Chapter 3637 — Running an Errand for You!
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 3
On second thought, today was a public instruction day, and nothing could get past Zhao Hongbo, an elder of Azure Cloud Pavilion. To say nothing of the fact that Meng Jueming, given his standing, could never even get close to the man—in truth, not even a young lord like Xu Lingchong could order Zhao Hongbo to do anything, let alone something as sordid as framing Wei Zhao.
For one thing, their strength and status were utterly unequal. Even if Zhao Hongbo treated Xu Lingchong with special favor out of respect for Xu Yuanzheng, that courtesy would extend no further than the condescension of an elder; there was no chance he would ever truly sit as an equal with him, much less stoop to curry favor.
For another, the higher one's station, the more careful one had to be of appearances. Even granting the wildest possibility—that Zhao Hongbo really did heed Xu Lingchong's words and move against Wei Zhao, a newcomer of his own Azure Cloud Pavilion—he would never dare do so too openly. If word of it got out, after all, the spittle of countless Azure Cloud disciples would drown this Fourth Elder of theirs.
At that, Wei Zhao felt somewhat reassured. Whatever petty tricks Xu Lingchong, Meng Jueming and their lot might be plotting, so long as he got through his question smoothly and received the answer he wanted, all would be well.
What Wei Zhao had not expected, however, was that the very first thing out of Zhao Hongbo's mouth upon entering was aimed straight at him: "Which one of you is Wei Zhao?"
Wei Zhao started, then under the astonished gazes of the Azure Cloud newcomers he rose calmly and answered, "In reply to the Fourth Elder, this disciple is Wei Zhao."
Zhao Hongbo looked him up and down a few times, then asked, "I hear you are on good terms with Lu Bianren?"
Given the lofty station of an Azure Cloud Pavilion Fourth Elder, it was naturally impossible for him to take any interest in a mere third pavilion master of Welcoming Pavilion like Lu Bianren, still less to know of Wei Zhao. Those words had in fact reached his ears through Xu Lingchong's mouth, passed on by Meng Jueming, precisely so that they could be used as ammunition to make an example of Wei Zhao.
Matters had developed far beyond all expectation, yet Wei Zhao remained unhurried. He nodded and said, "You flatter me. Pavilion Master Lu merely gives a lift to those who come after him."
"A fine lift to those who come after him!" Zhao Hongbo gave an ambiguous sniff, then said, "If he is so keen on lifting up the young, then on a day as important as this, why does he not even show his face? It is utterly improper!"
The crowd exchanged glances at once. This Fourth Elder of Azure Cloud Pavilion had opened by naming and censuring Lu Bianren without the slightest concealment—if word of this got out, it would be nothing short of a disaster for a man already thoroughly marginalized in Welcoming Pavilion.
Still, to be fair, Lu Bianren—a third pavilion master of Welcoming Pavilion and a man of Azure Cloud stock—failing to appear on a day like this really was a little hard to justify! Should someone with a mind to make an issue of it take up the matter, his removal from the post of third pavilion master afterward was not at all out of the question.
Wei Zhao and his long-suffering senior brother exchanged a helpless look, and in an instant both knew that Lu Bianren had been played—and that the ones who had played him were most likely Pavilion Master Hu Yunfeng, Vice Pavilion Master Feng Song, and even Xu Lingchong and Meng Jueming, that whole pack joining hands, deliberately or not, to sink him!