Chapter 7: "Making Do" in Troubled Times
Min Shi calmed down and kept practicing the method Song Sheng explained in his mind. While he was in the stable to see Wushuang and the white horse, he secretly shot a few arrows quickly.
Sure enough, her arrow shooting was much more stable than before. In order to prevent Song Sheng from catching her, Min Shian quickly stepped forward and took away the arrow.
Then she went to the stable.
"Song Pushe, does this Xiaobai have a name?" She stroked the white horse's fur, looked at Song Sheng's tall figure, and asked, "I see that Xiaobai is as majestic as Wushuang. Should he be the Jade Lion of Zhaoye?"
"Frost and snow."
Song Sheng fed them some more food and then said slowly, "Your Highness has good eyesight. It is indeed the Jade Lion Zhaoye. Shuangxue and Wushuang are known as the 'Two Heroes of Beifeng'. My uncle was reluctant to send Shuangxue here."
He paused, stopped what he was doing, turned to look at Min Shian, and said with a smile: "But when my uncle learned that I was going to accompany Your Highness to race horses, he gave Frost Snow to me without saying a word."
Min Shian raised an eyebrow when he heard this and replied bluntly, "Song Pushe is really good at speaking. He can even make black into white. Pushe clearly told the teacher that he would only teach me archery. It's fine if Wushuang is not sent back to Beifeng."
"Now that Frost and Snow are coming again, how can you blame it on me?"
Song Sheng remained calm after being exposed, without a trace of embarrassment on his face. He smiled and bowed his hands in apology: "It is my fault, Your Highness, please forgive me."
Then, he naturally changed the subject and said, "The Wenqing Talks are about to begin. The teacher wants Your Highness to attend, so he asked me to ask Your Highness for his opinion."
Min Shian didn't bother with him and thought seriously about the talks.
Since the Grand Tutor had said that he intended for her to attend, it meant that she would be representing the Grand Tutor's school at this year's meeting. Therefore, she absolutely could not hide her incompetence any longer, otherwise it would damage the reputation of the Grand Tutor. Of course, the Grand Tutor didn't care much about this, but as a student, she couldn't ignore it.
In fact, she had some reservations about both "Ode to Flowing Water" and "Ode to Riding and Shooting in Summer". She had been personally taught by Empress Xie since she was a child, a treatment that even her two younger brothers did not have. In addition, she was gifted and learned everything very quickly. In terms of literary talent alone, she was certainly not inferior to Song Sheng.
"It is my honor that the teacher thinks highly of me. I will do my best." But in an instant, Min Shian had made up her mind. She continued, "I will discuss this with the teacher in detail when I return."
It is more than two months away from the middle of the dog days of summer, so there is still plenty of time to prepare.
Since she had never attended a meeting before and was not very concerned about this matter, Min Shian discussed the relevant matters in detail with the Grand Tutor after returning to his residence.
Only then did she realize that the scope of the Wenqing talks was extremely broad.
Although exchanging and learning poems and songs is the highlight, the six arts of a gentleman and various other links have been arranged, waiting for the opportunity to be ambushed.
By now, those scholars and patriots outside the capital should be on their way here. The Wenqing talks will last for three days. If they have not registered five days before the start of the talks, they will not be allowed to enter the venue during the talks.
Min Shi'an had another heavy burden on his shoulders, and he dared not slack off in his studies. Recently, he went to the training ground with Song Sheng during the day to practice riding and shooting, and when he returned home, he studied rare ancient books and various annotations.
At first, Master Zhang was quite pleased, but for a month, Min Shian remained like this, and even his rest time became shorter and shorter, and his already thin body became even lighter.
It happened that Song Sheng was too busy recently, so Tutor Zhang simply stopped the riding and archery lessons, gave her three days off, and allowed her to go out and enjoy the scenery.
Min Shian had been thinking about another thing in his mind, so he took this opportunity to disguise himself and go to the alleys in the west of the city again.
"Oh, Miss Hu, you're finally here! The girls have missed you so much!"
When the matchmaker heard she was coming, she hurried out to greet her, wiping away her nonexistent tears in an exaggerated manner, and shouted, "Miss Hu, come on, come in! The maids have prepared everything and are just waiting for you to inspect the goods."
As Miss Hu, Min Shian had come here to buy many maids and servants, but she was still not used to the matchmaker's strange words. She was clearly just a maid who came here to buy servants for the master's family, but the matchmaker made it sound like she was visiting a brothel.
She smiled back without showing any emotion, and said in a drawn-out tone, "The master is busy, and we were just following orders, so we've been delayed for a while. If there are no other problems, we'll return this group to their old destination later."
The matchmaker smiled even more earnestly when she heard this. She took Min Shian through the front yard and walked for a long time before arriving at a spacious courtyard.
"Miss Hu, these are the girls you asked for. Please go in and take a look."
Min Shian went in and roughly checked the condition of each girl, counted the number of people, and after confirming that there was nothing unusual, he quickly pushed the door and left.
When the matchmaker saw her come out, she hurriedly asked, "How is it, Miss Hu? This girl is very smart and proficient in both rough and delicate work. What do you think..."
"Thank you very much."
After returning to the princess's mansion, Hu Yue was already waiting there.
"Hu Yue, I have new people. You must take care of them as usual and be careful."
Hu Yue, who was kneeling in the room, responded and whispered, "Yes, Your Highness, don't worry."
After everything was done, Min Shi'an felt very sad and went to the Song Mansion to talk to Song Tinglan.
"The Wenqing Talks are only a month away, Tinglan, you..."
Min Shian choked and didn't want to continue.
Beiwu is bitterly cold, but isn’t Beifeng, which borders it, the same?
Song Tinglan's expression remained gentle. Looking closely, she seemed to be cast from the same mold as Song Sheng. She comforted Min Shian, "It's okay. I've met Xiao Yuange a few times at banquets before. He has a good appearance and good character. That's enough."
"Xiao Wangjing, courtesy name Yuange, is the fifth son of the Beifeng Xiao family. He currently serves as a Second-Rank General of Chariots and Cavalry. He has no bad habits. He once defeated the Northern Witch army of 10,000 with only 1,000 cavalrymen, gaining fame and illustrious military exploits."
Min Shian's face was stern, his tone was flat, and he spoke out the results of his investigation long ago, like a dead tree. At the end, he made a comment indifferently:
"Just enough."
Then she sighed, turned her head away to hold back her tears, and then looked at Song Tinglan again and said, "Tinglan, my dear Tinglan, Xiao Wangjing had better treat you well, otherwise I will make sure he dies without a complete corpse."
Song Tinglan smiled gently, dimples appearing on her lips. She patted Min Shian's shoulder and deliberately joked, "Okay, why are you acting like your brother, not wishing for me to be well?"
Min Shian glanced at her sideways, pretending to be angry and scolded: "You don't know how to appreciate kindness!"
The two took this opportunity to change the subject and talk about the Wenqing talks.
About two hours later, Min Shian stood up to say goodbye. Song Tinglan wanted to stand up to see him off, but she coughed a few times while covering her handkerchief.
Seeing this, Min Shian quickly helped her sit down and asked worriedly, "Why are you feeling worse again?"
She looked up at the mutton-fat jade hairpin on Song Tinglan's head and continued, "Have you ever worn this hairpin? Before it was carved, I soaked the mutton-fat jade in a hundred-year-old Ganoderma lucidum. It's very beneficial to your health."
Song Tinglan put down her handkerchief and exclaimed in surprise, "Hundred-year-old Ganoderma lucidum? Shi An is really generous."
Min Shian had previously said that he had soaked some medicinal herbs, but she didn't pay much attention to it, thinking that they were just some precious medicinal herbs, but she never thought that they were century-old Ganoderma lucidum.
Min Shian raised his eyebrows proudly, like a proud cat, and said lazily: "Of course, what's a hundred-year-old Ganoderma lucidum? For you, I can also get a thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum."
"Okay, okay, Tinglan thanks Her Royal Highness the Princess first."
Empress Xie has also been very busy recently, so Min Shian did not go to disturb her and instead returned to the princess's mansion.
However, she never expected that before she arrived at the princess's mansion, she received an imperial edict from the queen, inviting her to go to Xianyang Palace.
"I have to stay in the harem. As the queen, I cannot attend the meeting. I heard that the Grand Tutor is very strict with you. I think he is protecting you."
"But I'm still worried, so I've selected five personal maids for you. They're all skilled in martial arts and taciturn. They're all my trusted confidants, so you'll keep them with you for now."
Empress Xie spoke very quickly, leaving her no room for rebuttal. She glanced at the five people behind her, then slowed down her tone and coaxed, "Things have been turbulent lately. Even if you don't like others following you, you must return the person to me after the Wenqing meeting."
"An'er, be obedient."
Min Shian had no choice but to agree. After hesitating for a moment, he finally said, "Mother, I will only take three people with me. Is that okay?"
Empress Xie nodded in agreement, then said helplessly, "I didn't expect you to accept it all."
"Chun Tao, Xia Mei, Qiu Mang, the three of you have been following the princess these days and only obey her orders."
The three people in the middle responded in unison and then stood behind Min Shian.
"I am still busy. Seeing that you are doing well, I feel relieved. If you have any dissatisfaction in the Taifu Mansion, please write to me."
Upon hearing this, Min Shian bowed and took his leave, then returned to the princess's mansion with the three of them.
She looked at the three of them and asked, "Who among you three is Chun Tao?"
A tall maid with an oval face and peach-pink clothing stepped forward and saluted, saying, "My lord, I am Chuntao."
Before she could continue asking, the woman with almond-shaped eyes and a round face immediately bowed and said, "Your servant Xia Mei."
Finally, a plump woman bowed and said, "My servant is Qiu Mang."
Min Shian nodded, his face calm, and said with dignity without anger: "You are my mother's people, so I trust you. Please rest in the backyard for the time being."
In previous years, this time of year was always a turbulent time, and the Queen would have told her not to leave the house. Now that this was her first time participating in the talks, she hoped nothing would go wrong.
The next day.
Hu Yue had been waiting in the main hall early in the morning. Min Shian had no choice but to get up, her dream of sleeping until she woke up naturally shattered. She suppressed her irritability, washed up, and went to the main hall.
"Your Highness, please punish me. This is the only time I've been able to escape recently. I've come to report to Your Highness and make all the arrangements."
When she saw Min Shian, she immediately knelt down and apologized, saying that it was wrong to disturb her master's sweet dream.
Min Shian raised her hand to signal her to stand up. She couldn't help but yawn behind her sleeve. She paused and said, "It's okay. You've worked hard. The reward has been sent there. You can go and get it when you have time. If you need anything, please contact me at any time."
"Yes, I'll take my leave."
After being disturbed like this, she couldn't sleep anymore, so she got up and went to Tianxian Tower.
She hasn't read a storybook since she last listened to it all night, and she misses it a little.
This time she had no bad conscience, so she did not dress up in any other way and brought Chuntao and the others to visit Tianxian Tower.
Unexpectedly, I met a black-hearted fox at the door.
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