Chapter 251
Contents of the premiere of "The Great Warrior" (Part 1)
The premiere of "The Worry-Free Hero" attracted many viewers, and the international student Xiao Cai was one of them.
She usually likes watching movies and has some feelings for Ling Suisui, so she found a way to get the tickets. I have to say that this is a very difficult task. Ling Suisui's popularity in France is not exaggerated.
In Xiao Cai's movie-watching memory, Wuyou's journey to find his relatives was not smooth.
After all, the only token of trust she could offer was a golden hairpin. But this is not some exquisite, unique craftsmanship, it is just a common style among noble ladies in Beijing. Although it is valuable, it is not rare. If she takes it to someone's house and asks about it, who will pay attention to her?
The servants of the wealthy families had no patience to answer her questions, nor were they willing to reveal their master's affairs to her. They told her contemptuously that it was just a hairpin that could be found anywhere and no one could use it to confirm her identity.
In the teahouse, the upper class also mentioned this matter when chatting.
If she was a man in his twenties with such a good-looking face, perhaps someone would ask her in detail and take her to recognize her ancestry; but she was a girl, a girl who was always in public and carried a sword on her back.
The grandson of the Minister of Personnel took a fancy to her and wanted to take her as a concubine. For a girl of unknown identity and questionable innocence, it was already a great honor for her to have such a place, but who would have thought that she would actually knock the other person's head unconscious with the hilt of the sword! The servants and guards who wanted to catch her were all knocked down by her!
After this incident, no one in the capital dared to recognize her.
Not to mention that she had offended a powerful official like the Minister of Personnel, no one would take on such trouble. Just looking at her personally, she had absolutely no chastity, purity and grace that a woman should have. Any family that raises a daughter like this will be said to have a bad family tradition.
——When Wuyou persisted in knocking on doors and asking in the capital, and was driven out for the umpteenth time, a carriage on its way back home stopped beside her. The person in the carriage lifted the curtain and told her these things.
"No one in Beijing will recognize you." The girl in the car emphasized coldly, "You should leave as soon as possible."
Wuyou stood there, looking at the girl in the car.
The composition of this scene is very interesting. Wuyou is in the lower left corner of the picture, facing the girl sitting in the carriage with half of her face exposed.
In the picture, Wuyou's visual focus is herself, and the direction she looks up in is an exquisite and gorgeous curtain that shines with gold.
She showed her true self to people, but the girl's face was vaguely visible. Xiao Cai couldn't help but wonder, would a gust of wind come at this time and lift open the curtain?
There is no such wind. There is no such dramatic coincidence.
At this time, the camera turned to a close-up of Wuyou, and she asked the other party: "You said something that made me sad, but you don't hate me. Why?"
The girl played by Xia Tian looked at her and did not answer for a moment.
Wuyou laughed: "My name is Wuyou, what's your name?"
The girl frowned slightly: "How can a girl's maiden name be mentioned all the time? Even if it is a name, it should be based on the surname..."
She paused. The audience at the scene could understand her thoughts at the moment: it is because Wuyou has no surname and does not know whose child he is that she is looking for her relatives everywhere.
But she had no intention of apologizing to Wuyou at all. She looked at her again and asked the driver to leave.
Wuyou watched her carriage drive away and let out a slight sigh.
Rather than feeling lost, Xiao Cai felt that her emotion was more like disappointment. Wuyou didn't care about her last name, she was just disappointed with the girl's attitude.
Even though she had sympathy and was worried that Wuyou would be retaliated against if she stayed in the capital, so she used harsh words to urge her to leave, but she still sat in the carriage and spoke to her through a layer of expensive curtain.
The girl would not open the curtain, let alone leave the gorgeous carriage. The upper class circles in the capital looked down on Wuyou, and there was no way she could betray her identity. Sitting in the car and saying a few words of reminder in a condescending manner is already the limit of the ladies' understanding of the word "kindness".
Wuyou took out the map he had drawn from his bag, crossed out the door of this house with a lead stick, and then walked towards the next location.
There was no communication in the screening room, but if Xiao Cai could read minds, she would hear the jury chairperson's thoughts.
Looking for relatives can also be a very useful reason.
Xiao Cai had a vague guess that Wuyou could actually draw maps! In ancient times, this was a very rare and professional skill.
She thought of the assassin. Could Wuyou be an assassin who entered the capital city openly under the guise of looking for his relatives?
From the opening plot, it can be seen that the dynasty’s rule over the grassroots has become quite corrupt. Just because Wuyou made a gesture of drawing a sword, the clerk let her into the city so easily, without any worry that she would cause any trouble in the city. Perhaps in his view, whether the order of the capital can be maintained has nothing to do with him.
So - she is Wuyou, she is a hero, she is here to kill a very bad high-ranking official and bring peace to the world. The other party is in a high position of power, so Wuyou is actually trying to gain a political alliance under the guise of looking for relatives?
These are all Xiao Cai's guesses. Maybe the characters in the movie also thought of this, or they just wanted to show goodwill to the Minister of Personnel. In short, Wuyou was surrounded.
Ordinary servants and guards could not do anything to her. Even if she was accused of "stealing a golden hairpin", the constables did not dare to fight her with real guns and knives, as they always had a hundred ways to deal with the matter.
As mentioned before, as long as the disaster doesn't happen and involves herself, who cares what she does in the capital! It is really too difficult to expect grassroots officials to have a sense of social responsibility.
So, in order to capture her, they even mobilized the Yulin Army.
Wuyou stood on the busy street, surrounded by soldiers in armor.
In the camera, they looked tall and strong, with a majestic look in their eyes showing the belief that they would win. Wuyou was stunned.
She asked: "Are there any soldiers in the north of Yan who are good at fighting?"
Combined with the previous plot, the news circulating in the market that the Guochao army was defeated in a battle in Yanbei, this sentence is quite true.
To the barbarians in the north, they were timid and fled at the sight of them; but to the lone girl, they were full of confidence and attacked her hard. Xiao Cai sneered, this was the norm for most armies in ancient times.
But the expression on Wuyou's face is still so sincere - don't doubt it, Ling Sui can use the most innocent attitude to create the most sarcastic effect.
At this point in the plot, she should have staged a thrilling fight scene on the street, and then walk away with her head held high, waving her sleeves without taking a single cloud with her. This is advanced and stylish enough, and it also fits the audience's imagination of a hero.
This was Xiao Cai’s psychological expectation, but this battle was not like that.
Wuyou's sword never came out of its sheath, but the soldiers' blades were pointed directly at her vital points. They were wearing helmets, so it was not easy for her to knock them out on the head, so Wuyou was in a tough fight.
She was fighting on the ground while the upper class watched from the private rooms of the restaurant. They drank tea and ate snacks elegantly, discussing whether they should kill her or cripple her and then send her to the residence of the Minister of Personnel. Which method would the young man prefer?
Others said, what a pity. You won’t see such a wonderful performance again. The troupe can only perform in a routine manner. There is no thrill or excitement at all as if one's life is on the line. It's boring! How can we give them such a pleasant experience if the actors don't risk their lives?
As for the shelves overturned and things trampled by the soldiers during the battle, they did not take them seriously. Similarly, the cries of citizens whose property was destroyed and whose family members were taken as human shields could not reach their ears.
This restaurant is very tall, but Wuyou is on the ground, so she can see and hear everything.
Her expression became more and more angry, and her eyes became sharper. Until this close-up shot appeared, with her hand on the scabbard.
Xiao Cai also became excited. She had been looking forward to it since the beginning. Is Wuyou's sword finally going to be unsheathed? Has she made up her mind to fight her way out of the dynasty with her sword?
Before she draws her sword, a voice calls out from outside the painting. Someone is calling a halt to the fight.
The visitor was riding a horse with shiny fur, and Wuyou heard the soldiers call him "His Royal Highness the Sixth Prince".
What a coincidence, Xiao Cai thought. He had perfect timing.
Xiao Cai still felt a little regretful that Wuyou did not draw his sword, and what happened next was a clichéd face-slapping scene.
The Sixth Prince said that the sword she was holding was the Wuyou Sword, which was given to Mr. Ouyang by Emperor Gaozu. Her name was Wuyou, so she must be Mr. Ouyang’s disciple!
Xiao Cai certainly didn't think that the Sixth Prince could recognize a sword from a hundred meters away, and the timing of his appearance was very subtle, so he must have known it in advance.
So, did he come here after discovering it himself and verifying it, or did Wuyou take the initiative to find him? Combining the previous speculation about the identity of the Wuyou Assassin, Xiao Cai felt that it was most likely the latter.
According to Wuyou's own account, she grew up in the mountains and did have a mentor. But she only called her mentor "Mr." and did not know his specific name.
Despite this, they still insisted that she was Mr. Ouyang's apprentice and there was no doubt about it.
This Mr. Ouyang is a remarkable person. He is the number one contributor who assisted Emperor Gaozu in conquering the Central Plains! He had no children or relatives in his life. Despite his high status in the country, he left behind such a profound political legacy, which is now all inherited by Wuyou!
Xiao Cai clicked her tongue. No matter who Wuyou's mentor was, she was destined to be Mr. Ouyang's disciple.
No one cares whether she is real or not, as long as everyone says she is real, then she is real. After all, Mr. Ouyang has passed away, and they cannot dig him out of the grave and cover his bones with official uniforms, so they can only find someone else to represent his will.
To some extent, Wuyou in their eyes is no different from the dead Mr. Ouyang. She could just move, talk and eat, but she was still a living corpse that could be manipulated by anyone.
Look, Wuyou was surrounded by them and moved into Mr. Ouyang's old house in the capital. She was also stuffed with seven or eight managers and more than a hundred servants. The people who served her were all crowded in the house, vying with each other to show their courtesy to her. She even had difficulty moving.
After just one night, stewards from more than a dozen families came to visit with the same gold hairpin. They told Wuyou with tears in their eyes how much her family missed her all these years and why she had to live away from home.
At the end, they did not forget to emphasize that it was all thanks to the deep friendship between some of her elders and Mr. Ouyang that Mr. Ouyang took her into the mountains and raised her personally when he retired.
Those who come earlier can cry to Wuyou in person, but as for the manager who comes late, they can only queue up at the door to get a number.
There was just a screen between them, so there was no question of keeping it confidential, and Wuyou had no idea about it at all. If a person is crying inside, everyone outside can hear it.
Before Wuyou could say anything, these people started arguing. Everyone says that their own keepsakes are the most authentic and their stories are the most flawless, so Wuyou is in a dilemma.
She said: "This is just a hairpin that can be found anywhere. How can I confirm your identity?"
This line sounded familiar, and low laughter was heard in the screening room.
Xiao Cai was also laughing. She couldn't help but imagine how Wuyou, who was used as a chess piece, would kill the chess player. They put her in a high position, thinking they could easily control everything about her, but such underestimation of the enemy often leads to a fatal price.
Wuyou should think so too. That's why she looked so mischievous and responded with the same words.
This is a secret declaration of war - with this thought in mind, Xiao Cai also became excited.
Although the families in the capital were enthusiastic and wanted to give Wuyou their surname, her journey to find her relatives ended passively because His Royal Highness the Sixth Prince wanted to take her into the palace and His Majesty wanted to see her.
This Ren Tianzi's memory of Mr. Ouyang was already very vague. He couldn't even remember what the gentleman looked like, so how could he remember the Worry-Free Sword? But after he told the eunuch his true feelings, he still excitedly raised the sword in front of the important officials, and named Wuyou as the county lord, completely confirming her identity.
The eunuch said, it’s a pity that Wuyou is a girl. If it were a man, it would be a beautiful story between a king and his subjects.
His Majesty laughed: "What do you know? Girls are better."
Now that the plot is more than halfway through, Wuyou has become the county lord. With His Majesty's decree, families in the capital were no longer obsessed with recognizing her as a relative, and His Majesty bestowed her with the national surname!
Of course, no one calls her by her full name now, they all call her by her title, Princess Le'an.
Le An is a good person, and the men in the capital who are lining up to marry her are also very good. She is a little dazzled by the choices. Such a happy day, just like her name, carefree and without sorrow.
She has a lot to do every day. The noble ladies in the capital always have endless tea parties and endless things to talk about. She met many people at the table, but she had no one with whom she had a deep conversation. She only spoke two or three sentences to most people.
——Wuyou is selecting political allies. Since she can't stand in the court, why not do some lady diplomacy? Xiao Cai firmly believes this.
She had the same idea as Ling Suisui at the beginning. How could a peerless master who was proficient in swordsmanship be a naive person? She must know why she should practice sword.
At the banquet, Wuyou also saw the girl who was sitting in the car.
Wuyou still didn't know her name, he just heard everyone call her Miao Banniang. When the two met, Miao Baniang bowed to her and called her Princess Le'an County.
She corrected her: "My name is Wuyou, don't you remember?"
Wuyou's eyes were filled with anticipation, and his eyes were wide and round——
"How can I call the county lady by her name?" she heard the other party say.
Her eyelashes slowly drooped, followed by a very calm "oh".
It felt like a piece of white paper had a crumpled edge. She tried to smooth it out with her hand, but she couldn't press it down, and it still curled up slightly.
Xiao Cai also became sad. Wuyou stepped into her circle, lifted the curtain, and began to speak to her as an equal, or even have a higher status than her. But Miao Banniang called her the county lady and bowed to her, and they still had clear social classes and a clear hierarchy.
There are so many people around Wuyou, and she is the center of attention at every banquet, but she is still so lonely.
Another new character appears, this time it is a princess who yearns for the martial arts world and invites Wuyou to the palace just to listen to her stories. Wuyou was happy to enter the palace. She had met all the princes, and she preferred dealing with the princess to them.
Are we going to open the Empress branch? But after the series of blows at the banquet just now, Xiao Cai was very nervous about this.
Wuyou was very good at telling stories. She narrated what she had seen and heard along the way. The kind-hearted princess shed a few tears for the poor people. When Wuyou talked about how he drove away the ruffians and bullies, the princess was so happy that she asked Wuyou to take her out of the palace.
She also wants to be chivalrous and help the weak, and after listening to Wuyou's story, she also feels this passion.
Wuyou was willing to do so. She only had a sword and a bag, and she always wore them when she entered the palace. His Majesty had granted her permission to carry weapons with her.
But it is not that easy for the princess to travel. She had to bring servants, cooks, beautiful clothes, exquisite jewelry, and her favorite toys. The princess's full set of ceremonial equipment was also indispensable. She ordered the maids and eunuchs to pack the luggage, and saw them busying around.
Xiao Cai and Wuyou sighed at the same time.
Afterwards, Wuyou said that he had no place to stay when he traveled. Sometimes they stayed overnight in temples, and sometimes they simply leaned against a tree or a rock. They had to sleep with their eyes half open to be alert to wild animals that might appear at any time.
The princess' eyes widened. She sat on the soft and comfortable cushion, and the tears she had just shed were long gone. She slowly changed the topic to what was popular in Beijing recently. She affectionately called her Le'an and prepared a whole box of jewelry for her as a gift. These things are so exquisitely shaped that they are simply dazzling.
The gifts given by the princess were very expensive, but Wuyou had no shortage of them. To be exact, she had too much.
Everyone loves to give this to her and actively hosts parties. Wuyou had no choice but to wear them to the banquet, quietly listening to the guests praising the host of the banquet, and recalling the elegance and charm of Mr. Ouyang together.
One time Wuyou came home, maybe she was drunk, or maybe she had wanted to say this for a long time.
"I'm curious... when Mr. Ouyang was still alive, did they also respect him in the same way?"
After she said this to the air, no one at the banquet mentioned Mr. Ouyang again.
Their topic turned to Emperor Gaozu, who was a great hero from a humble background. The last emperor of the previous dynasty was cruel and tyrannical and lost the support of the people. It was only thanks to Emperor Gaozu who raised the banner of rebellion that we have the current peaceful and prosperous era.
These nobles were important officials who helped build the country several generations ago. They are proud of the glory of their ancestors and often mention their ancestors' teachings. They say that diligence and thrift are virtues and that they love their people as they love their own children. Everyone understands these principles, and they do not affect their efforts to enclose land and occupy fertile farmland. A banquet can cost them countless silver coins.
Pei Xuehai was very careful when photographing the banquet, and every frame cost a lot of money. If there were no extreme luxury of feasting and drinking in the rich houses, how could the sadness and desolation of people freezing to death on the streets stand out?
How many generations have passed since the founding of the country? Xiao Cai's excited heart had long since cooled down. Like Wuyou, she felt cold all over during this wonderful time of toasting and enjoying the beautiful scenery.
No wonder the emperor allowed Wuyou to wear a sword, Xiao Cai realized this belatedly. He is the emperor, and he is the person who values his life the most, but he is not afraid at all that Wuyou might suddenly hurt him. Is it because he believes in Wuyou's loyalty?
It's because the emperor knows that a sharp sword is not the most terrifying weapon in the world, but corruption from the inside out, coated in a layer of sweet sugar.
If Wuyou's will is not strong enough, can she still hold her sword? She is worry-free because she has nothing to ask for. What happens when she asks for something?
What is rare is that worry-free is always worry-free. At least on this point, she fully demonstrates the qualities of the protagonist.
Xiao Cai thought, I hope this won’t be the only point.
Countless times, Wuyou's hands were on the scabbard, but she never really drew the sword.
Who is she waiting for and who is she going to assassinate? Wuyou never gave a clear answer.
In the snowy winter, she was still practicing sword in the yard. The maids advised her to go back to the house, but she smiled and said that she was resistant to cold.
"I have been practicing swordplay since I was young, and I am very good at endurance." She said, "I can endure pain, cold, and anything. My teacher once told me that spring will always come."
But what disappeared faster than the snow was the upper class's patience with Wuyou.
They hinted to her again and again that Mr. Ouyang had served Emperor Gaozu well, and since the county princess had been granted the surname of the emperor, she should think about sharing the worries of His Majesty!
The dignitaries would ask Wuyou many questions at the banquet, and the housekeepers at home would teach her how to answer them in advance. But Wuyou had a very bad memory. When she sat at the banquet, she just ate and drank, and couldn't utter a word for a long time.
If she asked too much, she would turn around and look at her maids to ask for their opinions. Her thoughts were all written on her face. How should I answer this question? I never learned that at home.
She is so stupid that what she says just by copying others is naturally not valid. After this happened many times, the steward and the maids stopped teaching her and only asked her to be responsible for eating and drinking.
Sometimes just being there can mean a lot, but what if she has to attend every banquet? She was being nice to everyone, which meant she was ignoring no one.
They recommended many people, and the most frequently mentioned one was the Sixth Prince. He recognized Wuyoujian, and he knew how much respect he had for Mr. Ouyang and how much care he took of his disciple. You must remember this!
Of course Wuyou could remember it - not just the Sixth Prince, she had a deep memory of every prince.
Humph, Xiao Cai snorted disdainfully for her outside the screen. The princes of the imperial dynasty are all rotten fruits. The difference is that some are rotten on the visible side, while others are rotten on the other side behind. They are all garbage that should be thrown away. What's so special about the Sixth Prince?
Stupid Wuyou couldn't make a choice, so they tried another method. Why not remove the wrong option first?
The first person to be excluded was the third prince. They told her that the prince was related to the Minister of Personnel by marriage, and that he usually bullied men and women and exploited the common people. A hero like the county lord should seek justice for the innocent souls in the underworld!
As they said this, Wuyou nodded. She didn't understand anything, and she just did whatever others told her to do or say.
They said that the third prince was bad, so Wuyou followed suit and said that he was bad, since the evidence of his crimes was true anyway. Everyone thinks she is naive, but only when the audience sees the unusually scary look in her eyes during the final move of her sword dance, will they not be deceived by her performance.
The Third Prince faction and the Anti-Third Prince faction were fighting fiercely in the court. Wuyou supported the former on the surface, but when the movie was about to end, she finally revealed her true colors.
Xiao Cai has been waiting for this scene for too long. She had been looking forward to it eagerly, but now she was a little timid and didn't dare to go to see it.
Wuyou collected evidence of crimes committed by both parties, including but not limited to corruption, bribery, selling official positions, embezzlement of military pay and so on. She handed all these over to the Emperor, who personally helped her up and praised her loyalty.
The ruler and his subjects get along well with each other and are content. The greatest chivalrous men serve their country and their people. This should be a story that will be passed down through the ages!
Unfortunately, these are just beautiful illusions before the bubble is burst.
Your Majesty gave the third prince a very remote fiefdom, which is basically equivalent to exile. The officials involved in the incident in the court were dismissed from office or demoted, and His Majesty reprimanded them loudly!
With so many official positions vacant, the ministers were extremely busy. As for the Princess of Le'an who made great contributions, Your Majesty will reward her with a thousand taels of gold with a wave of his hand.
It was not until this time that Xiao Cai finally understood what the emperor meant by "it would be better if she was a girl".
Wuyou is a girl, so she cannot truly inherit Mr. Ouyang’s political legacy, and she cannot make her own voice.
Who cares what she thinks? She was just a tool for everyone to improve their political reputation, and also a bait thrown out by the emperor to take advantage of the situation.
The emperor sat firmly on the Diaoyutai, watching the court officials fighting with each other below. Seeing that this tool was very useful, he grabbed some and smilingly took it as a trophy, allowing them to start a new round of fighting.
The emperor didn't care whether Wuyou was loyal or not, what his talents and abilities were, or whether he had learned the real skills from Mr. Ouyang. He only needs to sit on the dragon throne and maintain the balance in the court. How the people are doing or whether there is war on the border are not his concerns. A ruler in a prosperous age only needs to enjoy peace.
So he said, it would be better if Wuyou was a girl. He could use her without worrying about any backlash or cost.
Therefore, it is enough to reward her with some gold and silver. As a girl, does she want to gain political power? Perhaps one day when the emperor feels that the court is unbalanced again, she, a useful tool that can represent Mr. Ouyang, will have a chance to be pulled out again.
Wuyou knelt down in the house to express his gratitude, then took his sword and package and left the capital without looking back.
The Third Prince's guards moved very slowly. How could it be possible that the prince's travel style was inferior to that of the princess? This was convenient for Wuyou, otherwise she would not have been able to catch up.
She finally drew her sword, and the sharp blade pierced into the Third Prince's chest, and the splattering blood flew onto Wuyou's face.
The movie was almost over, and Wuyou finally drew her sword.
"How bizarre," she said, "It turns out that princes can bleed, just like the untouchables."
The Third Prince looked at her fiercely and said fiercely, "Le An is a martial arts master. It would be easy for him to kill me."
The blade had pierced his heart and he was dead.
But this does not mean that Wuyou is the winner.
Drops of blood slid down Wuyou's face, like two lines of embarrassed bloody tears.
Even the Third Prince knew that it would be easy to kill him, but was the unsheathed sword in her hand really meant to kill him?
Kill him, the emperor still has other princes. Even if the emperor was killed and all members of the royal family were slaughtered, how would the emperor of the new dynasty be any different?
Perhaps within several generations, even the founding emperor may end up living the life he originally hated.
Wuyou's killing of the third prince was not her success, but rather it was that she finally realized that she was an incompetent loser and could only vent her anger in this way.
She was looking for political allies all the way, but she couldn't find any. The last bit of hope in her heart that "the emperor is a good man and he was deceived by treacherous ministers" was shattered.
She only knew that the sun would rise again tomorrow, and the same tragedy would be repeated on this land.
Xiao Cai thought of the lavish banquets of the rich and powerful, the tragic scene of poor people freezing to death on the street, how they reminisced about their ancestors, and how the dynasty collapsed and became corrupt...
The wheel of history has proved that Wuyou can change nothing in the face of the tide of the times.
The third prince was almost dead, but he was still mocking her incompetence.
He also said: "You really are worthy of being... worthy of being Mr. Ouyang's... top disciple."
The third prince seemed to want to say something, but his eyes had become blurry until he slowly died.
Wuyou loosened his hand for a moment, then quickly tightened the hilt and pulled out the sword.
She said, "You are wrong. I never learned this from my husband."
She picked up the sword and left, without using any more martial arts skills, but instead jumped on her horse.
The ending scene of the movie shows her riding a horse at full speed. No one knew where she was going, and no one knew where her future lay.
She is the most pathetic retrograde of this era. Where can she go? There is no place for her anywhere.
The screen went black and the lights in the theater came on. There was silence for a moment.
Xiao Cai was still thinking about the movie, but Ling Suisui had never felt his heartbeat so clearly, it was pounding and about to jump out of his chest.
Until this brief silence ended, warm applause broke out at the scene and did not stop for a long time.
Pei Xuehai stood up, followed by Ling Suisui and other actors. They bowed to the audience and judges in all directions to express their gratitude.
At this point, the premiere of "The Great Swordsman" finally ended successfully.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
