The originally dejected Flower Spirit walked to the center with a pleasant surprise and accepted the title of Flower King from the town mayor.
Li An, standing in the crowd, applauded for Hua Ling.
The Fifth Prince couldn't bear to see Li An applauding Hua Ling, so he said, "Let's go."
"Congratulate Hua Ling before you leave." Li An felt this was the most basic courtesy.
"You've taken a fancy to her?" The Fifth Young Master stared intently at Li An.
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Li An did not answer.
In the Fifth Prince's view, this was tantamount to admitting that Hua Ling could not be allowed to live.
“I will never forgive you for attacking Hua Ling,” Li An warned.
The Fifth Prince suppressed his inner thoughts and said, "An'an, you know I always listen to you."
Li An didn't believe it, but then he saw Hua Ling walking over.
He strode over, leaving behind the jealous Fifth Prince.
"Congratulations."
"It was Young Master Li's auspicious words that brought me this award. Hua Ling thanks you, Young Master." Hua Ling thanked him and invited Li An to the Flower King Banquet that evening.
The Flower King Banquet is an important dinner held after the Flower King selection process concludes.
The event was held at the Zhu family's residence and included not only the Flower King competition but also the selection of 50 outstanding contestants.
The dinner party is also a great opportunity to meet people and promote the flowers you've cultivated.
Each person has two accompanying slots, usually for family members or husbands.
Ang Lee was unaware of this, but he had a gut feeling that the Flower King Banquet was related to Zhao Hong's talk about giving someone away that night.
Despite the Fifth Prince's objections, he accepted Hua Ling's invitation to attend the Flower King's Banquet.
"I don't need Hua Ling. I have my own way of getting in." The Fifth Young Master didn't want Li An to have any connection with Hua Ling.
"I want to be absolutely sure." Following Hua Ling into the Zhu family is the least likely way to arouse suspicion.
"Second Master, Dongzhi has woken up." Lingyu's words at the door interrupted the standoff inside.
Ang Lee withdrew his gaze and walked into the next room.
He looks quite energetic on the Winter Solstice.
"Tell me everything you know. I'll avenge Xiaoman."
"Why?" Dongzhi didn't believe that someone would help her for no reason.
"Because I have a younger sister. She's about the same age as Xiaoman. She's lively, cute, and kind. She loves me the most and always saves the best things for me. The moment I saw Xiaoman, I thought of my sister. Xiaoman died right before my eyes, and I felt guilty and remorseful. I didn't protect my sister, and I want to avenge her."
As Ang Lee spoke, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
"Xiaoman... I'm so sorry. Sister, it's all my fault..." Dongzhi cried bitterly.
“Tell me everything you know.” Li An handed over a pear blossom pastry.
Winter Solstice's hands trembled as she accepted the pear blossom pastry.
"Xiaoman, look what I bought back!"
"Pear blossom cake, my favorite pear blossom cake, my brother is so good. Brother, let's eat pear blossom cake together."
“If Brother doesn’t eat, Xiaoman will.”
"If my brother doesn't eat, Xiaoman won't eat either."
"The pear blossom pastry that Xiaoman ate with her brother is the one she likes best."
The beautiful memories in his mind ended, and the image that appeared was Xiaoman covered in arrows, staring at him with wide eyes.
“I said.”
Ang Lee pulled up a stool and sat down to listen to Dongzhi's story.
Because she had to take care of her younger sister, Dongzhi couldn't work long hours and relied on odd jobs to make a living.
That day, Dongzhi, like other odd jobs, squatted by the vegetable market, waiting for employers to come and choose workers.
A kind-looking man came over and said he had a job that required some help.
The work is urgent; I need to be away from home for a month.
They are paid 300 coins a day, and if they do well, they will receive a tael of silver as a bonus at the end of the day.
In total, he could earn 10 taels of silver a month doing the work, which was more money than he could earn in a whole year.
Some people were worried that there might be a problem and wanted to ask more specifically what kind of work it was.
The man didn't speak, only uttering one sentence.
If you agree, I will give you 3 taels of silver as a deposit.
The rest will be given after the work is finished.
Thinking that with 10 taels of silver, he could buy his sister delicious food, new clothes, and even repair their dilapidated house.
Winter Solstice agrees.
With the winter solstice approaching, there were five or six people who agreed.
The man took out some money and gave them an hour to go home and say goodbye.
I packed my bags and went home on the Winter Solstice, ignoring Xiaoman's objections and worries.
At this point, Dongzhi was filled with regret.
If he had listened to his sister and not gone, he wouldn't be in this situation, and his sister wouldn't be dead.
"It's all my fault. I was bewitched. Xiaoman is right, there's no such thing as a free lunch."
Dongzhi wiped away her tears and continued her story.
On the winter solstice, carrying his luggage, he arrived at the agreed meeting point, at the east gate of the town.
At the meeting point, a dozen or so young and strong men were already waiting.
The mutual inquiries were all driven by the promise of high rewards.
At the appointed time, the honest man arrived in three horse-drawn carriages.
The honest-looking man introduced himself as Zhao Zhong, the person in charge. They were going to a distant place and would need to travel by carriage.
After Zhao Zhong finished his introduction, he distributed steamed buns and hot drinks to the people on the Winter Solstice.
We need to keep moving forward, so we won't stop to eat along the way and let them eat their fill first.
The honest man and the coachman started eating first.
The aroma of the steamed buns was irresistible to Dongzhi and those waiting for them, and they began to devour them.
The steamed buns were more delicious than anything I'd ever tasted on the Winter Solstice.
After eating and drinking their fill, everyone went about their own business.
Zhao Zhong arranged for people to get into three carriages and head out of the city.
Not long after starting in the car, Dongzhi dozed off and fell asleep.
When I woke up, the person was no longer in the carriage.
These people were lying on a large communal bed.
At first, they were a little panicked and wanted to leave.
They were quickly calmed down by Zhao Zhong, who arrived at the scene.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
