Xuan Sanren stepped out of the Apricot Flower Alley, and the governor's carriage was waiting at the entrance of the alley. Just then, they heard the sound of horses neighing and people shouting from the far end of the street, and a large group of cavalry rushed over. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Chen Ji leading a group of government servants, as well as two hundred mounted archers led by the state's military officer, Cao, who had come to offer their assistance.

  Chen Ji saw that Zhou Xuan and the other two were unharmed, and happily said: "I heard from my servant that you went to 'Sai Guo Jie' appointment, I was afraid he would not be good for you, so I hastily summoned troops to rush over."

  Chen Ji's concern was sincere, and Zhou Xuan grasped his hand, saying: "My younger brother's greatest gain this time in Hongzhou is to have met a good friend like Brother Chen. It's really worth the trip."

  Chen Jihai burst out laughing: "Not quite, the greatest gain should be holding the number one beauty of Hongzhou in his arms."

  "Ahah, that's the second harvest!"

  Zhou Xuan did not ride in a carriage again, but rode a horse with Chen Ji and spoke while riding.

  Chen Ji asked about the night banquet at Song's residence, and heard Zhou Xuan say that Old Fourth Master had intimidated "Sai Guo Jie" by cracking a walnut with his fingers. Chen couldn't help but burst out laughing, and on horseback, he cupped his hands in admiration, saying: "Old Fourth Master, I didn't expect your chess skills to be so extraordinary, and your martial arts are also astonishingly impressive! I'm deeply impressed!"

  That soldier also pointed at the fourth foolishly and said: "The person who can make 'Sai Guo Jie' surrender, there is no second one in Hongzhou, Mr. Fourth is really a divine man!"

  On the surface, the four fools seemed to be without any complacent or self-satisfied expression, as if they had forgotten both honor and humiliation. In reality, they were extremely delighted in their hearts. Although he was a world-renowned Five Foolish Wanderer, because of his mysterious movements, he rarely appeared in front of people, so almost no one had ever heard anyone praise him to his face. He was overjoyed, but forced himself to maintain a straight face, afraid that he might inadvertently reveal his proud expression.

  Returning to Shi's residence, Yang Xiaoyin heard that Zhou Xuan was back and hastily walked out of the room, her cherry lips trembling. She wanted to say something, but still didn't make a sound.

  Zhou Xuan looked at her with a shy and suggestive expression, which was truly moving. He smiled and said, "I'm fine, thank you for your concern, Little Qin."

  Yang Xiaoyin's face, as white as sheep fat, slowly flushed with a crimson glow, tender and beautiful beyond compare.

  ……

  The next day, September 8th, the day before the Double Ninth Festival. The city of Hongzhou was decorated with lanterns and streamers everywhere, and people from outside the city began to pour in, rubbing shoulders and crowding together, bustling with excitement.

  Tang Dynasty officials have many public holidays, in addition to the five-day rotation of rest days, this Double Ninth Festival actually has seven days off. Governor Chen leisurely strolled under the forest, singing and drinking poetry, it's really enjoyable.

  That day, Chen Ji's two younger male cousins, Sun Zhan and Sun Sheng, heard that Zhou Xuan had brought a fierce insect from Jiangzhou. They came to ask to see it, and when they saw it was just a black-backed bug, they were greatly disappointed. Sun Sheng spoke his mind, saying: "I thought you'd brought some good insect, but it's just this one. As soon as it enters the fighting bowl, it'll be bitten and will run away in all directions."

  Zhou Xuan chuckled and said, "Isn't there a big insect racing event in the Baihua Zhou area today? Let's go take a look?"

  Sun Zhan said: "This time the Hundred Flowers Island insect battle will definitely have a lot of green-backed insects, but our family doesn't have any good insects, only two yellow-backed insects, bring them along to play."

  Four fools saw the Sun brothers look down on "untouchable", and couldn't help but secretly laugh. He was very interested in the mysterious "untouchable" who had defeated the green-backed insect, and thought that Lai Fu was clumsy and wouldn't be able to serve the insect, so he took the initiative to take care of "untouchable". Unbeknownst to him, he became a slave to Zhou Xuan's insect. At this time, the black ceramic jar containing "untouchable" followed Zhou Xuan and others to Baihua Island, expecting the scene where "untouchable" would defeat all insects, be invincible, and have unlimited glory.

  Zhou Xuan thought Yang Xiaoyin was bored staying alone, so he took her along too.

  Although Yang Xiaoyin was quiet and taciturn, with no joy or anger on her face, she was after all a thirteen-year-old maiden, with an innate yearning for going out to play. Previously in the Wei manor, there were rarely opportunities to go out, seeing Zhou Xuan willing to take her to Baihuazhou, her eyes revealed a hint of delight, originally beautiful, this time even more adding three points of beauty, stunning the Sun brothers.

  Zhou Xuan and Chen Ji led their horses and carriages towards Baifangzhou.

  Baihua Isle is located on the East Lake, and every spring, the three islands in the lake are filled with blooming flowers. Therefore, it is called Baihua Isle. It is connected to the lakeshore by a nine-bend corridor bridge. The lake's beauty and the island's scenery make for a pleasant view.

  In the early days of September, the autumn weather was high and refreshing. In the East Lake area, tourists were packed in a radius of several miles. Those scholars and ladies who had walked past Zhou Xuan and Yang Xiao couldn't help but be captivated by Yang Xiao's beauty, and they all asked who this girl was. Then, some scholars who had attended the Quwang Pavilion chrysanthemum poetry meeting told the story of how Zhou Qi, the seventh son of the Marquis of Jiangzhou, won the crown with his poem and defeated the beautiful young courtesan of the Wei family, the protector of the capital. The crowd was amazed and praised him repeatedly.

  Because the news of the night banquet at Song's residence in Apricot Flower Village had not yet spread, someone curiously asked: "Has Young Master Wei changed his nature? He lost the treasure to Zhou Qiufa but didn't show any reaction, allowing him to take a beauty on a lake tour. Isn't this losing all his face?"

  Others said: "Let's wait and see, this Jiangzhou man thinks he can take away our Hongzhou's number one beauty? It won't be that easy! Even with Chen Gongzi helping him, it's useless. Wei Gongzi has always been ruthless, will he let him off? I'd rather die than believe it!"

  From the corridor bridge on the lake to Baifuzhou, Zhou Xuan and Yang Xiaojin followed behind them.

  A string of teams, watching beauties from the side and from behind, several of them are crooked and drooling at the corners of their mouths.

  Lai Fu said angrily: "Young master, do you want me to chase these rascals away?"

  "We're outsiders, how can we be so arrogant? When traveling outside, we observe the scenery and watch people. As long as they don't come to bother or offend us, there's no need to pay attention to them. If someone dares to approach and be rude, then your old fist will come in handy."

  Lai Fu responded with a grunt, clenching two big fists and looking around cautiously, even more protective than Zhou Xuan.

  There really is a guy who wants to try his luck with the old boxing master, a slender scholar who looks quite handsome, shaking a folding fan painted with flowers and birds, it's already the third time he has walked over from across the street, staring intently at Yang Xiaojin, muttering some poem or verse, trying to catch the beauty's attention.

  It turned out that the slender scholar had walked past them and then hurriedly took a detour to get in front of Zhou Xuan and the others again, staring intently at Yang Xiaojin. The third time he passed by, he pretended to accidentally drop his folding fan, which fell beside Yang Xiaoyun, and then quickly came over to pick it up, even reaching out to touch Yang Xiaojin's delicate embroidered shoes, thinking that this woman would be too shy to cry out.

  Zhou Xuan had been watching coldly, and suddenly stepped on it with one foot, just trampling the thin waist of the bookworm's hand to the ground. With a strong grind, the bookworm let out a miserable cry: "My hand, my hand!" He desperately pulled it out, his four fingers bleeding and skin torn off, the pain unbearable.

  Lai Fu had long despised this man, and as soon as he came over, he threw a few punches. The thin-waisted scholar's headscarf was knocked off, his hair disheveled, and he let out a mournful wail.

  The four fools were startled by the man's loud shout and kicked the thin-waisted scholar in the buttocks, flying five or six meters away, with a "splash" into East Lake.

  —

  Chen Ji and Sun's brothers all burst out laughing.

  Those idle rascals who were following Mei saw this and dispersed one after another.

  At this time, a group of elegant ladies gathered around, chirping and calling out in soft voices: "Young Master Zhou Qizha! Young Master Zhou Qizha!"

  It turned out to be a group of courtesans who were touring the lake, led by the songstress who had obtained Zhou Xuan's signature on her skirt at Tengwang Pavilion. Gege laughed and said: "Sisters, I told you so, didn't I? Mr. Zhou Qizha will definitely come to visit the lake within these two days. Quickly bring out the prepared brushes and ink, let's ask Mr. Zhou Qizha to write a few words for us."

  A group of beauties flitted about like butterflies, Zhou Xuan's head spun around, his eyes were dazzled, and his right hand had somehow been handed a brush dipped in ink, a silk fan and a round fan were thrust under his eyelids, the scent of cosmetics hit him in the face, and the sound of birdsong and gentle chatter filled the air.

  "Zhou Qi Zhang Gongzi, write a short poem on this fan of Concubine Jia."

  " Qi Zhang Gongzi, would you write something on this round fan of mine?"

  "Also, Master Zhang, please write a few words on the hem of my dress..."

  ……

  The courtesan was bold and lively, laughing and joking, even Zhou Xuan's thick-skinned face turned red with embarrassment. He held his brush and scribbled the words "Zhou Qi Xian" on fans, handkerchiefs, and skirts. As he wrote, he suddenly caught sight of a snow-white thigh exposed before him, slender and round, smooth and delicate, with skin so pale it was almost translucent, revealing the blue veins beneath.

  Zhou Xuan was shocked, looked up and saw a tall and slender woman in purple dress with a fiery gaze, standing in an archery posture, her left leg forward and right leg backward, six layers of skirt lifted, revealing five inches above her left knee, shining pink and dazzling.

  "Seven-Pronged Young Master, Nian Nu asks you to write on this thigh skin..."

  Zhou Xuan's eyes widened in shock, as if she had seen those crazy fan girls from a thousand years later!

  Chen Ji and Sun brothers on the side applauded loudly, urging Zhou Xuan to write quickly, saying that this rhyming couplet would add luster to this year's Chongyang Festival and become a big topic of conversation in Hongzhou.

  The spicy purple skirt lady lifted her skirt and wouldn't let go, revealing her legs as she waited. A group of women behind her giggled and said: "Nian Nu Nian Nu, you're truly astonishing and unconventional. Master Zhou Qi Xie, please don't refuse, fulfill Nian Nu's wish."

  Zhou Xuan thought to himself, "Could the elegant and refined Zhou Qizhou, Master Zhou, be intimidated by a half-naked thigh? But writing 'Zhou Qizhou' on the thigh doesn't seem quite right..." He smiled and said, "How dare I disobey?" He leaned forward, took up his brush, and wrote two characters on the snowy white and smooth thigh of the woman in purple - "Beautiful Legs".

  The sheep's pen tip is soft and smooth, scratching on the thigh is both numb and itchy, the purple skirt girl laughs non-stop, her face also turns red in an instant.

  The Sun brothers took a closer look and praised, "Beautiful legs! Haha, beautiful legs! Miss, you can't wash this leg again, it must be kept as a treasure. Even Zhou Qi Xiang Gongzi personally wrote that you have beautiful legs, so this leg is worth at least 100 times more. In the future, showing it off will be worth at least 10 taels of silver."

  The girl in purple skirt said crisply: "Nianslave will ask the tattoo artist to tattoo these two words on her leg, so they won't fade."

  Everyone was shocked and fell down.