Chapter 203 Chapter 8: The Birthday Banquet

The newly built Zhongfu Mansion is the most magnificent building group outside the Xianyang Palace, and its scale is even bigger than the Ganquan Palace that Zhu Ji recently moved to. Zhongfu's mansion is far away from the palace, surrounded by high walls. After entering the gate, there is a large square that can accommodate thousands of people. The roof, slopes on all sides, and double couplet columns are impressive. The main house group is followed by the ancestral temple of the Lu nationality. From this, the front and rear doors of the ancestral temple are used as the central axis, and nearly 30 groups of courtyards are distributed in sequence, symmetrical on the left and right, and the layout is complete.

There is a vast garden between the main house group and the ancestral temple, and the environment is beautiful. It is obviously designed by a famous master, which shows how strong Lu Buwei's material and financial resources are. This evening, all the respectable people from Xianyang City came, and knowing that Xiang Shaolong and Guan Zhongxie, the two top swordsmen, would inevitably fight hard, everyone was in the mood of watching a good show, and the atmosphere was even more enthusiastic. Tens of thousands of red lanterns were lit in Zhongfu's mansion, and birthday decorations were installed at the gate and in the garden, creating a festive scene.Dozens of masters will put on neat warrior uniforms and guard the gate to prevent idlers from mixing in to watch the competition.

After entering, there is a reception desk dedicated to collecting and registering congratulatory gifts, which is well-arranged, so that although there are many guests, everything is in order and there is no chaos. The three main halls, one main and two auxiliary, are all open to receive guests. Of course, the central one is the largest, with seats for 1,000 people, and the other two as auxiliary wings, with seats for 500 people. Those who are assigned to the auxiliary house are helpless, but they know that they are in the same boat, so they have to see how to go to the main house to watch the battle.

When Xiang Shaolong and others arrived, the guests had not yet formally seated, they were scattered inside and outside the house and chatting in the courtyard, and the noisy voices went straight to Xiaohan. The sky is beautiful tonight, not only does it not snow, but the stars and the moon are shining brightly. In addition, there are still five days until the beginning of spring, and the weather is getting warmer, which makes this grand birthday banquet even more beautiful. However, those who know the inside know that behind this harmonious and lively smoke screen, an unprecedented fierce struggle is brewing in the Great Qin Kingdom.And Xiang Shaolong is more aware that the success or failure of this struggle not only determines the fate of the seven heroes of the Warring States Period, but also determines the future history of China.He, Xiang Shaolong, is the key figure at the core of this struggle.

When Xiang Shaolong and other brigades galloped into the outer gate of Zhongfu's mansion, there was a commotion immediately, and everyone rushed to see his demeanor for themselves. Lord Changping rode his horse to Xiang Shaolong's side, and said with a smile, "Those who bet against you must be very disappointed to see that you can still sit on the horse after the drunken fight last night." Xiang Shaolong laughed dumbly and said: "If I lose tonight, I'm afraid I won't be able to step into the Wu family's gate again in the future, because Master Yuezhang has placed a huge bet on me, if he loses the money, what do you think will happen? !"

Lord Changping said in amazement: "It turns out that your father-in-law also likes to gamble." Xiang Shaolong lowered his voice and said, "It's not that he likes to gamble, but that he likes to watch Pu Ji lose his hands and feet, and see what else he can do to win over those wealthy relatives and ministers." Mr. Changping laughed loudly and jumped off the horse. Tu, who was in charge of welcoming the guests, came up first, and while ordering the servants to lead the horses, he said to Xiang Shaolong in a low voice: "That kid is wearing a soft armor from a skilled craftsman from the Yue Kingdom. One shot from you, and he'll kill you."

Xiang Shaolong said in a low voice: "How can I get a gun tonight?" Tu was stunned for a moment, as if it was not clear, but because other people approached, he had to be bored in his stomach and talk about other scenes. At this time, there was the faint sound of drums and music coming from the middle house, it should be that important people have just entered the house. When Tao Fang and others were busy delivering congratulatory gifts, everyone was reluctant to enter the house so quickly to meet Lu Buwei, and stayed in the square crowded with guests to chat and enjoy the lights and the clear night sky.

Qin Qing had just arrived and joined Ji Yanran's group of daughters, as well as a few noble ladies from the royal family's family, and bursts of charming smiles attracted everyone's attention.On the one hand, it was because of their beauty, and it was even more strange that knowing that Xiang Shaolong was about to fight Guan Zhongxie, they could still be so calm and relaxed, talking and laughing happily. The people of Qin are open-minded, and when it comes to this kind of occasion, the most troublesome is a noble girl like Ying Ying Lu Dan'er, and it is also the best time for young people to seek a mate.The beauty of it is hard to describe.

When Xiang Shaolong was joking with everyone about the gambling wind that Pu Ji brought to Xianyang, Lu Dan'er came out of nowhere, and pointed his fingers at a distance to signal Jing Jun to come over. It happened that a group of men, women and children in new clothes walked between them and Lu Dan'er with lanterns. Jing Jun didn't notice this beautiful girl, but Xiang Shaolong caught a glimpse of her, and got naughty, and walked over, pretending to be serious Said: "I'm about to get married, but when I see my elders, I don't come to pay respects and salute, what's the manners?"

Lu Dan'er put her hands on her hips, and said angrily: "Hmph! Whose elder are you? It doesn't matter to you whether I marry or not? Hey!" She just remembered that Xiang Shaolong is Jing Jun's third brother, and immediately His face was flushed, he stomped his feet and said in disbelief: "You are necrotic! You actually bullied me." Xiang Shaolong laughed loudly, pushed Jing Jun who had just rolled over to Lu Dan'er, and said triumphantly, "Good Daner! I, Xiang Shaolong, am waiting to drink the wedding wine that you kneel down and offer!" Lu Dan'er was at a disadvantage and didn't dare to refute him, so she dragged Jing Jun away.

While shaking his head and sighing, Yingying's voice sounded from the side: "Master Xiang!" Looking away, Xiang Shaolong was startled and said, "Why is your face so ugly?" Ying Ying smiled bitterly: "I haven't slept well these few nights, alas! Now that things are like this, what else do I have to say?" Xiang Shaolong said lightly: "No matter what happened tonight, it should come to an end for you. From now on, you should only have Duan and brother in your heart, take good care of your husband and children, keep yourself safe and be a good wife and mother! " Ying Ying moved a little closer, and said softly, "Tell me, would you have married me if you hadn't had Guan Zhongxie?" Xiang Shaolong smiled wryly: "Nowadays, it seems like we shouldn't say such things anymore!" Ying Ying insisted: "No! If I don't ask clearly, I will never be reconciled." Xiang Shaolong had no choice but to say: "I did like you once." Yingying bowed her head sadly, and said in a low voice: "If something happens to you tonight, I will watch for you... Oh! I won't say anything. Ah!" Seeing her cover her face and leave, Xiang Shaolong shook his head and smiled wryly. It seemed that Ying Ying believed that she would definitely lose. Naturally, Xiang Shaolong would not take her thoughts to heart, and when he returned to Mr. Changping, Teng Yi and the others, Mr. Changping asked, "What did sister say?" Xiang Shaolong said, "Nothing?" Mr. Chang Ping snorted coldly: "How could it be nothing? Although she said she was willing to marry Duanhe, she still couldn't leave Guan Zhongxie. She also said that you are not his opponent. I am so angry." At this time, the guests began to enter the three huge houses with one master and two assistants, Wu Yingyuan was embarrassed to stay outside for so long, so he came over to invite everyone to follow him inside.Since it was the old man's will, everyone naturally obeyed. Lu Buwei, Lu Niangrong and Lu Buwei's other sons all greeted the guests at the gate, and congratulations were heard endlessly. Lord Changping may be the most unassuming and imposing Prime Minister of Zuo since the founding of the Great Qin Dynasty, he followed Wu Yingyuan side by side with Xiang Shaolong as if he didn't know his identity at all, and congratulated Lu Buwei.Wu Yingyuan is a veteran of communication, casually said a lot of words of congratulations. Xiang Shaolong thought of the relationship between the Wu family and Lu Buwei in the past, and compared it with everyone's smack in the mouth and sword in their mouths now, and was quite moved. Lu Buwei didn't know whether he thought that Xiang Shaolong would definitely die tonight, or whether he was in high spirits on happy occasions, his face was full of brilliance, and he had an incomparable courage when talking, laughing and looking around. When his gaze fell on Xiang Shaolong, it immediately lit up. Abandoning the others, he greeted him and said, "Tonight, I, Lu Buwei, can be counted as a double happiness. I celebrate my birthday and get a good son-in-law. So far in my life, what regrets do I have?" Xiang Shaolong thought to himself that your biggest regret is not being able to become the king of Qin, so of course you have put in a lot of effort on the surface, and congratulated him on his birthday with everyone.Before Lu Buwei had a chance to speak, Xiang Shaolong made a backhand gesture behind his back, and everyone rushed past immediately, saving him from the pain of acting. After walking a few steps, a figure flashed, Lu Niangrong stopped in front of Xiang Shaolong, and said with a frosty face: "Master Xiang, Niangrong has a few private words to tell you." Huanjue, Teng Yi and others were naturally interested, and went with the servants who led the way to the table. Lu Niangrong said lightly: "Master Xiang, please follow me!" Xiang Shaolong knew that she would not have anything to say, so he was very wary. He followed her through the banquet, and when he arrived at the garden in the courtyard by a side door, he stopped and said, "Let's talk here, okay? Otherwise, I'm afraid it will cause trouble What about words?" Jing Shan and the other eighteen iron guards followed behind him step by step, and scattered in all directions to prevent anyone from approaching. Lu Niangrong turned around and said coldly: "When did Xiang Shaolong become so timid that he was afraid of causing gossip? Besides, if Master Xiang is alive tonight, Niangrong will be yours. What else is there to worry about?" Xiang Shaolong heard her sarcasm, although he was angry in his heart, he didn't want to confront her tit for tat, and said with a smile: "Miss San is calling me here, maybe it's just to tease her." Lu Niangrong's beautiful eyes flashed sharply, and she said in a deep voice: "Of course! I don't have that kind of mood either, I just want to ask Mr. Xiang a few words, since you have no interest in Niangrong, why do you accept the challenge of being bewitched? " Xiang Shaolong couldn't bear it anymore, and sneered: "As soon as the third lady announces in public that she only wants to marry Mr. Guan, then no matter how brazen I am, Xiang Shaolong, I won't insist on fighting with each other!" Lu Niangrong's jade face turned cold, and after staring at him for a while, she slowly nodded and said, "Okay! Let me, Lu Niangrong, see how you end up tonight." She stomped her feet and went back to the lobby went. After the fragrant wind passed, Xiang Shaolong sighed inwardly. In the end, although Lu Niangrong's expression was not good, she had good intentions and wanted to persuade herself to give up the competition, because like Yingying, she thought that she would definitely lose.But in order to kill Guan Zhongxie, he had no choice but to ignore her kindness. When they returned to the lobby, most of the people had already taken their seats, and everyone was whispering to each other. Those who saw him pointed and pointed like a treasure. It seemed that the topic could not be separated from the battle between him and Guan Zhongxie that caused a sensation in Xianyang. Due to the large number of people, except for the three-dimensional chairman at the south end, the other seats are arranged on both sides. There are four layers of inside and outside, a total of 400 seats, and each seat has four people. They all sit facing the vast open space left in the lobby. Handy for cabaret shows and sword fights. When they got to the seats they should sit in, a servant came up to greet them and led them to the seats. Xiang Shaolong's seat is the eighth seat from the right.The chief is naturally Lord Changping, according to Wang Ling, Wang Lu and other generals.Sitting opposite was the chief executive, Wang Wan, followed by Cai Ze, Lao Ai, the Lu family, and people of status in Zhongfu's residence, but Guan Zhongxie was not seen. When Xiang Shaolong sat down next to Teng Yi, Jing Jun, and Wu Yingyuan, he realized that the three wives and Qin Qing were in the first seat, and they were sending him sweet and charming smiles, so he couldn't help but let go of his heart.Looking away, it was because they were the same beautiful and eye-catching Tian sisters, somehow Tao Fang sat at their table. The eighteen iron guards are naturally in the back seat. After Xiang Shaolong chatted with Wu Yingyuan, he looked towards the gate.The band of nearly thirty people on both sides of the door stopped playing music, but Lu Buwei, Lu Niangrong and others were nowhere to be seen, only Tu Xian was playing. Suddenly Wu Yingyuan pushed him secretly, Xiang Shaolong woke up and looked over, it turned out that Du Bi and Pu Ji were leaving the table and walking towards them, Xiang Shaolong, Teng Yi, and Jing Jun had no choice but to follow Wu Yingyuan Stand up and salute. When Pu Ji was not looking sideways, Du Bi stared at Ji Yanran and Qin Qing fiercely for a few times, shooting fiery looks. Although he pretended to be just looking casually, he couldn't hide it from Xiang Shaolong who is good at observing. After the people on both sides made introductions and met etiquette across the banquet, Pu Ji carefully sized Xiang Shaolong up and down with shrewd eyes, and said with a smile: "Master Xiang is truly mighty and extraordinary, rare in the world, no wonder Lord Wu dares to be with you I have placed a big bet on my body. If I stand as a friend, I hope that the adults will win the battle, but if I take the stand of doing business, I have another plan, and Pu Mou is very contradictory in his heart!" Xiang Shaolong began to understand why Huan Juan didn't like him, because the demeanor and content of this man's speech had a feeling of taking others as business goods, and the way he looked at people was even more so. Wu Yingyuan is an old hand at dealing with communication, and said with a smile: "Master Pu is serious, how could Wu's mere bet be placed in Master Pu's eyes, and of course he will not be dishonest because of money, and forget his friend's position." Xiang Shaolong and Ji Yanran's daughters who were listening attentively on both sides were all amazed. Du Bi laughed and said, "Uncle Wu's Cifeng is really powerful. If Master Xiang's sword is also that powerful, he will definitely win tonight. At that time, Lord Pu may have to sell his land to pay off his gambling debt." Xiang Shaolong laughed and said: "I didn't know until tonight that the General is so fond of joking, Master Pu is the richest man in the world, as long as he casually pokes in his pocket, it's enough for me to be a big tycoon at the Drunken Wind Tower at night." Everyone laughed when they heard his exaggeration.Ji Yanran and the others trembled wildly, and those who watched them from far and near were dumbfounded. At this time, the door official sang, "The empress dowager has arrived!" Then the sound of drums and music rose from the sky. Guo Baimei's maidservants and servants who were serving the guests at the banquet, dressed in flowers and butterflies, knelt down first.Pu Ji and Du Bi bid farewell and went back to the banquet.More than a thousand people in the arena knelt down to greet him. Jing Jun did not forget to remind Xiang Shaolong: "The person sitting between Lao Ai and Han Jie is Qiu Risheng, the owner of the Weinan Samurai Pavilion." Xiang Shaolong looked diagonally across to Lai Ai's seat, and found Qiu Risheng.It happened that both Qiu Risheng and Han Jie looked at him and met their eyes, everyone felt a little embarrassed. This is the second time for Xiang Shaolong to see Qiu Risheng. The first time was during the martial arts competition with Wang Jian. He glanced at him from a distance, but he didn't have a deep impression. This time, he took care of him, and saw that this man with the status of a master in Xianyang The swordsman has a strange appearance, his hands and feet are slender than ordinary people, and he feels agile and agile. He is between thirty-five and six years old, with a pair of piercing eyes and an extraordinary bearing. Just his appearance makes him feel that this person is a A terrible opponent, no wonder Lao Ai deliberately wins him over. He also saw that Mao Jiao, who was arranged by Xiao Pan to be an undercover agent in the Lai Party, was in the back seat with Ling Qi, Guo Xing and others, and his identity was obviously not as good as that of Qiu Risheng, Han Jie and another person sitting in the front seat. Lao Si. The door officer sang again, and when the sound of drums became more intense, sixteen imperial guards bowed their heads sideways to clear the way, and Zhu Ji, Xiao Pan, and Lu Buwei walked into the hall side by side. Followed by Lord Chang Wen and sixteen other imperial guards.Then came the members of the Lu Manor, including Lu Niangrong, and Guan Zhongxie was among them. Not long after, Guan Zhongxie became even more terrifying. His steady steps showed strong confidence. Except for Xu Shang, the swordsman, everyone else compared him. When Xiang Shaolong's eyes found him, Guan Zhongxie's eyes also found him, their eyes met, like lightning struck, and they separated after a while. Since Lu Buwei is the protagonist tonight, and he is also the second father, Zhu Ji and Xiao Pan insisted that he be in the middle seat as a show of respect.Lu Buwei made excuses for a while, and finally sat down. Guan Zhongxie and others all joined the table. When everyone sat down flat, their attention could not help but focus on the evil place in the tube. What was irritating was that Lu Niangrong was actually sitting next to Guan Zhongxie, she made it clear that Lu Buwei didn't give Xiang Shaolong any face at all, and also implicitly had the intention that Guan Zhongxie would win the beauty back. Guan Zhongxie's seat was under Lai Ai, and there were two swordsmen Lian Jiao and Zhao Pu at the same table, while old people like Lu Can and Zhou Zihuan could only sit in the back seat, it can be seen that because they couldn't feel proud of Lu Buwei when they were hunting in the field , has fallen out of favor and replaced the old status for these newcomers.Lu Buwei is the kind of person who doesn't miss old love. After Xiao Pan routinely said a few words in praise of Lu Buwei's merits, the birthday banquet finally began in an atmosphere of blazing excitement and anticipation.