Grasshopper in the same boat

Wu Qi explained this matter not ten times, but seven or eight times. Lin Kuo alone heard it five or six times.

Wu Qi stared into Yi Shen's eyes and said seriously, "I really didn't mean to say that that time, nor did I not want to marry you."

Lin Kuo listened to it again and said helplessly, "Xiao Qi, there's no need to explain this. Weichong won't blame you or complain about you."

“He won’t blame me, he won’t complain about me, so should I not explain this?” Wu Qi said. “Whether he blames me or not is his business, and whether I explain or not is my business.”

These two should not be confused.

Wu Qi had no intention of marrying Yi Shen, nor did she intend not to marry him. She just said it casually and never expected that Yi Shen would shed tears because of it.

For a long time afterward, she always thought of Yi Shen's tears.

Every time I think about it, my heart aches uncontrollably.

But things were different now; she had figured out her own feelings.

She likes Yi Shen.

If nothing unexpected happens, she will travel a very long way with Yi Shen. This matter should not be an obstacle to their being side by side, nor should it become a thorn in Yi Shen's heart.

Yi Shen said to Wu Qi, "Alright, this matter is over."

Lin Kuo looked around, lifted the carriage curtain to peek out, and seeing that no one was following, took a deep breath and whispered, "Why did His Majesty suddenly decide to bestow a marriage upon the two of you?"

Yi Shen glanced at Wu Qi.

"Can't you even figure this out?" Wu Qi said. "It's simply to tie the Wu family and the Yi family together, so that they can share both prosperity and adversity."

To outsiders, it appears that the children of prominent families are all getting married. For example, Yi Shen's two elder brothers, one married Lin Kuo's sister and the other married Song Yinxing's sister.

This was not a marriage arranged by parents or matchmakers, nor was it a marriage bestowed by the emperor. Rather, it was a marriage between two people who were in love, of equal social standing, and whose parents knew each other well.

A match made in heaven.

However, the Emperor knew about these people's marriages and even sent congratulatory gifts.

This means that His Majesty has agreed to the marriage.

“Between marriage and marriage, the Yi family, the Song family, and the Lin family are already in the same boat.” Wu Qi shrugged indifferently. “Now, among the five great families, only the Ning family and the Wu family are independent of this boat.”

The Wu family has only one daughter, Wu Qi, who is still unmarried.

The Ning family has a daughter and a son, neither of whom are married. Logically speaking, Ning Xunxu is a student of Cizige Middle School, and his sister Ning Chanyuan should also be a student of Cizige Middle School. However, Ning Chanyuan has been in poor health since childhood. She would cough for half a day if she was exposed to a cold wind. In addition, Ning's parents passed away a few years ago, and the Ning family needed someone to take charge. Therefore, the Emperor did not include Ning Chanyuan in Cizige.

“As long as I marry Yi Shen, the Wu family will also be on this boat.” Wu Qi smiled, dipped his finger in some tea, drew a crooked boat, and continued, “If any of the grasshoppers on this boat disobeys or makes a mistake.”

She dipped her finger in the tea and drew a diagonal line on the crooked boat.

"This ship will be sunk at sea."

Lin Kuo chuckled twice, hugged Song Yinxing, and stared at the ship, saying, "That's it, there's no way the Ning family isn't on this ship. How can we make the Ning family become ants on this ship too?"

Although he asked the question, he already had an answer in his heart, but he didn't want to say it. Instead, Song Yinxing said it.

"I will marry Han Su," she said.

Since His Majesty has granted marriage to Yi Shen and Wu Qi, he can naturally grant marriage to Ning Xunxu and Song Yinxing as well. However, Wu Qi's words today, "I'll marry later," have put His Majesty at ease, and this matter can be postponed for a while.

With his arm around Song Yinxing's waist and his legs crossed, Lin Kuo didn't look like a young master from a noble family who followed proper etiquette at all; he looked more like a rich young master from a brothel.

He touched Song Yinxing's face and said casually, "If that day ever comes, I'd like to defy the imperial decree."

That was rather abrupt.

Fortunately, there was no one else in the carriage; if someone with ulterior motives had overheard them, everyone in the carriage would have been doomed.

Song Yinxing said coldly, "Get out of the car."

"Hmm, you can get lost." Lin Kuo said "get lost" but his hands tightened around Song Yinxing's waist, and he said pitifully, "Zhiyun, you can choose not to get married in this life, but if you do get married, it will definitely be to me."

Wu Qi watched Lin Kuo and Song Yinxing with great interest, wondering when the friendship between the two had become so deep.

However, what they think may not be what the Emperor thinks.

The carriage arrived at the Wu family's residence. The group got off, intending to rest and have dinner there. Coincidentally, Wu Shanyun and his wife Qi Kong returned home.

Qi Kong heard about Wu Qi and Yi Shen's assistance in finding the corpse in the peach blossom forest, and he vaguely understood who the person who died in the peach blossom forest was. He couldn't sleep well on the way back to the capital, and along the way he heard some rumors that couldn't be taken seriously.

For example, Wu Qi actually turned into a woman in human skin.

For example, the Wu Qi next to Yi Shen was not Wu Qi, but someone else who used a resurrection spell.

For example, Wu Qi slept in the wolf's den for three days and three nights.

Each time Qi Kong heard a story, he would wake up one more time during the night. Wu Shanyun smiled and comforted him, "You should trust our Xiao Qi. Children born on the Spring Equinox are blessed. Besides, Weichong is with her."

Yi Shen's presence did alleviate some of Qi Kong's worries, but she was still uneasy. Just as she was about to head to Pingwu City, she heard that Zhi Yun had taken the Golden Armor Army and that the group had already returned to the capital.

Qi Kong and her husband Wu Shanyun returned to the capital without stopping.

"Oh, my dear daughter, spin around so I can see if you're missing any arms or legs! And you kids, spin around together so I can see if your arms and legs are still there!"

Qi Kong always spoke like this, and Wu Shanyun and the younger generation were already used to it. Wu Qi turned around in a generous manner, and Lin Kuo and Song Yinxing followed suit. Even Yi Shen turned around with proper posture.

Qi Kong said with satisfaction, "Not bad, not bad, the arms and legs are still there."

After saying that, she changed the subject and said, "Just now, His Majesty sent someone to say that if you can't remember something, you shouldn't be punished. He also said that it's not good for a young lady to have scars on her body."

"Xiao Qi, what trouble have you gotten yourself into?" she asked.

They clearly guessed something and came to confront me.

Qi Kong suddenly returned home, and Wu Qi had not yet thought of what to say.

She hurriedly stepped forward, grabbed Qi Kong's arm and swayed it back and forth, occasionally casting pleading glances at her father.

Unfortunately, Wushan Yun shrugged, indicating that he couldn't help.

The Emperor sent someone to advise him; this matter must be quite serious.

Wushan Yun knew his daughter well and could guess that this matter was nothing more than about Liu Ge and Bei Kun.

Just as Wu Qi was at his wit's end and was about to grit his teeth and tell the whole story, Yi Shen said, "Uncle and Aunt, I believe that today's incident was not caused by Xiao Qi."

Qi Kong didn't truly blame her daughter; she was only worried that her daughter's step was extremely dangerous. Hearing Yi Shen say this, she smiled and asked, "She's already run into Liu Ge and Bei Kun, isn't that causing trouble?"

Yi Shen shook his head and said, "I don't think so. On the contrary, only if Xiao Qi agrees to this matter can our aristocratic family survive for a few more days."

"What do you mean?" Qi Kong asked.

“Nothing stays secret forever. His Majesty must have known for a long time that Xiao Qi was secretly developing the halberd, but he has not blamed him. Instead, he sent Xiao Qi and me to assist in the case of the corpse in Peach Blossom Forest, giving Xiao Qi a pretext to ask for a reward.” Yi Shen said calmly. “His Majesty must want Xiao Qi to develop the halberd. Otherwise, he would not have sent someone to persuade him.”

Wu Qi, holding Qi Kong's arm, nodded quickly and echoed, "Yes, yes, Yi Shen is right, that must be it!"

Qi Kong glanced helplessly at Wu Qi, but her own daughter wasn't even looking at her; her dear daughter's eyes were practically glued to Yi Shen.

It was like seeing reinforcements descending from the sky.

“That makes sense.” Qi Kong continued to press Yi Shen, “Then why was it that only when Xiao Qi agreed to this matter could our aristocratic families survive for a few more days?”

Yi Shen replied: "Because the Liuge of Pingwu Mountain has disappeared without a trace and its whereabouts are still unknown, and the enemy country was defeated in the Battle of Sihai, it must have been secretly developing something that could counter Beikun. Beikun is the result of the hard work of all the elders, and other talented people dare not start to develop it or modify it because of Beikun's reputation in the Battle of Sihai."

“This is a drawback, and His Majesty wants to eliminate this drawback.”

“Until this flaw is eradicated, all of us noble families are safe.”

“That makes sense,” Qi Kong said. “Then how can His Majesty eliminate this problem? He made my daughter the first to take the lead in researching and modifying the Northern Kun. If she is not careful, my daughter will lose her life.”

Wu Qi hurriedly replied, "Of course not!"

Qi Kong smiled and stopped his daughter from continuing, saying, "Xiao Qi, let's hear what Weichong has to say first."

For some reason, Wu Qi felt that the scene was somewhat like his parents examining Yi Shen, especially like an examination before marriage.

It seems that if Yi Shen says something wrong today, he will never be able to enter the Witch's Mansion again.

But, does Yi Shen still need further evaluation?

Yi Shen said, "Xiao Qi doesn't need to research and modify Bei Kun. She only needs to develop the Liu Ge Iron Armor on the ground and the Liu Ge Iron Wings in the sky, so that she can successfully repel the enemy when they attack."

What Yi Shen said was exactly what Wu Qi was thinking.

Who said she had to break up Bei Kun and get herself into trouble?

She can also develop both the "Beikun" on land and the "Beikun" in the sky!

Ultimately, those things are all weapons, and the battlefield is a battlefield for weapons. As long as she wins the battle, who cares whether she dismantles Bei Kun and sells it for scrap metal or lets Bei Kun fly in the sky?

Wu Qi looked at Yi Shen and nodded in satisfaction, thinking to himself, "Yi Shen doesn't need any evaluation at all; he's such a perfect person!"

But Qi Kong didn't think so. She continued, "Wei Chong makes it sound too easy. Bei Kun is a behemoth that many people worked day and night for several years to develop. How could Xiao Qi alone develop the Liuge Iron Armor on the ground and the Liuge Iron Wings in the sky?"

“There is no shortage of hardworking people in the world, nor is there a shortage of gifted people,” Yi Shen said. “People who are both gifted and hardworking are rare.”

"Besides, I'm probably not the only one who believes her."

"Her uncle and aunt also believed that she could do it."