Chapter 179: Chapter 159: Carnival, Bloody Night (Part 1)
Ye Zi was only momentarily surprised by Huangpu Yue’s arrival. For Ye Zi, disguising her emotions was a simple matter. Chunlan and Qiuyue, however, didn’t recognize the great lady of the Huangpu Clan at all. They assumed she was another mistress their young master had found, though a glance at Ye Zi’s expression suggested that wasn’t the case. At least at this stage, Ye Zi was the only woman by the young master’s side to be officially recognized.
As for the middle-aged noble Li Fu, Ling Xiao had his men take him directly to Mo Qing to handle the arrangements. Ling Xiao believed that such a trivial matter was nothing to Mo Qing.
Li Fu thanked Ling Xiao profusely. As a noble who had once known glory, Li Fu understood the ways of the aristocracy all too well—there were too many who would smile to your face while stabbing you in the back! It was a rare blessing that after his downfall, he could meet a "good person" like Viscount Lingxiao. The thought filled his heart with warmth.
Adding flowers to brocade is easy; sending charcoal in a snowstorm is hard. This was something everyone knew, but only by experiencing it firsthand could one truly grasp its meaning.
Accompanied by Ye Wen Ni, Huangpu Yue toured Ling Xiao’s Viscount’s Mansion and was full of praise. She failed to recognize that the peerless beauty by her side was someone who had appeared before her several times in the past.
That evening, Huangpu Yue stayed at the Viscount’s Mansion in a room arranged by Chunlan and Qiuyue. With countless empty rooms available, it was incredibly simple to find accommodations for Huangpu Yue and her four guards.
The next day, the most magnificent festival in the Lanyue Empire finally arrived—the Blast Flame Lion King Festival!
Deep down, Ling Xiao was actually rather dismissive of such festivals. For a Cultivator, who could lose all track of time in the mountains, the concept of a "year" was merely a tool for recording the duration of their training. However, since he was now a part of this world and everyone around him treated it as an important day, Ling Xiao decided he might as well follow the local customs.
When the day arrived, Ling Xiao still found himself getting swept up in it. The festive mood formed a powerful atmosphere that hung over all of Penzes City, affecting every single person within it. Even the commoners’ faces were beaming with joyous smiles. For them, after a year of hard work, the festival was a day to temporarily forget all their troubles and sincerely pray for a better life in the coming year.
Huangpu Yue sat quietly in her chair, watching Wind Bell play her instrument. She didn’t know who this gentle and frail-looking girl was, but that didn’t stop her from enjoying the music.
"Wind Bell, you play so beautifully! I wish I had your talent!" Huangpu Yue praised her sincerely, then asked, "But... I can’t help but feel that something’s on your mind."
Wind Bell smiled sweetly and said to Huangpu Yue, "You must be mistaken. I’m doing just fine here!"
Huangpu Yue just smiled. It wasn’t her place to inquire about the girl’s identity, so she had no way of judging whether Wind Bell was truly happy or not.
Today was the festival, but Penzes City’s defenses had not been weakened in the slightest. Ling Wu and Mo Qing had both felt that the three noble families were being strangely quiet. Ling Xiao and Mo Qing had completely severed the smuggling and slave trading operations in Penzes City, which had struck at the very core of these three families’ interests. Yet, they had shown no major reaction. Although there had been some minor schemes under the surface, these were the same kinds of petty maneuvers that had been going on for years.
Even if they were holding back against Ling Xiao and Mo Qing for the time being, the three families were also completely ignoring the wealthy merchants and other nobles who had sided with Ling Xiao.
That was the most puzzling part! Leaving the others aside, why had the hot-tempered Baron Huang Qiang suddenly become so restrained? Given his past temperament, even if he didn’t dare to cause trouble for Ling Xiao, he would have at least taught those wealthy merchants a lesson!
Therefore, after discussing the matter, Mo Qing and Ling Xiao came to a conclusion: the families had to be plotting something. Perhaps they felt that the nobles and merchants who had sided with Ling Xiao were no threat at all. As long as they could bring down Ling Xiao, everything else would once again fall under the control of the three noble families.
But this was, after all, only speculation. The Blast Flame Lion King Festival had always been the most important holiday in the Lanyue Empire, cherished by everyone from the highest royalty and nobility down to the common folk. For that reason, even Uncle Fu felt that if there was a conspiracy, it wouldn’t be carried out on this day.
So, when the sounds of battle suddenly echoed through the night sky on the evening of the festival, almost everyone was left completely stunned.
Uncle Fu and Ling Xiao’s first reaction was to gather everyone in the Viscount’s Mansion, open the pre-existing basement, and have the servants hide inside.
Although Huangpu Yue wanted to stay above ground, she couldn’t argue against the insistence of her four guards. They followed her into the basement, because their only mission was to protect the young lady. Nothing else mattered to them!
Wind Bell looked at Ling Xiao with some expectation, but he simply gestured toward the entrance of the basement. Wind Bell said nothing and turned to go inside.
Just a moment ago, the entire Viscount’s Mansion had been bustling with noise, but now only Uncle Fu, Ling Xiao, Meng Li, Ye Zi, Chunlan, and Qiuyue remained. Ling Xiao wanted the three women to hide as well, but they insisted on staying with him.
