Ye Ruoxi had already roughly introduced the people at the gathering. She looked around twice again and finally looked towards the southeast corner, which was the direction that Ye Ruoxi had been ignoring intentionally or unintentionally before.

There is a clump of green bamboo in the southeast corner of the elegant gathering place. Under the bamboo there is a chessboard made of Chinese torreya wood, with a man and a woman sitting opposite each other on both sides.

But at this time, the two of them were not playing chess against each other, and the pieces on the board had already been played.

The man on the white chess side was reading with his head down, a thick book placed between his knees. He held two white Go pieces in one hand, turning them between his fingers, while with the other hand he raised his fingers and slowly turned the pages of the book.

The man was flipping through the book casually, seemingly absorbed in it, not paying attention to what was happening at the gathering.

Therefore, when everyone at the gathering followed Ye Ruoxi's gaze and looked over at him, he pretended to be deaf and did not look up.

The man was wearing a simple black uniform. Although he lowered his head, one could still tell that his face was as handsome as a jade crown.

The woman opposite him was similar.

The woman on the black side was only wearing a simple Taiyifu student uniform. Compared to most of the women at the gathering, her appearance was quite ordinary. She was calmly tidying up the chessboard, throwing the white and black pieces into the box according to categories. It was a small task, but she looked very focused.

Ye Ruoxi naturally ignored the young man who was reading a book. She smiled at the woman on Heizi's side and introduced her to the scholars in the academy:

"This is Senior Sister Yunzi from Taiyi Mansion. I have admired Senior Sister Yunzi for a long time, but she rarely comes out. I didn't expect to meet her in Nuanxi Bamboo Garden this time. Junior Sister Kongyi and Master Du are really amazing. They even invited Senior Sister Yunzi here. It's a bargain for me. I heard that Senior Sister Yunzi is preparing to go into seclusion to forge the golden elixir. Here, the junior brothers and sisters wish Senior Sister Yunzi a great success in the golden elixir, and a successful completion of the course."

Everyone echoed.

Yunzi smiled and nodded, "Thank you for your concern, brothers and sisters."

Zhao Rong interrupted his thoughts and looked up at this female student who was probably the most accomplished person at the gathering. As for the man sitting opposite her with his head lowered, Zhao Rong was also a little curious. Unfortunately, after Ye Ruoxi and Yunzi exchanged a few words, they looked away again, without any intention of introducing the unknown man.

What interested Zhao Rong even more was that after Senior Sister Yunzi finished speaking, she continued to clean up the chessboard. After patiently sorting all the chess pieces on the chessboard except the two white pieces the man was playing with into the corresponding chess boxes, she took out a set of tea sets, brewed a cup of tea, then stood up slightly, held the teacup with both hands to the hand of the man who bowed his head, and spoke softly.

The man lowered his head and nodded slightly. He took a sip of the teacup without raising his head and continued to flip through the book.

Yunzi sat aside, waiting quietly.

This man and woman, who seemed like master and servant, seemed like outsiders, out of tune with this Nuanxi elegant gathering. They kept to themselves and did not join in the excitement.

Zhao Rong was not the only one who noticed this scene. All the Taiqing Mansion students present at the gathering were sharp-eyed and sharp-eared cultivators. No one was blind. However, not many people looked at it curiously. Most of them reacted indifferently, as if they had known about it for a long time and were used to it.

Zhao Rong looked at it for a while and didn't pay any more attention to it. He already knew that there were many hidden talents in the four prefectures of Taiqing, which gathered the best talents in the state.

After introducing everyone, Ye Ruoxi smiled and joked:

"I'm sorry to have made you listen to my chatter for so long, but after this introduction, I think everyone should have gotten to know each other, so don't be so reserved and have some fun."

She glanced at Li Jinshu, who was standing beside her with a serious expression, and said, "We are holding an elegant gathering here in the green mountains and clear waters. Although the main purpose is to recite poems and discuss knowledge, since it is an elegant gathering, there must be elegant people, elegant events, and elegant interests. In addition, there are so many beauties attending the gathering, so we can't just keep it boring and listen to you men's long speeches. We have to hold some interesting activities that both men and women can participate in. Hehe, I just thought of an interesting idea..."

Ye Ruoxi paused, looked around the room, and saw that most people were looking at her and listening attentively. Ye Ruoxi raised her hand, raised her index finger and tapped lightly, and continued with a smile:

"Well, let me keep you in suspense for now. Not everyone is here yet. Let's wait a quarter of an hour so that the Red Carp girls can arrange the items first. I'll talk to you in a quarter of an hour."

After that, everyone dispersed with laughter and started having fun.

It was mid-morning, the sun was shining brightly, and a gentle breeze blew through the gaps between the bamboo leaves, embellishing the elegant gathering by the warm stream and the young students and scholars.

Some people enjoy themselves alone, feeling happy and contented, listening to the sound of waves in a bamboo forest, fishing in a warm stream, resting against a rock, or burning incense and painting...

There were also some men who gathered together to have fun, one man playing the zither, and a few others gathered around, brewing spring water and making tea.

Those elegant women ran in groups to the upper reaches of Nuan Creek, avoiding the men's sight, and took off their socks and washed their feet by the creek hidden in the woods.

The sound of water splashing could be heard faintly, accompanied by bursts of silver bell-like laughter. They must be splashing water and playing again, their clothes were wet, and the water was surging...

The women's clear voices each have their own unique characteristics.

The men downstream who heard this looked at each other in confusion, their hearts agitated.

"Junior brother, do not look at or listen to anything indecent."

Zhao Rong, who was making tea with his eldest senior brother, twitched his mouth when he heard his eldest senior brother's words.

He glanced at Li Jinshu, who was making tea with a stern face, and was speechless.

Senior Brother, you told me not to listen to anything indecent, so why are you blushing? Did you also hear Miss Ye's laughter just now?

"Okay, ahem, Big Brother, your tea is spilling..."

About a quarter of an hour later, everyone returned with smiles on their faces. Ye Ruoxi clapped her hands crisply, and everyone gathered around her again.

Ye Ruoxi glanced down the mountain and saw that her cousin had not arrived yet. She was a little hesitant. She thought about it and prepared to speak.

Just at this time.

In the field of vision, not far below, two women were walking slowly up the mountain.

When Ye Ruoxi took the first look, she saw the woman walking in front of her and her eyes lit up.

Finally we are here. Hmm, this conceited girl is dressed up quite well. Hey, who is the woman in the skirt behind? She looks familiar... Oh, no way, why is she wearing such beautiful clothes...

The first of the two women who went up the mountain was Ye Lanzhi, who had been late.

When Ye Ruoxi saw the woman behind Ye Lanzhi, her eyes were blank at first, and then gradually showed surprise.

Everyone at the gathering saw that Ye Ruoxi remained silent, with her neck twisted stiffly, her eyes seemed fixed in a certain direction, standing there motionless, and they couldn't help but turn their heads to follow her gaze.

The woman led up the mountain by Ye Lanzhi... turned out to be Concubine Zhao Lingfei.

What is most surprising is that today, Concubine Zhao Ling no longer dresses as simply as before.

Although her hair was still tied up with a wooden hairpin, her small oval face was lightly made up. Her eyes were like autumn water reflecting the moon, her eyebrows were like distant mountains, and her skin was as white as peach blossoms with a smile.

The originally delicate face became even more delicate and fair, and the teardrop mole under the left eye seemed to be slightly touched up by a red pen, making the color darker, and making her cold face even softer.

Just like a deep night in summer, the bright moon falls into the water and is then blown by the breeze, and its round curve melts a little. It originally looked lonely and cold, but now it is hazy and gentle.

This is Concubine Zhao Lingfei with light makeup.

If the students in the mansion remember correctly, Junior Sister Lingfei has been wearing no makeup since she returned to Taiqing Mansion at the beginning of the year. It is the first time in half a year that she has appeared with such light makeup today.

And that’s not all. Concubine Zhao Lingfei no longer wore plain white clothes, but a moon-white, chest-length brocade skirt.

Some of the attentive people in the palace gradually opened their eyes wide. This should be the first time since Concubine Zhao Ling entered the palace. They had never seen her wear such soft and feminine clothes before.

By the warm stream, the air at the elegant gathering slowly grew silent.

Concubine Zhao Ling walked towards the elegant gathering with graceful steps. Her attire surprised everyone at the gathering even more than her sudden arrival today.

Many people opened their mouths slightly, and some men even had shock in their eyes.

Some of them suddenly frowned, and couldn't help but think again of the rumor that had been circulating in a small circle in the mansion recently and gradually spread, about Zhao Lingfei's husband... They shook their heads slightly, somewhat unbelievable... Could it be true?

The arrival of Concubine Zhao Ling was like rippling a pool of spring water, and people had different reactions.

Liu Kongyi, who had been staring at the stream in boredom, no longer looked as bored as before. Instead, he began to stare at Zhao Lingfei without blinking since some point.

After seeing her makeup, Liu Kongyi's eyes gradually narrowed and his eyes flickered.

The strange dragon carp that was silently wagging its tail in the air stopped beside her and remained motionless.

Not far away.

Under the bamboo forest, on the side of the chessboard, the man who had been reading a book with his head down suddenly looked up the first second that Zhao Lingfei appeared in his sight.

He stopped moving his hands, and without seeing how he moved, the two white pieces that had been jumping between his fingers and were about to be played with for a whole morning disappeared.

At the same second, the crisp and pleasant sound of jade colliding came from the chess box.

Ji Qianyi, who was sitting beside the chessboard, had straightened up and was staring at Zhao Lingfei who was walking towards him, his pupils slightly shrunken.

Yunzi, who was on the other side of the chessboard, saw his young master's reaction, but his expression remained calm.