The two men saw the invitation, flipped through it and said, "We never ask about the guests' whereabouts, nor do we disclose it. That's why, originally, one invitation can only bring one more person in addition to the original guest, but Miss Lu and Young Master Bai are both from the Nanhai Li family, so please come in together."
The three of them looked at each other in bewilderment. As they entered the room, they were all puzzled as to how the two could know the identities of Lu Man and Bai Zongping. While they were thinking, they heard the two say, "Prince Wei Hua's banquet will not start until noon. You can all walk around the courtyard first."
At this time, the three of them were still unclear about the identity of this "Wei Hua Wang", but they had no choice but to calm down and stroll in the courtyard. Fortunately, not many people entered the inner house, so the courtyard was very quiet, which was very different from the style of the outer house. Occasionally, other pedestrians walked by in twos or three on the road, and whispered and casually pointed at the flowers and plants next to them. Looking up, the pavilions in the distance were taller than the other, and the green color in the near distance was alluring, with flowers of different colors hidden among them. The whole mansion was immersed in a strong fragrance, like a fairyland on earth.
Unlike the peonies in the market, the peonies in the mansion were not planted in pots. Instead, they could be seen everywhere on the roadside corners and behind rocks. The roads on both sides were dotted with small flowers. Each branch had several buds hanging from it, and the colors were different. After being used to seeing large peonies on flower plates, these small flowers were quite interesting. Lin Jianlan could not help but squat down and randomly picked them with his hands, then turned around and asked, "Sister Man, what kind of flower is this?"
Lu Man smiled and said, "What do you think it looks like?"
Lin Jianlan saw that the flower was shaped like a hanging bell and also like a purse used by girls, and said, "It's a bit like a purse for sewing."
Lu Man said, "Isn't that right? This flower is called Hebao, or Hebao Peony, but the appearance of the flower is a million miles away from that of a peony. It's ridiculous to insist on adding the word Peony at the end."
Lin Jianlan nodded and stood up. Suddenly, a strong wind blew, bringing with it a scent that seemed different from the scent of the peonies in the courtyard. Lu Man didn't have time to close her eyes, and was blinded by the wind and sand. When she opened her eyes again, she couldn't see Lin Jianlan. She looked around and asked anxiously, "Where is he?"
Bai Zongping pointed to a small path nearby and said, "He looked very strange. He... he ran over there for some reason."
Lu Man looked in the direction indicated. The path was not paved with stone slabs and was covered with green grass on both sides. Only by looking carefully could she see that the grass had accumulated traces of people walking on it. Without time to think about it, she immediately walked quickly along the path. A corner door appeared from the dense forest. The door panel shook slightly, and the door lock on it was broken, with a brand new edge, obviously it had just been twisted off. Lu Man hurried in.
There were no rockeries or flowers in the courtyard, just a flat open space with a small house in the middle. Golden thatch hung from the eaves, and the windows were cleanly covered with paper. Another gust of wind blew, and snow-like petals fluttered. Lu Man followed Lin Jianlan's gaze and saw a large pear tree with white flowers falling down like falling snow.
Lin Jianlan stood in the white rain of flowers, looking confused. He looked up, then looked back at the cottage. For a moment, he felt like he was in a dream.
Lin Jianlan was shocked to the extreme. He looked carefully and found that it was surprisingly similar to the northern courtyard where he had lived for more than ten years! Looking carefully, the pear tree was not a local tree, but seemed to be transplanted from the north. The window paper of the courtyard was also pasted on the outside. There was a bunch of corn hanging under the eaves. There were rough fences around it, with morning glories and green vines entwined on it, competing to bloom. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing in the courtyard that did not deliberately imitate the residence in the north, even the location of the well was exactly the same. The ground in the courtyard was very clean, and there were still traces of brooms, which showed that someone often cleaned it. However, the hut was very quiet, and the well cover in the courtyard was locked and covered with an iron chain. It seemed that it had not been used for a long time, and it did not look like anyone lived there.
Lu Man and Bai Zongping saw that he looked strange, and how could they know the past events? So they just stood there blankly and didn't say anything.
Suddenly, voices gradually approached. It turned out that a group of Qing guests rushed to the gate of the courtyard. They looked extremely angry, but they did not come in. They just shouted to the three people inside: "You are guests from afar. My King Wei Hua kindly invited you to come. Why did you dare to break into the forbidden area of ​​the palace?"
The three of them were startled, and Lin Jianlan also woke up at this moment, thinking: "I was indeed unreasonable this time, breaking the lock and barging in, but I don't know why those two people called this ordinary courtyard a 'forbidden area'?" At this time, he had no time to think about it, so he shouted: "I'm really sorry, I was just curious, and I really have no ill intentions. If we have offended King Wei Hua, we are willing to apologize in person."
After saying that, the three of them walked out of the courtyard, but were immediately surrounded by people. A white-faced, beardless Qingke said, "Since you have entered the forbidden area, we have no choice but to offend you. It's best for you not to move without permission and wait for King Weihua to come and make the decision."
Lu Man was both angry and amused, and said, "Since we are guests, how can we wait for the host to deal with us if we accidentally look at something?! Besides, there is no sign of 'forbidden area' on the gate. We accidentally went in, so we should apologize to your King Wei Hua!" After saying that, she pulled forward, but the Qingke quickly drew out two long maces to stop them, saying, "I advise you again, don't move without permission!"
The three of them had come to see King Wei Hua. If they waited here, they would definitely be able to see King Wei Hua. However, at this point, Lu Man couldn't help but get angry, thinking, "How can there be such a strict host?"
Bai Zongping thought to himself, "They are just guards, yet they are so arrogant." Thinking of this, he already had the urge to take action, and said with a gloomy face, "Do you want to use force? I'm afraid you guys need some effort to stop us!" After saying that, he had already quietly put a handful of Taiyin needles in his hand.
The courtier with the double maces was about to step forward in anger, but was stopped by a courtier with a long beard beside him, who said, "Prince Wei Hua's mansion is quiet, and Brother Qin, please don't use force at will. If you disturb other distinguished guests, we will be embarrassed." He turned around and smiled bitterly at the three people, "Everyone, please listen to what I say next. It can be regarded as a little face from you all, and don't embarrass us as servants."
However, the Qingke named Qin threw his double maces to the ground and sneered, "What's the point of being a 'Qingke' here? You're so bored that you're almost speechless. But you're enjoying your job as a 'bastard'! Aren't you afraid of embarrassing 'Little Luo Cheng'?" After that, he stormed out.
Lu Man was surprised and said, "I once heard my mother say that 'Long-bearded Luo Cheng' and 'Jade-faced Qin Qiong' were the top young heroes in the martial arts world. They swore brotherhood and traveled together in the martial arts world. One of them used a spear and the other used a mace, so they got this reputation. I was too young at that time to see their martial arts with my own eyes, but since they were compared with the famous generals of the founding of this dynasty, they must be no worse. I heard that the two suddenly disappeared ten years ago. If they said they retired, they did not post a notice in the martial arts world. Some people also said that the two had a disagreement and dueled in the northwest, and both died in defeat . It seems that it was just a rumor. I didn't expect that a famous hero would be willing to bury himself in this 'Hua Wang Mansion' for nearly ten years, and he was still a 'servant'. It seems that the other Qingke must have been former heroes in the martial arts world. What is the origin of Wei Hua Wang, and how he could recruit so many people in the martial arts world?"
Thinking about this, Lu Man held Bai Zongping's hand tightly, bowed and said with a smile: "So this senior is the great hero Luo Weiting, also known as 'Long-bearded Luo Cheng'? It's really better to meet him in person than to hear about him."
Lu Man said this cleverly. On the surface, it sounded like she had long admired the other party's reputation, but hidden in her words was the feeling that a great knight was willing to be a subordinate.
Luo Weiting was interrupted by a little girl with a smile. His face turned red and white for a while. He forced a smile and said, "Please don't mention the past. Today, I am just a small guest in the mansion." After that, he picked up his two maces and chased after them.
Lin Jianlan didn't want to fight them, but he was anxious at the moment and wanted to see King Wei Hua to ask him about the origin of the small courtyard just now. He forced himself to be calm and said, "I don't know why I was ignorant just now and broke the door lock. Although it was unintentional, it was unreasonable after all. Why don't we wait here for King Wei Hua to come, first to apologize, and second to see his true face earlier."
Lu Man knew that there must be some background to his actions just now. Seeing that he was deliberately hiding something, she felt disappointed, but she still smiled at the people around who had not yet left, and said, "That's right, why don't we wait here. I just don't know what kind of person King Wei Hua is, will he blame us?"
Lin Jianlan shook his head and said, "Look at the wording of the invitation, it's very grand and heroic, 'appreciating flowers and visiting beauties, discussing martial arts and Taoism'. Let's not talk about 'martial arts', but the 'Taoism' is something that everyone can understand. Moreover, the layout of this inner courtyard contains the Taoism in a casual way. I think King Wei Hua must be an expert and will definitely not make things too difficult for us."
Just as he finished speaking, a man walked out of the courtyard. He was wearing a plain shirt and had a gaunt face. He smiled and said, "I didn't expect that Wei Suxin's soulmate is a young man like you!"
When Lu Man and Bai Zongping heard the visitor call himself "Wei Suxin", they hurriedly looked at him carefully, and found that Wei Suxin was no different from any other middle-aged man, except that he had a broad-minded expression, bright eyes, and smile lines on the corners of his mouth, as if he was always smiling. However, there were wrinkles between his brows that could not be smoothed out, and he seemed to be a little worried. It was hard to describe, but people could not help but be deeply attracted to him at first sight.
Wei Suxin waved his hand slightly, and the group of guests bowed and retreated. He said to the three people: "If anyone in the mansion has offended you, I apologize here first."
Lin Jianlan was stunned for a moment, then quickly bowed and said, "It is really us who are unreasonable and dare to trespass into your forbidden area. Please do not blame King Wei Hua."
Wei Suxin laughed and said, "What forbidden place? It's just that I like quietness, so I stay in this small room in the courtyard to practice my Qi and rest. I don't want to be disturbed, so I don't allow anyone to get close! Please don't mind."
Lu Man was suspicious. Seeing that Lin Jianlan's expression was also very unnatural, and Bai Zongping was the only one who looked bewildered, she sighed secretly and asked, "So only King Wei Hua lives in this house?"
Wei Suxin smiled and replied, "My wife has passed away a long time ago, and I have never remarried, so I live alone. However, I am busy with worldly affairs, and only occasionally can I enjoy a moment of leisure in this house."
Although this was a perfect statement, Lu Man still had doubts in her heart. She thought to herself, "Since he was in that small room just now, he must have known that my brother had broken into the courtyard, but he didn't come out to stop him. He must have been watching the situation from the dark. Fortunately, he didn't rashly use force just now, otherwise who knows what would have happened." While she was thinking, someone hurried over. It was Luo Weiting, but he ignored the three people and bowed to Wei Suxin and said, "King Wei Hua, the time has come."
Wei Suxin laughed at the three of them and said, "Since the banquet has already started, why don't we go together!"
Lu Man was full of doubts. Seeing that Lin Jianlan also had a gloomy face and was thinking about something as he walked, only Bai Zongping was walking and talking enthusiastically beside Wei Suxin. Thinking of Wei Suxin's high status and pomp, and how she was so close to the three of them, and didn't care about the mistake just now, she couldn't help but feel a little nervous, not knowing whether this trip was a blessing or a curse.
The group walked along the path and soon arrived at a large place. Looking up, they saw a large flower hall built on the water. Many people had already taken their seats inside. The curtains hung low around them, dancing in the wind. The fragrance filled the hall. There were large pots of blooming peonies placed all around. The pots were already valuable and extraordinary, and the flowers planted in them were of different colors and shapes, much better than those in the courtyard.
As soon as the few people entered the door, a guest shouted, "King Wei Hua is here!" Everyone stood up and bowed to Wei Suxin. However, Lin Jianlan and others who followed him felt ashamed in their hearts and followed Wei Suxin to accept the greetings from everyone.
Lin Jianlan looked around and saw the scholar he had met in the teahouse that day. He was wearing a light blue silk gown embroidered with several hovering cranes. The two smiled at each other and looked away again.
The hall was not as lively as he had imagined. There were only about 20 or 30 guests invited. Lin Jianlan took a quick look and found that the people around him were all strangers. He thought to himself, "It is so small but so famous in the world of scholars. I wonder who the guests he invites are. I wonder if Uncle Qing is one of them. Alas, it is impossible to stare at them closely under such circumstances."
The three of them had just found a seat and sat down when a waiter hurried in from outside and whispered something in Wei Suxin's ear. Wei Suxin was surprised, then anxious. He frowned and thought for a while, whispered a few instructions to the waiter, then turned to everyone and said, "My dear friends, I'm sure you've been waiting anxiously. To be honest, I'm also very hungry!"
Everyone was impressed by his casual way of speaking and laughed. Wei Suxin paused for a moment, clasped his fists and said, "But there will be another distinguished guest coming later. Please wait a moment. I will go to greet him first. I apologize to you all."
Everyone said, "Wait a little while, it's nothing. King Wei Hua doesn't have to be so modest!" Seeing Wei Suxin hurriedly leaving, Lin Jianlan wondered, "King Wei Hua seems to be very noble. When he said 'distinguished guest', he clasped his fists and seemed to be very respectful to that person. But I wonder what kind of person he is?"