Chapter Twenty-Two: Receiving the Red Pavilion

  Yun Qian Yue looked at the seven people and listened to their loud and clear words, her mind turning a hundred times in an instant.

  Her grandfather told her that "after a zodiac cycle, she no longer needs to come to Yunwu Mountain to worship." Now they say "following the master's orders, after a zodiac cycle, wait for the young master here, listen to the young master's instructions." That is to say, the master in their mouths is her mother, and these people are left to her by her mother?

  These seven people have the same breath, obviously practicing martial arts consistently, and have undergone special training. In her opinion, they are in no way inferior to Rong Jing's eighteen black-clothed hidden guards. It is clear that her mother not only has a mysterious identity but also is not simple!

  Now she needs people, if these people can be used, it will not be a great help for her to fight against the old emperor!

  Never thought that today's trip to Yunwu Mountain would have such a surprise.

  Yun patted the corner of her mouth and smiled slightly, "You guys get up and talk!"

  "Thank you, young master!" The seven people stood up simultaneously.

  "My mother told you seven people with a zodiac sign to reincarnate and wait for me here?" Yun Shangyue asked aloud.

  "Go back to your master, that's what he instructed!" The woman who asked the question earlier immediately replied.

  "It's been twelve years since my mother passed away, right? How old were you all back then?" Cloud Shallow Moon looked at the seven people. The oldest woman appeared to be no more than twenty, and the youngest was not much older than her, probably only fifteen or sixteen. Twelve years ago, the youngest would have been only three or four years old. Could they really remember things from that time? This made her feel incredulous.

  "Return, young master! Before Master's passing, he instructed the seven elders to let Miss take over the Hong Pavilion twelve years later. The seven elders selected us seven people to replace their positions and protect the young master. Master saw us before his departure. At that time, although I was small, I vaguely remembered Master."

  It turned out to be like this! Yun Qianyue looked at the woman, "Are the seven elders present?"

  "Return to the young master, the seven elders are currently at Bixia Mountain. Every time a new young master takes over the Hongge, the previous elder will retreat to Bixia Mountain and no longer ask about the affairs of the Hongge." The woman said immediately.

  Biyun Mountain? Yun Shang Yue searched her memory, but there was no recollection of Biyun Mountain. In her cognitive mind, this mountain did not exist. Perhaps it was a small unknown mountain. She stopped inquiring and nodded, "I was still young when my mother left, since you are here to follow my orders on behalf of my mother, then tell me about your situation! Let me understand."

  "Yes!" The woman nodded immediately.

  Yun saw a few stones not far away, she walked over and sat down, waving her hand at the others, "You all sit too! Let's sit down and talk slowly." Anyway, she was in no hurry to go down the mountain.

  "Please sit down, young master! It's enough for us subordinates to stand!" The seven people shook their heads.

  "I'm not a person who adheres to etiquette all the time, I suppose you've heard about me. If possible, I think we'll be together for a long time in the future, so there's no need to be too polite in front of me, please sit down!" Yun Shangyue said to several people.

  "Thank you, young master!" The few of them exchanged a glance, and without further ado, walked over to sit down, their expressions visibly relaxing.

  "Let's report your names one by one, get to know each other, and then talk slowly." Yun Qianyue first looked at the woman. She had been standing among several people, obviously the leader of the seven.

  "Belong to Xia Huasheng!" The woman said immediately.

  "Flowers fall under the branch!"

  "Belonging to the lower Linglian!"

  "Submit to me!"

  "Belong to Yuki!"

  "Your humble servant!"

  "Autumn rain and winter snow!"

  "Hua Shang, Hua Luo, Ling Lian, Cang Lan, Yi Xue, Feng Yan, Feng Lu......" Yun Qian Yue recited the names of several people one by one, and suddenly asked strangely, "What is your relationship with the ten great families that hid in seclusion a hundred years ago?"

  She remembered reading a book at Rong Jing's place about the top ten aristocratic families from hundreds of years ago. It seemed to be this surname, and she had even taken a closer look, remembering the surnames of the top ten aristocratic families: Hua, Hua, Ling, Cang, Yi, Feng, Feng, Chu, Mo, and Lan. It was said that the top ten aristocratic families were once renowned. They couldn't be compared to the current top ten aristocratic families like the Qian family. Mo Li was from the Mo family.

  "The young master is indeed clever, having inferred from our surnames that we are the descendants of the ten great families that went into hiding a hundred years ago." Huasheng smiled and nodded, "We do come from the seven great families. However, the seven great families have long since gone into hiding. Back then, the master wanted to choose guardians for the young master, but the seven elders were dissatisfied with the qualifications of ordinary people, so they separately found us from each of the seven great families and selected one person from each family, which is how we came to be here today."

  "So that's how it was!" Yun Qianyue smiled and nodded, "Since the ten great families were in hiding, when the seven elders went to demand people back then, the masters of the seven great families just handed you over?"

  "At that time, the master of the house was naturally unwilling, and the ten great families hid in seclusion and no longer involved themselves in worldly affairs. However, they couldn't resist the seven great elders' soft and hard persuasion, using every means at their disposal, until finally the master was forced to agree. But there was one condition: we seven people were taken away by the seven great elders, and from then on, we left the seven great families. So now, we are no longer part of the seven great families. It's just that when the seven great elders asked the master to bestow a name, the master kept our surname and only gave us new given names." Huasheng shook his head.

  "So that's how it is! Does that mean the Seven Great Elders are very powerful?" Yun Shangyue asked with a smile.

  She remembered that the last sentence at the end of the "Ten Great Family Biographies" read: "From then on, the Ten Great Families disappeared from the world and were never heard from again." The biography was compiled by a strange person when the Tian Sheng Emperor founded the dynasty a hundred years ago. Later, decades later, another strange person revised it, and ten years ago, Wen Bo Hou, who was known for his literary talent, also made some revisions to it. They all coincidentally added this sentence at the end. It can be imagined how secretly the Ten Great Families hid themselves, completely withdrawing from the world of mortals. People like Mo Li, descendants of the Ten Great Families, were just like these seven people in front of her, who had also left the Ten Great Families and were no longer part of them, except that they hadn't changed their surname.

  "The seven great elders were also from the seven major families back then, even if they left the seven major families later, it was still a matter of face. Huasheng smiled, "The seven great elders are indeed very powerful, and in their heyday, they were the outstanding talents among the seven major families. It is said that when we seven people went out, no one could match the seven great elders who had challenged the strongest in each family. What we seven people learn now are all taught by the seven elders."

  "Oh? The seven great elders are also from the seven great families?" Yun Shangyue was taken aback.

  "Yes!" Huasong nodded.

  "Are the Seven Elders always following my mother?" Yun Shangyue asked again.

  "Yes!" Huasheng nodded again.

  "Where is your mother from?" Yun Shangyue asked again.

  "I don't even know where the master is from, and none of the seven elders have ever told me or anyone else about the master's background. In the Red Pavilion, apart from the seven elders, no one knows where the master is from." Huasong was taken aback, shaking his head: "We thought the young master knew the master's origins, but it turns out he doesn't know either."

  "Yes, I don't know either. My mother left when I was over two years old. At that time, I didn't remember anything." Yun Shangyue thought that even if her soul had come to this world early and she could remember things at that time, they would have been forgotten by now. She looked at Hua Song, "Do you know how the seven elders followed my mother?"

  "This clan knows, the seven great elders often told us." Hua Song glanced at the others, seemingly finding Yun Shang Yue easy to get along with, and his tone was slightly more relaxed as he smiled: "In those days, it's said that our master was young and inexperienced, but somehow managed to track down the traces of the ten great families. He single-handedly challenged the seven great families, and later drew the attention of the seven great elders who followed him closely."

  "Really?" Yun Shang Yue blinked her eyes, was her mother that fierce? But she didn't understand, how could a mother like hers marry a father who was such a flirtatious and wasteful good-for-nothing with a bunch of concubines?

  "Yes! Young Master doesn't know, the Seven Elders often whisper to me that if it weren't for your excessive disturbance back then, it seems that being chased by the family would have led to a challenge of the Ten Great Houses. Our Red Mansion would not be limited to just seven elders, but ten great elders!" Fengluo took over the conversation, smiling and saying. She was the youngest among them.

  "What a pity!" Yun Shangyue glanced at Fengluo. The little girl looked extremely innocent, but she believed that anyone who could sit here today was not as naive as Cai Lian, Ting Xue and Ting Yu.

  "The three elders have always said it's a pity." Ling Lian also smiled and said.

  Yun Qian looked at Ling Lian, who was slightly younger than Hua Song. Although she didn't look as steady as Hua Song, her posture was straight and her attire was extremely meticulous, with not a single thread out of place. She must be a very detail-oriented person. Yun Qian smiled at her.

  "Miss Shallow Moon smiles just like the portrait of our master hanging in the Red Pavilion." Yuxue said suddenly.

  Yun Shallow Moon looked at Yixue, who was about the same age as Ling Lian. Now she sat on the outermost periphery of several people, and when she spoke to Hua Song, she would occasionally pay attention to the movements around her, apparently to prevent someone from coming up the mountain. Apparently, she was a very meticulous and cautious person. She smiled at her and said, "Really? I look like my mother?"

  "Yes! The young master and his father look very alike!" The four women nodded in unison.

  Yun Shallow Moon looked at the other three men, Hua Luo, Cang Lan and Feng Yan. Except for the one who had just greeted her, these three people hadn't spoken a word. The three of them were about the same age, all with good looks, although not as handsome as Rong Jing, but still rare to see. She remembered the rumors about the ten great families' romantic affairs. It was said that the Hua, Cang and Feng families only produced beautiful men, it seemed the rumor was true. She smiled and asked the three of them, "Are you three shy in front of me?"

  The three of them were taken aback at the same time, then their faces turned red simultaneously, shaking their heads and saying in unison: "We don't have it!"

  "Why hasn't anyone spoken for half a day?" Yun Shangyue tilted her head and smiled at the three of them.

  "The young master has never asked us about this!" The three men's faces turned even redder.

  "Hua, Cang and Feng families only produce handsome men?" Yun Shallow Moon looked at Hua Song with a smile.

  Hua Shang glanced at the three of them and couldn't help but laugh: "Returning to Young Master, yes."

  "They're not shy, they're just happy to see you, young master." Fenglu's small face smiled like a flower. "Last year at this time, the three of them wanted to come to Yunwu Mountain to meet Miss, but were stopped by Sister Huasheng. A while ago, when we heard that Miss was in trouble at Lingtai Temple, and later heard that she encountered a hundred assassins, they couldn't sit still anymore. If it weren't for Sister Huasheng and Sister Linglian saying that if we appeared rashly by your side and were exposed, it would cause you trouble, they would have stopped them, otherwise the three of them would have come to find you long ago!"

  "Little girl, it's not like you're the one who wants to see Master Xiao the most. How did it become us three?" Huā Luò rebuked Fēng Lù with a red face.

  "Haha, Brother Hua was indeed put to shame by Young Master! He's really embarrassed now!" Feng Lu smiled and said, "Although I wanted to see Young Master, my martial arts skills aren't good enough to get me out of Motian Cliff. Even if I wanted to take a look, it wouldn't be possible. I was just joking around. The three of you were all planning to leave Motian Cliff for the capital city back then. If it weren't for Sister Hua pulling out Young Master's orders, would you have listened? You've all been waiting impatiently to see Young Master!" She turned to ask Hua Xiang, "Sister Hua, isn't that right?"

  "Ah, yes!" Huasong smiled and nodded.

  "Miss, if you don't believe me, you can ask Linglian and Yuxue sisters. I didn't lie." Fenglu said again.

  Yun Qian looked at Ling Lian and Yi Xue, both of whom smiled and nodded.

  "That's also what we want, to follow the young master earlier and protect him!" Huasong glared at Fengluo and warned: "Little girl, you'd better shut up! If the young master doesn't like you and kicks you out of the Red Pavilion, don't come crying. Your martial arts aren't even proficient yet, how can you protect the young master?"

  Feng Lü's neck immediately shrunk, and she hastily looked at Yun Qianyue. Seeing Yun Qianyue smiling at her, she immediately whispered: "Young Master, I'm still young! They're all older than me, although my martial arts skills aren't good, but my hidden weapon skills are great! Those people from the Qianmen sect are definitely no match for me. I can also protect you."

  "Hmm!" Yun Shangyue smiled and nodded, "Not bad!"

  Fenglu was immediately delighted and smiled triumphantly at Huaye, "The young master won't drive me away!"

  Pretend not to see after being rejected.

  Yun Qian's eyes sparkled as she smiled lightly, and several others also burst out laughing at the same time.

  Yun Qian Yue looked at the seven people and felt that her mother had given her a treasure. No matter how great the power of the Hong Ge was, no matter how high their martial arts skills were, no matter what techniques they knew or what surprises they could bring her, she didn't know any of these things yet. Just by looking at the seven young faces and seven smiling faces and youthful hearts, she was already delighted from the bottom of her heart.

  She has never had a companion since she came to this world, and can be said to be alone. Although the relationship between Rong Jing and her is now close, it cannot be called a partner. Ye Qingran is on good terms with her, but still owes something. Yun Muhuang is her brother, but she often forgets that she has such a brother. Nan Lingrui is too unpredictable and mysterious, leaving her in a fog. As for Ye Tianyu and Ye Tianqing, it's not worth mentioning. Ye Qian is similar to her in temperament, but also different. Having only met once or twice, they can't talk about having a close relationship. The Seventh Prince, Ye Tianyi, no matter what his relationship with her was, has been sealed away in her memories and is now just a stranger.

  These people are not like the seven in front of her. It's their first time meeting each other, and they're chatting together on this mountain top shrouded in mist. At first, there would be a hint of unfamiliarity, but now it has vanished into thin air amidst the laughter.

  Yun Qian Yue stopped smiling and asked seriously, "You just said you were waiting for me on my mother's orders. From now on, will you listen to my instructions?"

  "Yes, young master!" The seven of them also restrained their smiles and nodded respectfully in unison.

  Yun Qianyue looked at the seven people, silent for a moment, and said in a clear and solemn voice: "I believe in my mother's vision, and I also believe in the vision of the Seven Elders that you mentioned. Choosing you seven must have been a careful selection, with great effort and consideration." After a pause, she continued slowly: "But after all, it was my mother's last words, and when the Seven Elders chose you, they may not have asked for your willingness. But I want to ask about your willingness now!"

  Seven people looked at Yun Qianyue with tension.

  Yun Qian Yue looked at the seven people seriously, "Are you following me because of my mother's orders or are you willing to follow me? If it's just because of my mother's orders and you're not willing in your heart, you can stand out. I believe in the principle of voluntariness. I won't force anyone. Whether it's my mother's will or the Seven Elders' command, today, here, what I say goes. Those who really don't want to follow me can leave."

  The seven of them were shocked and immediately knelt down on the ground. "We, your subordinates, are willing to follow you, young master! Please accept us!"

  "You've only seen me once, and you're willing to follow me wholeheartedly?" Yun Shangyue looked at the seven people. What kind of person was her mother? Even after twelve years of passing away, she still had such loyalty? What kind of person was Qi Changlao, cultivating these seven people for twelve years just for her? And what kind of organization was Hong Ge? But none of this was urgent, the current priority was to win over their hearts and make them useful to her.

  "Returning to the young master, when the seven elders went to the seven major households that year, they chose us. At that time, although we were young, our opinions were also asked, and we willingly followed the seven elders to leave the seven major households. Later, I only saw the master once, and it was also with a willing heart that I entered the Red Pavilion. Now, after the seven elders have cultivated us for twelve years, the seven of us have long known that the person we will serve in the future is the young master. Although we have never seen the young master before, every year the seven elders would send back portraits of the young master to us seven people. We seven people may be seeing the young master for the first time today, but we are already familiar with him. Today, I also came willingly to follow by the young master's side!" Hua Sheng said, bowing his head and speaking word by word.

  "We are willing to follow the young master with our hearts and souls, determined to be loyal to the young master until death, without any second thoughts. Otherwise, we will be struck by thunder and pierced by a thousand arrows! Please accept us, young master!" The other six people chimed in unison. Their voices were as one, each person's expression serious and solemn, no longer showing the playful attitudes they had just before.

  "Good!" Yun Shangyue nodded, the ancients valued oaths, this was a toxic oath. Her expression changed, and she softened her tone, saying to the seven people in a warm voice: "Since you are all willing, and it is Mother's love and protection for me, I will accept Mother's intentions, accept you."

  "Thank you, young master!" The seven of them cheered in unison.

  "I may be young, and my reputation outside is not good, but I am not a truly arrogant and harsh person. Although you call me Young Master, I will not treat you as subordinates. I will trust you, care for you, and treat you like brothers and sisters. And I hope you can also trust me." Yun Shangyue said. They were the people her mother had left behind that she could trust with all her heart. From now on, the ones standing behind her would not be just her own shadow, but seven people. Of course, she also hoped they could trust her.

  "Those under me believe in Young Master! Thank you for Young Master's kindness!" The seven men's faces changed, and they all nodded together.

  "Get up! The chill on the ground is heavy, from now on we are not outsiders! There's no need to show me such respect!" Yun Qian Yue lightly waved her hand, and a strong force swept towards the seven people, lifting their bodies simultaneously.

  Seven people were forced to stand up and stared at Yun Shangyue in unison with surprise.

  Hua Shang said in surprise: "I heard that the young master lost his martial arts skills after falling into the underground Buddha hall of Lingtai Temple a few days ago, and I thought the young master had no martial arts skills now, but unexpectedly, his martial arts skills have reached an illusory realm."

  "It was just suddenly restored yesterday!" Yun Shang Yue smiled faintly. She deliberately wanted the seven people to know her martial arts.

  "Congratulations, young master. Now that your martial arts skills have recovered and are so high, I'm afraid they're not much inferior to those of the master back then." Huasheng said with joy.

  Several people also looked at Yun Shangyue with a smile on their faces.

  "I thought that since the young master had no martial arts skills, I would follow him by his side every step of the way from now on! Who knew that the young master's martial arts skills have recovered!" Feng Lu pouted her mouth, she was the only one among the seven who was dissatisfied.

  "I have martial arts skills, you can follow me too!" Yun Shallow Moon smiled at Feng Luyu.

  "Is what Young Master said true?" Feng Lu was overjoyed.

  "Uh-huh!" Yun Shallow Moon nodded and added: "But it's probably not now."

  "Young master is trying to amuse me!" Feng Lu's joyful expression faded away, and she pouted again.

  "You little girl, from now on we'll have to listen to Young Master's arrangements. Your martial arts skills are so poor, do you still want to follow Young Master? If you don't practice your martial arts well, I think you can forget about it." Huā Luò scolded Fēng Lù in one sentence.

  Feng Lu's expression suddenly became somewhat dispirited.

  "Martial arts are important, but sometimes they're not the most crucial thing." Yun Qianyue patted Fengluo's hand and smiled reassuringly. Seeing Fengluo smile back at her, she turned to the others and said: "Since you all have my portrait every year, I suppose you understand me quite well, so there's no need for me to introduce myself. Come, let's sit down, and tell me about Hongge, tell me about your affairs. This way, I can get a better understanding of things, and it will be easier for us to work together in the future."

  "Yes!" The seven nodded and sat back down.

  After sitting down, several people looked at Hua Song, letting her speak. Hua Song smiled and slowly began to tell Yun Shangyue about the Hong Ge and their seven-person group. The other six people occasionally inserted a sentence or two as a supplement.

  Yun Qianyue listened attentively, it was her first time coming into contact with an ancient organization. So she didn't miss a single detail, listening extremely carefully. From time to time, she would ask questions that were all at the key points, causing several people to have a good impression of her and also admire her.

  From midnight till dawn, Hua Sheng finally stopped speaking.

  Yun Shallow Moon also understood Red House and Seven People roughly.

  The Red Pavilion was founded by her mother, who was said to have tracked down the hidden locations of the top ten hidden families in the world. She single-handedly defeated seven of them, whether it was martial arts or literary talent, and was admired by all. At that time, the successors of the new generation of the seven major hidden families were willing to give up their positions as family heads to follow her mother's side. There were three men and two women at the time, all of whom were subdued by her mother. It is said that this caused the masters of the seven major hidden families to become furious, but in the end, they let the seven people leave with her mother. It is said that her mother was later found by her own family due to some matter, and the other three major families never went again. This is also the reason why the Seven Elders were unable to become one of the Ten Elders, a regret that has been harbored for many years.

  Seven senior elders followed her mother later, and eight people joined hands to create the Red House.

  The main hall of Hongge is located in Moyan Cliff.

  Clouds know that the shallow moon is a towering mountain peak on the border of Xiliang and Tiansheng, with a mountain range stretching for hundreds of miles. The highest peak is called Motian Cliff.

  Moyan Cliff is a thousand miles away from the capital and eight hundred miles away from Xiliang.

  The Hong Kong has a great power of imagination, like the legendary beggar gang. The number of people in the Red Pavilion is not large, but each person is carefully selected and trained to be exceptional, with each having an extraordinary skill. Although the number of people is small, they are scattered all over the world, with only one or two people in each city, yet doing the work of a general organization of ten or a hundred people. Each person has sworn a blood oath, loyal to the Red Pavilion.

  The people of the Red Pavilion regard the pavilion master's orders as sacred decrees. Under the pavilion master, there are seven great elders, each in charge of one of the seven small pavilions: Intelligence, Espionage, Assassination, Martial Arts, Punishment, Finance, and a department that surprised Yun Qianyue - the Red Pavilion also has an army of 10,000 men.

  Because she knew that the royal family did not allow civilians and organizations to privately raise troops. Even the local vassal kings' men were without actual military power, with generals stationed in the vassal kingdoms commanding troops under the full authority of the emperor, this was to prevent the vassals from rebelling.

  She couldn't help but wonder what kind of person her mother was. She actually privately raised a military force?

  After her mother's death, the seven elders found a substitute to retire, namely Hua Sheng and others. Hua Sheng was in charge of intelligence and ranked first among the seven people. The seven people reported various intelligence from all over the world to her every day. Hua Die was in charge of spies, Ling Lian was in charge of assassination, Cang Lan had the highest martial arts skills among the seven people and was in charge of martial arts, Yi Xue was in charge of punishment, Feng Yan was in charge of wealth, and the youngest one, Feng Lu, was in charge of that army.

  Yun Qianyue filtered the information she received in her mind, bowed her head and sank into thought. She thought that her mother must have had an extraordinary identity. The main pavilion of Hongge was set at Moyan Cliff, the intersection of Tian Sheng and Nan Liang, what's the intention behind it?

  Seven people looked at Yun Shangyue, deep in thought, all quietly watching her, no one making a sound to disturb her. Although they had long known that the rumors were false, Young Master was not likely to be an arrogant and illiterate person, but seeing Yun Shangyue today still exceeded their imagination. At the same time as admiring her, they also felt a little closer and more fond of her.

  After a long while, Yun Shangyue looked up and asked Huasong, "Do you have any records of the events at Hongge over the years?"

  "Return to Young Master, there is! However, at the Sky Cliff, I originally wanted to bring it to Young Master, but at that time, I was in a hurry to rush over and forgot to bring it. I have taken a look at it before and can roughly say it out. If not, I'll tell Young Master about the events of the Red Pavilion these years?" Hua Song looked at Yun Shangyue.

  "No need. Just bring it back to Motian Cliff when you return." Yun Shangyue glanced at the sky and put the night pearl into a brocade box, then asked: "When did you arrive in Beijing? Where are you staying now?"

  "The seven people under me arrived in the capital two days ago. They are now staying at the Yanliu Building!" Hua Song said.

  "Yanliu Building? That Yanliu Building with Su?" Yun Shangyue was taken aback.

  Huasheng nodded, "The Smoke Willow House is a mixed bag of people, it's easy to cover one's tracks. The lower-ranking ones have already gone undercover. Moreover, the Smoke Willow House belongs to Hongge's estate, so it's relatively safe."

  Hongge originally also operated a brothel! Yun Shangyue thought that the best place to gather intelligence was indeed a brothel, and as Hua Song said, it was a mixed bag of people, making it easy to cover one's tracks. She asked in doubt: "Is Suxin also from Hongge?"

  "Yes, young master!" Huasheng nodded.

  "What's going on with Nan Lingrui and Su?" Yun Shuoyue didn't expect that the Su in Nan Lingrui's mouth was actually from Hongge. She was now filled with confusion towards Nan Lingrui.

  That day at the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion, she saw that Nan Lingrui's fan was painted by the so-called number one painter in the world. However, two days ago at the entrance of Xi Feng Garden, she saw that the jade fan was her own painting style. At that time, she thought she hadn't seen it clearly before, but now thinking about it, it wasn't. Her eyesight wasn't that bad yet, and she had always been able to remember things at a glance. Moreover, Nan Lingrui's fan was absolutely the same one without a doubt! This was what made her suspicious.

  Could it be that the fan actually has two sides? One side is the painting technique of the world's number one painter, and the other side is her own painting technique?

  "Nanliang Crown Prince mysteriously left to see Suxu! Every day, apart from listening to Suxu sing and play the zither, he does nothing else. Even his subordinates have asked Suxu, but Suxu also doesn't know what Nanliang Crown Prince is up to!" Huasheng said.

  "What's the difference between Su Su's fan and Nan Lingrui's?" Yun Shangyue asked again.

  "I've never said that!" Huasheng shook his head.

  Clouds shallow moon frowns.

  Huā luò kàn zhe yún qiǎn yuè, xún wèn dào: "Xiǎo zhǔ, zhè nán liáng ruì tài zǐ yǒu hé bù duì? Shì fǒu duì nǐ bù lì?"

  Translation:

  Huā luò gazed at the shallow moon in the clouds and asked, "Young Master, what's wrong with this Prince Rui of Nanliang? Is he unfavorable to you?"

  "No! It's just that Nan Lingrui has some things about me, I don't understand for now. Not a big deal either. Just asking." Yun Shangyue shook her head and looked at several people, "How long do you plan to stay in the capital?"

  Hua Shang was taken aback, "Young Master, aren't you going to let us stay by your side?"

  "It's not necessary for now. There are too many people watching me, and the people around me are all familiar faces. If you suddenly appear by my side, it will definitely attract attention and lead to a secret investigation. It's not good for you to follow me. I don't want others to know about our relationship yet." Yun Shangyue said.

  Seven people nodded in unison. Hua Song said: "We will follow Young Master's orders!"

  "How long has it been since the Seven Elders went into seclusion? How long have you taken over the Red Mansion?" asked Yun Qiu Yue.

  "The seven elders retired last year. The seven of us came from the seven major families and have been following the seven elders to learn martial arts since we were young, so we are familiar with the Red Pavilion's affairs. None of the seven elders are easy-going masters, they spend more than half of each year taking us on trips, and the time spent at Mo Tian Cliff is actually very short. However, the seven elders have never brought us to this Tian Sheng City before." said Hua Song.

  "Oh?" Yun Qianyue looked at Hua Song, "You've never been to Tian Sheng City before?"

  "Yes! The seven elder masters have also never set foot in Tian Sheng City since the master's passing." said Hua Song.

  Yun Qian Yue nodded, thinking that the seven elders were probably afraid of stirring up painful memories. She thought that since these seven people had been following the seven elders since childhood and were extremely familiar with Hong Ge, it meant that Hong Ge was now entirely under their control, so they didn't need to get familiar with Hong Ge again by shuffling cards. After thinking for a moment, she said: "Alright! Although you can't follow me around, you can stay in the capital for a few more days. In just a few days, it will be the Qixi Festival, and after that is the 55th birthday of the old emperor. The next period of time should be very lively. You can also take the opportunity to have some fun."

  "Really!" Fenglu's face lit up with joy and laughter instantly.

  Hua Shang and others may not be as excited as Feng Lu, but they nodded with joy in their eyebrows.

  "Let's go! Go burn paper for my mother, then we'll head down the mountain!" Yun Qianyue stood up and patted the dust off her body.

  "Young master, you don't need to burn paper offerings. You are unaware that on the second day after your master was buried in Yunwu Mountain, her coffin was moved by the seven great elders. Your master's tomb is not even located in Yunwu Mountain!" Huasong said: "Letting you come every year and persisting for twelve zodiac signs is to avoid suspicion! And thinking that after twelve years, I will come here to find young master."

  "Huh? Then where is my mother's coffin? At Maotian Cliff?" Yun Shangyue hadn't thought of this.

  "There's no Heaven's Cliff, Heaven's Cliff only has one Master's painting. The Seven Great Elders have never told us about it. The subordinates also don't know where it is." Hua Song shook his head.

  The rest of them also shook their heads in unison.

  "All these years, I've been burning empty paper." Yun Shangyue tugged at the corner of her mouth and smiled slightly. As she finished speaking, she took out the prayer charm embroidered by the Empress and shook it gently, sighing: "What a pity for Auntie's kind intentions! And my few little maids have also worked hard to embroider the prayer charms with red eyes, how can they be wasted? Although Mother's grave is not here, after all, it's her death anniversary, so let's burn them here!"

  As she finished speaking, she took out a flint from her bosom and lit several prayer slips.

  Seven people immediately lined up in a row and bowed together towards the burning wish slips!

  Yun Shallow Moon quietly watched as the prayer slips were burned to ashes and said to the seven people: "Let's go, we're going down the mountain!"

  "Yes!" The seven nodded in unison.

  Yun's toes lightly touched the ground as she deployed her lightness skill to float down the mountain. The seven people couldn't help but admire her lightness skill, exchanging a glance before quickly deploying their own lightness skills to follow behind her.

  It's often said that going up the mountain is easy, but coming down is hard. However, at this moment, Yun Shang Yue feels that coming down the mountain is incredibly easy, and her mood is completely different from when she came. This trip to Yunwu Mountain has brought her immense gains, not one bit less than the joy she felt that day when she forced the old emperor to abolish the ancestral teachings outside the Meridian Gate.

  Half a time later, Yun Qian Yue descended from Yun Wu Mountain first. She didn't leave immediately, but waited for the seven people behind her.

  After burning incense, seven people came down from the mountain one after another.

  The first is Cang Lan, the best in martial arts, the second is Hua Luo, the third is Hua Sheng, the fourth is Feng Yan, the fifth and sixth are Ling Lian and Yi Xue respectively, and the last one is Feng Lu.

  After this comparison, Yun Shang Yue immediately distinguished the seven people's martial arts levels. She smiled and nodded at several people, just about to fly away again, when Hua Song suddenly grabbed her sleeve and said in a low voice: "Young Master, there is someone below the mountain!"

  "Hmm?" Yun Shangyue's eyes narrowed slightly.

  "It's a completely black-painted carriage, seemingly the carriage of Rong Wangfu's Jing Shizi." said Hua Song.

  Yun Qian Yue followed Hua Sheng's line of sight and indeed saw a horse carriage at the northern corner of Yunwu Mountain, faintly visible through the clouds. The carriage was motionless, and if not for Hua Sheng's reminder, she would have found it difficult to notice. Her eyebrows furrowed, why was Rong Jing's carriage here? Hadn't he already gone to welcome the Seventh Prince back to the capital? She gestured to the others with her hand and said in a low voice: "You all come down later, I'll go take a look! Wait for me to leave first, then you can leave separately."

  Several people looked at each other and nodded.

  Yun Qian Yue took a step towards the foot of the northern mountain, and just as she did, Hua Luo suddenly said in a low voice: "Young Master, from now on... when going out, it's better to wear a veil..." As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately turned his head away, his face slightly red.

  Yun Qian Yue was taken aback for a moment, then remembered that she still had the unhealed kiss mark on her neck. She thought about how she had held the night pearl and illuminated everything within three feet of her, making it as bright as day. The others must have seen the kiss mark on her neck clearly. Her face suddenly turned red as she looked at them, only to see Cang Lang, Hua Luo, and Feng Yan already blushing and avoiding eye contact. Hua Song, Ling Lian, and Yi Xue were smiling at her, while Feng Lou had a confused expression. Yun Qian Yue felt a bit embarrassed and glared at Hua Luo, saying "Hua Luo, I'll remember you!"

  As soon as she finished speaking, she didn't linger anymore. With a light tap of her toes, she floated out of the clouds and mist, using her agility to fly towards Rong Jing's carriage.

  The flower fell, and her body trembled once, her face which had instantly turned red suddenly looked bitter, she muttered: "It's all over!"

  "Good riddance!" Cang Lan gave Hua Luo a sideways glance.

  "Even a young master dares to tease you, you really deserve it!" Fengyan had an expression of gloating over someone's misfortune.

  "Even if I knew, I couldn't say it out loud! Are you looking for death again?" Ling Lian gazed at Hua Luo with a mixture of pity and concern.

  "Everyone saw it but didn't say anything, are you showing off that your eyes are better than others?" Yixue Bai gave a cold glance.

  "What are you all talking about? There are seven of us here, why did the young master specifically remember Huā Luò? It's so unfair! Huā Luò, what did your last sentence mean?" Fēng Lù was still confused.

  "Idiot!" Flower Fall scolded with a single sentence.

  Just as Fenglu was about to get angry, Huasheng hastily pulled her back and whispered: "Don't make a fuss, look at that person, isn't he the rumored number one prodigy of Tian Sheng, 'Brocade clothes, snowy jade complexion, smiling and turning around, the world is overturned.' Is it Rong Wangfu's Jing Shizi?"

  "What? Is that really Jing Shizi? Sister Huasong, Jing Shizi is so handsome. More handsome than a fallen flower!" Fenglu was annoyed and immediately retreated, following Huasong's line of sight, and suddenly exclaimed in a low voice.

  "Otherwise, how can one be 'dressed in brocade with a face as white as jade, and a smile that makes the world fall over?'?" Huasheng looked at Yunshangyue who had arrived at the carriage front and roughly lifted the curtain, saying something to the person inside with a somewhat annoyed tone, then surprisingly even kicked the carriage shaft hard. The person in the carriage stuck out half of their body, tilted their head, and smiled gently at her. She lowered her voice and said, "The relationship between Jing Shizi and our young master seems to be not ordinary."

  "What's so unusual about it? The mark on Xiao Zhui's neck can't be self-inflicted." said Hua Luo.

  Several people fell silent for a moment.

  At this time, Fengluo suddenly realized, "Oh, I understand, the red powder on Master's forehead that looks like plum blossoms is actually..."

  She hadn't even finished speaking when Hua Song covered her mouth and whispered, "Keep your voice down, do you want Master to remember you like he remembers the fallen flowers?"

  Feng Lu immediately stopped talking with a hint of embarrassment.

  Seven people stopped talking and looked at Rong Jing's carriage. They saw that Rong Jing had said something, and Yun Shangyue, who was originally furious, suddenly burst out laughing through the clouds, then jumped onto Rong Jing's carriage. The curtain fell, and the carriage left, heading towards the capital city.

  "It's indeed worthy of Jing Shizi!" Fengyan praised.

  Several people nodded in unison, and one sentence could calm down the person who was furious. They themselves acknowledged that they couldn't learn this skill. At the same time, they sighed with a tinge of sadness: "Indeed, he is worthy of being the son of Jing!"

  By the way

  It's almost the end of the month, beautiful people with monthly passes shouldn't hold back anymore (⊙_⊙)

  Also advocating for everyone to be a female lead is the way of sunshine o(n_n)o Ha!

  Thank you for the diamond rewards and flowers from everyone below!

  boa琪琪86921 (100 diamonds, 100 flowers, 100 rewards), kikilovejie (50 diamonds, 5000 rewards), 吕奶奶 (50 diamonds), una粥粥 (10 diamonds, 50 flowers),悠悠我心贤 (3 diamonds, 3 flowers), 蔡dyna (1 diamond, 100 rewards), 昕薇scorpio (2 diamonds, 1 flower), 徐熹霖 (188 rewards), yayailiao (1 diamond), yesi (10 flowers), 长乐燃灯 (1 diamond, 1 flower), 幻舞怜月 (1 diamond), 15962944660 (1 diamond), guopeipei (1 diamond, 2 flowers), 15827736980 (1 diamond), wjr2032 (1 diamond), lm (1 diamond), wodebaobeito (1 diamond), xidanli (3 flowers), kane3939 (2 flowers), 特工队，(2 flowers) 么么o (n_n)o~