As soon as the voice came out, not only Jing Zhe looked back, but everyone else also looked behind them where the voice came from.
The crowd parted to make way for them, and they could see Qingqiu leading the way, followed by Pei Yunxi, with another stunning woman at the very back.
Upon seeing them, Jing Zhe was slightly shaken, but upon seeing their attire, he was completely stunned.
The three women seemed to have agreed beforehand, all wearing the same chiffon floor-length dresses. Even Pei Yunxi had changed into one, so they must have communicated beforehand. But what shocked Jing Zhe was not the style of the dresses, but their colors!
Qingqiu's long dress was bright yellow, which, combined with her already fair skin, made her look even more radiant and dazzling.
Pei Yunxi's long dress was light green, which, combined with her current tranquil and calm state, made people forget her usual aloofness, and complemented the lush green leaves of the peach trees around her.
As for the stunning woman at the very back, Jing Zhe recognized her as Lin Wan'er, whom he had met once in Yongzhou. Even after many days, she remained as elegant and refined as ever. The color of her long dress was an unusual bright purple—a color that most women would rarely choose because very few could pull off, but Lin Wan'er did.
At this moment, three stunningly beautiful women gracefully approached, but their gazes were all fixed on Jing Zhe, especially Lin Wan'er, whose passionate and affectionate gaze was the envy of all.
However, Jing Zhe was not in the mood to respond, and was lost in his memories.
That dates back to many years ago, on a spring afternoon after the rain. He and his six older sisters were playing around the osmanthus tree in the yard when a rainbow appeared in the sky, and Jing Zhe was overjoyed.
After that day, his six older sisters often wore long skirts. Starting with the second sister and ending with the seventh sister, the colors of their long skirts started with orange, followed by yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple. At that time, Jing Zhe was excited and confused, saying that these were the colors of the rainbow. He also asked his second sister, Zhu Xinning, why no one was wearing red.
Zhu Xinning simply smiled and did not answer.
Many years later, Jing Zhe finally understood that it wasn't that no one wore it, but that the person who wore it was currently in Mangshan.
Of course, Jing Zhe's shock was not only because the three different dresses evoked his memories, but also because Lin Wan'er was wearing that purple dress, which should have belonged to his seventh sister!
Seventh Sister…
So Jing Zhe was stunned, and the fragments of his memory began to gradually piece together. When he first met Lin Wan'er in Yongzhou, at Chunshui Tower, in addition to admiration, he could always sense a different emotion. At the time, he only thought it was because Lin Wan'er was too beautiful, and did not think much about it.
Lin Wan'er herself said that after leaving Yongzhou, she would head straight to Pengzhou to find old friends, which would inevitably be the Jing Zhe family.
After returning from Pengzhou, she never attended any poetry gatherings again, presumably after learning of the passing of Mr. and Mrs. Jing.
Her maid is named Huaping, and she is very similar to Huaqin, the maid of the sixth sister. The sixth sister has been closest to the seventh sister since childhood, and now she is standing with the third and fourth sisters. All the clues point to one thing - she is Jing Zhe's seventh sister!
Looking at Jing Zhe, Lin Wan'er pursed her lips, her eyes already brimming with tears.
...
At this moment, Magistrate Xu spoke up: "Heroine Qingqiu, why do you say that?"
Qingqiu had been looking at Jing Zhe ever since she walked over. Although she wasn't as excited as Lin Wan'er, as Jing Zhe's woman, she hadn't seen him for several months and was naturally looking forward to it as well.
Hearing Magistrate Xu's words, she reluctantly shifted her gaze from Jing Zhe and said calmly, "Because I am his third sister, I can naturally prove that he is my younger brother, Jing Zhe."
"..."
Now, Magistrate Xu completely gave up hope.
"Is...is this really President Jing?"
Even if you've given up hope, you still have to keep up the act.
"What, Prefect Xu, don't you believe me?"
"No, no...it just feels so sudden..."
Although Qingqiu held no official position, as the most outstanding disciple of Qingyun Sect, the head of the four major sects, and with a high probability of taking over Qingyun Sect in the future, Prefect Xu dared not offend her. He then composed himself, looked at Jing Zhe, and showed surprise and excitement.
"It's truly a case of the flood washing away the Dragon King's temple—this humble official greets President Jing! Because I was unaware of President Jing's arrival, my words were quite offensive just now, and I hope President Jing will punish me!"
As he spoke, he bent down.
His acting skills were not very good in Jing Zhe's eyes, but since one doesn't hit a smiling person, Jing Zhe did not make things difficult for him. "Prefect Xu, there is no need to blame yourself. As the saying goes, ignorance is no excuse. I will not take it to heart."
"Thank you very much, President Jing! President Jing is a very magnanimous person, and I admire him."
Magistrate Xu gave a light compliment and stood up.
At this moment, Jing Zhe had no intention of getting entangled with these people anymore, because his heart was completely focused on his three older sisters, especially his seventh sister, whose acceptance this time was much more dramatic than that of his other six sisters.
However, things here are not yet finished.
When Feng Mubai learned of Jing Zhe's identity, he was initially taken aback, but he quickly composed himself and looked at Jing Zhe with a gloomy gaze.
This is understandable. Lin Qingshan, the former leader of the Qingcheng Sect, was related to the Feng family. Lin Qingshan died mysteriously in Jinxi. Rumors circulated in the martial arts world that Jing Zhe killed him. It's plausible that Feng Mubai disliked or even hated Jing Zhe.
After glancing at Jing Zhe a few times, Feng Mubai turned to look at Lin Wan'er, feeling even more envious of Jing Zhe, because Lin Wan'er had been gazing at Jing Zhe with affection ever since she entered Peach Blossom Temple, her eyes never leaving him.
"Miss Lin, I just heard from Huaping that you weren't coming..."
Lin Wan'er turned and glanced at him, then said softly, "I didn't want to come out when I saw my fourth sister had arrived, but then I heard..."
At this point, Lin Wan'er's gaze shifted to Jing Zhe again, and she said with deep affection, "My little brother has come to Jiangling. Logically, he should be the one to visit me, but as his older sister, I couldn't resist, so I had to come and see him instead!"
"Seventh Sister..."
Having said all that, Jing Zhe knew that Lin Wan'er was indirectly criticizing him for not thinking of visiting her as soon as he arrived in Jiangling, but instead coming to attend the poetry gathering.
However, Jing Zhe was also very wronged. He was worried that this situation would occur, so after recognizing his sixth sister Zhou Ziqiong, he inquired about his seventh sister's situation, but Zhou Ziqiong refused to talk about it.
After thinking for a moment, she said, "Seventh Sister... I didn't know you were in Jiangling. I asked Sixth Sister in Ruzhou, but she wouldn't tell me! And Fourth Sister didn't even tell me she was going to see you!"
Jing Zhe first shifted the blame to someone else.
————
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