The woman sized up the three of them, her gaze straightforward, and her eyebrows seemed to carry a smile.

She saw through their awkwardness but did not show any sign of disdain; she smiled and said, "Let me introduce myself, I’m Xue Niang, the proprietress of Jinxiu Square! Hmm, you probably don’t know what Jinxiu Square is, huh, well, it’s a brothel! You know what a brothel is, right? Speaking of Jinxiu Square, it was originally in Jiazhou. But now, our territory has expanded and our business is growing larger. We’ve opened a branch in the Capital City! Now, as the proprietress, I’m here personally."

The three looked at each other in disbelief, a brothel?

Could there be a mistake?

Was this the person Miss Xia sent to pick them up?

As they speculated, Xue Niang smiled and said, "Miss Xia asked me to bring you to learn some skills. Come with me!"

The three of them had resolved to learn skills and were already envisioning the future. However, they never expected they’d learn skills in a brothel.

Seeing their hesitant expressions, Xue Niang leisurely smiled and said, "Rest assured, my brothels... oh no, I should say all the brothels under Miss Xia’s name, never force good ones into prostitution. Furthermore, we sell skills, not bodies, accompany drinks, not beds. Miss Xia has said that life is hard for women, and she would take in all the women who can’t make a living."

The three were even more surprised, to hear that Miss Xia owns more than just one brothel?

However, if they sell skills and not bodies, what is there to worry about?

Xue Niang smiled again and said, "Don’t think that just because I’m in charge of a brothel, I’m teaching you skills to survive in one, Miss Xia said that everyone’s abilities and talents are different, learn what you are good at, surely we all have our talents!"

Seeing the three women still stunned into silence, Xue Niang didn’t mind, she stood up and said, "If you find it unacceptable to follow me, that’s fine, just pretend I was never here!"

Only then did the three come to their senses, quickly saying, "No, we didn’t think that, we are willing..."

Xue Niang chuckled, "Then what are you waiting for? Pack up and come with me! By the way, what are your names?"

Just as the three were about to say their names, Xue Niang smiled again, "Most of the people Miss Xia takes in want to leave behind their past. Change your name, change your life, and start anew. Whatever it was before, treat it as if it died yesterday. From now on, you are the masters of your own life. So you can come up with a new name. Of course, if you want to keep your original name, that’s fine too. On this matter, Miss Xia is very open-minded and will respect your opinions."

Their eyes lit up.

They had originally come with thoughts of dying, but now they found new hope of living, not wanting to recall past events. Changing a name, changing a life, starting anew, this is what they wanted, their previous selves were already dead!

However, they felt somewhat embarrassed about not knowing how to read, and what name to choose?

They looked to Xue Niang for help, "We want to start fresh, but..."

Xue Niang, perceptive as always, immediately understood what they were worried about from their expressions. She laughed and said, "If you’re someone Miss Xia recognizes, she’ll bring you into Feiyun Pavilion. If you’re a disciple of Feiyun Pavilion, you can use ’Yun’ as your surname. However, you’re not yet, so just pick a name for now, and later, you can choose whatever surname you like!"

So, Miss Xia has a Feiyun Pavilion, and becoming a disciple there allows you to use ’Yun’ as your surname with dignity?

They would work hard!

Qiao Ping’s people had been following Xia Wenjin for three days, during which, except for the first evening, Xia Wenjin’s lifestyle was very regular. The first day, she toured the whole city, full of spirit, visiting restaurants, rouge shops, pastry shops, jewelry shops...

After making a big circuit, she returned to the inn to rest and did not go out again.

The second day was the same; she toured the city, restaurants, jewelry shops, pastry shops, rouge shops...

Returned to rest, didn’t go out again.

The third day was the same, full of spirit, restaurants, pastry shops, jewelry shops, rouge shops...

Rest, didn’t go out again...

She was leisurely, but those tracking her were exhausted.

Qiao Ping finally understood, she’s just a person with money to burn, knowing the Capital City is full of sensual pleasures and good stuff, so she brought along Silver and went on a shopping spree.

Looking at the places she toured, except for the restaurants for eating, weren’t the jewelry, rouge, and pastries all things women like?

Pity South District is quite large, and these lucrative shops were plentiful, there were many. With her way of wandering around like this, she wouldn’t finish in ten days.

Such a worldly woman, besides being beautiful, what other advantages did she have? How did she catch the Second Young Master’s eye? It’s known that even the Second Young Master wasn’t moved by Grand Tutor Zhao’s daughter, the Capital City’s first beauty Zhao Keyan.

Yet it wasn’t his place to speculate on the master’s matters, fortunately, Xia Wenjin now led a regular life, waking up at dawn, returning at dusk. His brothers no longer needed to keep watch all night long.

Finally, Qiao Ping withdrew his brothers. His wonton soup was not far from the supervisor’s place. Perfect for observing Xia Wenjin going in and out and keeping records. He usually left a brother to follow, and it didn’t matter if they lost her, as she would come back at the appointed time.

The Second Young Master had indeed assigned someone to follow her, but with no specific requirements, he only wanted to know her whereabouts. So, he didn’t need to work his brothers too hard.

On the fifth day, Xia Wenjin left early. She easily gave Qiao Ping’s token tracking agents the slip and headed straight to her destination, the Capital City’s top-ranked restaurant, Moon Full Building.

Moon Full Building is in the bustling area of Inner City, on the first main street after exiting the Imperial Palace, a place where every inch of land is valuable, and opening a shop here means wealth, not to mention being the Capital City’s top restaurant?

Eating here was not just about money; the business was so good that bookings were made ten days in advance.

However, although positions needed to be booked in advance and demand exceeded supply, it did not mean one couldn’t enter without a reservation.

At this moment, a special guest arrived at the west seating area.

Yes, the western side of Moon Full Building has a large hall with a tea seating area, elegant in surroundings and finely designed. Any furnishings inside could fetch a good price outside.

Moreover, it was warm in winter, cool in summer, and always filled with the fragrance of tea, offering a lingering, sweet taste.

Of course, not everyone could enter such a place; those who did either had special items or had something that the owner found special.