"Why did it take you so long?"
Jing Zhe asked Hanhan to go out and hire a carriage, but it felt like an eternity before Hanhan finally returned with the carriage.
"Young Master, there are so many people outside!"
"Nonsense, it's the Mid-Autumn Festival, of course there would be a lot of people!"
"..."
Jing Zhe stopped arguing with him and gestured for Zhang Xiaoyu to get in the car.
Hanhan stood outside, his words interrupted by Jing Zhe. Actually, he wanted to remind him that there were too many people on the street, and traveling by carriage was not a wise move.
Several times he wanted to speak, but seeing Jing Zhe's excited appearance and remembering how he could always predict things, he thought that the young chieftain's thoughts were beyond his comprehension. He had only seen one layer, while Jing Zhe must have seen many layers!
He hesitated, then remained silent and drove away.
Looking out from the alleys along Zhangjia Street, the entire alleyway stretches far into the distance, extending to the main street and the entire city of Jingzhou, a vibrant scene of rows of buildings and dazzling lights.
If one could find a high place to look down at this moment, the magnificent ancient night view would surely have a unique charm. Unfortunately, Jing Zhe, sitting comfortably in the carriage, will not be able to appreciate it today.
As dusk approached, the bustling activity in Jingzhou City had not yet reached its peak. The carriage left the Zhang family's residence, passed through relatively quiet alleyways, and gradually slowed down as it arrived at the main street.
Along the way, countless bright and lively lights flickered outside the carriage. Even the usually quiet side streets were bustling with activity. Shopkeepers on both sides of the main street were hawking their wares with all their might. Lifting the curtain and looking out, all you could see were surging crowds of people.
After entering the main street of the city, the carriage was stuck in the mud for a short while and could hardly move forward. This was not surprising. On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, when people were enjoying the moon, there were many people in Jingzhou City. After dinner, there were many people who came out to enjoy the moon, chat and participate in poetry gatherings. It was difficult to walk, let alone a carriage.
But the others were clearly experienced; apart from Jing Zhe's carriage, there wasn't another one on the street. As pedestrians squeezed past the carriages, they would glance inside with mockery and disdain, as if to say:
Where did this idiot come from? Is he out of his mind?
Seeing that everyone lingered for a moment in front of the carriage, Hanhan looked at Jing Zhe, suddenly realized, and turned around to say, "Young Chieftain, is this the kind of prestige you were talking about?"
It certainly gives people a lot of prestige by having everyone pay attention to it.
"roll!"
"..."
...
Jing Zhe and Zhang Xiaoyu got out of the car, otherwise he was afraid he would be stuck in traffic on the street until the end of the poetry gathering.
As for Hanhan, Jing Zhe noticed that he had become increasingly clever recently, and would often strike up a conversation to tease him. As a reward, he would leave Hanhan alone in the carriage to watch the enormous moon.
There were too many people on the street. To prevent Zhang Xiaoyu from being taken advantage of while squeezed in the crowd, Jing Zhe, like a gentleman, protected her with his body pressed tightly against hers, and they finally arrived at the outside of Wuxian Garden.
Zhang Xiaoyu's cheeks were flushed, and her head was lowered, not daring to look at him, which made Jing Zhe feel strange.
They must have been moved by my glorious and upright image, right?
Outside Wuxian Garden, the situation was much better than on the street. There was no crowding, but rather people were queuing in an orderly fashion to enter. Most of them were scholars who knew each other, dressed smartly, and talking eloquently.
Jing Zhe didn't belong to this circle and naturally didn't know anyone there, but he did see an acquaintance standing in an inconspicuous corner, busy with something.
This time of year is Wu Yong's busiest time.
As the prefect of Jingzhou, he not only had to lead people to maintain order on the streets and prevent violent incidents such as beatings, smashing, looting, and stampedes, but also had to maintain order outside Wuxian Garden.
After all, the number of scholars that Wuxian Garden could accommodate was limited, while there were too many scholars in Jingzhou City. Most of the scholars who could not enter the garden gathered outside, waiting to hear the poems coming from inside.
So many scholars gathered together, all they did was gossip and drink and compose poetry. It's fine if you can hold your liquor, but you get drunk after just a little, and when you're drunk you cause trouble and ruin the country!
Therefore, Wu Yong mobilized all the government officials to perform duties this time, just in case something unexpected happened.
What a load of rubbish poetry gathering! In my opinion, it should have been canceled! All those so-called talented men and beautiful women who participated in the poetry gathering are utter rubbish!
Of course, he only dared to think these words, after all, Emperor An was in charge of Wuxian Garden at this time, and Emperor An was the biggest leader of these talented men and beautiful women.
This is perhaps why he has always followed Su Mowu; if he were to ascend the throne, these scholars would certainly not be as glamorous as they are now…
"Prefect Wu, are you busy?"
Jing Zhe led Zhang Xiaoyu over, but the people around them were either busy entering the garden or chatting and no one paid any attention to them.
"So it's Young Master Kun!"
Wu Yong turned around and saw that it was Jing Zhe. His lips twitched, but he ultimately couldn't manage a smile.
For someone who had extorted two thousand taels of silver from him, the fact that he didn't jump up and curse was already a testament to his good manners.
"Today is indeed quite busy, with so many people coming and going; I'm afraid something might go wrong. But Young Master Kun, the poetry gathering is about to begin, why don't you hurry up and go into Wuxian Garden to familiarize yourself with the surroundings?"
Wu Yong was clearly too lazy to argue with Jing Zhe and subtly told him to leave.
Damn it, do you think I've never been to Wuxian Garden before?
Familiarizing yourself with the environment? Familiarizing yourself with a snakeskin, my foot!
The reason Jing Zhe approached him was mainly because he was about to send him to his doom, and he felt bad about it, so he wanted to invite him into the garden—to watch him get what he wanted...
“Prefect Wu, those above labor with men, and those below labor with their own strength. As a dignified prefect, you can leave this kind of patrol and security work to the constables. You don’t need to do it yourself!”
Wu Yong pursed his lips and didn't say anything.
The labor and management are just standing here making a show. If a leader comes to inspect, that's understandable. Which eye of yours saw me doing something personally?
"Prefect Wu, the Mid-Autumn Poetry Gathering is such a grand event, it would be a pity to miss it! Come in with me, I have a surprise for you later!"
Wu Yong had no idea what the "surprise" Jing Zhe was talking about was, and of course he didn't want to know. In his opinion, being able to stay away from him was more of a surprise than anything else.
"Young Master Kun, I appreciate your kindness, but you can get into the Mid-Autumn Poetry Gathering while I can't!"
"???"
Seeing Jing Zhe's puzzled expression, Wu Yong realized that he was from out of town and didn't know the rules, so he explained it to him.
It turns out that there are only three types of people who can attend today's Mid-Autumn Poetry Gathering: members of the royal family or those who have been invited by the royal family; servants of Wuxian Garden, who are not attending the poetry gathering but serving those who are; and scholars.
————
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