Chapter Twenty-Five: Black Diamond

  Chu Jianxiong was taken aback, feeling that he had misspoken, but at the same time, he felt that his proposal seemed to have moved the woman in front of him. Compared to her original faint smile, this anger made him feel satisfied. But he also knew that today's matter could not be done, so he proudly and calmly walked away, with a elegant and carefree demeanor.

  "Miss!" Qing Luan looked at Cai Feng with some worry.

  Cai Feng waved his hand and said: "I'm fine, I'm just angry that he would use someone else's deceased father for his own selfish desires."

  "Sir, was he really wronged and died unjustly? I also know martial arts, I can avenge Miss too."

  Cai Feng sneered, "He's just a rustic person, what does he understand? As for my family's affairs, if you put it in a grand way, it's fate; if you put it in a moderate way, it's the ups and downs of officialdom; if you put it in a small way, it's death at the hands of the Emperor or Ou Wang. Or maybe there are some petty people who take advantage of the situation and kick us when we're down, but can they be considered my enemies? Who should he seek revenge from, the current Emperor or the deceased Ou Wang?"

  Chu Jianxiong's face turned pale as he listened outside, almost wanting to rush in, but restrained himself. He hadn't left immediately earlier, relying on his superior martial arts skills to listen to Cai Feng's feelings towards him, but didn't expect such a result.

  However, he became even more concerned about Cai Feng in his heart. This is probably the common human sentiment. If Cai Feng had seen him and wanted to follow him to the ends of the earth, perhaps he would have looked down on her instead. At this moment, he made up his mind that he must get Cai Feng no matter what.

  At this moment, a group of men rushed up, shouting "Chu Dage, Chu Xiongdi, Chu Ye". In this ordinary residential area, there were more than a dozen people, including men and women, monks and laymen, all centered around Chu Jianqiu.

  Chu Jianxiong sat on the master chair in the hall, seeing so many people staring at him, waiting for his orders. The anger he had just endured at Cai Feng's place was somewhat alleviated.

  The leader of the Jiangnan Green Forest Road, known as the King of Chu, Chu Jianxiong. Who in the world does not know, who is not familiar with him? In recent days, he came to Hangzhou to do a big business, and gathered more than a dozen people, all of whom are elites on the Jiangnan Green Forest Road. "Everyone, I have already investigated the matter clearly, just waiting for the Lantern Festival to take action. These days, no one is allowed to leave this door. Military strategist, you are from Hangzhou, so we can rely on you more this time."

  He loudly gave orders, and everyone responded with a loud "yes". He couldn't help but feel proud and satisfied, and felt the emotion of "a great man should be like this". The only regret was that Cai Feng wasn't present to see his majestic appearance at this moment.

  The military advisor sat in the shadows, responding softly, but still thinking about that great grudge. He had led a dozen or so brothers down the mountain, only to be defeated in Hangzhou by a handsome young master, who later turned out to be the nephew of the governor-general, and thus didn't have much thought of revenge. But towards another scholar, he was filled with hatred.

  On Lantern Festival, Xu Xian arrived at Xuangui Temple as promised and took his son to watch the lantern fair.

  Going out to watch the lanterns, of course, can't wear that Taoist robe again, all changed into ordinary clothes. Zhūnér wore a yellow velvet jacket, which was quite stunning. Xǔ Xiān couldn't help but look forward to Yú Xuánjī changing out of her thousand-year-old unchanged Taoist robe.

  After a long time, Yuxuanji came out of the house, still wearing that apricot-yellow Taoist robe, and smiled: "You can go now, the earlier you leave, the earlier you'll return."

  "Master." Zhūnér pulled on Yú Xuánjī's arm and pouted.

  Yu Xuanji simply said, "Go quickly, the lanterns outside are all lit up." She also helped Zhu'er tidy up her scarf. Although this little bamboo was known as one of the "Three Friends of Winter", after being together for a long time, she had always taken care of her like an ordinary girl.

  As expected, the lamp posts outside the wall began to light up, no, it was the entire Hangzhou that started to light up. Xu Xian looked up and saw that the sky had turned orange-yellow like those big cities in his previous life.

  The bamboo shoots lifted their small face, took a somewhat reluctant look at the lights outside, and said "Master doesn't go, I won't go either. I'll stay here with Master." Their face was full of determination.

  Yu Xuanji looked at the bamboo shoots for a while, then shook her head and said, "Alright, alright, I'm afraid of you." The bamboo shoots immediately clapped their hands in delight. Yu Xuanji went back into the house, rustling around as if changing clothes. When she came out again, Xu Xian felt like he was dazzled by a bright light - Yu Xuanji had taken off her hairpin, and her black hair cascaded down, casually tied up with a few loose strands framing her face. She wasn't wearing the fashionable clothing of the time, but instead wore a simple yet elegant yellow long dress, which made Xu Xian almost utter some frivolous words again.

  Perhaps it was the reflection of the lamp, Yu Xuanji's face was tinged with a layer of blush, she gently pulled her skirt and softly said: "Let's go!"

  The three of them rushed into this world of fire trees and silver flowers, the streets were crowded with cars and horses, people gathered like ants, lamp posts were like fire trees, and lamp fires were like silver flowers. There were also some folk performances on the street, such as stilt walking, land sailing, and lion dancing. The whole city of Hangzhou was boiling like a pot.

  It's just Yu Xuanji's current appearance, both men and women have to look back, and some frivolous rascals come forward to flirt. Xu Xian self-proclaimed himself as the guardian of the flower, also tired of responding. Looking at Yu Xuanji behind him, he still has that calm demeanor, but under the lamp light, he is indeed beautiful beyond compare. He found a small stall selling masks, picked up three masks, and handed them to Yu Xuanji. With a slight frown, Xu Xian put one on his face, but at the same time felt a sense of relief in his heart.

  However, there are not a few people who know Xu Xian. At the beginning of the snow, he was tested on his way to kill the generals and left an impression on many people's minds. The final ranking was second only to Pan Yu and Cai Feng, and some good things were ranked below the two of them, and Jiangnan Four Small Talents were ranked out, Xu Xian is now the first of Jiangnan Four Small Talents, Xu Xian himself also sweated when he heard this title. On the way, there are also many strangers who salute him with a blessing, "Xu Tanhua".

  The more they walked into the city, the more and brighter the lights became. On top of the highest Dinggu Tower in the city, all the big shots of Hangzhou were seated, enjoying the lanterns and watching the dance. The three of them, Xu Xian, passed by under the tower and glanced up, Pan Yu's uncle, Governor Pan, and his own teacher, Wang Xuezheng, should be among them. Just then, a passerby called out "Xu Tanhua" in a loud voice.

  Wang Xuezheng looked down at the floor and smiled, saying to everyone: "My student is downstairs, his poetry is extremely good, let's call him up to respond to the scene." Although he was just a humble scholar, among these people, in terms of official rank, he didn't count for much. However, he sat in the main seat, which wasn't because of any deep background, but because he had been the top scorer in the imperial examination twenty-eight years ago. Except for official banquets, he always sat in the first position. As soon as he said this, everyone knew what he meant, that he wanted to formally accept Xu Xian as his student.

  Immediately, a young servant went down and whispered a few words into Xu Xian's ear. Xu Xian nodded in agreement, then told Yu Xuanji to wait for a moment before following the servant upstairs. As soon as he went up, he took a glance around and saw a large table on the veranda, surrounded by several maidservants and guards standing at attention. There was also a music troupe with singing girls, among whom the most eye-catching one was none other than Cai Feng, the young lady who had participated in the First Snow poetry contest.

  Xu Xian bowed and said: "I am Xu Xian, a student of the Tianxue Academy. I pay my respects to our teacher and to all the esteemed gentlemen." There was also an old man with a goat-like beard at the banquet, but he didn't recognize him. Wang Xuezheng introduced him, saying: "This is Jin Laoye, the Southern God of Wealth. Don't you greet him?"

  Xu Xian immediately understood that this was Jin Wancheng, whom Pan Yu had mentioned before. He immediately paid his respects and said: "I've seen Mr. Jin."

  Jin Wancheng smiled and said, "Director Wang, what's the point of saying whether it's a god of wealth or not? The old man can't sit still anymore." This old man looked stern when his face was expressionless, but he had an extremely warm smile. Even in front of many officials, he didn't appear weak.

  Xu Xian stepped forward and offered a toast. Wang Xuezheng said: "This time it's your good fortune, we were just about to see Mr. Jin's treasure!"

  Jin Wancheng humbly said, "It's just some clever tricks, not worth showing off." As he spoke, he pulled out a brocade box from his sleeve and placed it on the table. As soon as the box appeared, someone immediately drove out the maidservants and singing girls. The hall fell silent, except for the people seated in the middle of the room and a group of guards, only Xu Xian and Cai Feng were not driven out.

  Jin Wancheng gently opened the box, and saw that inside the box, a strange light was flowing, six pigeon egg-sized gems were quietly lying on the red velvet bottom of the box. First, he handed it to Governor Pan, who took out one gem to play with, only to see that its color was pale black, yet transparent like crystal, and there were many facets, which refracted the surrounding light into it, emitting a strange glow. He couldn't help but exclaim in surprise: "What is this thing?"

  Jin Wan Cheng smiled but did not answer, merely stroking his beard and smiling. He dared to sell a fake in front of the Governor, so he knew he was no ordinary merchant.

  All the officials passed it around and thought it was beautiful, but none of them knew what it was. Finally, it reached Xu Xian's hands, and Xu Xian took out a small object that looked like he was counting something. Jin Wancheng's eyes lit up, but he didn't say anything. At last, Xu Xian sighed and said: "A 58-faceted black diamond, Mr. Jin, where did you get such craftsmanship, such skill?"

  Diamonds, also known as diamonds, were not particularly valuable in ancient times. Apart from the concept of heavy jade and light stone, the most important thing was that the cutting technology was insufficient. Even if the cutting technology barely passed, it still needed the development of mathematics as a foundation.

  The six in Xu Xian's hand had clearly undergone extremely strict and meticulous cutting and polishing, leaving one to marvel at the ingenuity of ancient craftsmen. They may not have had a solid scientific foundation, but relying on their innate skills and creativity, they created things that even people today can't help but admire. Many artifacts from thousands of years ago have been unearthed in later generations, with craftsmanship that remains an unsolved mystery.

  What's more, in this chaotic world, the wonders may even surpass those of the previous life.

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