Chapter 53 Don't Go! Xu Congjing suddenly spat out a mouthful of fresh...
"My lord!" Yun Lu exclaimed, opening his oil-paper umbrella and rushing over, but Xu Congjing stopped him, "Don't come any closer!"
Blood gushed out, staining a large patch of her clothes red. Lou Yanxu knew how much pain it was, but Xu Congjing seemed oblivious, staring intently and desperately enduring her rage.
But Yunlu couldn't bear this scene. He immediately dropped his oil-paper umbrella and knelt down, begging for mercy on behalf of his master, "Madam Lou, my husband was deceived in that matter. Can you please have mercy and not blame him?"
"Shut up!" Xu Congjing roared, breathing heavily with his eyes half-closed, thinking to himself that this was all he deserved.
A wave of emotion welled up in Lou Yanxu's eyes, and a bitter smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "I will naturally not let the person behind the scenes get away with it, but how can I forget the fact that I was deceived and insulted by you for no reason?" The past events were still vivid in her mind, and she suddenly shed two lines of tears. The tears and rainwater mingled, making it impossible to distinguish between you and me.
Brushing the raindrops from her eyelashes, she laughed and leaned close to her ear, saying, "Were you scared hanging on the city wall just now?"
To avoid others exploiting his weakness, Xu Congjing kept his fear of heights a secret very well. Now, apart from Madam Zhang, she is probably the only one who knows about it.
After being thrown around and hung from the city wall, his heart would soon race and his whole body would tremble. No matter how much he tried to endure it, he couldn't stop feeling nauseous. The feeling of being suspended in mid-air gradually spread throughout his body, making him panic, short of breath, and sweating profusely. Lou Yanxu could roughly guess half of what this feeling was like.
She clearly felt extremely relieved, but tears still welled up uncontrollably. She murmured, "Do you know how scared I was when you took off my shawl and blanket?" She turned her head and laughed as she cried, her voice filled with unspeakable grievances and sorrow, yet unable to conceal the stubbornness and resilience in her bones.
Xu Congjing froze. He had no intention of hurting her at the time, but he lost his mind when he saw her trying to escape and almost made a big mistake. But that one time cast a thick shadow over her.
She was crying and laughing at the same time, with a hint of determination in her voice. A sense of panic flashed through his heart, and he subconsciously reached out to grab her sleeve, but all the words he wanted to say could only be summed up in one sentence: "I'm sorry."
He would never complain even if she said sorry a thousand times, but Lou Yanxu didn't want to hear it anymore. She suddenly let go, the moonlight shining obliquely on her gentle face, "Xu Congjing, I'm letting you go..."
He had schemed to destroy what she cared about most, and now she was doing everything she could to strip him of the power he had worked so hard to obtain. All the fear and pain had been returned to him. Now that he was deaf in his left ear, suppressed and framed by his colleagues, and living such a miserable life, they were even.
She is letting go; she is detaching herself.
She turned around resolutely, and Xu Congjing's hand was suddenly empty. His eyes widened in disbelief, and when he reached out, he only managed to touch a few strands of her fallen hair.
Finally, the string in his mind snapped suddenly. His pale face turned bright red. He clutched his chest and spat out a mouthful of blood with a "poof." He collapsed weakly to the ground, muttering to himself.
"I'd rather you resent me than forget me."
Yunlu stepped forward to help, but was refused.
The black wind raged, and the rain poured down. He didn't know how long he had been soaked before he finally came to his senses. In a daze, a person appeared before him. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was Wen Jie.
He reached out to Wen Jie to help him up, but the latter, looking righteous, held an umbrella in one hand and put the other behind his back, saying, "I promised Qing'an that I would stand on Lady Lou's side, and I can't go back on my word." As he spoke, he gestured to Yun Lu to step forward and help him up.
"What a guy, forgetting his brothers now that he has a wife!" Xu Congjing gasped, his body aching all over. He struggled to his feet and frowned impatiently. "You're here to laugh at me too?" "No, not at all."
Wen Jie didn't say anything more, told him to get into the car first, and handed Yun Lu a bottle of medicine.
“I’ve investigated this matter for you today. It was just a good show put on by that dog Pang Liu, who knew that you were now being watched by the Emperor.” Wen Jie pulled his outer robe tighter, his eyes turning cold. “The Meng Lingwei matter has been completely covered up, and we haven’t been able to investigate it yet.”
Xu Congjing leaned against the corner, his eyes half-closed. He had dared to kill Meng Lingwei, and he was prepared for Meng Shicheng to seek revenge. He wanted to see just how far a good-for-nothing playboy like Meng Shicheng could go.
He only kept these things to himself and didn't think much of them. However, he was more curious about something else, so he asked, "Did you come here because you found something at Cao Yiyuan's residence?"
Wen Jie lowered his head and sniffed his body, but still couldn't smell the scent of the herb. He thought to himself that his nose was like a dog's. "I thought about it and realized that I missed something when I searched the Cao residence last time, so I went there again today. Guess what I found?"
The wound radiated a stinging pain, and he slightly lifted his eyelids, choosing to remain silent if possible.
Wen Jie pulled out an old, secret letter from his pocket. "This letter is unsigned, but it's meant for Ji Fu. If we follow the handwriting, we might be able to uncover the person behind it all."
Xu Congjing took the letter and fell into deep thought. Years ago, when his father and Cao Yiyuan investigated a corruption case, the first person they pointed the finger at was Ji Fu. However, Ji Fu took all the blame, and the matter was dropped after his execution. The letter contained incriminating evidence; according to it, Ji Fu should have been torn apart by five horses.
The person who knows all of Ji Fu's crimes and threatens him to confess is very likely the mastermind behind it all. Following the stream to find the river is a good idea.
Xu Congjing said, "In that case, I'll leave this matter to you."
He usually insisted on taking the lead in matters of finding murderers, so it was rare to see him unwilling to do it personally. Wen Jie asked, "If you leave this to me, what will you do?"
The carriage lurched and jolted as it rolled over the stones before finally stopping in front of the Xu residence. He got up and turned back, parting his pale lips slightly, "Now that you're not on my side, how can I tell you anything?"
"You..." If he weren't injured, Wen Jie would have kicked him down. Now he could only mutter curses behind him, "What a vengeful person!"
...
Emperor Xiaokang pioneered the women's martial arts examination, allowing them to compete alongside men.
The martial arts examination consisted of seven parts: long-range archery, horse archery, horse spear archery, foot archery, slingshot, weightlifting, and talent and appearance. Those who passed the talent and appearance screening first could participate in the remaining three parts.
When this order was issued, countless people sneered at the women for overestimating themselves, saying that women had no right to compare with men and should just stay at home and be good wives and mothers. However, on the second day of the competition, there were still many brave women among the finalists who gave a good slap to those foxy and dog-faced people.
Wan Qing'an prepared for the assessment the next day early in the morning. Lou Yanxu left half an hour late and happened to meet Lu Hengzhi, so they went together.
To prevent outside interference, the martial arts arena was surrounded by high walls, but to ensure fairness, narrow openings were made to allow for a clear view. Thus, officials below the third rank and commoners could watch from below, while those of the third rank and above could watch from the upper floors.
Lu Hengzhi, wanting to stay by Lou Yanxu's side, went down to watch together. The two stood side by side, watching Wan Qing'an smoothly pass the long spear and horse archery tests. His heroic bearing surpassed that of the men, drawing cheers from the women both inside and outside the arena. If he could successfully win first place in the horse spear test, he would become the martial arts champion and be granted an official position.
In the horse spear test, candidates fight on horseback with long spears until the point is reached, and the one who falls off the horse is the loser.
When it was Wan Qing'an's turn, Lou Yanxu's heart leaped into her throat. She saw Wan Qing'an pull on the reins with one hand and charge towards her opponent with the other, holding a long spear in the other. Wan Qing'an stretched out her long arm and thrust out her spear. Her opponent was not to be outdone, and her moves were fierce. With each strike, she pierced, swept, and rammed, and the ferocity of her attack forced Wan Qing'an to retreat step by step.
This person has been advancing rapidly and has firmly held the top spot. He is no pushover. To win the martial arts championship, we must defeat him! Wan Qing'an was not to be outdone and charged forward. He spurred his horse and charged. As both of their spears swept across the battlefield, he leaped into the air, gathering his strength as he landed, and thrust his weapon straight into his opponent's throat.
However, the attack was blocked. Then, the opponent spurred his horse back a few steps, twisted his wrist, and the spear pierced straight into Wan Qing'an's right shoulder. Blood gushed out and flowed down the diamond-shaped spearhead to the shaft.
This battle was merely a test, and it was important to know when to stop. It was better to knock someone off their horse than to stab them. I knew it wouldn't go smoothly, but I never expected the other side to be so blatant!
Many people inside and outside the venue have already expressed their protests. Lou Yanxu was pinched hard, and her chest hurt from anger. Lu Hengzhi noticed this and took her hand.
Not far away, Xu Congjing sat high in the tower, staring intently at the two intimate figures below. A storm was brewing in his eyes. After a long while, he turned his head away and said, "Your Majesty, the martial arts examination emphasizes stopping when the point is reached. Such an act of harming someone is probably unfair."
Emperor Xiaokang stared at the martial arts arena, remaining silent for a moment. Pang Liu, on the other side, quickly retorted, "Minister Xu is mistaken. In the martial arts arena, swords and spears are indiscriminate, and scrapes are inevitable. Why make a mountain out of a molehill?"
Xu Congjing already knew that the person below was Pang Liu's nephew, so he sneered, "I'm afraid that by resorting to such dirty tricks, he will be overpowered in the end and become a laughing stock."
After saying that, Wan Qing'an endured the pain and pressed forward with her gun. Suddenly, she swept the gun horizontally and, taking advantage of the opponent bending over to dodge, used her wrist to strike him directly in the chest. In the emergency, he could only block with his arm, but before he could react, the third and fourth blows followed, and the situation was reversed in an instant.
The final blow sent the man tumbling from his horse and fleeing!
The crowd erupted in cheers, some raised their hands high, some slapped their thighs in anger, some were happy, and some were sad.
Lou Yanxu's eyes lit up instantly, and she excitedly hugged the person next to her, her eyes immediately reddening. Fortunately, her hard work over the past few days had finally paid off.
Wan Qing'an, she was the top martial arts champion!
Lu Hengzhi was surprised for a moment, then a smile spread across his lips as he hugged her tightly. Only then did she realize what was happening and, slightly embarrassed, let go of her.
Xu Congjing stared coldly into the distance, his heart bleeding.
After the military examination was completed, the top scholar was announced by the imperial official, and an official appointment was conferred upon him on a chosen day.
Lou Yanxu turned her head and met Grand Tutor Meng's sinister eyes. She hurriedly pulled Lu Heng onto the carriage and asked in a low voice, "Has Grand Tutor Meng caused any trouble for the Duke's mansion recently?"
"No." Lu Hengzhi knew what she was worried about, and feeling slightly uneasy, he simply said, "Let's put this matter behind us and not mention it again."
Every time this matter was mentioned, it reminded him of how despicable he had been. He feared that Lou Yanxu would find out that Xu Congjing was behind Meng Lingwei's affair, that she would soften her heart and regret it, and that she would leave him. He chose to keep it a secret, but he was always uneasy and could only keep it hidden in his heart.
Lou Yanxu had some doubts, but it was better not to mention it and let it dissipate, so she didn't say anything more.
The carriage drove smoothly past the Chenghua Marquis's residence. After a while, Lu Hengzhi asked, "Wanwan, are you really willing to marry me?"
"Since I have agreed, I will not go back on my word."
"If..." He tapped his knee with his index finger, lowered his head, and looked around before suddenly looking up and asking, "If you find out that I have lied to you one day, will you still marry me?"
She sensed something was off about him. But she was already somewhat averse to the word "deception," so she instinctively frowned and stared intently at him.
"What did you lie to me about?"
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