You Su pretended not to hear and quickly arrived at the Elegant Bamboo Pavilion.

Sure enough, the floor was filled with water cups, the water clear and transparent, reflecting the red candlelight.

"Please take a look, Mr. Ye," the maid reminded.

Unexpectedly, You Su directly picked up the cup of water closest to him and handed it to her.

"If Mr. Ye doesn’t wish to see my lady, then just refuse like Mr. Xiao did. Why bother coming in to humor us?" the maid took the cup, her expression resentful.

"How am I humoring you?"

"Which young gentleman before hasn’t carefully inspected all thirty cups of water before drawing a conclusion? At worst, they would fake it twice and then randomly pick a cup. Who, like Mr. Ye, just casually chooses the one closest to them without even looking?"

The maid pouted. It wasn’t out of disrespect for You Su but rather because he was so handsome that she harbored some feelings, hoping he would heed her advice and take a good look. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Miss Cailing will eventually get married. It’s better that she ends up with this impossibly handsome young gentleman than with those potbellied uncles...

You Su laughed heartily, "You misunderstand, young lady. It just happened to be this cup of water. If you don’t believe me, take it to your lady and let her see for herself."

Seeing You Su remained unmoved, the maid reluctantly took the teacup into the courtyard.

Outside the Elegant Bamboo Pavilion, Ji Lingruo was nervously clutching the hem of her clothes. Her thoughts were extremely conflicted; she both hoped You Su would succeed and hoped he wouldn’t. Zi Yiyi, on the other hand, was much calmer, quietly waiting for the outcome.

Just then, the door of the Elegant Bamboo Pavilion was pushed open. Ji Lingruo craned her neck to look, but it was the maid, not You Su, who emerged.

"A young gentleman has already passed through Water Gate Pass, and no more challengers are being accepted. Miss Cailing will give each guest a bottle of Golden Locust Wine. Enjoy yourselves, gentlemen!"

"What?!"

Evidently, Ji Lingruo wasn’t the only one who couldn’t believe it. The male guests present all raised their voices in complaint, cursing that Ye fellow.

Inside the Elegant Bamboo Pavilion.

Everywhere were placed glass Lamps, the orange-red candlelight reflected, giving the whole boudoir a shimmering water effect, which was quite beautiful.

"How did Mr. Ye determine that cup was the sweet water?"

The sweet and charming voice came from beyond the long screen.

"It wasn’t me who determined it, it was Miss Cailing who did."

You Su, with his hands clasped behind his back, looked around as if he were a person curious about everything.

"Cailing doesn’t understand what Mr. Ye is saying. Which cup is the sweet water had been decided by Cailing long ago."

The woman behind the screen, in a tone seemingly wronged, made one want to comfort her just by listening.

"Miss Cailing, the custom of your hometown is indeed somewhat unreasonable. It’s obviously an unsolvable riddle, yet you force people to crack it. Water Gate Pass is simply an excuse to fend off those with ulterior motives. Sweet or plain water, isn’t it at the lady’s whim? When a lady’s favorite suitor appears, the water he chooses naturally becomes the sweet water."

At these words, Miss Cailing let out a gentle and melodious laugh:

"Master, you are indeed wise. How could I let those men tarnish my maiden night? Even though I resign myself to fate, I still have the right to make my choices. It’s a pity those men still think they have a chance, what a joke."

Then suddenly, a sound of water filled the air.

A warm jade hand extended out from the screen, holding a cup of water.

"If Mr. Ye doesn’t mind, drink this sweet water, and you’ll pass through this Water Gate Pass..."