The Rain Listening Pavilion was one of the famous ones in the Liu Family. Its purpose was to serve young masters and ladies of other families, and only directly related disciples of Second-rank Families in the Wu Ling County were qualified to get here.
Hence, the Liu Family had taken Lu Li quite seriously. Their intent of staging this feast was clear, to solicit Lu Li.
After Lu Li went into the Rain Listening Pavilion, he was somewhat intimidated by the situation. The Rain Listening Pavilion was sumptuous and extremely luxurious. Lu Li was born of humble origin so he had never seen a pavilion so splendid. He thought he had gone to the imperial palace.
The Rain Listening Pavilion was not big. There were five gold tables on each side and two in the front center of the room. Delicious food was piled on all gold tables. Liu Yi was sitting behind one of the gold tables in the front center while smiling at Lu Li.
Behind every gold table on both sides seated beautiful ladies of handsome looks and elegant posture. Judging by the looks of it, Lu Li thought he had entered the imperial harem with so many pretty girls which made him dizzy.
"Keep it cool, keep it cool!"
Lu Li kept thinking this in his head. Since Lu Ling had a face that could overthrow countries and cities, Lu Li had some immunity when it came to attractive women. Even though the pretty ladies seated here had unusual ident.i.ties and extraordinary temperament, they were inferior to Lu Ling. He knew clearly what Liu Yi was after. How could he fall for it?
"Eh?"
The ladies saw that Lu Li had regained his composure and were surprised. The most beautiful ladies of the Liu Family were sent here. They were quite confident about their looks. How could this b.u.mpkin from a tribe have such strong willpower?
Liu Yi forced a smile on her face. So it seemed that feasting with beauties was of not much use today. The punk really was like a stone in the latrine, smelly and stubborn at the same time.
Lu Li bowed and gave his salute. "Greetings, Lady Yi. Greetings, ladies."
"Come here and sit!" Liu Yi wanted to win him over. She stood up and pointed to the gold table next to hers.
Today, Liu Yi was in a light yellow long s.h.i.+rt with lacework at the hems. She was wearing a pink band around her waist which highlighted her attractive and slim waist. Her hair was combed into a bun on her head, showing her white neck, glittering earlobes and charming collarbones. She was so lovely and graceful.
It was now approaching dusk. Candles were flickering, and the dim yellow candle light reflected on Liu Yi"s pretty and dazzling face, making her all the more inviting.
Lu Li refused to be distracted. He slightly nodded and strode toward the golden table. Before he sat down, delicate fragrance a.s.sailed his nostrils. With so many pretty girls around him, Lu Li was a bit intoxicated already before he started drinking.
"Dear sisters, allow me to introduce him. This is Lu Li. I told you about him. He is a Guest Warrior of our Family and once saved my life."
Liu Yi picked up her goblet and put on a smile. She glanced over the room and settled her eyesight on Lu Li. "Lu Li, these are my sisters. They are all ladies of the immediate Family. Today, we have gathered here to pay our grat.i.tude for your saving me last time. Here, let us propose a toast to master Lu."
"Hee, hee!"
"Chuckle, chuckle!"
"Young Master Lu, here"s to you. Thank you so much for saving Sister Yi~"
"Young Master Lu, you are so young. I can"t believe that you have made it to the peak of the Xuan Wu Realm. You sure do have a promising future before you."
"…"
The ladies stood up one after another. They said to Lu Li such soft tones, and stared at him with such admiring and flirty looks, which made Lu Li"s heartbeat accelerate. He hurried up and picked his goblet. "Thank you ladies. Thank you, Lady Yi!"
Seeing the over cautious and tense look of Lu Li, Liu Yi smiled and emptied her goblet. Then she looked at Lu Li with her keen, sparkling eyes.
What else was there left for Lu Li? He had to empty his goblet as well. The rest of the ladies finished their drinks as well. Instantly, they became quite chatty.
"Young Master Lu, we have heard so much about you already, but this is the first time we see you. I am Liu Ying. Here"s to you."
"Young Master Lu, you cannot favor her more than me. I am Liu Yu. Here"s to Young Master Lu…"
"Young Master Lu…"
Seven or eight people proposed to Lu Li in a row. Lu Li was so surprised and did not know what to do. These were delicately sweet ladies toasting to him, so he could not refuse. But if he drank on like this, something would go wrong.
What if he was drunk and one of the ladies of the Liu Family forced him to bed her? Then there would be no other choice for him but to join the Liu Family…
A couple of more drinks later, seeing that they were still toasting to him, Lu Li made up his mind and stood up. "Lady Yi, dear ladies. I cannot hold my liquor. I will drink one more as an apology. Let us stop here today. I am otherwise engaged. Maybe we can pick up our conversation another time."
Emptying his goblet, Lu Li was ready to leave immediately. The smile on Liu Yi"s face faded. She knew that if they were to continue like this, everything would be in vain.
She stood up and said, "Lu Li, hold on. I have other matters that I need to see you about. How about we go and talk in the backyard?"
Since Lu Li came in, Liu Yi had been observing him. She noticed that he never looked at any of the ladies for more than three seconds. That would mean none of the more than a dozen Liu Family ladies were adored by him. To continue this was pointless. It would only make him more distant.
Lu Li looked back at Liu Yi. Seeing that she implored, he became tenderhearted. "Okay. Ladies, please enjoy. I have to excuse myself now."
Liu Yi walked towards the side corridor, swinging her slim waist. Lu Li followed closely. Many ladies stopped smiling after they left.
"Hum!"
One of the ladies snorted and put down her goblet. "Who does this b.u.mpkin think he is? Why does the family wants us to do everything in our power to solicit him?"
"Right. Don"t know what to appreciate!"
Another lady in a pink dress coldly said, "Does he really think he is a young master? A b.u.mpkin from a tribe. We gave him face. He went about with his head high in the air. What is that…"
"All of you, shus.h.!.+"
A lady made a shus.h.i.+ng gesture. She waved her hand and said, "Leave now. It"s better that he didn"t like any of us. The feeling is mutual. If he really liked one of us, the family will force us n.o.ble ladies to marry such a humble man…"
On hearing this, many young ladies changed their expressions. They got up and left one by one. The Rain Listening Pavilion which was quite bustling was dead quiet now.
Lu Li followed Liu Yi to a small pavilion located in the backyard garden. Food was ready on the stone table in the center of the small pavilion. A maid waited on the side. Lu Li bitterly smiled and said, "Are we still going to drink?"
Liu Yi personally poured Lu Li some wine and said, "If you don"t want to drink. I will not force you. I will empty the goblet, and you can drink half of that. What do you say?"
Lu Li replied, "We can"t drink anymore. Something will happen."
Liu Yi waved her hand to send the maid away. She sat down and stared at Lu Li, "Something will happen? What is it that you are afraid of? Are you afraid that if we get drunk, we will do something disgraceful? Ha, ha, ladies of the Liu Family have not sunken to that level yet."
Liu Yi"s face turned red when she mentioned "disgraceful". Clearly, she meant something else. Lu Li also blushed. He answered with embarra.s.sment, "Lady Yi. You overthink. I don"t mean any of that."
"Then will you drink or not?"
Liu Yi glared at Lu Li and got a bit angry. "I will drink a full goblet and you can drink half. You are a man. Are you afraid of me, a vulnerable girl?"
Under this circ.u.mstance, no man can stand it. The words got under Lu Li"s skin. He said, clenching his teeth, "Okay. If you want to drink, I will keep you company. We must drink until we are thoroughly drunk."
Lu Li picked up his goblet and finished it instead of only half. He wanted to see what schemes Liu Yi was up to.