He Qisha was feeling immensely proud at this moment. He respectfully led Yue Fuguang toward the main courtyard, with the others following in succession. A few people even sneakily circled the carriage several times.
The more they looked at it, the more they felt this carriage must only exist in the heavens—here on earth, it was a once-in-a-lifetime sight. There were also the white horses with wings on their backs, which everyone couldn't get enough of. Some suddenly felt that their own thousand-gold steeds were no longer so appealing!
"If I were lucky enough to sit in such a carriage even for a moment, I could die without regrets!"
"Dear friend, why not go sleep in the guest room?"
"Brother, what do you mean by that?"
"Dear friend, in your dreams, anything is possible!"
"Oh? Brother speaks sense!"
Yue Fuguang naturally had no idea people were drooling over her expensive carriage. On her side, He Jin was walking along, introducing Feng Tang and Yu Huaixian to her father and brother.
When everyone heard that Feng Tang was a Censor-in-Chief, their skin tensed involuntarily.
Especially the local officials, who hadn't had the chance to introduce themselves earlier. Now learning that this Lord Feng was the grand censor of the current court, they hurriedly tucked their tails between their legs and came forward to pay respects.
At this moment, they didn't know whether they were lucky or unlucky. If you called it unlucky, they had only come at the invitation to support a man under the Junior Preceptor, yet unexpectedly encountered the Junior Preceptor himself—the number one man of the court, whom even their prefecturn would struggle to meet.
If you called it lucky, they had finally met the Junior Preceptor but couldn't start a conversation; instead, they were forced to first bow to Poison Tongue Feng.
"You gentlemen are the Tongpan, Jingli, Zhishi, and Xunjian of Jingmen Prefecture?"
"Reporting, my lord, it is indeed us!"
Feng Tang glanced around. "Why don't I see the Prefect and the Tongzhi?"
"Well..." The Tongpan didn't know how to answer.
The Tongzhi had planned to come, but on the way out, the prefect called him away, claiming urgent matters to handle together. As for what those matters were, the Tongpan had no idea.
"Enough, I was just asking casually." Not to mention that He Qisha was, on the surface, part of the Junior Preceptor's circle; the Seven Sword Villa’s importance to the region was something local officials had to pay attention to for the sake of their own political achievements and local stability. Whether they came or not, Feng Tang didn't dwell on it—so long as neither side caused trouble.
In the main hall of the Sword Intent Pavilion, Yue Fuguang was invited to the seat of honor, while Feng Tang, He Qisha, and officials like the Tongpan and Zhishi sat below in order.
Those who couldn't find seats stood automatically on either side of the hall, remaining silent. As for those who couldn't fit inside, they stood quietly under the eaves outside the hall.
At this point, even if He Qisha wanted to ask them to go to the front hall to sit, they probably wouldn't want to leave. Those who managed to sit or stand inside were all people of some status.
One could see they hopelessly stole glances at the Junior Preceptor, as if afraid no one would notice their behavior.
He Qisha really felt like shaking them awake and telling them to restrain themselves—after all, you lot have some standing!
As for being watched, Yue Fuguang didn't mind. She had faced much bigger crowds—what were a hundred or so people gawking at her?
She ignored the sea of starry eyes around her and said smilingly to He Qisha, "We came in a rush, and I only just heard from He Jin that today is Lord He’s birthday celebration?"
In fact, since He Qisha had pledged allegiance to Yue Fuguang, his birthday had always been honored by a generous gift sent in her name from her mansion every year. The same applied to Luo Xue.
But both the Yu family, He Qisha, and Luo Xue considered this routine and never brought it up in front of her.
He Qisha, his face beaming brighter than if he had drunk fake wine, nodded eagerly at Yue Fuguang's question. "My lord, you've come at just the right time. Today, under the excuse of a birthday celebration, I invited friends over to gather at the villa and have some fun and excitement."
The others nodded repeatedly, saying in unison, "Lord He warmly invited us; of course, we came to join the celebration."
Yue Fuguang nodded. "I didn't prepare anything in advance, only brought some small trinkets I had on hand."
With those words, she waved her right hand lightly before her, and amidst an invisible ripple, several boxes materialized unceremoniously in front of her.
As she expected, the next moment, gasps echoed from both inside and outside the hall.
Hiss!
Hiss!
Everyone’s minds were racing wildly: A divine power! This is exactly what divine power!
Pocket universe! This is just like the pocket universe described in storybooks!
People’s eyes were wide open, and but for the stubborn eye sockets holding them back, would have jumped right out. Their mouths hung agape, revealing tiny pink tongues. Yue Fuguang raised an eyebrow—unexpected to find a few good sets of teeth in these ancient times when only tooth powder was available for cleaning!
Yue Fuguang was quite satisfied with the impression she had made today. Since rain had fallen and she had ridden in a carriage drawn by celestial horses, wasn’t it perfectly natural for her to make objects appear out of thin air?
Basic operations! All basic operations!
Amidst the crowd’s stunned gazes, she lightly waved her hand over the three boxes. "These gifts are for Lord He today, as a birthday token."
The three boxes floated gently to He Qisha. Startled, he leaped from his chair. Staring at the boxes hovering before him, he shook his head and waved his hands frantically. "No, no, too precious—my lord, you mustn't. You mustn't."
He swallowed hard, his face even redder than before. "For you to grace this occasion is already the greatest blessing of your humble servant’s life and the Seven Sword Villa’s. How can I let you spend so lavishly today?"
Did He Qisha not want those gifts?
Of course, he did—not because he was shallow, but because none of the gifts from Junior Preceptor Yue were ever subpar.
More importantly, to receive a gift personally delivered by my lord on his birthday—even if it were just a blade of grass, he would treasure it.
This experience alone would sustain him for a lifetime. In the future, when he recounted it to his descendants, it would always be the crowning topic.
He Qisha glanced at his daughter-in-law’s protruding belly standing beneath his son. Inside it was his soon-to-be-born grandchild, his future most attentive audience.
The unborn little girl shuddered even in her mother’s belly, unaware that for every remaining year of her life, she would hear every detail of this day repeated until she could recite it backward. After all, how many times would her grandfather bring it up yearly!
At that moment, Yue Fuguang, still ignorant of the role she would play in these tales, smiled at He Qisha. "Lord He, do not decline. They're all just trinkets, worth very little."
Turning to He Jin, who had remained protectively by her side as her bodyguard even after returning home, she said, "He Jin, why don't you urge your father? We’re all one of the family; there's no need for such formality."
Yue Fuguang couldn't help but wonder: was she usually not approachable enough that even a gift to a subordinate would make him too timid to receive it?
Hearing Yue Fuguang utter the words "one of the family," He Qisha smiled even more brightly. Then his daughter said, "Father, this is my lord’s genuine gesture—please accept it. In the future, just dedicate yourself more to your lordship’s affairs. When the work is done well, nothing else matters more!"