was all a setup designed by Lin Xingwan and Duan Muxing.
"It's definitely a beauty pill, I can guarantee it. How about you give it to me? I'll trade you my jade bracelet." One of the noblewomen, seeing Xu Qingdai about to waste the last beauty pill, was so anxious that she wanted to snatch the bottle from this foolish woman's hand.
A treasure that was hard to find even with a thousand pieces of gold had been wasted by her twice in less than a minute. How wonderful it would be if they could eat it.
"This jade bracelet is too expensive. I don't know if this medicine in my hand is a beauty pill either. Let me ask Muxing." As soon as Lin Xingwan finished speaking, Duan Muxing's voice came from behind her.
"I'm done talking. Are you still talking?" Duan Muxing walked to Lin Xingwan's side and naturally met her gaze.
"We were discussing beauty pills, but I don't know what they are. I just took two small white pills out of the bottle, the ones you usually have me take. They said those were beauty pills, and they even wanted to trade me a jade bracelet."
Lin Xingwan recounted what had just happened, deliberately using an exaggerated tone and acting like someone who had never seen the world, immediately giving the people around her a general impression of her.
She was definitely the type of woman who stayed at home all the time, lacked social skills, and was easily deceived.
"Silly girl, what I gave you are beauty pills. Even if the entire Duan family used all their best resources, they could only refine dozens of them. I didn't expect you to waste two at once. What a waste."
Although Duan Muxing was scolding Lin Xingwan, the pampering in his eyes made everyone present envious.
If only they were Duan Muxing's woman, they could casually use beauty pills.
Now, they were extremely envious of Xu Qingdai, this woman who could squander beauty pills without limit.
"Ah? They're that precious? I'm truly sorry. I didn't know. Don't give me such precious things in the future, because I'll waste them." Lin Xingwan's face was full of self-reproach, and she looked as if she was about to cry.
Seeing Lin Xingwan's frightened gaze, Duan Muxing felt his mood greatly improve.
He had only asked this woman to deliberately act timid and cautious, but he hadn't expected her to perform beyond expectations. Even with the mask he had meticulously crafted, Duan Muxing could imagine what Lin Xingwan's original face would look like with such an expression.
It was very... pleasing to the eye!
Even... he felt all his pity and protective instincts surge at this moment.
It was a strange feeling, one that Duan Muxing had never experienced before.
He felt very satisfied, yet... he wanted more.
It felt strange, yet he didn't reject it.
"Silly girl," Duan Muxing said gently to Lin Xingwan in front of everyone. "These things originally belong to you. Waste them however you like. Can't our Duan family afford to support you? When we get back, I'll give you a few more bottles, and you can waste them however you like. I won't care about you."
Duan Muxing's words made the other women around him almost cry with envy.
They also wanted beauty pills, but they were well aware that Duan Muxing could give Xu Qingdai countless beauty pills, but he would never give them any, because their status was not high enough to obtain beauty pills.
Lin Xingwan blushed shyly and said nothing. Duan Muxing, however, spoke again, "Alright, it's getting late. You've been tired all day. Go to the guest rooms in the Star Picking Tower to rest."
Duan Muxing and Lin Xingwan left without even saying goodbye to these wealthy ladies.
Given Duan Muxing's current status, these wealthy ladies did not need him to fawn over them.
In fact, these wealthy ladies were merely Duan Muxing's pawns.
"So many beauty pills, and they're all going to that seemingly dim-witted woman. It's so unfair."
The tone of one of the wealthy ladies was filled with sadness. To her, it would have been better to give those beauty pills to her than to Xu Qingdai!
But who made her not the woman Duan Muxing liked?
This was truly infuriating!
"Yes, it would be great if they were given to us. At our age, we need beauty pills to maintain our appearance. I had a friend who, because she took beauty pills, is a few years older than me, but when we go out together now, people say I'm her mother."
"Although Duan Muxing won't give them to us, we can get them from Xu Qingdai. I think this woman doesn't look very smart..."
After the wealthy lady finished speaking, the others cast meaningful glances at her and then looked thoughtful.
Right!
They couldn't get through to Duan Muxing, but they could definitely get through to Xu Qingdai!
Meanwhile, Lin Xingwan, who had left with Duan Muxing, was feeling very anxious.
"Do you think those wealthy ladies will really fall for it?" Lin Xingwan cast a worried glance at Duan Muxing, feeling extremely lost about the future.
"Don't worry. These wealthy ladies will definitely contact you actively. Then, you'll give them what I gave you, and they'll tell you what you want to know."
Duan Muxing's tone was full of certainty.
"What I want to know? What do I want to know?" Lin Xingwan felt that Duan Muxing's words had a hidden meaning.
"Everything you want to know. There are no impenetrable walls in this world. As long as you want to know anything, offer enough chips, and many people will line up to tell you. However... you'll only hear what they want you to hear. You'll still need to explore the actual truth."
Duan Muxing spoke like an experienced elder, while Lin Xingwan was like a student who had just learned to walk, now frantically listening to his teachings.
Soon, Lin Xingwan arrived in the room.
"You can rest here tonight. The banquet isn't over yet, and I still have some matters to attend to. Don't worry, the Star Picking Tower is very safe, and there won't be any accidents."
Duan Muxing said to Lin Xingwan. Lin Xingwan nodded. Just then, her phone chimed with a new message notification.
She looked down and saw that the wealthy lady she had just added as a friend had already started chatting with her. Lin Xingwan closed the door, entered the room, and began chatting with them.
Meanwhile, at the banquet, a scene was unfolding.
Zhou Jinbai's gaze had been fixed on Shi Zhesheng from beginning to end. This man had chatted with many people in the crowd, but Zhou Jinbai discovered a secret: it seemed that many influential figures from Yan Jing respected Shi Zhesheng greatly.
Logically speaking, Shi Zhesheng, a man whose roots were all in Rongcheng, how could he know so many people in Yan Jing?
Zhou Jinbai felt like he was living as a spy at the banquet. Just then, he saw Shi Zhesheng hurrying out.