The scholar called "Brother Yi" said, "I don't care about his high and low opinions. Since you are interested in listening to my random comments, I will start with the lowest quality. The lowest quality is usually placed in places where businessmen and industrialists come and go, just like the peonies displayed in this inn. The green leaves are covered with dust, and the tender buds are covered with dirt. But they still try to be colorful to attract wealth and fame, which adds a bit of "vulgarity". They are the lowest quality! The next lowest quality is the peony placed on the desks of those sour scholars! They are often criticized and admired by scholars. Although they are tainted with some "literary air", they are inevitably more timid and artificial."
At this point, some of the scholars nearby looked displeased, but did not start an argument. Instead, they glanced at the scholar in black clothes and whispered to each other, with disdain in their eyes.
The scholar in black clothes ignored him and continued, "The middle-grade peony is a peony with 'dominance'. It is decorated on the edges of the crowns and lapels of heroes and nobles. No matter whether they are noble or humble, they are all domineering!" Everyone looked around and saw that the peonies worn by the heroes, whether white or red, all had a sense of 'dominance'. They bloomed without paying attention to others, and their colors were dazzling. People couldn't help but say "good" in their hearts! Everyone nodded repeatedly after hearing this. The scholar cleared his cough and continued, "The top-grade ones are usually placed in the emperor's hall, decorated with gold and jade. They don't attract people with their colors, but make the viewers breathless with their natural kingly aura. Their aura is 'kingly aura'!"
When Lin Jianlan heard this, he was surprised: "From what he said, the peony with 'royal spirit' is not the best peony. Is there anyone in the world who is more noble than the emperor?"
Everyone thought the same thing, so they all said with surprise, "Brother Yizhi, what you said is wrong. Think about how noble the aura of an emperor is. Is there anyone above the king?"
The scholar paid no attention to the crowd's questions, he drank the wine in front of him and said, "Of course there is. This top-quality peony is the one that is pinned on the beauty's temples. People usually say 'famous flowers and beautiful women', but I think that's wrong. It should be 'beautiful women and famous flowers'. Don't you know that this flower also relies on the beauty's spiritual and elegant aura to raise its value? In this world, it is precisely the 'spiritual and elegant aura' that is the most rare. The peony can be pinned on the beauty's temples, close to the beauty's fragrant cheeks, and be contaminated with spiritual aura. Isn't it lucky? Isn't it the best of all peonies?" After saying that, he put down the wine glass, glanced at Lu Man and smiled slightly.
After hearing this, Lin Jianlan felt that this young man was not bound by worldly talk and was unrestrained, so he wanted to make friends with him. Looking around, there were many people in the living room, and there were quite a few female guests, all of whom were wearing flowers and came out to play and rested here after being tired. There were also many beauties among them, and the peonies on their temples were more dazzling than one another, but none of them could compare to the tender yellow peony on Lu Man's temples.
After all, Lu Man could not get rid of her girlish nature. When she saw girls walking on the street wearing all kinds of peonies in their hair, she also became fond of beauty. She bought a yellow peony on the street and put it in her hair. She wore a yellow shirt and had two red clouds on her cheeks, which made her look even more shy and charming. It was as if the peony had its own spirit.
Bai Zongping was very angry at the scholar's rudeness and kept staring at Lu Man. He turned around and saw that Lu Man's face was full of shame and anger. He secretly made up his mind that if Lu Man got angry, he would be the first one to settle the score with the scholar.
Lin Jianlan was about to applaud the scholar's remarks, but he saw Lu Man's face was unfriendly, with both hands on the sword, ready to attack. He quietly pulled Lu Man's sleeve and said with a smile: "Everyone loves beauty. The scholar has good taste. There are so many beauties here, and Sister Man is indeed the prettiest!"
After hearing what Lin Jianlan said, Lu Man felt embarrassed ? Besides, it was a compliment to me. If I mind, people will think we are too squeamish and petty!" Bai Zongping missed an opportunity to show his courtesy to Lu Man. He was secretly resentful that he didn't say such polite words. He didn't know who to vent his anger on, so he could only drink his tea.
The three of them were silent when they heard someone say, "Just based on Brother Yizhi's great talk about peonies, you are qualified to be a guest at the Peony King's Palace!" Someone else said, "I wonder who King Wei invited to his palace to appreciate the flowers this year?"
A few people at the table next to them asked blankly, "From what you said, you seem to be quite envious of this young man who was invited as a guest. What kind of person is King Wei Hua? Why do you think so highly of him?" One of the scholars was about to continue to boast, saying, "I'm afraid you are not from other places? King Wei Hua..." But he was stopped by the scholar who had just talked about peonies, who said indifferently, "Wei Suxin is just an ordinary person, but he likes to make friends with all kinds of people. Being invited by him as a guest is nothing to be envious of."
When Lu Man heard others talking about the Flower King's party, her mind had already been drawn to it. She just tilted her ear and listened carefully. Lin Jianlan put his hand on the invitation and thought to himself, "I am wondering how can people go to see him and talk about flowers and martial arts when there is no specific time on the invitation and only the Flower King's Mansion. Could it be that the Wei Suxin they are talking about is the Suxin guest on the invitation?" She also heard that the scholar in black clothes called the "Wei Flower King" by his name and looked disdainful. She was puzzled and thought for a while. She picked up a pot of tea on the table, walked to the table with a smile, filled the tea for the scholar, and said, "My dear brother, please forgive me for being so presumptuous, but may I ask when the invitation to the banquet of the 'Wei Flower King' is? And where is the Flower King's Mansion?"
The scholar said calmly, "Tomorrow is the day. King Wei Hua's ceremony is very grand. If you go there tomorrow, just ask around on the street and someone will show you the way."
Lin Jianlan bowed slightly and thanked him, then returned to his seat and said softly, "I wonder if the 'Wei Hua Wang' they are talking about is the one who is holding this Hua Wang event. Why not go to Hua Wang Mansion tomorrow to take a look?"
Lu Man said, "I have never been there either, so I don't know if it is true. I heard from that scholar that King Wei Hua likes to make friends with all kinds of people, so I guess he is not bad. But we don't have an invitation, so I am afraid we will be turned away."
Lin Jianlan smiled, took out the invitation and flashed it in front of Lu Man, then put it on the table and said, "Sister Man, take a look, this is the invitation that is worth a fortune?"
Lu Man's eyes widened. She carefully took it in her hand and turned it over and over for a long time before handing it to Bai Zongping and saying, "Second Senior Brother, take a look. Is this a Kao sticker?"
Bai Zongping opened it, looked at it, and rubbed it with his hands, then nodded and said, "This should be it. Although I have never seen it before, the invitation words at several Kao ceremonies were just a few short sentences, and they have never changed in the past few years."
Lu Man said excitedly, "How did my brother get this invitation?"
Lin Jianlan said, "I am really confused. When I said goodbye to you and returned to the inn that day, the invitation was already placed in the room. This Su Xinke is really powerful. He can actually know when and where I will stay. This is the second thing. Sister Man, please help me look at this."
After that, Lin Jianlan took out something from his pocket and put it on the table. Lu Man looked at it intently. There were two identical envelopes on the table, but the recipients were different. She looked up and said, "Could it be..."
Lin Jianlan said: "I just don't know if Uncle Qing will come here too."
Lu Man said: "If your adoptive father also came here, wouldn't it be better? You don't have to go around looking for his whereabouts."
Lin Jianlan sighed and said, "This is the most annoying thing. Sister Man once said that this invitation is very expensive, but I saw another one from a third person."
Lu Man was surprised at this time and said, "This...I am not lying."
Lin Jianlan said: "I didn't question Sister Man's intention. I saw the third invitation from the current leader of the Kuang Yi Gang. I really don't know what the situation would turn out to be if the two met at the Flower King Festival."
Lu Man pondered and said, "Brother, you don't need to worry about this. To be able to hold such a grand event, this Su Xinke must be someone who can calm down the situation. Besides, the Kuang Yi Gang has just changed its owner. She won't be so reckless as to destroy the Hua Wang Club in front of the other invited guests. What puzzles me is that, based on what I have seen and heard before, even if the Kuang Yi Gang is so big, it can receive three invitations. It is really too strange."
Lin Jianlan exclaimed, "Ah!" and said, "Sister Man, it is true. It seems that he deliberately brought the three of us together here . I really don't know what his intention is."
Lu Man smiled and said, "What's the intention? We will know tomorrow. There's no point in worrying here. We should eat well, drink well and sleep well. It's hard to book a guest room. Second Senior Brother, you and your brother will just stay here for one night."
Although Bai Zongping was unhappy, if he refused, Lu Man might get angry and drag Lin Jianlan around to find a place to stay, which would be even more troublesome, so he had to nod.
The three of them got up very early the next day, and came to the street after breakfast. As soon as they stopped a waiter, before they could ask any questions, the waiter said directly: "Are you three going to the Peony Palace? Go straight along this street and turn right, and you will see the gate tower of the Palace." Presumably, countless people had asked him for directions early in the morning.
Lin Jianlan asked curiously, "My dear, is it true that today, everyone can enter the Peony Palace?"
The waiter looked the three of them up and down and said with a smile, "You must be guests from other places. You don't know the conventions of the Peony Palace. You have arrived at the gatehouse of the Flower Palace, which is only the outer house. There are pavilions, towers, and exotic flowers in the outer house. Every year when the peony flowers are in full bloom, the gates are wide open to invite everyone in Luoyang, from celebrities and scholars to ordinary people, to come here to enjoy the flowers. After you pass the gatehouse, I'm afraid it's already crowded! If you want to enter the inner house, it's not so easy. Not to mention you, I'm afraid that the powerful people in Luoyang can't get an invitation from King Wei Hua!"
The three of them walked slowly in the direction pointed by the waiter. As expected, when they turned the corner, there were more and more people. From afar, they saw a tall gatehouse standing at the end of the street, and behind the gatehouse was a mansion with many layers of buildings!
The three of them were in a hurry to keep their appointment, so they had no time to enjoy the scenery. They squeezed through the crowd and walked quickly for a while, but saw the pedestrians next to them avoiding the three people one after another. They were puzzled when they heard someone ask, "Why did you avoid those three people?" Someone answered, "I just avoided them because I saw you all avoiding them." Someone else shook his head and sighed, "Don't talk nonsense, that girl is amazing, someone in front accidentally touched her arm and she broke his arm!" Someone else said, "Just now I saw her sleeve move, and the waiter over there couldn't see."
Lu Man whispered, "I don't know who is so vicious!"
Lin Jianlan was about to answer when he looked up and saw two men walking slowly towards him in the middle of the road. Between the two men, there was a young girl with her face covered by a white veil and a cold aura around her.
Lin Jianlan hurriedly went to meet him. Just as she was about to call out "Yin Yin", she saw the two men behind her with solemn expressions, so she changed her words and said, "Boss Cao!" It must be because the crowd was so crowded just now that someone accidentally offended her, so she punished him in this way. However, her method was too cruel and cold. She said, "Boss Cao, why bother to compete with those who don't know martial arts?"
Cao Yinyin looked at him coldly and said, "You must think I'm cruel, right? What does this have to do with you?" After that, he walked forward on his own.
Lin Jianlan hit a wall and stared blankly at the three of them walking away, but he heard another burst of ecstatic shouts not far away: "I can see again, I can see!" Only then did he realize that Cao Yinyin had used some method to make the waiter temporarily unable to see. It turned out that he had wronged her. He felt very sad and had to walk forward with the crowd. After walking for a while, there were fewer people. The scenery was not as magnificent as before, but was dotted with a few stubborn stones and a few clumps of green grass, which was a bit refreshing.
As they walked, they saw another courtyard in front of them. The walls were so high that they could not see inside. Two well-dressed Qingke stood solemnly in front of the black lacquered courtyard gate. Cao Yinyin and the other two were also at the door. One of the Qingke saw the three people coming and said, "My friends, this is already the inner house. If you don't have an invitation from King Wei Hua, please go back."
Lin Jianlan glanced at Cao Yinyin and said, "Boss Cao arrived before us, please go in first." Then he walked away with Lu Man and Bai Zongping. Seeing that he was humble, the Qingke was not stubborn, just smiled slightly, and walked to the other person to check the invitation with him.
Lin Jianlan suddenly felt a gust of wind behind her. She didn't know when a figure ran to Cao Yinyin and whispered a few words in her ear, but Cao Yinyin was not moved at all. Instead, the faces of the two people next to her changed drastically. After the four of them discussed for a while, the two guards walked to the door, bowed and talked for a few words, then turned around and left with Cao Yinyin.
Seeing them leave in a hurry, Lin Jianlan wondered what had happened. He was just wondering if they had found Uncle Qing's whereabouts, when he heard the guest ask, "Sir, can you show me the invitation?"
Lin Jianlan came back to his senses and immediately took out the invitation, presented it with both hands and said, "But this? Why did Gang Leader Cao leave in such a hurry just now?"