The banquet was still in progress, and every word Shen Feng spoke was scrutinized by the people below, as if they were trying to extract some crucial information from his words, lest they become blind and deaf.
Shen Feng, however, pointed to the side of the stage. Fifteen-year-old Li Zhenli walked over, holding two rosewood boxes. Her face was very tense.
Upon seeing this, the crowd immediately became gossipy, thinking, "Isn't this girl the daughter of the Wanzhou City Lord? Why is she appearing with gifts now? Could it be that the City Lord is planning to take a concubine?"
In this era, there was no such thing as bigamy, as the strong were respected. It was common to have many companions by the side of a strong individual. However, this was not the case in the Fengshen Palace of Yuzhou, because Chang Jianyi and Chu Chaoyan had grown up with Shen Feng. Both of them had considerable prestige. Chang Jianyi had always guarded their home, while Chu Chaoyan had accompanied Shen Feng on his campaigns. The status of these two indicated that if Shen Feng wanted to marry other women, he would first need their consent.
It was rumored that Shen Feng had been mingling with the Wanzhou contingent during this period and appeared to be very close to the young lady Li Zhenli. This led to suspicion. Could it be that the City Lord had developed feelings for her? But this girl was only fifteen years old. Could the City Lord act on it?
Just then, Shen Feng announced loudly, "Friends, please bear witness. I have brought back two national treasures from overseas, which I will present to my two wives. First, this is the original Ming Dynasty edition of Journey to the West, the original publication of the current version of Journey to the West!"
After Shen Feng finished speaking, Li Zhenli opened one of the boxes and held it upright for everyone in the hall to see. The pages were yellowed and worn, and it looked unremarkable. However, everyone knew that the more unassuming such an item was, the more likely it was to be genuine.
"A national treasure, this is a national treasure! It's truly uplifting that the City Lord has brought it back to our country!" everyone exclaimed in praise.
More than a hundred years ago, a large number of Chinese cultural relics had flowed overseas. That was also a period when tomb robbers were rampant, and countless treasures were lost abroad. In recent years, people had been bringing back overseas cultural relics, but that required paying for them at auction. Now, the treasures Shen Feng brought back from overseas were certainly not paid for. The currency system had basically collapsed, and money was useless. Therefore, this was something Shen Feng had brought back openly and honestly.
Chang Jianyi stepped forward, took the box, and kissed Shen Feng on the cheek, which elicited a burst of laughter from the banquet.
Afterward, Shen Feng continued, "Everyone, besides the Ming Dynasty Journey to the West, I have also obtained a genuine work by Su Dongpo. As everyone knows, Su Dongpo's fame resounds throughout the land. Now, to have a genuine work by Su Dongpo in hand allows us to reminisce about the ancients. I want to give this treasure to Chu Chaoyan!"
Chu Chaoyan also took the other box and kissed Shen Feng in public.
Wang Ao Ye and Li Xian Kang, sitting in the audience, saw this and couldn't help but shake their heads and sigh, "This is true wealth. Even when showing off their wealth, they are extraordinary. If it were me, I might just flaunt a pile of gold. These people are truly impressive, using cultural relics to enhance their prestige!"
Li Xian Kang was silent for a moment and then suddenly said, "I remember that many people in Yangzhou collect antiques. When I return, I will first have these people place their antiques in my home and specifically have people polish the cultural relics. I can't fall behind either!"
After displaying the two treasures, Shen Feng said to Li Zhenli, "Alright, you can go down now. You can leave anytime you want to go back. Tell your father to do his job well. If there's an opportunity, I might visit Wanzhou."
Li Zhenli nodded and agreed, then left.
Seeing that Li Zhenli was merely a gift-bearer, the people below understood that they had misunderstood. How could the City Lord be interested in such an underdeveloped young girl? According to the rumors, Shen Feng liked mature women, and now it seemed this had been confirmed. 138 Reading Network.
After Shen Feng finished speaking, the banquet could proceed with self-directed mingling. This was the basic social function of a banquet, especially in the East, where people liked to discuss business while eating and drinking. Once the business was concluded, the most important thing was to foster relationships with each other.
As people mingled at the banquet, Shen Feng was cornered by Yue Hengyi. Yue Hengyi directly said, "Brother Feng, your move of borrowing flowers to offer Buddha is very clever. I remember that the genuine work by Su Dongpo was originally mine, but you gave it away. I didn't expose you, so don't forget what you promised me earlier!"
Shen Feng quickly nodded and said seriously, "Since I promised you, how could I forget? Don't worry, tomorrow I will send people to accompany you to Yanjing. In short, we will definitely investigate everything related to Qin Kewei. I can't leave Yuzhou for a while, but don't worry, the people I send will be capable individuals!"
Shen Feng naturally knew why Yue Hengyi had traveled such a long distance to help him fight. It was to get his help. There were many doubts surrounding Qin Kewei, so Yue Hengyi now only wanted to uncover the truth. Perhaps he could win back Qin Kewei's heart.
However, Shen Feng could not leave Yuzhou to help Yue Hengyi with this matter at the moment because there were still many traitors in Yuzhou who had not been caught, and the foundation was unstable. Shen Feng had to remain in Yuzhou. Moreover, he had just fallen out with the headquarters, so Shen Feng could not go to Yanjing, as it would lead to an awkward situation for both parties if discovered by the headquarters.
After receiving this assurance, Yue Hengyi quickly said, "That's fine. Have Lin Yue accompany me to Yanjing. His abilities can help me investigate many things!"
"Alright, Lin Yue doesn't have any family ties, so let him go to Yanjing. It can be considered a change of scenery," Shen Feng said immediately.
Lin Yue was previously just a high school student, but after the successive deaths of his loved ones, he had grown a lot. Ultimately, Fu Ya's death had made Lin Yue taciturn. Even though he had become an ability user and had avenged himself, he still didn't get married. Plenty of women were waiting to marry him, but Lin Yue acted as if he saw nothing.
Therefore, when Yue Hengyi requested Lin Yue's help, Shen Feng readily agreed. It was just to investigate what had happened to Qin Kewei, and he didn't expect it to be dangerous. It could be considered a vacation for him to rest.
After receiving Shen Feng's reply, the stone that had been weighing on Yue Hengyi's heart finally landed. He then picked up a bottle of wine and said, "I'm going to drink over there. You do as you please."
After Yue Hengyi left, Lu Kaiwen found Shen Feng. He looked around and then said, "City Lord, well, Gu Yanxiao wants to talk to the Deputy City Lord privately, but she hasn't had a chance. Could you help?"
Hearing this, Shen Feng first showed a look of confusion, then looked in the direction of Chang Jianyi. He then realized that Chang Jianyi was already surrounded by a group of female guests, and Chu Chaoyan was also similarly occupied. With both of them tied up, it was clearly impossible for them to talk privately.
"Okay, I'll ask later. I'll definitely make time for Gu Yanxiao!" Shen Feng said quickly.
Shen Feng was still very accommodating to Lu Kaiwen's request. It was just a matter of needing private conversation time. After all, Gu Yanxiao had saved his child, and she probably hoped to receive more help now. He would leave this matter to Chang Jianyi to handle.
Shen Feng quickly resolved the issue. He gave a look to Chang Jianyi in the crowd. Chang Jianyi understood and immediately found an excuse: "Everyone, please eat and drink well. I'm going to check on the children's condition. Please forgive me for any lack of hospitality."
After speaking, Chang Jianyi broke free from the crowd and left the hall. When she reached a secluded spot, Shen Feng caught up with her.
"What do you mean by giving me a look? Is there danger?" Chang Jianyi asked directly.
At this moment, Chang Jianyi had not yet emerged from the previous tense situation. She thought that what Shen Feng was about to tell her was dangerous. Could the Tianlong Bureau still be seeking revenge?
Shen Feng quickly said, "It's nothing. You're just too nervous. Well, Doctor Gu wants to talk to you privately. I don't know what she wants to say, but I think she wants some special reward, especially since she said her family is always planning to have her captured for an arranged marriage."
Upon hearing this explanation, Chang Jianyi nodded and said, "That's good. Let Gu Yanxiao come to me. I'll prepare a private room to entertain her!"
Chang Jianyi immediately found a private room to prepare for a conversation with Gu Yanxiao. She did not let Luo Qing accompany her, as Gu Yanxiao was just an ordinary person and did not carry any weapons, so she could not pose a threat to her.
Chang Jianyi prepared tea and snacks to entertain Gu Yanxiao. The place was also very quiet. Outside the window, the dark night sky could be seen, and the entire room felt very peaceful.
"Doctor Gu, is there anything you want to tell me privately? Please speak freely!" Chang Jianyi said as she poured tea for Gu Yanxiao. The tea here was different from ordinary tea. It was black tea with honey and lemon. It tasted bitter at first, followed by a sweet aftertaste, and the tea also had a fruity aroma, which tasted very good.
Seeing that there was no one around, Gu Yanxiao said, "Madam, I am immensely grateful that you allow me to reside in the city. However, I heard that my family has already located me, and they may come to find me at any time."
Upon hearing this news, Chang Jianyi nodded. Although this matter was somewhat sudden, it was within her expectations. It was evident that women from prominent families did not even have the freedom to control their own marriages.
"Don't worry, I will arrange for people to protect you. As long as you are in Yuzhou, no one can take you away. You can stay here, and if you find someone you like, you can remarry," Chang Jianyi quickly said.
Upon receiving this answer, Gu Yanxiao could only offer a wry smile and replied, "Madam, there is actually one more thing. My new fiancé has died. He was an ability user from the Tianlong Bureau, named Zhang Ke, and he was killed by the City Lord during yesterday's battle!"
Only then did Chang Jianyi understand that the information Gu Yanxiao wanted to tell her was this. It seemed that Gu Yanxiao's family was quite powerful. They were able to arrange for her to marry Ke Yiming, a powerful ability user, before. After Ke Yiming died at sea, they were able to find another ability user as her fiancé.
"Isn't that good? Since you didn't want to marry him anyway, it's fine that he's dead," Chang Jianyi said matter-of-factly.
Gu Yanxiao shook her head helplessly and continued, "I didn't even know what Zhang Ke looked like before, and then I was arranged for such a marriage. To my family, I am just a commodity to be traded. If Zhang Ke is gone, there will be others. As long as I am alive, this kind of thing will not end."
"Doctor Gu, please don't have any suicidal thoughts. Things in the world are not set in stone. As long as you strive, you can always change something," Chang Jianyi said, hearing her words, she thought she was going to commit suicide, otherwise why would she say such things?
Gu Yanxiao explained, "I'm not going to commit suicide. I'm just lamenting my fate. I have a solution to my family's forced marriage, and that is a fake marriage. As long as I get married again, my family will have no reason to pressure me. However, this cannot be decided by myself. I need witnesses, so..."
"Oh, I understand. You want me to help you with a fake marriage, and this matter cannot be publicized. Is that right?" Chang Jianyi immediately realized what Gu Yanxiao wanted to express.
"That's right. Ke Yiming has been dead for less than a year, and I still can't forget him, so I have no intention of getting married now. But if I don't get married, the family's pressure will not stop. So, after much thought, I can only resort to a fake marriage. And this matter requires someone with influence as a witness to prove the circumstances. After careful consideration, only you, Madam, can help me!" Gu Yanxiao said sincerely.