Chapter 78 Bu Guanlan is here
As it turned out, Su Bin's plan was indeed successful.
Chunsou had a miscarriage and the imperial physician examined her on the spot. After returning to the palace, the chief physician of the imperial hospital re-examined her and confirmed that she had physical injuries and would have difficulty having children in the future.
Concubine Su dragged her body and cried so hard that she almost fainted when the emperor came to see her. She tightly held the tiger-head shoes she had sewn for her child in her hands. Her motherly love was touching.
The Emperor's entourage offered to ease his anxiety by offering to adopt a child for Concubine Su. The Empress, intent on distancing herself from the matter, remained silent. Concubine Feng initially objected, but after the factory supervisors investigated and discovered that the warm soup had been delivered from the Imperial Kitchen that day, they calmed down.
After a few days, Wen Yao heard news from the palace: the emperor promoted Concubine Su to the rank of concubine, summoned the Prince of Huainan, and adopted the prince's grandson as Concubine Su's son.
Wen Yao waited patiently, and after things calmed down a bit, she went into the palace to visit Concubine Su.
Hong Su led her into the warm room. Concubine Su lay on a soft couch by the window, silently gazing at the flowers outside. Wen Yao approached, and she turned and smiled, "The child will enter the palace at the beginning of next month. You promised me that you would give him a nickname, don't forget."
Wen Yao sat down and said, "Do we have to change his nickname and name?"
"He's just five years old and only recognizes a few people. The sooner these things are changed, the better it will be for the child."
"Okay." Wen Yao stood up and wrote two words on the rice paper that Hong Shu had spread out. Children's handwriting was usually deliberately vulgar, but he was a member of the royal family after all, so calling him "cat" or "dog" was not very nice. "You have high hopes for him, so call him Wang Nu."
"Wang Nu." Su Fei nodded: "Okay. I'll tell him that this is the nickname you chose for him."
Wen Yao looked at her with a smile on his face, but there was no joy in his heart. After accompanying Concubine Su to finish his meal, Wen Yao returned to Prince Yan's Mansion and immediately received news from General Baili's Mansion.
Despite the recent setbacks, Baili Cheng hadn't delayed his preparations for the Wuzhaosi. As someone who could bring the Baili family into the imperial court, Baili Cheng was clearly no ordinary man. The King of Qin's subtle coldness didn't faze him. Seizing the opportunity presented by the northern stalemate and Wen Yao, Baili Cheng was determined to turn the tables.
Wen Yao unfolded the invitation and glanced around. It said that the Wu Zhao Division was finalized, and Baili Cheng invited the top 100 knights on Bai Xiaosheng's World Hero List to attend the banquet, compete in martial arts, and participate in the grand event. During the banquet, Wen Yao was mentioned many times, showing off his identity as the Ming Yi Sword Division, and his words were all using Wen Yao as a token of support.
Wen Yao's gaze moved down to the venue of the welcoming banquet.
"Ghost market?" She raised an eyebrow.
The next second, with a "bang", Jiang Qiaosheng pushed open the door and strode in.
Behind her followed Xueke, who was wearing all kinds of paper bags with string hangings all over his body, and each of his ten fingers held a snack, which looked quite funny.
Jiang Qiaosheng had a cold expression on his face. He took out a bag of shortbread and sweet-scented osmanthus candy and placed it in front of Wen Yao. He gritted his teeth and said, "I'm going out for a few days and will be back in ten days."
"Where are you going?"
"Murder." Jiang Qiao was furious. "Several silk shops in Jiangnan were once the accounts of Hongge. That bastard Feng Jimin actually came to my shop to kill someone! I will kill him——"
Wen Yao couldn't stop Jiang Qiaosheng, so Jiang Qiaosheng turned and walked away after saying something. Xue Ke nodded politely to Wen Yao, placed all the food and accessories in his hands in front of Wen Yao, and then ran out.
After Song Mingde blew up the Red Pavilion in Tangshan, Jiang Qiaosheng used several strongholds to silence the imperial court. However, the Red Pavilion was so massive that the tampering barely scratched the surface. Feng Jimin continued his underworld business, breaking his previous rule of avoiding the imperial court, and his business scope more than doubled. Wen Yao didn't know why he had provoked Jiang Qiaosheng for no apparent reason, but since the "Ghost Light Line" was still over a month away and Xue Ke was with him, any incidents could be promptly reported, he ignored it.
In the next few days, people from all over the country gathered together, and the Bianliang Ghost Market became extremely lively.
If Baili Cheng had simply used the name of Wu Zhao Si, the final effect would likely have been similar to the previous incident at Cun Yingshan. However, with the addition of the title of Wu Zhao Si's Chief Xingyi Sword Master, everything was completely different.
Wen Yao took up his sword and challenged the world of martial arts, and the reputation he earned was well-earned.
Regardless of whether they received an invitation or not, the nearby chivalrous warriors and aristocratic martial arts families all rode as fast as they could to Bianliang City. The Tianshan Snow Region and the Southwest Poison Forest were quite far away, so the Wu Zhao Si's invitation was doubled to explain the reason, respectfully inviting all masters to come to the Wu Zhao Si for the test at any time.
What surprised Wen Yao was a letter from Bu Guanlan. The Liuli Island Master had said he was originally going to Bianliang to discuss business with Chu Yutang after the Lunar New Year, but since the Wu Zhaosi was hosting the event, he decided to do Wen Yao a favor by attending and also visiting Bianliang with Xiaodao Ayin.
Wen Yao was very happy. Hao Chunhe, who had been uninterested, also became excited after hearing the news. He ran to Wen Yao to ask for an invitation, saying that he would go in to watch the game.
"Now that we're here, you and Bu Guanlan have to have a fight, right?" Hao Chunhe tutted. "Back then, you had him beat, and now he's number one on the expert rankings. A fight between you two is unpredictable, it'll be something to watch."
Wen Yao threw a fruit at him: "Are you watching my show?"
The little old man hung upside down under the eaves with the invitation in his arms, smiled, and slipped away.
Zhao Xuanxu sat aside, watching with a sullen expression, silent. Wen Yao retracted her hand, walked over to him, and rubbed his chin. Feeling a little strange, she asked, "What's wrong? Are you unhappy that Xiaodao and the others are coming over?"
"Many people would put you and Bu Guanlan together." Zhao Xuanxu said fiercely, his brows furrowed, and he looked ferocious. "I want to fight him too."
Wen Yao didn't refute. He thought about it seriously, and then said seriously: "Can I fight for you? I don't think you can win by yourself."
In a word, the distinction between closeness and distance between inside and outside is extremely clear, and the therapeutic effect is excellent.
The knot in Prince Yan's heart instantly disappeared, and his heart was filled with sweetness like honey. He even said hypocritically: "When we parted at Yanling that day, we agreed that if he came to Bianliang, I would treat him well. Xiaodao and Ayin will naturally stay in Prince Yan's Mansion. I will ask someone to prepare a courtyard and bring them in when they arrive in Bianliang."
Apart from anything else, Zhao Xuanxu was really kind and gentle to Xiaodao, and was more like a brother than he was with King Yong, King Qin and King Xiang.
When Wen Yao thought about it now, he could probably guess that it was Xiaodao's accidental words "Brother Zhao and sister-in-law" that touched the heart of King Yan.
She smiled and rejected His Royal Highness Prince Yan's proposal: "The matter of the King of Hell at Yushan Villa is over. Since Xiaodao Ayin has gone to Liuli Island to start a new life, we don't need to get too familiar with them and attract attention. It's better for them to follow Bu Guanlan."
Zhao Xuanxu held Wen Yao's hand, and it was hard to tell whether he was disappointed or calm, and he responded in a low voice.
A few days later, the world of martial arts was in turmoil, and the situation was changing. The Meishan Sect, the Lianshan Square, the Mingtai Sword Tomb, and other powerful forces in the martial arts world arrived in Bianliang one after another.
Compared with the small fish and shrimps that came to Cun Yingshan last time, this time half of the Tianshui Jianghu were really mobilized, and all those who could come in such a short time came.
Wen Yao had just finished polishing her Xingyi Sword when Baili Cheng sent someone to bring her a freshly made Tisi waist badge. With this waist badge, she now had a jingling bouquet of various jade pendants indicating her identity.
She touched the heavy badge on her waist, but instead of tying it around her body, she casually stuffed it into her pocket and went out with Zhao Xuanxu towards the ghost market.
This time, with the government intervening, the ghost market was temporarily cleared, and the two men didn't wear masks. However, Hao Chunhe, who had joined in the fun, had a human skin mask smeared across his face. In front of He Niang and his old friends, he wanted to be a spring swallow, not a flyer.
This was the first time Zhao Xuanxu came to the Bianliang Ghost Market with Wen Yao, and he was very impressed with the underground market.
The banquet was held in the open space where the eight streets of the Ghost Market intersected. It was dim underground, and red wooden poles were tied around the red arena, with colorful silks pulled down all the way, and lantern stands were placed all around.
Unlike last time, Wen Yao and Zhao Xuanxu arrived at the venue just in time. The seats were full, and everyone, regardless of grudges or not, mingled together. They were all old acquaintances and recognized each other's faces.
Wen Yao came in from a corner and was immediately seen by someone, who called out to him.
"Wen Yao!" The man carrying the heavy sword shouted at Wen Yao, "Where have you been having fun all these years?"
"Yes! When you woke up, Bai Xiaosheng had erased your name. We thought you were murdered, and we thought we would avenge you if we had the chance." Three women in white sat together.
They had identical faces, each with a long sword hanging from their waist and a flower ornament on their forehead. Their delicate appearance was incongruous with the empty wine jars placed on and under their tables—there were probably a dozen or so at a glance.
Everyone around them knew that the crazy women in Mingtai Sword Tomb were drunk and didn't care about their relatives, so they quietly moved the tables and chairs away, fearing that they would be affected.
"Avenge me if you can?" This meant finding out who had harmed Wen Yao, and if they could defeat them, or if they had the chance, they would kill them. Wen Yao's eyes narrowed, a big smile forming on her lips. She led Zhao Xuanxu over and bowed to the three women: "Okay, okay, thank you so much, sisters."
The leading woman's beautiful eyes turned and fell on Wen Yao's back, looking him up and down: "What a handsome man, is he yours?"
Before Wen Yao could speak, Zhao Xuanxu replied calmly and decisively, "Yes."
"Oh." Another woman came up and said, "Are you planning to get married? If so, don't forget to treat us to the wedding."
Wen Yao felt a little embarrassed and turned his head away.
There were simply too many familiar faces around her, many of whom she had met when she first started out in the underworld. Wen Yao was thick-skinned, but making such a joke in front of so many acquaintances, and remembering her unruly ways in the city back then, even her thick skin still felt a little hot.
Zhao Xuanxu, however, was always particularly gentle and talkative when discussing this topic. He stood at Wen Yao's side, his figure tall and graceful, and said calmly, "Of course, anyone who is Yao's friend can come and have a drink."
"Oh, that's quite a lot of people." The last woman smiled and said, "Do you have enough money to hire half of the martial arts world?"
Hao Chunhe stood aside and thought to himself, of course there is. There is probably no one in the world with richer wealth than the Zhao family in Bianliang.
Wen Yao covered her face and lamented, "Sisters, he is honest, don't tease him."
The surrounding heroes burst into laughter.
The people of Jianghu express their love, hatred, and vengeance with openness and passion, unconstrained by etiquette. Wen Yao grabbed Zhao Xuanxu by the hand and dragged him, who was still trying to discuss the details of the wedding banquet, to their seat.
The area surrounding the arena was ablaze with color and bustle. Not far away, beneath the eaves, Chu Yutang, dressed in a brocade robe and clutching a white jade fan, stared intently at two people walking arm in arm among the crowd.
The steward at the side was used to observing Chu Yutang's expression. He knew from a sneak peek that he was definitely not in a happy mood, so he quickly raised his hand to ask the people behind him who were carrying trays to stop and stand aside without making any sound.
“Pah.”
The extremely luxurious white jade fan was placed neither lightly nor heavily on the palm of his hand.
Chu Yutang breathed a sigh of relief, shook his head, and raised his lips: "Okay. Liuli Island, Prince Yan's Mansion, I'm really going to have a lively night tonight."
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