Visitor

Wan'er sat behind an ancient zither, her hands resting on the strings as she watched Shi Lan lean by the window, her expression bleak and desolate. Something stirred in her heart.

As the Shi Clan's legitimate eldest son, yet born with a crippled body, the pressure Shi Lan bore in his daily life must have been beyond ordinary people's imagination...

Thinking of this, Wan'er could not help but feel a measure of sympathy.

Shi Lan's unfocused gaze swept the distance when two beams of different-colored light suddenly crashed into her field of vision, vanishing in a flash.

Shi Lan rubbed her eyes, but there was no further trace of the light beams. She only assumed her eyes had deceived her.

Two streaks of fleeing light sped over Tenglong City and descended into a small grove ten miles outside the city.

Before long, three figures emerged from the grove.

Leading them was an old man in his seventies, with white hair and a youthful complexion. Clad in white robes and brimming with vigor, he was followed by a young man and woman of similar age.

The woman wore a fitted green outfit. Tall and graceful, with bright eyes and pearly teeth, her pupils were like sheared autumn waters. She was unmistakably a peerless beauty.

Yet despite her beauty, there was not the slightest trace of a young maiden's mannerisms in her every movement. She was capable and unrestrained, radiating a sharp, driven air.

The man beside her was somewhat younger. Handsome and straight-backed, he wore a faintly impatient expression.

"Yueqing, isn't it only midmonth tomorrow? Why did we come so early?"

The woman shook her head. "Just follow me. Do not talk so much."

The old man chuckled softly. "This concerns Yueqing's lifelong happiness. As for Yueqing's future husband, we should at least learn something about him first. We cannot simply take one family's word for it."

The three entered Tenglong City and arrived at a restaurant. They requested a private room, ordered a tableful of dishes, and sat down.

"Honored guests, your dishes are all here. Please enjoy." After the waiter finished serving the food, he spoke a line and was about to turn away when he was called back.

"Waiter, hold on. We have only just arrived in Tenglong City and would like to ask you about a few things." As Lu Yueqing spoke, she tossed a silver ingot to him.

The waiter caught the silver, his face breaking into a smile. "Please ask, honored guest."

"Do you know the Shi Clan of Tenglong City?"

"Look at what you're saying, honored guest. The Shi Clan's name is known not only throughout Tenglong City, but within hundreds of miles around. Who hasn't heard of them?"

"Good. Then, the Shi Clan's legitimate eldest son..."

When he heard the words "the Shi Clan's legitimate eldest son," the waiter's face suddenly turned panicked. Before Lu Yueqing could finish, he placed the silver ingot back before her.

"Honored guest... forgive me, but we dare not speak carelessly of that lord's affairs."

"Oh?"

Lu Yueqing frowned and glanced at the old man beside her.

"Waiter, there is no need to be nervous. There is no one else here. We are merely asking casually, so just speak casually." The old man spoke with a smile, taking something from his sleeve and pushing it before the waiter.

Staring at the gleaming gold ingot before him, the waiter swallowed. He hurriedly picked it up, checked that it was genuine, then tucked it into his robes. A smile returned to his face.

"Please ask, honored guests."

"Then tell us, what sort of person is the Shi Clan's legitimate eldest son?"

"The Shi Clan patriarch has three sons. Of them all, the Shi Clan's Eldest Young Master, Shi Lan, is the least ambitious and the most unable to show his face in public." The waiter lowered his voice.

The smile on the old man's face faded slightly. He glanced at Lu Yueqing, but her expression did not change in the slightest. She merely nodded to the waiter. "Continue."

"Shi Lan was born into a martial family, yet he has a crippled body from birth. His temperament is arrogant and unruly, and he looks down on everyone. In all of Tenglong City, only a scant few people are worthy of his notice. Whenever he goes out, he is always followed by a large group of guards and servants. When he goes about the city for amusement, if anything displeases him even slightly, he readily beats people and smashes up shops."

Lu Yueqing's expression remained unchanged as she asked evenly, "Did you witness these things yourself?"

"Not all of them, no. Most are rumors from the streets. But Shi Lan was here yesterday. He ordered his guards to beat Xu Yuanbai, Young Master Xu, Tenglong City's famed talented scholar, so badly that he was seriously injured. This lowly one saw that with his own eyes."

Lu Yueqing said nothing more. She slowly narrowed her eyes, concealing the emotions within them.

The waiter had warmed to the subject. With a mysterious look, he lowered his voice further. "It is said that Shi Lan also favors men, that he has the tastes of Longyang. Young Master Xu has some unclear and improper relationship with him!"

"You may leave now." The old man waved a hand expressionlessly.

"Certainly, honored guests. But please, do not tell anyone that this lowly one told you any of this." Having said so, the waiter retrieved the silver ingot before Lu Yueqing, bowed and scraped with a fawning smile, then withdrew.

"Yueqing, what do you make of this..." Before the old man could finish, the man beside him, who had kept his head lowered while listening to the waiter, was the first to lose patience. He sprang up and shouted:

"How can such a filthy scoundrel become Yueqing's husband? How can he become the Lu Clan's son-in-law?!"

"Lu Yuan, silence!" the old man barked.

Lu Yueqing slowly shook her head, rose to her feet, and walked out of the private room.

"Yueqing, where are you going? You haven't even eaten yet." Seeing Lu Yueqing leave, Lu Yuan called after her.

"I have no appetite. I will walk around."

The old man glared at Lu Yuan and snapped irritably, "Eat!"

Knowing that he had misspoken, Lu Yuan lowered his head. He did not dare make another sound and silently began to eat.

Lu Yueqing walked along the bluestone-paved street, watching the pedestrians come and go. For a moment, she felt somewhat lost.

At this moment, Lu Yueqing seemed still able to hear her father's chest-thumping assurance: "A tiger father will not raise a dog son. With Brother Tianlu's talent, his son certainly cannot be lacking. Yueqing, just go see for yourself."

She had actually held some expectations for this fiancé to whom she had been betrothed before birth. The son of a close friend whom her father praised so highly surely could not be too bad.

But reality was utterly different from what she had imagined.

As she walked, Lu Yueqing came before a small building.

Seeing the three words "Hundred Flowers Pavilion" on its plaque and hearing the faint sounds of men and women teasing each other from within, Lu Yueqing quickly understood what sort of place this was. Her face flushed slightly, and she felt somewhat embarrassed.

Lu Yueqing quickened her pace, wishing to leave as soon as possible. Then a large crowd came surging out all at once, blocking the already narrow street and cutting off her path.

"Young Master Shi, take care."

"Come again next time."

A flock of warblers and swallows saw them off from both sides.

Shi Lan opened the folding fan in his hand and waved it leisurely. Smiling at the guards behind him, he asked, "Did you enjoy yourselves today?"

"We did!"

"Thank you, Young Master!"

The guards answered in unison, their faces rosy.

"But I did not enjoy myself. Return to the residence!" Shi Lan's face abruptly turned cold. He gave a low shout, turned, and departed, with Shi Feng following close at his side.

The guards were utterly baffled. The courtesan queen had attended him, and he still had not enjoyed himself?

Seeing that Shi Lan and Shi Feng had already gone far ahead, they did not dare delay and hurried after them.

Watching the departing group, Lu Yueqing fell into thought.