Yan Liang mentioned to Pang Jin that he was looking for a painter for his father. Pang Jin was initially worried about where to find such a painter, but seeing that Yan Liang didn't seem to care at all and looked carefree, he asked him, "Aren't you in a hurry?"
Yan Liang stroked the cat with both hands and said in a serious tone, "The one who should be worried is not me, but my old man."
Pang Jin: "...Aren't you worried about your father?"
“No.” Yan Liang paused, then added meaningfully, “Besides, I know where he is.”
Pang Jin asked instinctively, "Where is he?"
Yan Liang pointed: "Northeast."
Pang Jin looked in the direction he was pointing for a while. Layers of clouds covered the horizon, with the occasional bird flying by; otherwise, there were houses rising and falling in the landscape. He hesitated for a moment, then asked, "How did you know?"
Yan Liang smiled and said, "I figured it out."
Pang Jin: "...Oh, oh oh."
Yan Liang added, "After we finish eating, I'll go over there and try my luck to see if I can meet that painter."
Pang Jin nodded blankly. He felt that something was wrong, but Yan Liang was so confident and had indeed demonstrated his fortune-telling skills before. Even though he felt something was off, he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Zhui Ming, who was drinking nearby, was trying so hard not to laugh that he almost hurt himself. Seeing that the two young men were about to continue their conversation with such serious expressions, he finally couldn't help but speak up: "Young master, the direction you are pointing is southwest, not northeast."
He couldn't help but laugh, and the amusement in his words was obvious.
Pang Jin remained silent, while Yan Liang casually withdrew his hand. The two of them looked at the young man sitting behind Pang Jin. The man was unkempt and leaned against the table in a carefree manner, winking at them with a bright smile.
Previously, Zhui Ming had shown Pang Jin the way. Pang Jin couldn't recognize him by his voice, but he recognized him when he saw him—Pang Jin had rarely met anyone as unrestrained and bold as Zhui Ming.
Zhuiming smiled at him and said, "It seems you still remember me, young master."
Pang Jin nodded and said, "You took me home, of course I remember you."
Meeting is fate, so Zhui Ming introduced himself. He was the third disciple of Zhuge Shenhou, and Zhuge Shenhou and his four disciples were renowned. Even Pang Jin had heard of Zhui Ming.
After exchanging names, Zhuiming carried the wine jar to Yan Liang's table. As he sat down, he winked at Yan Liang, who calmly returned the wink with a smile.
Zhuiming thought to himself that the Crown Prince was so calm at such a young age, truly mature beyond his years. No wonder his uncle valued the Crown Prince so highly.
His reason for making such a conclusion was due to Zhuge Shenhou's attitude when talking about the Crown Prince with the four of them, the Crown Prince's mysterious statement that he had calculated it, and the Crown Prince's calm revelation of his pseudonym.
Zhuiming knew that the young man traveling with Pang Jin was the Crown Prince, but he didn't expect the Crown Prince to be such an interesting person. The Crown Prince clearly knew his identity, yet he still treated him with such a natural attitude, which made Zhuiming inexplicably happy.
Based on this brief conversation alone, Zhuiming developed a favorable impression of the Crown Prince, making a very high first impression.
Zhuiming's fondness for Yan Liang surged again after chatting and laughing with the two young men. Pang Jin, unaware of the Crown Prince's identity, acted extremely naturally when interacting with Yan Liang, which Zhuiming observed, revealing that the Crown Prince genuinely considered Pang Jin a friend.
A crown prince who is approachable and willing to make friends with ordinary people is obviously much better than an emperor who is oblivious to the hardships of ordinary people.
The three hit it off immediately, ordered food at the restaurant, and ate together around a table. Zhuiming was a heavy drinker; he drank more alcohol than he ate. Pang Jin stared at him in shock, even forgetting to eat. Yan Liang remained calm and composed throughout; being a man of wide experience, he considered Zhuiming's drinking habit nothing special.
After the three finished eating, Yan Liang made full use of the free manpower—
"I'm leaving Pang Jin in your care," Yan Liang said sincerely to Zhui Ming. "I need to go see the painter my father wants to meet, so I'll leave him to you."
Pang Jin: "...??"
Zhuiming smiled and nodded, "Alright, leave it to me. But I wonder, young master, should you search in the northeast or southwest direction?"
Yan Liang said seriously, "Of course we should go to the northeast to find him."
Pang Jin couldn't hold back any longer: "Why didn't you ask for my opinion?"
Yan Liang looked at him and readily agreed: "How do you plan to go back?"
Despite the two men's mocking gazes, Pang Jin said, "...Could you please take me back, Brother Zhui Ming?"
As they parted, Yan Liang handed them two oil-paper umbrellas, speaking confidently to Zhui Ming's puzzled gaze, saying that he had calculated with his fingers and predicted that it would rain that afternoon. Zhui Ming watched in bewilderment as Pang Jin accepted the umbrellas quite naturally. Even after parting with Yan Liang, he still didn't quite understand why a crown prince of a country would like to do fortune-telling... and speak of it with such seriousness.
Although the sun is hidden by clouds... that doesn't necessarily mean it will rain.
The thought of pursuing him had barely formed when a clap of thunder sounded and a torrential downpour began. Pang Jin, however, had already calmly opened his umbrella and looked up at him.
"...His calculations were quite accurate?"
Zhuiming took the umbrella and managed to utter this sentence.
“Hmm.” Pang Jin nodded solemnly. “At first, I just thought he was joking…”
—Who would have thought that Yan Liang's prediction was accurate.
Zhuiming glanced at him, pondered for a moment, and asked Pang Jin about the reason why he and Yan Liang knew each other. It wasn't something that couldn't be said, so Pang Jin readily told him.
While Pang Jin was being tricked into revealing information, Yan Liang followed the calculated result and headed northeast. Da Xue curled up in his arms, peering out at the rain curtain, making curious gurgling sounds in her throat, while tightly clinging to Yan Liang's clothes.
Yan Liang appeared in the Bitter Water Shop, holding an umbrella in one hand and a cat in the other.
Su Mengzhen saw a person approaching through the heavy rain, carrying an umbrella. The gray figure almost melted into the rain. The person approached unhurriedly, their face obscured by the oil-paper umbrella, with only a white tail visible in their arms.
A thought struck him: gray clothes and a white cat—as far as he knew, only Yan Liang would appear in such a manner.
It's just a mystery why the Crown Prince would be here.
Su Mengzhen discovered that the spies planted in the Six and a Half Hall of the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion had come to the Bitter Water Shop today to punish the traitors.
The closer the figure got, the more certain Su Mengzhen became of the person's identity. She saw the Crown Prince stop for a moment by the old woman sheltering from the rain under the eaves, pull the white cat closer to his chest, and hand the umbrella to the old woman.
The old woman looked at him in surprise, probably not expecting that after her stepmother gave her money, someone else would give her an umbrella.
The boy in gray handed the umbrella to the old woman, smiled at her, and ran towards the eaves, pulling up his trousers. He first saw Su Mengzhen, and after a moment of surprise, he smiled back and stood beside her.
"I'm here to find someone."
Before Su Mengzhen could ask, Yan Liang spoke frankly.
He glanced at the two young men not far away, then smiled at the artist from before: "I'm looking for him."
Su Mengzhen couldn't help but look at the two people over there. He had just had an interesting conversation with them and wondered why the Crown Prince wanted to find one of them.
Just as he was thinking this, the Crown Prince said to him, "My father likes this young master's paintings and hopes to meet him."
Su Mengzhen suddenly realized: "...I see."
Yan Liang's words were both an explanation to Su Mengzhen and also intended for Bai Choufei. He looked at Bai Choufei and said, "I wonder if this young master would be willing to meet my father?"
Bai Choufei had been speculating about Yan Liang's identity since Yan Liang's first appearance, and when he saw how familiar Su Mengzhen was with him, he was puzzled by Yan Liang's identity.
He was not a disciple of the Golden Wind and Drizzle Pavilion, yet the Pavilion Master treated him with such respect; his identity must be extraordinary.
Bai Choufei: "It's raining now, and I don't have an umbrella."
Yan Liang: "The rain will stop in a couple of quarters of an hour."
Bai Choufei couldn't help but retort, "Why are you so sure?"
Yan Liang remained calm: "I calculated it."
Bai Choufei: "..."
Bai Choufei paused, then said, "I need to know who I'm going to see."
Yan Liang thought for a moment, and was about to speak when he saw the old woman who had taken his umbrella earlier leap into the air. She flew halfway before crashing to the ground with a heavy thud, splashing water everywhere.
The two people Su Mengzhen brought instantly went on alert, looking at the old woman with suspicion and uncertainty. At the same time, the ruins on both sides collapsed, revealing two rows of crossbows behind them. A rough count showed that there were at least four hundred of them.
Bitter Water Shop is a key location for Six and a Half Hall. Su Mengzhen's arrival here is like venturing into a tiger's den. He thought of Hua Wucuo, who had not yet returned. Hua Wucuo should have gone to capture that traitor and brought him to him. Now that the two of them have not shown up, could it be that Hua Wucuo has met with misfortune?
Bai Choufei and Wang Xiaoshi had already leaped out of the combat zone when the ruins collapsed, watching the two sides confront each other.
Yan Liang stood beside Su Mengzhen, in the center of the confrontation, and remained calm and composed despite the situation.
He looked at the old woman lying stiffly in the puddle, and smiled again: "The umbrella was poisoned, and you've been poisoned."
The archers surrounding them couldn't help but look at the old woman on the ground—this old woman was no ordinary old woman, she was Granny Douzi from Qilian Mountain, and the tattered felt on her body was called "Heavenly Mandate Without Clothes," which would cause her to rot and die if it got on her body. She was a master of poison.
He is also an elderly man from a dignified family.
There were four groups of people in the ruins: the Six and a Half Hall, which had set a trap to kill Su Mengzhen; the Golden Wind and Drizzle Pavilion, which consisted of three people including Su Mengzhen; Wang Xiaoshi and Bai Choufei, who were watching from the sidelines; and Yan Liang, whose purpose was unclear.
Of course, at this moment, Yan Liang was seen as someone with unclear intentions by the Six and a Half Hall.
Grandma Bean was stiff and speechless. She could only stare at Yan Liang in disbelief. She had deceived and killed many people with this appearance, but she never expected that she would be betrayed by someone.
What puzzled her most was that even Su Mengzhen hadn't recognized her, so why would this young man hand her a poisoned umbrella?
Yan Liang caught the snow that was trying to run away, ignored the gaze of Granny Douzi, and instead scanned the archers on both sides before saying to Su Mengzhen, "I ran into the two people in your building outside and drugged them."
"You'd better talk to those two again more carefully," Yan Liang said tactfully. Su Mengzhen understood his implication and nodded silently.
Hua Wucuo was probably one of the traitors as well.
He was too lazy to think about why the Crown Prince knew so much. Now that there was no one to threaten him unexpectedly, Su Mengzhen, along with the other two, dealt with the archers.
Da Xue didn't like getting wet in the rain, so Yan Liang hugged Da Xue and leaned against a pillar, craning his neck to look outside, where he met the eyes of two young people outside the ruins.
Wang Xiaoshi gave Yan Liang a somewhat shy smile, while Bai Choufei gave him a cold look and turned his face away.
Author's Note: I weighed myself today, and despite eating and sleeping all these past two months, I haven't gained any weight!
Although I hadn't lost much weight to begin with, haha, thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 2020-03-21 18:11:56 and 2020-03-22 23:29:24!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the grenade: one live little angel was caught;
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Ran Gongzi (30 bottles); Jiu Yue (10 bottles);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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