Men are superior to women: the heartthrob in Yunqi

"Xiaoyangzhou" has a history of more than 400 years. It is said that this small island in the middle of the lake was once the private summer garden of Liu Hou Ye Shu. There are clusters of colorful flowers, and evergreen pines and cypresses. There are countless pavilions, bridges, flowing water, rockery and strange rocks, which are beautiful. Later, because Liu Hou failed in the "Seven Dragons Fighting for Succession" and was deposed, his whole family was exiled, and "Xiaoyangzhou" was taken back by the court as a good place for people to enjoy spring and go outing.

There are two gates at the entrance, one on the left and one on the right. The one on the right is for unmarried ladies to enter and exit.

It was almost 9:00 p.m., and the Spring Banquet was about to begin in half an hour. At this point, almost everyone who was supposed to be seated had already taken their seats, with only a few people left registering at the gate.

The returning shuttle ship had just set sail. Mu Yao looked at the dozen or so moored boats slowly going away and estimated that it would take a while for Zhao Huaian and the others to arrive.

Xu Qingcheng reluctantly let go of Mu Yao's hand and carefully adjusted the veil for her again: "Ayao, the aunt who leads the way will take you to find Noble Lady Helian in a while. If there is anything, just ask the aunt to tell me."

Mu Yao was puzzled and was about to ask when she heard Ye Qinghan speak: "Is the person you are meeting with today, Miss Mu, Helian Qing, the eldest daughter of the Helian family?"

Mu Yao nodded.

A trace of surprise flashed in Ye Qinghan's eyes. A few days ago, he invited Helian Qing to the Spring Banquet at the request of his father, but Helian Qing declined due to illness.

"It's getting late, why don't we go in first?" Ye Qinghan reminded.

Xu Qingcheng stared at Mu Yao again and again with concern, and her extremely greedy eyes made Ye Qinghan's eyebrows and eyes turn a little colder.

"Ayao, do you remember what I said to you?" Xu Qingcheng asked uncertainly.

Mu Yao nodded helplessly: "I remember. Don't take what you shouldn't take, don't fold what you shouldn't fold, and don't give what you shouldn't give. Brother Xu, don't worry. I remember everything."

Only then did Xu Qingcheng leave with Ye Qinghan feeling satisfied.

The aunt who led the way had a kind face and smiled as she led Mu Yao through a long corridor and stopped in front of the first golden bronze door. In front of the door stood a person-high elm frame.

Twenty-seven finely carved wooden signs were hung on the racks, each with three kinds of tea engraved on it: Wing Chun Buddha's Hand, Jingting Green Snow and Hanshui Silver Shuttle. There were also lotus cakes, sweet potato porridge, peony cakes, green bean cakes and other tea cakes symbolizing the twenty-four solar terms.

"Madam, please choose a tea of ​​your choice and three tea-based snacks of your choice." Zhang Yinghe said with a smile.

Women in Dayun are neither slaves nor maids. The guide ladies here are all arranged by the palace, and they are all female officials of high rank. But in fact, many of them are recommended by the people. It's pitiful that parents in the world are so kind. There are more men than women here, and some mothers who have no place to go for their sons have turned their attention to the Spring Banquet. They will spend a lot of money to show their favor to the female officials in the palace and come here to be guide ladies. They carefully observe the posture, temperament, conversation, etc. of the noble ladies. If they meet someone they like, they will try to chat with them for a few words and silently remember them. And Mu Yao's dress today is obviously not within the target range of those aunts.

She looked at the wooden signs carefully and took down the signs that read Jingting Green Snow, Peony Flower Cake, Green Bean Cake and Golden Silk Jujube.

Mu Yao felt that the organizer here was really thoughtful and had a very smart heart. She suddenly felt brighter.

Continue walking through two winding corridors, and the view opens up. Pavilions and towers are arranged in a circle, and the row on the right is for unmarried ladies.

These buildings are high and low, but the visual effect is surprisingly harmonious. From a distance, they form a unique landscape.

In the center of the circle was a large open space, on which were placed some tables, various musical instruments, and game props such as pitching pots. Many young men had already come on stage, kneeling in front of the tables, grinding ink in preparation for the competition.

What surprised Mu Yao the most was the extremely long and thin circular stream of water in front of the pavilion.

Somehow, these sparkling, jade-green waters flowed upstream, along rows of bamboo pipes that were split in the middle and connected to form channels, and were led into every room in the attic.

There is a small river behind these pavilions. Willows are green by the river, and their branches sway in the wind, stretching out their graceful bodies and swaying gently.

I saw a noble lady wearing a green veil in the attic stretching out a slender jade hand to touch a touch of tender green, like a moving painting, making people linger.

Mu Yao recognized Helian Qing at a glance and told her aunt that she was with the noble lady upstairs.

Zhang Ying opened his eyes slightly and immediately led Mu Yao upstairs.

"Yaoyao, why did you come just now? I've been waiting for you for a long time!" Helian Qing happily took her hand, took her to sit by the window, and considerately lowered the curtain.

Mu Yao was actually not used to this kind of overly enthusiastic and natural familiarity, but since they had already been "familiar" once, she let go.

"The road is blocked. Qingqing, are you here alone?"

Helian Qing froze for a few seconds, and said to Mu Yao in a somewhat resentful voice: "Yaoyao, you can call me by my nickname - Yoyo."

Mu Yao was silent. If she agreed, then the two of them would be good friends. It was only their second meeting. Was it okay to be so close? But if she didn't agree, she would feel reluctant.

"No one calls you Qingqing?" Mu Yao wondered.

"Qingqing doesn't sound nice, I like you to call me Yoyo." Helian Qing said in a soft voice.

Helian Qing's best friend used to call her Qingqing, but they later fell out over Ye Qinghan's matter.

Her best friend was Feng Xuanyan, the daughter of the Minister of War Feng Tiao. Because Feng Xuanyan's mother Helian Ji was her aunt, they had frequent interactions since childhood.

The two of them have loved competing with each other since they were young, and have grown up with a love-hate relationship, which is fully reflected in Ye Qinghan.

Feng Xuanyan is the second most beautiful woman in Shangjing, second only to Helian Qing. Back then, Queen Gu chose two noble ladies for Ye Qinghan. One was her niece Gu Huiran, and the other was Feng Xuanyan from the family of the Minister of War. Later, Gu Huiran gave up the position of Crown Princess for Xu Qingcheng, and Feng Xuanyan assumed that this position belonged to her. Unexpectedly, Emperor Qingyuan intended to match Ye Qinghan and Helian Qing. Although the matter is still unresolved, if the emperor is interested, the possibility of Feng Xuanyan ascending to the throne is much smaller.

Feng Xuanyan broke off her friendship with Helian Qing in a rage. Helian Fu, the patriarch of the Helian family, reprimanded Helian Ji for this matter, scolding her for not educating her daughter properly and being confused and dull. As long as they are of the blood of the Helian family, no matter whether it is Helian Qing or Feng Xuanyan, whoever becomes the crown princess will be the backbone of the family in the future. When Feng Xuanyan learned about this, she was so angry that she fell ill and it took her half a year to recover. From then on, the relationship between Feng Xuanyan and Helian Qing was incompatible, and Helian Ji's relationship with her family also dropped to the freezing point for her daughter.

Mu Yao felt weak when she heard Helian Qing's soft and tender voice. She never thought that one day she would be acted like a spoiled child by a girl, so she could only agree.

At this time, tea and tea fruit were also served. Mu Yao noticed that the waiters who served the food were all men who looked to be over fifty years old.

Looking at the exquisite refreshments on the table, Helian Qing suggested: "Yaoyao, let's take off the veil. There are curtains anyway. We will put it on when the show starts."

Mu Yao thought about it and it made sense. She took advantage of the time she still had to drink a cup of tea to get some fresh air. To be honest, she didn't like wearing this thing at all. Everything she saw was blurry.

After taking off the veil, Mu Yao saw Helian Qing staring at her intently and even forgot to drink her tea. She couldn't help but sigh in her heart and began to eat leisurely.

The buds and leaves of "Jingting Green Snow" are green, the white hairs are like snow, the taste is mellow and the aftertaste is long. It is a very good tea, but it is slightly inferior to "Tianshan Snow" and "Yulongjing".

There were six plates of tea and fruit on the table. In addition to the three dishes ordered by Mu Yao, there were also the "Lotus Cake", "Hawthorn Cake" and "Peanut Cheese" ordered by Helian Qing. These dishes were exquisite and looked mouth-watering, but the taste was a little disappointing.

Mu Yao carefully observed these snacks and had some new ideas for the upcoming banquet.

When she finished her second dessert gracefully, she noticed that Helian Qing was still looking at her, so she couldn't help but ask, "Yo Yo, your tea is getting cold."

Helian Qing did not look away. She said with envy: "Yaoyao, how can you be so beautiful? I can't get enough of looking at you. I really want to take you home. It's a pity for my brother, alas!" After saying that, Helian Qing shook her head.

Mu Yao was curious: "What happened to your brother?"

Helian Qing lowered her eyelids, a trace of heartache flashing across her eyes.

"I came here today with my brother Helian Yun. He is already over 40 years old and still has no wife. It's urgent!"

Mu Yao paused as she was about to drink the tea she was about to drink, and couldn't help but look at Helian Qing carefully: "Is your brother over 40?"

Helian Qing looked as if there was nothing to be surprised about. "Although my father is the eldest son in the family, he married late and had me when he was over fifty. My brother Helian Yun is the child of my second uncle. It's normal for him to be older than me."

Mu Yao suddenly realized that Helian Qing's father had a son in his old age!

Suddenly she thought of her adoptive father, Li Taifu, who was already over sixty years old this year, twenty years older than her biological father, Mu Yunze. She had originally been struggling with whether it would be inappropriate to adopt her as her adopted daughter. Wouldn't it be better to have her as her granddaughter? Now looking at Helian Qing, she no longer felt uncomfortable.

Helian Qing continued to tell the story: "My brother has an ancient appearance, a handsome demeanor, and outstanding martial arts. When he was ten years old, he was poisoned. At that time, we asked the genius doctor Jian to treat him. Later, because of the lack of a medicine, the poison could only be eliminated by 90%, and he was left with the sequelae of sterilization."

At this point, Helian Qing saw Mu Yao's beautiful eyes widened and looked at her in surprise, so she said, "This is not a secret. Everyone in Kyoto knows it. My brother's marriage was delayed because of this reason, and no one was willing to marry him. Last year, the medicine was found, and my brother's poison was completely eliminated. After half a year of recuperation, his body recovered. Doctor Jian said that my brother has recovered as usual and can marry and have children, but my brother didn't want to. My second uncle and second aunt were so anxious that they urged him to go and see if there was any noble lady he liked during the Spring Festival Banquet. I was supposed to come with my fourth brother today, but he was delayed because of something. My second uncle and second aunt urged me to bring my brother here, and I pushed and pulled him all the way to get him here."

"Oh oh, you said your brother is handsome and unrivaled in ancient times?" Mu Yao grasped the key point of this sentence. How handsome is he? Breaking the sky?

When Helian Qing saw Mu Yao's questioning expression, a hint of anger suddenly appeared on her face.

"Don't disbelieve me! My brother has been at the top of Dayun's list of handsome men for more than ten years. He was over the age limit to be on the list, so Ye Qinghan took advantage of him."

Mu Yao was silent. So Ye Qinghan is now ranked first on the Dayun Handsome Man List? Why did she remember that Wang Hao didn't tell her that? She pursed her lips and asked, "How old is your brother this year?"

"It's only been half a year since I turned forty..." Helian Qing pouted and stammered.

Suddenly, she seemed to have thought of something, and nervously asked, "Yaoyao, you are not interested in my brother, are you?"

Mu Yao showed her pearly teeth slightly, biting her pink lips gently to hold back her smile: "What if you are interested?"

The color of her lips became more and more beautiful after being bitten by her pearly teeth. Helian Qing's eyes gradually became hot: So beautiful! As if she is as pretty as a peach in spring and as pure as a chrysanthemum in autumn.

She couldn't help herself, moved forward, and quickly pecked Mu Yao on the cheek.

Mu Yao stood there motionless in a daze, her expression slightly cracked, then her pretty face flushed red and her breathing quickened.

"Helian Qing!" Mu Yao gritted her teeth and looked at the dead girl in front of her.

Helian Qing looked calm, without a trace of shame: "Yaoyao, I've seen your body, there's nothing wrong with a kiss. How about I let you kiss me back?" After saying this, her mind couldn't help but recall the scene of that day.

Mu Yao turned her head away angrily and looked out the window. Through the gap in the curtains, she saw shadowy figures on the opposite building, and many men were blocking the way downstairs to watch.

At this time, the Spring Banquet officially began.

The two put on their veils again and drew up the curtains. Mu Yao looked around from the window and saw Xu Qingcheng and Ye Qinghan sitting on the second floor of a pavilion to her left.

Xu Qingcheng had been paying attention to the movements on the other side. Only the curtain of Mu Yao's elegant room had not been raised. Almost the moment the curtain was raised, he recognized Mu Yao. Xu Qingcheng leaned forward excitedly and leaned out half of his body.

Mu Yao looked into his eyes through the veil and nodded in tacit understanding.

Helian Qing followed Mu Yao's line of sight with suspicion. She seemed to see Xu Qingcheng, and... Ye Qinghan.

She glanced at Mu Yao in disbelief, rubbed her eyes and looked up again, it was really them!

"Yaoyao, why is Xu Qingcheng here too?" Helian Qing asked nervously.

"Huh? I came here with him." Mu Yao answered casually.

"You came with him?" Helian Qing raised her voice. She felt that it was necessary to re-examine the relationship between Yaoyao and Xu Qingcheng. The Spring Banquet was a feast for the phoenix to seek the phoenix. Was Xu Qingcheng so generous? Accompanying the wife to choose a husband? Or did Xu Qingcheng want to find someone else to be the wife? But looking at the way they flirted with each other, it didn't seem like that.

"Yaoyao, why did you come with Xu Qingcheng? Doesn't he want to marry you?" Helian Qing was extremely curious. She felt that if she didn't ask clearly, she would not be able to sleep for three days.

"Why? Come whenever you want."

"He doesn't mind?"

"What do you mind?"

"You choose your husband." Helian Qing suddenly found that she was a little tired talking to Yaoyao.

This time it was Mu Yao's turn to be surprised: "Why should I choose a husband?"

"You... why don't you choose a husband to accompany you to the banquet?" Helian Qing felt that Mu Yao was challenging her three views everywhere. Can you just come to the Spring Banquet casually? Whether you can choose or not, this heart is sincere.

"I've never been here, so I wanted to come and see for myself."

Helian Qing opened her mouth so wide that an egg could fit in it. Fortunately, she was wearing a veil to cover up her gaffe. She thought of how Mu Yao had always been a woman dressed as a man, and asked uncertainly, "Yaoyao, is Xu Qingcheng the only one around you now?"

Mu Yao turned her head to look at her in confusion: "Yes, there has always been only Brother Xu." Does she look like she has a lot of men? She looked at the crowded men across the street and downstairs, all dressed in fancy clothes, all handsome. Suddenly, her mouth became dry and her heart surged.

In life, there are some things that can only be kept in mind. When it comes to real practice, it is not the same thing. Is this what is called having the desire but not the courage?

Helian Qing excitedly glanced across the room a few times, but surprisingly didn't see Helian Yun. She shook her head, then turned to Mu Yao and said firmly, "Yaoyao, you'll see my brother in a while, and I'll introduce you two to each other. Then you can tell me if my brother is the most handsome man in Dayun."

Mu Yao is so beautiful, and there are few men around her. This kind of peerless noble lady who is hard to find even with a lantern must be left to her brother. Her brother is old, and it is not a loss to be a concubine if he can't be the main husband. He can persuade her later. If he can marry Yaoyao, her brother will be proud for the rest of his life.