Fairy, help me cultivate.

The Golden Dragon Ancestor whispered to Chen Yao, "The purpose of our trip is to make an impression on the nobles of Jinchang City so that we can gather information from them later. It's best not to be impatient or do anything unnecessary."

Thinking about the gaze he had just received, Chen Yao knew that it was not advisable to be too conspicuous before clarifying the situation, so he nodded in agreement.

The Golden Dragon Ancestor patted Chen Yao's shoulder lightly: "Alright, I'm going to go and have a chat with those nobles. You can relax."

After saying that, he walked over to the group of glamorous people who had gathered together and quickly blended in.

Chen Yao stood near the main entrance for a while before walking towards the lobby.

In the center of the lobby is a dance floor paved with crystal, which at first glance appears large enough for hundreds of people to dance together without feeling crowded.

There were indeed quite a few couples standing there at that moment.

Chen Yao wasn't interested in spinning around, so he headed towards the second-floor observation deck in the lobby.

The observation deck was set up with tables of all sizes, which are now almost completely occupied.

The people here either whisper or exchange glances, a stark contrast to the main hall below.

"Can't find your place?"

A woman in elaborate attire, leaning against the railing of the observation deck, turned around and raised an eyebrow at Chen Yao.

This action felt somewhat familiar to Chen Yao, who couldn't help but look around, wondering why Jiang Bailin was nowhere to be seen since she had already infiltrated the nobles.

Thinking it best not to give himself away, he walked over to the woman and leaned over the railing to look down.

The glamorous dresses on stage resembled floating flowers on water, giving people an extremely unreal feeling.

"If it's your first time here, you might not know where to go."

"Ah."

The beautiful woman glanced at Chen Yao with a smile playing on her lips: "Me too. Which family are you from?"

Jiujiang was governed by clans, and Jinchang City was naturally governed by clans as well.

Chen Yao glanced at her, noticing her strange expression, and said, "Lei Shi."

The beautiful woman scoffed, her expression full of disdain: "No wonder you can't find a place here. The Lei family lives outside the city; there's no place for you inside."

Her words were sarcastic, but her eyes and brows held a hint of amusement, a mocking smile.

Chen Yao was somewhat enlightened, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he continued, "Seats are made by people squeezing in; there's always one if you try."

"Well."

The beautiful woman thought for a moment and said, "That makes sense, but pushing and shoving is impolite and will only make us a laughing stock."

"I just want a place to stand, that's not too much to ask. New talents emerge in every generation, there will always be a place for me, we'll see."

A table not far away was empty, so Chen Yao walked over and sat down.

The beautiful woman sat down next to him, nodding in satisfaction: "Not bad, not bad. Do you know who I am?"

"Are you referring to before you came to Jinchang, or now?"

This time, Chen Yao glanced at the beautiful woman with a smile in his eyes.

The beautiful woman paused for a moment, glared at him, and whispered, "How boring! How did you see through me?"

Chen Yao said seriously, "You're too easily fooled, aren't you? You've already given yourself away with just one sentence?"

The beautiful woman narrowed her eyes: "What secrets are you revealing? I said I didn't actually grow up in Jinchang. I only came back for a year because I'm here to inherit the Fang family business. People in Jinchang are very conservative, so they can't reveal my life outside. There's something else behind your words. Who exactly are you?"

The last sentence was very threatening.

Chen Yao laughed: "If you don't explain so much, you might fool me, Bai Lin."

The beautiful woman pouted in frustration and gently nudged Chen Yao: "This is so boring!"

She is indeed Jiang Bailin.

Jiang Bailin rolled her eyes, then suddenly frowned: "Who told you to call me Bailin? Either call me Aunt, or call me Master!"

Chen Yao ignored her and said seriously, "If what you just said is true, then your family must be quite large, right? And you are the eldest daughter who is about to inherit the family business. How did you manage to pretend so perfectly?"

"The Fang family is practically the most powerful family in Jinchang City besides the Pang family. Without this, it would be difficult to find out important inside information. However, the person I'm impersonating is at best a puppet. To hear the real news, we still need to take it slow."

"I never knew you were so resourceful..."

Halfway through his sentence, Chen Yao remembered the last time he visited the Li family, when Li Huonan, who had been tough, suddenly changed his attitude overnight. That was also thanks to Jiang Bailin. So he changed his words and said, "My apologies."

Jiang Bailin smugly hummed, "If you really respect me, then call me 'Auntie'!"

"Dream on."

At this moment, several well-dressed women came over and pulled Jiang Bailin away. These women were genuine nobles, and their eyes were filled with deep contempt as they looked at Chen Yao.

There was a significant hierarchy of contempt among the nobles of Jinchang City, with the most despised being the nouveau riche and those who came from outside the city through connections.

This won't work. How can we infiltrate them and gather information?

Thinking about it, Chen Yao tried to release his divine sense, but found that the building naturally suppressed his divine sense.

It's really weird.

"Young master."

A servant dressed in gold and silver approached politely and bowed to Chen Yao.

"how?"

"Young master, my young lady invites you in."

Who is your young lady?

"Jin Changlu is from a prominent family second only to the Fang family, and he is best friends with the eldest daughter of the Fang family."

Chen Yao thought this was at least a breakthrough, but he couldn't be too eager: "Oh, but I don't know your young lady."

The servant straightened his back: "It's alright, my young lady can get to know you if she wants to. This way!"

His attitude was humble, but his actions and tone left no room for doubt.

Chen Yao could no longer show any particular attitude; he could only proceed along this breakthrough point.

Following the attendants, we arrived at a corner where we could observe the entire observation deck, where there was a square table inlaid with gold and jade.

Three elegantly dressed women sat at the square table.

One of them was facing Chen Yao, but didn't even glance at him. Instead, he was whispering with the other two.

"Please wait a moment, young master."

The attendant and Chen Yao stood there.

The three women chatted for a while before the other two humbly took their leave.

Only the woman facing Chen Yao remained at the square table. She was plump, but her eyes were as cold as ice. She was just drinking a cup of tea in front of her and didn't look at Chen Yao at all.

After a while, the servant wisely withdrew.

"Are you a distant relative of the Lei family?"

If a woman doesn't give up her seat, ask her directly.

Chen Yao sat down directly next to her: "Are you the eldest daughter of the Fang family? What's your name?"

"You are not worthy to know my name."

"Then we have nothing to talk about."

Chen Yao stood up.

The woman thought for a moment and said, "Wait! My name is Lü Ke."

"My lovely..."

Chen Yao said this with a dismissive expression.

Fang Ke finally looked Chen Yao in the eye, his gaze as cold as ice.

Chapter 140 The Woman's Deal

However, she seemed to have a good sense of composure, glancing at Chen Yao before looking back at the teacup in her hand.

What is your relationship with Fang Xiang?

Needless to say, Jiang Bailin was impersonating Fang Xiang.

Chen Yao looked at her, trying to glean more information from her expression.

Unfortunately, the person's expression didn't reveal much information.

"meet by chance."

Lu Ke looked up at him, a sarcastic smile playing on her lips: "I think not."

Chen Yao calmed down: "Say what you want."

"People from small places like yours, and families like the Lei family from the countryside, inevitably try to curry favor with powerful figures if they want to gain a foothold in Jinchang City. Am I right?"

Looking at Lü Ke's smug and self-satisfied face, Chen Yao wanted to laugh out loud. So she had thought of this, which might as well make her remember her even more.

He then turned pale and said, "I...I don't understand what you're talking about!"

Seeing Chen Yao's expression change, Lü Ke was even more convinced that her guess was correct, and snorted, "You know very well. But..."

She took another sip of tea before saying, "If you think you can seduce Fang Xiang and make her a young woman, you're mistaken."

"how?"

Lu Ke smiled and said, "This woman doesn't seem to be interested in men."

She frowned and added, "He doesn't seem interested in women either."

Chen Yao glanced at her sideways. Lü Ke noticed his gaze and became angry and embarrassed: "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You invited me here just to spread rumors?"

Lu Ke was even angrier, but after glaring at Chen Yao for a while, she calmed down.

"I invited you here to tell you that if you want to climb the social ladder, there's more than one option."

Chen Yao glanced at the plump woman and said, "I don't see any other options, do you?"