sea ​​situation

The three arrived at the entrance of the banquet hall and stood still. A welcome banner was hung in the hall on the second floor, and two rows of flower baskets were neatly arranged in front of the door.

Lu Ming turned around and raised his head, only to see a man in a long robe and mandarin jacket walking over, followed by two long followers, Yan Hongdao was beside him clasping his fists and saluting happily, "Old Zheng, it's great that you came here, Peng Piper grows brilliance, prickly pear grows brilliance."

Lu Ming was surprised and said, "Isn't this Zheng Xiaoxu and Elder Zheng Yi? It's really rare that he also came."

Zheng Xiaoxu was a high-ranking official in the former Qing Dynasty. He once served as an inspector and chief envoy of a province.

China's feudal dynasties of more than 2000 years have experienced hundreds of dynasties, large and small, and few of them were free from wars. The decline of the Qing Dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China have become a model for a very small number of peaceful transitions.

Dynasties change and wars break out frequently, and it is the common people who suffer in the end. This is a truth that has not changed through the ages.

Since the fall of the Qing Dynasty did not trigger a war, after the abdication of the Qing emperor, the officials of the Qing Dynasty did not suffer too much impact. Those who could be used continued to serve in various local governments, and the older ones returned to their hometowns for the elderly.

Zheng Xiaoxu lost his official position with the abdication of the Qing court and lived in seclusion in Shanghai. He was called the old man of the former Qing Dynasty, which was a very fashionable title at the time.

Elder Zheng Yi not only had a high official rank in the previous dynasty, he was also a well-known figure in the cultural circle, and he was also a veteran in the calligraphy circle. Among the social sages, only a few people such as the famous Liang Qichao can stand shoulder to shoulder.

His calligraphy started from Yan Liusu, and then he learned from Wei Bei, and became a giant in the calligraphy field in the late Qing Dynasty.

After Zheng Yi lived in seclusion in Shanghai, he seldom appeared in public. Lu Ming met him at a banquet at the Sheng family before studying abroad. Six or seven years have passed, but his image is quite special and memorable.

Mr. Zheng Yi made a living by selling calligraphy in Shanghai, and every single word is worth a fortune. For him, this is not a metaphor, but a fact.If you spend a lot of money to buy his calligraphy, you still need someone to recommend it. The euphemistic name is: Seeking calligraphy.

Therefore, although Elder Zheng lived in seclusion, he was also a top figure in Shanghai's celebrity circle.

Sheng Di was also taken aback when he saw Zheng Xiaoxu, just like Lu Ming's reaction, he didn't expect him to be there.

Lu Ming walked to Yan Xiaohui's side, and said with a smile, "Uncle Yan is so face-saving, even the god Elder Zheng Yi can be invited out."

Yan Xiaohui obviously didn't expect it either, and smiled wryly: "It may not be because the Yan family has a big face, he may have come here for His Excellency Zhuang Fan, if you don't believe me, look down."

When Lu Ming heard this, he became vigilant, Zheng Xiaoxu was getting impatient in Shanghai, did he want to go east to Japan?What are you doing, selling words?His calligraphy is also rare in Japan.

Things may not be that simple. It is said that Zheng Xiaoxu is very interested in the Japanese business in the Northeast, and even made a special trip to investigate.

Having said that, although the relationship between China and Japan is not harmonious, it is normal for Chinese to live in Japan or Japanese to settle in China, but it is not so normal for Zheng Xiaoxu.

Zheng Xiaoxu, an old man from the former Qing Dynasty, is interested in Japanese people. There is nothing wrong with it, but it always makes people feel weird.

Lu Ming felt that the atmosphere today was a bit strange. First of all, Sheng Di's appearance was an accident, and with the presence of Elder Zheng, people who should not appear in places that should not appear, there must be demons among them.

This seems to be a hint that Benzhuang Fan's trip to Shanghai hides a secret, what is the secret?

Sheng Di's so-called excuse of taking care of the face of the two families is totally unjustifiable. If it is only because of the problem of face, Sheng Youde's not showing up is already not giving face.

No matter how you say it, Sheng Di can't represent Sheng Youde. His coming here makes people feel that the Sheng family looks down on the Yan family. It would be better not to send a junior to come forward. After all, big names like Du Yuesheng and Huang Jinrong were not present. .

At this time, people in black suits were standing inside and outside the banquet hall. These people looked serious and looked like waiters, but they were actually bodyguards.

Lu Ming kept scanning the faces of these bodyguards, trying to find the person who besieged him at Tongren Hospital that day, but unfortunately he only heard the voice that day, and did not see the other person at all. Determine the person's face and size.

"Are you looking for someone?" Yan Xiaohui kept staring at Lu Ming, seeing his wandering eyes, and asked.

"I was wondering if the people who besieged us that day were hiding among these men in black." Lu Ming lowered his eyes and smiled.

"You didn't see anyone, how could you recognize them? You have clairvoyant eyes." Yan Xiaohui said coquettishly.

"I said sister, you must not fall in love with him, he is a famous woman." Sheng Di teased.

"It's up to you, by the way, why haven't you seen Sister Ziyuan recently?" Yan Xiaohui blushed.

"She, she's been in a bad mood recently, and she went on a trip to relax." A cloud of sadness appeared on Sheng Di's face.

Although Ziyuan had a big fight with him before leaving and wanted to cancel the engagement, but he still loves Ziyuan and hopes to see her and try his best to restore their relationship.

He also didn't believe that Ziyuan could really be so decisive, because of a trivial matter, she would not hesitate to destroy the engagement, and even cut off all ties with him.

At this moment, I suddenly heard a shout from outside: "There is an assassin, catch the assassin!"

Although the shout is in Chinese, there is a strong Japanese accent.

Lu Ming's heart trembled, could it be that the person An Gonggen arranged to come in was discovered?This is too sloppy, it has been exposed before anything has been done.

The people in the hall became agitated for a moment, and he hurriedly stopped Yan Xiaohui. Although An Gonggen knew him, the people he arranged didn't know him. If they saw him, they might shoot him without saying a word. That would be bad luck.

"How could there be an assassin!" Yan Xiaohui was also a little scared.

"Let's hide for a while until they catch the assassin." Sheng Di frantically looked around for a hiding place.

It's not clear what happened, Lu Ming naturally won't take any action.Besides, there were [-] or [-] bodyguards at the scene. Even if An Gonggen's people were discovered, Lu Ming would not be able to show up as a hero.

Yan Xiaohui pulled them into the empty room just now, and then locked the door from the inside.

Yan Xiaohui looked at Lu Ming and smiled wryly. Why is this scene a bit like a replay of Tongren Hospital?

They were also hiding in an empty room that day, and there were assassins outside. If Yuan Mingzhu hadn't led someone to arrive, they would have almost died.

"There can't be assassins. Those who don't have invitations won't be able to get in." Yan Xiaohui was still thinking about what went wrong.

"Not necessarily, I don't need an invitation when I come in." Lu Ming said.

"Me too, I didn't even read my invitation," Sheng Di said.

"You came in with the people from the Japanese consulate. Of course you don't need an invitation card. Who doesn't know anyone in Shengshi's car on the beach, so I didn't check your invitation card. Others won't be treated like this." Yan Xiaohui deduced carefully.

Although Lu Ming had doubts, and it was inconvenient to check it again, it was more reliable to follow the crowd at this time, and a little performance would definitely arouse the Japanese's awareness, and it would also cause trouble for Yan Xiaohui.

It's better to be still than to move at this moment.

Lu Ming decided that there must have been an accident, otherwise, with An Gonggen's plan, the assassination method would not be so clumsy.