He turned his head back and asked tentatively, "What about Ji Yue and Lang Shiba?"
Eunuch Hai replied with a stern face, "They can't win, but they won't be defeated too badly."
Seeing Zhao Douan nod, the old Tributor's expression became serious:
"What, could it be..."
Zhao Douan interrupted him with a smile,
"Tomorrow, I have arranged to meet with the Commandery Princess and a large group of talents from the Hu Ting area to enjoy the scenery at Yansuo Lake. Prince Jing hasn't bothered me for many days; I'm afraid he's been holding back something big."
Eunuch Hai frowned, expressing his concerns, "Do you really have to go?"
Zhao Douan sighed helplessly,
"I don't want to either, but there's no way around it. Prince Huaian won't make his move until he sees his chance. The market opens the day after tomorrow, and if I hide, it would be the same as admitting defeat."
Eunuch Hai was silent for a moment, then turned to walk away:
"I'll go inform them. You, young man, must pray for your own fortune."
Zhao Douan laughed heartily; as he laughed, his expression vanished, and he continued to gaze up at the blue sky, only to see that the two entangled birds had flown away at some unknown time.
A night passed uneventfully, and soon it was the last day of the gathering at Hu Ting.
The atmosphere in the entire city was like oil on fire, just one spark away from erupting.
However, at this critical juncture, while Feng Ju and his companions were too anxious to sleep or eat, news came that Mr. Zhao had gone out for a scenic outing with a beauty.
The name "Yansuo Lake" is said to have a long history.
It is said that many years ago, a Daoist arrived here on a flat boat. Seeing the vast mist and the splendid scenery, he happily chopped wood and built a house, settling down by the desolate lakeside.
Not only did he live there, but he also chose a sharp, flat cliff by the lake to gather the essence of the mountains and rivers and comprehend the rhythms of heaven and earth. With tools, he painstakingly carved out a huge Earth God Statue from the cliff over ten years.
The legend says that during those ten years of carving by the Daoist, villagers from nearby often came to watch the statue gradually take form, while the Daoist aged noticeably.
A few days before the completion of the Earth God Statue, the lake experienced seven continuous days of rain, the water almost overflowing, enveloping the entire lake in dense fog.
The nearby villagers vaguely heard the sounds of dragons and tigers and, braving the drizzle, came to the shore to look. With a strange roar, the weather cleared, the sun tore through the clouds, and the mists binding the lakeshore were also torn apart.
The Earth God Statue was lifelike, and the Daoist had vanished without a trace.
"Hence, to commemorate that legendary day of enveloping mist, it was named thus."
Xu Junling stood on the second-deck of the pleasure boat, acting as a tour guide while pointing towards the lush green mountains ahead.
Dressed in splendid silks, Zhao Douan stood beside her, followed by Eunuch Hai, Ji Yue, and Lang Shiba, three masters.
Also present was the maid Lv Shui, but other bodyguards were not brought along.
On the deck below were Hou Renmeng, Shen Juan, and other soldiers, all gripping their sword hilts and vigilantly scanning their surroundings.
Haitang did not come today, purposefully assigned to handle other matters by Zhao Douan.
Apart from this boat, there were several other pleasure boats floating on Yansuo Lake at that moment.
The shore was also crowded with many tourists, with sounds of music and women's laughter carrying over, and some scholars could be faintly seen inside other boats, reciting poetry and competing.
"This story is quite interesting."
After listening, Zhao Douan smiled and gazed at the distant part of the lake, where a section of the cliff had indeed been carved into a huge Earth God Statue.
The Earth God was immensely imposing, with a fierce visage, one hand holding a stele, and the other covering the earth, gazing towards the Grand Canal in the distance, exuding a dominating presence.
"The last time I saw an Earth God Statue was in the bamboo forest of the South Suburb of the Capital," Zhao Douan said softly.
Xu Junling's eyes flickered slightly, "Oh?"
Zhao Douan withdrew his gaze and smiled at her,
"That time, I led a team to capture Zhuang Xiaocheng, but ended up nearly losing my life due to the Magician casting spells from a thousand miles away. Later, I found out that Zhuang Xiaocheng had deliberately lured me there and set up an ambush."
Today, Xu Junling was wearing a simple, elegant long dress with an outer scarlet cloak trimmed with white fur, styled for women.
The cloak wrapped tightly around her delicate body to ward off the early winter chill on the lake.
A smile appeared on her beautiful oval face as she joked,
"Then, this Commandery Princess should pray that today does not end in disaster; otherwise, it would seem I led you here."
"Ha ha," Zhao Douan laughed heartily, "That won't be the case; it was I who invited the Commandery Princess here."
The wind was strong today, causing strands of his hair to flutter:
"I heard that the scholars of Huai River particularly enjoy using Yansuo Lake as a theme for their poetry. Are those ahead doing the same?"
"Not necessarily all poetry; there are also various games, such as poetry chains or matching couplets. It's early winter now, so there are fewer visitors. It's only really lively in the summer. This year is special because of the market opening, thus there are still so many people on the lake in this wintry weather."
Zhao Douan gradually collected his smile, squinting as he looked forward, getting closer to the approaching pleasure boats.
At this distance, the talented men and women on the boats could clearly see each other.
A quick scan revealed that indeed, many were engaged in games.
There were also quite a few glances thrown his way, buzzing with speculation about the identity of such a distinguished group.
Zhao Douan furrowed his brows and spoke displeasedly,
"Didn't they notify that I was coming to the lake today? Why are there still so many people disturbing us?"
On the boat, an official responsible for reception at the lakeside dock was stunned, suddenly breaking into a sweat and stammered an explanation,
"Sir, this subordinate did not know that you disliked disturbances; this..."