My Wife Is A Sword Immortal
Chapter 223 - 184: Mixed Gender Pairing (Two-in-One)

By now the banks of the warm stream had been lined with low tables, and next to each table, there were only two kneeling cushions.

Crisp clapping sounds rang out, and the gathering gradually quieted down.

Ye Ruoxi stopped what she was doing and clasped her hands together, "Today’s Nuanyi Gathering is a bit different from the usual ones. To prevent everyone from playing separately, with the men and women each sticking to their own groups and failing to make the event lively, we’ll adopt a format where a man and a woman will share a table."

She felt the curious glances around her and smiled warmly.

"Since you are attending the gathering I organized, you must listen to me..."

Ye Ruoxi continued to smile, then paused mid-sentence and looked around before saying:

"I know many of you men haven’t made arrangements with or are not familiar with any of the ladies here. That’s fine; we’ll mix things up. Today, we won’t bother with seniority or the usual distinctions of senior or junior brother and sister. Since you’ve come, you are all guests of the gathering...

Uh-huh, my rules are simple. In a while, the sisters will first choose a table to sit at, then all the men will draw lots to decide the order. Line up according to the sequence, and starting with the first man, I will select a female companion from those seated for him. Unless there’s a special reason, neither party may refuse... Of course, if some of you have predetermined partners that you’ve arranged ahead of time, you also have the right to choose, to avoid splitting up a pair of lovebirds.

So, before I choose a partner for any gentleman, he can decide to forego my selection and pick a lady at the gathering. The lady at that table also has the right to decide whether to let him sit down.

This is only applicable to couples who are already confirmed, so you men should not think of cheating and presuming to intrude upon the fair maidens—better to obediently follow my arrangements."

As soon as she finished speaking, noisy discussions erupted across the gathering as people whispered to each other, reacting differently, but most of the men smiled helplessly, and many found it quite novel.

Ye Ruoxi pointed her index finger at her chin and swept her gaze around once more.

"Oh, right, I counted, and it seems that the number of men and women is not exactly divided in half—there are a few more men. That’s okay, the extra men can sit with the ladies from the Red Carp. Let me tell you, don’t underestimate them; many of the ladies from the Bamboo Garden are talented in various arts. Hehe, you scholars from the Academy really shouldn’t disbelieve that some of these Red Carp ladies might even be more skilled than you..."

The scholars from the Academy smiled and went along with the joke, understanding it as a playful remark, and since she was a beautiful woman, no one made a fuss about it.

Zhao Rong raised his eyebrows slightly, finding Miss Ye’s rules somewhat strange. After giving it some thought, he still couldn’t see the reason behind them. Looking around and seeing that no one objected and most had either given tacit consent or nodded in agreement, he decided not to think too much about it. After all, this rule didn’t affect his search for Qing Jun.

Soon enough, the female Residence Students from Tranquility and Taiyi mansions had taken their seats.

Behind each table on either side of the warm stream sat a lady, leaving an empty spot next to them.

The men went to the side to draw lots.

Following behind his senior brothers in accordance with the principle of courtesy among scholars, Zhao Rong waited for the Residence Students to finish before he stepped forward to draw.

In the meantime, his gaze remained fixed on Lingfei Zhao in the distance.

Like the other women, she was sitting quietly behind the table, with the cushion beside her unoccupied, waiting for a man to join her.

No matter how obvious Zhao Rong’s gaze, or how long he stared, Lingfei Zhao remained focused and sat upright, only at one moment did she move slightly; she tilted her head, but not in Zhao Rong’s direction.

Lingfei Zhao lowered her gaze and reached for an item on the table, starting to add incense with Jade Hand, lighting the incense burner. Her dress had wide sleeves that got in the way, so she gently pulled them back, revealing two slender, snowy arms that shone brilliantly under the bright morning sun, instantly gathering the attention of many men.

Still keeping her eyes on her task, Lingfei Zhao suddenly bent slightly at the waist, leaning to one side as she scooped water from the stream in front of the table to wash her hands then clean the teaware. She used the water from the warm stream to brew tea, placing a carefully polished and cleaned purple clay teacup with her bare hand, gently setting it on the empty spot beside her.

Her actions were elegant and composed, performed with graceful serenity.

Zhao Rong watched this scene of "beautifying the ambience with sleeves of red" with slight amazement.

Not far away, Ji Qianyi, who was by the chessboard, also noticed this scene—or rather, ever since Lingfei Zhao had arrived, he had not taken his attention off the woman he regarded as a companion along the Great Dao.

At that moment, the chessboard had already been tidied up by Yun Zi, but Ji Qianyi did not show any intention to commence the game.

Suddenly, he asked, "Has that mortal son-in-law of hers really come?"

The usually silent Yun Zi softly replied.

"Yes, young master. After the events at You Mountain, the man disappeared for a while. Not long ago, at the Four Seasons Hall of the Fu Yao Mansion, he was seen exhibiting intimacy with Lingfei Zhao by many Residence Students. According to investigations, he is now a student at the Academy, having arrived in Taiching Prefecture not long ago with a Teacher from the Academy surname Yan."

Ji Qianyi frowned slightly, "So, you’re saying that... what’s his name? He also has the surname Zhao, right? Was it him who caused Lingfei Zhao’s Realm to stagnate before, and now, he has come back to pester her incessantly?"

Yun Zi glanced at his expression and nodded, "It seems so, but... Lingfei Zhao’s attitude is strange, she keeps him at arm’s length. The incident a few days ago at the Four Seasons Hall looked intimate, but these past days, Lingfei Zhao hasn’t gone to see him again..."