Qiu
Che was in the backyard of Linglong Pavilion, watching Li Qingwu's hurried steps from here to there, and the young shopkeeper's eyes also moved from here to there, blushing from time to time.
Li Qingwu lowered her head and talked to the maid beside her without noticing.
Qiu Che was bored waiting, his eyes wandering around, and suddenly found that because she had tied her hair up after getting married, when she lowered her head, a section of delicate and white skin on the back of her neck would always be exposed.
It was beautiful.
No wonder the young man was thinking about love.
Qiu Che never paid attention to these things in the past, but today, for some reason, he suddenly realized that her eyes seemed to stay on Li Qingwu most of the time. Qiu Che
lowered his eyes and thought, and waited for a long time, and finally waited until Li Qingwu finished her work.
Yaotai had already seen Qiu Che. Seeing that Li Qingwu wanted to continue working, she also put on her veil, smiled and pushed her, saying, "It's okay. There's nothing else we need you for today. You can go first. City Lord Qiu is waiting anxiously."
Li Qingwu thought that Yaotai could handle the remaining trivial matters. Thinking that Qiu Che had indeed waited for her for quite a while, she nodded and said apologetically, "Thank you for your hard work."
Yaotai shook her head and said with a smile, "Why are you being polite? Today I should apologize to you. I rashly intervened in the girl's affairs, and you have to step forward... No more, no more, hurry home."
Li Qingwu nodded and came to Qiu Che. After being busy for a long time, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She whispered, "Are you waiting anxiously? Sorry... You can go now."
Qiu Che said, "No."
When she got up, she saw Li Qingwu's young shopkeeper sitting behind the counter, and occasionally looked at this side absent-mindedly. Suddenly, she felt a little strange and inexplicable.
She turned sideways, blocking the other person's gaze without making a sound, and said casually, "Let's go."
"Who is that young shopkeeper?"
Li Qingwu looked back, and the young man had just turned his head back in disappointment, so she missed the other person's awkward and shy look.
She answered casually, "He is the son of the former shopkeeper, Mr. Zhu, named Zhu Zhu. Mr. Zhu is old, so he let his son take over Linglong Pavilion."
Li Qingwu smiled and said, "He is very smart and understands everything about taking over the restaurant. It's a pity that he doesn't like to study, otherwise..."
Qiu Che looked at her talking and felt inexplicably familiar.
She walked slowly beside Li Qingwu, and seeing her stop abruptly, she couldn't help but turn her head and ask, "Otherwise?"
Li Qingwu wanted to say that otherwise, maybe she could still get the top prize, but the words stopped at her lips, remembering that Qiu Che beside her was the top prize this year.
Saying such things in front of her, isn't it just belittling her and praising Zhu Zhu?
Even though Li Qingwu knew that she didn't mean it, she didn't want to say it out loud, which might make Qiu Che misunderstand and feel sad.
Li Qingwu froze slightly when she thought of this.
When
did she... care so much about Qiu Che's feelings?
Hearing Qiu Che's words, Li Qingwu suddenly came back to her senses, shook her head and said nonchalantly: "Nothing, just feeling sorry."
Qiu Che said "Oh", and wanted to say something else, but saw that Li Qingwu didn't know what he remembered, and had lowered his head, and fell into a trance again, so he silently shut up and stopped asking.
Before leaving, Li Qingwu took her to see the innocent girl who was involved.
The girl claimed that she was only seventeen this year, and there was a sick and old mother at home. The responsibility of supporting the family was on her father.
Unfortunately, her father died of a sudden illness some time ago, and the family was so poor that they couldn't even afford to bury his father.
But in order to prevent her mother from being too sad and causing any more trouble, the girl gritted her teeth and decided to sell herself to get some money to bury her father.
This kind of thing is really too common in this era.
She was not a child from a rich family, her mother could not give birth, and her father did not have the money to take a concubine to give birth to a son, so she only had a daughter.
Qiu Che belatedly felt a chill rising from his bones.
The girl said that when she was crying and begging on the street, this group of dandies happened to pass by, and the prince had someone drag her into Linglong Pavilion, saying that if she danced in the restaurant, he would give her money for her father's burial.
Who would have thought that it was this kind of dance.
"Is it a sudden impulse?"
"...It doesn't look like it was prepared in advance."
The girl said, sobbing softly, "I am really desperate. I heard that it was the Crown Prince... If you can contact the Crown Prince, can you be kind and send me back..."
Yu Yan was originally responsible for guarding her. Hearing this, he was furious and said angrily, "It's not easy to rescue you, but you still want to go into this tiger's den, right?"
"I am very grateful to you for saving my life," the girl glanced at them, then turned to Qiu Che hesitantly, and whispered a little shyly, "Of course, if this young master needs it, I am willing to stay with you and work like a cow and a horse..."
Li Qingwu's heartbeat stagnated.
Unfortunately, before the other party finished speaking, Qiu Che coldly rejected it: "I already have a wife, I am afraid I will disappoint the girl's kindness."
The girl bit her lip and looked at Li Qingwu who was still smiling at the side.
Although the other party did not look at the extremely handsome young man next to her, nor did she get angry immediately, the girl felt an inexplicable chill.
She shuddered, shut up, and dared not mention it again.
The two asked a few more questions and left together soon.
Yu Yan was responsible for sending the person back.
As she walked, she was still muttering: "Who is it?"
The girl's face became paler.
Qiu Che winked at Yu Ming, and the other party understood. Thinking of the scene where the girl could almost be called "repaying kindness with enmity", he hesitated for a moment before handing over the bag of silver in his sleeve pouch.
The girl showed surprise and kept thanking them, saying that she would remember their great kindness.
Qiu Che waved his hand, said nothing, and turned away.
Li Qingwu witnessed all this and followed her steps silently. After a long while, he asked: "I thought you would ignore her."
Qiu Che shrugged: "You look very worried, it's just a matter of convenience."
Li Qingwu wanted to say something, but stopped.
After a moment, she sighed: "Forget it."
Qiu Che: "Forget what?"
Li Qingwu looked at her, smiled and said "hmm", "Anyway, you've always been like this."
"What do you mean by this?"
Li Qingwu didn't say anything.
She looked straight ahead and said, "I won't tell you."
Qiu Che was stunned for a moment, laughed, followed her in three or two steps, and said: "Although I don't know what you are talking about, I gave her the silver so that she won't sell herself to bury her father because of this kind of thing."
"If she is really desperate and goes to the prince for help, wouldn't it be equivalent to saving her in vain?"
Li Qingwu looked at her silently, without saying a word.
A pair of eyes were filled with three words: You just make it up.
Qiu Che touched the bridge of his nose, looked away, and coughed: "Okay... Actually, I can't bear it."
Even though she has tried to change the situation of women, they still encounter countless difficulties.
Even though these are actually just trivial things in the hands of men, it is still very difficult for them to do it.
Most women do not have the courage of Qiu Che who disguises herself as a man and can climb up alone without fear of life and death. They
also do not have Li Qingwu's high and extremely generous status, and his talent and beauty that are well-known far and wide.
They are caught in the torrent of history, distorted and influenced by their ignorant thoughts, neither up nor down, and they just grow up to be what men expect the most.
Cowardly, soft, indecisive, they only expect to seek protection and blessing with their beauty or body, and survive by relying on the love and praise of men.
Like dodder, they can't stand up straight.
They can't see the sky when they look up, and they can't see themselves when they look down.
They are ignorant and complacent.
Pitiful, but they don't know it.
But it's not their fault.
It is this rotten land that nurtured these weak flowers.
If you want to change, you must uproot this land and turn it upside down.
Reshape the world.
Li Qingwu didn't know whether he understood what she meant or not, and fell silent again.
On the way back to the princess's mansion, Qiu Che suddenly said, "I'll teach you martial arts."
Li Qingwu blinked, not understanding why she suddenly mentioned this: "...Ah?"
Qiu Che flicked her sleeves and recalled what happened today.
She just remembered what Yang Qiu said.
Even if she refuted Yang Qiu, she had to admit that he had a point.
This time she happened to be by Li Qingwu's side, what about next time?
Li Qingwu has no skills, but Fu Feng can't follow her for the rest of her life.
There is always a chance of an accident.
When she thought that Li Qingwu would get into trouble under her nose, her heart choked.
This emotion came and went quickly, and it was hard to explain.
But it was almost exactly the same as the feeling when she saw Qiu Zhe pounce on Li Qingwu just now, which made Qiu Che feel uncomfortable when she thought about it.
Li Qingwu blinked slowly. Although she looked hesitant, her eyes lit up, showing her expectation: "Yes, I can... But is it too late for me to learn martial arts at my age?"
"The master who taught me martial arts told me the same thing back then," Qiu Che raised his eyebrows. "Look at me now?"
Li Qingwu smiled: "Okay, I'll listen to you."
They did what they said. After returning to the princess's mansion, Qiu Che took Li Qingwu out again.
This time, she was dressed more low-key, and went to Hongxiu Zhao.
Fuling's disguise skills have improved a lot recently. After hearing Qiu Che say that she wanted to disguise herself, Li Qingwu simply gave herself to Fuling to practice.
She was also dressed as a man, with a white jade crown and a high ponytail, wearing a moon-white outfit, which made her figure slender and straight, and her eyebrows and eyes were calm but sharp.
Even the iconic teardrop mole at the end of her eye was cleverly covered by Fuling.
Anyone who took a look at her would not associate her with the "Princess" who was always famous for her elegance and dignity.
Qiu Che was dressed completely differently from her. She wore a black robe with a strong murderous aura, which made her look elegant and graceful, like a handsome young man.
The carriage stopped at the back alley of Hongxiuzhao. The two of them bypassed the crowd and entered Yeming City together.
On the other side, Linglong Pavilion.
After Qiu Che left, Yang Qiu drank his wine in silence, as if he was in a trance, but he didn't say a word.
Wu Yiqi wanted to persuade him at first, and tried his best. When he found that he couldn't persuade him, he gave up and picked up the wine jar to drink with him.
The meal took an hour, and they didn't leave until the people who came to the restaurant for lunch at noon were almost gone.
After the opening dance of the restaurant, Yaotai, who was originally only patrolling in the kitchen, listened to the maid's description, and personally lifted the hem of her skirt and went upstairs. She knocked on the door of the wing room. When she came in, she saw that the two people had drunk several jars of wine.
Wu Yiqi was drunk and was still mumbling something. He
looked like he was about to pass out. Yang Qiu, on the other hand, was holding a wine pot in her hand and facing the window of the restaurant. She seemed to be in a daze and did not look drunk at all.
Turning around and seeing her, Yang Qiu reacted a little late and stood up to salute. As soon as she opened her hand, the wine pot fell to the ground, and the porcelain pieces shattered all over the floor.
Wu Yiqi jumped up like a dead fish: "What! What! What happened!"
Yaotai was also frightened and trembled.
The three of them looked at each other for a moment, and there was a vague embarrassment in the air.
In the end, Yaotai helped Yang Qiu and the waiter helped Wu Yiqi out of the door of the wing room. If you ask why she didn't help Wu Yiqi, it was mainly because Wu Yiqi looked a little ugly when drunk.
In comparison, Yang Qiu was much more pleasing to the eye.
After being handed over to the servants outside the door, Yang Qiu sobered up a little, bowed his hands, and his face was slightly red, which was not sure whether it was shame or drunkenness: "I'm sorry to bother you today..."
Yaotai waved her hand and said it was okay. Seeing that his eyes were fixed, he seemed to see something behind her.
She turned her head and saw a tall figure disappearing at the door of the next room.
"What's wrong?"
Yang Qiu said: "Excuse me, who is the guest sitting in that private room?"
Yaotai shook her head: "I don't know, I only know that his surname is Yu, he is a distinguished guest, very generous, sitting here from morning till now, and directly booked the private room in the evening... Is there any problem?"
She knew that this Lord Yang - Yang Qianjiang, whose achievements in history were only second to those of Prime Minister Qiu, and whose name was also recorded in history, was upright and strict.
In history, he often had policy conflicts with Prime Minister Qiu, but there was no major contradiction. There was a rumor in unofficial history that he disliked Prime Minister Qiu and wanted to pull her down from the position of Prime Minister.
However, after cooperating with Qiu Che, Yaotai also knew that he was also Qiu Che's ally.
It was just that they had different opinions on decision-making.
Yang Qiu didn't know what she was thinking, but just shook her head and said nothing more. She lowered her eyes and let the servant take her away.
He thought a little slowly, maybe I saw it wrong?
How could the commander Cui Wenshen beside His Majesty appear here?
Although Li Qingwu knew that there was such a place as Yeming City before, he had never been there in person.
This experience was the first time.
The long cave leading into the city was artificially chiseled. There was a long road. There was no night pearl, and it was pitch black.
For some special reasons, everyone who entered here knew that they could not light a fire in the cave, otherwise it might cause a chain reaction of the mechanism and cause the cave entrance to collapse.
They needed to pass through this long cave in the dark before they could enter the underground city.
It stands to reason that in the dark, people's senses are always infinitely magnified.
But Li Qingwu was already very nervous because he couldn't see, but the cave entrance was all solid dirt roads, and there was no echo when he walked.
After walking slowly for a while, she felt that there seemed to be no one in front of her, so she subconsciously and cautiously called out: "...Qiu Che."
The voice echoed quietly in the long cave, but no one answered.
Li Qingwu's head buzzed, and she subconsciously reached forward to explore, but she found nothing.
Qiu Che walked too fast and left her behind.
The moment this thought appeared in her mind, she heard a few quick muffled sounds.
It seemed that someone was approaching her silently and quickly.
Li Qingwu took a few steps back in fear: "Who--"
A hand firmly grasped her wrist, and Qiu Che's slightly hurried voice sounded: "It's me."
"I called you halfway, but I didn't hear you reply, so I came back along the way to look for you..."
She paused.
Then the next moment. A faint light lit up in the cave.
Qiu Che held a bunch of small night pearls that he didn't know where he got from, held them in his hand, and revealed seven-tenths of light from between his fingers.
Under the light, his eyebrows and eyes were clear and three-dimensional, and the light and shadow alternated faintly.
For a moment, her expression seemed to overlap with the expression of the Buddha statue in the temple.
Qiu Che looked at Li Qingwu, whose eyes were filled with tears in a short moment, and hesitated, "Are you afraid of the dark?"
Li Qingwu did not speak.
She suddenly took a few steps closer and threw herself into Qiu Che's arms.
Her body was shaking, Qiu Che thought.
After hesitating for a moment, she was about to let go of the hand holding the other's wrist and pat her shoulder to comfort her, but was eagerly pulled by Li Qingwu: "Don't let go--"
Meeting Qiu Che's eyes, Li Qingwu retreated a little, and the tears in her eyes slowly disappeared. At the same time, she whispered: "I don't want to be separated again."
Qiu Che was silent: "Okay."
Then he didn't say anything else, but gave her half of the small night pearl, let her hold it in her hand, and then pulled her to continue walking forward.
During the remaining short distance, the two of them never let go of each other's hands.
Qiu Che kept talking to her from time to time, chatting about some unimportant topics.
Li Qingwu slowly came to her senses and found that both her hands were full.
She raised her eyes subtly and looked at Qiu Che who was still chatting with her casually in front of her.
The sound of her heartbeat gradually became louder in the darkness.
As if he knew she was afraid, Qiu Che would stop from time to time and wait for her to slow down before continuing.
It was not a long journey, but they walked for a quarter of an hour.
When they finally got out, Qiu Che put on the wooden lotus mask he made.
Li Qingwu stood at the exit and saw that the night pearls around illuminated the entire underground city as bright as day. In a trance, she finally felt alive.
She asked Qiu Che nervously: "Why don't you ask me why you are so old, are you still afraid of the dark?" Qiu Che
smiled: "The same thing, if you are willing to say it, I will listen. If you don't want to, I will never force you."
Until this moment, their eyes fell on the clasped hands at the same time, and they loosened their hands at the same time as if they were electrocuted.
Then they turned their heads and pretended that nothing had happened.
Qiu Che coughed, "Let's go. I'll lead the way."
Li Qingwu lagged behind her for a few steps and covered his chest with his hand, trying to stop it from beating so fast.
But to no avail.
She stared at the thin but always straight figure in front of her, who moved her heart more than any protagonist she had read in the Yaotai stories, and thought to herself.
Is this fear?
Then the lingering fear is too long.
In order to avoid Qiu Che noticing something unusual, before the other party turned around to look for her, Li Qingwu took a breath, wiped the dried tears from the corners of her eyes, and once again pretended to be calm and followed.
People were coming and going around, dressed in all kinds of strange styles. Although they were outstanding in appearance, they were just the most inconspicuous two among such a group of weirdos.
After twists and turns, the two arrived at an underground casino.
The owner of the casino seemed to be familiar with Qiu Che, and greeted her skillfully: "Hey, City Lord Qiu, are you here to practice martial arts again?"
Qiu Che nodded.
The casino owner looked at Li Qingwu who was silent behind her and raised his eyebrows: "You brought subordinates with you? Are you going to teach them in person?"
Qiu Che clarified: "Not subordinates."
Then he paused.
If not subordinates, then what is it?
She couldn't even say it for a moment.
The casino owner didn't care about these things. He waved his hand and said: "Okay, okay, the weapons are all put away. You can take your apprentice to practice."
Li Qingwu followed her and climbed up the ladder at the back door of the casino.
Only then did she realize that this was actually a mountainous suburb outside the city.
It was taken by Yeming City and made into a martial arts training ground of a moderate size.
Because it is located in a remote area, no one would come here normally, and no one would find that there is a martial arts training ground in this deep mountain forest.
Li Qingwu didn't expect that after such a long journey, Qiu Che would come to the suburbs specifically to teach her martial arts.
She looked around, "Do you come here often?"
Qiu Che shook his head, patted the dust on his sleeves, and started to pick up weapons on the sidelines: "Sometimes, my martial arts have reached the highest point, and it is difficult to break through. There is no benefit in practicing more."
In addition, she is usually very busy, so how can she come here to practice martial arts often.
Sometimes she just gets up early to go to court and practices sword in the yard.
Li Qingwu nodded thoughtfully, looking at the dazzling array of weapons: "Do I have to choose too?"
Qiu Che nodded: "I am choosing for you. You want to learn martial arts now, and you can't practice basic skills from scratch. You can only start with skills. It's good to have the ability to save your life-" "For
close combat, a dagger is best, but it depends on your physical sensitivity. I don't recommend you to choose this. The spear and the broadsword are too bulky and conspicuous, and I don't recommend them... Do you like it?"
Li Qingwu glanced around, and suddenly her eyes lit up slightly.
But she looked at Qiu Che and didn't speak immediately.
Qiu Che nodded and said, "Tell me, which one?"
Li Qingwu licked his lips and pointed carefully to a bow and arrow in the corner.
The back of the bow was engraved with gold wire patterns, which looked very tacky, and it was almost half the height of Li Qingwu.
"You want to learn this?" Qiu Che said in surprise, "A bow and arrow is not much lighter than a spear or a sword. You must have the strength to draw the bow and shoot the arrow. It is not wise to use a bow and arrow to save your life..."
Li Qingwu lowered his eyes, as if he had expected it, and did not refute. "Well," he said, "Then..."
Before she could say "that", Qiu Che caught a glimpse of her expression of obvious disappointment, and suddenly changed the topic, "It's not impossible to practice it."
Li Qingwu then looked up at her with expectation.
Qiu Che said, "Hmm," "You have to tell me first why you want to learn it."
Li Qingwu was quiet for a moment, and her eyebrows and eyes were silent.
Qiu Che thought she had asked the wrong question. She thought she would not say anything. She was about to say something to study the dead silence, but suddenly she saw Li Qingwu move.
She reached out and stroked the back of the bow and arrow, and whispered: "Perhaps what you can't get is always the best. I have liked bows and arrows since I was a child... I envied the prince and the third brother who practiced bows with the martial arts master."
"But the six arts of a gentleman are what the princes have to learn. I am a princess, a princess, and princesses don't need to practice archery."
"I was looking forward to it day and night, always wanting to touch the second brother's bow and arrow. I thought it was very beautiful."
Qiu Che listened quietly: "...What happened?"
Li Qingwu smiled self-deprecatingly: "I touched it...but the second brother also found out."
"He directly asked someone to smash the bow to pieces, saying that even if it was smashed and thrown away, it would never be given to me."
Qiu Che's fists hardened.
"After the Queen found out about that incident, she punished me by locking me up in Fengyang Pavilion and not allowing me to go out for a month."
"That's not the most torturous thing. The most torturous thing is that there are no lights in Fengyang Palace at night," Li Qingwu said softly, "I stayed in that environment for a long time, and gradually began to fear the darkness."
Even though... in fact, she had almost merged with the darkness.
"I don't know why I like that bow so much... In fact, it's just a small thing, but I still remember it now," Li Qingwu smiled again and teased herself, "It seems that my memory is still pretty good."
"I'll teach you." Qiu Che replied abruptly.
As if he didn't see her stunned look, Qiu Che said softly, "You haven't learned the six arts of a gentleman. As long as you want, I can teach you."
She walked over, picked up the bow and arrow with one hand, and wiped it with the towel next to her.
When she walked onto the stage, she looked back at Li Qingwu: "What are you standing there for? Don't you want to learn?"
Li Qingwu blinked slowly and said slowly: "But... didn't you say that learning archery is useless for saving your life?"
"That's another matter," Qiu Che rolled up his sleeves slowly, smiling, "Now is private teaching time, I will practice whatever I say."
Li Qingwu tried to hold back and pursed his lips.
But he couldn't help it, and a smile overflowed from his lips.
Qiu Che stepped back a few steps, let her stand in front of the bow and arrow, and try to pick up the bow.
Li Qingwu followed her example and rolled up his sleeves, carefully picking up the bow and arrow.
It was a bit strenuous, but okay.
Qiu Che said: "The six arts of a gentleman refer to etiquette, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics... Among them, archery refers to the five archery skills, including Bai Shi, Can Lian, Yan Zhu, Xiang Chi, and Jing Yi."
"You don't have to master all of these five skills, just understand some of them. Bai Shi, Can Lian, and Yan Zhu are all skills that tend to be practical, while Xiang Chi completely emphasizes etiquette. The so-called Xiang..."
Li Qingwu listened attentively until Qiu Che finished speaking, and said: "Now, draw the bow and try to shoot an arrow at the target."
Li Qingwu silently raised the bow, and before he aimed, he heard Qiu Che say:
"Wrong."
Qiu Che frowned, "The bow holding posture is wrong. Hold the bow handle with your right hand, with your palm facing up and your thumb facing the left..."
Li Qingwu tried, but because he didn't use the right point of force, the posture he made was a bit awkward.
After watching for a while, Qiu Che couldn't bear it anymore.
She took two steps closer and stretched out her hand to correct him, "Like this."
Her fingers were long and slender, and she was a pair of beautiful hands.
The moment the warm palm covered her, Li Qingwu's whole body shuddered. Her
mind, which was originally fully focused, suddenly became confused.
She was in a trance, and could only see the side of her handsome and beautiful face with her peripheral vision, and could only feel the breath of Qiu Che spraying on her neck half a step away from her.
Involuntarily, she became nervous.
Qiu Che did not notice her abnormality, and still frowned. Seeing that she did not move for a long time, he asked, "Did you hear me talking?"
Li Qingwu said sincerely, "...No."
"...Why not?"
Qiu Che turned his head in confusion and looked down at her slightly. His words stopped when he saw her face so close.
She stared at Li Qingwu's earlobe and blurted out, "Why are your ears red?"
As soon as the words fell,
the red on Li Qingwu's ears quickly climbed and spread, from his neck to the top of his head.
Looking at the pink and tender color...
Qiu Che thought casually, hmm... it's pretty.
ï¼The source of the knowledge about "shooting" art is b.com, please don't study it.
Today's tips:
1. White arrow: The arrow penetrates the target and the arrowhead turns white, indicating that the arrow is shot accurately and powerfully.
2. Canlian: One arrow is shot first, and the next three arrows are shot continuously, and the arrows are connected to each other, like beads connected to each other.
3. Yanzhu: It means that the arrow is shot quickly, the aiming time is short, and the arrow is shot immediately and hits the target.
4. Xiangchi: The minister and the king shoot, the minister and the king stand side by side, and the king retreats one foot.
5. Jingyi: Four arrows are shot in a row, and they all hit the target.
The above comes from b.com.