A Time-Traveling Mishap: I Became an Ancient Nobleman

Chapter 282 Dream Girl

Zhou Hanzhang took the sachet, took a gentle sniff, and found the fragrance to be elegant and pleasant, truly delightful. So she casually hung it on her waist.

"Then what should I be called?" she asked softly.

"How about Xiangyan?" Qianmian suggested.

"Xiangyan? It sounds rather erotic, isn't that a bit too direct?" Zhou Hanzhang raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself, why are the people at Hongyanfang all so...unique?

"No, it's Xiangyan, the 'Yan' in 'beautiful'," Qianmian quickly clarified.

Zhou Hanzhang frowned. "Could you change the name? This name is making it hard for me to get into character."

After a moment of contemplation, Qianmian said, "What about Qimeng? 'Qimeng rides the wind and embraces the moonlight, beautiful and serene like a fairy flower.' I think this poem suits you very well."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Hanzhang pondered for a moment and thought that this name was much better than names like Xiangyan or Xiangyan.

If she were to be called Xiangyan, and word got out, how would she ever be able to maintain her standing in the capital?

Even if Zhou Huaide found out, wouldn't he bring his men to demolish the Red Beauty Pavilion?

"Fine, let it be a dream. In this kind of environment, it's quite fitting." She finally relented.

Seeing that she was quite satisfied with the name, Qianmian immediately rubbed his hands together, ready to drag Zhou Hanzhang to the Butterfly Dance Pavilion to show it off.

The two had just stepped out the door when Jiang Mingyun rushed over. Jiang Mingyun's hurried steps caused her to accidentally bump into Zhou Hanzhang.

Zhou Hanzhang instinctively supported her and softly called out, "Mingyun?"

Jiang Mingyun felt her head buried in something soft. When she looked up, she saw a stunningly beautiful girl with a graceful figure. She blushed instantly and said, "I'm sorry, sister. I came to find my brother."

If Jiang Mingyun hadn't been so shy, she would have noticed that Zhou Hanzhang's voice was no different from usual.

Upon seeing this, Qianmian quickly gave Zhou Hanzhang a meaningful look, secretly thinking that things were going badly, as these two were complete strangers at the moment!

Zhou Hanzhang reacted quickly, first helping Jiang Mingyun to her feet, then clearing her throat and resuming her original female voice, "Why is this young lady in such a hurry? Is your brother here?"

Two girls from the Red Beauty Pavilion followed behind her. One of them said, "Miss Jiang, we've already told you the young prince isn't here. Why won't you believe us?"

Jiang Mingyun looked apologetic. "I... I heard my brother was here, so I thought I'd come and look for him. I didn't mean to bother you, sister. I'm so sorry."

She suddenly remembered that Zhou Hanzhang had called her name earlier, and asked in surprise, "Sister, do you know me? How do you know my name?"

Zhou Hanzhang inwardly regretted his quick tongue, but maintained his composure on the surface, saying, "Miss Jiang has a good reputation, so I have naturally heard of her."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Mingyun felt both embarrassed and slightly delighted. "Well, since my brother isn't here, I... I'll take my leave now. I'm really sorry."

After saying this, she hurriedly bowed to Zhou Hanzhang and Fangniang, and then left in a panic.

After she left, Qianmian breathed a sigh of relief and patted his chest, saying, "That really scared me to death. I thought that little girl was going to recognize you."

Zhou Hanzhang smiled. "Are you really that unconfident in your skills?"

“I am confident in my skills, but you spend every day with this girl, so there must be some differences that she will remember,” Qianmian explained.

“If I ever dress as a woman again, I should try to see her as little as possible,” Zhou Hanzhang said.

"That would be the best."

Qianmian nodded in agreement. After all, this concerned Zhou Hanzhang's competition. If people found out that her new beauty was actually the young prince of the Zhou family, it would be a big problem.

"Come on, let your sister broaden your horizons. No, let those shallow-minded people see what a real beauty is, and not just some pheasant trying to become a phoenix."

After saying that, Qianmian even let out a "humph".

Before leaving, he specially found a curtain for Zhou Hanzhang to wear, fearing that her stunning beauty would attract unwanted attention and cause a lot of trouble before the competition even started.

Zhou Hanzhang obediently put on the veil. Although her current appearance did not resemble that of her when she was dressed as a man, it was always better to be cautious.

Even though Zhou Hanzhang covered her face, her graceful figure attracted countless gazes as soon as she stepped out of the Red Beauty Pavilion.

Many people came forward and asked curiously, "Fangniang, who is this?"

Thousand Faces maintained his welcoming attitude with a smile, "This is our newest treasure at Red Beauty Pavilion, Miss Qimeng. I invited her here precisely for the upcoming Beauty Contest."

The guests laughed upon hearing this, saying, "Just by looking at this young lady, we can tell you've really gone all out, Fangniang."

"That's right, you guys better not get any ideas about her," Thousand Faces said with a smile.

"We know, we know, Fangniang, you're always so protective of your family's girls. Besides, everyone knows that the girls participating in the beauty pageant must be virgins." The guests chimed in.

"Good to know, I'm going out now. You guys have fun." After saying that, Qianmian led Zhou Hanzhang on his way.

He was already very adept at these things, able to remember each guest's name, preferences, and recent events.

He could chat with every customer he passed by.

Zhou Hanzhang silently counted in his mind that it took him almost the time it takes to drink a cup of tea (about twenty minutes) to go from downstairs to the door.

She finally managed to leave the Red Beauty Pavilion. Luckily, Thousand Faces had already prepared a carriage for her; otherwise, it would have been difficult for her not to cause a sensation in her tight-fitting clothes.

Even so, Zhou Hanzhang still attracted a lot of attention as soon as he stepped out.

Qianmian reacted quickly, pulling her onto the carriage and lowering the curtains to conceal her.

Butterfly Dance Pavilion is actually not far from Red Beauty Pavilion, both of which are the most prosperous places in the capital.

When the owner of Butterfly Dance Pavilion saw that Red Beauty Pavilion was making a fortune, he opened one to compete with Fangniang.

"This Butterfly Dance Pavilion is actually related to the First Prince," Qianmian said in a low voice.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Hanzhang immediately understood, "No wonder they can compete with Hongyanfang."

“If I didn’t have other businesses to make a living, and if the Crown Prince didn’t need me to obtain information that he couldn’t obtain, I would probably have been suppressed by him long ago,” Qianmian sighed.

Zhou Hanzhang remained noncommittal, saying, "He's a prince, and you're a prince too. How could he possibly suppress you?"

"Oh, how can they be the same? I'm an illegitimate child who was abandoned long ago, and I was forced into this by that person. I was born with sin on my body. I can't compare to him," Qianmian said with a bitter smile.

Zhou Hanzhang didn't seem surprised that Qianmian knew about his background. He seemed indifferent when he talked about it, but Zhou Hanzhang could see a hint of unease in his eyes.