The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#451 - Misunderstand

Lu Jing had originally planned to slip out before the birthday banquet started, if he had time, to check out the temple Yu Wenyu mentioned, but now he had to give up on that idea.

He had only borrowed the excuse of admiring Grandmaster Honglian's relics to get the specific location of the temple from Yu Wenyu, planning to go after the birthday banquet was over.

Afterward, Lu Jing, along with Li Bufan and Yu Wenyu, walked towards the southeast corner of the manor, where colorful tents had already been set up.

This time, Old Madam Wen was celebrating her eightieth birthday, so the preparations were quite grand.

Along the way, Lu Jing saw many trees adorned with silk, exuding an air of extravagance. Even with the outside world in turmoil, Madam Wen had still managed to find an opera troupe, setting up a stage in the manor for performances, along with acrobatics and sumo wrestling.

Especially the sumo wrestlers, who seemed to be younger members of the Wen family. Not only were there men, but Lu Jing also saw two female sumo wrestlers. He didn't dare to look too closely, only glancing a few times before averting his gaze.

The atmosphere in the Chen Dynasty was generally quite open. The female sumo wrestlers, like the men, were mostly bare-chested. In the capital, they were even more popular than male sumo wrestling for a time.

As a result, several meddlesome censors couldn't stand it anymore and submitted memorials to the emperor. The court couldn't pretend to be deaf and mute any longer, and issued a decree restricting the performance of female sumo wrestling. To this day, many people in the streets and alleys of the capital are still cursing those moralistic censors.

However, other places didn't have this problem. Sumo wrestling performances, both male and female, were very common. There were also sumo wrestling arenas, where the champion could win a reward of varying value.

Lu Jing and the others arrived at the colorful tent and were immediately invited to sit at the table closest to the front, where two people were already seated.

One of them was the master of逍遥Mountain Manor, Lü Qinghou. In terms of martial arts status, he was the only one among the birthday celebrants who could compare with Li Bufan. As for Jiang Lei, Yu Wenyu, and others, they were slightly inferior. Jiang Lei was at a disadvantage because Thunderfire Hall had risen too recently, lacking the necessary accumulation to stand on equal footing with the truly top-notch sects in the martial world.

And Yu Wenyu, because he was a lone wolf, even with the title of the number one swordsman in the Central Plains, was ultimately weak and isolated.

Lü Qinghou was now over fifty years old, but he was well-maintained, looking only like he was in his early forties. Because he had cultivated the逍遥诀to the seventh level, his entire demeanor was even more refined and detached.

Among the people Lu Jing had met, perhaps only Shu Hua could compare with him, but Lü Qinghou didn't have Shu Hua's coldness. In fact, when he spoke, everyone present felt as if they were bathed in a spring breeze.

"Gang Leader Li, Swordsman Yu, how have you been?"

"It's been four years since we last met, Manor Master Lü, you are as elegant as ever," Li Bufan said, then looked at another man at the table, "Duke Ying is here as well?"

"Yes, I'm a leisurely person anyway. The most I do on weekdays is to travel and play with my wife, write and draw. This time, I have the opportunity to see the beautiful scenery of Huzhou, so how could I not come?" the man said lazily.

As he spoke, his gaze fell on Lu Jing, "This friend looks a bit unfamiliar. I wonder whose husband he is?"

Before Lu Jing could speak, he started counting on his fingers, "I know the men from the eldest to the fifth daughter, and the sixth is my own wife… So, there's only the seventh left. Tsk, tsk, in that case, all seven daughters of the Wen family are taken."

"Oh, Duke Ying, you've misunderstood. I'm just a friend of Wen Xiaoqian," Lu Jing explained, concerned about Wen Xiaoqian's reputation.

As a result, after he finished speaking, he noticed that all the men present were looking at him. After a moment, Lü Qinghou sighed and said leisurely, "I used to like saying that when I was young."

Then he patted Lu Jing on the shoulder, "Wandering through the world, indulging in pleasure is indeed a happy thing in life, but when you get tired of it one day, you will eventually want to settle down, and I dare to guarantee that if you want to marry a wife, there is no one more suitable than a woman from the Wen family."

"No, everyone, you've really misunderstood," Lu Jing said helplessly, "I'm just here to send her home."

"You're the one who's misunderstanding," Duke Ying pointed at himself and then at the others at the table, "You don't think just anyone can sit at this table, do you?"

"Then I'll go sit at another table," Lu Jing said seriously.

"Well, we don't have any problem with that… but have you thought about how Wen Xiaoqian is going to explain to her mother, grandmother, and sisters?"

Lu Jing was silent upon hearing this. He remembered what Wen Xiaoqian had said to him before they left.

Indeed, it was easy for him to change seats now, and it wouldn't be difficult to leave halfway through, it would just be a loss of some money, and he might not even be able to get that money back, since the people sitting here tonight were not ordinary people.

But doing so would be putting Wen Xiaoqian on the spot, leaving the girl to face the embarrassment and gossip of his departure alone.

At this moment, Lu Jing suddenly understood where the trap Wen Xiaoqian had set for him was.

However, this time Wen Xiaoqian used a scheme in plain sight, and Lu Jing was helpless. He couldn't bring himself to be so cruel, and in the end, he could only sigh and sit down next to Duke Ying.

In any case, he had to help Wen Xiaoqian get through this hurdle first, and as for other matters, he could only talk about them after the birthday banquet was over.

Seeing Lu Jing finally sit down, Duke Ying thoughtfully poured him a bowl of tea, "It seems we'll be relatives before long. By the way, may I ask what I should call you?"

"Lu Jing."

Duke Ying's hand paused slightly as he poured the tea, but before he could say anything, Lü Qinghou spoke first, "I've heard some things about you."

"Anyone who isn't deaf should have heard about him," Duke Ying interjected.

"I'm not talking about those rumors in the martial world," Lü Qinghou shook his head, "My son, Lü Ping, had the honor of getting to know Grandmaster Lu, and he has repeatedly mentioned Grandmaster Lu in his letters home, praising his martial arts and character… Now I understand why Grandmaster Lu doesn't want to sit at this table so much."

"I understand too," Duke Ying murmured, "If I were him, I probably wouldn't want to settle down so early. But in any case, being able to see the most prominent legendary figure in the martial world recently is worth the trip."

"You're wrong about that," Lü Qinghou suddenly said again, "There's more than one legendary figure attending the banquet today."

"I'm not talking about Jiang Lei either," Lü Qinghou shook his head again.