"Third Young Master! Fifth Young Master!"

"Third Young Master! Fifth Young Master!"

Just then, the first floor suddenly fell silent, and then everyone stood up to greet each other.

Seeing everyone's respectful attitude, Qin Mu looked curiously towards the doorway.

Two young men entered through the main entrance of the restaurant. They were dressed in scholar's robes, with swords at their waists, and were handsome and elegant. But even at first glance, they seemed extraordinary.

Greetings, everyone!

"The one slightly taller on the left is Lu Chengli from the Lu family of Fanyang; the one on the right is Cui Yanxing from the Cui family of Boling. Both of them are direct descendants of the Five Surnames and Seven Noble Families," Luo Cheng introduced.

"Five surnames and seven prominent families!"

"The Five Surnames and Seven Clans are the seven most prominent clans in the Tang Dynasty; they are the Li Clan of Longxi, the Li Clan of Zhao County, the Cui Clan of Qinghe, the Lu Clan of Fanyang, the Cui Clan of Boling, the Zheng Clan of Xingyang, and the Wang Clan of Taiyuan. Because of His Majesty, the Li Clan is the strongest." Luo Cheng thought Qin Mu didn't understand, so he explained it to him.

"The most prominent on the surface?" Qin Mu was surprised by Luo Cheng's question about the five surnames and seven clans, which piqued his curiosity.

"How many imperial families have emerged over thousands of years? How could they be so easily wiped out? It's just that many of them have gone into seclusion or live in the world under different identities."

"For example, the Liu family of the Han Dynasty, after hundreds of years of development, countless members still exist in the world. Although one branch of the royal family is gone, others still exist," Luo Cheng explained.

"Yes! Zhang, Wang, Li, Zhao, Liu are everywhere." Qin Mu nodded to indicate that he understood.

"That's true, these are all common surnames."

While the two chatted, the people below finished their pleasantries.

"Third Young Master, Fifth Young Master, could it be that one of you composed the 'Song of Ascending Youzhou Terrace' yesterday?" a young man asked curiously.

“It wasn’t us,” Cui Yanxing said, shaking his head.

“The great poets are at the Prince’s residence,” Lu Chengli said.

"Does the Third Young Master know a great poet? I wonder which scholar he is?" the young man asked with delight.

“I don’t know either. I just happened to be in the city yesterday and heard about the Heavenly Gift fluctuations appearing at the Prince’s Mansion. I was just about to ask you if any important figures have come to Youzhou recently?” Lu Chengli said.

"You don't know either?" Lu Chengli frowned and asked in surprise.

Throughout the entire city of Youzhou, everyone knows who has literary talent, and they've all met them today. However, no one has acknowledged the author of the poem, and everyone is searching for its author.

To attract the Heavenly Gift, one would need at least a Confucian scholar. Among the younger generation in Youzhou City, there is only one Confucian scholar; the rest are from the Cui and Lu families, who generally don't appear in the city. That's why everyone is speculating whether a great Confucian scholar from outside has recently arrived.

"General Luo is on the second floor," the person who arrived first reminded him.

"Oh! Perfect timing to pay them a visit." Lu Chengli and Cui Yanxing exchanged a glance, and Cui Yanxing raised an eyebrow. With that, the two of them went upstairs.

The commotion downstairs naturally reached the ears of the two people upstairs. As for Luo Tong, he could be ignored; he was busy preparing the pastries.

"Students Lu Chengli and Cui Yanxing greet General Luo!" The two went upstairs and immediately saw Luo Cheng. They walked over and bowed.

"No need for formalities, please sit down!" Luo Cheng said expressionlessly.

Although the Five Surnames and Seven Clans were prestigious names, Luo Cheng was not afraid. Moreover, Lu Chengli and Cui Yanxing were of different generations than him, so it was not considered impolite for Luo Cheng to sit there.

In terms of status, Luo Cheng was a third-rank Right Martial Marquis General, while the other two were merely Wenlin Lang, a minor official.

"We wouldn't dare. We just wanted to ask, whose masterpiece is 'Ascending Youzhou Terrace'?" Lu Chengli asked again, cupping his hands in greeting.

They were not qualified to sit with Luo Cheng, and they knew that Luo Cheng was just being polite, so they stood aside.

"It's none other than my nephew who just arrived in Youzhou," Luo Cheng said, turning his head to look at Qin Mu.

With Qin Qiong, such a great figure, around, he wasn't worried about anyone harming Qin Mu, so he didn't intend to hide it from others.

"ah!"

Luo Cheng's words shocked everyone. They never expected that the person who wrote the poem that inspired the heavens would be so young. Only geniuses raised by great families could be so young, but Qin Mu's appearance did not match the person they remembered.

"May I ask how this gentleman is addressed?" Lu Chengli guessed that this was someone from that reclusive family who was traveling and wanted to make friends. He smiled and cupped his hands in greeting.

"My name is Qin Mu, also known as Qin Huaidao." Qin Mu stood up and returned the greeting with a cupped hand.

"Qin?" Upon hearing this name, Lu Chengli's pupils shrank. He thought of that terrifying hidden family, which happened to be located not far from Youzhou.

Seeing the changes in Lu Chengli and Cui Yanxing's expressions, Luo Cheng chuckled to himself, satisfied with his mischievous mood, before saying calmly, "Don't overthink it, they're not the family you're imagining."

Neither Luo Cheng nor Qin Mu acknowledged Qin Qiong's presence, and both tacitly agreed not to bring it up.

Upon hearing Luo Cheng's words, the two men relaxed. Lu Chengli cupped his hands and said, "Young Master Qin is very talented, we admire him. We will not disturb your and General Luo's enjoyment today, and will invite you to a gathering another day."

"Of course! Of course!"

Lu Chengli and his group, perhaps because Luo Cheng was there, or for other reasons, left after exchanging pleasantries. Although the others also glanced at Qin Mu frequently, no one else came to disturb them.

"They say it's a get-together, but they just want to find out your background and test your abilities. If you don't have much skill and your background is just average, they'll have to suppress you and use your reputation to climb to the top," Luo Cheng warned.

"Scholars often look down on each other! I understand!"

"What nonsense about scholars belittling each other; they just want to make a name for themselves," Luo Cheng said irritably.

Qin Mu realized that his uncle was usually quiet and expressionless, but that was just a habit. Once he got to know him, he not only talked a lot, but also revealed a kind of brooding, taciturn nature in his personality.

Qin Mu understood what he meant; that is, Lu Chengli and the others wanted to trample him underfoot.

"There are many ways to become famous, is this really necessary?" Qin Mu asked, somewhat puzzled.

It seems a bit unreasonable for someone from one of the five prominent families to suppress a complete stranger with whom they have no grudge, given how disgraceful their behavior is.

"Don't you Confucianists believe that the greater your reputation, the more righteous spirit you gather?"

"Just because of that?"

"Isn't that enough?"

"I'm afraid reputation has other uses as well!" Qin Mu frowned and shook his head slightly.

"I don't know about that. I'm also not familiar with the cultivation practices of Confucianism, but the internal strife within Confucianism is the most serious. These are just rumors from the outside world," Luo Cheng replied.

Qin Mu thought about it for a while, but still had no clue. However, it was probably related to cultivation matters. There was no point in thinking too much about it; he would understand later anyway. But if someone wanted to step on him, he would have to plan carefully.