Painting Doctor Jinhua

On an elegant building about fifty steps away from the parade ground, a group of young men from noble families were playing games of flowing wine cups and reciting poems. Suddenly, they heard exclamations and shouts coming from the parade ground, and some of them could not help but squeeze to the window to watch the fun.

And when they saw the phoenix running across the training ground with its graceful figure standing tall and straight against the wind, one of the young men from an aristocratic family, who was wearing green brocade with wide sleeves and a wide belt, could not help but dilate his pupils, revealing a greedy gleam in his eyes.

"Go and find out, who is that Hu boy from?"

"Lu Silang, I heard that you have dozens of concubines at home, if not hundreds. You don't take both men and women, do you?"

This Lu Silang was none other than Lu Sheng, the son of Zhongshu Sheren, and the one who spoke was Xiao Yun.

After swallowing the grapes fed by the woman in his arms, Xiao Yun pushed the girl away, walked over with some curiosity and impatience, and suddenly pushed the two heads that were gathered in front of the window to the sides. He was the first to stick his head out to take a look. When he saw this, his eyes suddenly showed a gleam of joy that was determined to win.

"It turned out to be her! I didn't expect that she would come earlier than I expected!"

"Mr. Xiao Balang, who is this "she" you are talking about?" Lu Sheng asked curiously, and other children from noble families also echoed the question.

"Humph! She is my niece who recently made a fuss about returning to my Xiao family to recognize her ancestral roots. I'm sure you have heard about who her father is, right?"

"Of course I heard about it, Mr. Xiao Balang, your niece's wife is quite fierce. Is she really as beautiful and charming as you said?"

"Oh, I, Xiao Yun, am proud of my extraordinary vision. Although she came to my house that day wearing a veiled hat, I knew at a glance that she was a beauty picked out of a million. And I guarantee that you have never seen her skin and figure. If you get a taste of her, you will definitely remember it for the rest of your life!"

Hearing Xiao Yun say this, the light in the eyes of several young men became even brighter, and just the thought of it made them drool uncontrollably.

Lu Sheng couldn't wait any longer and urged, "What are you waiting for, Mr. Xiao Balang? Hurry up and get your niece here... Please come to us!"

"What's the matter, Mr. Lu Silang, don't want that Hu boy anymore?" Xiao Yun said with a teasing smile.

"Since we have such a beautiful girl picked out of a million to play with, why would we need that Hu boy? Besides, even if we want him, that will be a matter for the future. Since we are here today, we will definitely cooperate with Mr. Xiao Balang to play this drama well. Don't you think so?"

"Yes, yes, of course, of course!" Several other gentlemen also echoed loudly.

"Well, I'll call her over right away, and you have to find a way to get rid of that Hu boy. He's a tough and ruthless person!"

"Oh! Mr. Xiao Balang, you are really worrying too much. Look at that Hu boy who is having so much fun. How can he care about your niece? You asked her to come now. She will definitely not bother you. Besides, even if he comes, with so many of us, can't we get rid of a child?"

"That's right, if it doesn't work, just trick him into going to the toilet, and then give him a stick!"

The young men in this box were talking to each other, and the buzz of voices was endless, without realizing that their conversations had already spread to another smaller box just across the wall.

Different from the noisy Youda box where Xiao Yun was, there were only two people sitting by the window in the small box separated by a wall. One of the men was also wearing a veiled hat, a black robe with tight sleeves, and only a jade pendant around his waist. Although it was the simplest attire, it still couldn't hide his elegance and luxury.

The man also looked out the window for a long time, and suddenly dropped the teacup that was about to his lips heavily onto the table.

"Prince, the Hu boy I saw looked like the one we met in Pengcheng, Xuzhou that day. He was nearly killed by poison, and it was the miracle doctor beside him who saved him. And what those people said just now... could they be talking about that miracle doctor?" A man dressed as a guard said embarrassedly.

"I heard that people in the south value integrity and scholarly demeanor the most, but I didn't expect them to be so absurd and cruel when it comes to women, even their own niece is not spared!" The man paused when he said this, as if he thought of something and sighed slightly.

"What's a niece? Our king..."

The guard was halfway through his words when he noticed the gaze from behind the veil and immediately stopped talking. He then asked, "Does the prince still care about this matter?"

As soon as he finished asking the question, he saw the man standing up and looking out the window. The guards also hurried over to see, and saw that the young lady who was originally drinking tea and waiting on the parade ground had now stood up. It seemed that the waiter showed her a letter, and she left the parade ground with the waiter. She did not take the Hu boy with her, and even left the maid beside her in the parade ground.

"Is this...taking the bait?" The guard was a little surprised and frightened.

He looked at his master who was standing there motionless with his back straight, and was just wondering what to say when he suddenly heard, "Let's go! Let's go and take a look too!"

……

Xiao Jinyu did receive a letter and left the training ground. When she was leaving, A Xiu wanted to follow her, but she stayed behind.

"I have never seen Phoenix playing as happily as he does today. Let's not disturb him now. When he has had enough fun, tell him to come to Ascott to find me!"

"Yes, madam!"

As the name suggests, Ascott is an elegant place for exchanging poetry and wine. It is also the place where Xiao Yun and a group of young men from aristocratic families play the game of Qushui Liushang and compete with each other in wealth. Because the place was reserved, there is no one else here except seven or eight young men from aristocratic families and a few maids serving them. The entire Ascott covers a large area, and a pool of water is specially dug out in the middle. After ingenious design, wine cups can be placed in the pool and will flow down with the waves.

This is the Yushang Suibozuo, which has been very popular among the children of the gentry since the Wei and Jin Dynasties. The rule is that whoever the Yushang falls to has to compose a poem. If the poem is not received correctly, he will be punished by drinking three cups of wine.

Of course, there are other bets to heighten people's interest. Money and worldly things are no longer the capital for these noble families to compete and show off their wealth. The bet that Xiao Yun is making with the other noble families at this moment is that whoever loses will have to offer up one of his concubines for everyone's fun!

Therefore, there were constant sounds of giggling and panting from the women in the hall.

After playing a few rounds like this, one of the nobles seemed a little bored and suddenly said, "Have you heard? The elegant gathering hosted by Minister Xu seems to have invited many northern scholars to participate. Even Lanling King Gao Changgong of the Northern Qi, Duhu Shan and Yuwen Hui of the Northern Zhou will bring envoys to our southern land to participate in the event. Hey, I can't believe that these northern barbarians want to learn our Han culture and pretend to be cultured!"

"Oh, what's the big deal? In order to learn Chinese culture, Emperor Xiaowen Tuoba Hong even changed his Xianbei surnames to Chinese surnames. But after the Gao family of Northern Qi gained power, they once again learned the habits of the Hu people and became interested in the ugly Hu people of the Western Regions and the various arts of Kucha. It's really..."

"Why are you talking about this, Lord Kong? Why don't we just talk about Lanling King Gao Changgong? I heard that he is a handsome man as famous as Han Zigao in our southern land. I have seen Han Zigao from afar before. He is indeed as beautiful as a woman! But I don't know how beautiful Gao Changgong is. Can he compare to Lord Xiao Ba's niece who has Han Zigao's blood in her body?"

"Lord Lu Si, you are too greedy. Just now you wanted to kidnap that Hu boy, but now you are eyeing Northern Qi's Gao Changgong. He is Lanling Wang, the god of war who repelled the Turkic army not long ago. Aren't you afraid that boy will chop off your head after hearing what you said?"

"Hahaha... that guy is worthy of being called a god of war. I don't believe it. How can a pretty boy who is more beautiful than a woman really know how to march and fight? In my opinion, he only won the battle by chance because of his status as a member of the Northern Qi royal family and Duan Shao's cover for him! Don't you agree?"

Lu Sheng laughed loudly and signaled the maids and servants who followed him to laugh. Amid the awkward and suppressed laughter, suddenly the whole hall burst into laughter. The noisy and sharp laughter immediately filled the entire Ascott and also spread to another corridor at the top of the small building.

In the corridor, behind a screen, a man in black clothes and narrow sleeves was looking down and listening attentively. When he heard this, he just frowned in displeasure, but the guards around him could not bear it any longer.

"Wang, these southerners are going too far. Wait for me to go down and give them a good beating!"

After saying that, the guard took a sudden step forward and was about to rush out, but at this moment, a clear voice suddenly came into the hall, like a clear spring in a mountain stream, instantly dispersing the noise in the hall and the irritability in people's hearts.

"How can a sparrow know the ambition of a swan? How can you gentlemen who have never been on the battlefield know what kind of person and general Lanling Wang is?"