Chapter 24 teaches how to catch fish

As soon as he finished speaking, Shen You felt a chill run down his spine.

She was ultimately in the wrong for vomiting on him, so she paused for a moment and said in a low voice, "Yesterday I troubled the Duke to send me back. As for the clothes... I will make you another one when we return to Lin'an City."

There was no need to hide what happened last night, since the only people around here were Qi Zhaoyan, her entourage, and Chu Xiao's entourage.

It's better to be frank and just pay for the clothes, and that'll be the end of it.

Hearing that she would visit him again after returning to Lin'an City, even if it was just to compensate for the clothes, was enough to soften the stern look in Chu Xiao's eyes. He replied in a pretentious manner, "Then I'll have to trouble Miss Shen."

One of them had a burning gaze, while the other had his eyes lowered. Their eyes never met, yet it was as if there were some thread connecting them.

Seeing that Shen You no longer refused her, Qi Zhaoyan excitedly took her hand and said, "Fairy sister, let's go over there quickly."

Now that the Emperor and Empress only have her as their child, they naturally dote on her.

However, neither Qi Jincheng nor Ye Mingyu were the type to restrict their daughter, so Qi Zhaoyan was lively, cheerful, generous, and adorable.

Even something as simple as fishing in the river didn't seem wrong to them.

Moreover, with Chu Xiao by her side, Qi Jincheng felt even more at ease and was happy to have more time alone with Ye Mingyu.

The mountains are verdant, and a stream flows gently not far from the palace. The sounds of birds fluttering their wings can be heard from time to time in the woods. It is quiet but not deserted.

Throughout the journey, Qi Zhaoyan was very excited, chattering excitedly with Shen You about interesting things.

Shen You was extremely patient and responded in a soft voice.

Chu Xiao didn't speak, but followed half a step behind them, seemingly admiring the interaction between the two, but his gaze never left Shen You.

However, the beautiful scene was shattered in the next instant.

"I never expected to meet Miss Shen here," a surprised voice rang out from the side.

Shen You turned around and saw that it was Li Cheng.

Her smile faded slightly, and she nodded gently as a greeting.

As if oblivious to her aloofness, Li Cheng approached her, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Greetings, Your Highness, and greetings, Duke."

Qi Zhaoyan looked up at him. "I remember you. You are the Marquis of Mingyi who composed a poem at the palace banquet last night, aren't you?"

Li Cheng was overjoyed to see that Qi Zhaoyan remembered him, feeling that his goal of traveling with them was almost achieved. "It is I," he said.

"Is Your Highness here to enjoy the scenery by the river?"

Qi Zhaoyan shook her head, the two peach-colored ribbons on her hair swaying gently. "No, we're here to catch fish."

Li Cheng was somewhat surprised that the princess was interested in catching fish, but he quickly composed himself and asked, "I suppose this is the place. Would I have the honor of catching fish with Your Highness?"

He talked too much, and Qi Zhaoyan had lost patience to continue the question-and-answer session with him. Instead, she turned her head to look at the rippling, shimmering surface of the river.

"Fairy sister, look! So many fish!"

Since they were by the water, Shen You was a little worried. He took a few steps forward and held her hand tightly, not even noticing that his shoes were getting wet.

Qi Zhaoyan chuckled and couldn't wait to reach out and splash in the water, but Chu Xiao stopped her, saying, "Your Highness, please stand back a little."

“Uncle Chu…” she pouted and looked at Chu Xiao with dissatisfaction.

Chu Xiao said calmly, "You don't know how to catch fish, so you'll have to watch for now."

Just watching from the riverbank diminishes much of the fun, so Qi Zhaoyan cleverly seized the opportunity to make a request: "Uncle Chu has to give me the biggest fish he caught."

“Greedy,” Chu Xiao lightly flicked her forehead, but did not refuse.

"Hehehe," Qi Zhaoyan laughed, her eyes crinkling.

The sunlight was perfect at that moment, and the man stood by the river, the shimmering water reflecting off the hem of his dark robe, softening his imposing aura.

He lowered his eyes and took off the waist tag and jade pendant he wore at his waist, handing them to Shen You with an extremely natural movement, his tone filled with expectation, "I would like to trouble Miss Shen to keep them for me."

Shen You didn't reach out to take it. He subconsciously turned his head to look for Mu Geng's figure, but saw that he was standing three or four zhang away, and his gaze was not on this side.

She didn't take it, but Chu Xiao's hand remained in the gesture of handing something over. Qi Zhaoyan shook her sleeve, "Fairy sister, please help Uncle Chu take it."

Shen You pursed her lips and had no choice but to accept the waist token and jade pendant from his hand.

The jade pendant was translucent and slightly cool, but after the man held it in his hand for a short while, it felt as if it had absorbed his body heat.

Although it was only lukewarm, Shen You felt a slight warmth in her palm.

Seeing Shen You helping Chu Xiao with his things, Li Cheng's eyes lit up with joy. He took off the odds and ends from his waist and handed them over, saying, "Thank you for your trouble, Miss Shen."

Shen You looked at him coldly, "Young Master Li, I wonder if Lady Mingyi, the wife of the Marquis of Mingyi, knows that you have come to the riverbank today?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Cheng's face showed immediate embarrassment.

Wang Hui had his eye on Chen Xiangning, but he himself preferred Chen You.

Given Shen You's divorced status, it's impossible for the Mingyi Marquis's mansion to agree to Li Cheng marrying her.

Li Cheng was aware of this, so he did not stop Wang Hui from continuing to contact Chen Qiurong and Shen Xiangning.

It's nothing more than a despicable thought in his heart to enjoy the pleasures of having multiple wives.

Yesterday, on the way to Yuhua Mountain, Shen You noticed that Li Cheng spoke and treated people with courtesy and decorum, initially thinking he was a good-natured person, but unexpectedly...

Thinking of this, she scoffed inwardly.

She didn't reach out to take it, and Li Cheng's hand remained frozen in mid-air.

This situation is similar to the one before, yet completely different.

The atmosphere suddenly became somewhat heavy.

Chu Xiao, who had been standing on a rock by the river, looking down and rolling up his sleeves, stopped what he was doing and glanced over.

His gaze was even colder than Shen You's.

Li Cheng felt a chill run down his spine, and despite the sweltering summer heat, he couldn't help but shiver.

The servant of the Marquis of Mingyi's mansion, unable to bear seeing his young master left standing there for so long, quickly stepped forward and took the things from his hands.

Li Cheng smiled awkwardly, but still wanted to probe Shen You's attitude further, "Miss Shen has lived in her boudoir for a long time, so I suppose she finds this kind of rural charm novel."

"If you'd like to try, I can teach you later."

Upon hearing this, Qi Zhaoyan, who was standing nearby, immediately went on high alert.

He's here to steal the fairy sister from Uncle Chu!

She stepped forward to block Shen You's path, and the smile on her chubby little face was gone.

Shen You was unaware of her thoughts, but found her sideways stepping forward incredibly cute, and smiled as he gently squeezed the small hand he held in his palm.

Just as he was about to refuse Li Cheng, he heard Chu Xiao's deep, slightly sarcastic voice, "Young Master Li, do you know how to catch fish?"

Li Cheng turned his head and bowed respectfully, "The Duke is a role model for us all; I am certainly no match for him."

"But I'm quite confident in catching fish, which is a small matter."

He glanced at the shape of the harpoon and said confidently, "The way to use this harpoon is similar to that of pitch-pot, and it's not difficult."

Upon hearing this, Chu Xiao gave him a cold glance, then his gaze fell on Shen You.

Seeing that Shen You's attention was not on Li Cheng at all, his expression finally softened a little.

Seeing that Shen You was ignoring him, Li Cheng stopped trying to talk to her. Thinking that he should catch a few more fish for her to choose from, he took the harpoon from the servant and turned to stand on the rocks by the river.

The surface of the stone was slippery, and he staggered for a while before he could barely steady himself.

You can stand still, but catching fish like that is difficult.

Thinking this, he hesitated, and the next moment, he heard the sound of water coming from the riverbank.

Immediately following was Qi Zhaoyan's joyful cheers.

"Uncle Chu is amazing!"

Li Cheng looked up and saw Chu Xiao taking a lively fish off the harpoon and throwing it into the fish basket on the ground.

The fish's scales, still wet with water droplets, reflected a dazzling light in the sunlight, almost causing him to lose his footing again.

He subconsciously looked at Chu Xiao again, wondering how he could stand so steadily while he couldn't.

In the short time it took to adjust his posture, Chu Xiao had already speared two more fish.

Qi Zhaoyan clapped, and even Shen You turned to look at him.

Not wanting to be outdone, Li Cheng could only pause, raise his hand, lift the harpoon, and imitate Chu Xiao's earlier action, spearing it into the water.

With a "thump".

He threw the harpoon directly into the water, where it plunged straight into the mud and sand at the bottom of the river.

This movement does indeed look like the standard posture for pitching in a pot.

Li Cheng was embarrassed when his palm suddenly went empty. He didn't dare let Shen You look at him anymore, so he quickly waved to his servant to wade through the river and retrieve the harpoon.

Throughout the entire process, Shen You did not look at him even once.

Divorcing Chu Xiao doesn't mean she's denying his abilities. Whether it's survival skills in the wild or combat skills on the battlefield, how could a pampered young master like Li Cheng compare to Chu Xiao?

Watching Li Cheng repeatedly attempt "pitch-pot" is less impressive than watching Chu Xiao hit the bullseye every time.

The human eye is capable of discerning what is worth seeing.

Standing on the rocks by the river, Chu Xiao, who was fishing with a spear, seemed to be focused, but in fact, his mind was already distracted by the gaze coming from behind him.

Therefore, there were no fish around the river where Chu Xiao and Li Cheng stood near the stones.

However, one reason is that all the fish have been caught, while the other is that the fish were scared and swam away.

Unable to catch any fish, Li Cheng grew increasingly anxious.

He secretly glanced at Chu Xiao's movements and figure, thinking he had memorized them, and then imitated them exactly.

However, the result was...

With a "bang".

The man and the harpoon fell into the river together.

The loud noise attracted the attention of Shen You and Qi Zhaoyan, and the little prince couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Even the most meticulous courtesies of Li Cheng turned to rage at this moment, and he angrily shouted at the servant, "Hurry up and help this young master up!"

He was soaked to the bone and looked utterly disheveled.

She was still dripping wet when she was pulled out of the water, too ashamed to look up. She only gave a perfunctory bow to Chu Xiao and Qi Zhaoyan before leaving with the help of a servant.

However, before leaving, Chu Xiao called out to him, "Young Master Li."

"Is there anything else, Your Excellency, Duke?"

Chu Xiao's voice was cold and stern as he said, "The Six Arts of a Gentleman do not teach how to catch fish."