While Princess Xi Wen and Rui Zizhu were whispering to each other, Miss Ning and Xin Liu retreated and walked off the bridge. Not long after, they saw a group of young men walking over from the stone path of the garden.
The man in front saw Xin Liu and stopped to greet him, "Xin Liu 'er, I didn't expect you to be invited this year. Is there no one else in Anling? Isn't the Gentleman's Lotus Banquet supposed to invite beauties who look like hibiscus flowers? You think you're a beauty? "
"Feng Zhaomiao?" Xin Liu was surprised for a moment, then he reacted and retorted sarcastically, "Yeah, is there no one else in An Ling? The Gentleman's Banquet of Hibiscus only invites gentlemen, what kind of gentleman are you?"
Miss Ning recognized Feng Zhaomiao and knew he was the young master of General Feng's family. Seeing the two of them bickering, she wasn't surprised. Her gaze fell on the person behind and her eyes lit up for the second time tonight.
She saw that the handsome young master was wearing a green silk robe with a jade belt around his waist. His robe was buttoned with beads, a silk scarf was tied around his head, and he held a fan in his hand. His figure was tall and straight, and he looked like a scholar with an indescribable gentleness and elegance.
This scholarly young master had a handsome face, especially a pair of black eyes that shone like stars under his thick black eyebrows. He had a pair of peach-blossom eyes that seemed to be filled with love but were fickle. Looking at him would make one fall in love with him, but looking at him would make one fearful. Who knew how many infatuated girls had fallen in love with him.
Miss Ning only glanced up and down, then quickly retracted her gaze. She was already certain that this scholarly young master with peach-blossom eyes was one of the three people she wanted to see. She had seen Daoist Jing Chen before, and he didn't seem to be as arrogant as the rumors said. He must be the eldest son of the Xue family, the junior minister of the Supreme Court who had solved many big cases, Xue Cheng Bi.
Sure enough, after arguing with Feng Zhaomiao for a while, Xin Liu turned his head and saw Xue Rui. He looked for him to judge: "Cousin Xue is also here, can you say something fair? I'm not a beauty, but can Feng Zhaomiao be considered a gentleman?"
Xue Rui is looking around for Yu Shu when he was called by Xin Liu. He turned around and said to her, "Those who attend the Hibiscus Gentlemen's Banquet are not all beauties and gentlemen. Whether Zhaomiao is a gentleman or not, I am not sure, but he is definitely not a vile person."
Feng Zhaomiao raised her head proudly. "Yes, yes, I'm not a gentleman, nor am I a villain."
Although Xin Liu was dissatisfied, she could not find fault with it. She could only pout: "Of course you are speaking up for him."
Xue Rui smiled and did not refute.
At this moment, a light laughter came from behind.
"If Lord Xue says it like this, then are you a gentleman or a villain?"
Everyone turned to see a man walk out from a corner of the flower pond. He wore green robes and had a blue ribbon tied around his hair. As he walked, his sleeves fluttered in the wind. He wore a pair of white boots and as he stepped on the dirt, the crescent moon behind him illuminated the people in front of him.
Seeing this person, Miss Ning's eyes brightened once more.
That person had just stopped right before Xue Rui. Two men of different appearances, yet similarly outstanding, stood together, and it instantly drew the attention of the young women that wandered in the vicinity, and there were even people on the bridgehead that looked over.
Xue Rui was clearly aware that Zhu Qingjue was targeting him. He frowned. It had to be known that the two of them had always minded their own business and never provoked each other.
"Whether I am a gentleman or a villain, how can I judge for myself? In Second Young Master Zhu's opinion, am I a villain or a gentleman? "
Xue Rui raised an eyebrow, asking Zhu Qingjue in response.
Zhu Qingjue bluntly said, "In my opinion, you are not a villain, but you are far from being a gentleman."
Hearing this, before Xue Rui could say anything, Feng Zhaomiao was the first to speak.
"What do you mean by that? You say that my Brother Rui is not a gentleman, but are you?"
Zhu Qingjue paid no attention to him, and he stared straight at Xue Rui as he said, "Xue Chengbi, do you dare compete with me at the Gentlemen's Hibiscus Banquet tonight? If I'm able to seize the Goldjade Hibiscus, then you have to admit that you're a despicable person in public."
Xue Rui's eyes widened, "And if I win?"
"Then I will be the villain." Zhu Qingjue nonchalantly said.
Xue Rui smiled coldly and slapped the fan in his hand, "I don't need you to be a villain. I just want you to honestly answer a few of my questions."
Feng Zhaomiao was scratching his ears and cheeks. Seeing that Xue Rui was about to agree, before he could stop him, he saw Zhu Qingjue raise his right hand.
"Five strikes is the agreement. Whoever disobeys loses."
Xue Rui raised his palm.
"Pa!"
"Pa!"
"Pa!"
The two struck three times and established the agreement. The surrounding audience was shocked and started discussing.
Liu Yi stood in the flower house, still angry from Zhu Qingjue's teasing. He said to the person behind him, "I want to see them fight each other. You better perform well and ruin their plan."
"Eleventh Prince, don't worry. I know."
.....
Xi Wen held Rui Zizhu's arm as they stood at the bridgehead. When she heard Xue Rui and Zhu Qingjue's conversation from afar, she frowned and turned her head to ask Cui Xin behind her, "Second Young Master Zhu and Cousin Rui, what's going on? Is there anything that I don't know about recently? When did they become enemies?"
Cui Xin was also confused, "I haven't heard of them fighting."
Xi Wen thought it was strange. She looked around and couldn't see Zhan Xueyuan. She asked, "Where is Miss Zhan?"
Someone pointed angrily towards the shore. Xi Wen looked in that direction and saw Zhan Xueyuan standing in front of the white-robed Jing Chen, saying something with a shy expression.
Disdain flashed in Xi Wen's eyes. She didn't say anything else and turned to smile at Rui Zizhu, "Cousin is over there. Aren't you going to talk to him?"
"No need." Rui Zizhu shook her head shyly.
Xi Wen pulled her close and whispered into her ear, "What are you afraid of? Little Sister is so beautiful tonight that even the gods would be moved. Not to mention that Cousin is a mortal. Let's go, I'll go with you to see him and give you some courage."
Rui Zizhu was indeed a smart girl. She didn't pale in the slightest when she stood next to the beautiful Xi Wen. The Earl's Mansion was full of gold and silver. A pampered daughter wouldn't lose out to the golden branches and jade leaves.
The string of priceless purple jade tassels on Xi Wen's neck was very eye-catching, but in fact, it couldn't compare to the origin of the hibiscus water droplet on Rui Zizhu's forehead. This was the relic of Empress Ningzhen, the founder of the Da An Kingdom. In the capital city, there were several women who used it. Even the imperial concubines and princesses would be jealous.
Rui Zizhu was brought in front of Xue Rui by Xi Wen with Cui Xin following unhurriedly.
"Brother Rui, Second Young Master Zhu, I heard you two making a bet from afar. I wonder who will get the two gold and jade hibiscus flowers tonight."
After the confrontation between Xue Rui and Zhu Qingjue, the two didn't leave. Seeing Xi Wen, Xue Rui just nodded lightly.
Xi Wen thought that he was still angry because of the dispute over the death of the Tenth Princess at Wangji Lou last time. She didn't care about his cold attitude. She smiled and went to talk to Zhu Qingjue, "Second Young Master Zhu only talks about gentlemen. It's boring. Why don't you also evaluate the beauties at tonight's banquet?"
Zhu Qingjue crossed his arms and looked back at her. He looked at the two beauties in front of him. There was no ripple in his eyes. He hooked his lips and said, "I haven't seen many beauties. I can't tell whether they are good or bad."
As he said this, he turned to Xue Rui and raised his hand to signal, "I heard that Lord Xue has been a playboy since he was young. You know more about the word 'beauties' than I do. I wonder how many beauties at this banquet caught your eye. I'd like to hear the details."
Zhu Qingjue clearly wanted to make things difficult for Xue Rui tonight. How could he casually evaluate beauties? If he was right, he would have a reputation of being a playboy. If he was wrong, he would offend a group of narrow-minded women.
The men and women at the banquet didn't know what was going on. When they heard that the eldest young master of the Xue family wanted to evaluate beauties, they couldn't help but come forward. Pairs of beautiful eyes looked at him, waiting to hear what he had to say.
"Okay, let Cousin Rui be the judge. We're all ears." Xi Wen gently pushed Rui Zizhu and secretly winked at her. Rui Zizhu blushed, but she slowly straightened her back.
Xue Rui swept a glance at Zhu Qingjue who was looking for trouble, and then he unhurriedly opened his ink folding fan. From near to far, he saw that in the brightly lit flower garden, there were numerous beautiful faces in fragrant cosmetics and fresh silk clothes, all of them contending with each other for beauty, and it was a scene of great beauty.
Three years ago, when he was admiring Shaoai, he was still in the mood to appreciate it. Later on, he was blinded by one of the flowers and suffered the consequences.
Three years later, when he attended the banquet again, he had already found a female confidante. Even if she was beautiful enough to captivate the birds and beasts, or to obscure the moon and flowers, it had nothing to do with him.
At this time, facing the expectant gazes of the crowd, he looked at the bridge in the distance and was lost in thought.
When he arrived at the head of the Paramita Bridge, a floating light entered his eyes. His heart suddenly moved and his lips moved, "The so-called beauty uses flowers as her appearance, birds as her voice, and the moon as her spirit …"
Everyone was engrossed in the story, and no one noticed that a dazzling figure had appeared on the bridge. She was dressed in a long gauze dress that was whiter than snow. She was slim and slender, and she was strolling leisurely in the courtyard, like clouds and mist, like a light smoke.
"Willow as her form, jade as her bones, and ice and snow as her muscles."
The person on the bridge had dark clouds hanging down her temples. Her hair was covered with silver pearls and a red dot fell on the center of her forehead. Her eyebrows were slanted.
"With autumn water as her form, and poetry as her heart, I am inseparable."
It was her dazzling and translucent body that was shining and moving. It was her eyes that were like cold stars that stood proudly above the crowd. It was not because of her beauty, but because of her unparalleled heart.
"However, a beauty is not someone in the eyes, but someone in the heart."
Xue Rui's lips curled into a faint smile. At this time, there was only one figure in his eyes.
At this time, the crowd also noticed that something was wrong and turned around. With just a glance, their attention was captured by the woman who was wearing a glowing silhouette.
For a moment, everyone's eyes flashed with amazement. They were a little dazzled and mistakenly thought that they had seen Shui Hibiscus Fairy in her human form. It was really that the beauty was covered from head to toe with a layer of moonlight, and it was too unreal.
The first to regain his senses was not Xue Rui, but Zhu Qingjue. He squinted his eyes at the woman who came late. He felt that she looked familiar, but he could not remember who she was. It was only when she walked closer to the crowd that he suddenly remembered and blurted out, "It's you!"
Yu Shu was holding a long silk shawl with one hand, revealing a string of pink crystals on her wrist. She had to straighten her neck to prevent the string of pearls from slipping off her head. Along the way, she was secretly complaining, but she did not forget Pei Jing's repeated warnings. She slowly moved towards the crowd.
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