The horse-drawn carriage walked the dimly lit and secluded streets at the foot of the inner city, surrounded by the scent of laurel and toya (jasmine) and the frost-white branches that popped out of the walls.

And Zhou Huai'an, who is still in the state of a sage, is also extremely clear and calm, looking at the sparkling armor accompanying him outside the carriage, his eyes flickering, and he doesn't know what he is thinking.

After several greetings and salutes from the soldiers who were on the curfew patrol, Zhou Huai'an's carriage arrived at its destination. Although it is claimed to be a separate house, it is also a garden that looks quite old and has a large scale; Whether it is the moss-stained roadbed under the moonlight or the overgrown wall of creepers, it is full of antique meaning.

Only the crimson cloth barrier and the curtain full of lanterns temporarily erected in front of the door, as well as the character "Lin" engraved on the archway, are new, and under the background of the surrounding environment, it is full of a certain sense of inconsistency.

Standing at the door, bowing down to greet the slaves and maids in layered and multi-colored clothes, this incongruous nouveau riche feeling became more and more obvious; It's hard to imagine the simplicity and confusion of the owner of this room more than a year ago. I'm afraid that the former owner's entire family background has been accepted.

In contrast, Zhou Huai'an's family, although there are more than a dozen servants around the daily life of the two or three kittens, they are all relatively loyal and reliable sturdy servants selected from the women's camp, as well as part-time workers who have some expertise and occasionally come over. After all, as the soul and insight of a modern person, he has long passed the stage of liking to rely on a large number of people to show off his wealth and set off his identity.

After passing through the hall and the annex courtyard, what appeared in front of him was a pond about half an acre in size, surrounded by a zigzag corridor and swaying lotus flowers, which looked like a bit of "wind lotus in the courtyard" in later generations; At the end of the cloister, the lotus flower is a dense place, which is where the night banquet is held.

It is clustered between the large weeping willows and osmanthus flowers, directly on the water with more than a dozen thick vermilion lacquered wooden columns, cascading ladders and beams and bucket arches nested to form a spacious wooden banquet hall, which is also attached to two spiral stairs and up the small pavilion with light crimson lacquer; Reflecting the moonlight of the lotus pond and the sparkling water waves, there is a long-lasting and profound sense of tranquility.

In the front of the open banquet hall, between the fluttering of expensive silk yarn curtains, the carved inner walls that have been dyed gold by bright lights are occasionally revealed; In the intermittent faint sound of bamboo, from time to time there are colorful maids holding things fluttering like butterflies.

"Brother Xu, you can be regarded as here."

Lin Yan, who looked full of enthusiasm, walked down the stairs from the hall, and held Zhou Huai'an's arm tightly as always.

"But let's wait...

"Everyone, I'm just waiting to hear about your deeds in Annan."

It's just a gorgeous brocade robe with a hundred birds weaving pattern worn on his thin and somewhat rickety torso, contrasting with the oily and shiny blue and white face, the heavy bags under the whitewashed eyes and the silver hoop wrapped in the silk scarf on his head.

"Brother Lin is really gracious. Call me how. ”

Zhou Huaian couldn't help but respond.

"I'm just looking for a few familiar old ones.,And then ask for some fun to cheer up.。。 It's not a decent scene."

Lin Yan hurriedly explained as if he had misunderstood something.

"It's good if Brother Void doesn't feel shabby. Why don't you hurry up and play vocal music,"

He turned to the slaves and maids who were waiting in the hall and clapped his hands and shouted

"Give me everything to entertain as soon as possible."

The people he was talking about were the only dozen or so guests here. Except for a few left-behind divisions who are still nodding friends or have a relationship, and the same generals of the rebel army who are also dressed in brocade clothes, the others are all deputy faces;

Judging from their bearing and demeanor, Zhou Huai'an can be divided into pure Qing guests who are raised by a few people, ordinary escorts who are quite wealthy, and individuals who have quite a background and a very good temperament. When they saw Zhou Huai'an, who was dressed in a wide robe and light clothes, they got up to greet and salute one after another.

"Master of Void. Alright"

"I've seen the Void Leader."

"Meet the Void Camp Envoy."

"Xiao Ke Luzhou Fan Gui has been a leader for a long time."

In a bunch of enthusiastic and deliberate greetings, Zhou Huai'an finally sat down and put on all kinds of delicacies held in gilt and engraved silver vessels; First, there are eighteen plates of four-season tea fruits and candied fruits, and then there are eight pieces of water and eight pieces of land delicacies and seafood, and there are the so-called seven colors of wandering scales and seven colors of walking on the ground;

The dishes that are constantly rotating are full of Zhou Huai'an's unique lenient food table in the blink of an eye; And many of these dishes were just because Zhou Huai'an only symbolically sandwiched them and never moved again, so they were replaced by the whole plate and presented new tricks. The extravagance and waste in it only made Zhou Huaian sigh and frown secretly.

Maybe this dish can be used as food and clothing for the poor family for a few days, but here it is just a pomp and identity of the host's family, as if it is one of the insignificant temporary decorations;

He still remembered the time when he had a small banquet with this person, but he said with a humble smile that he was really hungry and scared along the way, and he couldn't afford to waste food, and at the same time poured all the dishes and soup into the meal, and ate exceptionally clean. But he didn't expect that he had transformed and degenerated so quickly into the kind of person he hated the most.

As the master, Lin Yan was unaware, and he was also chatting and persuading with great affection; While trying to maintain and set off the atmosphere under the appropriate conversation and coaxing of many escorts, while recalling the various things of coexistence and working together in the past, it can be described as sincere and quite moving; There is no hint of easing the cheeks and inquiring about what is happening during the day.

On the contrary, the escorts, who claimed to be from the background of big merchants, in a tone full of admiration and respect, were polite and polite from time to time asking about some details of the battle of Annam, and then let out all kinds of exclamations and praises; It was as if the one sitting in front of them was the living contemporary Ma Fubo or Zhuge Wuhou.

Especially among the guests, the ship merchants Hu Liena and Hu Jingshui, who claimed to have some industry in Annan, were eager to cross the face of the master Lin Yan, and knelt and licked their thighs on the spot; Maybe as long as Zhou Huai'an has a look or a hint of tone, constantly hinting that he can do his best to vote for the other party he likes, he will put the women of the whole family out in vain and let him choose the average.

However, Zhou Huai'an became more and more confused in his heart, as the so-called truth of offering affection for nothing, either treachery or theft; He categorically wouldn't easily believe that Lin Yan's invitation to his family this time was just to bridge the past relationship through this family banquet, or to re-close the somewhat estranged relationship between the two parties, or even introduce a few related households to each other.

At this time, a general of the rebel army, who seemed to be a little drunk, suddenly stood up and changed his tone without warning, and complained about the chaos and some things that had happened in Guangfu for a period of time;

Then he danced and pushed away the slaves and maids who wanted to support him and complained louder and louder, and it turned out to be the faint burial of the left-behind Si Zheng Meng Wei, who was really harsh and inflexible in daily life, so that these old brothers were a little difficult to get along with themselves or act tied. Fortunately, his rebel army has returned, otherwise I don't know what the situation in the city will become.

"Zhong Da Neck, what are you talking nonsense. Old Meng has his own reasons, but we just can't grasp the meaning."

Then he was immediately scolded by Lin Yan angrily.

"This is my feast for Brother Xu. It's not the other person you chew your tongue ... ”

"What the deputy envoy said is exactly what you said, you are too unsightly with a big neck."

"Quickly step down, don't continue to be embarrassed in front of the vain."

Then some of his colleagues hurriedly stepped forward to persuade and ease his cheeks, and then he re-pressed the guy who had started a drunken madness. Then he was pulled outside, and there was a faint sound of persuasion.

"Now that the vanity has returned, I definitely won't let things go unchecked."

But watching this scene coldly, Zhou Huai'an felt the sense of discord, and then there was some clarity in his heart;

Lin Yan's repeated reprimands and the dissuasive words of those generals were obviously defending and justifying Meng Yan, who was out of the army; However, the implicit words are also making some kind of clear cut, or deliberately distancing themselves from them in terms of position.

And this is also "the drunkard's intention is not to drink", through this attitude of reprimanding to implicitly show and convey something to himself, or is it to win himself over to stand in line. Or is it that he has only been away for such a period of time, and after losing his three-legged corner, the remaining two have inevitably been full of contradictions and frictions in daily life, and have developed to such a point.

Zhou Huai'an suddenly had something in his heart, and suddenly understood why Meng Yan wanted to transfer the old righteous soldiers in the patrol team for some reason, and why Lin Yan looked ugly or hungry to make up for the patrol team; This may be the truth hidden under the chaos of daily life, which I have never touched.

And now that he is back, there is undoubtedly another huge external variable in the unbalanced power structure in the city of Guangzhou; Don't wonder Lin Yan is so deliberate about inviting himself over;

Although this farce has subsided, it is obvious that the escorts have no intention of staying, and have begun to confess and say goodbye one after another.

"It's really a laugh for the virtual brothers."

Then Zhou Huai'an was led to the upper floor of the banquet hall alone, and Lin Yan, who was talking in the carved pavilion, smiled apologetically at him.

"I wanted to bring these old acquaintances here to have a good time, but I didn't want to be so angry and lose my interest."

"It's rare to be pure for a while at this moment, but there are some heart-wrenching words, and I want to confide in Brother Xu. ."

"Brother Lin, why do you need to do this."

Zhou Huai'an responded, but secretly sighed in his heart that in the name of today's banquet, the real drama meat is still here.

(End of chapter)