Chapter 534: Chapter 534: The Wind Rises, The Clouds Surge
 

“Leave it, I’ll look at it later.”, said Di Yelei, picking up the soapberries to wash his hands but not opening it immediately.

“Yes, Your Honor.”

Waiting until the messenger had left, Old Tang stroked his beard, looking at the noisy bungalow.

“When does Your Honor plan to deal with these little devils?”

The “little devils” that Old Tang mentioned were naturally the people shouting and gambling inside the bungalow.

“Them? Let them be happy for a few more days! It’s not appropriate to startle the snake in the grass right now.”

Di Yelei got up, picked up the towel, and casually wiped the water droplets off his hands before smiling at Old Tang.

“Old Tang! You taught Ye Lei two moves the other day, and Ye Lei has almost practiced them well. Shall we teach Ye Lei two more moves today?”

“Don’t try it! You’re not that young anymore, you need to follow the gradual progression and give your whole body’s meridians and muscles time to adapt. You can’t blindly advance and hurt your body’s foundation.”

Old Tang puffed out his beard and glared, causing Di Yelei to giggle.

Indeed, he had been reckless.

Di Yelei’s intuition was right, this Old Tang was not an ordinary person.

Although Di Yelei couldn’t figure out his specific identity or why he was hiding in the Macheng County’s storehouse, it didn’t prevent the two from becoming close friends.

As the two got more familiar with each other, Old Tang discovered that Di Yelei himself had already learned good martial arts. He couldn’t bear to bring his skills into the coffin in the future, so he took the time to teach Di Yelei a move or two.

“Ye Lei is just eager to learn from Old Tang.”

Di Yelei showed a simple smile before putting down the towel and picking up the invitation on the table again.

“Who sent the invitation? Oh my! This is a top-quality invitation, this piece of paper alone is worth one silver coin. Which wealthy family is inviting the doctor to go?”

Old Tang’s eyes were sharp, and he could see the material of the invitation at a glance.

Di Yelei held the invitation, looking it over twice before putting it down, with a strange smile on his face.

“It’s from the largest salt merchant in the city, the Ran Family. They’ve organized a flower admiring banquet and invited the celebrities of Macheng County. At present, in addition to Lord Su and Lord Xin, my wife is also inside…”

Meanwhile,

Mrs.Ran and Liu Sisi were chatting idly.

Perhaps because the two intentionally or unintentionally avoided certain topics, they got along even better as they talked.

As the two walked slowly, they encountered several Madams that Liu Sisi was unfamiliar with, and Mrs.Ran acted as a bridge to introduce them, chatting for a while.

Liu Sisi gradually understood.

It turns out that most of the ladies here were either wives or daughters of prestigious families in the city.

Their husbands were either minor officials with connections to the imperial court, or the local gentry.

While men fought with words in the court, these Madams and Misses took care of the aftermath!

Of course, no one said these things outright.

Liu Sisi was in a dilemma, as she least liked these social interactions but had to keep up appearances with everyone.

…

After Lord Di arrived at the Ran Family’s Mansion, he wandered around casually.

He had finished his work early in the day and had planned to go home early. However, Sisi had come to the Ran Mansion. On top of that, he also learned that County Magistrate Su and Xin Quan were here, and his intuition told him there was more to it. That’s why he hurried over.

After circling the garden, not only did Di Yelei not see County Magistrate Su and Xin Quan, but he also did not see two acquaintances.

Unable to hold back, he pulled a servant aside to ask about Sisi’s whereabouts. As he followed the direction the servant pointed out, the path became more and more remote until there was no one in sight.

Wondering what was going on, she suddenly caught sight of a flash of green from behind the rockery beside her.

“Who?”

It seemed… as if Sisi was wearing the same set of clothes today.

“Sisi, is that you?”

Di Yelei instinctively called out softly, but there was no more movement on the other side.

He stealthily moved forward, step by step, approaching the rockery, heading towards the spot where the figure had appeared.

Indeed, there was a figure hidden among the flowers, his back towards him, wearing green clothes, seemingly talking to someone.

Di Yelei’s heart leaped with joy!

In a hurry, he strode out from his hiding place and walked towards her at a fast pace.

“Sisi, what are you doing here?”

As he spoke, he reached out and touched her shoulder.

She slowly turned around, revealing a completely unfamiliar face! Di Yelei was startled!

“Who are you?”

The stranger smiled and gently breathed a sigh towards him.

Before Di Yelei could figure out what was going on, his vision blurred and he lost consciousness.

…

Under the cherry blossom tree, more and more people gathered, and the noble ladies clustered in groups of three or five.

And the largest group of people, naturally, had to be around Liu Sisi, almost engulfing her in the crowd.

Where there are people, there are gossip!

Of course, just as men talked mostly about women when gathered together, these noble ladies gathered together to talk mostly about their husbands!

“Sisi, I heard that your husband, Lord Di, is going to get promoted again? If he takes another step forward, will he be going to the prefecture?” A lady whose name Sisi couldn’t remember asked her first.

“Well… I don’t think so? Madam, who did you hear this from? I haven’t heard anyone mention it.”

Liu Sisi blinked innocently, the picture of naivety.

“Maybe I heard wrong” the lady laughed with a smile on her face.

“Oh my! Mrs Di, the pattern on your dress is so beautiful! I have never seen this pattern before? Who did you ask to do the embroidery for you? It is… truly exquisite!” Another lady deliberately changed the topic.

Liu Sisi looked down at her dress: “I drew these patterns myself in my spare time, then handed them to my servants to sew. The rare pattern is the only merit.”

A joke! She had countless patterns in her head, and even casually drawing a few would turn out to be quite extraordinary.

Some people nearby also came over: “You’re right; we have never seen this pattern before, it really is beautiful.”

Her words got everyone’s unanimous nod.

Is that possible?

Liu Sisi secretly wiped a cold sweat; it was just a casual drawing!

But on second thought, it made sense. Although this was a fictional era, the patterns here naturally couldn’t compare to the thousands of years of patterns that followed.

“If you truly like them, I have some more at home. Why don’t we find time to get together again, and Sisi can also take the opportunity to learn from you sisters.”

Liu Sisi said indifferently.

She was increasingly dissatisfied with the growing crowd.

Just as they were speaking, she saw Xue Lan suddenly appearing outside the crowd, trying to squeeze in nervously.