444: Chapter 444 Purity

With hearts full of anticipation, the group's carriage finally arrived at the entrance of Xinghua Village.

The rain had just stopped, the spring sun was bright, and the air was filled with the fresh scent of earth and grass.

A large number of Militia from the Zhenbei Army were stationed outside, requiring that no one enter by carriage; they had to park their carriages in the parking lot outside.

In the territory of the Prince of Zhenbei, naturally, no one dared to cause trouble, so everyone obediently got out of their carriages.

Fortunately, the road into the valley was paved with stone slabs, so it was not difficult to walk.

But they hadn't gone far when they saw a large crowd gathered by the entrance of the valley.

"Huh? What are those people looking at?" Yu Yingying asked, puzzled.

"It seems there is a stone tablet beside the valley, with something written on it."

The group immediately stepped forward. Some people recognized Lv Sheng and his party and, not daring to block the way, silently moved aside.

As they approached, they saw a weathered rock engraved with some archaic characters, which seemed to be an article.

"Record of the Apricot Blossom Spring... In the first year of the Great Zheng Dynasty, the people of Cangbei made their living by fishing."

"Following the mountain, forgetting how far the road went, suddenly, they encountered an apricot blossom forest."

"For hundreds of steps along the banks, there were no other trees, the fragrant grass was fresh and beautiful, and fallen blossoms were scattered everywhere."

"The people of Cangbei were very surprised, so they continued forward, wanting to reach the end of the forest..."

Cui Yan read up to this point, and then it stopped.

"What a fine piece of prose, the narrative flows like clouds and water, and it is fascinating! Why is there no more?"

Lv Sheng was also very regretful: "If this piece were finished, it should be known throughout the world. It must have been written by some hermit and never managed to spread."

"Could Xinghua Village really be an ancient village with a history of a thousand years?"

Yu Yingying was very surprised. She was from the Northern Territory, after all, so how had she never heard of it?

The surrounding guests were also deeply interested after seeing it, feeling that Xinghua Village was mysterious and unfathomable, and were eager to go in and find out more.

The group walked a little further inside and saw a mountain stream winding past, with lush flowers and plants on both banks and bamboo forests swaying in the breeze.

At this moment, several young women dressed in simple clothes were washing clothes by the stream.

A flock of ducks went down from the bank, splashing water, which caused the women to laugh and scold them.

Many men who had come to attend the Worlds Number One Wine Festival could not help but stop in their tracks as they watched the village women with their graceful figures and flower-like smiles.

"Oh my, Xinghua Village is truly a place where outstanding people and spirits gather. Even the village girls are so fair-skinned and beautiful?"

"Isn't that so? The land shapes the people. With the grain grown in this place, how could the wine brewed from it be bad?"

"Eh? Why are there poems on this stone wall?"

Soon, everyone noticed that many of the stone walls on both sides of the valley were engraved with verses.

They looked covered in moss and weathered by time, clearly dating back hundreds of years.

"Outside the bamboo, two or three apricot blossoms; the ducks are the first to know when the water of the Cang River warms..."

"The apricot blossom rain threatens to dampen my clothes; the willow breeze blows against my face without feeling cold..."

"Suddenly, like a spring breeze coming overnight, thousands of trees and ten thousand trees of apricot blossoms bloom..."

The passing merchants were one thing, but those scholars and poets, upon seeing these verses, were all dumbfounded!

"Who wrote these poems? They are so exquisite!?"

"Why have I never read these poems? How come there are only a few lines? Where can I find the full text?"

The scholars were all anxious and couldn't help but go down to ask the village women by the bank for advice.

The village women, though disturbed, responded gracefully and with a smile, saying that they had seen these verses since they were children, and the elders said they had existed for hundreds of years.

The scholars were all full of admiration and felt it was incredible.

"It must be an immortal! It must have been left by an immortal! That's why no one outside knows about it!"

"Indeed, if it were a mortal, it would surely have been written about in heavy strokes in the history books. It must be the work of an immortal!"

Lv Sheng and the others looked at these poems and were speechless for a long time.

Lv Sheng, who had originally intended to express his feelings for the landscape and write a poem, felt increasingly desperate the more he looked at these verses.

What kind of poem would be qualified to be recited in such an environment?

"Brother Lv, with the pearls of the predecessors before us, we juniors should just appreciate them, right?"

Cui Yan also realized that Lv Sheng's expression was becoming increasingly ugly, so he hurriedly gave him a way out.

Lv Sheng smiled awkwardly: "That is true."

Yu Yingying and Hu Xinyi didn't mind; they hadn't really expected much from Lv Sheng to begin with.

Walking a bit further in, exquisite wooden and stone houses came into view.

The paths paved with pebbles and bluestone, the small bridges and flowing water—the scenery was like a painting.

The group was feeling refreshed and delighted, and just as they were about to pass a large wooden house, they suddenly saw two acquaintances?

"Teacher? Master Li?"

Cui Yan saw Master Li Jingyi and Master Xu Huaian standing outside a large warehouse-like building with many scholars and poets.

A large group of men were looking inside through the windows, all discussing something.

When Master Xu Huaian saw his disciple Cui Yan, his expression was a bit awkward for a moment, but he quickly covered it up.

"Cui Yan, you're here too? Lv Sheng is here as well. It's good that you're all fine."

The group went up to salute and exchanged simple pleasantries.

Yu Yingying asked curiously: "Master Li, Master Xu, what are you two watching here?"

"Oh, we are watching how Xinghua Village brews its wine. The technique inside is called 'treading the yeast.' It is the first time we have seen it too."

Master Li Jingyi said solemnly: "You might as well come and take a look, to broaden your horizons."

"Yes, Teacher, Master Li!"

Cui Yan and the others didn't think much of it and leaned over to the window to take a look...

Soon, the expressions of the young people became strange.

In this room for treading yeast, several beautiful women with graceful figures had their hair tied up, revealing their swan-like necks.

Their skirts were lifted, revealing slender, jade-like legs as they used their bare feet to tread the wine yeast.

Each of these women was more beautiful than flowers, posing and flirting. Every movement was soul-stirring, even more so than the top courtesans of a brothel!

And among them, a woman who looked to be in her thirties was even more charming to the bone, as beautiful as a fairy.

Perhaps because too many people were watching, the beauty was a bit shy, her face flushed, and she lightly bit her red lips.

When she glanced around, her eyebrows were like spring mountains, and her eyes were like autumn waters; she simply hooked the souls of all the men!

Cui Yan and the others turned back and looked at Master Xu Huaian, Master Li Jingyi, and the other old men with an indescribable look.

"Teacher, this..."

Master Xu Huaian's old face turned red: "Say no more, don't disturb them while they are treading the yeast."

"Hehe, yes, yes..." Cui Yan nodded, suppressing his laughter.

Hu Xinyi and Yu Yingying felt it was incredible; such beautiful women were actually working as wine-brewing laborers in the village?

As expected of the Prince of Zhenbei, he is truly unmoved by feminine beauty!

Just then, a pot-bellied merchant finally couldn't help it and pushed the door open to enter.

"That beauty, what is your name? Why not come with me? I am willing to marry you as my wife, where you can enjoy fine clothes and food, and never have to do this hard work again!"

But before he could take two steps forward, a stewardess who was watching from the side flew over and kicked him!

"Bang!"

The fat merchant was kicked directly out the door, and two of his ribs were broken!

"Have you eaten the heart of a bear and the guts of a leopard? Don't you see whose army is stationed outside Xinghua Village?"

Immediately, before anyone could react, several Militia appeared from nowhere and dragged the merchant away.

After the commotion subsided, the stewardess bowed to the crowd with a smile.

"Everyone, please do not be alarmed. We at Xinghua Village welcome you to visit, but all the men, women, and children in the village are people of the Northern Liquor."

"Whoever dares to act rudely is being disrespectful to the Prince, so please keep this in mind."

"During the Worlds Number One Wine Festival, do not harbor any crooked ideas."

After speaking, the woman waved to the women behind her: "Alright, Xian'er, Zaner... let's finish the morning work here, let's go eat first."

The women all finished their work, walked barefoot to the next room to tidy their clothes and put on their shoes.

When they walked out, a group of men were still looking at them reluctantly.

"Did you hear? That woman is called Zaner."

"I wonder if she is married..."

"Surely not! These women look so pure and simple!"

"If I could get a kiss from her, I would be willing to live ten years less..."

"Yes, they are worlds apart from those vulgar, painted women in the brothels!"

"Xinghua Village is truly a fairyland on earth; these are simply fairies descending to the mortal world!"

"By the way, they said they were going to eat. Is there a place to eat in this village?"

"Let's go, let's follow them and see. I want to see what kind of food can raise such peerless beauties!"

A large group of people immediately followed the women towards the cafeteria.

When most of the people had left, the figures of Emperor Hong and his party were revealed.

Emperor Hong looked at the back of Qing Zaner in the distance, revealing a trace of infatuation.

He had many beauties in his harem, but none could compare to the natural charm of Qing Zaner.

"A tiny Xinghua Village, yet it hides such a stunning beauty."

Zheng Yangwei had a sudden inspiration: "Emperor Hong, why not issue an imperial decree to have Zaner selected for the palace?"

Emperor Hong snorted: "Lin Xiao lets these beauties work here as laborers just to seduce men. Do you think he will obediently send them to the palace?"

"Then... just kidnap her?"

Zheng Yangwei had just said this when he was glared at by Emperor Hong.

"What do you take me for? A bandit? Besides, with Lin Xiao here, do you think you can kidnap her?"

Zheng Yangwei hurriedly slapped himself: "This servant spoke out of turn. Please calm your anger."

Emperor Hong then said with flickering eyes: "In the end, she is just a woman, just a pretty skin."

"No need to rush. In a couple of days, it might not be hard to bring her into the palace..."

Zheng Yangwei's eyes changed, and a cold smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

And behind him, Prime Minister Yang Gengzhong had a deep expression, lost in thought.