Male superiority and female superiority: forced love

Wan'an Building

The most artistic restaurant in Licheng. The elegant courtyard-style pavilions are scattered on a vast expanse of blue water, like a fairyland in the forest, beautiful beyond words.

Chunhua Pavilion, the king of Wan'an Tower's pavilions, is a six-meter-high building with overhanging eaves, its gray walls covered in exquisite carvings. In its center, a large wooden screen hangs above a plaque with the four characters "A broad mind brings happiness" powerfully engraved on it.

The willow banks are all around, and the peach blossoms are in full bloom. The water and sky are one color. A few small boats drift along the current. The clear and clean environment is enough to keep guests.

"The Right Prime Minister is in a good mood today." Lu Zhuoxi said with deep meaning.

Right Prime Minister Jin Shi, a child prodigy at the age of fifteen, was granted the same status as a Jinshi (Jinshi) and appointed Director of the Ministry of Rites. At the age of twenty-five, he was entrusted by the late emperor with the position of Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince. At the age of thirty-five, the Crown Prince ascended to the throne and appointed him Right Prime Minister. He was a trusted and loyal minister to two emperors.

However, he and Lu Zhuoxi are not in the same camp, and he is the leader of the current prince's party.

Speaking of this, I have to write a little about the grudge between the two people.

To put it simply: Beiyue Crown Prince Lu Yinnian's mother is the current Imperial Noble Consort Yang Xingxue, while Lu Zhuoxi's mother is Beiyue Empress Xu Fenghua. There is an irreconcilable and unresolved conflict between the two.

As for Jin Shi, he didn't want to lose face by looking for Lu Zhuoxi, because King Yixiang was in charge of the Ministry of Revenue now!

"Your Highness, you are joking. I have heard that Chunhua Pavilion has a unique view, so I specially invited Your Highness to come and have a chat."

"Thank you, Right Prime Minister, for still thinking of me. If there is anything I can do, I will certainly do it."

One doesn't go to Mount Wutai without a reason; only when one has a purpose does one go to Mount Wutai. Lu Zhuoxi wanted to see what this old fox was up to today. Normally, he'd even avoid him by a mile, but today, he suddenly showed his friendliness. It was truly bizarre.

Jin Shi did have something to ask Lu Zhuoxi, so he smiled and said simply, "To be honest with you, Your Highness, I do have a favor to ask. As everyone knows, the Duke of Dayong and I have been classmates and friends for many years. Some time ago, he sent me a letter, asking me to help him find a woman. However, I have been searching for a while without any results. The Duke of Zhenguo firmly believes that the woman is now in Beiyue, so I thought of Your Highness." If Lu Zhuoxi was willing to order a search, it would be much faster than sending people to search state by state by himself.

Qin Lang's eldest son had gotten into great trouble and was waiting for this girl to show up and save him. She had asked him to help find him within ten days. Five days had already passed, and there was still no news from the girl.

It's not a good idea to let the Northern Moon Emperor intervene in this matter, otherwise it will directly escalate into an issue between the two countries. After much thought, it seems that finding Lu Zhuoxi is the most effective way.

"Is there a portrait of that woman?" Lu Zhuoxi suppressed the shock in his heart and said calmly.

"Yes. The Duke of Zhenguo attached it to the letter." Jin Shi then took out a scroll from his sleeve.

The woman in the painting was wearing a lotus-shaped shirt, and her face looked 70% like Ruan Chuyin, which surprised Lu Zhuoxi greatly. He immediately felt alarmed and his scalp went numb.

The Duke of Zhenguo sent people to Wushui Town, where Ruan Chuyin settled, to find Fan Wu and Lu Qi and asked the painter to draw it based on their memory.

When the Duke of Zhenguo first received the scroll, he was struck by Ruan Chuyin's beauty. No wonder his son would rather risk his life than paint her. With such beauty, she would surely be sought after by powerful individuals.

Lu Zhuoxi gazed at the figure in the painting, his eyes growing darker, and a sense of unease and restlessness welled up within him. He had originally planned to wait a couple of days, once his current tasks were completed, to help Ruan Chuyin secure a prestigious position so he could marry her. But now it seemed he couldn't wait any longer. He lost interest in small talk and immediately accepted the scroll, accepting Jinshi's request. Without even bothering to ask for leave from the Ministry of Revenue, he hurried to Zuixianlou.

"Your Majesty, have you thought about how to talk to Miss Ruan?"

In the carriage, Song Siyuan felt that although this girl was pretty and spoke softly, she was not soft-hearted. She was quite opinionated in some aspects and might not be willing to follow the prince obediently.

Lu Zhuoxi closed her eyes and pretended to sleep, her mind already in a mess.

Yeah, how should I tell Hatsune Miku?

If you say it lightly, she won't take it seriously. If you say it seriously, she will definitely go back to Dayong.

Once a person leaves Beiyue, it is no longer up to Lu Zhuoxi to decide.

However, what shocked them was that Ruan Chuyin was not in Zuixianlou at this time, and even Xiang Chongguang was not there either.

The two ladies only said that the boss took the girl back to his hometown to visit relatives and would not be back for some time.

Lu Zhuoxi and Song Siyuan questioned all the employees in the building, but they all shook their heads, saying they didn't know where the two had gone. They said they were newly hired by the boss and didn't know much about the boss's affairs. Xu Chunfang and Han Shuixian testified on their behalf, as they had all joined the building and signed their employment contracts on the same day.

When something goes wrong, there must be something fishy.

Lu Zhuoxi immediately returned to the Ministry of Revenue and asked someone to check Xiang Chongguang's identity, but found no such person. This immediately made him alert, and he mobilized all forces to launch a carpet search without regard for the consequences.

Licheng was only a little over 300 miles from the Nanxing border, and could be reached in two days at most by official road. He was worried that Xiang Chongguang might take Ruan Chuyin to Nanxing, so he sent a group of men to pursue him along the route.

In fact, he guessed right, but he overlooked the fact that there was a continuous stretch of mountains from north to south.

At this time, Xiang Yunchi, Ming San, Ming Wu, and Ruan Chuyin were rushing towards the Southern Star National Array Dao Sect at the fastest speed, while Elder Li and Elder Wang followed closely behind, keeping a certain distance.

The Zhendao Sect was the territory of Xiang Yunchi's fourth brother. He chose it because, among his eight brothers, only his fourth brother, Kong Huiyin, was married and wouldn't set his sights on Ruan Chuyin. Secondly, neither Dayong nor Beiyue could reach there, especially Qin Guanzhi. His love-hate relationship with Princess Hao Rong of the Nanxing Kingdom was well-known. If he wasn't afraid of death, he could come all the way.

The Underworld Palace received news of the Liangcheng Incident only slightly later than King Yixiang. However, Xiang Yunchi's alertness was several times sharper than Lu Zhuoxi's. He immediately found an excuse and coaxed Ruan Chuyin into going to the Southern Star Kingdom.

"Yun Chi, I've never cooked for so many people before. I'm afraid I can't do it."

In a luxurious carriage, Ruan Chuyin was hugging Xiaobai nervously and telling Xiang Yunchi about her inner concerns.

The Zhendao Sect has more than 30,000 disciples. How much food does it take to cook a meal?

This job was not easy to take, but the reward was too good to refuse. Plus, Xiang Yunchi was so beautiful and charming, she was so bewitched that she accepted it. By the time she realized something was wrong and wanted to change her mind, the carriage had already entered the mountains.

How could Xiang Yunchi let his Jiaojiao suffer the trouble of taking care of the meals for tens of thousands of people every day!

Xuan Er smiled and said comfortingly, "Hatsune, when the time comes, I'll have Fourth Brother clear out a building in the sect for you to open a restaurant. You'll just be responsible for the meals for my brother, a few elders, and those elite disciples. Don't worry about anything else."

What? Thirty thousand people reduced so much in an instant? How could she still have the nerve to accept a monthly salary of twenty thousand taels? Her little hand casually reached into her sleeve and touched the newly signed contract, feeling it was extremely hot.

"Yun Chi, why don't we let Ming Liu go? He's a pretty good cook now." Ruan Chuyin was a little tempted to go back to Zuixianlou. She was worried about her friends. The restaurant's business and reputation had been improving recently, and she didn't want to leave just when it was starting to pick up. This made her thoughts drift back to Mingyue Restaurant. She wondered how Master Qin and A Yu were doing with the restaurant.

"Hatsune, my brother has very high standards. There's absolutely no way Ming Liu would be qualified. It's because he's picky about cooks that he's willing to pay this price. I'll take care of everything. Just work hard there for two months. When you come back, wouldn't it be nice to move into a bigger house?"

Fragrant!

Thinking of living in a big house, Ruan Chuyin's restless heart gradually calmed down.

As the night deepened, the mountain path through the dense forest became deeper and more difficult to navigate. The creaking sound of wheels echoed in the air, making it seem particularly empty.

Hundreds of shadowy figures followed at a safe distance behind them. Meanwhile, the two elders were being tightly entangled by the four allies of the Moon Shadow Pavilion, unable to escape.

Li Yunchang and Wang Xueli did not expect to encounter Yueying Pavilion here, and they did not expect that they could actually invite the four venerables from Guangyang Sect and Luosha Sect.

Wei Jiusi, dressed in white, stood on a mountaintop, his sleeves flowing in the breeze. His long black hair fluttered in the wind, and his overly pale face seemed to liven up slightly under the soft glow of the moon.

He carried a silver scimitar on his back. From a distance, he looked like he was walking on the moon, like a banished immortal. However, the corner of his mouth was curled up in a chilling and bloodthirsty smile.

A faint crimson tinge stained the back of his shirt, and the skin beneath it was already covered in blood-colored jade beads, which slowly dripped down the narrow, twisted wound.

"Xiang Yunchi, today our pavilion wants your life. Let's see what your Underworld Palace can use to fight the Moon Shadow Pavilion in the future!"