Are you crazy? Trying to trick him into military service? He's the number one dragon on the fro

"I've long admired your name!"

Upon hearing that their identities were not simple, Lu Xiao hurriedly paid his respects, feeling deeply moved.

As expected, every circle has its limitations. What kind of simple people can get along with Zhou Qi?

After exchanging greetings, he looked at Qian Haiyun and Wang Xingrong with considerable curiosity, and asked thoughtfully:

"The names of you two brothers sound familiar; I feel like I've heard them somewhere before."

"By the way, Brother Qian, you are related to Lord Qian Haishan, the magistrate of Changyang County in Yuyang Prefecture..."

"Haha, that's my elder brother!"

Upon hearing this, Qian Haiyun was also amazed at how small the world was, and explained with a smile:

"My father only had two children, my elder brother and me. My elder brother was always busy with his official career, while I simply stayed at home eating, drinking, having fun, and enjoying my wealth."

"Don't laugh at me, Brother Lu, the reason we get along so well is because none of us want to be officials; we just want to live a life of wealth and honor."

"That's right."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Xingrong chimed in:

"My elder brother told me some time ago that he was going to Yuyang County to deliver an imperial edict to the Marquis of Champion. I suppose the person you met, Brother Lu, was my elder brother."

"Since we are so destined to meet, let's have a toast with tea instead of wine."

Zhao Qing, standing to the side, raised his teacup, smiling broadly as he invited everyone to clink glasses, then said with a smile:

"Although I have no siblings, I have no interest in an official career."

"To my shame, after hearing about Brother Lu's glorious deeds, I tried to practice martial arts at home, but I was really bad at it. After being scolded by my father, I ended up being neither good at literature nor martial arts."

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Zhou Qi and the other two burst into laughter at his words.

After laughing, Zhou Qi said:

"The four of us are not fond of literature or military affairs. We spend our days carrying caged birds and doing nothing of substance. Therefore, we are jokingly called the Four Playboys by the people of the capital."

"But Brother Lu, you can rest assured. Although we are neither good at literature nor martial arts, as Brother Zhao said, we have experienced the weddings of many high-ranking officials and nobles, so we can definitely handle everything well for you!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiao hurriedly thanked him, silently expressing his gratitude to Zhou Kang in his heart.

If it weren't for this prime minister, he probably wouldn't even have had someone to lead his horse on his wedding day.

After exchanging pleasantries, Zhou Qi took the initiative to speak:

"In families with a bit of wealth, when preparing for their children's wedding, they will usually arrange for the brothers in the family to lead the groom's horse, protect the sedan chair, escort the gifts, and carry the gifts."

"Among you all, I am the eldest, so please entrust the task of leading the horse and escorting the gifts to me."

"I'll protect the sedan chair!"

After Qian Haiyun finished speaking, Wang Xingrong immediately followed up with his statement:

"Then I will accompany Brother Qian to protect the sedan chair!"

Seeing that the three of them had taken all the easy tasks, Zhao Qing looked at them with a wry smile:

"My older brothers are just taking advantage of my young age."

"It seems that choosing a gift is all I can do."

Upon hearing this, everyone burst into laughter, remarking that he was the only one besides Lu Xiao who had any connection to military affairs.

The tasks of leading the horse and protecting the sedan chair are easy to understand. They mainly aim to prevent the groom from being startled by the onlookers when he sits on his horse, and to avoid disturbing the bride in the sedan chair.

The so-called "gift exchange" refers to the process of presenting a red envelope to the bride's family upon arrival at their home, as well as managing the guest gift list and verifying the gifts with the bride's family. This is usually the responsibility of the groom's elder brother.

The "carrying the gifts" is a procession led by the groom's youngest brother, who carries a lantern, dragon and phoenix flags, a gong, a lantern for descendants, and small wedding gifts such as wine jugs and auspicious fruits.

Seeing everyone divide up these things so readily, Lu Xiao, aside from lamenting the tediousness of marriage, was also sincerely grateful:

"Having met you today, I have no idea that there are so many intricacies involved in getting married."

"If it weren't for everyone's help, I would probably be completely clueless!"

"We're all brothers, Brother Lu, please don't be so formal."

Zhou Qi, the older brother, smiled and waved his hand, telling him to rest assured that he would make sure the wedding was beautiful.

At that moment, a commotion arose in the lobby on the first floor.

Zhao Qing, who was closest, turned her head to take a look and immediately slammed her hand on the railing, exclaiming in surprise:

"Look everyone, Miss Qingyu is out!"

Zhou Qi and the other two hurriedly got up and walked to the railing.

Lu Xiao thought for a moment and then got up to go and watch.

In the lobby on the first floor, a young woman dressed in a plain white dress, as beautiful as a lotus emerging from water, gracefully appeared.

Her appearance immediately attracted the attention of all the men present, and even some of the women in Baiyulou had strange glints in their eyes when they saw her.

That's the look in my eyes when I'm looking at the person I love.

"Gentlemen."

The young lady Qingyu uttered just two simple words in a low voice, yet they immediately silenced everyone. Many were even afraid of disturbing her by breathing too heavily, so they hurriedly held their breath and focused their attention.

She smiled and bowed gracefully to the people around her, the guests upstairs and downstairs, and then said:

"Thank you all for coming to the poetry gathering that I have organized in the dead of winter. I am deeply grateful."

"Every winter, I invite talented men and beautiful women from all over the world to gather at Baiyulou, taking the opportunity to exchange poems and make friends with you all."

"This year's poetry gathering coincides with a snowy day, so why don't you all use snow as a theme and unleash your talents!"

Upon hearing this, everyone applauded and cheered, and then began to ponder what poems they could write about snow.

Standing by the railing, Zhou Qi heard these words and sighed:

"I remember this time last year, Miss Qingyu invited everyone to write on the theme of plum blossoms and on the theme of the moon. Although many excellent works were created, none could surpass Miss Qingyu's talent."

"The people who come here this year are no different from those in the previous two years. It seems that no one can enter Miss Qingyu's boudoir and get intimate with her."

"What a pity!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiao subconsciously glanced outside Baiyulou and realized that snowflakes had begun to fall at some point.

He smiled and turned back to his seat:

"Since this is a gathering of literati and scholars, it has nothing to do with us."

"Gentlemen, let's sit down, have some tea, and chat."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qi and the other three exchanged glances, and after a moment, they returned to their seats with wry smiles.

They knew their own limitations, so they had no intention of participating in the poetry gathering.

As the poetry gathering unfolded, exclamations and sighs of surprise could be heard from time to time in the lobby on the first floor.

Although Zhou Qi had no interest in participating, he was curious about the poetry gathering, so he asked a girl to wait by the railing to relay what was happening at the gathering.

If there are any good lines, they will also listen.

Shortly after, the woman suddenly exclaimed:

"I thought that the talented men and women of this year would have made some progress at the poetry gathering, but they still wouldn't be a match for Sister Qingyu. But now it seems that everyone was wrong."

"There's a talented scholar from the State of Chu who has a good chance of winning first place in this poetry competition!"