Refuse to trample on the pride of heaven

Chapter 393 Preparation

When Lu Wensheng stood up to say goodbye, the candlelight was flickering in the draft.

Zheng Xiu stood with his back to him in front of the window where bamboo shadows swayed. His thin shoulders were stretched straight. The boy never turned back, and it was obvious that he didn't like them. The moment he stepped out of the door, he whispered, "It's useless. Human nature is the hardest to guess."

These words made Lu Wensheng pause slightly.

He turned to look at Zhengxiu, but saw that he had already turned around and pushed open the carved window, letting the night dew wet his clothes. His thin figure overlapped with the dying candle on the desk, revealing a loneliness similar to that of Mr. Xike.

But the panic that flashed across Zheng Xiu's eyes during the argument just now, and the deliberately evasive look when he mentioned the formation hub, all hinted that this young man was far more impulsive than he appeared to be.

Just as he thought, among the special formation centers like Mr. Xike, there are always people who are given special missions, and Zhengxiu... maybe he knows something but just doesn't want to say it, such as knowing his name, or even a familiar mockery.

It is not difficult to guess why - he led them into the formation just for Mr. Xike.

As I stepped out of the courtyard, it was already late at night. The moonlight filtered through the mottled leaves, casting tiny silver rays on the ground.

Lu Wensheng took Yan Zhaoming and Tang He and walked in the quiet alley. The footsteps of the three were particularly clear in the empty alley.

Zhao Ming patted the remaining dust on his body. Although he had simply cleaned up, the traces of embarrassment on his clothes were still visible. He smiled bitterly and said, "I didn't expect that I would end up in such a miserable state in this broken formation."

Tang He looked at Lu Wensheng eagerly, as if he was still thinking about the food that might be left in his arms.

Lu Wensheng thought for a moment and decided to settle the two of them first.

He led them through several winding alleys and came to a relatively secluded courtyard. Although the courtyard was not luxurious, it was quiet. There was also a small vegetable garden in front of the house where some vegetables were grown.

"You guys stay here for now. It may be safe for us to separate now. I have a banquet tomorrow. Please help me find out about the great scholar and the marquis."

Lu Wensheng said: "This place is hidden, and you can live here peacefully. It's not easy to be discovered."

He also reminded the two not to go out casually to avoid unnecessary trouble, "Now our situation in Xiangsheng City is unclear, so we should be cautious in everything."

Yan Zhaoming and Tang He nodded in agreement, and watched Lu Wensheng make the beds and put their belongings away for them. Yan Zhaoming realized it belatedly.

Yan Zhaoming touched his chin: Why does it smell like my parents?

Tang He laughed foolishly: Hehehe, senior brother is so nice.

After settling the two people, Lu Wensheng returned to his own residence.

At this time, the mansion had already become quiet, with only the lanterns that were keeping watch emitting a dim light. Thinking of the upcoming Qionglin Banquet, he felt a sense of urgency in his heart - on the surface, this Qionglin Banquet was a feast for the new top scorers and Jinshi, but in fact it contained a mystery. As the top scorer, he would definitely become the focus of everyone's attention, and if he was not careful, his identity might be exposed.

While thinking, Lu Wensheng tapped the green tiles with his toes. The vines of trumpet creeper on the eaves trembled slightly in the night breeze, and a few wilted yellow petals fluttered down with his falling clothes.

The blue bricks at the corner of the back wall had long been polished to a shine. He stepped on the protruding brick edge skillfully and used the force to climb into the yard. The wall dust from the soles of his shoes just covered the muddy footprints left in front of him - it was unusual for him to be so sneaky when returning to his own home.

The servant guarding outside the study heard the sound of tiles and hurried over with a sheep-horn lantern. The tassel of the lantern cast tiny spots of light in the night wind: "The young master is finally back!"

There was a hint of relief in the other person's voice for surviving a disaster, but his eyes could not help but glance at the bamboo debris stuck on Lu Wensheng's shoulder - he didn't know how his own young master had developed this habit and refused to leave the gate.

The lattice window of the study was half open, and the warm yellow candlelight cast the shadow of the wolf-hair brush on the desk onto the window paper, swaying like swaying ink-black bamboo branches.

When Lu Wensheng pushed the door open and walked in, his nose was first filled with the fragrance of agarwood mixed with the bitter taste of mint ointment - this was the refreshing scent that the servant had specially prepared for him.

"You must change clothes at the beginning of the morning." The servant came over with a tray. On the tray was a brand new scarlet silk gown. The golden crane embroidered on the collar glowed coldly under the candlelight. "The Jinwu Guards will arrive at the mansion at three quarters after the hour of the morning. You must wear flowers in your hair according to the custom..."

After listening to the whole thing seriously, Lu Wensheng sent the servant away and paced back and forth in the study, thinking about how to deal with the situation.

He flipped through the articles that he said he had written, trying to find inspiration and clues from them, but the more he read, the more headache he felt.

These articles were full of quotations from classics and were written in brilliant style. With his current knowledge, it would not be easy for him to get away with it at the Qionglin Banquet.

Wait, Lu Wensheng suddenly remembered that Mr. Xike said that the original owner of this body was a real top scholar. Since he was using the original identity of the original body, there should be the original body's articles and all his life's learning may be sealed in this study - now it seems that even the necessary documents such as "Thanks for the Qionglin Banquet" should be hidden somewhere.

The carved sandalwood bookcase has seven layers. Lu Wensheng searched through the original articles in chronological order. When his fingertips brushed over the "Collection of Xike's Essays", he suddenly touched a thread-bound book with a worn cover on the innermost side of the third layer.

Turning over the title page, the four small characters "Qionglin Banquet" on the yellowed rice paper catch the eye. The last page is also embellished with the original owner's private seal, and the cinnabar color glows with an old luster under the candlelight.

Lu Wensheng immediately breathed a sigh of relief - when Mr. Xike suddenly mentioned his original self, was he hinting at him?

At the same time, he felt like crying but had no tears: Mr. Xike, could you be more direct next time? He almost didn’t react.

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At the beginning of the morning, the servant gently knocked on the gilded hook of the carved bed, and Lu Wensheng opened his eyes in the lingering scent of agarwood.

The ticking sound of the copper clock on the desk divided the misty sky into twelve scales. The scarlet silk dress had already been neatly laid out in front of the vermilion lacquer screen. The cloud and crane patterns embroidered with gold thread glowed coldly in the candlelight, as if they would flap their wings and break through the stagnant morning mist at any time.

Lu Wensheng stood in front of the mirror and let the maid help him put on a brand new scarlet robe.

"Sir, it's time to wear flowers in your hair." The servant came closer with a tray. In the mutton-fat jade dish were fresh red peonies, and the morning dew on the petals still had the coolness of the night.

Lu Wensheng let the other party insert the flower branch into his hair. When the tassel of the jade crown brushed over his eyebrows, his gaze fell on the mirror - it was a strange yet familiar face. The slightly raised arc at the end of the eye overlapped with his own. It seemed no different from his usual self, but it was a little more gentle and noble than in his memory.

The sound of Jinwu Guards' horse hooves knocked on the vermilion lacquered door at exactly three quarters past five in the morning.

Lu Wensheng walked out of the house on the bluestone slabs covered with locust petals. The morning mist had not yet dissipated, but the palace lanterns on Zhuque Street had already been lit up one after another.

The sound of the night watchman's clappers on the street corner and the "click" of the palace lanterns lighting up were heard at the same time. The vermilion lacquered archway was looming in the fog, like a mirage built of gold powder and illusion.