The Simp Ancestor

Three days later.

In early spring, everything flourished on the outskirts of the Imperial Capital, where green grass spread like a lush carpet.

It was the perfect season for a spring outing.

On Roosting Phoenix Mountain in the eastern outskirts of the Imperial Capital, peach blossoms were already blooming, adorning the green mountain with a skyful of rosy red. The sight was breathtaking.

The annual Golden Kylin Gathering was held on this very mountain.

It was not yet seven in the morning, but the foot of the mountain already seethed with voices.

Carriages traced with gold and silver, lavish vermilion sedan chairs, young gentlemen in brocade finery, young ladies with fluttering skirts...

Even plenty of peddlers carrying shoulder poles and street vendors were making their way uphill, joining the endless stream of people.

Amid the crowd ascending the mountain was a spacious, luxurious carriage escorted by guards.

Inside, Ouyang Cai kept lifting the curtain to look around, his face brimming with excitement.

Opposite him, Gu Chenfeng stretched lazily, looking thoroughly uninterested.

Yes, Gu Chenfeng had come to attend the Golden Kylin Gathering after all.

The reasons were simple.

First, Gu Chenfeng was very interested in Shangguan Bingxin's jade pendant.

Since she had invited him herself, he would have an opportunity to get closer to her.

Second, slander and all manner of rumors about the Gu Lineage were now running rampant throughout the Imperial Capital.

His eldest sister had been fretting over this lately.

For an event like the Golden Kylin Gathering, which drew enormous attention in the Imperial Capital,

failing to attend after receiving an invitation would make Gu Chenfeng seem guilty and cowardly, inviting criticism.

Conversely, as long as Gu Chenfeng showed his face,

even if he did nothing, his presence would represent the Gu Lineage's open, unflinching attitude.

Although he had to leave the Imperial Capital again,

Gu Chenfeng had brought plenty of guards, and that powerful expert was following him in secret.

More importantly, he now had a respectable ability to protect himself.

Soon, the carriage reached a sizable mountainside estate.

The Golden Kylin Gathering was being held inside the estate, with attendants guarding the gates.

Gu Chenfeng and Ouyang Cai presented their invitations and entered with several accompanying guards.

Inside were halls, towers, pavilions, terraces, performance stages... everything one could want, all luxurious and refined.

The two made their way to the gathering's main venue, a beautiful plaza.

Many people had already gathered there.

There were lavishly dressed young gentlemen from prominent families and well-bred young ladies, as well as cultured scholars in silk headscarves and long robes, and students from the Imperial Academy.

There were even upright civil officials in casual attire, along with respected scholars renowned throughout the Imperial Capital.

The guests composed poetry, exchanged matching couplets, and chatted merrily, filling the place with an air of elegance.

Suddenly finding himself in such surroundings, Gu Chenfeng felt as though even the air carried the fragrance of ink.

"Hmm... now this has a bit of that literary dandy flavor."

But soon, his brow furrowed as he spotted a "rat dropping."

Not far away stood a young man with a pale face and pointed cheeks, leaning on a crutch to support one leg.

He was chatting up a pretty young woman.

"Zhang You!"

"Damn, even trash like him can get into a place this refined?!" Gu Chenfeng cursed, his face full of disgust.

He had not kept his voice down, and nearby people immediately turned to look.

Zhang You also spotted Gu Chenfeng. His facial muscles twitched, and his expression looked worse than if he had swallowed a fly.

Beside Gu Chenfeng, Ouyang Cai hurriedly warned him in a low voice.

"Third Young Master, keep your voice down. Our reputations stink worse than Zhang You's!"

Their title as the "Imperial Capital's Two Good-for-Nothings" was hardly undeserved.

Gu Chenfeng and Ouyang Cai were ignorant wastrels who ate, drank, whored, and gambled. Their reputations as spendthrifts had long since spread throughout the Imperial Capital.

Even though Gu Chenfeng had produced the fine poem "Drunken West Chamber," which had briefly taken the city by storm,

most people suspected he had hired someone to write it for him.

They only despised his despicable behavior all the more.

Sure enough, the moment the two arrived, murmurs rose around them.

"Why have those two come too? Aren't they dragging down the standards of the Golden Kylin Gathering?"

"Exactly. Having ignorant dandies like them here is an insult to cultured society."

Hearing these comments, Ouyang Cai's face burned with embarrassment.

"Third Young Master, let's go somewhere else and get away from them."

Gu Chenfeng could not have cared less. He produced a folding fan from somewhere and flicked it open.

"Get away from what? They don't like the look of me? Let them come hit me!"

With that, he swaggered off, swaying with every step in the style of the "Four Great Talents of Jiangnan."

Dedication to one's role was a virtue!

Gu Chenfeng knew his public persona in the Imperial Capital was that of a dandy, and a dandy had to act the part.

Besides, given the Gu Lineage's current circumstances,

the more he kept a low profile, the more others would think the Gu Lineage was on the verge of collapse.

The more arrogant he acted, the harder his enemies would find it to gauge the truth.

Gu Chenfeng's brazen attitude and devil-may-care manner made the surrounding crowd even more displeased.

Yet not a single person actually dared do anything to him.

He was the third young master of the Chancellor's Residence, the Gu Lineage's only male descendant in three generations.

Never mind these people-even princes and princesses did not dare lay a hand on Gu Chenfeng.

Besides, several broad-shouldered, thick-waisted warrior guards with ferocious faces followed behind him.

Seeing everyone glare furiously while remaining powerless,

Gu Chenfeng sneered.

"I just love how you can't stand me but don't dare touch me. Bunch of cowards."

As he spoke, he happened to pass Zhang You, who was staring at him with resentment in his eyes.

Before Zhang You could speak, Gu Chenfeng greeted him first.

"Brother Zhang, we meet again.

"That dog leg of yours still hasn't healed? Careful you don't break it again."

Zhang You's mind buzzed. His face flushed crimson with rage, and he could not even form a word.

By the time he recovered, Gu Chenfeng and Ouyang Cai were already far away.

"Gu Chenfeng..."

Watching his departing figure, Zhang You ground his teeth, his expression twisting.

"Hmph, enjoy yourself a little longer, you useless fool.

"After today, you'll never have another chance to gloat!"

At the same moment, a sharp glint flashed through Gu Chenfeng's eyes as he waved his folding fan, looking utterly punchable.

His spiritual awareness was now far beyond the ordinary.

From the way Zhang You had looked at him,

and the deliberate restraint Zhang You had shown after Gu Chenfeng intentionally insulted him,

he could tell the fellow was hiding something and probably plotting some scheme.

Looks like today's Golden Kylin Gathering won't be too peaceful.

The venue for the Golden Kylin Gathering covered a considerable area.

Though called a plaza, it actually consisted of pavilions, terraces, and towers rising and falling with the mountainside, with artificial rockeries and flowing water winding between them.

Luxuriant greenery and clusters of rosy blossoms were everywhere-a perfect marriage of nature and architecture.

By now, Gu Chenfeng and Ouyang Cai had taken seats in one of several gazebos arranged in an arc around the plaza.

It was one of the finest seating areas at the Golden Kylin Gathering.

Not only was the setting beautiful, but it also overlooked the entire venue.

Neither of them was some gifted poet or great scholar.

But one was a young master of the Chancellor's Residence, and the other was an important sponsor of the Golden Kylin Gathering.

They were also honored guests personally invited by Shangguan Bingxin, so naturally they were entitled to a gazebo all to themselves.

The two sampled fine wine and enjoyed delicious food inside.

Ouyang Cai's gaze roamed about, lingering mostly on graceful, pretty young women with lovely figures.

His eyes held nothing but a simple yearning for feminine beauty.

Gu Chenfeng, meanwhile, reclined lazily on a bench.

He seemed indifferent to everything around him, but in reality, he was quietly spreading his mental power outward.

After breaking through to the Source Qi Realm, Gu Chenfeng had gained an extremely powerful perceptive ability.

Within a radius of thirty feet, he could see everything as clearly as a blazing fire.

Now, he extended that perception as far as he could.

Rather than observing details, he simply listened to the various sounds within the estate.

Soon, conversations from numerous places around the grounds reached his ears.

As expected, many of them concerned the Gu Lineage.

Naturally, the topics were rumors that Gu Lingxiao, the General Who Guards the North, had murdered innocent civilians at the border to claim military merit, taken bribes, and bent the law... and so on.

The situation was indeed far from encouraging.

If these claims had previously been nothing more than hearsay,

now that even the scholarly class was heatedly discussing them, the matter was no longer so simple.

Scholars seemed weak, but in truth, they wielded their pens as blades, killing without a trace.

If those who could write books, advance doctrines, and shape public discourse also believed these rumors,

these authorities among the common people could influence countless others, one telling ten, ten telling a hundred...

When that happened, a chorus of accusations could melt metal, and falsehoods would become truth.

Gu Chenfeng once again recognized the danger hidden within this Golden Kylin Gathering.

Just then, the arrival of a party caused a stir in the plaza.

Gu Chenfeng looked up and first saw a procession of formally composed attendants in palace attire.

They surrounded several men and women, among whom one lovely figure was quite familiar.

The young woman wore a palace gown as radiant as sunset clouds, embroidered with golden phoenix patterns.

Her ink-black hair was arranged in an exquisite coiled-serpent bun, with a pearl-set phoenix hairpin decorated with kingfisher feathers tucked at an angle. Its dangling ornaments trembled gently, adding to her splendor.

She was beautiful, her oval face lustrous and white as jade. Her lively, liquid almond eyes shone as she looked about, her nose was delicately raised, and her cherry lips were red without rouge.

Her dainty chin tilted slightly upward out of habit, like a proud peacock.

"Princess Yaoyin? Why has she come too?"

Ouyang Cai found nothing strange about it. "Our Great Li Dynasty has a thriving martial tradition, but after establishing its dominance over southern Yan Province, it placed particular emphasis on literature and education.

"Although a grand literary event like the Golden Kylin Gathering isn't an official function, the imperial family still sends representatives.

"Look, Third Young Master. It's not just Princess Yaoyin-the third prince is here too."

Looking down from above, Gu Chenfeng indeed saw an imposing young man in a python-patterned robe beside Princess Yaoyin.

His steps were steady and his gaze keen. He was probably a warrior.

Behind the two followed another man in luxurious clothing, his figure slightly rotund.

He was around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with an unrestrained manner and a faint air of arrogance.

What drew Gu Chenfeng's attention was that, after entering the venue,

the man scanned his surroundings and spotted Gu Chenfeng in the distant gazebo. His expression darkened, revealing a hint of hostility.

"Who's that...?" Gu Chenfeng asked, puzzled.

"That's Imperial Uncle Xiao, Consort Xiao's younger brother." Ouyang Cai recognized him.

The reigning emperor rarely attended to state affairs. The empress had died of illness ten years ago, and her position had remained vacant ever since.

Consort Xiao was the birth mother of Princess Yaoyin and the third prince. She enjoyed great favor, and rumor had it that she was very likely to become empress.

Her natal family, the Xiao Lineage, was also a distinguished clan.

But in Consort Xiao's generation, Imperial Uncle Xiao was the only legitimate male descendant, showered with every affection since childhood.

His standing was essentially the same as Gu Chenfeng's in the Chancellor's Residence: each was the sole male heir of a great clan.

"Do I have a grudge with him? There's something off about the way he's looking at me."

Ouyang Cai smiled wryly. "Third Young Master, it's not just Imperial Uncle Xiao who has a grudge against you. These days, more than half the men in the Imperial Capital do.

"Don't you know how many men in the Imperial Capital consider Lady Su their goddess?

"I heard Imperial Uncle Xiao went to painstaking lengths to win Lady Su's heart. He even declared that she would belong to him and no one else.

"Who could have imagined you'd win Lady Su over on your very first visit to the Thousand Beauties Pavilion?

"You'd better be careful later. Don't let him pick a fight with you."

Understanding dawned on Gu Chenfeng, and he smiled disdainfully.

"Oh... so he's just a lowly simp."

Ouyang Cai's expression turned strange. When it comes to simping, Third Young Master, you're the ancestor of them all.

As the imperial representatives took their seats in a gazebo at the center of the venue,

the Golden Kylin Gathering finally raised its curtain...