Chapter 27 Chapter 27 Slim waist, long legs, and smooth hips...
When Xie Tingyu shot the wooden kite's left eye with an arrow, Huan Zhanyue thought of the time when Wang Xuanji shot an arrow through the yellow sheep's eye during the autumn hunt.
When Xie Tingyu shot an arrow through the hair crown on Yuan Wangshu's head, Huan Zhanyue remembered that she had an apple on her head and was used as a target by Wang Xuanji for teasing.
Huan Zhanyue smacked her lips and concluded, "This person has quite a bit of the spirit of Xuan Ji back then." She nodded again, "He's a talented person with great potential. Perhaps he can add another brave general to the Great Zhou." She punched Cui Yuanying on the shoulder again and shook her head. "Look at him, then look at you. You really are... well... I hate to say it... a hopeless case."
No one blinked an eye. Cui Yuanying was beaten so hard that tears welled up in her eyes as she watched Huan Zhanyue walk towards Xie Tingyu.
Many people showed off their skills in front of General Huan Zhanyue and won his appreciation. Seeing this, everyone envied Xie Tingyu in their hearts.
When Cui Yuanying saw Xie Tingyu reverently accept Huan Zhanyue's invitation with both hands, he couldn't help but sigh, "He conquered my aunt just like that."
Wang Lanzhi glanced at Cui Yuanying. "Xie Er is both intelligent and brave, and his archery skills are exceptional. It's no surprise that he's appreciated by General Huan."
Xie Tingyu put away the invitation and bowed, "I am deeply humbled to have received the favor of General Huan."
Huan Zhanyue greatly appreciated Xie Tingyu's respectful attitude. Smiling broadly, she patted Xie Tingyu on the shoulder. "You're a promising young talent. If you're free these days, come find me at the martial arts arena. You have such great skills; don't let them go to waste."
Xie Tingyu still responded humbly. Huan Zhanyue nodded repeatedly and gave a few more instructions. Then he glared at someone coldly a few times and left.
The crowd walked in groups of three or four, with Yuan Wangshu, who looked like he had lost his parents and had disheveled hair, sitting in the middle.
Just as Xie Tingyu was about to ride away, Cui Yuanying approached with a flattering expression. "Xie Er," she bowed deeply, her words sincere, her eyes gleaming. "Would you please teach me how to ride and shoot? The reward is up to you. If you also want five beauties, I can send them to your house immediately."
Xie Tingyu raised his eyebrows and said, "No thanks." He jumped on his horse and was about to leave.
Cui Yuanying immediately pulled Ma back and said, "Don't be so formal. I jumped into the lake too, so please be kind."
"Why are you suddenly focusing on horseback riding and archery?" Xie Tingyu glared down at her. "Just to surpass Yuan Wangshu?"
"Who the hell is Yuan Wangshu!" Cui Yuanying scoffed, then blushed. "It's my aunt... She's been telling me since I was little, about a famous general named Wang Xuanji. She said if I could even compare to her, I'd be so proud of myself."
She scratched her head. "I do... I do want to be like Captain Wang."
Xie Tingyu raised his eyebrows when he heard this. "Okay, then come to my farm on the outskirts of the city. I'll only be there for a little while. Don't try to play around when you get tired."
———
Ji Lian would come to Ci'en Temple on the outskirts of the city to practice for more than a month every year.
Wearing blue monk's robes, twirling Buddhist beads, copying Buddhist scriptures by himself, kneeling before the Buddha and Guanyin for an hour, and so on are just ordinary tasks for him.
He did this just to commemorate his father.
Curling green smoke rose from the incense burner. Ji Lian clasped his hands together, bowed devoutly, and offered three sticks of incense. Under the guidance of the host, Ji Lian held up the fortune stick holder with both hands. With a few clattering sounds, a fortune stick fell out.
The monk who was waiting nearby took it and, after looking at the lot, beamed. "Congratulations, Your Highness! This is an excellent lot!" He wiped his brow with a look of relief. "This lot signifies great fortune and prosperity. It's a sign of good fortune turning from bad to good. It's a perfect sign of good fortune."
Ever since Ji Lian began this annual practice at Ci'en Temple five years ago, she had always drawn the worst fortunes, the worst even being a "very unlucky" fortune. In short, the fortunes were never good, and the monk who interpreted them had to come up with a new method each time, racking his brains to find some good meaning from the text.
Now, having finally drawn an excellent fortune, the monk who interpreted it immediately presented him with a lucky charm. Chunchun said, "Just as you've never had such luck before, this year's auspicious stars and fortunes are finally in sync. According to the fortune, Your Highness will surely meet an important person in the near future."
Ji Lian was unimpressed by this nobleman. He thanked the monk, put the lucky charm into his sleeve, and continued copying scriptures in his meditation room until the afternoon.
At this moment, Jiangzhu came over with a carved food box, placed the dishes on the small table, and propped the window open with a bamboo pole. It was dusk, and the sky was a dark purple.
It had been drizzling for several days since she entered Ci'en Temple. Ji Lian looked up and saw the air was refreshing and filled with the fragrance of earth and plants.
"I heard from the monks that there are many fireflies and several natural hot springs in the mountains behind Ci'en Temple. Speaking of which, Your Highness really liked these glowing little insects when he was a child." Jiangzhu was serving the dishes on the side.
Ji Lian chewed slowly and swallowed carefully, thinking to himself: Life in the mountains is boring, why not go to the back mountain to play? Thinking of this, he began to calculate that based on his walking speed and the round trip to the back mountain, he could return in no more than half an hour.
After Jiangzhu cleaned up the food, Ji Lian picked up a plain gauze lantern and walked briskly towards the back mountain.
The soil was soft and moist after several days of rain, and the trees on the back hill were lush and green. A small lamp illuminated the winding mountain path. Ji Lian observed her surroundings, picked up a stone, and occasionally drew a few marks on the tree trunks, which would serve as a signpost for the way back.
Suddenly, Ji Lian caught a few faint green fluorescent lights flickering among the trees. Inspired, after following the fireflies for a while, she suddenly heard a few horse snorting sounds from below.
Ji Lian stopped and realized that he had reached the edge of a steep slope. The sound came from the lower right side, but it was blocked by lush bushes and he could not see anything clearly.
Ji Lian looked up. Although the night wasn't too dark, it was time to head back. As he turned, his sleeve got caught on a thorny bush. Frowning, he leaned over to untie it, but the soil was so soft that he took only two steps before twisting his ankle.
He suddenly lost his balance and rolled down the bushes.
There was a loud splash, and the warm spring water instantly flooded my earlobes. It turned out that there was a steep slope under the bushes, and under this steep slope there was a hot spring.
Amidst the mist, Ji Lian struggled to the surface, and only then could she see that the bushes were growing on the cliff of the hot spring. Because of the darkness and the mist, it was difficult to notice the difference in terrain.
Ripples spread out in circles.
There were a few dim lights hanging among the bushes. They were the gauze lanterns that Ji Lian had just used to illuminate the area. Looking to the right, he saw a black horse with only four snow-white hooves, drinking water from the hot spring.
Ji Lian was initially upset that he had been so reckless and had fallen. Then, when he lowered his head and saw that the spring water had already reached his chest and his monk's robe was soaked and stuck tightly to his body, he felt even more embarrassed.
Although it is midsummer, the night roads in the mountains are very cautious, and the cool breeze blowing across the water surface arouses a shudder.
Many questions popped up in Ji Lian's mind.
What would he do if someone saw him in this state of disarray? He hadn't seen anyone on the road when he came, so he figured this place must be deserted. But how would he even climb up there? Besides, it didn't look like such a precious horse was without an owner.
I was staring at the water in a daze when I suddenly saw the reflection on the water shaking strangely out of the corner of my eye.
Ji Lian was startled and took a closer look. That corner was not a reflection of the bushes above at all, but clearly a human figure! It was just that it was dark at night and the trees above blocked the view, so it was blurry.
“Wheeze—”
It was the horse that made the noise.
Then the man chuckled.
How familiar, how frivolous, how... terrifying.
Ji Lian's fingertips clutched her sleeves tightly under the water. Her Adam's apple rolled, and she couldn't help but move back step by step until she was against the stone wall and uttered three words: "Thank you, Ting, Yu."
The person hiding in the dark raised her arm and rummaged through the pile of clothes beside her. In an instant, a hazy yellow light came from her.
Xie Tingyu held a fire starter in her hand, and in the light of the fire, her face, her wet neck, and her collarbone were all clearly visible.
It was obvious that she was not wearing any clothes. It was also obvious that she was taking a hot spring bath here.
Even with this layer of candlelight, he couldn't see anything under the water. Ji Lian turned his head away and thought to himself that at this moment, in this situation, he wished he was blind. Why did she, Xie Tingyu, always appear in such embarrassing scenes?
"Your Highness, what a coincidence..." Xie Tingyu looked Ji Lian up and down, unable to hide his smile, "Why did you suddenly roll from up there into this hot spring pool?"
"I heard from the people in the village that there are many hot springs in this mountain. I was just riding around here and picked one at random." Xie Tingyu placed the tinderbox in the cracks between the bluestones on the shore. "I just didn't expect someone to suddenly break in."
The wet hair on his forehead clung to Ji Lian's cheeks, water droplets trickled down his chin onto his collarbone, and a crimson flush adorned his neck. He was quite mortified and furious: "Shut up."
It is impossible to shut up.
Xie Tingyu asked, "Your Highness, should I take you back to Ci'en Temple, or should I come with me back to the Xie family's farm?"
Ji Lian was still staring at a dim scene somewhere, refusing to turn around. "Who wants to go back to the Xie family with you? I want to go back to Ci'en Temple."
Xie Tingyu reached out and moved the water droplets. "If we return to Ci'en Temple, I'm afraid we'll have to go through the main gate. Your Highness, you don't want others to see you like this, do you? And I'm the one who's going to take you back, so if there are any rumors, I won't take care of them."
She stirred the water a few more times. "However, if you follow me back to the manor, we can go in through the side door. It will be unnoticed, and no one will see your face like this, Your Highness."
Although Ji Lian didn't look at Xie Tingyu, the tips of his ears slowly turned red with the sound of dripping water. Inexplicably, his mind uncontrollably flashed with the image of Xie Tingyu sprinkling water on his collarbone and upper arms, and then the water droplets slowly rolled down... Stop! Don't think about it anymore!
Don’t look at what is indecent, don’t listen to what is indecent, don’t think what is indecent. Why on earth would he think of such an...unbearable scene!
"What do you mean no one saw..." Ji Lian's voice tightened, "Xie Tingyu, didn't I get bumped into when I went to your farm? Stop it."
Xie Tingyu looked up at the bushes above and explained, "If we ride back to Ci'en Temple from here, it will take at least half an hour. Your clothes are soaking wet, and it's cold in the mountains. You might catch a cold."
Ji Lian pursed her lips and said nothing.
Xie Tingyu continued, "Why don't you put on my cloak and follow me down the mountain by the shortcut? My men are waiting for you at the carriage. Then we can return to the manor and rest for the night." She vowed, "The carriage is covered with a fence, so no one can see your true face. Don't worry, your Highness. I'll take you back early the next morning."
Ji Lian began to ponder these words, his mind a mess. "If I go back to Ci'en Temple directly, I'll be in such a mess that I'll inevitably alert the servants. If someone sees me and her, how will I explain it? If it's really as she said, I can just go back to the manor with her and rest for one night..."
As Ji Lian was thinking this, an unknown ugly little flying insect suddenly appeared in front of him.
Ji Lian was so frightened by the ugly flying insect that he gasped, his feet slipped, and he fell to the side. A strong arm grabbed his waist.
Ah...what a thin waist, Xie Tingyu thought.
Ji Lian's face suddenly buried itself in the crook of Xie Tingyu's neck, his wet eyes filled with astonishment, shame, and helplessness. His chest heaved violently, and he wanted to shake Xie Tingyu's hand off, but the flying insect kept its gaze fixed on Ji Lian, flapping its wings closer, forcing Ji Lian to burrow into Xie Tingyu's arms instead.
Xie Tingyu held Ji Lian in one hand and grabbed the insects in the air with the other hand, and the chirping of insects stopped abruptly.
"Your Highness, you are afraid of these things."
Ji Lian turned away, shoving Xie Tingyu's hand away. She huddled in a corner, her hand covering her mouth, silently reflecting on her mistakes. Her mind raced like a wild horse on the grassland: Did I accidentally kiss her collarbone? Did I? Did I not? Did she notice? ... Why was Xie Tingyu everywhere?
On the other side, Xie Tingyu had calmly stood up, stepped barefoot onto the bluestone slabs, and began to dress slowly.
Ji Lian, who was in the pool, had just turned around when she saw this scene. She turned back stiffly, burying her face even lower, and said in a barely audible voice, "You're going to get up and dress without telling me first?"
"Who needs to say I'm getting dressed?" Xie Tingyu brushed her hair to the front and began to tie her palace sash. "I don't think Your Highness is the type to peek at others changing clothes."
“…Who wants to see you get dressed?”
"Ah, yes, yes, Your Highness is so pure and innocent, why would you deliberately watch others dress?"
Xie Tingyu turned around, her coat draped over her elbows. "Your Highness, would you like to come up now? The hot spring water is nice, but you can't stay there forever. Should we go back to the temple or the manor?" She waved the coat in her hand. "I can lend you mine. It's better than catching a cold."
Ji Lian bit her lip, her eyelashes trembling slightly. "Go back... to your farm. But... throw your coat aside, turn your face away, and don't look at me."
Xie Tingyu uttered an "oh" and placed her coat on the saddle of Tayuezhui. She walked to another place, blew out the fire, and covered her eyes with her hands. "I'm covering my eyes now," she said in a long tone, turning her back. "I promise, I won't see anything."
The fire went out, and everything seemed to be plunged into a hazy darkness. There was a soft splash of water, followed by the rustling of wet clothes scraping against the bluestone slabs.
Xie Tingyu lowered her hand and turned away calmly. Her eyesight was excellent, and dusk had not yet completely settled in. She stared intently at Ji Lian's back, his thin figure clearly visible through his wet clothes.
Ji Lian bent her legs and climbed onto the stone platform. The wet hem of her clothes was tangled between her legs, revealing her slender legs. The line of her hips wrapped in the wet clothes was faintly visible with her steps, making her waist look thin. Her wet hair stuck to her straight, thin back, winding like ink.
She has a slim waist, long legs, smooth hips and a back as smooth as jade.
Xie Tingyu continued to admire it, and finally stopped at the narrow waist, sighing that the waist was indeed very thin.
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The author has something to say: Alas, I have never had the opportunity, but this year's star luck is quite favorable - fortune poem
Next Chapter~
[Next Monday I will be downgrading, starting from Chapter 23]
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