In the old world, a salon was a small gathering held in the living room of an aristocratic family. It was not as grand as a large ball, and the theme was mostly to appreciate works of art or discuss some issues. In this sense, the salon of the Marquise Grosso's family was quite standard. There were more than ten sofas and chairs in the living room of the Marquise's family. There was an open space in the center.
The maid of the Marquis's Mansion led the two to an inconspicuous position where they could see the scene clearly.
The two of them sat down, and Luo Ling said, "Give us some cover."
Xiao Mu cast a rare mental magic: ignoring barriers.
This magic has a magical effect, which is to make people around it unconsciously ignore the people and objects behind the barrier.
Sure enough, after this magic barrier was put in place, the people who arrived later did not pay attention to the sofa at the back. Even the maids forgot to serve them fruits and drinks.
Xiao Mu sat on the sofa and said, "You humans are really interesting. You spend all day messing around with politics, conspiracies and other meaningless things. Even though we are all in the same organization, we all have different thoughts."
Luo Ling smiled and said, "That is a field that your lonely soul has never really touched. These things that seem boring or even annoying to you are exactly the way of survival for mankind for thousands of years. Without them, people will not become a whole and will not be able to integrate the huge power to change the world. Although the whole process was bumpy and mixed with many ugly things, the result is not the worst."
"What is the worst outcome?" Xiao Mu asked back.
"Everyone should calmly accept their own fate." Luo Ling shrugged lightly, "If you accepted your original fate, you should still be in the book now, right?"
While they were chatting, the guests arrived one after another.
The Marquise made a brief opening speech and then told everyone that a distinguished guest would also be here today. Then, the princess and Liu Pengfei walked in from outside.
The princess wore a long dress and held Liu Pengfei's arm. Liu Pengfei wore a tailor-made aristocratic dress, which matched the princess very well. When they entered the venue, their expressions and postures were very dignified, just like normal aristocratic dance partners. However, Luo Ling, who was very sensitive, found that the princess always unconsciously leaned on Liu Pengfei, and her hands made a few small pinching movements, which showed that the relationship between the two was very unusual.
Walking into the venue, the princess let go of Liu Pengfei and walked to the front. Everyone in the salon stood up and saluted, only Luo Ling and Xiao Mu were still sitting on the sofa.
The Marquise led the princess to the sofa near the center stage. The princess sat on one end and Liu Pengfei sat on the other.
At the beginning, it was indeed a performance by a bard. This bard also performed some small magic with brilliant sound and light. While singing folk songs, he used spells to set off the effects. Although it was simple, some of the performances were really beyond the level of modern stage props.
The bard performed a long narrative poem, and then, to everyone's applause, he added two short pieces. Even Luo Ling found it quite interesting.
After the bard left the stage, the Marquise said, "The moment you've been waiting for has arrived again. Today we have once again invited the talented writer Mr. Liu Pengfei. Everyone knows that his pen is more powerful than his staff. What kind of story will he bring us today? I can't wait."
"Genius writer?" Xiao Mu seemed very puzzled.
"Yeah, it's the same old trick." Luo Ling already knew what was going on.
Liu Pengfei walked onto the stage, performed a mage's salute, and greeted everyone with ease. Then he began to tell a story in a rhythmic manner: "… On this day, the adventure team led by Sun Wukong came to a place called Guanyin Temple to stay overnight. The temple was magnificent and impressive. The chief priest of the temple, High Priest Jin Chi, heard that High Priest Tang Xuanzang came from the capital, and warmly received them. This high priest of the temple liked to collect priest robes. He collected more than 800 priest robes by himself, but there was not a single artifact among them. When he saw the artifact robe on High Priest Tang Xuanzang, he became greedy... "
When Liu Pengfei talked about the Black Bear Shaman who had master-level cultivation and stole the priest robe while fighting a fire, and held a banquet for the chiefs of the surrounding tribes to visit, Luo Ling could not help laughing.
"This story is quite interesting." Xiao Mu asked, and her eyes turned and she said, "It must be an adaptation of the story from your original world, right?"
"Yes, that's right. It's not easy to adapt a plagiarized story into this."
"So what should we do now? Maybe we can find a chance to expose him and discredit him, and then the princess won't want to be with him anymore."
Luo Ling looked at her like an idiot. Xiao Mu realized that she had said something wrong and immediately lowered her head and shut up.
"Some people may do this, but this is not my style. If you do too many underhanded things and get used to stepping on others to get ahead, you won't be able to do the right things well."
———————
Liu Pengfei finished telling the story of the Black Wind Monster, told a few more short stories, and finally sang a song before leaving the stage. Now it was time for everyone to communicate freely. The princess would also take this opportunity to get closer to some of the main characters.
He stood up and asked the maid for a glass of wine, preparing to go and have a chat with a count. Suddenly, a hand grabbed his arm and pulled him into a strange little enchantment.
The noise around him suddenly quieted down, and he could see clearly the people in front of him. They were Luo Ling and Xiao Mu.
"Luo, Teacher Luo?" Liu Pengfei was obviously not mentally prepared for this.
"Well, I think your 'performance' today was pretty good." Luo Ling said.
"Copying books is not something that can be put on the table, so I didn't say much in the office." Liu Pengfei showed a bit of embarrassment, "But... Mr. Luo, there are some things I have wanted to say for a long time. Everyone knows that the king's time is running out, why don't you consider Princess Laura as an option?"
"The school's stated policy is very clear, we do not get involved in disputes over the royal succession."
"Not all committee members agree with this. I didn't know this before, but now that I know more about the princess's strength, I feel that she will win! I am only friends with her as a private person, and the help I can provide is limited. If the school can stand together as a whole, it will be very different. This is really a great opportunity."
"But why should I stand for a feudal kingdom? What will happen to our own territory in the end has nothing to do with who is the king! It doesn't even matter whether there is a kingdom or not! In the long run, we will stand on the opposite side of all kings and nobles. Our economy will destroy their economy, and our system will force them to change. The kings and nobles will become the dust of history because of us."
"But at least it will be of great help to the situation in the next few years!" said Liu Pengfei.
Luo Ling stood up from the sofa and prepared to leave. "Xiao Liu, you and some people behind you still don't understand that politics is different from business. Businessmen who only focus on short-term profits can make a few deals, but politicians who only focus on short-term profits will lose a country."