Chapter 12 The twelfth meeting

Jiang Chenyu felt that she had a long, long dream. Everything in the dream seemed so familiar, it was clearly a past experience, at this moment, Yoyo reappeared... In the second year of Tubi, many guests came to the mansion for her father's 50th birthday banquet. When she and other female relatives were sitting in the inner room and chatting, the sister-in-law suddenly jumped up and said: "Ah, Qi Aohou is here!" At that time, there were about seven or eight female family members present, and upon hearing this, they all gathered by the window, raised the curtain and looked out.Only she was still sitting there.

The sister-in-law joked: "Look at you frivolous girls, and look at our Shen Yu, she is the only one who can hold her breath." She smiled lightly, disapproving in her heart.At that time, the word Ji Ying, to her, was just a name in legends. No matter how much hype was boasted by outsiders, it was just a white cloud far away in the world of mortals. Not unforgettable. Then, the bells and drums sounded, and the banquet outside officially began. The maids came in and led the female relatives to the side hall for dinner. When they were having a good meal, they heard a noise outside. They sent a girl out to find out, and reported that it was General Xue Huai's adopted son Xue Hongfei who suddenly proposed to compete with the guards in the mansion under the pretext of celebrating his birthday.

When the female relatives heard this, they couldn't sit still.Xue Huai is known as the number one general of the Four Kingdoms, invincible in all battles, invincible in all battles, prestigious, and a figure like a god, but he is a bit old, but his adopted son has learned both art and martial arts, and the young tiger general , looks dignified.Therefore, when all the girls heard that he was going to compete, they all wanted to watch it. Seeing that her sister-in-law Li couldn't dissuade her, and she was quite curious, she had no choice but to agree, and immediately led the group of girls to a small building next to the venue. You can see it clearly.

Although Jiang Chenyu wasn't very interested, it was about his father's face after all, so he immediately stood by the window and watched, and saw a tall man standing in the middle of the open space below, dressed in black, constantly flying in the wind , looks heroic, probably the legendary Xue Hongfei. And his father sat in the main seat, and said in a gentle voice: "I have heard for a long time that the third son Xue is excellent in martial arts, and he is going to catch up with General Xue. There are some rough people in my house, so how can he be the opponent of the third son? Haha, no comparison."

Xue Hongfei sneered: "Prime Minister Jiang, why should he be self-effacing? Who doesn't know that although the prime minister doesn't understand martial arts, he is the most proficient in martial arts training and has trained a large number of peerless masters. The prime minister is now refusing, but is he deliberately hiding his secrets?" Father's face was slightly pale, and the atmosphere in the arena was a little stiff, and all the officials present put down their wine glasses and watched the show in silence.Since Xue's family helped Zhao Yin ascend the throne and eradicated the biggest rival Wang's family in one fell swoop, they have great power in their hands, and the new king is also afraid of them.Now that Jiang Zhong was so provocative in front of him, it was obvious that he didn't take the Jiang family seriously.

Xue Su on the side said lazily: "Third brother, you are wrong, the right minister's birthday is a happy and happy day, what kind of martial arts do you have to compete with, it's not good to fight and kill, don't hurry to the right Make amends." Xue Hongfei responded, clasped his fists and said, "I'm a rough man, I don't know how to speak very much. If there is any offence, I hope the Prime Minister forgives me." His father's expression softened a little, and he was about to say some serious things to bring this matter to an end, but he said again: "It's just that our country of Bi has always respected both civil and martial arts. Second, it can be regarded as adding to the fun for everyone, adding a bit of fun, and making this birthday banquet more lively, I didn't expect...hehe..." The last laugh was frivolous and arrogant, full of sarcasm, and directly taught everyone present heart hanging.

The sister-in-law spat and said angrily: "This Xue Hongfei is so arrogant, does he really think of himself as the third son of the Xue family? Even if his father came in person today, he would not dare to talk to the father-in-law like this, let alone he is just A foster son, without an official title..." Jiang Chenyu sighed secretly in his heart: It is precisely because he does not have an official title that he dares to be so afraid, because he is sure that his father will not be able to control him no matter what, and it is also because he is just a adopted son, so if there is trouble When things get to the end, you can sacrifice the adopted son and say that the discipline is not proper.Although Xue Huai did not come, but without his consent, Xue Hongfei would never have dared to be so arrogant at his father's birthday banquet.It seems that the Xue family really wants to suppress the Jiang family...

Seeing that the situation in the arena was tense and everyone's faces were serious, there was a chuckle suddenly, which sounded low, and the volume was obviously not high, but it was so clear and soft when it was transmitted to the ears, as if laughing in the ear generally. She subconsciously looked for that voice, just like that—— I saw Ji Ying. Jiang Chenyu remembered, that was the first time she saw Ji Ying. Ji Ying was sitting on the first guest seat on his father's right, wearing a tall jade crown and a white robe with strands of silver thread, it was not very impressive at the birthday banquet where so many people were crowded. However, when her eyes fell on him, it was as if the starlight in the sky and the surrounding lights had completely covered him, and his white robe exuded a luster like jade, making the whole person look as if Dreamlike.

That's right, that was the first time she saw Ji Ying. Ji Ying was bathed in the bright but soft light, gently raised his handsome but gentle eyebrows, and smiled with his eyes: "What a coincidence, Qi Ao has been admiring Mr. Xue's martial arts for a long time. .” The female relatives cheered and said: "Master Hou is such a good man, he helped Prime Minister Right out of the siege!" Sure enough, upon hearing the words, Xue Hongfei turned to him and said, "What? Is Hou Ye interested in competing with me?" Ji Ying lightly brushed the belt of the jade crown with her slender fingers like jade, and under the thick eyelashes, she smiled softly, softly, lightly, and freely, and finally gathered a perfect elegance that ordinary people can't imitate: "Discuss Not to mention it, everyone knows that my martial arts are mediocre, so how dare I practice with an axe, but recently I am studying archery, I have learned a lot, and I want to ask Third Young Master Xue for advice."

This move was beyond everyone's expectations. Although Ji Ying is extremely famous, capable of both civil and martial arts, and capable of all six arts, but if you really want to say how good martial arts are, it may not be so. What's more, Xue Hongfei is best at archery.Didn't Ji Ying ask for his own death if he wanted to compete with him in archery? The female family members were all worried, and said in one go: "Oh, Lord Hou really wants to compete with Xue Hongfei? What if we lose?" "I'm afraid it's not just a case, but a sure loss... I heard that Xue Hongfei's archery skills are better than General Xue Huai's!"

"I've also heard that he can shoot geese right through the sky!" "Ah? What should I do? I don't want Master Hou to lose... I can't bear to watch it anymore, woo woo..." Jiang Chenyu listened to their words, but what she thought in her heart was that this was a good way.Because, the sword has no eyes, and martial arts competition is said to be a competition, but the point is over, but bumps and injuries are always inevitable in life and death fights.But the archery competition is different, what is shot is side objects, no blood is needed, no matter what the result of the competition is, the people involved on both sides are safe.It's just that Qi Aohou has a high prestige in everyone's hearts, if he is not sure of victory, there is no point in wading into this muddy water and making himself defeated.If he dared to propose that, it should be because he was sure that he would win... She stared at the elegant Mr. Zhuo Shijia who sat among the officials in a light robe with a face like a crown of jade, a little curious, a little inquiring, and then silently expecting. In the arena, after hearing Ji Ying's words, Xue Hongfei laughed loudly: "Okay, I don't know how Master Hou wants to ask for advice?" Just as Ji Ying was about to speak, another voice suddenly appeared, screaming, "Wait a minute!" Jiang Chenyu looked sideways, and was surprised again—— Sitting on the father's right was Ji Ying, and on the left was Xue Su. The voice came from Xue Su's seat, but the speaker was not Xue Su, but a little boy sitting beside him. If it is said that Ji Ying is sitting there, like an epiphyllum, he will not let it go, and he will not bloom until people look at him; then, that little boy is completely opposite, he is sitting there. , is like a thunderbolt, thrilling, showing its sharpness and sharpness. It's none other than Xue Cai, the amazing little child prodigy of the Xue family. Xue Cai tilted her head and smiled, her brows were brighter than her age, yet innocent and naive: "My lords, when it comes to archery, it's a coincidence that Xiao Cai is also very interested." Xue Hongfei laughed and said: "I knew that when it comes to archery, you kid will definitely not be able to sit still. Tell me, what's your wrong idea this time?" The female relatives commented: "That is the little prodigy from the General's Mansion? Ah, he looks so cute!" "I heard that he followed the emperor to go hunting in autumn last month and shot a big tiger to death in front of the emperor. Is it true? How old is he? Such a small man, so amazing?" "Now there is a good show to watch, let's listen to what he has to say." In the arena, Xue Cai stood up, cupped his hands at Ji Ying and said, "Xiao Cai is rude, and I beg you to be the commanding officer for the competition between Master Hou and Uncle Third." "Oh?" Ji Ying's eyes flickered, "What kind of command method?" "When it comes to comparing arrows, it has always been just shooting rakes or hunting animals, which is very boring. Since today is the birthday of Lord Right Prime Minister, it is natural that the comparison should be different and more exciting. Therefore, I There are three test questions, and then, you shoot along my questions, and whoever answers the questions best will be judged as the winner, how about it?" Xue Hongfei smiled and said: "Look, let's see, you have the most ideas. Of course I don't care, I'm afraid that others will say that you are my nephew and favor me." Xue Cai snorted, and said proudly: "What kind of person am I, Xue Cai, how can I act selfishly in front of everyone? Lord Hou, I came here with my father to celebrate the right minister's birthday, and I didn't know what Third Uncle thought beforehand Competing with the masters of the Prime Minister's Mansion, I don't even know that Lord Hou will take the initiative to participate in the battle and ask for a competition of archery skills. Therefore, I have not disclosed the test questions to my third uncle in advance. The referee will naturally act impartially. Do you believe it? Believe it or not?" He was obviously only five years old, but he said such impassioned words in full view, which made everyone present heartbroken, and even those who were interested clapped their hands on the spot. Jiang Chenyu covered her lips and smiled. This child prodigy is indeed a big kid. Hey, hey, he is so precocious and wise, and he has such a prominent background. She laughed over there, but when she turned her brows, she remembered melancholy—yes, these all happened two years ago. In fact, she already knew what happened two years later. The little boy who was so beautiful and so eclipsed by all the adults has already had his wings pulled out, his edges and corners have been worn out, and he has been demoted from being extremely noble to being extremely lowly, and he no longer has the style he used to... She suddenly became very sad, and when she looked at everything that happened in the arena again, she felt that the lights were flickering, the wind was whimpering, and they were all so far away from her... In the venue where the light and shadow intersected, several servants carried the archery target and placed it on the open space ten feet away from the shooting point, and then pulled a rope between the shooting point and the archery target, and hung five lanterns in sequence on the rope , swaying gently under the evening wind. Xue Cai raised an index finger and said, "The first question is to ask the two adults to shoot an arrow, not only to hit the bull's-eye, but also to shoot through all five lanterns. How about it?" The female relative bit her ear and said: "This question is so tricky, that is to say, when the arrow shoots past, it will pierce all the lanterns and finally hit the bull's-eye?" "Yes, yes, these lanterns are swinging back and forth. Even if you hit them, the arrow will probably be crooked when it reaches the target." The hundreds of officials below also exchanged their heads one after another. Amidst the buzzing whispers, Xue Hongfei laughed loudly and shouted: "Bring my bow!" The two soldiers immediately took to the field carrying a big bow half as tall as a man. The body of the bow was made of high-quality ox horn, painted with black lacquer, and carved with a silver eagle. Its bow is already daunting. Xue Hongfei extended his arm and took the big bow. The soldier handed over a four-feather birch arrow. He hooked the string with his thumb, pressed his index finger and middle finger against his thumb, and exerted a little force. The bow was like a full moon. There was a sound, the meteor shot straight, Bai Yu raised a straight arc, and flew towards the five lanterns. Puff puff puff puff, the five blows were almost at the same time: the first sound did not stop, but the fifth sound had already started; Firmly stuck in the red bullseye. Looking at the lanterns on the rope, they were still shaking, and they seemed to be the same, but when they were taken off, there was a small hole on the top of each lantern, and the edges were extremely smooth, without any damage. The stunt is like this, and the applause roars. The female relatives exclaimed: "Oh my god, it's so fast, it feels like a dream, and the ejaculation is over in a blink of an eye!" "This Xue Hongfei is really amazing. The skill of the arrow is so miraculous. I heard that when he fainted from hunger in the street, he frightened the general's horse. The general asked someone to drag him away. He hugged the horse's leg desperately. No matter who No matter how you beat him, he would not let go. The general cherished his horse the most, and was afraid of hurting the horse, so we had to ask him what his wish was, and he said that he wanted to fight with the general on the battlefield and serve the country." "At that time, he was only eleven or twelve years old. How could General Xue put such a brat in his eyes, and casually accepted him by his side. Unexpectedly, this person was not afraid of death at all. In the past, he was the one who killed the most enemies, and he was also the one who was injured the most. General Xue was moved by his bravery, so he accepted him as his adopted son. Several times he was appointed as an official, but he shirked it, saying that he did not seek fame, but only To serve the country." "There are still such loyal people?" Sister-in-law Li spat: "Huh, I don't think so. Although he has no official title, he has become Xue Huai's adoptive son. His status and status are even more glorious than that of the first rank in the dynasty. Look at him, he is like this Talking to the father-in-law, and even competing with Qi Aohou, in today's world, how can there be a second official who dares to be so presumptuous!" While speaking, Xue Hongfei handed the longbow to the little soldier beside him, turned around and smiled at Ji Ying, "Hongfei felt itchy for a while, so he shot first, and I hope Lord Hou will forgive me." Ji Ying's eyes still stayed on the trembling arrow on the grass target, then slowly retracted, looked at him in amazement and said: "The third son is really good at arrows, Ying is really eye-opening today." "Next, it's Lord Hou's turn." Ji Ying said with a bit of emotion: "Ying thinks he can't be as straightforward as the third son, so he has to drag his feet..." As he spoke, he got up and walked slowly to the shooting line. A big man in gray with a little red dragon tattooed on his left eyebrow handed over his bow. Ji Ying's bow and arrows were very ordinary, without any decorations, which disappointed the female relatives a little, but the finger wrench he took out of the box was very beautiful, not as popular as ivory, Jade is sewn from boiled leather, dyed a bright vermilion, and embroidered with flowers, but the distance is too far to see the details. He puts on the trigger, pulls the string with his thumb, presses the thumb with his index and middle fingers, and then pulls lightly. Like a luthier playing an ancient string; Like drops of frost and dew congealed into beads; Like a bird darting out of a high forest; Like a rabbit jumping out of a prison hole... Light, light, light. The arrow flew in front of the first lantern in an instant, pierced it with a puff, and just when everyone's hearts were tense, it suddenly stopped. Jiang Chenyu let out an "ah", and thought to herself: No way!Did it stop at the first lantern? Then there was a "bang", and the whole lantern exploded suddenly. In the light of the fire, a beam of flame shot forward like a dragon, rushed into the second lamp, and there was another explosion, and the fire dragon continued to move forward. After rushing through five lanterns, he finally flew to the target, and the arrow target caught fire together, burning blazingly. All the people present were stunned by this spectacle. For a while, the arena was quiet, only the sound of burning flames and the breathing of the crowd could be heard. The target finally burned out and fell off the shelf with a snap. Only then did Ji Ying spread out her hands, and said with a smile, "Ying is showing his ugliness." Xue Cai took the lead in clapping, and when he reminded him, the others followed suit. Xue Caidao: "It's so beautiful. Lord Hou knew that he was not as strong as my third uncle, and he couldn't make the arrow go through the lantern without stopping and without fading, so he simply used his strength to stop the first arrow. After entering the lantern, something must have been smeared on the arrow, and when it hit the flames, it swelled and exploded, so the arrow continued to fly forward with the force of the explosion, and shot all the way to the target." Ji Ying smiled faintly, neither admitting nor denying it. "I only said to let the arrow shoot through the lantern and then hit the bull's-eye. I didn't say that I should not tamper with the bow and arrow. Since my third uncle can compete with one of the best bows in the world, Lord Hou can also use special arrows. Both of you have achieved the test questions I proposed, which should be considered a tie, but my proposition is - you must hit the bull's-eye. On this point, although Hou Ye's arrow hit the target in the end, he didn't care about it. , even though the target is burnt out now and there is no way to verify it, but I saw clearly just now that you lost this question—are you convinced or not?" Ji Ying let out a "ha", rubbed his nose and said, "I thought I would fool you, but I didn't expect you to catch me. Okay, okay, I admit defeat." Of the two of them, one was judged harshly, while the other lost happily. Seeing this, Jiang Chenyu became more and more interested.I heard the female relatives next to me say coquettishly: "Oh, that little Xue Cai is so annoying. Lord Hou's shot is much better than Xue Hongfei's. Why is he judged to lose for such a small reason?" "That's right, we've seen too many archery shooters like Xue Hongfei, but it's the first time we've seen someone shoot arrows like Master Hou, so how can we judge him to lose!" Yingying Yanyan was dissatisfied. Jiang Chenyu covered her lips and smiled, arousing Li Shi's curiosity: "Chen Yu, what are you laughing at?" "It's nothing... However, I think this competition will definitely end in a draw." "Huh? Why? How do you know?" "Anyway, sister-in-law, you'll find out if you keep reading." She pretended to be mysterious, but her gaze was always on the ground downstairs, unwilling to move away. At this time, Xue Cai came up with the second question: "In ancient times, there was a sharpshooter Feiwei who took in a disciple named Ji Chang and ordered him to learn not to blink before he could talk about archery. Five years later, Ji Chang looked at the yak The lice under the hair are all as big as a huge hill. An arrow passes over and hits the center of the lice, but the yak hair hanging from the lice is continuous. Only then can archery be accomplished. From this we can see that it is difficult to shoot far, and it is difficult to shoot small. It's even more difficult. My second question is - on the field today, you can choose any object to shoot, and whoever shoots the smallest object will win." The more he talked, the more complacent he became, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that his question was as good as Fei Wei, and it was even more troublesome and difficult for them to let the contestants choose their own items... When he was happy, a note The wind blows. It was said to be one note, but in fact there were two lines, passing by the left and right ears respectively, and then there was a sound of "Ding", making a trill. It turned out that two arrows were shot at the same moment, and flew close to his face, hitting the screen behind him. Xue Cai's pupils were shrinking, and he stood with a pale face. Xue Hongfei laughed loudly and said, "I didn't expect that Master Hou and I thought of the same thing——Xiao Cai, why are you still standing and not turning your head to accept the results? But you can move gently so as not to break your hair." Two attendants hurried forward and pulled out the arrow branches on the screen, only to see that there was a piece of hair on each of the arrows, and the hair was still growing on Xue Cai's head and had not been broken. Needless to say, these two arrows were naturally shot by Xue Hongfei and Ji Ying. Seeing this, the female relatives upstairs smiled and bent over: "Oh, look at the expression of little Xue Cai, it is really wonderful! He probably never dreamed that those two people would dare to attack him Bar!" "From this point of view, Xue Hongfei and Lord Hou really have a tacit understanding. They even thought of shooting Xue Cai's hair at the same time. This is not a joke. If you miss it, tonight's wedding banquet will become a funeral banquet. !" Sure enough, Xue Cai said angrily: "This doesn't count!" Xue Hongfei asked: "Why is it not counted?" "You guys chose the same thing, so how can you win or lose? And I, the root of my hair, is not the tiniest thing at all!" Ji Ying smiled and said, "It really doesn't count. It is said that the pupil of the human eye is the thinnest among all things. When it is extremely contracted, it is hundreds of times thinner than the eye of a needle. How about shooting the eye with the next arrow?" Seeing him gesturing and raising his bow, Xue Cai subconsciously covered her eyes and shouted: "No, no, don't shoot me in the eye! Okay, okay, I'll take this question as both of you passed, tie, tie! " As soon as this remark came out, laughter burst out from below. The dinner party, which was originally extremely tense, became more relaxed because of this. Knowing that she was being teased, Xue Cai felt annoyed, and asked the third question with a sullen face: "Come here—" Several domestic servants held twelve water polo made of pigskin and placed them on a shelf half the height of a person, connected end to end and arranged in a circle, with just enough room for one person to stand in the middle. Xue Caidao: "Here is a circle of water polo, the cortex is extremely thin, and the sharp blade can be broken immediately. My third question is - can a person in the circle break it all with one arrow?" "Is he crazy?" A female family member said in shock, "How can this be done?" "Yes, if a person wants to stand in the circle and shoot an arrow to destroy all the water polo, can the bow and arrow still turn?" "impossible……" Downstairs, Xue Hongfei frowned: "Are you sure?" "Of course. Oh yes, use ordinary bows and arrows." Xue Cai glanced at Ji Ying as he spoke, implying that no tampering with the arrows was allowed.Ji Ying just smiled, but Xue Hongfei shook his head and said, "This is impossible, no one can do it!" "If you can't do it, I'll show you how to do it. But..." Xue Cai said with a wink and a smile, "Before you only talked about the competition, there was no winning prize, so it's fine if you both don't mind, but if I enter the arena , you must get some bonuses. That is to say, if you can’t do the third question, but I do, I will ask each of you for something.” Xue Hongfei raised his eyebrows and said: "I knew that you shot your hair just now, and you were holding a grudge, and you really came to take revenge now. Tell me, what do you want?" Xue Cai probably used to ridicule each other with him on weekdays, so he didn't care if he was said to be revenge, but his eyes became brighter, and he said happily: "Okay, I want your sky-breaking bow!" Xue Hongfei raised the black longbow on his arm, and said with a smile: "Since you started learning archery, you have been coveting this bow of mine. Forget it, if you can really solve the third problem that I can't solve, this bow If I give it to you, it can be regarded as a beauty orchid that complements each other." "Uncle San agrees?" "I didn't say to give it now, you must at least convince me to lose." "Okay, it's a deal!" Xue Cai turned his gaze to Ji Ying again, and looked at him carefully from head to toe. Ji Ying had a half-smile on his face, and finally coughed and said, "Did you fancy something?" "Well. If I win, I want your wrench." Li smiled and said: "Hey, hey, I really shouldn't show off my treasures in front of this ghost spirit, but whoever he takes a fancy to, can he still escape? Xue Hongfei's sky-breaking bow, Qi Aohou's finger puller, this is a complete set The equipment can be regarded as complete. Do you dare, this young master came to look for gifts at the father-in-law's birthday banquet?" Just when everyone thought that Ji Ying would agree, and were waiting to see how Xue Cai would do the third question, Ji Ying said a word: "No." "What?" Xue Cai was taken aback. Ji Ying stroked the wrench lightly, with soft eyes and a faint smile: "This wrench is my favorite, so I can't give it away." Xue Cai showed a look of disappointment. Before he could say anything, Ji Ying had already swept off his robe, walked towards the circle of water polo, and said as he walked, "Since I don't want to give it to others, I can only win this question." , don’t lose.” The female family member was surprised: "Huh? Master Hou actually wants to do this third question?" "Even Xue Hongfei gave up on the third question, can he really do it?" "If that finger was made of leather, it would not be a valuable item. Why didn't he give it to Xue Cai?" Amidst the discussion, Ji Ying walked to the center of the water circle, and Zhu Long handed over the bow and arrow.Everyone stared wide-eyed to see how he drew his bow.Before receiving the bow, he raised his head and said, "Must people be in the circle?" Xue Cai nodded: "People must be in the circle." "Shoot all the water polo with one arrow?" "Yes, break all the water polo with one arrow." "Are there any other requests?" A series of strange changes suddenly appeared on Xue Cai's face, but his eyes became brighter, and he finally nodded: "No more." "Okay." With the sound of "Hello", Ji Ying's long sleeves fluttered, and before everyone could see what happened, they heard a "poof", all the water polo burst, and the water inside flowed out. And in the wanton dripping circle, Ji Ying, black-haired and white-clothed, with a light smile, stared at Xue Cai and said, "I'm done." He raised his right hand, and the arrow between his fingers gleamed under the light. Jiang Chenyu thought, yes, at that time, Ji Ying won like that... He didn't use any shocking methods, nor any ingenious tricks, he just walked in the circle casually, without using a bow, just took an arrow, and then spun around like a swordsman holding a sword , where the arrow crosses, the water polo will all burst... What an easy way. But at that time, no one thought of it except him. Xue Cai only said that he wanted to stand in the circle and smash all the water polo with one arrow, but he didn't say that the arrow had to be shot with a bow.And Ji Ying seized the only gap and won that level. Because the exam question that day was a comparison of arrows, and the first two questions were indeed shooting arrows with a bow, the psychological implication to people was that the third question must also be how to shoot an arrow, but they forgot that even if you don’t use a bow, as long as you shoot an arrow It can also be done with an arrow in hand. She has never forgotten Xue Cai's expression at that time, because she also had that expression at that time. Shocked and overwhelmed, followed by subtle jealousy and unspeakable admiration. Qi Aohou, Ji Ying. Mr. Bai Ze, Ji Ying. He turned out to be that kind of person... All the lights at the birthday banquet were dimmed, and only he, standing in the arena, absorbed all the brilliance between the heaven and the earth, shining brightly, scorching and touching. That was the first time she saw Ji Ying. Sometimes, feelings are so strange, it's fine if they haven't met before, but once they meet, when they hear about his deeds from other people's ears, their mentality becomes completely different. After the birthday banquet that day, when my sister-in-law commanded the servants in the mansion to clean up the place, my sister-in-law asked: "How do you know that this competition will end in a tie?" She replied: "I think so - the reason why Lord Hou stepped forward to take care of this nosy matter is to help daddy out of trouble, but he can't offend the Xue family because of it, so if it were me, it would definitely be a tie. In this way, I don’t hurt my face, and the other party is also very good-looking. But I didn’t expect that Xue Cai would interfere, and the questions he asked were so tricky. I must have had a headache at the time. But he is so smart, Xue Cai’s questions are rare compared to Xue Hongfei, but He couldn't be troubled. So, in the end, it came to a successful conclusion according to his original plan. Tonight... Without him, I really don't know how things would have turned out..." Mrs. Li sighed, nodded and said: "That's right. Hey, my father-in-law is good at everything, but he is too kind and humble in everything, which makes the other party less and less consider us. If this continues, life will be sad... Fortunately Huayue has been favored since she entered the palace, and our family depends on her..." Thinking of her sister who entered the palace last year, Chen Yu felt a pain in her heart, so the scene whirled and flew away, and when it stopped again, it was another scene of bells ringing, food and lights brightly lit, nothing changed, the same birthday stars gathered like For Yun's guests, even the order of the master and slave seats did not seem to have changed. However, Ji Ying's seat was empty. She was clearly standing in the center of the venue, but no one could see her. They were whispering, and those words overlapped and pressed heavily into her ears—— "I heard Qiaohou won't come tonight. He's sick!" "I've also heard that she seems to be very ill, and has not been in court for more than half a month." "Have you found out what the disease is?" "I don't know, I just said that I got the wind and cold. It's only April, and it's the time of spring, so why did I get the wind and cold?" "I heard that it was because my mother died of illness, and I was too sad, so I fell ill." "That's right, Qi Aohou is a well-known dutiful son..." That's how it is. Now it's Tubi's third year, her father's 51st birthday. She remembers that she began to dress up very early in the morning. She knew that the female relatives were not allowed to attend. In fact, that person couldn't see her at all, but she still wore the most beautiful shirt. With the best hairstyle, she shyly hid behind the same window as last year, waiting for that person to come. However, his place has always been vacant. Because he was ill, everyone said he couldn't come. She was so disappointed. Compared with the topics of the guests, the women's relatives were talking about another thing: "Hey, have you heard about the great beauty?" "Ah? You're talking about... that big beauty?" "What beauty?" Someone was curious. The sister-in-law sighed straight away: "Isn't it because the emperor has taken a fancy to another court lady, not only pampered her, but also made his wife the next day." "What? Just make her your wife? That's a higher title than us nobles!" The sister-in-law said worriedly: "No, in history, there has never been such a continuous jumping of more than ten levels, but Huayue was so angry. But there is no way, the emperor insists on this, and the ministers can't persuade him. It is said that Xue The family also disagreed, and tried their best to oppose it. As a result, when General Zhonglang saw the lady's face, his soul flew away, and he couldn't say a word anymore... It can be seen how troublesome the palace lady's face has become!" "I've also heard that the palace is currently undergoing major construction and plans to build a glass palace for the new lady." The female relatives gasped. It is true that since the founding of the People's Republic of China, no imperial concubine has been favored to such an extent. "Extreme things will be reversed, and prosperity will not last long." The sister-in-law asserted. She listened to those right and wrong voices, her heart fluttered, and when she was in chaos, there was another commotion underneath, and someone shouted: "Ah! Qi Aohou is here!" She immediately flew down from the window, her body was so light that she didn't have any weight, but her speed was unbelievably fast, and she was in front of Ji Ying in an instant. Ji Ying was leading into the venue under the leadership of servants in the mansion. And she was just one foot in front of him, and when he took a step forward, she took a step back, looking at him, never leaving her. This was the second time she saw Ji Ying, exactly one year since the last time. The look of his brows and eyes clearly never faded in her mind, but it was different... At that time, Ji Ying had a graceful demeanor, a clear smile, and a warm smile, which made people feel that it was a very pleasant thing to see such a person smiling anytime; Today, the facial features are still the same as before, but they have changed into a completely different temperament. His eyes are sunken, his pupils are bloodshot, he has no expression or vitality, and he is so haggard. She was still terrified, but her father had already rushed over to meet her: "Master Hou came back from illness, it's really frustrating old man, please take a seat!" Ji Ying smiled, and handed over the congratulatory gift. Although the etiquette was considerate, there was always a sense of alienation that was absent-minded, and this feeling was even more obvious when he was seated. When someone came forward to toast, he took it and did it. Laugh, and he laughs too. Jiang Chenyu watched, tears suddenly fell down. She thought she was really stupid, such an obvious thing, but she didn't see it in a daze at the time - the person sitting there drinking was not a person, it was clearly a soul in extreme pain, struggling and choking silently. Ji Ying drank one cup after another, she saw the splash of wine and wet his robe, she also saw his other hand under the desk trembling slightly, she saw him finally push away the attendant and get up, staggering Staggered into the back garden. She hurriedly followed, and saw him throwing up while hugging a rockery, and suddenly started laughing softly, laughing and laughing, stopped again, raised his head, looked up at the moon in the sky, and was silently lost in thought. The man named Zhu Long followed beside him, handed over a wet towel and said, "Master Hou, let's go back." "Go back..." Ji Ying's eyes became dazed, and he said suddenly, "No, I still want to compete with Xue Cai..." "Master Hou," Zhu Long said with a bit of pain in his voice, "Young Master Xue went to Yan Country, you forgot." "Really?" Ji Ying looked surprised and murmured, "I went to Yan Country, no wonder I didn't see it this year... went to Yan Country... went to Yan Country..." "Master Hou, let's go back." Zhu Long stretched out his hand to help, but Ji Ying pushed his hand away as if he had seen something terrible, then stepped back a few steps, and stood still before he stopped. Realizing his gaffe, his eyes darkened, and he said in a low voice, "But... I don't want to go back. Zhu Long, I don't want to go back..." "Lord Hou..." "I'll stay here for a while, just stay for a while..." His voice became lower and lower, and his eyes became more and more lost. He took out a kit from his sleeve and opened it. It was exactly the one he wore when he was archery last year. Just wrench your fingers. The moonlight is like water. The color of the fingers has also become much lighter, faintly showing a bloody dark scarlet color. 姬婴盯着那枚扳指，眸光闪烁不定，由浅转深，又从深变浅，最后低低一笑：“罢，罢，罢……”他一连说了三声罢字，然后将手一扬，做势欲丢，但挥到一半，却又停住了，就那样硬生生地僵在半空，脸上悲色渐起。 朱龙在一旁叹道：“侯爷，你……这是何必呢……” “丢、不、掉……朱龙，我丢不掉啊……我竟然到此刻了，还是，舍不得丢……呵呵，呵呵呵呵……哎——”声音一颓，手虚软地落下，握着那枚扳指，低头不言。 风声呜呜，几朵云移过来，遮住了圆月。 姬婴在斑驳的光影中，周身黯淡。 姜沉鱼就站在三丈远的地方看着他，想着这个男子为何会如此忧愁。他明明那么睿智多才，任何难题都应该难不倒他才是；他一直都笑得那么温文，永远能将情绪用微笑掩饰得滴水不漏……然而，这一夜，这个站在假山旁吐得一塌糊涂又低头沉默的男子，虽然不再如之前那么风姿隽秀，高雅难言，却让她真真切切地体会到了一种疼痛。 她，看见他这个样子，心就会疼。 很想过去抱住他，用最最柔软的声音告诉他，不要难过； 很想为他做些什么，让他恢复之前的明朗与风光； 很多话想说，很多事想做…… 然而，脚步却迈不开，只能那样安静无声地凝望着他，一直一直凝望着。 公子，你可知，其实，在姜氏决定与你联姻之前，我已凝望了你很久很久…… 曾见白璧染微瑕。 此去经年却不察。