The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 198 - 176. Meeting Scholar Dong Again

In a flash, it was the Ghost Festival.

Early in the morning, Zhao Paner was dragged out of bed by You Jinhua, to get washed and dressed.

As for the stepson... You Jinhua never bothered to push the door open to pull him out.

So, when Zhao Douan stepped out in his sleeping robe, yawning, he heard the laughter of the mother and daughter.

"Ts... this excited over just attending a religious ceremony?"

Indeed, according to the invitation sent by the Divine Dragon Temple, each invited guest could bring relatives and friends along.

Naturally, Zhao Douan took his stepmother and stepsister with him.

"Can we... really go?" When they first heard the news, the two beauties, one big and one small, widened their eyes in disbelief.

Zhao Douan’s answer was perfectly in character,

"Hah, wouldn’t it be a loss of face if I went alone?"

According to the unwritten rules of the Great Yu Dynasty, when invited to important events, one often brought a female companion.

You Jinhua got the message and early in the morning pulled her daughter along to get dressed. She was determined to dress up both of them as gorgeous vases, not to embarrass her eldest son.

It was only after Zhao Douan had freshened up and dressed neatly that he saw the mother and daughter duo arriving together, his eyes lighting up.

The two women were meticulously dressed today, already beautiful in their own right. Now they were draped in imperial brocade gifted by the Royal Family, with heavy jeweled hairpins adorning their styled hair.

With high-quality rouge and powder gracing their faces, their looks and demeanor had stepped up a level.

Today, Zhao Pan’s hair was carefully woven behind her head, and she wore light makeup like a flower reflecting the water, her eyes emitting a spiritual energy.

You Jinhua, however, wore heavy makeup, which wasn’t vulgar but elegant, a dark green long dress, and a noblewoman’s hairstyle.

Paired with hefty gold jewelry and a full, curvy figure, her looks radiated an aura of aristocracy.

Standing together, they looked more like sisters.

"Big brother..."

Zhao Pan called softly, turning her slightly thin face to the side to avoid the direct gaze.

"Elder brother, are you really going to wear just that? Let your aunt dress you up."

The gorgeous stepmother walked straight over and reached to fix his hairpin.

Compared to the elaborately dressed women, Zhao Douan’s attire could only be described as untidy.

Not wearing an official robe, just a thin satin outer robe with a piece of jade at his waist.

Which somewhat dampened his otherwise handsome features.

Please have some respect, aunt... Zhao Douan stepped back half a step and said indifferently,

"No need, it’s just a ceremony. I heard it’s essentially eating and drinking."

He only dressed up carefully when meeting the Empress.

As for today, in his mind, it was just about finding a lively place to celebrate the festival and incidentally uncover the mystery of the Divine Dragon Temple.

With his insistence, You Jinhua’s attempt to dress him failed.

The family packed up again, and only when almost ready, they took a horse-drawn carriage towards the direction of the Divine Dragon Temple.

"So many people."

On the streets, as they approached the direction of the Divine Dragon Temple, the flow of people in the alleys visibly thickened.

Due to the heat, the carriage curtains were lifted, allowing the two women to look curiously around, chattering excitedly.

Zhao Douan looked on curiously too and saw that there were many vendors on the street selling various colorful tools for worship.

In the distance, a temple of similar scale to the Heavenly Master Mansion thrived with scent of incense.

At this moment, the broad square in front of the temple was packed with people.

Further lines formed, people buying fruits and cakes.

"What are they doing?" asked a passerby from outside the carriage.

Zhao Douan overheard the explanation from someone nearby:

"This is the offering ritual, where fruits, incense, and other items are placed in a basin and passed from the hands of clerical and lay disciples all the way to the front of the Buddha statue covered in fresh flowers. Then you’ll receive the protection of the Buddha...

Eh, don’t look anymore. If you want to line up, it costs silver, and we can’t afford to buy that privilege."

Zhao Douan: "..."

Alright then, he became even more certain that these monks really knew how to do business.

The carriage passed by the periphery of the Divine Dragon Temple without getting close and instead headed in the opposite direction.

Ahead, a small garden appeared.

This was the "Fasting Garden." It served as a gathering place for the nobles of the Capital. The outside was cordoned off by martial monks dressed in gray monk robes.

The common people also tacitly didn’t approach this area.

When Zhao Douan arrived, he saw that many carriages had already stopped outside the Fasting Garden.

Thankfully, there was ample "parking space," and without much effort, he found a spot to stop.

As he got out of the carriage, he heard a servant nearby commanding arrogantly, asking another carriage to give up its spot.

It seemed a conflict had arisen, and the name "Third Young Master Dong" was faintly heard.

Consequently, the latter swallowed their pride and looked for another place.

"Third Young Master Dong?"

Zhao Pan, who was still by the carriage, stepped onto the ground and looked over curiously, asking,

"Is it the same one big brother mentioned before, the leader among the Four Young Masters of the Capital, the third young master of the Dong family?"

Beside her,

You Jinhua also stepped out with the help of servants, but upon hearing this, she showed a look of fear and looked worriedly at her stepson.

"Third Young Master Dong?"

Zhao Douan was taken aback for a moment, and fragments of memories surfaced in his mind.

Only then did he remember this person’s identity.

Originally, under Qin Qiu’s guidance, ’he’ had plunged into the circle of hedonistic young nobles of the Capital and learned of the "Four Young Masters," the four notorious debauchees.

One of them was Wang You, whom he had just met for the first time not long ago at the Xiuwen Pavilion.

Another was the grandson of Grandmaster Dong, who was informally crowned the top among them.

The second son of the main family, reverently known in the circle as "Little Third Master" or "Third Young Master Dong".

He had an elder sister who married out, and a very discreet and mysterious older brother, who was Mr. Dong.

Third Young Master Dong’s ability to overshadow Wang You and to be recognized as the top profligate was not due to outstanding abilities.

Rather, it was because the other three "Masters" were more restrained by comparison.

Even though Wang You, the son of the Minister of Rites, also looked down on others through his nostrils, embodying the style of an aristocratic scion,

his mind wasn’t dull, and he knew his bounds.

His so-called arrogance was more about the habit of being high and mighty.

But it was different for Third Young Master Dong.

Perhaps it was due to his youth, hot-blooded impulsiveness, or maybe it was the influence of martial arts cultivation that made his actions brash and impetuous, tainted with the "Jianghu air".

He possessed the distinctive willful pride of a young martial artist.

Coupled with his tender age, he had gathered a group of dissipated young fellows around him, who revered him as "Third Young Master", leaving him heady and aloof.

Relying on Grandmaster Dong’s power, he had had no few conflicts with others in the past.

Even warnings from his own father couldn’t restrain him.

Yet this most wanton scion of the Capital actually took orders only from an obscure elder brother named "Big Dong".

It was quite the curiosity.

Zhao Douan had once locked horns with him over trivial matters such as fighting for a seat, escalating to exchanging blows.

Later, partly because of the mediation by Old Director Sun Lianying, and partly because the Dong family had learned of the incident, his father, the son of Grandmaster Dong, grounded him for a while.

"Big Brother..." You Jinhua’s eyes showed worry.

But Zhao Douan just laughed:

"Let’s go, we’re entering the garden."

Had this been at the beginning of his time travel, he might have had some apprehensions.

But now... especially after he had cracked the Xiuwen Pavilion sub-quests, in front of a third-generation young profligate of the Dong family who had once had a beef with "himself"...

He simply couldn’t view him as significant.

Besides, there were plenty of others he had grievances with, and a so-called "top scion" of a dissolute circle really wasn’t worth his attention.

...

The three ordered their house servants to guard the carriage and, after showing their invitations, were let into the temple garden.

Walking through corridors and courtyards, they saw the garden buildings punctuating around a central lotus pond.

Scenic faux mountains and pavilions surrounded them, providing a splendid view.

At this moment, many people were already in the garden.

At a glance, most were family members of the invited celebrities, or scholars.

In groups of twos and threes, they gathered around tables prepared by the Divine Dragon Temple, laden with fruits and vegetarian dishes, conversing about everything under the sun in a relaxed atmosphere.

It bore none of the solemn sanctity one might expect at a "dharma assembly".

Zhao Duan’s party entered without attracting much notice.

His name might have been well known, but actually, few people truly recognized him.

Additionally, he hadn’t bothered to dress up today, and as most guests, male and female, were dressed to the nines, it made his looks not so outstanding by comparison.

By contrast, You Jinhua and her daughter did attract quite a few glances.

"Big Brother, where are you headed to? Why haven’t we seen any high officials or Master Bian Ji?"

You Jinhua, having married into the Zhao family for many years, had the perspective of a woman from a modest household.

Although well-founded, she was unable to conceal her nervousness upon suddenly arriving at such a grand scene, her body tensed and her walk uneasy.

Zhao Pan wasn’t much better than her mother, but having the fearlessness of youth, she walked with a stiff face, huffing and puffing.

Faced with the gazes of young gentlemen, she completely ignored them, as if she didn’t see a thing.

"I’m also here for the first time..." Zhao Douan was equally perplexed.

As he was pondering where to ask a monk for directions, he suddenly heard a voice full of surprise from across:

"Brother Zhao?"

He looked over and saw a youth with plain appearance and nothing remarkable about him, even slightly nerdy, stand up in a pavilion.

He looked at him in amazement and waved his hand.

"Mr. Dong?"

Zhao Douan was also stunned.

He remembered that the other party was none other than the scholar he had briefly met when he went to Qinglian Small House in search of clues to finish off Zhang Changji.

"How come you’re here?"

Zhao Douan led the two women over, and they asked simultaneously.

Then, they all laughed together.

Mr. Dong bowed and said:

"Tis my honor to accompany an elder from my family here today, and I did not expect to encounter Brother Zhao at this event."

Saying this, he looked towards You Jinhua and her daughter and hesitated:

"Are these two ladies... Brother Zhao’s wives and concubines?"

You Jinhua and Zhao Pan immediately flushed red.

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The latter could still pass, given her age.

In the Great Yu Dynasty, a girl of fifteen was considered an adult and suitable for marriage.

But for You Jinhua, it was a bit too much to bear...

She was irked, thinking what sort of sight did this scholar have?

How could she possibly be...

"...Heh heh, Mr. Dong jests," Zhao Douan couldn’t help but laugh bitterly as he introduced:

"This is my aunt, and this one is my younger sister."

"Ah!"

The rarely-seen eldest grandson of the Grandmaster Dong’s senior lineage, the big young master of the Dong family, was extremely embarrassed, hastily bowing to apologize to the two ladies.

It’s not that I’m blind, it’s just that the aunt looks too young...

Zhao Douan waved his hand, indicating it was all a misunderstanding.

Seeing that this pavilion was empty and relatively quiet, and that the stone table was full of fruits and other foods, he simply invited his female relatives to sit down.

Then he asked with a smile:

"Since our last parting, I never thought Mr. Dong’s family elders were also celebrated figures in the Capital. May I ask who it might be?"