Bang! Bang! Bang!

  Someone knocked gently on the door, a man's voice mixed with the sound of the wind, "Mr. Huaijin."

  "What's going on?" Song Chu asked loudly.

  "The master invites you to the main hall." The man replied.

  It's such a cold day, Song Chuyi was somewhat reluctant to go out, but on the first day of arriving at the mansion, he had to go and meet the other guests in the mansion. Those were people he would be working with in the future, so he couldn't slack off.

  Song Chuanyi suddenly emerged from the quilt, grabbed the clothes on the soft couch and quickly put them on. The speed was so fast that Zi Ya didn't even have time to react, only managed to take a black cloak from the bed to help her wear it.

  As soon as the door opened, a young servant stood outside. The wind and snow wrapped around him, and the snowflakes hit his face, causing a dull pain. Song Chu adjusted his cloak and said, "Let's go."

  "Yes." The young man bowed and said.

  Song Chuanyi walked hastily to the main courtyard, his head bowed against the wind and snow. The Gouyu estate was a family-style compound, with only six houses, each one connected to the other, forming a single courtyard. Song Chuanyi's residence was not inside the Gouyu estate, but rather a separate courtyard adjacent to it, similar to the other few houses, only much smaller.

  After walking for over a dozen yards, there was a side door leading to the main courtyard. Song Chuyi suddenly realized that the "thin plum" had just walked in this direction.

  Upon entering the manor, a middle-aged man greeted them under the corridor. Although it was dimly lit when they met yesterday, Song Chuyi still recognized him as the steward of the manor, named Qi Wu.

  Qi refers to the city of Qi in Wei State, which was a major commercial hub. The Xigu clan migrated from Qi City to Puyang.

  Inside the hall, more than ten people were already seated on both sides of the seats, all wearing wide sleeves and large robes.

  As soon as Song Chuanyi entered the hall, she quickly scanned the room and found that there were only eight scholars present. This was indeed a small number considering Gao Yueqing's official position and the strength of the Gao family. However, Song Chuanyi thought to herself that regardless of their abilities or talents, these eight scholars all had excellent appearances and demeanor, which explained why Gao Yueqing never wanted to look at her again - it turned out he was particular about looks when selecting guests!

  As soon as Song Chuyi entered the house, all eyes turned to her. She saw that some people showed disdain on their faces after seeing her, a look she had seen before on "Slim Plum". However, she still calmly faced all the curious and contemptuous gazes.

  "I've seen General." Song Chu Yi said with a bow.

  "Ah, yes," replied Kiyosuke Tsubakuro, "Please take a seat, sir."

  Song Chu raised his head and looked around in a circle, then walked towards the last empty seat with a smile.

  Originally, the servants had informed all the guests last night to gather in the hall to meet the new scholar entering the mansion. Except for "Slim Plum", everyone else had unlimited imagination and was looking forward to working with a person of outstanding talent and demeanor. Therefore, early this morning, they came to the hall dressed up and waiting, showing great respect. Who would have thought that they ended up waiting for such an immature young boy! And what's more, he wasn't even particularly good-looking!

  How to avoid disappointment? How to avoid suffocation?

  But Song Chu's actions at this time made the other eight scholars feel slightly relieved: At least they still have a sense of self-awareness!

  "My humble abode has few guests, but those who stay are all men of discerning taste." said Kiyotaka.

  Everyone responded with humility on the surface, but in their hearts they felt a sense of disgust, thinking that Song Chuyi was like a piece of rat feces that had fallen into a pot and ruined a good porridge.

  "Mr. Huaijin saved me from a crisis in defending the country, and the emperor is quite appreciative." Zhen Guo said, looking at Song Chuanyi, "Let's get familiar with each other first, sir."

  "My name is Song Chu Yi, courtesy name Huai Jin, originally Yin Yue."

  "Isn't Huai Jin from the Song State's imperial family?" asked a middle-aged man in gray robes sitting at the top left.

  The middle-aged man was about thirty-five years old, with a white face and beautiful whiskers. His facial features were dignified, with a pair of peach blossom eyes under his sword-like eyebrows, which slightly curved upwards at the corners. When he smiled, there were one or two shallow wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, giving him an air of elegance and refinement, yet also being approachable.

  Song Chuyi also had no choice but to deny it. Strictly speaking, "Song" was her clan name, not her surname. Song Chuyi continued, "Tracing back to my ancestors, we can only go as far as Song Hui Gong, a collateral branch that has long since declined in power. A hundred years ago, they started using 'Song' as their surname, so they can't be considered members of the imperial family anymore! I wonder who you are..."

  "In Xiakou Village, his courtesy name is Chengquan." The middle-aged man said with a bow.

  "Hui Shu said, his name is Zi Yan." Next was a man of over thirty years old who was the first in the lower rank of Xi Hong.

  They sat in order of age, from the appearance of their ages, they were seated in order of age, and that "thin plum" who lived with Song Chuyi in the same courtyard was sitting opposite Song Chuyi.

  Everyone made a simple self-introduction, and when it was Xiao Mei's turn, Song Chu Yi took a closer look at him and only then realized that he seemed to be just over twenty years old, the youngest among them.

  "Nan Qi, courtesy name Yun Xi." Thin plum lazy way, from start to finish only staring at the tea in front of him, his eyelids not even raised once.

  "Gentlemen, we are already acquainted. Mr. Huai Jin is a Taoist master, and those present can discuss the Way with him at leisure." Kiyotaka looked at Naki, "In haste, I had to arrange for Huai Jin to live in the same courtyard as you, which was unavoidable but also fate. You two can take this opportunity to ask each other about the Way."

  Song Chu was slightly surprised in her heart, could it be that this thin plum blossom was also a Taoist? She really couldn't see it, the Taoists who valued clarity and quietness, liked to ponder the way of heaven, how could they raise such an arrogant air!

  Tetsuya Kuroba briefly handed over a few words and let the crowd disperse, nor did he discuss any political affairs. The whole country of Wei was filled with a sad atmosphere, and Tetsuya Kuroba was also infected to some extent, looking somewhat downcast.

  Song Chuayi was delighted to return to his bed and squat in it. This kind of weather is really unbearable for humans!

  A group of people walked calmly in the stormy snow, looking quite free and easy. Song Chuyi asked himself if he didn't have such a self-abusive tendency, and was about to rush forward with his cloak wrapped around him, but was stopped by Xi Hong.

  "Huai Jin has just arrived and may not know about the Pu Yang matter, tomorrow is the day of the political discussion meeting in the city suburbs, don't forget to go at that time." Xi Hong reminded.

  "Discussing politics?" Song Chu had also heard that gathering to discuss politics was popular in the Qi and Lu regions, but she hadn't expected such a custom existed in Wei State as well. She thanked him gratefully, "Thank you, Brother Chengquan. As I'm new here and not familiar with the situation in Wei State, if you don't mind, I'll go with you then. Is that alright?"

  "Good." Xi Hong smiled and replied.

  Since they started chatting with Xi Hong, Song Chu Er didn't want to run away first either. Thinking that it was just a short distance, she gritted her teeth and persisted.

  If she insisted on being calm, then she could be calm too.

  A group of people walked slowly, with a few people in front chatting and bursts of bright and cheerful laughter coming from time to time.

  Song Chu sucked his nose, silently scolding in his heart. What a cold day it is to be so carefree in the snow! Why not hurry into the house? Whatever you want to say, just say it.

  "Song Huaijin." Master Hui suddenly turned his head and asked, "Who is your teacher?"

  ——————————

  The previous 36 chapters had a bug. The surname "Zi" actually belongs to the Song State, I made a mistake and corrected it, no need to look back, everyone should know by now.