Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 142 The Demoness Returns to Her Own Clan
The next day, Lu Xingzhou moved out of the inn and hid in a secluded place arranged by Sheng Qingfeng.

The conditions there were far better than those of an inn; the spiritual energy was abundant, and there was even a pill furnace and earth fire, effectively creating a cultivation cave in a place like the capital.

Lu Xingzhou no longer concern himself with the turmoil in the capital, but instead devotes himself to studying alchemical texts in preparation for the upcoming assessment.

Previously, Dan Academy usually started enrollment in early April, with assessments in March. This year, for some reason, it started earlier, beginning in late February, so it's only a few days away.

The reason for the early enrollment was actually closely related to him... Meng Li passed his answers to the exam at Meng Li's house to Gu Zhanting. Gu Zhanting, after reviewing the papers, thought he was truly a talent for alchemy. He decided to stop him from doing all that nonsense in the capital and get him into school as soon as possible. Look at this guy, he's only been in the capital for a few days, but he's already accomplished more than others could in a year. It's better to give him some serious work to do.

As a result, the entire Dan Academy's assessment was moved up, and some people are still on their way.

Of course, the main reason is that Gu Zhanting now values ​​alchemy more than anything else. Half of the students at the Alchemy Academy failed their final exams this academic year, which infuriated him and left him deeply disappointed. At this juncture, the emergence of someone like Lu Xingzhou piqued Gu Zhanting's interest.

Therefore, the emperor's impression of Lu Xingzhou was already very good before this first meeting, and it became even better after this meeting.

The premise is that I didn't know my daughter was already using both hands and feet; otherwise, I might not have been taken to the Dan Academy for an assessment, but to the execution ground.

Lu Xingzhou focused on his studies, and Pei Chuyun did not follow him into the secret room.

In mid-February, Pei Qingyan, the head of the prestigious Pei clan and the Grand Chancellor of the Great Qian Dynasty, announced that he had lost his daughter years ago, but had now found her and was extremely fond of her. He held a grand ceremony to recognize her as a member of the Pei clan, inviting prominent figures from the capital to attend and introducing his found daughter to the entire upper class of the capital.

Nobody knows how this daughter came to be...

Even in a world of profound cultivation, not everyone possesses the aptitude for it. For instance, Pei Qingyan's first wife was a delicate young lady from a noble family, highly cultured, but unfortunately, she lacked cultivation. As a result, she suffered a difficult childbirth and severe hemorrhage during the delivery of Pei Yu, and could not be saved. Afterwards, whether Pei Qingyan wanted to establish a deeply affectionate persona or because he had reached the upper three ranks of cultivation and no longer had much desire for men and women, he never remarried, leaving Pei Yu as his only child.

If you didn't remarry, how did you suddenly have a daughter who is two or three years younger than Pei Yu?

On the one hand, it's probably the child of a maidservant who didn't take good care of her, leading to its loss and disappearance. On the other hand, it's likely the result of some illicit affair outside the home, and who knows, it might even be from a brothel...

Fortunately, even the most malicious person didn't realize that this was a female bodhisattva from the Charming Maidens Sect.

But regardless of the reason, with the emperor's favor as a foundation and the prestigious academy affiliation, rumors and gossip became meaningless. In other words, even the emperor acknowledged that this daughter was legitimate, and her mother could be considered a second wife. So who are you?
Under normal circumstances, for the sake of his reputation, even if he found his daughter, he would only quietly take her back and not announce it to the world. Unexpectedly, Pei Qingyan actually went so far as to throw away his pride and make the ceremony so grand, clearly just to ensure that his daughter was not mistreated and to declare her status to the world.

So everyone knew how much Pei Qingyan doted on this daughter.

To distance Pei Chuyun from her "disgraceful past" of serving as Lu Xingzhou's maid, and to avoid others questioning her innocence, Lu Xingzhou didn't attend the ceremony. The only thing left for others to talk about was Pei Qingyan's public statement about "helping to find relatives," minimizing any ambiguity.

Sheng Yuanyao and A Nuo were the ones who went to the ceremony to watch the show.

“You didn’t see it. The scene was amazing. People who knew the place said it was a family reunion ceremony, but people who didn’t knew it thought it was a Fengshan ceremony. It was so extravagant… they really had money.” In the secret room, Lu Xingzhou was refining pills. Sheng Yuanyao sat cross-legged beside him, flipping her boots, and excitedly told him what she had seen and heard: “And some of the documents they read aloud, wow, I couldn’t understand at least half of the words in one of them.”

Lu Xingzhou said helplessly, "My dear Commander Sheng, if I remember correctly, you have a job. Don't you have to go to work?"

"I'm recuperating from my injury."

Your injury healed a few days ago.

"I am in charge, and I make the decisions about my affairs. If I say I'm recuperating, then I'm recuperating. If you're not happy, go complain to Vice Commander Sheng."

"..." Lu Xingzhou was both amused and exasperated: "Hey, where did your serious and responsible attitude go?"

"Everyone says I came back to the capital just to slack off. If it weren't for what happened with Ye Wufeng, I wouldn't have anything to do at all. I even went hunting before." Sheng Yuanyao nudged his shoulder: "Want to go hunting with me?"

"Excuse me, I'm lame."

"Tch." Sheng Yuanyao's topic unconsciously returned to Pei Chuyun: "Hey, your green tea disguised herself to hide her beauty before, right? Today at the ceremony, we saw her true face, and with her elaborate attire, she looked absolutely stunning! You have no idea how many young men there stared at her, and even someone proposed to her on the spot, only to be thrown out by Prime Minister Pei."

Lu Xingzhou smiled slightly: "That's good."

"No, you're saying this is good?" Sheng Yuanyao reached out and touched his forehead: "Are you sick? This means someone is competing with you, and you're no longer the little maid you can play with as you please."

“After she returned to the Pei family, she was no longer someone I could touch casually.” Lu Xingzhou said calmly, “That’s not important… What I meant by ‘it’s good’ is that she deserves to be treated well by her family and is worthy of being admired by everyone and being famous throughout the capital.”

Sheng Yuanyao looked him up and down, then remained silent.

"What's with that expression?"

"It's nothing," Sheng Yuanyao said leisurely. "No wonder she kept asking Anuo where you were. You're definitely someone she misses."

"But you, weren't you two really at odds? Now you're saying nice things about her." "As you say... after she returns to the Pei family, you'll probably have nothing left. You have Shen Tang, playing around with a maid is fine, but a Pei family girl is out of the question, haha, why should I bother arguing with her... uh..."

In the end, realizing she had spoken out of turn, Sheng Yuanyao blushed and fell silent.

This means that the real reason he doesn't get along with Pei Chuyun is because of jealousy. Once he realizes that she is no longer a threat, there's nothing left to compete with...

Her mind raced, and she hurriedly tried to salvage the situation: "Anyway, I just can't stand her. She's so promiscuous, but today she's acting all prim and proper!"

Lu Xingzhou turned to look at her flushed face and said in a low voice, "Speaking of beauty, you're no less attractive than her."

Sheng Yuanyao stammered, "Hey, you..."

A voice suddenly came from outside the door: "Really? I don't believe it."

The door was pushed open, and Pei Chuyun stood there clapping her hands, while A Nuo lay on the side, beaten up, with tears in her eyes.

"Little brat, you really think you can stop me and create opportunities for your sister Yao? Bah, have you forgotten who you've been living and eating with for longer? You heartless bastard." Pei Chuyun clapped her hands and gracefully entered.

Lu Xingzhou turned his head to look, and a look of amazement flashed in his eyes.

I knew before how stunningly beautiful Pei Chuyun was, but I never saw her dressed up like this, with light makeup. So, in addition to the allure I usually saw, she exuded a dignified elegance, and that aloof, noble air suddenly emerged, creating a striking contrast.

In terms of beauty alone, the Little Demoness could easily be a contender for the top three most beautiful women in the land, if such a ranking existed.

Even the melon girl was mesmerized; this kind of beauty is irresistible to both men and women.

"Why are you here?" Lu Xingzhou snapped out of his daze, somewhat puzzled. "Shouldn't this be after the banquet? As the main character, don't you have anything to do?"

"You know it's after the banquet, and noble ladies should be resting in their boudoirs at this time. But I'm a little vixen, can't I sneak out?"

Lu Xingzhou chuckled: "Why bother? At least act dignified for a few days. No one can stop you from running away now, but I think your father knows what's going on. He's a formidable man of the highest rank."

"No way, I won't run out here and let you flirt with people like that!" Pei Chuyun gracefully lifted her skirt and squatted down, getting close to Sheng Yuanyao who was sitting cross-legged. She smiled and said, "Miss Sheng said that my little maid only knows how to flirt, what kind of manners is that? I thought Miss Sheng came from a family with a strong sense of righteousness and integrity, but it turns out that you are also a lone man and woman in a dark room. Where is your manners?"

Sheng Yuanyao angrily retorted, "My relationship with him is completely innocent; we're just friends. Some people see everything as dirty!"

Pei Chuyun sneered: "How could you not know that you're in a situation where you might be seen as suspicious..."

Sheng Yuanyao: "Where's the melon?"

Pei Chuyun: "?"

The two women stared at each other for a long time before Pei Chuyun finally put on a smile again: "Miss Sheng, the little maid is going to stay with us at the bedside. Do you want to come along too?"

Sheng Yuanyao couldn't hold back any longer: "You're a noble lady of the Pei family now, have you no shame?"

Pei Chuyun unleashed her ultimate weapon: "I know we maids have no right to compete with Miss, please don't be angry, I'll leave right now..."

“You…” Sheng Yuanyao almost cursed. She could argue with Pei Chuyun for a whole day and night, but she really couldn’t stand a cup of tea.

She had thought that with the dead maid now back in the family, Lu Xingzhou would be without anyone to occupy her place, but this shameless woman still sneaked out at night to meet her lover. What's infuriating is that she couldn't get a word in edgewise from Lu Xingzhou, because she really didn't belong there; she had no confidence whatsoever. Even if Lu Xingzhou did speak, he would only tell her to go back; if she stayed too late, Sheng Qingfeng would explode.

Sheng Yuanyao was seething with anger. She stood up and stormed off, saying, "I'll see when you two fall apart. Don't let Pei Qingyan and his men block the door. Otherwise, the noble lady you just took in will be kicked out of the family!"

Watching Sheng Yuanyao storm off in a huff, Pei Chuyun curled her lip and said, "Pathetic."

Lu Xingzhou sighed: "Why bother..."

"Can't I be jealous?" Pei Chuyun moved behind him and gently squeezed his shoulder. "Young Master... Ayi missed you..."

"I think Pei Xiang really cares about you. He would give you the stars in the sky if he could. Shouldn't you be so happy that you forget about the boat?"

Pei Chuyun bit her lower lip, leaned down and whispered in his ear, "But during the ceremony, under the gaze of everyone, all I could think was... if you saw me like this, would you have more fun tonight? Unfortunately, I waited and waited, but you never came... so my heart felt empty."

(End of this chapter)