"The eldest master is back!" "Eldest master, can you catch that slave girl?"
“… How despicable!”
The night wind passed through the vestibule and bypassed a group of people in full armor. Among them, a tall man who looked like a guard had a sack on his shoulder and was still struggling and twisting his body.
The crowd came over. The man in the lead was a man in his thirties, with a square face and a flowing beard. He walked straight through the servants who were coming to meet him, dragging a cloak. When he came to the door of the front yard and heard the words of the old servant in charge, he nodded and raised his hand to let the dozen or so guards following him disperse.
"Take that woman away and keep an eye on her!"
He went to the hall behind the front yard, took off his cloak at the door and handed it to the maid waiting outside, then knocked on the door and pushed it open and went in.
Several lampposts in the hall were brightly lit. In front of the large round table in the middle, four of his father's followers hurriedly stood up and saluted him. On the other side, Yang Su, dressed in casual clothes, was sitting on two chairs and smiled, inviting him in.
"Xuan Gan, come and meet the Imperial Master."
The man who stepped over the threshold knew about Lu Liangsheng from his father in the past. Looking at the young man who was younger than him, he was very polite and raised his hand without hesitation.
"Yang Xuangan, I pay my respects to the Grand Master."
Having known Duke Yue for many years, this was the first time Lu Liangsheng met his family. He went over to help the other person up, bowed in return, and naturally invited the other person to sit down with him.
"Young Master, you came back late. Have you not eaten yet?"
"Yes, yes, young master, eat quickly!"
The four scholars at the round table finally had something to say, and they hurriedly called the maid to serve hot food. Yang Xuangan hesitated for a moment, then looked at his father. The old man stood up and sat over with a smile, "My son, just say what you want to say. The Imperial Master is one of us."
Ma Liu brought a bowl of hot rice and put it down respectfully: "That's right, Master, you can say whatever you want, we are not outsiders."
As soon as the words fell, Yang Su and Yang Xuangan looked over at the same time. The four of them were stunned, then they retreated, closed the door and waited outside.
"Duke Yue, I might as well go out as well." Seeing that the father and son had something to say, Lu Liangsheng spoke at the right time. The old man waved his hand and said, "Master, please be polite. This is my family business, so please listen to me."
The hall became quiet and there was no one around. The old man spoke as he took the newly added bowls and chopsticks from the table and handed them to his son. After asking some questions with concern, he asked about the night mission to capture the eloped concubine.
"Xuan Gan, have you gained anything?"
Lu Liangsheng was not interested in these things, not to mention that they were the family affairs of the Duke of Yue, but the room was so small that he could hear everything. The man who was leaning over the table and taking a few big bites of food swallowed the food in his mouth and then replied: "… We have captured the person, but we met a big bearded man on the way who chased us. If the horse had not run fast and entered the city first, I am afraid that the person would have been rescued by the other party."
"Didn't you meet that little bastard Pharmacist Li?!" Yang Su frowned.
Yang Xuangan held the bowl and chopsticks and shook his head: "No." He looked at the flickering candlelight on the table and thought for a moment: "Maybe he didn't have time to meet up with Li Jing."
A big man with a curly beard? Lu Liangsheng listened quietly to the conversation between the father and son. The eldest son of the Yang family in front of him had strong limbs and surging blood. His martial arts must have come from the Duke of Yue. With his personal guards, he could be chased by someone. The other party must be either a first-class master in the martial arts world or a cultivator.
"I know someone who can be described as a bearded man... and he hates evil..."
Just when they were about to ask Yang Xuangan who was talking to the old man over there, they suddenly heard footsteps running anxiously over the eaves outside the door. Four scholars with their sleeves rolled up their necks and looked at a servant running over in a panic with boredom. Before they could go up to stop him, the servant didn't care about anything else and pushed the shorter Zhao Tang to the side and ran to knock on the door.
The tone was anxious: "Master, it's bad, a bearded man came to the door."
The father and son who were talking in the room looked at each other. Yang Xuangan stood up and opened the door. Behind him, Yang Su snorted, flicked the sleeves of his robe behind his back, strode out of the threshold, and looked at the rooftop opposite in the night with a stern look.
"Who dares to act so presumptuously in this old man's house?"
When Lu Liangsheng walked out of the room, he felt a familiar aura and couldn't help but smile. As expected, as soon as the old man finished speaking, a loud voice rang out from the rooftop opposite, which was immersed in the night.
"Old man? Hahaha... I think it's you, old dog. As a minister in the court, you don't discipline your own son and bully men and women everywhere. If I hadn't run into you, I really wouldn't have known that among the people who are familiar with Lu Liangsheng, there is such a dirty person as you!"
Yang Xuangan was stunned, and the old man next to him was also stunned. When he heard the three words "Lu Liangsheng", he instinctively turned his head and looked at the scholar standing next to him.
"National Master, do you know this person?"
"know."
When Lu Liangsheng heard the voice, how could he not know who it was? He walked forward with a smile. A figure jumped onto the roof and was immersed in the moonlight. Seeing the scholar walking into the light of the lantern, he was also stunned. He jumped again with the wooden box on his back. With the sound of tiles "clicking", he stepped on an old branch in the yard and landed in the courtyard.
"Friend Lu, why are you here?"
A figure carrying a wooden box strode over and walked to the area illuminated by the lights under the eaves, revealing Yan Chixia's bearded face.
He knew Lu Liangsheng's character very well, so he suppressed his anger and said, "Friend Lu, have you seen the woman this man kidnapped?"
The person being pointed at was Yang Xuangan, who frowned and wanted to step forward to argue, but Lu Liangsheng stopped him, pulled Yan Chixia, who was glaring at him, aside, and explained the whole story.
Nowadays, if the wife or concubine elopes with someone else, the man is always in the right no matter where he is. If he catches the woman, no one else can say anything. Even if the matter is brought to the government, it is ultimately the woman's fault.
"So that's how it is?"
Yan Chixia stroked his beard, sighed, looked at the father and son opposite him, and turned to leave. Yang Su stepped forward and called him, "Fellow Daoist Yan, please wait a moment. Why don't you sit down and have a drink?"
As he said this, he called over the servant who had just reported the news.
"Go and release Hongfu, and let her go on her own."
"Yes, sir."
The servant bowed and left. Seeing that they were still awkward, Lu Liangsheng smiled and acted as a peacemaker, inviting Yan Chixia, Yang Su, and Yang Xuangan to go back into the house and sit down.
"Everything has been talked about, don't take it to heart."
Yan Chixia was a free and easy-going person, so he had no problem talking about it. He took off the wooden box behind him and put it at his feet, then took the wine handed to him by the scholar, toasted to the old man opposite him, and poured the wine into his mouth.
It means reconciliation.
Yang Su smiled, raised his glass and drank happily: "Come to think of it, it's not Brother Yan's fault. If my son Xuan Gan encountered such a thing, he would also save people first."
"Hehe..." Lu Liangsheng laughed and poured wine for the old man: "The man is back, but you let him go again. Duke Yue is willing to do that?"
"How can I not be willing to let her go? It is her fate that she met the person she loves. I am the most particular about fate."
When this was mentioned, Yang Su and Lu Liangsheng looked at each other, and their chuckles suddenly turned into laughter. They both recalled the scene of their first meeting, and they even had a fight in the open space outside the village.
Yan Chixia and Yang Xuangan looked at the old man and the young man laughing and felt puzzled. They could only pick up their wine glasses and toast each other, thinking that they knew each other better after fighting.
Now that the truth had been revealed, Yan Chixia joined the party to drink together. The atmosphere was lively, with people toasting and laughing from time to time.
Outside the door, four people, feeling the cold wind, squatted in a row under the eaves, with their sleeves rolled up and their ears tilted to listen to the lively noises inside.
"… Did you hear that Hong Fu was released just like that?"
"Duke Yue is magnanimous, why don't we also..."
Wang Feng turned around and glared at the three brothers behind him: "You are paying attention to the wrong thing. Why do we join the Duke of Yue? It is to find a career for us so that we can enter the court in the future and do great things for the people of the world."
However, no one paid any attention to him. The three scholars gathered together, with their faces almost touching each other.
"I think... Xing Er is pretty good. I'll go and hook up with her some other day."
"Bullshit, if you ask me, the Madam's... personal maid is the best looking one, with big arms and a round waist, and you can tell at a glance that she can give birth to a son."
"Hmph, just average looking."
…
It was late at night. The four people who were talking excitedly yawned several times. They heard the creaking of the hall door and quickly stood up straight. They saw that when they had almost finished eating and drinking, Lu Liangsheng walked out of the room with the bearded man.
The old man followed behind: "I'll take you there."
He walked past the four guests outside the door and asked his son to say hello. He then walked in front of Lu Liangsheng. Neither of them spoke much as they passed through the corridor. When they were about to leave the courtyard, Yang Su, who was standing at the door, suddenly spoke to the scholar who was about to leave.
"Before, you asked me how I would get out of this unscathed in the future. Actually... I have never thought about it."
After saying that, he bowed, turned around and walked into the courtyard. Lu Liangsheng stood outside the mansion, looking at the slowly closing red lacquered door, sighed, and the bearded man next to him looked over.
Occasionally, the sound of dogs barking could be heard in the long and dark street. Lu Liangsheng looked at the gate over there and turned away from the light of the lanterns hanging high under the eaves.
"Nothing much, just admiring the 'Tao' of an old man."
Walking through the quiet streets and alleys, he returned to Wanshou Temple and stood in the dark attic, where a warm yellow light from the paper window was waiting for him.