Chapter 17 Chapter Seventeen

Li Chu has not returned from the post house.He said he was leaving, but he had no luggage to pack.Standing on the steps in front of the house, Shen Zhenzhu let her heart churn, full of thoughts. "Mother-in-law, are you really going to leave and not stay in Huihe?" Ye Hu didn't know when he came behind him, the young man's eyes were flickering, and he had the intelligence to see the world. Shen Zhenzhu couldn't help feeling guilty, this young man considers herself his mother, but she didn't talk about her mother's care, for a few days, she seldom even talked to him.Stretching out his arm to hold Ye Hu's hand, Ye Hu shrank subconsciously, thinking he was not used to it, but was finally held by her.Her hands were so soft and warm, and the warmth penetrated into his heart.She said: "Ye Hu, are you willing to go back to the Tang Dynasty with me? Your Highness and I will treat you like a disciple." When she spoke, her eyes were fixed on him, her kindness and kindness were almost irresistible.Ye Hu lost his mother since he was a child, and before he reached the age of maturity, his father also died, and he was wandering around without support. He was adopted by Mo Yanchuo before he could settle down.

After all, Ye Hu was a young man, and he was willing in his heart, but lowered his head shyly, murmured, unable to hear what he said clearly. "Okay", Shen Zhenzhu laughed, "It's settled like this, Ye Hu, you go back and clean up, I'll go talk to Khan—" While talking, a few guards came from the other side of the corridor, looking intently Look, it was actually the personal guards that Li Chu brought to the posthouse, standing beside the other guards on the left and right of the steps with their swords on their own. Shen Zhenzhu felt that something was wrong, why didn't Li Chu come back?Raising his eyebrows, he asked a guard closest to him: "Why did you leave His Highness without permission? Where is Your Highness?"

"This——" the guard hesitated a little, and replied: "His Royal Highness will come back immediately." After all, Li Chu trained a good guard, but Li Chu's order was to obey, which made Shen Zhenzhu even more confused.But Ye Hu said from the side: "Mother-in-law, don't worry, when I came just now, I saw His Highness King Guangping talking to General An." "What?" Shen Zhenzhu thought for a while, walked slowly to the room and sat down, thinking for a while.Suddenly flustered, he summoned the guard and shouted: "Tell the truth to my concubine, is Your Highness with General An now?"

The guard was already uneasy, but now seeing Shen Zhenzhu's voice was stern, he half-knelt on the ground and replied: "Yes, yes. This subordinate dare not hide it." "What are they doing?" "My subordinates didn't hear clearly, it seems that they mentioned something... sword, Your Highness forbids us to follow, and doesn't allow us to tell the princess..." Before she could finish speaking, Shen Zhenzhu got up and rushed out with her skirts on.The guard called out in astonishment, "Princess—" Ye Hu had already dragged him, "Hurry up and follow."

They are going to compare swords!Although as promised at the beginning, there are still four months for the sword competition, but An Qingxu wants to learn medical skills and inherit the mantle of Changsun E, so he can't rush to Chang'an on time, so he can only advance the date of the competition.Why didn't she think of this? The Huihe Royal Palace was built on a high mountain, with a height of more than 20 feet. Compared with other civilian buildings in Hacibacihesun, it is like a peak rising straight into the sky, which is daunting.In the northwest of the palace, there is a flat high hill, where two men are already fighting.

Li Chu held a precious sword that cut iron like mud, taking advantage of the weapon.An Qingxu's swordsmanship was superb, his strikes were as fast as thunder, and there were endless tricks.Li Chu is calm and calm, his swordsmanship is pure and defensive, his body and footwork stick to the directions of "eight gates" and "five steps", without any confusion, he sees every move, An Qingxu fears that his sword is powerful, and dare not fight He hit hard.At the height of the battle, An Qingxu's sword suddenly trembled, and three sword flowers flew up in a flash. In one move, he attacked Li Chu's three vital points in succession. Cut off his long sword, struck out with a single stroke, and was about to utter the word "zhe", when An Qingxu's sword suddenly changed, which was so fantastic that Li Chu couldn't help being surprised, but fortunately, his tricks did not surprise the old man. , hastily walked around with a coiling dragon, and returned the sword to protect the body, but there was a "chi", the corner of the clothes had been pierced by An Qingxu's sword.

Shen Zhenzhu had already seen it from a distance, the exclamation was about to come out, but she tried her best not to let it out, for fear of distracting Li Chu.Even the guards and Ye Hu behind him stopped, held their breath, and watched the thrilling battle. I only heard An Qingxu praise: "Your Highness's swordsmanship ranks first among the kings and grandchildren!" After finishing his words, he raised his sword and attacked again.One attack quickly, like the wind and sea rain, forcing people to come; the other defends calmly, like a long embankment lying on the waves, not to be shaken, it is really a sword holding wind and thunder, and its power can be seen everywhere.

Even so, it seemed that Li Chu was still at a disadvantage. Shen Zhenzhu was shocked and her palms were sweating.An Qingxu's offensive was like the great waves of the Yangtze River, one wave after another, he seemed to be tireless. If Li Chu slack off a bit, there would be a few more transparent holes in his body.Shen Zhenzhu wanted to call out to stop, but she knew very well that with Li Chu's arrogance and conceit, how could he give up his sword and admit defeat; with An Qingxu's victory in his hands, how could he let go easily.While hesitating, he suddenly saw Li Chu's toes pointing, and he suddenly raised his body and stabbed down in the air.It turned out that the two had been fighting for a long time, and Li Chu's strength was exhausted. He wanted to lose, so he came up with this dangerous move that opened the door wide.Shen Zhenzhu's face turned pale, and he cried out "Ah", An Qingxu's ears were extremely sharp, when he turned his head to look at Shen Zhenzhu, Li Chu's sword had already stabbed him, his legs bent down in a hurry, his waist was thrown back, and the long sword cut upwards With a sound of "Dang", the two swords intersected, Li Chu had a strong momentum and used a precious sword, An Qingxu's skill was solid, when An Qingxu's sword was broken through a gap, both swords flew out at the same time.

An Qingxu's eyes glanced over Shen Zhenzhu's body in a hurry, and seeing her face full of worry, she could only look at Li Chu, she was so disheartened in an instant, thinking that her future was uncertain, her life was a different path, from now on, she had no hesitation .Jianbu picked up the long sword, put it back into the sheath, clasped his fists and said to Li Chu, "Your Highness has won." But Li Chu secretly called out "ashamed", said: "General An's swordsmanship is far superior to mine, today's comparison doesn't count, how about another day?"

An Qingxu looked up to the sky and let out a long laugh, then his face turned cold, and he replied: "No need, if you lose, you lose, An Mou is convinced. However, An Mou has a merciless request, I wonder if it's okay?" "General An, but it doesn't matter!" "Your Highness, please take care of your family and teachers when you return to Chang'an." "Second Brother An," Shen Zhenzhu asked, "Why didn't you personally escort Mr. Changsun?" An Qing looked at the distant mountains, and replied: "Lin Zhi is the best candidate to inherit the mantle of the family teacher. An Mou has neither the heart nor the ability to heal others."

Li Chu said: "Mr. Changsun is kind to Pearl, so General An just need to rest assured. But, does General An not plan to return to Chang'an?" "I have been away from Fanyang for more than a year, and it is time to go back." Huihe has another official road to Fanyang.An Qingxu took the horse and jumped on it. Shen Zhenzhu suddenly took a few steps forward, pulled the rein, and asked, "When will Brother An come back to Chang'an?" Restraining himself, he said coldly: "You should wish that I would never go to Chang'an again." When I come to Chang'an again, I am afraid that the sky will fall apart, and this life will never return. Hearing Shen Zhenzhu's whispered words, it was only in my ears: "You and Chu, I don't want to hurt anyone." However, he had already swung his whip away, and her words, subtle and subtle, were severely whipped by him. On the horse, it was scattered all over the place. "Pearl, I'm afraid you'll lose this game again." Changsun E took down two sunspots with a smile, and said, "Your layout is very good, and the corners are dominant, but it's a pity that you look left and right and only use winding attacks. , without relying on pressure as a supplement, it is difficult to form a powerful method of warfare." While speaking, he took another black stone, and the middle of the white stone was continuous, forming a solid ground, occupying a large wall. "How about it, why don't you abandon your son and admit defeat, and start over?" Changsun E twitched his beard triumphantly and smiled. Shen Zhenzhu didn't answer, she thought for a long time, a flash of inspiration flashed, and put down a sunspot.Changsun E shook his head and said: "If you put all your eggs in one basket, it's hard to come back from the dead." He casually made a bet.Shen Zhenzhu was about to laugh out loud, and added another child, Changsun E couldn't help being surprised.This is an ingenious one-hand maneuvering technique, it connects the two sunspots at the corners that have been cut off, it is light and airy, and has already formed a pressure on the white stones. The journey was long, and the eldest grandson E felt lonely, and often played several games with Shen Zhen during the breaks.The eldest grandson, E, is very good at chess, Shen Zhenzhu always loses more than wins, but fortunately she is very intelligent, and she is very good at chess along the way, so he doesn't feel that he has no opponent and no fun. After this round, even though Shen Zhenzhu tried her best to turn the situation around, she finally lost half the game.Changsun Eyou was very interested, and his chess spirit was in full swing, calling out: "Come again, come again, I let you go first in this game." "Three rounds have been played, Mr. Changsun, at least let Pearl rest." Li Chu lifted the curtain of the carriage, took Shen Zhenzhu's hand, and was about to help her get off the carriage.He didn't want Shen Zhenzhu to be hurt by playing chess with Changsun E. At this moment, he saw that the forehead of Shen Zhenzhu was sweating again, so he stretched out his sleeve to wipe it carefully for her. The eldest grandson was so angry that he blew his beard and stared, "Don't play chess?! The two of them got together again to talk? The husband and wife sit in a carriage every day, how can there be so much to say, don't care about me, a lonely old man? Okay, okay ,let's go!" Li Chu and Shen Zhenzhu looked at each other, both felt quite embarrassed, Li Chu smiled and said: "How about I accompany you to the next game?" Changsun E rolled his eyes, waved his hand and said: "Go, go, although you are His Highness, those little chess skills are still not in the eyes of the old man." Shen Zhenzhu had no choice but to get on the carriage again, rearrange the chess pieces, and played another game with him.This round really benefited a lot, and he fought his eldest grandson E Teng Nuo to the fullest, but in the end he was defeated by a single blow.At this time it was almost dusk, Li Chu hurried on his way, and then let Shen Zhenzhu go. Li Chu removed the hairpins from Shen Zhenzhu's hair, helped her to lie down in the car, and said: "Having exhausted your energy for half a day, go to sleep, sleep until tomorrow morning, and you will be fine." Shen Zhenzhu agreed, closed her eyes, and listened to Li Chu's order: "Go slowly, the princess needs to rest." The carriage drove through the mountains and jungles, and the ears were filled with the singing of insects and birds.Leaving Haciba Cihesun, Moyan Chuo personally sent him to the city gate, only Ye Hu, a child, had clearly promised to accompany him to Chang'an, but changed his mind temporarily and insisted on staying in Huihe.People are strangers in a foreign land, leaving their hometown, and no one would want to, let alone living in a foreign land. Just closing her eyes and thinking wildly like this, she suddenly felt as if a piece of sunshine had moved onto her face, warm and genial, she opened her eyes involuntarily, but she was facing Li Chu's shining eyes in the dark.She smiled slightly, and heard Li Chu say, "Haven't fallen asleep yet?" She stood up, leaned on Li Chu's body, and said, "Can't you sleep too? Are you about to arrive in Jincheng County?" That means it's not far from Chang'an. Li Chu didn't answer, and gently stroked the hair on Shen Zhenzhu's chest in the dark, very frequently, like hypnosis.Long Jiu said slowly: "There is one thing about... Dugu Jing, I want to tell you." Shen Zhenzhu's body shuddered, and her heart ached. Cui Caiping was forced by the emperor's order, but Dugujing did it himself.Since she has been hidden from asking, why do you need to expose the scar again.Since you want him to say it, why not say it yourself, Naiqiang calmed down and said in a flat tone, "You don't need to say it, I can guess a thing or two." Li Chu was surprised and asked, "What?" Shen Zhenzhu smiled, and still said lightly: "You raise a large number of dead soldiers, not only do you need Feng Shengyi and others to serve you, but you also need an astonishing amount of coins. With your annual offerings, you can't support it at all. You must have confidants The person who does all kinds of business and profit-making things for you. Dugujing is this confidant." As he spoke, he smiled faintly and said, "Speaking of which, she is the one who can really help you, and I can only be your burden." She was so smart, Li Chu was extremely surprised, and because of her faint tone, he felt infinite panic in his heart, he hurriedly straightened her body, and said in a low hoarse voice: "Listen to me. Don't think wildly, There are some things you may not know." His hands held her shoulders tightly, and she looked into his eyes with anxiety and panic.Seeing that he was in such a hurry, she should have been gentle and considerate, or she would have remained calm to him and listened to his explanation. He should have a lot to say, and that might be the reason for her needs.But for some reason, my heart was confused for a moment, and a nameless impulse rushed straight up from my abdominal cavity, and I pushed him away with all my strength. Li Chu bumped his head against the corner of the carriage, making a muffled sound, but he hurriedly stood up, dumbfounded. looking at her.He saw her suddenly covering her heart, as if it was in pain, he stretched out his hand to help her, and heard her panting loudly: "Go, I don't want to hear you!" After falling back, Li Chu fit her body and threw herself on him, her jade-like face was in his arms, her body was soft, as if she was asleep. Changsun E was furious, and directly reprimanded Li Chu: "You husband and wife quarreled? Did you make your wife angry again? I told you last time that Pearl's body needs to be taken care of, and she rarely worries. Traveling for three months is exhausting, if you make it like this again, the gods will not be able to save you." "Mr. Changsun", Shen Zhenzhu quietly pulled Changsun E's lapel, and said angrily, "It's none of your business, didn't you want me to play four games of chess with you yesterday?" "This", Changsun E was at a loss for words for a moment, helpless: "Okay, I don't care, I'm old, and I'm not your parents, so I really worry about it." Li Chu was about to speak when he heard a cough from outside and walked out, Chen Zhou whispered something in his ear, with a hint of joy on his face, he nodded and returned to the car.Shen Zhenzhu raised her head and saw that his forehead was protruding, obviously swollen, she apologized and wanted to sit up, but her whole body was weak.Li Chu stepped forward and pressed her shoulders, and said: "Since we have arrived in Jincheng County, we might as well rest for a few more days." After a pause, he continued: "You don't want to hear about those things, so I won't talk about them again. I It has been properly deployed, and all kinds of rumors will be wiped out...as long as you believe me." Changsun E let out a long sigh, waved his sleeves and walked out.