Volued (1/2)

Volued¹

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— Suiyun</e had always been a fa in the southeast It received thein the second , and waves rippled in the clear lake Dark figures of fishi+ng boats sailed in the distance, shuttling back and forth The scenery delighted people the ht and knitting their brows even though it was the season to appreciate the landscapes Days ago, ruhai, but this news didn’t overly shock theion of Wuyue rarely suffered fro navy would soon be beaten back by the Yuhang Navy But the way the situation developed caught the navy’s offensive becah Wuyue Yesterday, the Yong navy captured Pinghu and Haining, and according to news fro navy didn’t senselessly massacre people They just iions into cities, not perh they didn’t understand the Yong navy’s purpose, the soldiers and co could rest a little easy because of this The Yong navy seized Yue Co on the surprise factor Once the Southern Chu ar navy would be forced back out into the sea As long as the Yong navy didn’t murder people, it wouldn’t be too serious to lose some money andwere all young sons of thethe The advance guard of the Yong troops had already reached the outskirts of Jiaxing These gentleathered at the Misty Rain Building They hoped to learn of the newest situation reports of the war Only these courageous young men still had the bravery to asse men was so e He wore black Confucian robes, looked handso He sat at theoverlooking the scenery of South Lake, as if deliberately separating hi full of people also unconsciously avoided him, However, they all surreptitiously kept their eyes on his expression This youngpatriarch’s first wife, and Jing Changqing’s son

Unlike the other regions where it was co Zhe, the aristocratic fa had a deep-rooted and intricate relationshi+p with hi family’s reputation and honor, most people kept their lips sealed Moreover, deep in their hearts, these aristocratic fa a branch of their clan produce a personage like Jiang Zhe In the eyes of these aristocratic falory of the fa family, country, and the world Itwarriors as barbarians, and the fa was inferior to the char still scared the families As a result, to leave a way out, the aristocratic fa fa Weijun wanted to eradicate but couldn’t do it s fa the court’s prestige, the aristocratic faive the cold shoulder to the Jing fa Xin knew the situation fro went to ith another country, the youngwould often encircle hied war on Southern Chu, the men would unconsciously isolate him This didn’t mean they turned a blind eye to hieot used to this treatroup today

Gazing at the lake beyond the , Jing Xin was not as cal his first cousin once re Zhe before and didn’t have any i Zhe’s father, Jiang Hanqiu When Jiang Hanqiu departed fro all hisfamily’s study, he left behind several notebooks that contained his insight gained fro Xin learned of the events surrounding Jiang Zhe, he specifically went to read the notebooks Although Jiang Hanqiu was of no repute, his notebooks could be considered all-eained a new understanding ItZhe’s reputation reverberated through the world with a father like this

The Jing fa Zhe with two tendencies One was to si and rely on the businesses Jiang Zhe rebuilt, while the other was to be indignant like Jing Changqing and to regard Jiang Zhe as a traitor and villain Jing Xin understood at heart that after all these years, his grandfather had gradually tended to Second Uncle and was even unhappy with Father, as he’d wanted Second Uncle to succeed as family head He was just hindered by the fact Second Uncle was a traveling , so he didn’t want toXin’s mind, he naturally didn’t approve of his father’s stubbornness and lack of fa to cast his lot with Great Yong and depend on Jiang Zhe Why should the Jing faht

At thisand shouted, “Bad news! The Jiaxing garrison is too afraid to sally out of the city totroops have entered the city and are enforcing curfew along the way! Residents are not permitted to walk on the streets In just a few ”

These young h there was still no news of the Yong troopseveryone in the city, this ha er, “It’s all because that knave Shang Weijun only kno to a the populace He took bribes in exchange for granting all the civil and es filled huained wealth and rank How else could Yong troops have entered the interior of Wuyue?”

The young ed Shang Weijun’s governing, even if they weren’t happy, as they could only talk a little about it in private Today, these youngexperienced social upheaval again Everybody felt carefree But it didn’t help things now Everyone couldn’t help but sigh sadly A squat youngcal, “Brother Jing can sleep in peace Even if the Yong troops slaughter Jiaxing, they won’t harht in the tur Do we need toXin had always been aChangqing had fallen into danger in Chuzhou, and it was fortunate so and his entire fa Xin had not stayed at horandfather’s needs, he would have suffered the saler hadn’t revealed any hint of their face or voice and came and ithout a trace However, it was clear that so fro was no ordinary person The Jing family never wanted toate the case so closely and i his beheading But then, news of the Yong navy breaking through Dinghai arrived Noofficialsat this tiqing on bail Others may not have known about this, but theall knew

As thisXin, the squat young man felt he had put his foot in hisXin, he felt he wasn’t wrong in what he said and put on an indomitable look

At this tihas already been taken by the Yong navy We should return to our respective hoh thick and thin with fa men knew they had no power to reverse the situation, so they left the Misty Rain Building one by one while there was still no curfew

Jing Xin, however, stood on the upper floor, silent, his head lowered, his expression ice cold He thought of the huht was exceedingly difficult But the aristocratic sons of Jiaxing saw it only as a pretentious gesture He loathed and detested theht in battle, then chased the Yong navy out of Wuyue, nobody should continue accusing the Jing fa with the eneot out of hand

Sounds of turmoil caazed out Confused and frightened co in froray river of molten metal Under their powerful inti Southern Chu commoners closed their doors and returned ho under the control of the Yong troops

When Jing Xin was about to turn around and head down to take advantage of this opportunity to return hoaits guarding a black-robed youngup the stairs before he could walk down the stairs Jing Xin was surprised Before he could react, one of the soldiers pushed hirabbed the hilt of his saber, and asked, “Who are you? Why are you lingering in the Misty Rain Building at this ti intent lurked It was obvious he would kill Jing Xin in one blow if his ansasn’t found to be suitable

“I had been enjoying the scenery of the lake from here It was too late to hide when your troops entered the city Even if you all injureXin said in irritation

“You’re very haughty for a scholar,” the soldier said with a s master Huo, should we take hi man in black robes walked forward and said with a smile, “This is a breach of etiquette fro has always been a famous scenic spot where anybody can coe This one is Huo Cong May I know brother’s esteeuished Since you’re still out and about at this ti Xin focused his eyes on the black-robed young man who couldn’t bespecial, but his expression was indifferent And Jing Xin could tell the soldiers in black unifor Xin didn’t understand much aboutwere expensive Those who could wear black unifor Considering the youth of this young man and his command over these soldiers in black, he was bound to be an i Xin knew this reat enust or hatred when he saw the youth’s kind and pleasant countenance And when he looked at the youth’s graceful and indifferent features, he couldn’t bring hiht hi Xin and do not deserve the title of hero”

Surprise appeared on the black-robed young hed and said, “So you’re a talent fro was selected for the ie of fourteen If you hadn’t been studying behind closed doors for the past few years without seeking scholarly honors, you would likely have scored high on the imperial exa Xin could hear frofa Xin heard the praise, he felt a tinge of cold The two countries had constantly been ca a talent from the enemy country, they would either take them for theh the young man only said a few insipid words, heXin’s life However, when facing these circu , but you are clearly deeply respected by your warriors I believe your status and position htfully be called a pillar of the state I have no interest in scholarly honors andon most days I usually scan the scenery of South Lake, with no lofty ideals and high aspirations How can I be called a pillar? Youngis flatteringon another’s coattails to success There’s nothing coI would like to invite you to drink several rounds together Would you like to?”

Seeing the soldiers standing with their hands on their sabers, Jing Xin smiled wryly “How could I not?”

The black-robed youngwith fear, the waiter in the building served food and drink under the supervision of the Yong troops Jing Xin was tense and uneasy, but after a few cups of wine, he began to cal to bring up the relationshi+p between the Jing fa Xin couldn’t helpfun of himself a little, he had full control of his speech and deportence and scholarshi+p still weren’t hile The black-robed youngXin about the fahtly tipsy now and pointed at the lake in front of the building “Jiaxing’s South Lake has always been called the Strange Beauty of the Southeast That’s Biao Lake A fa joins this lake with Mandarin Duck Lake The two lakes together are called South Lake Biao Lake is the confluence of a host of strea the terrain, some truly beautiful landscapes, Mandarin Duck Lake was separated in the e called the Five Dragons Bridge The lake to the east of the bridge is called East Lake, the one to the west of the bridge called West Lake The ancients penned the verses ‘The two lakes, East and West, / Look like mandarin ducks / The s’² just to describe the beautiful landscape of Mandarin Duck Lake

“West Lake is also known as Inner Lake, as well as Li Lake, so later generations drew the wrong conclusions and called it Fanli Lake and constructed a Te sacrifices inside the temple to the able and virtuous man

<blockquote class="Quote">4</sup>Poplars and lotus roots planted in the lake,5</sup></blockquote>

“This poes of the beautiful landscape of West Lake ‘Arms of Xi shi+’ refers to the na was entranced by the words He sh spirits with a charht of theraised his cup and toasted, “Brother Jing is brilliant, as expected This little brother also reive a full description of the wonderful scenery of Misty Rain Building Has Brother Jing heard the, he recited in an unhurried tone:

<blockquote class="Quote">Water caltrops bloom past broken duckweed flowersDistant rain looks like distant mistThe wind blowsNot a soul can be seen”⁶</blockquote>

At the end of the poeht, he furrowed his brows and went silent He had seen a vertical scroll in his grandfather’s study that had these lines on it It was signed with the na Zhe’s father, Jiang Hanqiu This poe Xin hadn’tman recited it, so could it be the rew inside hied

The black-robed young man asked him three questions, and he found it difficult to answer one In an instant, the atreard

At this tiave the black-robed youngis fully under our control Please give orders, Adjunct”

The black-robed young man stood up and replied, “There’s no need for for, am merely a noeneral still put on a respectful expression and said, “The Marquis ordered us to obey the adjunct’s orders this tiive instructions”

The black-robed man smiled and said, “Since I can do as I wish, please invite all the pro to the Misty Rain Building, General Fang”