Born beautiful

Instead of staying at the post station, the two found a fine inn to stay at.

Yi Shen was worried that Wu Qi might get a fever at night, so he asked the servant to add an extra blanket to Wu Qi's room and handed the servant the medicine the old man had given them, asking them to brew it.

There were many people eating on the first floor of the inn. Some of the women wore veils when they sat down to eat, but only a few women would take off their veils to reveal the two red lines on their faces.

The red lines looked as if they were drawn with rouge or lipstick, and they would melt slightly when exposed to heat. Moreover, the red lines on each woman's face were all the same shade of red, resembling blood red.

Upon closer inspection, it's somewhat frightening.

Wu Qi sat by the window waiting for her meal. She glanced into the room and saw two red lines on the woman's fair face. Looking out the window, she saw that the woman was wearing a veiled hat, and when the wind blew, she could vaguely see a red line extending from her chin.

To be fair, this isn't a very good look.

Most of the women in Pingwu City have fair skin, bright eyes and white teeth, and are of superior appearance, but these two red lines restrict their smiles.

Each woman's face was expressionless.

Wu Qi turned his face away, not wanting to look.

You can always see the deathly face of Chief Zhou on these women's faces, and you can also see the hardships these women have endured.

If they had willingly drawn those two red lines on their faces, they certainly wouldn't be as distressed as they are now.

Why would a woman draw frightening red lines on her face?

Furthermore, why is there nothing on the man's face?

If the man didn't exist, then why did Chief Zhou have two red lines on his face when he died?

"Miss, you must be from out of town?" The servant placed the medicine he had just brewed on the table, rubbed his hands together, and said, "Miss, you're not feeling well, yet you still want to attend our Pingwu Fire Festival?"

Fire Festival?

They had never heard of any Fire Festival in Pingwu City, even though they lived in the capital.

Wu Qi continued with a smile, picking up where the servant left off: "Well, we're from out of town. We heard the Fire Festival is lively, so we thought we'd come and see for ourselves. But it's our first time here, so we don't really understand. Could you please tell us about the origins of the Fire Festival?"

The servant glanced at her hesitantly, then looked around, his expression suggestive.

Wu Qi said knowingly, "Don't worry, we don't want to ask for nothing. We just want to have a good time."

As soon as he finished speaking, Yi Shen placed the silver on the table.

Taking the silver, the servant beamed and said, "Then let me tell you about it. This Fire Festival is a festival held in Pingwu City to commemorate Lord Zhou Lang!"

"Lord Zhou Lang? Never heard of him." Wu Qi pretended to think for a moment, then looked at Yi Shen as if he really didn't know and asked, "Have you heard of him?"

Yi Shen shook his head.

"You two have never heard of Lord Zhou?!" The servant found it unbelievable. Standing beside the table, he spoke righteously and earnestly to these two ignorant and uninformed people about Lord Zhou Lang.

"What a fine official! One in a hundred years, no, one in a thousand! Did you know he discovered a glittering dagger on Pingwu Mountain right here? I don't need to explain what a glittering dagger is, do I?"

"If it weren't for Lord Zhou, our Pingwu City would have been impoverished long ago!"

The servant spoke loudly, his eyes still filled with undiminished admiration.

Hearing this, a young man at the next table turned around and said with dissatisfaction, "He's not that capable. He's just a lackey of the court. If he's so honest and upright, why doesn't he stay in Pingwu City to continue serving as an official? He just sees that it's hard to get promoted in Pingwu, so he's eagerly going back to the capital to get promoted and make a fortune."

Wu Qi asked at the opportune moment, "Young master, what makes you say that? Could it be that Lord Zhou is a corrupt official?"

"Indeed!" The young man at the next table scoffed, continuing, "Zhou Lang is quite cunning. What is a Liuge? Without a Liuge, the Northern Kun is nothing. Such a valuable thing, a single drop could fetch a lot of money, but he refuses. He insists that all land under heaven belongs to the king, and has sent troops to guard Pingwu Mountain. If anyone is found illegally mining Liuge, they will be killed without mercy!"

"Isn't this what we should do!" the servant argued, no longer caring about being a guest. He was determined to say a few good words for Zhou Lang, a good official. "All land under heaven belongs to the king. Without a country, where would Pingwu City come from? Besides, this jeweled weapon is so important. If just anyone could collect it, wouldn't everyone go crazy?!"

Something must have provoked the young master, for he slammed his fist on the table and roared, “What kind of land is this?! Do the people in the capital even respect us from Pingwu? Go and see if there’s a single person from Pingwu on the list of candidates for the imperial examinations every year! Let me tell you, officials in the capital protect each other, and those who pass the imperial examinations are either the sons of generals or the sons of ministers!”

Wu Qi listened quietly to the young master's words, finding them reasonable.

The list of candidates for the imperial examinations is indeed somewhat inappropriate.

The students of Cizige Middle School had not yet participated in the imperial examinations. As a daughter of a prominent family, she was unable to enter officialdom and was naturally ineligible for the imperial examinations.

But Wu Qi also knew.

For people from remote areas and those of low social status, taking the imperial examination route was extremely difficult. Zhou Lang was a rare exception, perhaps one in a hundred years. It is likely that no one in the past few decades has ever achieved the highest honors in all three categories.

But what does Zhou Lang have to do with the imperial examinations?

Could Zhou Lang's death be related to the imperial examination?

The servant boy retorted, "We're talking about Lord Zhou Lang, what does this have to do with the imperial examinations!"

"Why shouldn't he be shut down! Zhou Lang only became an official in Pingwu City after passing the imperial examinations three times, and it was in Pingwu City that he discovered the gilded dagger, which allowed him to rise step by step to the position of Director of the Gilded Dagger Bureau!" the young master said. "But what has he done?! He once said he wanted to restore a clear and bright environment for all the scholars in the world, but where has he gone? I think he's become obsessed with money!"

"Um!" Wu Qi smiled, interrupting the two's argument, "If I may ask, when did Lord Zhou ever say he wanted to restore a clear and bright world for all scholars?"

A moment of silence.

Everyone saw that young master.

The young master sighed, “He said in his writings that I have memorized every single one of his poems and essays. Originally, I regarded him as a glass lamp, and I wanted to be like him, illuminating all directions.”

"Never mind, everyone has their own ambitions."

After saying that, he left.

Another silence fell.

It wasn't just that young master; many people in Pingwu City regarded Zhou Lang as a glass lamp.

His appearance was like a piercing light in the fog.

Only then did everyone realize: Oh, so even people from poor families can become officials.

Unfortunately, that beam of light is already dead.

The Dali Temple has blocked the news, and the people of Pingwu City are still unaware that Zhou Lang is dead. They probably still think that Zhou Lang holds a high position and lives a life of luxury...

Life is unpredictable. Wu Qi continued to ask the servant, "Why did that woman draw two lines on her face?"

"Oh, this," the servant said. "The two red lines painted on a woman's face are the lines for having many children and much happiness. The horizontal line is the line for having many children, and the vertical line is the line for having much happiness."

Wu Qi frowned and asked, "Then why wear a veil to cover yourself?"

Drawing lines to indicate many children and good fortune, and then covering them with a veil, isn't that redundant?

"Because women don't like it." The servant sighed and continued, "Actually, when Lord Zhou Lang was in Pingwu, he explicitly forbade women from drawing lines on their faces to indicate many children and good fortune, and no one could object. At that time, the women of Pingwu were very happy, holding hands and singing songs, throwing their veils down in the street."

"I've never seen a woman laugh so happily, what a pity..."

Even if the servant didn't continue, Wu Qi understood. Unfortunately, with a new official in charge, the woman had no one to rely on, so she could only redraw the lines, put away her smile, and wear a veil to appear before others.

Wu Qi, recalling Zhou Lang's death, asked the servant, "What if a man had a line drawn on his face indicating many children and much happiness?"

The servant exclaimed in surprise, "How can this be! A man's 'many children, many blessings' line is on his body, how can it be on his face? If a man draws the 'many children, many blessings' line on his face, he will surely be ridiculed!"

Seeing the servant's excitement, Wu Qi smiled and stopped asking questions, simply saying, "Thank you for your trouble."

Upon hearing this, Yi Shen placed some more silver on the table.

"Hehe, thank you, Miss and Young Master! Tomorrow is the Fire Festival, it's very lively, you two can go and have a look!" The servant picked up the money, turned around to leave, glanced at Wu Qi, and whispered a reminder: "Miss is so beautiful, when you go to the Fire Festival tomorrow, you should draw a line on your face to indicate many children and good fortune, and wear a veil hat when you go out."

The servant's suggestion was well-intentioned, but Wu Qi did not agree, only nodding with a smile.

What is the "many children, many blessings" line?

If drawing two lines symbolizing fertility and good fortune displeases a woman, then that deity is not a good one; it's probably some kind of demon!

Yi Shen handed the still-warm medicine to Wu Qi.

Wu Qi closed her eyes and drank it all in one gulp, her face contorted with bitterness. She took the honey water from Yi Shen and waited a while before the bitterness in her mouth subsided.

No matter what Yi Shen heard, he remained calm and composed.

Wu Qi deliberately asked, "Young Master Yi, did you hear what that servant said about me?"

"They say you are beautiful."

"Am I beautiful?" Wu Qi asked.

Yi Shen looked up and stared at her intently. She wasn't afraid of Yi Shen's gaze and tilted her head to smile at him.

a long time,

Yi Shen replied, "There are no other women with me."

What kind of answer is that?

Wu Qi smiled and shook his head, then lowered his eyes and said, "I am so beautiful, but tomorrow, on the Fire Festival, I will also have to draw many children and blessings on my face and wear a veil."

"If you don't want to, then don't paint or wear it."

"Huh? Why?"

“This is not fair to women,” Yi Shen said. “Whether or not to draw the line indicating many children and many blessings should be a decision for the woman herself.”

Perhaps the women in Pingwu City don't desire many children and much happiness; what they might want is simply to throw off their veils and reveal their clean faces, just like Lord Zhou Lang did when he was in Pingwu.

However, Wu Qi looked around—the man in the inn stared indifferently at the red line on the woman's face, and the woman was sullen.

If the man in the inn had said such things as Yi Shen, the woman wouldn't have been so depressed and gloomy.

"But in this world, not every woman has a Mr. Yi Shen by her side." Wu Qi smiled, a very obedient smile, yet it seemed as if he was about to do something earth-shattering.

"So, Yi Shen, I might be in for some trouble in Pingwu City!!"

Yi Shen took a sip of tea and nodded slightly, saying, "Would you like to go buy a sword together?"