16 on par
◎Gu Ningxi knew the strength of Prince Zhao's arm.◎
After leaving the capital, I found myself in an ancient temple in the mountains, undisturbed by worldly affairs, and experiencing a long-lost sense of comfort and freedom.
The morning mist had just dissipated and the sun was shining brightly.
It's April, and the peach blossoms on the mountain are in full bloom. Beneath the blazing blossoms, a figure in green stands out.
Gu Ningxi had been going to bed early these past two days. When she got up, the peach forest was still half shrouded in white mist, giving it a fairyland feel.
She had a quick breakfast and told Yinyue to get her drawing paper. She spread a mat on the ground and sat down under the shadow of the flowers.
The scenery flows through the brushstrokes, and the peach blossoms in the painting are even more prosperous. Such a beautiful scenery can be brought back home to enjoy with my mother.
A few petals fell silently among the ink-black hair, and the person who was immersed in painting was unaware of it.
The green sleeves moved slightly in the wind, and the petals spread on the ground swayed in the wind.
Lu Jingyu stayed there for a moment, without going forward to disturb him, and left as he came.
Gu Ningxi cut a few small pieces of paper and carefully drew the different postures of the peach tree.
When I return to Beijing and have some free time, I can create a few different paintings and put them in my shop. I think someone will like them.
The three-day ritual is drawing to a close, smoke is rising from the kitchen, and the aroma of food is gradually wafting into the dining hall.
Today's vegetarian dishes include toon and tofu, vegetarian fish sashimi, stir-fried shredded vegetables, spring bamboo shoot soup, and white jade Buddha's hand. There's also a delicious Luohan vegetarian dish made with wood ear mushrooms, bamboo fungus, and dried bean curd sheets. The main course is a first-class vegetarian rice with eight treasures, steamed with glutinous rice, lotus seeds, red dates, and wolfberries, topped with a layer of pine needles, adding a touch of fresh mountain fragrance.
Because there were matters to be discussed at noon, the vegetarian meals were delivered to the main hall, and were not divided into several portions and sent to each person's courtyard as usual.
Lu Jing was in the study, tending to some matters, and arrived a little late. Before he even reached the stone steps, he heard Xie Qian's voice filtering through the window panes of the wing room: "...This peach blossom painting is incredibly lifelike. Yuan Le's brushwork is truly exquisite. I also saw a beautiful sight on my way here."
This was his first time at Chongsheng Temple, and he had spent the past three days touring the area, taking in all the mountain scenery. Feiling Mountain was a prime spot for spring outings, but due to its long distance and the fact that it was part of the imperial domain, it was rarely visited by the public.
Xie Qian admired a few scrolls and made an unwelcome request: "If Yuan Leruo still has some free time, could you paint a picture for me?"
His eyes were filled with anticipation. Gu Ningxi smiled and nodded, "Okay, I can even draw you into the picture and add four words for you—" She raised her eyebrows and smiled, "I've been here."
Lu Jing chuckled, and Xie Qian also laughed. Together with Gu Ningxi, they saluted His Royal Highness Prince Zhao.
"Long live Your Highness."
Steaming hot vegetarian food was placed on the dining table. Although they were all home-cooked ingredients, they were cooked in the temple in a particularly delicious way.
After the ritual in Chongsheng Temple, they planned to go down the mountain before noon tomorrow. They would pass through several villages on the way to the imperial mausoleum.
Gu Ningxi nodded after listening to the arrangements, and also wanted to go and see the water conservancy works in those villages.
She filled a small bowl of spring bamboo shoot soup and waited for the vegetarian meal. The secret guard came to report on the affairs in the capital, and Gu Ningxi and Xie Qian took their leave first.
A clear spring flows over the rocks, the gurgling sound of the water, accompanied by a few stalks of green bamboo, and echoing with the wooden pavilion in the distance. As Xie Qian said, it is indeed a good place to take pictures.
Gu Ningxi kept his word and actually ordered someone to get rice paper and paintbrushes, and asked Xie Qian to find a suitable place to stand.
She is best at painting palaces and gardens, followed by natural scenery, and is also good at painting portraits.
Gu Ningxi first settled on a rough outline, harmonizing the figures with the scenery. He then applied his brush with even greater freedom, sketching the gurgling spring with just a few strokes.
Gu Ningxi was so skilled in painting that by the time His Royal Highness Prince Zhao passed by, he had already completed most of the painting.
"What do you think, Your Highness?" Gu Ningxi turned the drawing paper towards him and asked what he thought.
Xie Qian, who was not far away, looked up, wanting to see what the painting looked like, but he was trapped in the spot.
The spring scenery in the mountains is vividly portrayed in the painting, with the light and dark colors being just right, and people and scenery being one.
Lu Jing nodded and praised him, but thought in his heart that his painting skills had improved a lot compared to before.
When Yuan Le was young in the Imperial College, he just learned to paint with his practice brush.
That day, he was writing in his study, while Yuan Le sat outside the window in the courtyard. At first, he had no idea what he was doing, until after school, when Yuan Le excitedly brought a picture into the study and proudly spread it out before him.
According to Yuan Le, the portrait on the picture was his, and it was really... He paused for a long time, unable to put it into words.
But facing the clear and expectant gaze of the person in front of him, he looked at the gloomy sky outside and boasted about it against his will. He then carefully put away the painting and prepared to take it back to the palace.
After all, if this picture were to get out, it would be hard to say who would be more embarrassed between the two of them.
Yuan Le even signed his own name in a corner of the painting, claiming that this was his first portrait of someone else.
He nodded and thanked me again.
Yuan Le smiled brightly: "As long as Your Highness likes it."
He: “…Yeah.”
After he brought the painting home, it was originally placed on his desk. The Queen Mother stumbled upon it that day and, after staring at it for a long time, couldn't recognize him. She pointed at the figure in the painting and asked him who it was. After he answered, the Queen Mother held the painting in front of him, looked around, and laughed for a long time. When the Emperor came for dinner, the Queen Mother specially ordered the painting to be brought to him and relayed the story to him word for word. They both laughed at him.
Thinking about the past, Lu Jing smiled and shook his head. Now that he thought about it, he didn't know where the painting was placed in the palace study, but it must have been there.
The sound of the spring is clear and moving, and the afternoon time is leisurely and comfortable.
…
After staying in Chongsheng Temple for four days, they went down the mountain after breakfast the next day.
It was springtime, and Gu Ningxi abandoned his carriage and rode his own Feiyun instead.
This is a beautiful white colt. Like its owner, it rarely leaves the capital except for hunting.
Lu Jing leisurely took the reins. Gu Ningxi recognized his horse. It was Qingzhui, the horse King Zhao had not taken with him to the battlefield when he left the capital.
Having not seen his master for three years and not galloping freely in the wild for a long time, Qingzhui was obviously very excited and sometimes even turned sideways to be intimate with Feiyun.
Gu Ningxi looked at the map and calculated the distance to the post station. He was sure he could arrive before sunset.
She was a little curious: "If it is marching speed, it should be much faster, right?"
Lu Jing roughly estimated: "About half an hour."
Xie Qian shook his head quietly. It was such a short distance. If they were following His Highness on the battlefield, they would have to arrive before 3:00 p.m., and it would be a different story if they were chasing the enemy.
However, today's journey was leisurely, the spring scenery along the road was pleasant, and the few of them were more in the mood to chat.
Gu Ningxi had heard from his cousin that sometimes they had to march quickly on the battlefield, sometimes covering hundreds of miles in a single day, which was really hard work.
Xie Qian said truthfully, "Even this situation is still considered good. We were once engaged in a battle with the Xia army, and I followed His Highness to scout the enemy's vanguard. We were less than half a mile from the enemy camp when we were spotted by their spies."
It was customary for His Royal Highness Prince Zhao to personally ascertain the enemy's situation before a battle, so as to know both himself and the enemy. The Xia army's vanguard was well-trained, and at such close range, it was difficult for them to remain undetected.
Logically, he should have turned back immediately, but His Highness shouted something to the spy.
"What?"
Xie Qian smiled, and a hint of sadness appeared in his smile: "He said he was the King Zhao of Jin."
"...Huh?" Gu Ningxi doubted her ears. "Then, what was the other party's reaction?"
"What do you think?"
His Royal Highness Prince Zhao's mount is renowned, known to all on the battlefield. He's provoking them right to their doorstep. How much more can we tolerate?
Xie Qian said, "The other side has sent out an elite force to pursue us, about a thousand people."
"What about you?"
Xie Qian held out his hand. "Five of them!" He counted them off clearly to Gu Ningxi. "Your Highness, me, and three personal guards."
Gu Ningxi: "Hmm..."
"As for the three guards, His Highness saw that they were a little scared, so he sent two of them back to report the news."
Three against a thousand, Gu Ningxi couldn't figure it out: "How do we fight this?"
"Of course it's better to leave."
Their precious horses were much stronger than their pursuers, and they easily escaped the enemy.
But His Highness deliberately slowed down, letting them catch up at a leisurely pace, keeping a suitable distance from the pursuers in front.
At this distance, the enemy's arrows could not reach them, but His Highness, holding a longbow, could easily shoot down the enemy's vanguard.
Gu Ningxi knew the arm strength of His Royal Highness Prince Zhao, and the longbow he used was no ordinary bow or arrow.
However, turning around and shooting arrows while riding a horse would slow him down. Occasionally, when an enemy rushed close, Xie Qian would guard them with his long spear and knock them off their horses.
They cooperated well and the enemy could do nothing to them.
But this wasn't a long-term solution. Even though he knew they were safe, Gu Ningxi still felt a sense of trepidation when he heard this: "So what happened next?"
Xie Qian said, "We chased them for about half a day. The guards who had returned earlier to report the news had already conveyed His Highness's orders. His Highness and I led the enemy into the encirclement, and the soldiers of the Great Jin Dynasty who were lying in ambush wiped them out in one fell swoop."
That battle severely damaged the morale of the Xia army, and the morale of the Jin army was high, and the subsequent counterattack was unstoppable.
Despite the great victory, Gu Ningxi sighed, "But this is too risky."
"Isn't that right?" Xie Qian nodded, agreeing deeply. "To be honest, I also regret following Your Highness."
But now that he was on board, there was no point in regretting it; he could only go down this path. Furthermore, there was no other lord in the world whom he would willingly follow.
Everyone said that His Royal Highness Prince Zhao was a rare genius on the battlefield, and that following His Royal Highness Prince Zhao into the Black Armor Army, promotions and ranks were just around the corner. However, their military achievements were truly earned through hard work.
Gu Ningxi smiled. Xie Qian could easily make such a joke in front of His Royal Highness Prince Zhao, which showed the relationship between them.
Speaking of arrows, Xie Qian couldn't help but ask for confirmation: "Did His Highness really teach you that archery skill?"
"Well..." Gu Ningxi glanced at Prince Zhao guiltily, then gave him a flattering smile when he looked back. Seeing that Prince Zhao didn't deny it in front of others, Gu Ningxi said tactfully, "You could say that."
Xie Qian coughed a few times, feeling hopeless.
He said earnestly, "Don't mention it to anyone else. I'm afraid someone might challenge you to a duel."
Gu Ningxi nodded deeply: "That makes sense."
【Author’s words】
Xiao Lu's arm strength, (trying to gesture), is so strong that he can hold... (you get the idea, right?)
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