Chapter 177: Royal Villa

Even the corners unknown to others seemed unable to escape his observation. The corner of the wall behind the cabinet was already moldy and had grown a little moss.

The spider under the bed was busy reinforcing its web, and there were already two victims on the web.

In just a dozen breaths, he had figured out his guest room clearly. It was clearly a top-notch inn in Shi Huan City, a top-notch guest room, but in the dark corners invisible to the eye, it was so... unclean.

Hmm, there were two copper coins dropped in the crack of the floor.

As a beginner, he still felt he had energy to spare, so he tried to expand his spiritual sense again, wanting to explore the world outside the house.

The wall on this side of the door was very thick, and the spiritual sense couldn't reach out, so he changed to the window.

His mind suddenly cleared, as if he had gotten rid of some shackles and jumped out; the scene in the room was clearly visible, even clearer than before.

He Lingchuan was overjoyed; he actually reached the "out-of-body" realm in one thought, which was the stage where spiritual sense jumps out of the body's shackles and expands outward in a large range.

He "saw" the Medicine Ape squatting beside the enlarged pill furnace, busy refining pills; Mao Tao was tidying up things in the courtyard, and suddenly found a bit of metallic luster in the tree roots, hurriedly digging it out with a dagger. It turned out to be a small piece of scattered silver; Mao Tao grinned and bit it in his mouth.

At this time, He Yue walked in, looking around: "Where is my brother?"

Mao Tao replied on his behalf: "Young Master is practicing, not letting anyone disturb him."

"You urge him for me; we are going to set off in a while." He Yue said and walked out, spilling sunlight all over his body.

He Lingchuan still wanted to follow, but as soon as his spiritual sense expanded into the ground filled with sunlight, he felt a stabbing pain in his brain, as if pricked by a needle, and couldn't help but let out an "Ah."

The sound echoed in the guest room, and he automatically exited the meditation state.

He Lingchuan clutched his head, the pain still lingering.

This was the consequence of being greedy for progress.

The beginner's spiritual soul was still fragile. Although the sun was only an hour away from setting, the true fire contained in it was not something he could withstand. A lonely soul would be instantly annihilated if seen by the sun; his living soul was slightly better, but he still had to be careful not to be happy and sad.

He Lingchuan shook his head. Didn't the Zi Wu Art say that the failure rate of the first "opening the Heavenly Eye" was as high as 80%? He did it easily, and even tried "out-of-body," and succeeded.

Did this mean that his spiritual soul was much stronger than others?

It seemed that this was also a matter of course; after all, he had lived two lives with one strand of soul, which made sense.

He Lingchuan walked out of the door happily. Mao Tao hurriedly greeted him: "Young Master, you finally finished your practice; the sun is almost setting!"

"Order the innkeeper to bring water; I want to take a bath."

Mao Tao agreed and was about to go out, but He Lingchuan looked at the tree roots and suddenly said: "Cats and dogs like to pee on this kind of root gap to mark their territory."

Mao Tao's face turned green, and he spat for a long time.

Before he could straighten up, He Lingchuan kicked him on the calf: "Hurry up and get me hot water!"

"Yes." Mao Tao was disgusted and confused at the same time; why did the young master say this for no reason? Could it be that he peeked at him through the door crack earlier?

Thinking of this, a layer of goosebumps immediately crawled up his back.

At this time, Lady Ying also sent someone to deliver a set of brocade clothes, letting her eldest son tidy up as soon as possible. He Lingchuan washed away the sweat and odor with hot water, tied his hair and dressed up again, looking like a spirited young man again.

The dust-washing banquet held by the Zhu family for Zhu Xiuer was held after dark.

"Is this Deer-Calling Garden really on the mountain?" Lady Ying lifted the carriage curtain and looked out. It was dark, and the mountain scenery was gone; Biji Mountain was left with only a pitch-black outline.

The family rode in a carriage on the winding mountain road, but it was not a narrow path, but a wide road that could accommodate three carriages side by side. The snow stopped in the afternoon, and the accumulated snow on the ground had been swept clean, revealing the road surface paved with black stone strips underneath.

The carriage ride was exceptionally stable, no less than in the city area.

As the sky darkened, large fire basins were set up on both sides of the road for lighting and guidance.

Lady Ying poked her head out of the carriage window and saw that apart from the burning fire basins, there were many points of light moving with the shape of the mountain, arranged in a long snake line—families and clans invited to the Deer-Calling Garden all hung a horse lantern in front of their carriages.

Each point of light was perhaps a size of noble, aristocratic, or wealthy family living in Shi Huan City. Lady Ying tightened the rabbit fur cloak on her shoulders and exhaled a puff of white steam: "How many families are going up the mountain tonight!"

Liaison Officer Liu was also sitting in the carriage tonight, explaining the situation to the He family. He poked his head out to look and then shrank back, laughing: "The imperial relatives, relatives of the emperor, and wealthy families of the capital all have property in Shi Huan City. This is an auxiliary capital, with fewer rules than the capital, and the residence is close to the river, so it is comfortable to live in. Plus, Lord Zhu specially chose the Deer-Calling Garden to hold the banquet; I see that half of the nobles in Shi Huan City will come."

"Deer-Calling Garden?" Lady Ying was curious. "Is this place very special?"

"Of course it's special." Liaison Officer Liu pointed his thumb up the mountain. "This is one of the royal villas."

The He family was a bit surprised, and He Yue couldn't help but ask: "Lord Zhu can actually hold a banquet in a royal villa?" And to flaunt family joy so blatantly, the Emperor didn't punish him? "When the founding Gao Zu enclosed Biji Mountain, he released deer, rabbits, pigs, and sheep here, as well as a small number of wolves as a hunting ground. The area of buildings on the top of the mountain was called the Deer-Calling Garden."

Liaison Officer Liu talked endlessly, obviously having told this story many times. "By the time of the late Emperor, there were already three royal hunting grounds near the capital, and the other two were closer to the palace and had larger areas. His old man said there were too many hunting grounds to use, so why waste them, and simply opened the Deer-Calling Garden in Shi Huan City to the public. As long as it is an official with a rank and grade, they can rent the Deer-Calling Garden to hold a banquet, but the price is more than a notch higher than the large restaurants in the city."

He added: "However, there are imperial chefs sitting in the Deer-Calling Garden, and everything from the utensils to the regulations is very high, so this place is very popular, and it must be booked at least half a month in advance."

Expensive things are good things; even the Emperor ate, slept, and hunted here, so the Deer-Calling Garden was naturally a symbol of high-end, atmospheric, and wealth, so it was no wonder that the powerful and noble were flocking to it.

Lady Ying sighed: "The late Emperor was so down-to-earth?"

He Chunhua didn't make a sound, but He Lingchuan laughed with a *scoff*.

Lady Ying glared at him: "What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing, I see the lights on the carriage in front went out, and the coachman can't light them no matter how he tries." He Lingchuan pointed forward, and only after he finished speaking did he realize that the carriage was a bit broken and small, looking like a rented civilian carriage, which was out of place with other similar ones driving on the mountain road.

Which fallen noble family is this? Lady Ying knew her eldest son was talking nonsense, but He Lingchuan grabbed the melon seeds on the table and cracked them, laughing without saying a word.

Only the younger son reminded her thoughtfully: "Mother, this shows that the late Emperor was pragmatic. Since the Hong River flood sixteen years ago, the national treasury has often been in deficit. I heard that in recent years, it has been spending more than it earns, and the deficit is getting larger and larger."

Speaking of money, Lady Ying blinked and understood.

It turned out that the country had no money, so the late Emperor had to take out the royal villa to collect rent.

"Don't underestimate the income of the Deer-Calling Garden." Liaison Officer Liu laughed. "I heard that just last year, it earned two hundred thousand taels of silver."

Lady Ying was moved: "It really is a golden chicken laying eggs!"

"This group of rich people in the capital is really... cough, fat and round!" He Lingchuan asked Liaison Officer Liu, "Whose carriage is in front?"

Liaison Officer Liu poked his head out to look and shook his head: "No clan mark, no surname on the lantern, and the carriage is rented from a carriage firm; it's probably a minor official. The banquet tonight is full of celebrities, and it's a good opportunity for subordinates to climb up to the powerful."

Biji Mountain was not high, with an altitude of less than sixty zhang, and this section of the winding mountain road soon came to an end.

The He family got off the carriage, and opposite was the main building of the Deer-Calling Garden. Needless to say, it was magnificent, brightly lit, and full of distinguished guests at this moment.

When everyone turned around, it was another beautiful scene: below the mountain, ten thousand lights.

The Deer-Calling Garden was built on the giant Eagle-Beak Rock near the top of the mountain, from where one could basically overlook the entire Shi Huan City.

As night fell, this prosperous auxiliary capital had already lit up with lights. Looking from the top of the mountain, it was as if stars had fallen into the human world, and the jade buildings had descended to the earth.

The breath of fireworks rushed toward them.

Lady Ying exclaimed: "I seem to be able to see pedestrians walking on the street. Eh, that one seems to be the inn where we live."

He Lingchuan let out a breath and suddenly understood why nobles liked to hold banquets in the Deer-Calling Garden.

In the capital, no one could live higher than the Emperor.

This feeling of overlooking all living beings and looking at ten thousand miles was always exclusive to the king.

Upon being announced, Taipu Temple Minister Zhu Xiyan greeted them outside the door, clasped his fists at He Chunhua, and said to his granddaughter Zhu Xiuer: "Why don't you come and thank your savior!"

Zhu Xiuer gathered her skirt and bowed to He Chunhua, his wife, and the He brothers respectively.

Lady Ying waited for her to straighten up before stepping forward and holding her hand, affectionately: "Why so many cumbersome rituals! You walked with us for half a month and finally returned home; are you happy in your heart?"

Zhu Xiuer was full of emotion: "The tired bird returns to the nest, finally having something to rely on."

He Lingchuan saw her head full of pearls and jade, and the rouge covered the yellow gas on her face, making her complexion look great.

Zhu Xiyan led the He family into the Deer-Calling Garden and sat in the middle seat on the left in the main hall.

They were distinguished guests greeted by the host himself, and Lady Ying was holding hands and chatting with the protagonist of the night, Zhu Xiuer, warmly and intimately, so it was hard for others not to notice.

The announcement sounded from the side: "Xiazhou Superintendent He Chunhua and his family have arrived!"

Thus, the He family became the focus of the whole venue.

Countless people in magnificent robes and high crowns shouted "long admired" and surrounded them.

He Lingchuan looked left and right, seeing countless people greeting with smiles, and he could only smile back.

After smiling dozens of times and chatting dozens of sentences, responding programmatically, his face stiffened, and he had to break out.

He Lingchuan squeezed out of the crowd and hid in a corner, patting his facial muscles hard.

The people of Shi Huan are truly enthusiastic.

He Yue didn't know where he drilled out from, and also stood by his side, holding a wine pot and a cup.

He Lingchuan waited for him to pour a cup for himself before asking: "Can you drink?"

"Joy with the crowd, what are you afraid of?" He Yue laughed. "Besides, Mother has no time to manage me now?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 178 =====