If you die, I will be able to inherit your cultivation.

The next morning, Zhou Ming arrived at the outer courtyard of Haitang Garden as usual to wait.

Not long after they had stood still, the steward strode over, gathered all the attendants and guards together, and began to make his announcement.

Tomorrow, Miss Su Mingyue will leave the manor to attend the Spring Poetry Gathering on West Mountain.

The young lady is going out.

To an outsider, these words would have been nothing more than a routine instruction.

But for the servants of the Marquis's mansion, it was no less than a military order.

The attendants had to scout out the location in advance, the guards had to set up defenses along the way, the carriages and horses had to be inspected, and the maids had to prepare clothes, tea sets, cushions, paper and pens, snacks, and even contingency plans for rain had to be thought out in advance.

When the women of wealthy and powerful families went out, the procession was no less grand than when a general went to war.

Zhou Ming's assigned task was to accompany the steward and the commander of the guards to scout out the location in the Western Hills.

It was springtime, and the western hills were lush and green. Wild peaches and apricots bloomed in profusion, their pink and white petals layered on half the hillside, looking from afar like a cloud dyed by the morning glow.

The newly sprouted grass shoots on both sides of the mountain path were still covered with dewdrops, and the air was filled with the fragrance of flowers and the sweet smell of earth. Taking a deep breath, I felt refreshed.

This poetry gathering was ostensibly about appreciating flowers and reciting poems, but Zhou Ming knew exactly what was going on.

The attendees were all young masters and ladies from various families. It was ostensibly a gathering to make friends through poetry, but in reality, it was an unspoken matchmaking event.

In this world, etiquette and social norms are strictly enforced, and young ladies rarely leave their homes.

Normally, she rarely even sees other men, and only on occasions like this can she legitimately step into the public eye and let the young men of various families catch her eye.

The steward and the captain of the guards led their men up the mountain and discovered that they were not the only ones who had arrived early.

People from many mansions on the hilltop were already busy, with each household sending servants to scout out the area and set up defenses.

Some were checking whether the stakes of the pergola were firmly in place, while others were measuring whether the distance between the resting areas of the women in each household was far enough.

There were also people specifically responsible for turning over the surrounding bushes, lest any snakes or insects hide there and startle the important person.

The steward and the commander of the guards immediately got to work upon their arrival.

The steward went to meet with the stewards of each household to discuss how to allocate the resting pavilions for the young ladies and gentlemen of each family the next day, which family would supply tea, fruit, and seeds, and how to arrange the seating.

These are the most trivial and the easiest things to offend people. If you're not careful, it can turn into a secret rivalry.

The commander of the guards, along with several guards, patrolled the mountain path, noting where the view was open, where the terrain was narrow, and where people could easily hide, so that they could arrange sentries, both overt and covert, the next day.

The rest of the people weren't idle either.

An official took out several cloth bags and distributed them to the crowd, instructing them to sprinkle realgar and other insect and snake repellent powders along the grass and bushes around the poetry gathering area.

This job may sound clumsy, but it cannot be taken lightly. Tomorrow's guests are all of noble birth, and it would be a huge joke if any young lady were to lose her composure because of a grass snake.

Zhou Ming carried a bag of sulfur and walked alone toward the side of the western hill.

This hillside is a bit remote, some distance from the main site, and densely wooded; it doesn't seem like a place where nobles would set foot.

But the manager instructed that all the grass within a hundred paces of the pergola must be scattered, leaving no spot untouched.

Zhou Ming didn't feel tired at all. As he walked, he swung his wrists, evenly sprinkling sulfur powder at the base of the grass and between the rocks.

As he walked, he stopped.

Behind the bushes in front of them, a dark hole was visible, not large, just big enough for one person to bend down and crawl in.

The weeds around the cave entrance were half-bent down by the wind, and there were no signs of wild animals trampling on them.

Zhou Ming peered inside and could only smell a dry, earthy odor.

I looked into the cave a few times, but couldn't figure out what it was.

Zhou Ming mustered his courage and went inside. The entrance was so narrow that only one person could bend over and squeeze through. But once inside, the scene before him was quite different. The cave was much more spacious than it looked from the outside.

The highest point of the cave ceiling is as tall as two or three people. The cave walls are rugged with strange rocks. Although the ground is uneven and has many ups and downs, it can easily accommodate a hundred or so people.

The air was filled with the dry, earthy smell and a faint rocky odor, and a ray of light shone in from afar, illuminating the cave.

Zhou Ming followed the light, but the end of the cave was on a cliff.

The bottom of the mountain is full of jagged rocks, about ten feet high from the cave entrance.

After looking around inside the cave for a while, I didn't find anything else unusual.

Zhou Ming walked out of the cave, dusted off the sulfur powder on his hands, and turned back to continue working.

By the time the entire area had been illuminated, the sun had already sunk below the western ridgeline.

When the group returned to the outer courtyard, it was almost completely dark.

The next morning, before dawn, the Marquis's residence was already bustling with activity.

The maids and servants got up half an hour earlier than usual, and the kitchen was brightly lit all night, just to prepare the food box for the young lady to take today.

Zhou Ming tidied himself up early, thinking of the cave he had seen yesterday. He planned to use the cave as a place of opportunity, to see if any chosen one could find the opportunity he had set up.

He left the room with a copy of "The Book of Crossing the World" tucked in his pocket, and waited outside the Begonia Garden with a group of attendants and guards.

Before long, the main gate opened wide, and Miss Su Mingyue walked out surrounded by a group of maids.

Today she is wearing a moon-white jacket embroidered with silver thread patterns, simple yet elegant.

Her expression remained indifferent, showing little expectation for today's poetry gathering.

The group walked through the corridors and courtyards and arrived at the main gate of the Marquis's mansion.

Before even leaving the cave, Zhou Ming heard the snorting of horses and the clamor of voices outside.

As soon as he stepped outside, he looked up and immediately squinted.

The young master's entourage was already waiting outside the door.

A procession of carriages and horses was parked beside the stone lions at the entrance of the Marquis's mansion, with a tall, pure white horse in the center being particularly eye-catching.

The horse was completely hairless, its mane braided into fine braids, with a few small silver bells the size of soybeans hanging from the ends. When the horse gently shook its head, the bells jingled crisply.

The white horse's bridle was made of vermilion leather inlaid with silver studs, and a whole piece of white tiger skin was laid on the saddle. The quiver on the side of the saddle was not filled with arrows, but instead had a freshly picked peach blossom stuck in it, the dew on the petals still wet.

Seated upright on the horse was the master of this gathering, the eldest son of the Marquis's mansion, Su Mingyue's elder brother, Su Mingli.

The young master was dressed in a light green brocade robe today, the fabric of which shimmered with a lustrous sheen in the morning light.

The cuffs and collar of the robe were embroidered with dark gold cloud patterns, and a jade belt was tied around the waist, from which a piece of mutton-fat white jade pendant hung.

He loosely held the reins with his left hand and a gilded folding fan in his right. The fan was half-open, and a poem could be vaguely seen on it. The signature was his own private seal.

Looking up at his head, Zhou Ming almost couldn't hold back.

Su Mingli's jet-black hair was neatly tied up in a white jade crown, with a crimson peony the size of a bowl prominently displayed on the side of the crown.

The flower was inserted at an angle, its petals blooming in layers, complementing his light green brocade robe. The contrasting red and green made him look like a flowering tree from afar.

He was quite handsome, with sword-like eyebrows, bright eyes, a high nose bridge, and skin that was even fairer than that of an average young lady. He had a half-smile playing on his lips.

But it was precisely this appearance, coupled with this demeanor, that Zhou Ming silently judged: flamboyant, extremely flamboyant.