The flame of the lanterns was burning in clusters on the street. Under the old horse's corpse, the blood had already flowed into a shallow pool. The ground was covered with blood, corpses, and all kinds of miscellaneous things. When the black-clothed woman ran towards the neighboring street, the few bailiffs with knives did not dare to stop her at all.
Ning Yi wanted to sneak up, only to find that Xiaochan was hugging him tightly. In fact, the two were only a head apart, but Xiaochan was curled up beside him, so she looked a little shorter. When Ning Yi looked over, Xiaochan was also looking over with a frown. She hugged Ning Yi for a long time, but he could not pull her away. She looked like she was about to cry. When her eyes met with Ning Yi's, her eyes and mouth suddenly widened. She was stunned for a second, and her expression was cute. Then she suddenly lowered her head.
Ning Yi curled his lips and then patted her shoulder. "Let's go."
"Oh." Xiaochan quickly let go of Ning Yi. He walked towards the fork in the road. Xiaochan followed a few steps and came to her senses. She shook her head. "No, young master, where are you going?"
"To watch the fun …"
"No!"
Xiaochan suddenly jumped up and grabbed the corner of Ning Yi's clothes. "No, young master, that female thief is very powerful. Young master, let's go eat. Miss is still waiting for us …"
"It's okay, I'll just watch from afar …"
"No, that female thief has already run away …"
"It's not that easy … Uh, if she really ran away, I won't be able to see anyway …"
With a bang, Xiaochan hugged Ning Yi from behind. She held him tightly, and the spiced beans in her hands spilled all over Ning Yi. She shook her head vigorously behind Ning Yi's back. "No, young master, you can't go …"
Ning Yi stood there, speechless for a moment. Then he looked around. "Xiaochan, how can you hug me like this?"
Just now, the situation was chaotic, and everyone was watching the fight. Ning Yi protected her by his side, so not many people noticed. At this time, hearing Ning Yi's words, Xiaochan reacted, and her body stiffened. She immediately let go as if she had been electrocuted, but then she still grabbed the corner of his clothes tightly. Ning Yi smiled and reached out to rub Xiaochan's head. Suddenly, her hair was messed up. Xiaochan pursed her lips, and Ning Yi walked forward. "It's okay, it's okay. I just want to see what's going on."
"Young master … don't go …"
At this time, there were more soldiers in blue robes rushing over from the other end of the street. The little girl pulled the corner of Ning Yi's clothes and followed closely. She looked so anxious that she wanted to cry. The headscarf around her head had also fallen off. She reached out to grab it, but couldn't tie it back up. She looked very cute.
The woman in black was beaten to the point that she was covered in blood. If she ran all the way, it would definitely cause panic. However, the slightly chaotic scene only lasted for the next street. When Ning Yi and Xiaochan went to another street, the panic of the pedestrians had already disappeared. Obviously, the female thief had either entered the surrounding shops and mansions, or quickly found a way to disguise herself. However, when they passed by a tea stall, they heard people discussing the fight on Vermilion Bird Avenue.
"… I heard that the female assassin tried to assassinate Commandant Song Xian of the Fierce Martial Army at Flying Swallow Pavilion. Although she didn't succeed, she killed more than ten people before leaving. Tsk tsk, blood flowed like a river … There was a fight on Vermilion Bird Avenue just now, and now she's gone again. How can they keep such a powerful person of the Underworld who can come and go as she pleases … "
The Fierce Martial Army was stationed in the Jiangning area and didn't have a good reputation. Ordinary people naturally didn't know what kind of person that Commandant Song Xian was. However, there were a few good people among the officials, and it was naturally very satisfying to talk about it in the marketplace. However, it was impossible to say that she couldn't be kept at all because she could come and go as she pleased. Among the crowd nearby, they occasionally saw figures in blue shirts. This should be the most elite group of people in the Fierce Martial Army. There couldn't be many of them, but they were still looking for traces of the female assassin. Ning Yi occasionally observed the route they were looking for, and casually followed them.
At this time, Xiaochan was already relieved. She occasionally jogged a few steps beside Ning Yi, and while fiddling with her loose buns, she sulked, "Young master can't be found, young master can't be found, young master can't be found …"
*****
The assassination at Flying Swallow Pavilion and the fight on Vermilion Bird Avenue were just small interludes that happened this night. The waves were only stirred up within a certain range, and only spread among a certain level of people. Even if the Fierce Martial Army had a powerful background, it wouldn't be good for them to seal off the city or roads to search for someone on the fifteenth day of the first month. In this era where news basically relied on word of mouth, most people still continued their activities and celebrations.
About a street away from the Black Clothes Alley was the Old Rain Building. It was one of the largest restaurants operated by the richest Pu family in Jiangning. It was five storeys high, and covered a vast area. Although it was a restaurant, there was almost no entertainment that you couldn't find here. Ever since the Pu family had developed into a scholarly family, a part of their businesses had also integrated into the elegant and scholarly atmosphere. This building was one of the best managed ones.
The entire restaurant was built in a square shape, with a wide courtyard in the middle. Thus, there was no problem with lighting. In between, there were rockery, stone pavilions, exotic trees and flowers. Although the decoration was small, it was extremely exquisite. If there was a need, these things could be moved away to build a temporary stage. Outside the restaurant, there was also a wall surrounding a house and greenery. Looking down from above, it was pleasing to the eye. On top of the restaurant, there were all kinds of calligraphy and paintings, expensive screens, porcelain, lacquer and so on.
The Pu family spent a lot of money on this building, and the reputation of this building did not disappoint them. Those with money and family background, who also felt that they were free and had literary talent, would often come here to entertain guests. High ranking officials like the prefectural magistrate would also often choose to come here if they wanted to have a banquet outside their prefecture. But naturally, money was the most important thing. Scholars with clean sleeves could only come here when they were invited. This building could already be considered as the best combination of money and elegance.
Today, the Pu family had invited many scholars here for a banquet. After all, the weather had not yet warmed up, and the wind on the river was strong. It was not easy to arrange six boats. This banquet was actually similar to another Pu Garden Poetry Gathering. With the Pu family's Puyang Yi as the leader, they invited many people according to the Pu Garden Poetry Gathering. But this time, not many people brought their families. One of the Qin Huai Four Beauties, Qi Lan, accompanied them. In these 2-3 years, the famous prostitute Qi Lan could also be considered as the Pu family's signature.
The banquet atmosphere was more casual than the Pu family's Mid-Autumn Festival Poetry Gathering, but everyone still had a strong sense of poetry. Apart from a few scholars and Xue Jin who had connections with the Pu family, there was also a rather famous person who came today. This person was often on the same level as the strict and steady Cao Guan. But his personality was free and easy, and his poems were often bold and imaginative. People said that he had the style of the Tang Dynasty. He was the scholar who participated in the Lichuan Poetry Gathering during the Mid-Autumn Festival, Li Pin.
Li Pin's reputation was higher than the few people that the Pu family could invite. But of course, they were all young people, and the gap was hard to measure. When others talked about the Pu family, they would at most deduct a few points because of their stink of money. It looked like they were a few levels lower than those scholars from the Still water and Lichuan Poetry Gatherings. This time, everyone felt that it was strange for him to attend the banquet. But in fact, the main reason they were able to invite him was not because of the Pu family's wealth, but because he had heard a few stories about Ning Yi at Yu Shan Academy. But no one would have thought that Su Chonghua's face would be so big. It was not a big deal to invite him to a banquet on a normal day, but to be able to invite Li Pin on a day like the Upper Yuan Festival, the Pu family immediately felt proud.
The other scholars originally thought that Li Pin's arrival would steal their limelight, but luckily Li Pin was a low-profile person. Today, he was just casually composing a poem. Although it was also a good poem, it would not overshadow the others. While he was joking, he also advanced and retreated politely. Not long after, he made others feel that they had become his friend and not his opponent, feeling proud. Qi Lan was a person with professional communication skills. Naturally, she would not be close to Li Pin alone. Compared to the others, she was a little distant towards this scholar. She could also control the situation very well. The atmosphere was warm and harmonious.
The poems from the Lichuan Poetry Gatherings and other gatherings would still be continuously gathered for everyone to evaluate. The people here also had a strong interest in poetry. Although their poems were not as good as those from Lichuan, but Li Pin would occasionally tease those Lichuan scholars with a few words, and the others also felt that those scholars were not much. The banquet was filled with toasts. Occasionally, there would be drinking games, poems tasting, and Lady Qi Lan would sing and dance. When it was almost a quarter to nine, Puyang Yi went over to talk to Li Pin. At the same time, he chatted with Su Chonghua and Xue Jin, who had come over.
After a while, they talked about the Shuidiao Getou from last year's Mid-Autumn Festival. Then, they asked about Ning Yi. Puyang Yi said it casually, but in fact, he had long wanted to invite Ning Yi to the poetry gatherings. Su Chonghua smiled and talked about some of Ning Yi's matters in the Su family. He also talked about Song Mao's examination and praise before the New Year. In fact, he used to be indifferent towards Ning Yi, but now he was vigilant. The main reason was that he was afraid that Ning Yi would steal his title as the Mountain Head of Yushan Academy. After all, he had run the academy for so many years, but Ning Yi had taught a group of good students the moment he came. To him, this was no different from a slap in the face. He also saw that Grand Duke Su thought highly of Ning Yi, so he was naturally worried. However, on the surface, he acted as if he was talking about the younger generation and felt honored.
"It's fake, right? I don't believe it." The Xue family and the Su family had always been on bad terms. Xue Jin did not hide it anymore. "I heard before the New Year that he heard the Shuidiao Getou from a Taoist priest. Chi … he just stole it for his own use …"
"Haha, Brother Xue, you're talking about this again." As soon as Xue Jin's voice fell, another voice came from the side. It was someone from the Wu Family. Among the three families of the cloth industry in Jiangning, the Xue family and the Su family had always been on bad terms. However, as the leading family, the Wu Family had a good relationship with these two families. The person who came was the second young master of the Wu Family, Wu Qihao. He was acquainted with Su Tan'er and Xue Jin. When Su Tan'er visited the Wu Family during the New Year, Ning Yi had also met him once. At this time, he smiled and said, "Not many people will believe what the Taoist priest said."
Beside him, Puyang Yi smiled and said, "I don't believe it either. However, I've really admired Brother Liheng for a long time. Elder Su, next time, please introduce me to him."
Then the topic moved away from the name Ning Yi. Everyone chatted and laughed for a while. Qi Lan performed a song and dance. After Wu Qihao looked out of the window for a while, he smiled and turned back. "Brother Puyang, it's really a coincidence. The person we were talking about just now seems to be lingering downstairs. Elder Su, Brother Li, Brother Xue, I only met Liheng once last time, so I'm not sure. Come and take a look …"
His words could actually be heard by almost half of the hall. Immediately, someone came over with interest and asked, "Brother Wu, why are you so interested? Who are you talking about?"
"Liheng? Could this person be … "
It didn't take long for this discussion to spread throughout the entire gathering hall on the second floor. Beside the inner window, Wu Qihao and a few others stood there and took a few glances. He stretched out his finger and said, "Everyone, look, it seems to be that person. Isn't the girl beside him Sister Tan'er's maid, Xiaochan?"
Near the rockery in the courtyard downstairs, Ning Yi and Xiaochan were strolling around in boredom. Amidst the lanterns, they looked around …
*****
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