Chapter 119 Martial Arts Examination 2 His undisguised admiration was almost overflowing…

Under the bright sunshine, as soon as the results of the military examination were posted, the area in front of the imperial notice wall was immediately surrounded by a huge crowd.

From elderly men with white hair to young children, and even women confined to their homes, everyone couldn't help but stop and crane their necks to take a closer look; the scene was even more lively than a temple fair.

"Excuse me! Please make way!"

In the crowd, a slender and handsome "young man" was struggling to squeeze in. Although he deliberately lowered his voice, it was still clear and pleasant to hear.

It was none other than Cui Ying.

She finally managed to squeeze to the front row, but instead of focusing her gaze on the imperial edict, she exhaled a deep breath before looking up at the front of the edict.

If one follows the normal way of thinking, to be on the safe side, one would definitely count the names from the end to the beginning. That way, even if one doesn't count to their own name, they can still feel comforted and ease their discomfort.

But Cui Ying didn't do that. She directly focused her gaze on the first column and first row. When she saw the three characters "Xiao Qiyu" written in thick regular script, her mind went blank for a moment, and then she relaxed like never before, and the corners of her mouth involuntarily turned up.

She scoffed and said casually, "Not bad, Xiao Qiyu does have some skills after all."

Cui Jin, dressed as a servant, followed behind her and chuckled softly, "Miss, you should be relieved now, right? You won't be unable to eat or sleep every day, your mind filled with thoughts of your son-in-law's examination ranking, will you?"

Cui Ying cleared her throat, forced a straight face, and said in a nonchalant tone, "When have I ever been worried? Isn't this obvious? Look at the entire capital, in terms of skill and strategy, how many can compare to Xiao Qiyu? Hmph, I really feel sorry for the other candidates, who have to run into such an omnipotent monster who has stolen the limelight from everyone else."

That's what she said, but her eyes were shining, and her bright almond-shaped eyes were overflowing with undisguised admiration.

After glancing at the name a couple more times, Cui Ying was sure she wasn't seeing things or dreaming, so she put her arm around Cui Jin's shoulder and said cheerfully, "Come on, I'm in a good mood today, I'll take you out for a nice meal."

Seeing her excitement, Cui Jin felt happy for her, but her face showed reluctance. She whispered, "Miss, we've been out for quite some time now. Shouldn't we go back?"

"Ugh, why are you always such a spoilsport!"

Cui Ying pouted and, regardless of Cui Jin's wishes, grabbed her sleeve and headed towards the bustling city: "We've finally come out this once in a while, why worry about so much? Come on, come on, I heard there's a variety show over there, it's very lively, don't you want to see it at all?"

Cui Jin was on the verge of tears, but had no choice but to risk her life to accompany her master.

The master and servant ate, drank, and had fun along the street. They squeezed into the crowd to watch a monkey show. Cui Ying was amused by the little monkey and burst into laughter. He took out a handful of loose silver from his purse and threw it over. The troupe leader was overjoyed and thanked Cui Ying profusely.

After watching the monkey show, Cui Ying passed by a jewelry stall. He touched this and looked at that, buying and selling quite a few items like he was buying new stock. In the end, he tossed a silver ingot to the stall girl and generously said, "Keep the change."

Cui Jin watched from the side, shaking her head repeatedly, unable to tell whether her young lady had come out to buy things or to deliver money to someone.

The early summer sun was already showing signs of melting people; the blazing sunlight shone directly on people's heads, the streets were noisy, and the cries of vendors selling cold drinks could be faintly heard.

Cui Ying was parched from walking around and was about to buy a couple of drinks to cool off when her gaze swept across the crowd and she suddenly saw Xiao Heng's face.

Xiao Heng still had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, exuding a heroic aura. However, he was not wearing his majestic flying fish robe, but rather ordinary cloth clothes. Even so, his cold and imposing aura, which he had long held in high esteem, was still prominent. He was accompanied by a group of people, also dressed in plain clothes, but judging from the aura they exuded and the way they walked, Cui Ying concluded that these were all people from the Northern Garrison Command.

Xiao Heng led this group of killing gods, disguised, through the bustling city, looking anxious and scanning every face, as if he were looking for someone.

Feeling guilty, Cui Ying's heart skipped a beat. He instinctively grabbed Cui Jin and quickly slipped into a nearby dye shop filled with people.

The dye house was bustling with people, filled with the strong smell of dye. Colorful fabrics hung high, and being inside felt like entering a maze.

Cui Ying pulled Cui Jin and hid behind a row of hanging crimson fabrics, holding their breath and secretly peeking out through the gaps in the fabric.

In the crowd, Xiao Heng whispered something to the people around him, and they immediately dispersed and merged into the crowd.

Although she had calmed down a bit, Cui Ying's mind quickly returned to normal.

How many days has it been since she and her third brother last saw each other? How could he possibly know her whereabouts? Unless Xiao Qiyu complained... But that's not right either. Not to mention that Xiao Qiyu would only arrest her personally, even if he did complain, given Xiao Heng's strict and rigid nature, he would never use the Northern Garrison Command to handle private matters, no matter what.

There's a high chance he has important official business to attend to.

"strangeness……"

Cui Ying frowned and muttered to himself, "The Northern Garrison rarely mobilizes, but when they do, it must be for a major event involving the safety of the capital. What exactly are they doing with this commotion?"

She clearly remembered that the last time the Northern Garrison Command was able to mobilize so much was when Turkic spies infiltrated the capital. She almost died under the barbarians' blades, and Xiao Qiyu was also beaten half to death and stripped of his position as the Vermilion Bird Gate Commandant.

A thought suddenly flashed through Cui Ying's mind.

A chill ran down her spine as she thought: Oh no, have more barbarians infiltrated?

The thought made her legs go weak, and she instinctively grabbed the dye vat that was more than half her height next to her.

Just then, a "glug" sound came from the dye vat.

Cui Ying assumed some guy had the leisure to keep fish in a tank, and a casual glance at the tank nearly made his hair stand on end.

There aren't any fish in that tank, it's clearly a person!

The woman was completely submerged in the water, her thin body curled up helplessly. Her black hair was disheveled and floating like the finest black silk. Her face, hidden beneath her hair, was stunningly beautiful, as if she were a fairy descended to earth. Yet, because of the water, she also resembled a captivating water demon from a ghost story.

Cui Jin was also frightened by this scene and was about to scream when Cui Ying, as if possessed, covered her mouth.

Looking at the face reflected in the water, Cui Ying felt it looked very familiar, and she was quite certain that she would remember a woman who looked like that clearly if she had ever seen her before.

"I remember now!" Cui Ying exclaimed in a low voice, staring blankly at the woman. "Aren't you that...that..."

The wind rustled the fabric. Outside the dye house, Xiao Heng noticed Cui Ying and called out, "Third Sister? What are you doing here?"

Cui Ying shivered involuntarily, glanced up at Xiao Heng who was walking towards them, then looked down at the woman in the dye vat, silently swallowed, and her sharp tongue suddenly became useless. She hesitated, "I..."

Perhaps sensing Xiao Heng's approaching footsteps, the woman's face instantly drained of color, her eyes filled with terror. She desperately shook her head at Cui Ying in the water, her slender index finger pressed against her pale lips, pleading with Cui Ying not to make a sound.

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Author's Note: I found a job to earn a pitiful living. Today was my first day of work, and I was sleep-deprived, so the word count is a bit low. Don't be sad, I'll make it longer tomorrow. Also, as I mentioned before, the secondary couple will no longer take up space, so their appearance is only for the development of the main couple's relationship, and they won't have any scenes together.

Don't worry that I'll hold back and not finish it; it's actually wrapping up. It'll be over as early as this month, or at the latest next month, hehe~