As night fell, lanterns had already been hung under the eaves of the City Lord's Mansion. The orange-yellow light flickered in the darkness, illuminating the shadows of people coming and going, making the scene look quite crowded.
After the two maids led Mingyue and the county magistrate to their seats, they bowed and retreated.
At this moment, a group of wealthy businessmen and officials from several nearby counties were already sitting on the ground in a circle. In front of each of them was a separate table with wine and food already prepared on it.
After seeing Mingyue, a stranger, many people immediately looked at her with curiosity.
The extroverted wealthy businessman raised his glass and came over, "This brother looks a little unfamiliar. I wonder which family's rising star he is from?"
The county magistrate was about to speak for her, but Mingyue had already raised the wine glass on the table and said modestly: "Song is not talented, my family is just an ordinary farming family."
Upon learning that she was just an ordinary person, many people lost interest and looked away with disdain.
Mingyue, however, looked calm and composed, without any inferiority complex at all due to being looked down upon.
Even the county magistrate now admired her calmness. You don't know how embarrassing it is to be ignored and looked down upon. He had suffered a lot of such grievances in his early years, so every time he encountered such a scene, he still felt a little upset.
The county magistrate couldn't help but sigh in his heart, young people are still very ambitious!
After a while, the city lord, the protagonist of the banquet, appeared.
This banquet was actually a polite banquet of gratitude. On the one hand, it was to thank these merchants for lending a helping hand when Shu City was in trouble, and on the other hand, it was to encourage these officials to continue to do their jobs well, praise everyone, and then ask for more silver.
Everyone knew the significance of this banquet.
However, knowing the result is one thing, but the process still needs to be performed.
"Thank you all for taking the time out of your busy schedule to attend the banquet. This time, the refugee riot in Shu City was saved thanks to you all..."
As the city lord Qin Xingye was talking in front, Mingyue was studying him.
As the saying goes, appearance is determined by the heart.
Qin Xingye has a very handsome face, with sword-like eyebrows slanting into his temples, a high nose bridge, and a somewhat unruly appearance, but the gleam that inadvertently flashes in his eyes makes people know that this person is by no means an ordinary person.
As if he had noticed Mingyue's gaze, Qin Xingye's eyes were fixed on her face.
Mingyue raised her eyebrows slightly, raised the glass of wine towards him, and drank it all in one gulp.
After a brief confrontation, Qin Xingye quickly looked away.
However, the guests did not notice anything unusual and were still excited about the city lord's words.
One has to admit that Qin Xingye was a person who was very good at mobilizing people's emotions. With just a few words, these wealthy businessmen all donated a few hundred taels of silver. And those officials were so eager to die for him that they had probably forgotten the person sitting on the dragon throne of the Song State.
After Qin Xingye clapped his hands and said, "Please enjoy your meal and drinks," he did not stay long and directly left the venue to the group of officials and businessmen.
While everyone was toasting each other, a maid accidentally spilled wine on Mingyue's clothes.
The county magistrate frowned and said, "How could you be so careless, maid?"
Mingyue didn't say anything, she just patted her wet cuffs, feeling a little regretful, because these were the only two men's clothes she had!
The maid immediately knelt down and said in a panic, "It was my fault. Please forgive me, sir. Please follow me to change clothes."
Mingyue really couldn't bear to watch such poor acting.
But since the owner of the City Lord's Mansion wants to see her, she can't refuse, right
"Okay, please lead the way." Mingyue raised the maid's arm and said slowly. The maid raised her eyes to look at her, but when she saw her gentle face, she blushed suddenly.
"Yes, sir, please follow me." The maid's voice suddenly became a few degrees lower.
Mingyue nodded and stood up, giving the county magistrate a wink.
The county magistrate saw this and thought, what is there to understand? He has become a bad guy for no reason.
After passing by pavilions, towers, ponds and waterside pavilions, the maid and Mingyue stopped at the gate of a villa soon.
"Young master, please come in! The city lord has been waiting for you for a long time." The maid pushed open the gate of the villa and bowed to Mingyue.
"Thank you for your help, young lady." Mingyue nodded slightly.
The maid's cheeks turned redder. "I am just following orders, please don't blame me, sir."
Mingyue nodded and walked into the wide-open door of the villa.
Just as I entered the courtyard, I heard Qin Xingye's voice suddenly rang out: "Mr. Song is really capable. In just a moment, he hooked the soul of the maid in the City Lord's Mansion."
Mingyue had a faint smile on her lips: "How can I compare to you, Lord City Lord? You only say a few words and you make the gentlemen feel grateful to you and want to die for you."
Qin Xingye looked at her: "Mr. Song doesn't seem to be afraid of this city lord?"
"That's because I know that the city lord is a tolerant person. Otherwise, just based on the offensive look I gave him just now, I would have lost my life long ago." Mingyue smiled lightly, with a glimmer of cunning in her eyes.
"I heard that the idea of refugees reclaiming wasteland and the idea of wealthy merchants donating money to build a monument all came from you? You have such great talent, I am sure I will not take action against you. But I also have a few questions that I need you to answer." At this point, Qin Xingye's expression was slightly condensed, and he said in a serious tone: "What is your name, sir? Why did you come to Shu City?"
Mingyue put away the smile on her face and also showed a serious attitude.
"To be honest, I came to the city lord to ask for something." Mingyue narrowed her eyes, and a fierce look appeared on her face: "I want someone who can neither live nor die."
Qin Xingye was now curious, "Oh? Who is this person? How did he offend you, sir?"
Mingyue sighed deeply and then began to make up a story.
"This story all started in Fengcheng. I had a cousin who married a bodyguard. The bodyguard was born with supernatural powers, and the couple lived a comfortable life. However, the bodyguard loved drinking, and one day when he was drunk, he actually..."
Mingyue showed a look of sorrow on her face, she blinked and continued to write:
"I never thought that he would abandon my cousin. The city lord should also know how dangerous it is for a woman to be alone in this world... When I found my cousin a few days ago, she had already suffered a lot of insults. Before she committed suicide, she had only one wish, which was for me to avenge her. I have no relatives in this world for a long time. My cousin is my only close relative. Her last wish is what I wish for my whole life."
When Qin Xingye heard this, he couldn't help but sigh.
Now he understood Mr. Song.
Qin Xingye thought for a moment: "However, according to what you said, the escort is clearly not in Shu City, you..."
Mingyue gritted her teeth and said, "No matter where he is, I will make him regret it for the rest of his life. But I am weak after all, so I hope the city lord can lend me a hand."
The doubts in Qin Xingye's heart dissipated, and he solemnly promised: "Whatever you wish, it will definitely come true."