Chapter 367: Cultural Festival

Zhuo Yifan was startled, but quickly composed himself. He smiled. “You have sharp eyes, miss. You are truly a public servant…”

“Hmph,” said Lian Nishang. “What kind of sharp eyes does that take? It’s obvious you’re lying. What poor doctor dresses so exquisitely? What poor doctor has such high-level martial arts? It takes wealth to practice martial arts. Without a hundred acres of good land, your family probably couldn’t support your training.”

Zhuo Yifan knew he could no longer hide it. She was a public servant, and it would be easy for her to investigate his background. He immediately smiled. “To be honest, my family does have some modest property. But with the world in turmoil, I had no choice but to come to Lingao to seek refuge.”

Lian Nishang said with disdain, “You wealthy landlords are all the same. In times of peace, you exploit the poor more fiercely than anyone. When there’s a major event, you run away faster than anyone.”

Zhuo Yifan was unconvinced. His family had recently written to him, saying they were organizing a militia and wanted him to recommend a few disciples from his sect to be instructors. When it came to public service, what local matter wasn’t funded and supported by the gentry and wealthy families? What could the disorganized commoners accomplish? They were only enthusiastic about rebelling against the rich.

But he didn’t say this aloud. He only said, “As I said, my family only has some modest property. We are not capable of organizing a militia to defend the local area…”

“Even if you did organize a militia, it would just be to oppress the poor…” Lian Nishang sneered.

Zhuo Yifan was furious. What did the wealthy ever do to you? He turned his face away to calm himself down, then said, “Organizing a militia is the business of the wealthy gentry. I dare not get involved. In these chaotic times, I am content to be able to keep my family safe.” He then changed the subject. “Your swordsmanship is not bad. You must have formally studied under a master.”

If she had a master, she had a sect, and she must be a fellow martial artist. Perhaps there were even some old connections. Zhuo Yifan felt that this young woman’s words were extreme, and she was probably from a good family. Her family had suffered a great tragedy, and she, having lost her discipline, had fallen into the hands of the short-hairs and been poisoned. If he could find out about her sect and old acquaintances, he might be able to persuade her to abandon the darkness and turn to the light through the code of the martial arts world.

“I have indeed studied under a master for a few days,” Lian Nishang said nonchalantly. “Unfortunately, I was young and didn’t learn much. My family…” She stopped. “Why are we talking about this? Where do you live now? I guess it must be the Qiong’an Inn.”

Zhuo Yifan smiled. “You can’t hide anything from you. I am indeed there.”

“Hmph, you bunch of landlords and rich old men, you all stay there when you come to Lingao. It’s full of frivolous young masters! Pfft!” Perhaps remembering the incident with Bai Siwen, she chopped her hand down. “If it were up to me, I’d kill them all to clean things up. To prevent them from corrupting the atmosphere here!”

Zhuo Yifan cursed inwardly: What a ferocious and rebellious person! But seeing her delicate face, his heart softened again. You were originally a beauty, why did you become a thief? I must guide her well and make her see the error of her ways. As he was thinking about how to begin, she continued, “I just arrested one a few days ago. He was a young master from a wealthy family staying at the Qiong’an Inn.”

“So it was you who arrested Brother Bai…” Zhuo Yifan wanted to get more information out of her and pretended to be surprised.

“Brother Bai? You call someone like him a brother? That’s disgusting.” Lian Nishang made an exaggerated vomiting motion. “He not only harassed a woman on the street, but he also provoked a student from the College of Arts and Sciences—he’s in for a world of hurt this time.”

Zhuo Yifan had heard the name “College of Arts and Sciences” several times now. He already knew that both Lian Nishang and the “personal secretary” from earlier were students from this so-called “college.” He thought it must be a place where the short-hairs’ “confidantes” studied. The students there were probably all people who were close to and trusted by the true short-hairs…

“Are you going to plead for him?” Lian Nishang’s beautiful eyes were already glaring at him.

Zhuo Yifan smiled. “Brother Bai doesn’t know the rules. As the saying goes, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. He still acts as he did in the Great Ming. It’s inevitable that he will suffer a little in Lingao. Suffering a little now will be better for him in the future.”

“That’s more like it,” Lian Nishang nodded. “I didn’t expect you to have some sense. You’re not one of those who are ignorant of the suffering of others and only care about the well-being of their own family.”

Zhuo Yifan had originally wanted to say something about the separation of men and women, but then he thought that he was currently “discussing the Dao” with her, which was already a violation of the “separation.” To say it now would be a bit ridiculous. He said, “What kind of place is this College of Arts and Sciences?”

Lian Nishang gave him a sidelong glance. “Why do you ask?”

“Just curious. I’ve heard you mention it a few times,” Zhuo Yifan said. “If it’s not convenient to say, it’s fine. Just pretend I didn’t ask.”

“There’s no harm in telling you. It’s just a school for girls. Nothing special,” Lian Nishang said. “I enrolled in this school as soon as I arrived in Lingao. The girl that Bai fellow harassed is my junior sister.” She looked at the sunlight outside the window. “It’s getting late. I’ll go change first. You wait for me.”

Zhuo Yifan thought to himself that the young master of the Bai family was probably in for a world of hurt this time. The women in this College of Arts and Sciences were all the short-hairs’ “confidantes.”

After Lian Nishang changed her clothes, the two of them came out of the room. They saw that the gymnasium was already filled with many young men and women in blue and black cloth, running around busily. There were also many cardboard boxes on the ground. Zhuo Yifan saw that a stage had been set up at the north end of the gymnasium. Ladders were propped up against it, and a few young men were hanging a red silk banner on the wall. Large white characters had already been written on it. When he read it, it didn’t make sense. Then he remembered that the short-hairs read from left to right. It read: “Fourth Campus Cultural Festival.”

Though these characters were in the vernacular style, Zhuo Yifan could understand them all. But he didn’t know what they meant when they were put together, especially this “Cultural Festival.” He asked, “What does this mean?”

“Fangcaodi and the College of Arts and Sciences are co-hosting a cultural festival. It’s just for everyone to get together and have fun, and there will be plays, singing, and so on.”

Zhuo Yifan understood. “Like a temple fair? No wonder it’s called a ‘festival’.”

“Exactly. You are indeed a scholar,” Lian Nishang nodded and smiled. “In short, it’s a very lively event. The venue is large, so everyone can come and watch the performances.”

Zhuo Yifan nodded deeply. This was an excellent opportunity! He smiled. “It seems I have come at a good time.”

Lian Nishang rolled her eyes at him. “You old-fashioned people shouldn’t come. After watching it, you’ll just keep saying things like ‘indecent,’ ‘corrupting public morals,’ and ‘scholars have lost their dignity,’ and wringing your hands in despair…”

When she said this, her nose wrinkled, and she was very cute for a moment. Zhuo Yifan’s heart skipped a beat, and he couldn’t help but say, “Though I haven’t been here long, I’m not old-fashioned. At most, I’m just a little surprised…”

“Whether you are or not, Lingao is like this. What does it matter what the gentry and scholars think of the Senate? The chiefs don’t care…”

She suddenly stopped and waved to someone in the distance. A young girl emerged from the crowd and trotted towards them. She wore a white, front-opening short jacket, with a red ribbon loosely tied around her neck, and a pleated plaid short skirt. Zhuo Yifan’s heart skipped a beat: this skirt was too short! But her attire seemed to be the same as the girl Bai Siwen had harassed. She was probably also a student from that College of Arts and Sciences.

“Sister Lian, you’re here too?” The girl looked at Zhuo Yifan and then lowered her voice just enough for him to hear. “Who is this?”

Lian Nishang rolled her eyes at Zhuo Yifan. “A young master from the Great Ming. He knows some martial arts, so I’m sparring with him here.”

Zhuo Yifan felt that the other person’s two bare legs were dazzlingly bright. He could only bow respectfully. “My name is Zhuo Yifan.”

“How polite. You are very handsome. You must be from a wealthy family,” the girl said, looking at Lian Nishang meaningfully. She bowed slightly in return. “My name is Zuo Yamei.”

Lian Nishang introduced her briefly. “She is my colleague, also a police officer.”

If Zhuo Yifan hadn’t already seen a few charming household registration police officers, and if Lian Nishang wasn’t standing right in front of him, he would never have believed that such a charming and cute young girl was a “public servant.” Anyway, there had been many strange things since he arrived in Lingao, so he was numb to it.

However, this “police officer” had a high status among the short-hairs, far from the “lowly servants” of the Great Ming. She could be considered a “pillar of the state” of the Senate. For a “pillar of the state” to dress so indecently, the short-hairs’ tastes were truly unique!

Lian Nishang asked, “Why aren’t you on duty? Isn’t today your day off?”

Zuo Yamei smiled. “Our Plaid Skirt Club is also participating in the performance for this cultural festival. The chiefs gave us time off to rehearse. This is a big event. The Fangcaodi drama club is also performing—I heard that they are going to perform a new play for the first time.”

“A new play?!” Lian Nishang was also interested.

“That’s right. I heard it’s a new production. It’s very good. Our junior sisters from the College of Arts and Sciences are also participating,” Zuo Yamei said. “The chiefs of the Plaid Skirt Club are also very supportive. They even want us to audition to see if we can play a small role.”

“You should be playing the lead role…”

“The students from the learning institute are also participating this time. How could it be our turn to be the lead?”

“That’s true. But they probably don’t care about such things.”

…

The two of them chattered excitedly about the performance, leaving Zhuo Yifan aside. He was overjoyed. It seemed that this so-called “cultural festival” was a big event, and many true short-hairs would be coming. If they could make a move here, they would surely be able to inflict heavy damage on the short-hairs!

In an instant, he had calculated it countless times in his mind. The most important thing now was to gain Lian Nishang’s trust! No matter how big this gymnasium was, it would not be open to everyone at that time. Those who could enter must be people trusted by the short-hairs. He could see that Lian Nishang had a good impression of him, but his image as a dashing young master from the Great Ming still made her suspicious of him.