Chapter 89 The Prince Arrives, Chaos Flies and Dogs Fly
The next morning, the group arrived at the beautiful Yuquan Mountain.
As agreed upon, Chu Xuanyi donned a simple, elegant blue Confucian robe, forcing his ethereal aura into a scholarly one. Xiao Yu also removed his princely python robe and donned a more conventional warrior outfit, but the menacing aura he exuded, abiding by his command, could not be concealed.
Huang Chong and his servants had been waiting for a long time.
As a lowly member of the Wugut tribe, Huang Chong only knew how to guard the place and was completely unaware of the higher-ups' plans. Now that he could host so many nobles from the capital, he felt it was a great honor to bring glory to his family, and his face flushed with excitement.
"Master Qian! Master Li!" Huang Chong immediately put on a fawning smile upon seeing the crowd and bowed to greet them. "My humble self, Huang Chong, greets the two masters! Your presence truly brings honor to our humble academy!"
Censor Qian was quite impressed. He put his hands behind his back and walked in a square step. "Well, no need to be polite. This villa is nice, the feng shui is very good!"
"Master Qian has a good eye!" Huang Chong hurriedly followed. "In order to welcome you all, I've specially ordered this bluestone pavement to be wiped three times with tung oil to ensure it's as shiny as a mirror and spotless as a mirror!"
He was right, the ground was indeed bright enough to reflect a person's shadow.
Censor Qian nodded with satisfaction. In order to show his magnanimity, he flicked his sleeves and prepared to stride in.
Then……
My feet slipped.
“Ouch! Hey—!”
Censor Qian was spinning on the shiny ground like a spinning top out of control, waving his hands wildly and accurately holding a half-person-high blue and white porcelain vase.
He wanted to use the force to stabilize his body, but he used too much strength and rushed forward with the porcelain bottle in his arms.
"Bang!"
The porcelain vase hit the rockery nearby and broke into eight pieces.
“Chichigaga—!”
A bird cage hanging on the rockery fell down due to the shock, and the cage door flew open. A colorful parrot flapped its wings and flew out, circling in the air, shouting at the top of its lungs:
"Heaven and earth, please help me! Demons and ghosts, please retreat!"
"Help! There's a ghost!"
“I’m a good person! I didn’t donate money!”
The whole yard was instantly silent.
Everyone's eyes were focused on Censor Qian, who had fallen on his butt and was still holding a piece of broken porcelain in his hand.
Censor Qian's face had turned the color of liver.
Xiao Yu stopped and his shoulders seemed to tremble slightly.
The Black Armor Guards all lowered their heads, their faces flushed from trying to hold back their laughter.
Censor Qian was also stunned. After a while, he trembled and raised the broken porcelain pieces in his hand, and faced the stunned Huang Chong, forcing himself to save face:
"Brother Huang...Brother Huang, this...this bottle of yours is a fake!"
Huang Chong's smile froze on his face. His eyes twitched as he looked at the piece of blue and white porcelain in Censor Qian's hand. Then he looked at the parrot that was still flapping in the air and shouting, "I didn't donate any money!" For a moment, he didn't know whether he should help Censor Qian first or catch the nonsense bird first.
The corners of Xiao Yu's mouth curled up in an almost imperceptible arc, which he then forced down. Only his slightly trembling eyelashes revealed his mood at the moment.
"Ahem!" Chu Xuanyi cleared his throat, took a step forward, and smiled at Huang Chong, "Mr. Huang, don't panic. Master Qian is performing a ritual for your villa to exorcise evil spirits and bring good fortune."
Upon hearing this, Censor Qian's eyes lit up. He immediately rose from the ground, brushed the dust off his butt, and with one hand on his waist, pointed at the parrot that had landed on the pomegranate tree and was preening its feathers. He said with deep sorrow, "Brother Huang! Look, this bird is misleading the public with its lies and boasting wildly. It's clearly tainted with evil spirits! In a moment of desperation, I borrowed the spiritual energy of this vase and performed the move 'Small Peace'. With the force of thunder, it suppressed any trace of ominousness in this courtyard! Look, doesn't the air feel much fresher now?"
Huang Chong: “…”
I don't believe you! The air smells like tung oil and broken porcelain!
Huang Chong's face lit up with sudden enlightenment. He slapped his thigh and bowed to Censor Qian with reverence, "Oh! I see! Master Qian is truly a master! I was blind and almost misunderstood you! Come on, quickly! Collect these 'Evil-Suppressing Treasures' properly, frame them, and hang them on the wall so we can admire Master Qian's unparalleled skills every day!"
The Xuanjia Guards following behind lowered their heads even lower, feeling that if they held their breath any longer they would suffer internal injuries.
At this moment, a sound as clear as a silver bell rang out.
"That's not right." Ah Jiu came over at some point. She tilted her head and pointed at the top of Huang Chong's head. She said to Chu Xuanyi with curiosity, "Sir, there's nothing ominous on top of this Uncle Huang's head. There's a golden praying beetle lying on his head, praying all the time. It's praying very enthusiastically, and even shouting 'You're right' as it prays! It's really funny."
"Puff--" A Black Armor Guard finally couldn't help but let out a strange sound, and was then stepped on hard by his companion.
Huang Chong's face instantly turned from red with admiration to purple with embarrassment.
Chu Xuanyi's smiling mask almost shattered. He covered Ajiu's mouth with his hand and explained to Huang Chong amiably, "Children's words are without restraint. Children's words are without restraint. My little nephew has a rich imagination. Please excuse my embarrassment."
Just at this moment, a plump woman dressed in jewels came out quickly from behind the moon gate with a group of maids and servants. It was Huang Chong's wife.
"Oh, sir, have all the distinguished guests arrived? I'm sorry I'm late!" Madam Huang smiled widely, her eyes sweeping over everyone until they finally landed on the elegantly dressed Madam Li. She became even more enthusiastic, "Isn't this Madam Li from the Minister of War's family? Oh, she's even prettier than the one in the painting! Come on, ladies, follow me. The West Garden has prepared the finest tea and freshly baked hundred-flower cakes. Let's have a good chat, sisters!"
Chu Xuanyi was as if he had been pardoned. He immediately let go of Ajiu and winked at Madam Li.
Mrs. Li understood and smiled, taking Ah Jiu's hand. "Then I'll have to trouble you, Mrs. Huang. Ah Jiu, follow your aunt."
Before leaving, Jiu turned around and said to Censor Qian, "Uncle Qian, when you fell just now, the little green turtle on top of your head flipped over, with all four legs in the air, and kicked its legs several times before turning over. It was so cute!"
Censor Qian: “…”
He felt that the image of a master he had just established was shattered like that blue and white porcelain vase.
Xiao Yu looked at Ajiu's back as he was dragged away, and a smile flashed in his cold eyes that he himself didn't even notice.
Huang Chong led Xiao Yu, Chu Xuanyi, Censor Qian and Minister Li to the East Courtyard.
The East Courtyard is the activity area for male guests. It is decorated in a rather grand style with rockery, flowing water, pavilions and towers, but it exudes a sense of nouveau riche luxury everywhere.
At this moment, Censor Qian had completely walked out of the shadow of the "broken bottle" and the "tumbling turtle". With his hands behind his back and his belly sticking out, he had regained his style of commanding the country.
"Brother Huang," he said, pointing to a bizarrely shaped Taihu stone, shaking his head, "this stone of yours is no good. Look, it looks like the character '凶' (laughing) from the left, and '煞' (evil) from the right. Not only will it block your path to wealth, it'll also easily attract gossip and disputes. In my opinion, you should smash it immediately and replace it with a square house-guarding stone. Then engrave it with my calligraphy, '天下太平' (Peace Under Heaven), to ensure peace and prosperity for your family!"
Chu Xuanyi followed behind, his eyes twitching.
— Is the world at peace? Just by that smack you just did, I think the world is in chaos! And you even smashed it! If there's any formation in this Huang family compound, it'll be smashed through by you, the unfortunate wretch, sooner or later!
Huang Chong nodded repeatedly, his face showing that he had learned something. "Master Qian is absolutely right! I'll do it right away! I'll do it!"
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