Chapter 2: The White Lotus Sect (Part 2)

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  On this road, Zhu Yinglong is Shen Xi's nephew, the future helmsman of the Shen family, and Xiong Tingyi and Lu Haotian are bodyguards who have changed their names and surnames. Zhu Yinglong and Shen Xi are a perfect match, with Zhu Yinglong having inherited his father's good looks, giving off an air of elegance and refinement. Jinan City is the capital of Shandong Province, one of the largest cities in the province, its prosperity rivaling that of Kaifeng. At night, it becomes even more lively, with groups of young women walking together, almost all of them staring at Zhu Yinglong as he walks by, leaving him dizzy and disoriented. When did ancient women become so open and forward? It's simply astonishing, shattering the expectations of historians from his original time and space.

  It wasn't until later that they found out, coincidentally, tonight was the Lantern Festival at Daming Lake in the city. Scholars and poets, young ladies from wealthy families gathered by the lake to guess lantern riddles, admire flower lanterns, and watch fireworks. If they met a suitable young lady or gentleman, they would exchange sweet words and promise to be together for life, perhaps creating many timeless love stories. The lakeside was crowded with people, bustling with excitement, and groups of young men and women were everywhere, so Zhu Yinglong's encounter wasn't unusual after all.

  To be honest, Zhu Yinglong is not good at poetry, he knows only a few limited Tang poems and Song lyrics that are suitable for his identity as the king, so he has no interest in guessing riddles, which is what literati like to do. However, Xiong Tingbi and others want to experience it, Xiong Tingbi is still a scholar from the imperial examination, if not for this trip to Jinan, he almost forgot his origin.

  "Missing you, sorrowing for you, your shadow is gone, my heart is shattered, the remaining flowers rely on each other."

  Note: Xiong Tingxi slowly recited the first lantern riddle they saw, chewing it over several times, his brow furrowed, completely at a loss. The surrounding area quickly gathered many onlookers, including self-proclaimed geniuses, who all stopped in their tracks after seeing this lantern riddle, lowering their heads to ponder. Even Lu Haotian was enthusiastically thinking about it. Among the crowd, only Zhu Yinglong looked around restlessly, constantly urging Xiong Tingxi and others to leave. What did he have to think about guessing this lantern riddle?

  "This young master, you're looking around everywhere, have you already guessed the answer to this lantern riddle?" Zhu Yinglong was standing there feeling awkward, when suddenly a clear and crisp voice sounded from behind him. He turned his head back, and a maid-dressed girl quietly stood behind him, with bright eyes and white teeth, elegant and charming.

  "This young lady, are you asking me?" Zhu Yinglong didn't know how to respond, so he simply pretended to be surprised and said.

  "Who else should I ask?" The little girl's eyes flashed with anger, and she said somewhat irritably that if the young lady hadn't asked her to come over, she wouldn't have bothered with this flashy pretty boy.

  Zhu Yinglong was worried that no one would talk to him, and this opportunity had come knocking on his door. He couldn't let it slip away. With a faint smile, he pointed to the people beside him and said, "Miss, you're wrong. There's not just me, one man, here. How do I know you were talking to me?"

  "You..." The little maid's face suddenly turned bright red with anger, as no one had ever dared to be so rude to her since she started following the young lady.

  Zhu Yinglong looked at the girl's angry appearance and thought that she must have been spoiled by her family's young lady, which made her so arrogant and impatient. He thought it was better to have one less thing to deal with, so he said: "Miss, if you have something to say, then speak; otherwise, I'll take my leave." After finishing speaking, he pretended to lift his foot as if to leave.

  The little girl looked at Zhu Yinglong's soft clothes and pointed to the lantern riddle on the big red lantern, saying: "This lantern riddle was made by my family's young lady. She saw that you, sir, seem to have already guessed the lantern riddle, so she sent me to invite you. I don't know if you've already guessed the lantern riddle?"

  "Guess the lantern riddle?" Zhu Yinglong's belly was laughing so hard it almost burst, I really don't know what kind of eyes your family's young lady has. I was clearly distracted and didn't want to stay for another moment, although I thought this in my heart, I couldn't just say it out loud. He pulled at his own brocade clothes: "I'm a man without any accomplishments, this outfit is still relying on the leftover prestige of my ancestors, Miss probably has the wrong person."

  "My young mistress has never misjudged anyone before, isn't the young master being too modest?" The little maid looked at Zhu Yinglong with disbelief.

  Humility? Oh dear, how could I have forgotten this, the way ancient people talk is really troublesome. Clearly knowing something but pretending not to out of humility, and then being misunderstood as humble when you actually don't know it... If only I had given a wrong answer earlier and sent her away, now I'm stuck. So I hastily explained: "Miss, I really didn't guess it, your young lady was mistaken!"

  "Does the young master no longer trust Miss's eyes?" The little girl's gaze was tinged with a hint of reproach.

  Zhu Yinglong said, "What does your young lady's gaze have to do with me? He didn't want to get entangled with this little girl anymore. He turned around and pulled Xiong Tingbi away: "I still have something to attend to, excuse me!"

  "Halt!" The little girl who was just gentle and calm suddenly turned pale, staring at Zhu Yinglong and shouting. In an instant, dozens of burly men in green clothes surrounded the four people around Zhu Yinglong.

  "What's this, miss? Are you trying to detain the guest by force?" Zhu Yinglong could never have imagined that he would also encounter such a bullying and tyrannical villain, and surprisingly, it was a woman.

  "Not bad, Young Master Shen. My young mistress wants to invite you to stay at our manor for a few days. And please, Young Master Shen and your uncle, don't make things difficult for me!" The little maid surprisingly had the tone of a bandit.

  It turned out that they were well-prepared, and even knew the surname of their own people. The young lady behind this girl must have a simple background. Xiong Tingyi and Lu Haotian had already made preparations to take action, cautiously sandwiching Zhu Yinglong and Shen Xi between them.

  "Miss, my uncle and I don't know you or your family's young lady at all. Why do you want to invite us by force?" Shen Xi is now the leader of the four people, so he naturally has to speak up.

  "This young lady kindly invited you to stay, but unfortunately, you, this nephew, ignored my family's good intentions, so I had no choice but to detain the guest by force." The little maid explained with a smile.

  "You..." Shen Xi's usual eloquence was also quite good, but when faced with an unreasonable little girl, he was at a loss for what to do.

  "Please, Master Shen!" The little girl suddenly waved her hand and cleared a path.

  Xiong Tingbi and Lu Haotian wanted to take action, but were secretly held back by Zhu Yinglong's hands. The young lady's master had already piqued his interest, and he wanted to see who was behind the plot against them, so he stopped them from taking action.

  Shen Xi seemed to have understood Zhu Yinglong's intentions, and with a sigh, he said: "In that case, this old uncle and nephew will follow the young lady on a trip!"

  The little girl seemed to deliberately lead the four of them in circles within Jinan City, and when they were almost dizzy from walking, they arrived at a very large mansion with deep courtyards, which looked like a wealthy family's residence.

  Xiao Yaotou blocked Xiong Tingyi and Lu Haotian when they first entered the courtyard, only allowing Shen Xi and Zhu Yinglong to enter. Just as Lu Haotian was about to get angry, he was suppressed by a glance from Zhu Yinglong. Xiong Tingyi knew that I and Shen Xi both had firearms on us, so self-defense shouldn't be a problem.

  When Xiaoyao led Zhu Yinglong and Shen Xi to the entrance of a Buddhist temple-like building, she pushed open the door and respectfully stood at the entrance, saying: "My mistress is inside waiting for the two noble guests!"

  Zhu Yinglong is now Shen Xi's nephew and should have entered after him. When he walked into the house, he saw that the Buddha on the altar was not Sakyamuni or Guanyin, nor was it the Three Pure Ones of Taoism, but Maitreya Buddha and another Buddhist deity he didn't recognize. He found this very strange, wondering why this household would worship these two vastly different deities. However, he suddenly noticed Shen Xi's gaze fall upon the second statue, his face turning deathly pale in an instant. Suddenly, a spark of insight flashed through his mind, and he knew who the unfamiliar deity was - it was Amitabha Buddha, also known as Ming Wang. This meant that the master of this residence was actually a follower of the White Lotus Sect, a religion considered by historians in his time to be the most mysterious in history!

  Note: This lantern riddle was created by Guo Shaomin, a 22-year-old genius in the world of riddles, and caused a sensation in the riddle community.