Jian Zhaoxing

Chapter 365 Transgression
Upon hearing this, Li Jinzhi swallowed hard, his guard immediately on.

Just as he was about to say something, Jiang Liuyun chuckled and stood up to talk to the others not far away.

Li Jinzhi breathed a sigh of relief and beckoned to the servant behind him: "Go and find out why Jiang Liuyun suddenly came here."

"I need to figure out a way to leave here later; I have important things to do."

The servant hesitated, "Young master, the master has instructed you to behave yourself these past few days, the current situation is far too complicated..."

Li Jinzhi was extremely impatient:

"Didn't I already say this? This is the last time, and it was all arranged beforehand. Wouldn't it be a waste if we came all this way for nothing?"

"Young master!" The servant shook his head: "Master has already told you not to cause trouble at the poetry gathering. I have already sent that woman from the back mountain away."

"You, you, fine, fine, fine!" Li Jinzhi was furious, but he was completely helpless and could only force a smile to deal with the people around him.

He didn't notice that Jiang Liuyun, who was in the distance, seemed to be talking to someone else, but was actually watching his direction the whole time.

Seeing him whispering to the servant, he immediately gave a wink to the attendant waiting in the distance.

The attendant nodded, quietly left the poetry gathering, and began searching other locations on the mountain.

The other attendant nodded, indicating that everything was ready.

Seeing this, Jiang Liuyun returned to his seat.

With such a large Buddha sitting beside him, Li Jinzhi dared not make any rash moves.

The others at the poetry gathering, unaware of the inside story, were enjoying themselves immensely reciting and composing poems.

Only the son of the Imperial Academy Chancellor silently stared at his surroundings, seemingly observing the environment.

Soon, the atmosphere of the poetry gathering became increasingly intense.

They were in a bamboo forest, so naturally the theme was bamboo.

Li Jinzhi was out of sorts and hastily composed a few mediocre poems.

Jiang Liuyun, however, recited a poem with great interest, drawing praise from everyone.

There were also envious people who would occasionally jump out and say a few words about the Lin and Jiang families.

However, Jiang Liuyun only glanced at the person who was gossiping a few times, remembered the person, and made no other move.

Jiang Liuyun's interest was rekindled when someone started discussing Lu Huai.

"Why isn't Lu Huai here? He's exceptionally talented in literature."

"He's about to be promoted, why would he want to associate with people like us!"

"That's right. Who can be as lucky as Lu Huai to have won the favor of the Minister of Revenue? Now everyone calls him Young Master Lu."

"Lu Huai rarely showed up before, so it's normal that he's not coming now. What does it matter whether he gets promoted or not?"

As they spoke, some busybodies kept steer the conversation toward Lin Zhiqing and Lu Huai.

After all, there were many rumors about these two people in Shengjing City.

When it comes to this, Jiang Liuyun, as Lin Zhiqing's former fiancé, naturally has the right to speak.

Although he disliked the poetry gathering, he would naturally not give up any opportunity to smear Lu Huai.

Then, a helpless expression appeared on his face: "Miss Lin is no longer my fiancée. This matter is in the past, and there is no point in discussing it further."

This statement is ambiguous and leaves much to the imagination.

He didn't mention Lin Zhiqing's relationship with Lu Huai, but he acted very hurt, making it clear to everyone that Lu Huai must have stolen Lin Zhiqing away and broken them up.

A minor official's son, eager to curry favor with the Marquis of Zhenyuan's household, stepped forward and joked with Jiang Liuyun:

“Young Master Jiang, that rich and powerless heiress is not worth your time. She is so promiscuous and I heard she even plotted against her cousin. How could she be worthy of you?”

The others, who were easily swayed, chimed in.

"Indeed, Young Master Jiang is a handsome and outstanding young man in Dasheng. What kind of woman wouldn't he have?"

"What's so special about Lin Zhiqing? She's the daughter of a disgraced official. I don't know what's wrong with Lu Huai's eyes, treating this woman like a treasure." "What kind of women hasn't Lord Lu seen? Of course he wants to try something different."

This remark immediately drew a burst of laughter.

The Grand Tutor's grandson and the Duke of Pei's son remained silent.

The expression on the face of the son of the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy was not good.

Jiang Liuyun clenched his fists tightly under the table.

If the words spoken about Lu Huai earlier had sounded pleasant to him, then these vulgarities now sounded extremely offensive.

He narrowed his eyes, looking directly at the son of a minor official who had initially spoken ill of Lin Zhiqing, his tone extremely cold:

"What did you just say?"

Seeing this, the others quieted down considerably.

The son of that minor official was easily fooled and, having had some wine, didn't notice anything amiss. He patted his chest and said:

“That woman is not worthy of you, Prince Jiang. I have a younger sister at home who is not only intelligent and kind, but also very well-mannered.”

"Your Highness, if you don't mind, I'll have her come and serve you drinks."

This statement is rather presumptuous, clearly showing an attempt to curry favor, and the occasion is also inappropriate.

The others didn't dare to respond.

Jiang Liuyun took a deep breath: "I had no idea that the Right Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices taught his children this way."

He immediately addressed the man's father by his official title, his words dripping with rudeness:
"Who gave you permission to slander the Lin family's daughter and offer your own sister as a bedmate?"

"If I have the time, I will definitely go and ask the Right Vice-Director in person if this is how he taught you!"

Having said all that, the deputy director's son was no longer drunk.

Realizing what he had just said, he immediately knelt down and kowtowed:
“Young Master Jiang, I was wrong. I drank too much wine and behaved inappropriately. I hope you will not hold it against me.”

"I didn't mean it, I really didn't mean it!"

His body was trembling uncontrollably.

Jiang Liuyun has always maintained the demeanor of a military general, being very forthright and forgiving.

Those present had never seen him with a dark expression before, and they were all startled.

Jiang Liuyun didn't want to talk to that person anymore and turned his head away.

Seeing this, the son of the Duke of Pei quickly spoke up to defuse the situation:

"Well, it seems I'll have to have someone prepare less good wine next time, lest someone get drunk again."

"Everyone should carefully consider their own drinking capacity. Someone, take the drunkard away to rest, so as not to disturb others."

A few words were enough to ease the awkward situation on the field.

Having learned from past mistakes, the others naturally dared not provoke Jiang Liuyun again.

Li Jinzhi, standing next to Jiang Liuyun, dared not utter a sound.

Jiang Liuyun had helped him cover up what had happened on the frontier, and he was afraid that Jiang Liuyun would expose his secret if he was unhappy.

Fortunately, Jiang Liuyun did not stay beside him for long.

The son of the Duke of Pei came over to apologize to Jiang Liuyun, and the two began to talk.

Seeing this, Li Jinzhi breathed a slight sigh of relief and tried to walk out.

The servant behind him was worried: "Young master!"

Li Jinzhi frowned: "I'll just go for a walk."

He didn't notice that Jiang Liuyun glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, and when he saw him walking out, he curled the corner of his mouth.