At the beginning of the banquet, the atmosphere was lit up by a rain of lanterns falling from the sky.
In the waterside pavilion, several noblewomen fought to curry favor with Noble Consort Xue.
"I was shocked just now and thought that the water was on fire. Who would have thought that there would be such a thing. Truly, truly a wonderful idea. Noble Consort Xue has such a good idea, opening the eyes of us ordinary people."
"You don't say. I really can't see how these lanterns fell into the water. Which deity did Her Highness ask for help?"
.....
Noble Consort Xue tilted her head and gently swung her phoenix hairpin. She gazed at the night view of the lake and the bright lanterns. She smiled at the crowd and said, "Making these lanterns isn't just for show. There's something strange hidden within. Later, someone will have a headache."
Consort Shu sat quietly at the side. Hearing this, she turned and said, "What does tonight's fight for the Golden Jade Hibiscus have to do with this lake full of lotus lanterns?"
"As expected, Younger Sister is clever." Noble Consort Xue praised her. With one hand on the golden pillow, she was helped into a sitting position by the palace maids. The palace maids knelt by her feet and smoothed out the small creases on her dress.
"Go and summon the young masters and daughters of the various families. Tell them not to be greedy and play. I need to explain the rules tonight."
Noble Consort Xue waved her hand and half of the palace maids guarding the four corners of the waterside pavilion complied and retreated to summon the people.
.....
Yu Shu and Xue Rui had just walked to the center of the bridge when they were called back.
Hearing that Noble Consort Xue was going to announce the rules tonight, the men and women scattered in the flower rooms and on the lakeshore to watch the lanterns all returned.
The two of them were sandwiched in the crowd. In order to avoid being seen by others, they had long since let go of their hands.
Nearing the end of the bridge, Yu Shu raised her head and saw Jing Chen standing there alone. Looking at the situation, it was clear that he was waiting for her.
There were many eyes at tonight's banquet. The last thing Yu Shu wanted to do was interact with Jing Chen. She was afraid that he had been instigated by someone above him and used the name of the Gentlemen's Lotus Banquet to do something out of line.
However, she couldn't avoid it, so she could only brace herself and walk towards it.
Xue Rui also saw Jing Chen, so he took two quick steps and passed in front of Yu Shu, blocking Jing Chen's sight. He said, "I haven't seen you for a long time. How are you, Daozi?"
Jing Chen shifted his gaze to Xue Rui and nodded, "Everything is fine, Lord Xue need not worry."
Yu Shu listened from behind and sighed with emotion. After staying in the capital for half a year, Jing Chen, who could not even take care of himself when he left the mountain and entered the world, had learned to be polite now.
"How is the recovery of Miss Shui Yun's legs? Didn't Daozi obtain a set of tiger bones a few days ago? I asked about a few old herbs and heard from the imperial physician that it is best to make medicinal wine. I will have someone send the herbs over tomorrow. There should be one or two that can be used."
As Xue Rui spoke, he gently waved his hand behind him. When Yu Shu saw this, she secretly let out a sigh of relief. She quickly walked to the side and got off the bridge. She didn't look at Jing Chen again, so she didn't see the two men's line of sight behind her.
As soon as she left, Xue Rui's expression became a lot lighter. He stretched out his hand and gestured to the side, saying to Jing Chen, "I have a few words to say. This way please."
Jing Chen nodded and didn't ask any more questions. They left the crowd and walked to a quiet place.
Xue Rui gazed at the quiet and tranquil man before him, and when he thought of how Yu Shu had once fallen in love with this person and suffered many hardships in exchange for being imprisoned in a single day, it was extremely difficult for him to not be slightly cold.
"Although I don't know the details, I also know that you have broken off relations with Shu. Since you have cut off all ties with her, why are you still pestering her now?"
Xue Rui didn't beat around the bush and directly questioned him.
Jing Chen's impression of Xue Rui has always been mediocre. However, he knew that Xue Rui took care of Yu Shu a lot and the two of them called each other brother and sister. Therefore, facing Xue Rui's cold words, he didn't feel unhappy. Instead, it reminded him that he had let down Yu Shu a lot.
Jing Chen's heart of guilt arose once more, yet he truly had nothing to say to Xue Rui, so he could only speak with an expressionless face. "Forgive me for not being able to explain the matter that day to you, but I'll surely seek her forgiveness for my mistake."
Seeing his insistence, Xue Rui frowned and said in a low voice, "It's not convenient for you to say, and I'm not interested to hear it. As for you asking for her forgiveness, I have a piece of advice for you — don't cause her any more trouble. If she can't live in peace because of you, as her big brother, I will never forgive you. "
He really wanted to stand in the position of a man and say these words to Jing Chen, but because he couldn't reveal the secret that he already knew, and he couldn't let Jing Chen find out that he was intimate with Yu Shu, he could only settle for the next best thing — warning Jing Chen as an elder brother.
He couldn't openly stop Jing Chen from winning back Yu Shu's heart for the sake of his misfortune, but he couldn't turn a blind eye to it.
Jing Chen looked at the stern eyes of Xue Rui and could feel that he was protecting Yu Shu. He didn't know why, but he felt a little uncomfortable in his heart.
This feeling seemed familiar. He recalled something. When he was cultivating on Mount Longhu, he knew his identity from the age of seven. Because of the warnings of the head and master, he almost didn't get along with his fellow brothers in the same sect in order to not cause trouble for others. When he was a child, he often accompanied a wild monkey day and night on the back mountain.
Later, the monkey disappeared. One day, he saw the fifth brother carrying the monkey to the main kitchen to find food. He recognized the monkey and wanted to get close to it, but was stopped by the fifth brother. The fifth brother said that the monkey liked to scratch people, so he shouldn't touch it. Otherwise, if the monkey scratched him, the master would scold him and the monkey would also be locked in a cage.
Jing Chen didn't have much contact with people since he was a child, so he had a clear memory of the mountain monkey who lived on the path of animals and didn't fear him.
And Yu Shu was a human. She knew how terrible he was, but she still took care of him when he lost his memory.
To him, the significance of Yu Shu was not something that that monkey could compare to.
When he was a child, he didn't get close to the monkey because of the words of his senior brother. But now, he wouldn't give up just because of a few words of warning from Xue Rui.
Yu Shu was the only person in his nineteen years of muddle-headed life that he couldn't give up and didn't want to give up.
It was not just because she was the one who broke his fate.
"Don't worry, I won't cause trouble for her anymore." Jing Chen told Xue Rui. He also thought in his heart, "This time, I will definitely protect her and not let her be disappointed or sad."
"I hope you can do what you say." Xue Rui said coldly.
The two men, each with their own thoughts, faced each other for a moment and stopped talking tacitly. One went first, and the other followed.
In a short time, dozens of guests had gathered outside the waterside pavilion. They were all quietly listening to Noble Consort Xue preside over tonight's banquet.
As soon as Xue Rui approached, he heard a series of surprised sounds from the crowd in front of him. Some people gasped, and some people whispered. He didn't know what the noble said to cause such a big reaction.
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