si-mexico Chapter 422 Exposed
Chapter 422 Exposed
"My Lord, why is he making such a big show?" Lu Wensheng tapped the table with his fingertips, his eyes sweeping over the table full of delicacies. "Are you really treating us to a drink, or do you want to treat us to a play?"
As he spoke, the candle wick burst into sparks, and sparks splashed into the celadon brush washer, making a slight "crackling" sound.
The smile did not reach his eyes, but his brown pupils were like tempered steel, splitting the wisps of incense smoke lingering around Xiao Yan in half.
"Watch a show? Why do you say that?" Xiao Yan smiled.
"After all, this room full of singing and dancing, fine clothes and delicious food, seems like a troupe has set up the stage, just waiting to see us, the 'outsiders', fail."
Xiao Yan originally thought that this number one scholar would be polite due to his status, but he didn't expect that the moment he opened his mouth, it was like a poisoned dagger, accurately tearing apart the pomp and circumstance he had carefully arranged - the singing girls surrounding him, the table full of delicacies, and even him... in Lu Wensheng's eyes, they all became lousy stage scenery.
"Watch a show? What a show!"
Xiao Yan put the tip of his tongue against his back teeth, as if he was amused by Lu Wensheng's words. The red mole at the end of his peach blossom eye glowed seductively under the candlelight. He was indeed worthy of the reputation of being handsome and romantic, but in Lu Wensheng's eyes, this skin was so light and flimsy.
"I'd like to see you guys running around in Xiangsheng City, being fooled around by the formation like headless flies—" He raised his hand and drank the wine in the glass. The amber wine slid down his chin, leaving dark marks on the silver-threaded plum branches. "Oh, that's indeed more interesting than the game on my table..."
"Watching a play? That's right - this world is a stage, everyone is singing, reciting, acting and fighting, I just want to find a front row seat, eat sunflower seeds and watch the fun."
There is three parts of sarcasm and five parts of arrogance in these words, but there is only a lack of half of sincerity.
Lu Wensheng raised his eyes to look at him - Xiao Yan's hair was loose, with a black jade hairpin hanging at an angle, looking unruly, but the knuckles of his fingers holding the cup were bluish white, and he was not as calm and composed as he appeared.
He knew the hypocrisy of this world, the intrigues in the court, and the unpredictable hearts of people in the market, so he trapped himself in a cocoon woven of wine and sex.
He saw through the filth of power struggles, but was afraid that after piercing through this layer of illusion, he would be nothing more than a more powerless ant.
He despised the faces of those who fawned on the powerful, but used the music and singing in the room to cover up his cowardly escape.
Just like at this moment, he looked at Lu Wensheng and others with contempt as clowns on the stage, but in fact he was afraid - afraid that someone would really tear open the curtain of the stage and make him face the rotten truth under the stage.
Lu Wensheng felt that Wu Feipeng's evaluation was absolutely correct - he hated this kind of hypocrisy the most, that of people who stood by and watched in order to protect themselves, while pretending to be noble.
"My Lord, do you know the origin of the mother river of Xiangsheng City?" Lu Wensheng suddenly changed the subject, his eyes piercing towards Xiao Yan like a hawk, "Do you know how many bones are buried at the bottom of the Zhuolang River? Do you know who dug open the dam on the night of the river god's sacrifice?"
Xiao Yan lowered his eyes and stared at the light and shadows floating in the cup. His long eyelashes cast a trembling shadow under his eyes. That memory had long been blurred, but - did he really not remember it?
After a long while, he sneered: "Why do you mention this?"
Lu Wensheng just sneered: "What kind of romantic wanderer is this? He is just a coward who dares not face the fact that he is also an accomplice after learning the truth, and can only escape in wine and sex."
These words hit Xiao Yan's heart like a heavy hammer. His fingers holding the empty cup suddenly turned white, and his knuckles bulged from the force, but he still smiled twistedly: "What do you know? You're just talking nonsense here."
"I know you claim to be noble, but you hide your shortcomings and avoid the world on the pretext of 'the world is muddy'... Do you really feel that your talent is not appreciated, or have you long been accustomed to the comfort of being high and mighty? You hide in your comfort zone and lament that 'everyone is drunk but I am the only one sober', but you never dare to break through the wall built with cosmetics, wine and meat - your nobleness of 'seeing through the world' is nothing but a fig leaf for cowardice!"
"You!" Xiao Yan sat up straight suddenly.
"What? Did you get caught on camera?" Lu Wensheng sneered, his eyes sweeping across the young men in finery sitting around him. "Look at all the people surrounding you in this room, who isn't after your power and wealth? If you really have ambitions to change the world, why aren't there any honest people around you? Are you blind, or do you just like this filthy atmosphere?"
"If the top beam is crooked, the bottom beam will be crooked - you think you are a sober person who sees through the illusions, but in fact you are just a cowardly deserter who uses unruly behavior to cover up your cowardice. Are you very different from them? We are all the same kind of people, so why should we distinguish between high and low?"
"A playboy who numbs himself with drunkenness and dreams, do you think you are qualified to talk about 'seeing through the world'? I think you are tired of the good life, and you are imitating those sour scholars to pretend to be 'everyone is drunk but I am sober', but in fact you don't even have the courage to face the truth!"
The candlelight flickered in Lu Wensheng's eyes, making the gold in his pupils more dazzling. "If the Marquis really had the ambition to help the world, why would he indulge in the decadent music of this brothel? I'm afraid he would have used his status to investigate the truth a long time ago, right?"
Xiao Yan stared at Lu Wensheng, his chest heaving violently, as if he wanted to vomit out all his anger.
Lu Wensheng calmly picked up a cup of cold tea on the table and stroked the rim of the cup with his fingertips, as if the words he had just spoken were just a comment on a plate of cold snacks.
A playboy is self-admiring. Everyone else is drunk but I am sober.
It's just that he has too many good days, and he has nothing to do and is a middle school boy who doesn't study hard.
He thinks he can see through people's hearts and feels that all worldly affairs are like a chessboard, with him being the only one holding the pieces. However, deep down, he finds reality boring, so he indulges in wine and women, using a dissolute life as a cover-up - this kind of person is the most conceited and confused.
"The upper beam is not straight and the lower beam is crooked?"
Anger was boiling in Xiao Yan's eyes: "Lu Wensheng, you are an outsider, what qualifications do you have to judge me?"
"Qualifications?" Lu Wensheng suddenly laughed.
"As an outsider, I know how much the souls of the people sacrificed to keep Xiangsheng City peaceful! What can an outsider like me do for them?
And what about you? Xiao Yan, you knew the truth but chose to remain silent. You enjoyed the wealth bestowed by the higher-ups and used romantic affairs to cover up your cowardice. You are not even worthy of being a sober bystander. You are just a waste who is fed with sugar-coated bullets! "
"I thought I had seen through the vanity of the world, but in fact I was assimilated by the vanity!"
"A room full of flattery? Isn't that what you want? Numb yourself with drunkenness and dreams, and escape from reality with debauchery!"
Xiao Yan sat stiffly in the main seat, his face paler than if he had been dead for three days.
He looked at the anger burning in Lu Wensheng's eyes. The flames seemed to burn away all the layers of disguise he had wrapped himself in, revealing his true self underneath - it turned out that he was not a wise man who saw through the world, but just a deserter who was afraid to face the truth.
The private room was deathly silent, with only the scent of agarwood still lingering in the air, weaving a hazy web of embarrassment and confusion in the room.
Xiao Yan opened his mouth and wanted to say something in rebuttal, but found that his throat was like blocked by a piece of cotton wool soaked in wine, and he couldn't utter a word.