The deepest affection in Gu Long's world

Chapter 65 Zuo Mingzhu

Fang Yunhua has always been very particular about travel arrangements.

After all, the purpose of making money is to enjoy life; otherwise, what's the point of making money?
The carriage he was sitting in no longer resembled a carriage, but rather a house.

The carriage had a large, comfortable couch, several brocade cushions, and a table. Everything was clearly arranged with care, so despite the abundance of items, it didn't feel crowded.

Their destination on their journey south was Songjiang Prefecture. Naturally, they were to join a caravan sent by the Huashan Chamber of Commerce, because at certain times of the year, the four-gilled perch produced in Songjiang Prefecture would be sought after by gourmets all over the world.

Only the Huashan Sect, which has a good relationship with the Zhibei Manor outside Songjiang Prefecture, can supply the best quality four-gilled perch during this period.

To be honest, Fang Yunhua's first visit to Zhubei Manor was also because the owner of Zhubei Manor, Master Zuo, not only had unparalleled palm techniques in Jiangnan, but also cooked the most exquisite perch sashimi in the world.

Unfortunately, there were only two people in total who could personally go into the kitchen and wash their hands to make fish soup.

Chu Liuxiang happened to be one of these two people.

At that time, Fang Yunhua was only a disciple of the Huashan Sect, whose reputation was not yet well-known. He was only qualified to ask some chefs in the manor to cook for him. Even so, after Fang Yunhua ate it once, he thought it was a rare delicacy.

This allowed him to stay at the Zhubei Manor for a few more days.

Master Zuo is a hospitable man. The reason he has been able to oppose Xue Yiren for so long is not only because of Xue Yiren's loneliness, but also because Master Zuo has extensive connections. If Xue Yiren were to fight him to the death, Xue Family Village would probably be mostly destroyed.

Because of his master Master Kumei's infamous reputation, Master Zuo Er treated Fang Yunhua with the highest level of hospitality, even considering that Fang Yunhua was not much older than his daughter Zuo Mingzhu.

He even took the initiative to introduce the two of them, probably hoping to establish a good relationship with the Huashan Sect through this.

After all, even a broken ship has three thousand nails. Even though the Huashan Sect is the worst of the seven major sects, it still occupies one of the seven major sects.

Poor old Deng had no idea that every time he thought of this scene afterward, he would want to slap his past self.

Fang Yunhua had a very good first impression of Zuo Mingzhu. She was like a typical young lady from a noble family, proficient in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Even in martial arts, she had inherited the signature Flying Flower Hand technique of Second Master Zuo.

Her appearance is that of an adorable and cute girl, and her smile is so sweet it warms your heart.

What's quite contrasting is that she has a youthful face and large breasts; at first glance, anyone with a gentlemanly air would find it hard to look away, making her extremely striking.

Fang Yunhua initially had no ill intentions towards this adorable girl, affectionately known as Jade Fairy. He came to Songjiang Prefecture for two reasons: first, to savor the world-famous perch sashimi; and second, to reclaim a branch of Mount Hua that had separated from the area a hundred years ago.

Therefore, during his temporary stay at the Zhubei Manor, he would frequently visit the branch Taoist temple during the day to have in-depth conversations with its abbot, and only return to the manor at nightfall to enjoy a delicious meal of perch sashimi.

This meant that although he and Zuo Mingzhu knew each other, their relationship was limited to nodding to each other when they met.

One evening, when he returned to the villa, he noticed Zuo Mingzhu sitting in the garden, sighing deeply.

That day was the lantern-releasing event organized by Songjiang Prefecture every three months. The whole of Songjiang Prefecture was very lively. Fang Yunhua also enjoyed watching from the outside. When the crowds became too much for him, he returned to Zhubei Manor.

This also puzzled him greatly as to why Zuo Mingzhu was all alone in the garden.

After inquiring, he learned that Master Zuo had imposed a strict curfew on Zuo Mingzhu at the Zhubei Manor. This meant that despite living in Songjiang Prefecture for so long, Zuo Mingzhu had only seen the lantern festival a few times during the day. Clearly, the sight of lanterns floating across the river at night was far more breathtaking.

Therefore, when Fang Yunhua saw how much Zuo Mingzhu longed to see the lanterns at night, he casually suggested that she not sneak out. As long as she was careful, she could return quietly in the morning without being discovered by Master Zuo.

In fact, even before his memories were awakened, some of his behaviors were clearly different from the underlying nature of this world.

Fang Yunhua didn't see anything wrong with this, but for Zuo Mingzhu, who had always been her father's obedient daughter, it was a tempting whisper of evil.

She wouldn't dare to do this secretly by herself.

But there was clearly someone brave enough to accompany her, which made her eagerly hope that Fang Yunhua could help her.

Xiao Fang readily agreed, and the two of them secretly bypassed the guards for the first time, heading from Zhibei Manor to Songjiang Prefecture. This allowed Zuo Mingzhu to see for the first time the stunning view of the long river that ran through Songjiang Prefecture, filled with a sky full of stars.

The lantern festival will last for three days.

Fang Yunhua also accompanied Zuo Mingzhu to secretly run away at night for three days.

On the fourth day, the two continued their usual stroll through Songjiang Prefecture, where the lively scene at night was always somewhat different from that during the day.

For example, you can rent an ornately decorated boat and drift along the Songjiang Canal, with a local musician playing beautiful music.

For example, a night visit to Jing'an Temple, where you can tie a love knot under a thousand-year-old ginkgo tree, is said to ensure a three-lifetime bond.

For example, they would go to the reed marshes on the outskirts of the city to catch fireflies and use them to make lanterns.

Zuo Mingzhu also followed Fang Yunhua in disguise to sneak into Ghost Street, which opened at midnight, to distinguish the authenticity of Chengxintang paper on the antique stalls.

At Zuixianlou, Fang Yunhua was challenged to a "Ten Crab Links" challenge, where he had to complete a couplet after eating each drunken crab. The loser was punished by drinking three large cups of liquor. This caused Fang Yunhua to be nearly discovered by the guards when he returned to Zhubei Villa drunk that night.

They also explored the rumored haunted Dong family garden, and while using a tinderbox to illuminate the wall, the meticulous Fang Yunhua discovered a mechanism inside, which contained a priceless ink wash landscape painting.

Every night is a brand new adventure for Zuo Mingzhu.

She doesn't have to follow her father's wishes every day, playing that boring piano, writing those vulgar lyrics, or trying to become the obedient daughter everyone else sees her as. She can be herself to her heart's content and enjoy the joy that freedom brings.

Each day of adventure and time spent together made Zuo Mingzhu's gaze towards Fang Yunhua reveal an ever-growing affection. She sincerely felt that he had saved her from the invisible prison she had been trapped in.

It was also the other person who made me realize that after taking that first bold step, the unknown ahead is not all darkness, but can also be colorful.

Of course, there was another important reason: Fang Yunhua was the most handsome man she had ever seen.

So on that day, Zuo Mingzhu took a chance.

On that same day, the two, who were deeply in love, achieved a significant breakthrough in their relationship.

This led to Master Zuo finally realizing the next day that something was wrong with his daughter, and that very night he exposed Fang Yunhua, the hidden young punk.
(End of this chapter)