Chapter 8 (claiming she has found a beloved lover)
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"Sanlang, although the old Duke of Yan, the Duke of Yan and the heir are all military generals, the Lu family's ancestral precepts and rules state that martial arts are passed down to men but not women, and women are not allowed to practice martial arts."
The Lu family has a large population, and with descendants serving as officials in different places and migrating to various regions, many branches of the Lu family have sprung up. Regardless of which branch, all Lu families adhere to ancestral teachings, maintain strict family traditions, and the women in the clan are respectful, frugal, chaste, obedient, proper, and virtuous.
Lu Huaying was an exception. She lost her mother at a young age and was spoiled by her grandfather, resulting in a pampered and indulgent nature. Other branches of the Lu family, a family steeped in Confucianism, often complained about this, lamenting that the old Duke of Yan had spoiled his granddaughter, and repeatedly requested that Lu Huaying be brought to Zhuozhou to be raised by respected elders. If the Lu family had violated ancestral precepts by allowing Lu Huaying to learn martial arts, the Lu family of Zhuozhou would never have tolerated it and would have forcibly taken her back to Zhuozhou long ago.
Moreover, Lu Huaying herself said that she did not learn martial arts.
"That year, my eldest brother accompanied my third aunt to watch a football match. My third aunt drank too much and pointed at Lu Yujin on the field, saying that her two older brothers and cousins could all learn martial arts from the Duke of Yan, but she couldn't. She felt that her life was meaningless and wanted to run away from home."
Lu Huaying's temperament was unpredictable; one moment she was all smiles, the next she was as cold as ice, making her difficult to please. Pei Dage couldn't understand her drunken ramblings, so he didn't take them to heart.
A few days later, Lu Huaying actually ran away from home!
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Later, Brother Pei heard that Lu Huaying had run away to hide in a temple in Wangchuan, Lantian, outside Chang'an. When Lu Yujin found her, she refused to go home, took a pair of scissors and cut off a lock of her hair, saying that she wanted to become a nun.
Brother Pei found it unbelievable. If she couldn't learn martial arts, she had to become a nun? Why would a girl need to learn martial arts? Wielding spears and sticks must be so tiring!
This was the most perplexing question in Brother Pei's life, and he had always been bothered by it—Lu Huaying seemed to have met someone at the Wangchuan Temple. The old lover couldn't compare to the new one. After returning to Chang'an, Lu Huaying claimed that she had found a lover and no longer paid attention to Brother Pei or anyone else.
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Pei Jingyao asked Chai Yong, "If Third Sister has practiced martial arts since childhood, why did she complain to my eldest brother and run away from home?"
"I've never met the Third Sister before, so I can't guess what's going on here."
Chai Yong looked up, gazing at Lu Huaying's figure climbing the mountain with a load on her shoulder in the distance. His eyes were bright, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.
"Just look at Third Sister's sword dance. Her moves are agile and skillful. That night, I asked Guo Mingfu for her two curved swords and tried to wield them a few times. Curved swords are longer and narrower than ordinary swords, with slender and thin blades. The hilts are shaped like eagles. They are a type of cavalry sword that Xiliang cavalry often use when charging in battle. They look very thin, but it is more difficult to use them skillfully than a heavy sword. She can achieve a perfect harmony between herself and her sword, wielding the sword freely. This is definitely not something she has mastered overnight. And just now, her movements when she saved people were light and graceful, and her moves were decisive and steady. She is definitely a trained fighter."
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Chai Yong had practiced martial arts since childhood and was skilled in archery and horsemanship. He trusted Chai Yong's judgment. What exactly happened four years ago?
After thinking it over, he sighed with emotion and said with a smile, "If Third Sister learned the Lu family's hereditary swordsmanship, then the Lu family's tradition hasn't been broken, and it might be able to be passed down!"
The old Duke of Yan was brave and skilled in battle. All three of them, father and sons, learned martial arts from him, but none of them were particularly talented and inherited his skills. Only Lu Silang, the third daughter's cousin, was exceptionally gifted.
He excelled in archery, horsemanship, and martial arts.
When Lu Silang was thirteen, he participated in the Cuju (ancient Chinese football) competition at Princess Taiping's residence. Dressed in a bright red robe, he was dashing and charming. The noble ladies of Chang'an who watched the competition inquired about his background and whether he was engaged. Even Princess Taiping took her youngest daughter's hand and said with a smile, "This young man should be our son-in-law."
At that time, many people said that only Lu Silang of the Lu family could inherit the mantle of the old Duke of Yan, but unfortunately he died of illness not long after participating in the Cuju (ancient Chinese football) competition.
The Duke of Yan was exiled to Qianzhou, Lu Yujin committed suicide after his defeat, Lu Hongbi became emaciated and could not live without medicine, there were no other men in the Lu family, the family's martial arts tradition was cut off, and unexpectedly Lu Huaying also practiced martial arts!
Chai Yong shook his head: "My master who taught me archery and horsemanship had the good fortune to learn a few moves from the old Duke of Yan, and he taught them to me. I don't think the way Third Sister uses her swordsmanship is like the Lu family's hereditary swordsmanship."
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As they were talking, Lu Huaying had already carried a load of stones up the city wall and returned to the foot of the wall, waiting for the laborers to load her load.
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Chai Yong stopped him: "Let's go back first, don't disturb Third Sister."
Pei Jingyao turned around and stared at him blankly: "Third Aunt is working so hard, aren't we going to help?"
Chai Yong withdrew his gaze and said, "There are too many people here and too much gossip. We are new faces and would attract too much attention, which would cause rumors to spread."
Yesterday, Chai Yong discovered that the gifts they had given Lu Huaying and Wang Yu were untouched. The young man was initially unimpressed, thinking that Lu Huaying was being overly cautious. However, after Cheng Can humiliated her the previous night, Chai Yong suddenly understood Lu Huaying's actions.
Chai Yong pulled Pei Jingyao away.
At the foot of the city wall, Lu Huaying put down her empty load, and then heard footsteps behind her.
A laborer with large ears came over, carrying a load on a pole: "Here you go."
Lu Huaying shook her head: "I don't want it."
She picked up the full load, straightened her back, and turned around.
Big Ears scratched his ears, which were much larger than normal, picked up the load, and followed Lu Huaying step by step.
After going up and down several times, wherever Lu Huaying went, Big Ears followed.
Laughter and chatter came from the courtyard.
She picked up her load, slowed her movements, and demonstrated for Big Ears.
"What good things haven't you seen? You want this and that, how can you be so easily swayed?"
Big Ears didn't dare to agree and secretly glanced at Lu Huaying's expression.
Cheng Can sat at the long table by the window, his face gloomy, and he didn't laugh.
When he saw Lu Huaying, he raised his broom and smiled at her. His dark face made his eyes look exceptionally bright, and his smile was radiant.
Chai Yong immediately took the bowl: "Third Sister is joking. Fifth Brother and I were reckless and made Third Sister uneasy, putting her in danger. If you don't blame us, even the best wine and tea are not worth this bowl of water."
Her expression was too obvious; she showed no reluctance towards Pei Jingyao and the other person. Pei Jingyao lowered his eyes, hiding his disappointment.
Big Ears tried to imitate her movements, but at first he didn't know where to exert force or relax, and almost fell. After a few tries, he finally got the hang of it.
Lu Huaying patted the sand off her clothes and said, "It's natural, and I use a clever technique to save some effort."
"Look, they're leaving tomorrow, and the local products that Prefect Guo sent have already filled several carts?"
Big Ears lowered his voice, glanced around, and looked wary.
Lu Huaying walked into the courtyard, and Pei Jingyao stood up, tugging at the corner of his clothes.
Unable to speak.
Big Ears immediately bent down and picked up the load.
Lu Huaying looked up: "You carry the load."
"This really saves more effort!"
Big Ears, who was impatient, couldn't help but ask while waiting to load the load, "How come you're so strong? I can't even breathe, and you're only sweating a little."
Lu Huaying went inside and poured out two bowls of water: "I have no wine or tea here, so I can only pour two bowls of water to see you off."
Lu Huaying remained silent throughout.
"What kind of clever trick?"
Lu Huaying glanced at the laborers around her and said, "It's alright, you can teach them. You can teach as many as you want. I learned it from others too. Everyone is working hard. The sooner the city wall is repaired, the sooner we can go home."
Lu Huaying corrected his movements: "When carrying a load, don't use brute force. Relax your body, keep your mind calm, and make your movements in one go. One burst of strength is enough. Don't let your mind wander or hesitate. If you hesitate, your strength will be wasted, and you'll get tired easily. Don't tense your arms and shoulders."
When the work was finished in the evening, the captain of the garrison noticed that the laborers were not only more efficient today, but also much more orderly than before. The burly man with big ears, who would beat anyone who looked at him too much in the past, did not fight or cause trouble today.
"This magistrate has probably emptied Liucheng out of business."
When Lu Huaying was teaching Da Erduo, the laborers around her craned their necks to peek. Seeing that Da Erduo seemed to have learned it, a laborer who knew him came over and whispered to him, "What did she teach you? Teach us too."
Several young men in fine clothes were drinking upstairs. They glanced down at the scene with disdain.
The group exchanged smiles, secretly mocking Wu Yanxing's vulgarity.
Chai Yong sighed and walked up to Lu Huaying: "Third Sister, we are going to Xizhou tomorrow, so we came to say goodbye."
Cheng Can's face darkened further: "He's just a bastard born to a female slave from Xiliang. Why should I let him have him?"
"Mingguang, are you still thinking about Lu Sanniang?" His companion poured him a glass of wine. "Forget about her. Since Chai Yong has taken a liking to her, why not let him have her?"
As darkness fell, the inn was brightly lit. The magistrate of Liucheng County, with a broad smile, led a long procession into the inn.
The Prefect of Xizhou sent someone to Liucheng to visit Wu Yanxing, saying that the newly built Dayun Temple had been prepared and subtly urging him to set off for Xizhou. Wu Yanxing heard that Xizhou was ten times more prosperous than Liucheng and agreed to depart the next day.
"Third Sister is back!"
The laborers were all poor people who had been forcibly conscripted to do hard labor. Upon hearing this, they were stunned for a moment and began to sincerely admire Lu Huaying.
Cheng Can sneered, took the wine cup, tilted his head back and drank it down: "I, Cheng Mingguang, am not afraid of a lowly bastard from Xiliang!"
Lu Huaying breathed a sigh of relief; it was time for Cheng Can to leave as well.
His companion's expression changed, and he whispered, "Mingguang, you're drunk."
Wang Yu sat by the door watching the medicine stove, Pei Jingyao sat beside her picking beans, and another person with his robe tucked into his belt, holding a nearly worn-out broom, was sweeping the yard while turning to talk to Wang Yu. His face was covered in dust, and when he wiped it off, there were streaks of black and white, as if he had rolled in dust.
A cheerful and enthusiastic young man, as bright as the sun.
Pei Jingyao was speechless and could only manage a dry laugh.
Lu Huaying dragged her heavy steps home. Although she used a clever trick when carrying the load, she still felt sore and aching all day.
...
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