Chapter 671 (First Update)
What are you two doing? One of you is giving the other vinegar, and the other is giving the other chili oil. Exchanging lanterns isn't enough, you're giving each other condiments too?
Mu Qingchen found this scene extremely irritating, and at the same time, he felt quite full, even though he hadn't eaten dinner.
“He can’t eat spicy food.” Mu Qingchen took the chili oil from Gu Jiao’s hand.
Xiao Heng narrowed his eyes as he looked at Gu Jiao.
Just as Gu Jiao was about to say something, Mu Qingchen's eyes swept over her, as if asking, "Are you about to have another hemorrhoid flare-up?"
Gu Jiao: "..."
Is this meme going to stick?
"Just one spoonful." Gu Jiao quickly poured half of it into the bowl, and Mu Qingchen didn't even have time to stop her.
The dumplings tasted really good, especially after being drizzled with chili oil, they were simply divine. Gu Jiao ate them with great satisfaction.
The two of them were eating, while Mu Qingchen just sat there.
Mu Qingchen didn't want to stare at the two of them, but her gaze would involuntarily fall on them.
Gu Jiao ate with gusto, her cheeks puffed out, which was strangely cute.
Mu Qingchen frowned.
How could he find a grown man cute?
He's gone mad!
He glanced at the uninvited guest, Long Yi, whose eating manners could not be described as cute; they were refined and elegant, with every gesture exuding an air of nobility.
Mu Qingchen wouldn't believe it if you said this wasn't etiquette cultivated from childhood.
Even after racking her brains, Mu Qingchen found it difficult to connect the person in front of her with any of the prominent young masters in Shengdu.
Could it be that you're not from Shengdu?
No, that's not right either. His accent is from Shengdu, and he himself has admitted it.
Just as Mu Qingchen was completely baffled, Mu Chuan and the other two arrived.
"Fourth Brother! Sixth Brother!"
Gu Jiao didn't look up when Xiao Heng called out "Sixth Brother," but Xiao Heng glanced at Mu Chuan instead.
Mu Qingchen frowned. "I didn't call you."
"Liu Lang, why didn't you answer me when I called you?" Mu Chuan came to the table and said with a resentful look.
Gu Jiao slurped up a dumpling and said without changing her expression, "I'm busy."
They absolutely refuse to admit that they didn't react in time.
"Are you full?" Xiao Heng asked Gu Jiao.
Gu Jiao said, "I can eat a little more."
Shengdu is great in every way, except that the portions of the dishes are always very small.
Xiao Heng smiled gently and said, "Save some room for something else."
"Okay, sure!" Gu Jiao readily agreed.
Mu Qingchen frowned even more deeply. In all the time she had known Gu Jiao, she had never seen Gu Jiao so easy to talk to.
Mu Chuan gave Xiao Heng a strange look and asked, "Sixth Brother, who is this?"
Gu Jiao introduced, "This is a friend I just met, Long Yi."
"So your name is Liu Lang." Xiao Heng covered up the fact that the two hadn't fully introduced themselves when they first met.
Gu Jiao said in a serious tone, "Yes, my surname is Xiao and my given name is Liulang. They are my classmates."
"My name is Mu Chuan."
"Yuan Xiao".
"Zhao Wei".
The three introduced themselves one by one.
Mu Qingchen never showed any intention of getting to know Long Yi, so she didn't introduce herself.
However, his silence does not mean that Mu Chuan is silent.
Mu Chuan smiled and said, "The three of us are all Liu Lang's classmates, and so is my fourth brother. He was also Liu Lang's roommate!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Heng's face immediately darkened.
Gu Jiao, who was drinking dumpling soup, suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.
What's with this feeling that my backyard is about to catch fire again?
Gu Jiao quickly put down her soup bowl and said, "I've never stayed in a dormitory before!"
Xiao Heng gave a soft hum.
Mu Qingchen looked at Gu Jiao with suspicion.
Gu Jiao coughed lightly, stood up and said, "Alright, I'm full! Let's go! By the way, where's Master Wu?"
Their ability to change the subject is impeccable!
Mu Chuan said, "He went to see the acrobatics; we sneaked over!"
What's the point of strolling through the lantern festival with the Master? Of course, I should make a quick getaway!
"There's a poetry gathering over there, let's go check it out!" Zhao Wei suggested.
They were students from Wenju Academy and were quite interested in the poetry gathering. Gu Jiao, on the other hand, just wanted to put out the fire in the backyard as soon as possible, so she naturally wouldn't disagree.
The group gladly went.
Xiao Heng walked on Gu Jiao's left, and Mu Qingchen walked on Gu Jiao's right.
She was occupied on both sides, so Mu Chuan and the other two could only follow behind them.
Zhao Wei suddenly whispered, "Hey, don't you guys think those three are acting weird?"
"What's strange about it?" Mu Chuan asked.
“Yeah, what’s strange about it?” Yuan Xiao asked as well.
Zhao Wei frowned as he watched the three people's backs. "I can't quite put my finger on it, but... those three... they seemed a bit cramped."
Yuan Xiao looked at the three of them and said, "The three of us are quite crowded too. The street is only so wide, and there are so many people. It would be strange if it weren't crowded, right?"
Zhao Wei said, "Our squeezing is different from theirs!"
Yuan Xiao asked, dumbfounded, "How is it different?"
Zhao Wei scratched his head: "Well... if I could explain it myself, would I be asking you guys?"
"Never mind," Zhao Wei sighed.
Zhao Wei is a rather meticulous person, but Mu Chuan and Yuan Xiao are just as oblivious.
Rather than observing whether the three grown men were crowding the street, the two were more interested in seeing the lanterns on the street.
The customs of Yan were relatively open among the six states. There were many women strolling around with lanterns on the streets, but men rarely carried lanterns, as it always felt a bit out of place. Xiao Heng and Gu Jiao were an exception.
The sight of the two people holding lanterns and reflecting each other is as beautiful as a mural.
The group arrived at the poetry gathering, which was probably the largest poetry gathering on the entire street. It was hosted by a restaurant and included not only poetry but also riddles, couplets, and traditional Chinese essays.
The riddles were the simplest, and the lanterns as rewards were the most ordinary.
The first-place lantern was a gourd made of gold foil, with gourd whiskers made of real gold thread, making it extremely valuable and exquisite.
This lamp is not for sale; only those who produce the most outstanding eight-legged essay are qualified to take it away.
Gu Jiao's eyes lit up when she looked at the gourd lamp.
It's golden and shiny; Jingkong will definitely like it.
"Want it?" Xiao Heng whispered in her ear.
The warm breath tickled her earlobe slightly. She tugged at her ear and nodded, "Mmm."
Xiao Heng walked over on his own. The lobby on the first floor was full of scholars writing eight-legged essays. Xiao Heng found a table in the corner and sat down.
"Huh? Why did Long Yi go in?" Mu Chuan asked.
Guessing riddles, composing poems, and matching couplets can all be done outside, and Mu Chuan just wants to guess a few riddles anyway.
Soon, Mu Qingchen also went inside.
"Fourth Brother?" Mu Chuan stared in disbelief. He looked at the golden gourd lamp hanging at the door and thought to himself, "No way, is this lamp that beautiful? Fourth Brother wants it too?"
Mu Qingchen did not sit with Xiao Heng; he deliberately chose a table three or four seats away from Xiao Heng.
The two calmly put pen to paper.
Before long, it attracted everyone's attention.
A scholar who was writing a rigid, formulaic essay by the window patted his companion at the table in front of him and asked, "Look, isn't that Young Master Qingchen over there?"
Upon hearing this, not only did the two companions at the table in front of him stop writing, but everyone else also looked in the direction he was pointing.
Another person recognized Mu Qingchen and whispered, "It really does seem to be him!"
"No way? Even Young Master Qingchen is here? Is he the one who orders lanterns?"
"Is he here to cause trouble?"
"That's right, he's the head of the Four Young Masters. If he's here to write the eight-legged essay, what chance do we have?"
At least half of the people who were writing furiously put down their pens.
The mere title of Young Master Qingchen is enough to extinguish their fighting spirit, isn't it?
While Gu Jiao and the others waited outside, they solved many riddles and won a lot of lanterns, which they gave to passing girls.
As news of Mu Qingchen's presence gradually spread, more and more people came to watch.
Finally, after a gong was struck, the restaurant owner came out with a smile and personally took down the golden gourd lantern.
"Someone got first place! Who is it? Who is it?!"
"I don't know!"
"It must be Young Master Qingchen!"
The shopkeeper scanned the crowd, then walked towards Gu Jiao carrying a lantern, and politely asked, "Are you perhaps Young Master Xiao Liulang?"
“Yes, that’s me,” Gu Jiao said.
The shopkeeper presented the lantern with both hands: "Congratulations, Young Master Xiao, on obtaining the lantern."
Someone in the crowd complained, "He didn't even go in to make a fuss!"
The shopkeeper smiled and looked at Gu Jiao: "This young master Xiao's friend's article has won the praise of Grand Secretary Yang and is undoubtedly the best tonight. The young master Xiao's friend asked that this lantern be given to young master Xiao. Please accept it with pleasure."
Gu Jiao accepted the lantern.
Everyone then realized that the shopkeeper had just mentioned Grand Secretary Yang.
"Good heavens! Grand Secretary Yang has actually come!"
"If I had known that Grand Secretary Yang was here, I would have gone in and written an essay! If I could get a single word of guidance from him, my life would have been worthwhile!"
Grand Secretary Yang was a literary giant in the Yan Kingdom, and everyone who came to Shengdu to study longed to become his student. Unfortunately, Grand Secretary Yang rarely accepted students in private.
Soon, Xiao Heng and Mu Qingchen came out.
The two walked towards Gu Jiao.
Seeing that Gu Jiao and Mu Qingchen knew each other and were both wearing the uniform of Tianqiong Academy, everyone seemed unsurprised.
One of the scholars said, "I knew it was Young Master Qingchen! Only his writings could catch the eye of Grand Secretary Yang."
In the second-floor annex, Grand Secretary Yang knelt on a cushion, with several copies of the eight-legged essays that had just been collected from the main hall on the desk in front of him.
Sitting opposite Grand Secretary Yang was a refined-looking middle-aged man.
"Your Excellency, you've watched it several times already," the middle-aged man said with a smile. "Is it really that amazing?"
Grand Secretary Yang stroked his beard and said, "Since Prince Jing, I have never seen such brilliant literary talent."
"He's now the Duke of Anguo." The title "Prince Jing" was something from many years ago. The middle-aged man chuckled, "Isn't comparing him to the Duke of Anguo too high an evaluation? Who exactly is he?"
Looking at the signature at the bottom of the document, Grand Secretary Yang said with a rather strange expression, "Long Yi."
...
Gu Jiao and her group walked along the bustling street. She now had two lanterns, a pink peach blossom lantern and a golden gourd lantern, which attracted the attention of many passersby.
"Liu Lang, your lantern is really beautiful!" Yuan Xiao said, pointing to the gourd lantern that Gu Jiao was holding in her right hand.
Of course, it was a gift from my husband.
Mu Qingchen's suspicious gaze fell on Xiao Heng. Who exactly was this person?
"Fried meat! Fresh and delicious dried meat!"
The shouts of vendors could be heard from not far away.
Xiao Heng said to Gu Jiao, "You go ahead and browse, I'll go buy some dried meat."
After he left, Mu Qingchen blurted out, "You like to eat dried meat?"
The question was strange, and even Mu Qingchen himself was surprised. Why did he subconsciously think that everything that the man named Long Yi did was for Xiao Liulang?
Gu Jiao inexplicably felt that she should answer this question carefully.
Just then, Mu Chuan spotted a new riddle-solving stall and waved to the group, "Fourth Brother, Sixth Brother, come over here!"
"Sixth Brother, let's go, let's go take a look!" Yuan Xiao urged.
Gu Jiao was successfully taken away by the two men, and Mu Qingchen got nowhere with his questions.
The place selling dried meat wasn't far, just across the street from a clothing store. The dried meat business was good, with a long line of people. Xiao Heng stood at the end of the line.
Xiao Heng waited patiently.
He wasn't used to wearing a mask yet, and when he tried to push it up, he accidentally pushed it off.
He bent down, reached out his slender fingertips to pick up the mask that had fallen to the ground, and gently patted the dust off the mask.
At the same time, a woman carrying an embroidery basket came out of the clothing shop.
The woman's clothes were not particularly luxurious, but her demeanor and bearing were beyond that of an ordinary woman.
She walked past the butcher's stall and got into the carriage by the roadside.
Perhaps the aroma of the dried meat was too enticing, because the woman couldn't resist glancing at the stall.
At just one glance, she froze completely.
The carriage started moving.
The woman lost her balance and fell backward, causing the curtain in her hand to fall down with a snap.
"Stop the car! Stop the car!"
She screamed.
The coachman stopped the carriage.
The little girl inside the carriage asked, "Auntie, what's wrong? Did you leave something at the shop? I'll go get it."
The woman did not answer her question, but instead lifted her skirt and hurriedly got off the carriage.
She went to the meat jerky stall and pushed aside the men in line one by one.
What are you doing?
Are you crazy?!
The crowd cursed loudly.
The woman murmured in a daze, "Where is he? Where is he?"
The little girl came over: "Auntie, who are you looking for?"
The woman said with a sense of loss, "Your Highness Changsun... I saw Your Highness Changsun..."
The little girl looked around and whispered, "Auntie, are you seeing things? His Highness the Great Sage is no longer in Shengdu. He went to guard the imperial mausoleum with the Crown Princess."
(End of this chapter)
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