Bai Qingzhou, disregarding her own need for rest, rushed over, "Uncle Xue, are you alright? Are you hurt?"
Xue Heze was already so exhausted he felt like vomiting blood, and hearing the boy's words made him feel even more like spitting blood. "It's not that bad."
To spar with someone who didn't even pass the county-level martial arts exam and still get injured? That would be a huge humiliation!
"This junior will help you up."
"No need, I'll just sit here and rest for a while."
Bai Qingzhou hurriedly asked Guan Shui to bring warm water, then knelt on one knee and respectfully presented the kettle.
Xue Heze took the water bottle and looked deeply at the boy in front of him. He vaguely remembered the boy's timid and submissive appearance from the past, but soon that wretched image was covered and replaced by the handsome and dashing figure in front of him.
Xue Heze drank his water, his eyes fixed on the boy with a look of satisfaction and a smile on his face.
Bai Qingzhou felt shy under his gaze. She moved her lips and whispered her long-buried thoughts, "Uncle Xue, in the past... I thank you so much."
Xue Heze: "Why are you thanking me?"
“I heard from my mother that you used to speak well of me in front of my father, and even fought with him twice because of it. I… have always kept that in mind.”
Xue Heze was taken aback—this child actually knew? It seems he's not as cowardly as he appears; he has his own thoughts.
Setting down the kettle, Xue Heze sighed and said in a deep voice, "The past is the past. Don't mention it or think about it anymore. Just pretend it never happened and look forward to the future."
"Yes, Uncle Xue," Bai Qingzhou replied firmly.
Xue Heze was about to get up when he remembered another question and asked in confusion, "But child, can you tell me how you suddenly changed?"
Bai Qingzhou felt awkward, but since Vice Minister Xue had been concerned about him, he couldn't just brush it off. So he lowered his voice and told the truth, "To be honest, Uncle Xue, it's Mianmian... that is, Madam Shen. At first, it was because she complained that I ate too little, so I had to eat more; when I ate too much, I couldn't digest it, so we came to the martial arts training ground to run; later, she was beaten by a girl from the Xuanping Marquis's mansion, and she was so angry that she wanted to learn martial arts. Our mansion didn't have any female martial arts instructors, so I had to bite the bullet and teach her. That's how... I picked it up inexplicably."
Minister Xue was surprised—was it really such a coincidence? He had originally thought that something serious had happened to Prince Bai, but after much reflection, he never expected it to be such a trivial matter.
Bai Qingzhou gave another awkward laugh, "I don't know why, but this time when I picked up martial arts again, I was no longer afraid."
Although Vice Minister Xue didn't say it aloud, he already had the answer in his heart—the Marquis of Anning had been too harsh on the heir apparent, even to the point of being abnormally oppressive.
Let alone a mere child like the Crown Prince, even among the soldiers in the barracks, few could withstand such a stress response.
As for Madam Shen, she spoke softly and gently, and it seems she encouraged the young master and expressed her admiration for him. Coupled with these coincidences, the young master has forgotten the gloom of the past.
Vice Minister Xue smiled and nodded, "Good! It's good that you've come! So what are your plans for the future? Do you want to continue taking the imperial examinations and pursue a career as a civil official, or do you want to follow in the footsteps of the Marquis and become a military general?"
Bai Qingzhou was startled. "Me? A military general?!"
Realizing his rudeness, he quickly changed his tune, saying, "Uncle Xue is too kind. How could someone as incompetent as me be fit to be a military general?"
Vice Minister Xue's smile faded, and he said seriously, "Don't underestimate yourself! You clearly have a talent for martial arts! Putting aside everything else, your natural endurance for these two hours alone is one in a hundred... no, one in a thousand, or even one in ten thousand!"
"Your poor performance before was your father's fault! Qingzhou, if you want to learn martial arts, I can introduce you to a martial arts instructor, or you can move into my house and I'll teach you personally."
Bai Qingzhou was flattered, but in the end he said, "This junior thanks Uncle Xue for his kindness, but this junior prefers the path of a civil official."
actually……
He lied.
He preferred military campaigns to reading.
Everyone knows he is well-read and has two courtyards full of books, but what they don't know is that he prioritizes collecting military strategy. It can be said that he has read every military strategy he could find, and even memorized them all.
But he still chose to become a civil servant, because as long as he finished the imperial examination, he would apply to be demoted and take Mianmian to a beautiful place where he could serve as an official diligently and live a quiet life.
If he were to become a military officer, he would either enter a position like the Ministry of War, like Uncle Xue, which requires frequent social engagements, or he would lead troops like his father, who cannot return home every day.
He didn't want to leave Mianmian, so he preferred to become a civil servant.
Vice Minister Xue wanted to say something more, but considering the complex situation in the court, he finally sighed and said, "Civil officials are good, civil officials are good too."
At this moment, Marquis Anning and his wife, seeing that Vice Minister Xue and the heir apparent had stopped their sparring, entered the training ground and came over.
Outside the training ground, Hanrong asked, "Auntie, shall we go over there?"
Chen Mianmian shook her head, "No, we're not going. There's a Marquis, a Madam, and a Vice Minister over there—all important figures. What would we do there?"
Hanrong nodded repeatedly, "Auntie is right."
Hanrong had no idea that her aunt didn't go over not because of her lowly status, but because she didn't want to be all formal and bureaucratic, plus she didn't want to act like a subservient servant.
Normally, people have to act subservient to maintain their public image, but do they have to do it again now?
On the training ground.
Marquis Anning reached out and helped Vice Minister Xue up. "Are you injured?"
Xue Heze exploded, "You look down on me? Come on, let's play a couple of rounds!"
Marquis Anning looked down at Vice Minister Xue's increasingly protruding belly. "Forget it, it's time for lunch. Do you want to eat here, or go outside?"
Following the Marquis of Anning's gaze, Xue Heze looked down at his own stomach, then at the Marquis of Anning's narrow waist, feeling extremely depressed—he had originally been just as thin, but unfortunately, working in the Ministry of War meant he always had to go out for social engagements, drinking heavily every day, making it difficult not to gain weight.
Madam Ding smiled and said, "If you don't mind, Vice Minister, please stay for a meal at my residence. I have already had wine and dishes prepared."
Xue Heze smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work, sister-in-law. I'll listen to you."
Thus, their original plan to visit their old friend was postponed, and the two decided to dine at the Marquis's residence instead.
Marquis Anning and Vice Minister Xue walked and talked as they headed towards the main courtyard.
Bai Qingzhou then approached Chen Mianmian and said softly, "Have you been waiting long?"
Chen Mianmian was both amused and exasperated—this child has some mental issues, is it now a matter of whether we wait a long time or not?
Ignoring Feng Chu's idiotic question, Chen Mianmian asked, "How is the young master? Are you alright? Are you tired? Is it very tiring?"
Bai Qingzhou looked into the woman's eyes, her beautiful eyes filled with genuine concern, and felt a surge of warmth in his heart. "You must be tired; you need a massage."
Shen Mianmian immediately understood what this stinky young phoenix wanted to say, and pretended to be confused, saying, "Yes, I'll have Guanshui give you a massage later."
Bai Qingzhou glanced at the departing figures of Marquis Anning and the others, then grabbed the woman's hand and whispered, "No, you have to do it."
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