"Could this person be an imposter?" After leaving Tingfeng Xiaozhu, Nangong Ling looked back at the closed door and asked.
"Probably not! Who would impersonate someone else for no reason! The age, the demeanor, and the fact that he's a Confucian scholar all match up," Ximen Gang said dismissively.
"Hmm!" Nangong Ling responded, though he had only asked casually.
"The last folding fan he took out had the character 'Qin' on it. If it was a deliberate forgery, why would we let someone fool us? Would anyone dare to fool us?" Baili Rou said calmly.
Bai Li Rou's meaning was simple: although her group came from prominent families, they had nothing to be fooled about; and secondly, they came from several powerful clans, so who would dare to deceive them? Unless they had a death wish!
"Yes, as long as it's really from the Qin family, it's a pleasant surprise for this exchange meeting!" Nangong Ling said.
"Try your best to win him over! The Qin family is not like other aristocratic families," Nangong Ling said in a deep voice.
"Everyone knows that! The Qin family commands hundreds of thousands of soldiers! Even if we can leverage their power, it would be great, but how do we win them over? What does the Qin family lack?" Ximen Gang said calmly.
Ximen Gang's words made everyone fall into deep thought. Ouyang Jing glanced around, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopped.
"I heard that the eldest son of the Qin family is not yet married." Ximen Gang seemed to have noticed something and said meaningfully.
"Hehe! I know what you mean, but you've all forgotten that the Qin family's direct descendants will only marry women from the Wang and Meng families," Ouyang Qian said with a charming laugh.
"Getting married is getting married!" Ximen Gang said with a smile.
"Ximen Gang! Since you're so eager to befriend the Qin family, why don't you let your younger sisters give it a try?" Ouyang Jing stepped forward, blocking Ouyang Qian's path, and glared at Ximen Gang.
Ximen Gang shrugged indifferently and said, "I have no objection either, but my sister and cousin, except for those who are married, are only thirteen or fourteen years old. They are still young girls who haven't fully grown up, so they may not be attractive."
"Go yourselves if you want to go!" Ouyang Jing said coldly, then pulled his sister away again.
"Don't look at me! I wouldn't mind if he took a fancy to Rou'er. After all, Qin Yue looks pretty good." Baili Bing closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again and said.
Ximen Gang couldn't help but roll his eyes. Everyone in Tianshui County knew about the eldest daughter of the Baili family. She was big and strong, tall, and her temperament had nothing to do with gentleness.
Of course! Baili Rou isn't bad-looking, but compared to the average person, her arms and waist are rather thick. Not to mention how tall she is; few men like women much taller than themselves. All the ten great families of the Northwest avoid the Baili family like the plague, some even threatening suicide, so the Baili family is truly struggling to find a husband.
For the Baili family, if they simply wanted to marry off their daughter, there would be no problem. However, as a prominent family, they valued their reputation and couldn't just marry her off casually.
The group parted on somewhat unpleasant terms and then went home.
Of course! After returning home, I told my family about the situation. They wisely refrained from visiting Qin Mu because he didn't want to bother them. They simply told the young people to get closer and try to fulfill any requests he might have.
Nangong Ling went to Tingfeng Xiaozhu early in the morning. When he arrived at the door, he asked the two guards to stay behind and then went inside.
"Good morning, Young Master Qin..." Nangong Ling greeted as she entered the courtyard. Before she could finish speaking, her expression froze slightly, and she forced a smile before saying, "I didn't expect Brother Baili and Miss Rou'er to come so early as well."
It turned out that Baili Bing and his sister were coming out of the house. When they saw Nangong Ling, Baili Bing said indifferently, "Brother Qin has come from afar. As his host, I should naturally ask him if he is comfortable with his accommodations."
Qin Mu poured the water into the ditch beside him, put down the wooden basin for washing his face, and greeted with a smile, "Brother Nangong is here! Perfect timing, Brother Baili and Miss Baili have brought breakfast, let's all have some together."
"No need, no need, I've already eaten," Nangong Ling hurriedly shook his head and said, then cursed himself for being stupid. He said he had eaten, but why didn't he think of bringing some for Qin Mu? To put it nicely, it was thoughtless, but if someone was narrow-minded, they might think he didn't care about Qin Mu at all.
"Oh! Then please make yourself at home, Brother Nangong. I'll keep you company later."
Seeing that Qin Mu was not angry and was still smiling, Nangong Ling felt relieved and hurriedly nodded, saying, "Okay! Okay! Brother Qin, don't worry about me, I know this place well."
Feeling that Nangong Ling was acting a bit strange, Qin Mu shook his head and ignored it, then sat down with Baili Bing and his sister to eat. They had three plates of green vegetables, a plate of pickled vegetables, and a bowl of rice porridge.
It's hard not to glance at a girl sitting next to you who's a head taller and has arms about the same thickness as yours. Luckily, her hands are fair and delicate, not unattractive at all.
"Watch if you want, I'm used to it. You're making me very uncomfortable," Baili Rou said calmly.
"Little sister!" Baili Bing called out softly, her tone carrying a hint of reproach.
"I'm sorry, it's just that this is the first time I've seen a girl as tall as Baili," Qin Mu said apologetically, somewhat embarrassed.
"It's okay, you're not the first person to say that." Baili Rou still had that calm expression, eating her meal in small, quick bites.
"I'm so envious! Miss Baili's mother must be quite tall too, right?" Qin Mu asked.
Looking into Qin Mu's sincere eyes, Baili Rou nodded slightly and said, "My mother is indeed not short. How did you know?"
“I have a friend who is a doctor. He said that the child’s height is more like the mother’s.” Qin Mu hesitated for a moment before saying this. He had heard about the height issue from another world and blurted it out without thinking. Now he could only make up an excuse.
"Hehe, thank you very much, Brother Qin!" Baili Bing said with a smile, cupping his hands in thanks.
Qin Mu was puzzled and was about to ask him what he was thanking him for when another voice came from outside.
"We're late."
Upon hearing the somewhat effeminate voice, everyone knew who had arrived. Looking in the direction of the voice, they saw Ouyang Jingbian and his sister carrying some things as they walked in.
"Brother Ouyang, Miss Ouyang!"
"Brother Baili, Miss Baili! I wanted to bring Brother Qin some breakfast, but I'm late! I'm so sorry." Ouyang Jing said with an apologetic smile.
“Brother, you’re mistaken. It should be said that it’s just right. This little bit of rice porridge is hardly enough.” Ouyang Qian said with a smile, her beautiful eyes showing a hint of shyness as she looked at Qin Mu and said, “Young Master Qin, please try this. This is meat porridge that I cooked myself, with the addition of Tian Shan snow lotus. It’s very nourishing.”
Looking at the meat porridge already placed in front of him, Qin Mu could only smile and say thank you, "Thank you, Miss Ouyang."
Fortunately, Qin Mu had a big appetite, so eating two more bowls was no big deal. He finished the whole small bowl of meat porridge before putting down his chopsticks.
"Brother Qin, is this your first time in Tianshui?" Nangong Ling asked with a smile as Qin Mu finished his meal.
“That’s true. If I hadn’t been feeling mentally exhausted lately, I wouldn’t have thought of going out to travel,” Qin Mu nodded slightly.
"I wonder what stage Brother Qin has reached now?" Baili Bing asked hesitantly. He was also a Confucian cultivator, and a scholar at that. He could sense the righteous energy within Qin Mu's body, but he couldn't discern its depth, so he couldn't suppress his curiosity.
"I just became a Grand Scholar," Qin Mu replied with a smile. He didn't hide it, mainly because there was no need to. Revealing his strength would only earn him more respect.
"Ah!" The group looked at Qin Mu in surprise.
"No wonder Brother Qin wanted to travel around; he must be trying to understand the world," Baili Bing said admiringly.
Many of the scholars were middle-aged and had rich life experience, so they didn't travel much. Qin Mu was so young that the group no longer had any doubts.
"Young Master Qin is truly remarkable, worthy of being the eldest son of the Qin family of the Three Passes," Ouyang Qian said sweetly, taking two steps toward Qin Mu as she spoke.
Upon hearing Ouyang Qian's voice, Qin Mu felt a little awkward. He found the somewhat effeminate and affected tone quite repulsive. He turned around and said, "Miss Ouyang, you flatter me. It was just a fluke."
As soon as Qin Mu turned around, he was facing Ouyang Qian directly. She was too embarrassed to move any closer. Baili Rou smiled and walked between the two of them in a good mood. She looked at Qin Mu and said, "I haven't sparred with the Confucian scholar yet. Let's spar another day."
Baili Rou was tall and imposing. As soon as she stepped between the two of them, Ouyang Qian felt a sense of pressure. She immediately felt displeased, frowned, and took a few steps back.
"Hehe! Young Master Qin isn't a martial arts practitioner. If we're going to spar, we should spar in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting!" Ouyang Qian said with a charming smile, her brows relaxed.
Qin Mu had no desire to engage in a contest of musical instruments, chess, calligraphy, and painting with others, so he immediately replied, "I have only learned a little about these arts and I am not proficient in them."
"I am only rudimentary in music, but I can accompany Young Master Qin in his studies," Ouyang Qian said with a smile, seemingly oblivious to Qin Mu's meaning.
"My main wish is to travel the world, and I cannot do anything about music, Miss Ouyang."
“Brother Qin, if you wish to travel and explore the land, there is a beautiful place in Tianshui that is worth visiting!” Ouyang Jing said.
"Oh! I wonder where Brother Ouyang is referring to?" Qin Mu asked curiously. He had never been to Tianshui before, but now that he was here and had the time, it would be nice to go and have some fun. Besides, with these locals around, he felt safe.
"The weather is nice today, why don't we all go together?" Ouyang Jing said, looking up at the sky.
As the sun rises, it casts golden rays across the sky, creating a beautiful scene reflected in the clouds.
“Excellent!” Baili Bing was the first to agree.
"Then I'll trouble you all to lead the way," Qin Mu nodded and said.
Soon, Ouyang Jingbian and his men were ready, a long line of tall horses.
Everyone mounted their horses and galloped out of the city. Spring had arrived, and green shoots were sprouting from the ground. From afar, the earth appeared a lush green. Only upon closer inspection could one see that these green shoots were just emerging from the ground, sparse and scattered. As the warhorses trampled over them, the green shoots were tamped into the soft soil, waiting for the next rain to allow them to grow strong again.
After running for half an hour, Qin Mu looked at the shimmering water in the distance and guessed that it was a lake.
"This place is called Tianshui Lake! It has quite a history!" Ouyang Jing said, pointing to the wide lake in front of him while holding his riding whip.
Under the vast sky, a lake stretches as far as the eye can see, shimmering in the sunlight; its rippling blue waves are a sight to behold.
"Brother Qin, do you know the origin of Tianshui Prefecture?" Ouyang Jing asked as he dismounted from his horse.
"Could it be related to this place?" Qin Mu asked curiously, as he genuinely didn't know the answer.
"Exactly! Tianshui County was originally named Shanggui. Legend has it that many years ago, Shanggui suffered a severe drought, and the people were devastated! One night, while everyone was fast asleep, a huge clap of thunder suddenly resounded in the sky. Then the earth shook violently, and the ground cracked open; with another deafening roar, the river water in the sky plummeted down, pouring right into the crack in the ground. It was as if the Milky Way from the heavens had fallen to earth!"
After that, a huge lake appeared on the ground. The lake never dried up in spring, never overflowed in summer, and remained clear all year round. The local people called it Tianshui Lake. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, General Huo Qubing once passed through here and brought back the legend of Tianshui Lake to Emperor Wu. Therefore, Emperor Wu ordered that Shanggui be renamed Tianshui Prefecture! "Ouyang Jing explained vividly.
"The water and sky blend into one, it is indeed a beautiful sight!" Qin Mu exclaimed after looking around.
Mountains, grasslands, and the sea have always been among the most beloved sights. Looking at vast and open spaces always brings joy and can even broaden one's mind.
The group silently gazed into the distance. Even Nangong Ling, Ouyang Jingbian, and the others, who had visited many times before, remained silent for a long while before finally setting off along the lakeside.
Tianshui Lake is very large, and the group chose a spot near a small hill. The spring breeze carried the faint scent of grass and earth, which naturally made people forget their worries.
"How does the scenery here compare to Juyong Pass?" Nangong Ling asked with a smile.
"Juyong Pass is only known for its battles and the clash of swords. As for the scenery, to my dismay, I haven't paid much attention to it yet," Qin Mu said casually.
"The Qin family has guarded the three passes for nearly a thousand years, and countless people have sacrificed their lives for them. We truly admire them," Baili Bing said, bowing respectfully.
Qin Mu avoided answering, saying, "That was all thanks to the sacrifices of our predecessors. To my shame, although I have killed wolves before, I have never been on the battlefield."
“That’s because you’re still young, Brother Qin,” Ouyang Jing said.
“That’s right. Once Brother Qin’s strength is higher, he can kill more wolves.” Baili Bing nodded in agreement.
"Born a member of the Imperial Guards of the Han Dynasty, I first followed General Huo Qubing in the battle of Yuyang. Who knew I would suffer on the frontier? Even in death, my chivalrous spirit will still be remembered." Recalling the million-strong army that he saw at Juyong Pass, with the troops standing guard on the city walls, Qin Mu felt a surge of pride and recited a poem from his memory.
"What a fine poem! Brother Qin, what a magnanimous spirit you possess! After hearing it, I also feel like going to the battlefield to fight!" Baili Bing's eyes lit up as he praised loudly.
As Qin Mu recited a poem, the others, each with their own thoughts, looked over. They were all well-read, and even those who weren't Confucian scholars could understand the meaning of the poem. Nangong Ling, who had originally wanted to test Qin Mu's literary talent, also changed her mind and began to praise him.
70
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