novelraw Chapter 146 Ancient Mansion Banquet
Chapter 146 Ancient Mansion Banquet
Chapter 146 Ancient Mansion Banquet
In response to the disaster in Yanzhou, the destruction of several cities in Luntai, and the casualties, the Gu clan, as the head of the local gentry, quickly took action.
The Gu family quickly cleared a flat area near the disaster zone and built temporary housing for tens of thousands of people within a day to provide for refugees who had nowhere to go due to the destruction of the city. They have been handling disaster relief and post-disaster reconstruction work recently.
In regions like Yanzhou and Linjiang, which have super-powerful clans or behemoths like the Shen family who are half-step super-powerful, the local governance is basically the clan-run system, much like the sect-controlled areas and the imperial court in the world of Xianxia.
More than half a month later, the Gu family held a banquet at their residence to comfort and seek advice.
With Gu Tong'er dead, and this kind of thing happening in their own jurisdiction, Gu Shi naturally couldn't save face.
To the outside world, it was said to be to comfort representatives from the disaster-stricken cities and respectable people among the families of the victims, but who was invited, which table they sat at, and which words the Gu family members said during the banquet were all carefully arranged.
After this meal, those who should be grateful should be grateful, and those who should keep quiet should keep quiet.
The Shen family also extended an invitation, but Shen Wangshu did not want to go. The person of noble status here was naturally Shen Yaoxing, so everyone followed Shen Yaoxing to the ancient mansion.
The moon shines brightly over the garden, and the lights are illuminating the entire space.
A grand banquet was set up in the winding corridors, and the guests, all dressed in brocade robes, were composed and exchanged pleasantries in hushed tones.
The music drifted from the waterside pavilion, clear and melodious.
The maidservant carried the wine pot, her steps silent.
Fine dishes were served in jade cups, one after another.
The pond reflects the flickering lights and the solitary moon in the sky, creating a serene and distant atmosphere. All the liveliness of the garden is submerged beneath this tranquil surface.
Those who could attend this birthday banquet were all high-ranking officials and nobles from Yanzhou, as well as aristocratic youths from all over the country who came to offer their birthday wishes.
The innermost circle consists of top-tier aristocratic families near Yanzhou, or some young, exceptionally talented geniuses.
The outer perimeter is mostly composed of second-class noble families like Lin Huanghu did back then, emerging forces, some declining small clans, and some genius professionals from commoner backgrounds.
If we were to rank people by social class, the one with the highest social standing present would not be Shen Yaoxing, but Ji Liguang, who comes from the Ji family of Tiandu and whose grandfather was a Burning Sun Realm cultivator.
A middle-aged man from the Gu family was chatting with Ji Liguang, asking about the recent situation of several of Ji Liguang's elders.
Ji Liguang changed into a Ming Dynasty Hanfu tonight, her long golden hair was tied up behind her head. The usually dashing and unrestrained female knight looked like a princess surrounded by stars.
To draw a parallel with Battle Through the Heavens, although both are among the seven super clans, Ji Liguang's identity is Gu Xun'er. Wherever he goes, he is always a top-tier guest, even more prestigious than Shen Yaoxing.
"My fourth great-uncle? I haven't seen him in a long time. I wonder if he's dead or alive."
"Should I call back and ask?"
"It's just a phone call, what's the big deal? Grandpa, do you want to know if he's dead or not?"
Gu Changkun: "Never mind, all the Ji family's sons are like this."
There were also performances at the venue, all of which were quite elegant.
Those present at such a celebrity banquet are almost all there to experience the atmosphere.
It's a bit like a Western-style dinner party, where high-class people hold their drinks and chat with each other, forming small circles.
This circle consists of high-ranking officials and nobles, that circle comprises newly emerging professionals, this circle consists of a few ordinary members of minor clans, and that circle consists of a few members of second-class noble families with whom they have interactions.
At the very center of the circle were Ji Liguang and Shen Yaoxing.
Of those present, there were probably only two people who didn't enjoy the atmosphere and just walked around eating wherever they could find a plate.
"Lu Ren! This is far too lavish—"
"Eat quickly if it's plentiful, or it will be gone in a minute."
"How can we possibly finish all this food quickly?"
"Isn't that me?"
"Lu Ren, look, isn't that a Boston lobster? Pick up a lobster for me, hurry up and pick up that Boston lobster for me."
"Hey you little glutton, here you go!"
"What a huge lobster! I need to take a picture and show it to Xiaokui!"
Lu Ren turned around and glanced at the somewhat reserved Jiang Yueying, and said, "Xiaoying, don't just stand there. What would you like to eat? I'll get you some."
"I...I don't need it anymore—"
"Would you like to try this braised pork knuckle? It's absolutely delicious, even better than the one made by Shen Wangshu's chef!"
Jiang Yueying followed behind the two siblings, looking embarrassed as she hesitated to speak several times.
Especially when she saw the way some of the guests around her were looking at them, with a hint of disdain in their eyes, she scratched her toes slightly and blushed.
She had just followed Lu Ren and his sister because she felt that if she stayed with Ali, they would surround her with those important figures.
If I had known that following those siblings would turn out like this, I should have stayed by Ali's side just now.
Sure enough, their gluttonous eating drew the displeasure of a finely dressed man nearby. Upon hearing him say that it was even better than Shen Wangshu's, he suddenly laughed.
"You also ate at Chief Shen's house?"
In this branch of the family in Yanzhou, Shen Wangshu became the patriarch of the Shen clan.
Although the Shen family is not a super-class family, in many people's minds, it's just that this family is too low-key. In many people's eyes, it is no worse than the royal family and the seven clans.
Lu Ren was still chewing meat when he looked up at the man, chewing as he looked at him.
The elegantly dressed young man felt uneasy being stared at like that, wondering what he meant.
Then the man watched as he swallowed the meat and grinned at him.
"Envious?"
The man in fine clothes paused for a moment, then suddenly smiled with relief.
However, at that moment, the surrounding air suddenly became quieter, and the voices of the people next to me became softer.
I could vaguely hear people around me whispering things like, "The Ji family's daughter, her blonde hair is so beautiful."
He turned around and saw a blonde girl, as radiant as the sun, walking straight toward him, lifting her skirt.
The eldest daughter of the Ji family of Tiandu was walking towards him. Upon realizing this, the man in fine clothes even forgot to breathe.
""
Then, the noble lady from the Ji family looked at her, frowned slightly, and said, "Why are you blocking my way? Move aside."
Ji Liguang looked on in surprise. Why was this person still standing there blocking the way?
She walked straight past them and went to find Lu Ren and the others: "Let's go, let's go, it's so annoying, they keep asking all sorts of questions. I told you not to attend these kinds of banquets, they're such a pain in the ass."
"No swearing."
"Hey-"
"I told my master about the swearing, and she doesn't like people swearing either."
"Fine, fine, let's go, let's go look around somewhere else."
"You guys go ahead, I'll stay and eat a little longer."
"What's the point of eating? Let's go together."
While the elegantly dressed man was still in a daze, the starving ghost who appeared out of nowhere was actually dragged away from the banquet by the noble lady of the Ji family of Tiandu.
However, just as Ji Liguang was about to pull Lu Ren away, a divine thought suddenly came to Lu Ren's mind again.
Where are you going? Where are you going to have fun?
Aren't you taking me with you?
Take me with you! Don't leave me here alone!
Lu Ren, did you hear that?!
"Lu Ren—!!"
Lu Ren's gaze pierced through the crowd and settled on the center—Shen Yaoxing was surrounded by a group of important figures like stars around the moon.
For Shen Yaoxing, maintaining this demeanor late at night was probably no less difficult than fighting on the battlefield during the day.
The voice kept coming into Lu Ren's mind, as if he could see a miniature young lady throwing a tantrum on the ground, shouting "Yada Yada" incessantly, clinging to his legs and not letting them leave, begging him to take her with him.
However, the young lady in my sight was noble and elegant, with every smile and frown impeccable, simply the most perfect noblewoman.
Lu Ren: "————" Is this person really not going to have a split personality?
He was, after all, Shen Yaoxing's bodyguard, so naturally he couldn't just leave with Ji Liguang like that.
"Ah Li, take Miss with you too, she looks like she's about to cry."
"Auntie? Isn't she handling this with ease?"
"Go and bring her out. She's saying telepathically that she doesn't want to stay there."
"Then just walk away, isn't that what I'm doing?"
"Youhe and I are both guards of Yaoxing. If you don't call her out, we can't leave with you."
"Okay, okay, this is such a hassle."
Ji Liguang lifted her skirt and charged back aggressively.
Within this short distance of just a few dozen meters, roughly every two steps, a young man would muster the courage to approach and strike up a conversation, but almost all of them would be turned away after less than two sentences.
She was like a medieval knight who had received a mission from the kingdom, overcoming all obstacles to return to the very center of the hall and take away the brightest jewel of the hall.
"Ah Li, it's a rare opportunity to get together with the elders of the Gu family, why are you in such a hurry to leave?"
"Oh, then I'll be going now."
Shen Yaoxing still had a warm smile on his face, but he didn't let go of her arm.
However, an elder from the Gu family, who was standing to the side, said tactfully, "Haha, that's true, you young people have more to talk about."
"There should be a riverside ritual going on in the Nanjiang area tonight, right? Would you young people like to go and take a look?"
"Go, all of you, go!"
Shen Yaoxing could only look apologetic before leaving with Ji Liguang.
Although this area was defended from the Void Realm half a month ago, the number of dead and injured is countless.
The riverside ritual is actually just releasing river lanterns for worship, salvation, and sending off the spirits.
This is a solemn ceremony in which the living, relying on faint light and flowing water, transmit information and make offerings to the void and the netherworld.
Along the several-kilometer stretch of the Nanjiang River, more and more people gather at night.
As dusk settled over the river, the water turned a dark, somber color.
People squatted silently on the riverbank, lit the candles in their paper lanterns, and the warm yellow light shone through them, gently pushed into the river by their hands.
The river surface was covered with thousands of lanterns, creating a flowing river of light.
Nearby, newly lit paper lanterns stood close together, their candlelight filtering through red, white, and yellow paper shades, casting a warm glow on the water's surface.
In the distance, the earlier lights had drifted into a winding ribbon of stars, countless points of light rising and falling with the waves, almost obscuring the black water. When the wind blew, the entire river of light trembled slightly, like a giant, luminous dragon awakened from its slumber.
New lights were continuously added from upstream, pushing the thickness of this light slowly into the darkness downstream, the air filled with the scent of beeswax and damp paper.
Many of the disaster victims arrived at the riverbank with calm or expressionless faces, but as the river lights reflected in their eyes slowly drifted away, tears suddenly welled up in their eyes.
In the darkness of the riverside night, faint, suppressed sobs began to rise.
The sound floated faintly on the river's surface, incessant and intermittent, as if torn apart and then pieced back together by the wind. It sank into the ceaseless flow of the river, indistinguishable whether it was the lament of the living or the lingering sighs of the deceased.
The ancient mansion was located on the banks of the South River. It didn't take long for Lu Ren and the others to arrive at the riverbank after leaving the mansion. Hearing the sobbing around them, they were filled with emotion.
Ji Liguang was carefree and unaffected by the sad atmosphere: "Shall we go set them off too? We can go back to sleep afterward."
Lu Ren was speechless: "That's for the deceased. Don't go over there laughing and joking around, or you'll get beaten up."
"Then I'll be serious."
She touched her face, her expression serious: "Is it okay now?"
Lu Ren gestured with his thumb to the sleeping fish next to him: "That's more like it."
Yu Zaomian stood to the side, sobbing uncontrollably and wiping away her tears.
She's clearly a passionate person, just like Shen Yaoxing said, a naive and innocent magician.
Yu Zaomian also suggested, "Ah, Miss Ali, shall we go release river lanterns together?"
"Let's go, let's go!"
"I'll go too." Lu Youhe was carefree; she went to take pictures to show Xiao Kui.
"Oh, right, I was just about to ask—" Yu Zaomian looked at this person with some confusion: "Excuse me, miss, who are you?"
"I am Lu Ren's older sister, I am Lu Youyouhe."
"Lu Youyou River?"
"hey-hey"
The girls went to release river lanterns. Shen Yaoxing actually wanted to go too, but there were so many people there, and the people who had just been in the ancient mansion had all come out to participate in the city-wide sacrificial ceremony.
Lu Ren stayed on the shore with the young lady, and since no one came up to talk to her, she was able to relax a little.
From Lu Ren's perspective, Shen Yaoxing was currently in a superposition of the young lady and the squirrel, undergoing hundreds of changes every second, and could collapse into any shape at any time. Clearly, she was nearing her limit.
"Seriously, it's so annoying! They keep trying to talk to me, but I don't even know them well—"
"Is it okay to be a little willful? Like Ali, why does the young lady have to maintain such a dignified demeanor?"
"Hmm, this is—"
She tapped her forehead with her index finger, pondered for a moment, and asked Lu Ren, "Why?"
"Am I asking you a question?"
"Hehe, you've been doing quite well lately. Shall I give you a good compliment?"
"That's not true. I haven't been doing the hard work lately. I've been letting Ali and the others do the missions."
Shen Yaoxing crossed her arms and nodded approvingly, saying, "Xiao Lu is such a humble and good child."
"—Young Miss, don't mimic me."
"Kukuku—"
"There's a bench here, Miss. Please sit down and rest for a bit. You should be back soon."
"It's dirty, I don't want to sit here!"
At night, the young lady acted like a child, which Lu Ren was already used to. He picked a clump of branches, used alchemy to refine the leaves into a flat mat, and laid it on the bench.
Shen Yaoxing also told him not to stand, but to sit next to her and keep her company. She quite liked being with Lu Ren like this.
At that moment, both of them sensed that someone in the surrounding crowd was heading towards them with a clear purpose.
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