Chapter 12 "I ask you, my lord, your face and the flowers reflect each other's brilliance..."
Ji Chengnin didn't take it to heart and joked, "I haven't met my closer cousin yet."
Before he finished speaking, a commotion arose, and the crowd surged forward.
Ji Chengnin turned his head to look in confusion.
On the high platform, the musician who had been playing the pipa had stood up. In his hands, he no longer held the pipa, but an exquisitely crafted silver bow. He took an arrow from a maid, drew back the bowstring, and slowly scanned the crowd.
Just as Ji Chengnin turned his head, the musician released his grip, and with a "whoosh," the arrow flew swiftly from the bowstring towards the audience below.
In the blink of an eye.
A red arrow suddenly magnified before the young marquis's eyes. The archer's aim was superb, and in the next moment, the "arrow" had pierced Ji Chengning's hair crown.
The flower branch burst through the air, bumping against the crown of her head; two golden paulownia leaves collided, jingling loudly.
Ji Chengnin's eyes widened in surprise.
Cui Yao released her hand from the ring.
He reached out to help Ji Chengnin up, but as soon as he raised his hand, the young marquis, who seemed stunned, raised his lips and laughed loudly, "What excellent archery skills!"
Everyone turned to look at who had won the prize. They saw a young man with flowers in his hair, dressed in fine clothes and a wide belt. He had a beautiful face, and his eyes and brows were more striking than any red flower.
Moreover, standing beside this young man was a woman of similar age, whose beauty was also exceptionally rare. The two of them standing together truly resembled a perfect pair.
"Bravo!" A cheer erupted from the crowd, making the atmosphere even more lively.
The musician bowed and said with a smile, "It is a great fortune for this flower to be in the young master's hair. Today is the Flower Festival, and the evening mountain flower in the young master's hair is the first one to bloom in the Wuyuan Garden during the Flower Festival. May the young master be like this flower, and one day he will win the moon and pluck the laurel.
After he finished speaking, a servant came forward with a tray and offered wine to Ji Chengning, saying, "Young master, you are blessed with good fortune. Would you do me the honor of drinking this cup to the brim?"
"Wanshan?" Ji Chengning smiled at Cui Yao. "What a coincidence."
Cui Yao smiled slightly, "Yes."
Ji Chengning reached for the wine cup, but his hands were full of things. He turned his gaze to Cui Yao for help.
The latter immediately understood. He paused for half a second, then raised his hand to take the wine cup and said softly, "The wine is strong; you shouldn't drink too much."
Ji Chengnin pleaded with him, "I'll just have a sip."
But then I thought, my cousin is just trying to fool me. How could she know this liquor is strong?
Before Cui Yao could even bring the cup to Ji Chengning's lips, Ji Chengning had already opened his mouth.
From Cui Yao's perspective, the young marquis was far too hasty. His lips and teeth were half-open, revealing two rows of pearly white teeth. To make it easier to drink, a soft tongue was obediently pressed down in his mouth.
Cui Yao paused for a moment.
Ji Chengning quickly lowered his head, opened his mouth and lightly bit the edge of the wine cup. Cui Yao was caught off guard and actually tilted the wine cup, spilling the clear wine and smearing the young marquis's mouth.
He tilted his head back and drank the wine in one gulp.
Cui Yao's gaze darkened, but Ji Chengnin winked at him with a sly look.
However, Ji Chengnin's smug expression didn't last even a second before his face changed slightly.
The wine is a honey wine, extremely smooth and sweet on the palate, but it feels fiery hot as it slides down the throat.
The musician laughed heartily, "Young man, you are so generous!"
Ji Chengning smiled and casually stuffed the bag of pastries into Cui Yao's hand, while he pulled the jade pendant from his waist and placed it on the tray.
The movements were incredibly smooth and fluid.
"Click".
The jade collided with the tray.
The musician was taken aback and was about to refuse when he saw the young master pull the girl beside him away through the crowd.
From his elevated position, he could easily see the girl's long eyelashes drooping, her expression a mixture of annoyance and reproach.
The musician's attention had been entirely focused on Ji Chengnin, but when he suddenly saw the appearance of the person next to him, his expression changed slightly.
Yes, is he seeing things?
The musician was startled and was about to rub his eyes when the girl seemed to sense his gaze and glanced back with her glassy eyes.
They met his probing gaze.
The musician's face suddenly turned ashen.
Ji Chengning plucked a flower from his hair ornament, and just as Cui Yao was about to take it, he inserted the flower back into his hair.
This time, however, it's at the temples.
Dark black hair complements the vibrant evening wildflowers.
Ji Chengnin tilted his head, adjusted his temple, and smiled at Cui Yao, "May I ask you, my lord, if a face and a flower complement each other, which is better, the flower or the servant?"
The intoxicating aroma of the wine brought tears to Ji Chengnin's eyes.
Cui Yao gazed at him and said, "The flowers are beautiful."
Ji Chengnin scoffed, "Cousin," he held up a finger and waved it in front of him, "has no taste whatsoever."
The liquor was so strong that he could barely speak clearly, his words coming out in a mumbled, indistinct way. When he called out to someone, it sounded like he was talking in eighteen different directions, which was incredibly cloying.
Before he could finish speaking, the flower that was not tightly tucked into his hair slipped down, and the young marquis reached out to grab it, but missed.
The evening mountain fell to the ground.
Although it wasn't covered in dust, it was still unwearable.
Ji Chengnin exclaimed in surprise, "My flowers!"
Cui Yao turned slightly, picked up a mask at random, and heard Ji Chengnin say, "What a pity."
"What's a pity?"
It's just a single flower.
Is it a pity about the flowers, or a pity about the flowers that were pinned in his hair? "It's a pity my cousin likes the evening mountains; I wanted you to see me wear them a couple more times."
Cui Yao was taken aback.
Ji Chengnin looked up at him with a smile, his own reflection clearly seen in her beautiful and affectionate eyes.
Its beauty surpasses even the most beautiful flowers, and it's so close at hand.
As soon as he finished speaking, Ji Chengnin's vision suddenly darkened. He instinctively closed his eyes and felt something cold covering his face.
He opened his eyes.
It's a mask.
In an instant, Cui Yao regretted putting the mask on him.
This mask does not cover the entire face. The fox's gorgeous and slender eyebrows and eyes are outlined with vermilion ink and decorated with gold powder, making it dazzling. The upper half of the mask is exquisite and intricate, but the lower half of the face is extremely plain, with only a touch of vermilion and glossy lips.
Ji Chengnin didn't ask Cui Yao why she did this, but looked up and asked, "Does it look good?"
Cui Yao raised her wrist.
A pale hand, as if covered in frost and snow, suddenly loomed large before my eyes.
Beneath the mask, the young marquis's long, beautiful eyes widened for a moment.
The sweet, almost imperceptible scent of osmanthus flower oil commonly used by women today is unique to sandalwood chests, with a hint of cool, metallic aroma.
Several flavors intertwined and mingled, relentlessly assaulting Ji Chengnin's senses.
He instinctively held his breath.
The next second, the hand landed on his ear, and he heard a rustling sound as it rubbed his earlobe, causing an unsettling itch.
"alright."
Cui Yao took two steps back and lowered her hand.
"Um?"
Miss Cui explained succinctly, "I put it on crookedly just now."
He paid and bowed his head, saying, "Your Highness, I'd like to buy some ice dumplings. Would you like some?"
Ji Chengnin gave a blank nod and said, "Does this require my cousin to do it herself? I'll just have a guard go and buy it."
Cui Yao smiled and spoke softly, "I still need to buy two boxes of face powder. I'm afraid they won't recognize the colors, so please wait here for me a moment, Your Highness."
Ji Chengnin was still a little tipsy, but he nodded obediently, "Okay." He pointed to a tea stall with koi lanterns hanging not far away, "I'm here, I'll wait for you there."
Cui Yao nodded and smiled.
Although he said he was leaving, it was Ji Chengning who strode forward first.
Cui Yao turned around and walked against the flow of people.
Ji Chengning turned around to look, but Cui Yao had already disappeared.
He felt something was wrong, but couldn't quite put his finger on it, so he rubbed his temples and strode toward the tea stall.
Xianyun Lane has many narrow paths, and Cui Yao navigated them several times with ease, eventually disappearing into a deep alley.
The clamor of voices was shut out.
He heard a very faint voice behind him, "My lord, Xu Chengen is on his way."
Cui Yao casually crushed a petal between his fingertips, the sticky, deep red juice instantly staining his nails. "Well done. Where's Ji Chengnin?"
“Someone is watching. He was drinking tea when my subordinate came over.”
Cui Yao hummed in agreement.
The next moment, the man smelled a faint fragrance on his face. He looked up in surprise and saw something bright red flash before his eyes. He instinctively caught it.
Yes, a mountain in the evening, its petals crumpled and torn.
Cui Yao took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped the juice off her hands.
He said, "Take it and burn it."
...
After drinking a cup of strong tea, Ji Chengning felt much more awake.
He sat lazily on a small stool, sipping tea and lost in thought with his eyes downcast.
Just as he was wondering if Cui Yao would be unable to find him, he heard a cry of alarm from the surging crowd around him, "Watch out!"
The dense crowd suddenly erupted into chaos.
"Don't move! My shoes! My shoes!"
"What's wrong?"
"When Lord Xu goes out, all bystanders shall give way!"
"You shouldn't ride a horse recklessly on Chongning Street either. Oh dear, who took my purse..."
The crowd instantly erupted into chaos.
Ji Chengning's body moved faster than his mind; before he even knew what had happened, he had already jumped up.
Before anyone could react, the sound of galloping hooves suddenly came from afar, approaching rapidly.
The crowd was forced to squeeze to both sides, pushing and shoving to avoid each other. Some even took advantage of the chaos to snatch people's money bags. The tea-selling woman hurriedly pulled her tea cart back.
The crowd dispersed like a tide, leaving the road mostly empty. Ji Chengning took a few steps forward and saw a magnificent horse galloping towards him. It was over seven feet tall, extremely strong, with muscles bulging and covered by thick black hair, and it was galloping aggressively.
The crowd was forced to make way, but right then a five or six-year-old child was lying on the ground, clutching his leg and crying.
Ji Chengnin's pupils suddenly contracted.
"ah!"
Some people covered their eyes in panic.
Seeing the horse charging towards him, he didn't have time to think. He leaped forward, grabbed the crying child, and pulled him aside.
The horse's hooves leaped high and slammed down on Ji Chengnin's back.
A moment later, the scene of blood flowing all over the ground that I had imagined did not happen. Instead, the stallion opened its mouth wide and let out a mournful "neighing."
The lead bullet pierced the horse's belly, and blood immediately rained down.
Ji Chengning covered the child's eyes with one hand and pushed the child into the crowd.
Immediately someone grabbed the child and held him tightly in their arms.
The horse collapsed to the ground with a thud.
The rider was thrown heavily to the ground.
"You, how dare you!" The rider struggled to his feet and cursed loudly.
Ji Chengnin took a few steps forward.
The rider paused in horror, only to see the person in front of him splattered with blood, his brocade robe covered in plum blossoms, the beautiful flowers falling in a flurry with his movements.
"Tick-tock, tick-tock."
It seeped into Ji Chengning's hand holding the gun.
Cui Yao looked down at him quietly with her eyes lowered.
A pair of clear, almost transparent eyes reflected the bloodstains on the ground.
The fishy smell was so strong that it could be smelled even in the private rooms on the third floor.
Immediately, I felt a wet, sticky sensation on my hands.
Cui Yao raised her hand with some confusion, only to find that the sharp edge had popped out of the ring and cut deeply into her palm.
The wound was gruesome, resembling the carcass of a horse that had just been killed by Ji Chengnin with a single shot, its abdomen blasted to pieces by gunpowder.
Cui Yao smiled.
Downstairs, the man on horseback was clearly frightened, but he still choked out a sharp question: "Do you know who I am?"
Ji Chengnin did not speak.
He simply swung the three-pound musket in his hand and smashed it hard into the other man's mouth.
A note from the author:
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