"I saw a sedan chair of the Qi Family enter the palace through the side gate."
Shen Qingfeng paused for a moment. The heart - wrenching feeling he had anticipated didn't strike. His heart was like a pool of water with a single drop falling into it. After the ripples subsided, there was no more turmoil.
"Okay," Shen Qingfeng replied softly and continued walking forward.
What did it matter? He had already experienced this in his previous life. He knew that although Xia Chuli had said he wouldn't let Qi Mengmeng enter the palace, he would still marry her in the end. Even though he had been reborn, many things simply wouldn't change.
"Qingfeng..." Shen Yu hesitated for a moment, then reached out his hand as if to grab him, but finally let it hang in the air. "Don't be sad. Forget about that Crown Prince."
Shen Qingfeng gave a soft laugh, turned to look at Shen Yu, and said, "Brother, I'm not thinking about him."
Shen Yu was taken aback.
A cold breeze blew, disturbing the blue hair that had been tucked behind Shen Qingfeng's ear.
"I won't think about him anymore in the future."
-
Once the idea of rebuilding the Listening - Wind Pavilion came to mind, Shen Qingfeng got busy in his room. He kept writing, trying his best to recall and jotting down the names, life stories, and preferences of everyone he could remember in the pavilion.
In his previous life, in order to build the Listening - Wind Pavilion, Shen Qingfeng had secretly used various means to win over many outlaws in the Jianghu. Since its organizational form was similar to that of "Traceless", and because Yu Shuang, the former leader of "Traceless", had pledged loyalty to Xia Chuli, many former members of "Traceless" were willing to defect to them.
It was like stealing a lot of fat jobs from Liu Mei. But Liu Mei was a reasonable person. As long as she was appeased in other ways, this matter wasn't too difficult to resolve.
Shen Qingfeng worked from morning until the sun was setting in the west. Only then did he raise his head from the stack of densely written rice paper. He looked at the yard completely bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun, then lowered his head and picked up the pen again. He circled a name among the dense words: Xiangcheng.
"Knock, knock, knock..." Someone knocked on the door, and A Man's voice came through. "Young Master, the second young master of the Qi Family is here to see you. He's waiting in the main hall."
"Hmm?" Shen Qingfeng was taken aback.
The second young master of the Qi Family? Qi Siyu?
The image of Qi Siyu as a nice guy flashed through Shen Qingfeng's mind. He couldn't quite figure out why Qi Siyu had come to see him.
He got up and opened the door. "I'll go right away."
It was said that things would turn in the opposite direction when they reached the extreme. Shen Qingfeng thought this was very true.
For example, Qi Siyu was the clearest one in the muddy water of the Qi Family, so clear that he almost seemed pure white.
As soon as Shen Qingfeng stepped into the main hall, Qi Siyu, who was sitting in the hall, turned his head. When he saw Shen Qingfeng, his face immediately broke into a big smile. "Mr. Shen."
Every time Shen Qingfeng got along with Qi Siyu, he always felt that they got along well. Presumably, Qi Siyu also felt the same way. Although they hadn't met many times in this life, they were quite familiar with each other. Perhaps this was what it meant by hitting it off right away.
Shen Qingfeng said, "Mr. Qi, you're too polite. Why did you come here in person?"
Qi Siyu scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed. "I thought you were an easy - going person during the sacrifice the other day. So this time, I'd like to invite you to have some fun with us."
Shen Qingfeng was taken aback. He had a rough idea in mind and asked, "Is it the gathering of the young masters from noble families?"
Qi Siyu nodded.
Shen Qingfeng naturally knew about it. There were many noble families in Lige City. To strengthen their relationships and for entertainment, the well - known young masters from noble families would hold gatherings at various places in Lige City from time to time. Since they were all aristocrats, they usually chose the Shifang Zhai.
In his previous life, Shen Qingfeng had been completely devoted to Xia Chuli and had never participated in such things. Moreover, since Shen Qingfeng was homosexual, some young masters from noble families didn't want to get involved with him, so no one had ever invited him. Therefore, he only knew that such gatherings existed.
"Is it appropriate for me to go?" Shen Qingfeng thought for a moment and asked tentatively. In his previous life, he had been reluctant to spend too much time on socializing. But in this life, if he could establish connections with some official - family sons, many things might go more smoothly for him.
Qi Siyu waved his hand. "Don't worry, Mr. Shen. Before I came to invite you, I had already talked to He Jiu. He said to invite you over quickly."
"He Jiu?"
He Jiu, known as the social butterfly of Lige City, was the leading playboy among the official - family sons in Lige City. Although He Jiu was generous and unrestrained in character, he had looked down on Shen Qingfeng in his previous life. This was partly why Shen Qingfeng had never attended such gatherings in his previous life. But he didn't know why He Jiu had now agreed to his attendance.
Seeing that Shen Qingfeng didn't say anything, Qi Siyu stepped forward and patted his shoulder. "Mr. Shen, since He Zhishu has given his word, you can rest assured."
Shen Qingfeng thought for a while. Anyway, this was an opportunity. So he nodded and said, "Okay, then I'll not decline your kind invitation. You don't need to be so formal with me. Just call me Qingfeng."
Qi Siyu nodded and smiled. "Okay. Qingfeng."
-
The two of them rushed to the Shifang Zhai. Since it was a gathering of young masters from noble families, they were directly arranged in a private room in the Shifang Pavilion.
According to Qi Siyu, since it was a festival, people from various noble families had come in varying numbers, so they had rented a large private room. When the maid opened the door, Shen Qingfeng saw the people already seated in the room and found that there were more people than he had expected.
While everyone was exchanging greetings, Shen Qingfeng and Qi Siyu walked in. One of them was a person that the noble families were reluctant to associate with, and the other was the useless son of the Qi Family. Some people who couldn't hold back their emotions glanced at them and let out a few sneering laughs while covering their mouths.
Shen Qingfeng didn't care. He calmly looked for a seat. Just as he was about to pull Qi Siyu to sit down, he heard a clear male voice from behind. "Mr. Ruwei, I've long admired you."
Shen Qingfeng turned around and saw a man in a black - bamboo - patterned robe standing behind him. He seemed to have a scholarly air about him, but there was also a hint of playfulness on his smiling face. Shen Qingfeng paused for a moment, clasped his fists, and said, "He Zhishu, you're too kind."
He Jiu laughed heartily, also clasped his fists at Shen Qingfeng, and said in a loud voice, "They all say that Mr. Ruwei is as beautiful as a celestial being with a wise look in his eyes. But now that I've seen you in person, you seem to lack the worldly air that ordinary people talk about, looking more like a person detached from the world!"
He Jiu's voice was quite loud, and everyone in the room heard it. Some people were looking over.
Shen Qingfeng smiled and said, "He Zhishu, you're overpraising me. I'm just an ordinary person."
"Not at all. I asked the second young master of the Qi Family to invite you here today. I hope you'll enjoy yourself." He Jiu said with a smile.
Shen Qingfeng knew that He Jiu had deliberately raised his voice. After all, his status was rather awkward. But as long as he was the person "personally" invited by He Jiu, the situation would be different. It seemed that the title of "social butterfly of Lige City" wasn't unfounded. He Jiu was really considerate. However, unfortunately, although He Jiu seemed unrestrained on the surface, he was actually very slippery. He always tried to maintain a balance and please both sides but never wanted to take sides. So in his previous life, Shen Qingfeng had never tried to recruit him because he knew it was useless.
"Thank you, He Zhishu." Shen Qingfeng gave a soft laugh. After they exchanged a few more words, He Jiu went to greet the new - comers, and Shen Qingfeng then pulled Qi Siyu to sit down.
"It seems that He Zhishu really likes you?" Qi Siyu nudged Shen Qingfeng's shoulder and whispered.
Shen Qingfeng shook his head. "Impossible. I think he's just curious about me."
Qi Siyu nodded. "That makes sense. He Jiu is really good at talking."