Appearance is determined by nature
Yi Shen slept in Wu Qi's room for another night. The next day, the two got up to leave for Cizi Pavilion. As they turned a corner, they happened to run into Wu Shanyun and Qi Kong.
Wu Qi and his parents looked at each other, speechless.
Wu Qi was surprised that the two of them got up early today. Wu Shanyun and Qi Kong were surprised that Yi Shen had stayed at the mansion last night. Moreover, it seemed that Yi Shen had stayed in Wu Qi's room.
"Good morning, Uncle and Aunt," Yi Shen said.
"Alright." Qi Kong looked at their clasped hands and asked with a smile, "Are you going to Ci Zi Pavilion or Yue Du Camp?"
“I’ll go to Cizi Pavilion in the morning, then to Yueduo Camp in the afternoon, and I’ll escort Wu Qi back in the evening,” Yi Shen replied.
Wu Shanyun pondered the word "come back," feeling slightly relieved, but only slightly. Anyone would feel uneasy seeing a man emerge from their precious daughter's room first thing in the morning, even if that man was Yi Shen, whom Wu Shanyun had watched grow up.
Wu Qi could tell his father was unhappy, so he put his arm around Wu Shanyun's arm and swayed it as he said, "Father, Father, do you want to guess what birthday gift I'll give you?"
When she acted coquettishly towards Wushan Yun, she would always call out "Daddy, Daddy".
At times like this, Wushan Yun was helpless. This time was no exception; he said with a long face, "Do you still remember that my birthday is in three days?"
"Of course, I've already prepared my birthday gift!"
Seeing that Wu Shanyun was still not satisfied, Qi Kong clicked her tongue and glared at him, advising him to restrain himself. She said to Wu Qi and Yi Shen, "Hurry up and go to Cizi Pavilion, or the teacher will scold you again."
"Then we'll be going now," Wu Qi said.
"Uncle and Aunt, farewell," Yi Shen said.
Yi Shen has new clothes at the Wu residence. Some of these new clothes were bought by Wu Qi, and some were bought by him and Wu Qi together. The wide-sleeved, dark-patterned Bicheng robe he is wearing today was bought by Wu Qi.
This is the first time he's worn it.
Wu Qi decided to buy the garment not because the man said it would flow like water when he moved, but because none of the men present dared to buy it.
Firstly, because of the high price, and secondly, because ordinary people cannot pull off these clothes. The man glanced at them and said, "You can't wear them. Even if you buy them, they'll just gather dust at home."
No matter how much silver the men present offered, the man simply wouldn't sell it, not even allowing them to try it on.
Wu Qi became interested and said to the man, "I'll buy it."
The man chuckled and said, "You can't wear it either."
“Then I want to buy it too,” Wu Qi said. “I can’t wear it, but someone else can. When he wears this garment, it’s truly a case of ‘clothes depend on the person wearing them.’”
"Alright, then tell me roughly what kind of build that person has."
A group of people surrounded Wu Qi, all staring intently at her, waiting for her to reveal what kind of man with such a great physique he was.
Wu Qi lowered his eyes, thought for a moment, and then raised his eyes and smiled, "How magnificent and tall you are!"
People who recognized Wu Qi asked her if she was talking about Young Master Yi Shen. Wu Qi smiled but did not answer, only asking the person, "Are you selling or not?"
The man said, "Sell, sell it for every penny."
Now, when Yi Shen put on this garment, it looked sloppy if it were a little loose at the waist, and cramped if it were a little narrow at the shoulders; the length of the garment was just right. As he walked in the morning sun, the dark patterns flowed like water.
Qi Kongdao said, "Wei Chong's clothes today are really nice."
Wushan Yun disagreed.
Knowing that he was unhappy, Qi Kong said quietly, "The daughter of the Liu family in the capital is making a fuss about marrying a butcher in the deep mountains and forests. Her parents disagree, and she is on a hunger strike."
Deep in the mountains and forests, or a butcher...
How could my parents agree?
Compared to the Liu family's daughter, Wu Qi was truly worry-free and well-behaved.
Compared to the butcher in the deep mountains, Yi Shen is the perfect candidate.
Qi Kongdao said, "No matter how much you look down on Weichong and think that Weichong is not good enough for Xiaoqi, you have to admit that, in terms of the distance between the Yi family mansion and the Wu family mansion, Yi Shen is the best young man."
Wu Qi and Yi Shen had long since gone far away, and Wu Shanyun could no longer even see Wu Qi's back. He sighed and said, "I know, but Xiao Qi likes Yi Shen so much, I'm afraid Yi Shen won't treat her well and won't love her in the future."
“You don’t need to worry about that,” Qi Kong said. “Even if you, Wei Chong, and I love Xiao Qi very much, the person who loves her the most in this world should be herself.”
"This is something I've always been teaching Xiaoqi."
In this world, the person who loves her the most should be herself, no matter how much others love her.
And she did it very well.
Nothing major happened at Cizi Pavilion today. Ning Xunxu arrived on time, so what could be the big deal? It was just that Master Sun didn't come, and everyone was cheering.
Since Master Sun didn't come, even all the other teachers couldn't control these rascals, so they simply let them go out to play. But this wasn't a free trip; each of them had to compose a poem.
The group walked out like wild horses, and Li Jian walked beside Wu Qi with a troubled expression, stammering and unable to give a coherent explanation.
Lin Kuo said, "Shi Xun, is there something you're having trouble telling me?"
Seeing that there was no one around, Li Jian leaned closer and whispered, "Last night, my mother told me that Lord Zhao Lang died in prison, a girl named Pianpian also died, and a servant of the Zhou family also died in prison."
If these words came from Lord Li Xi, then they are true.
They're all dead.
Even the person who was hiding in the bamboo forest died.
Lin Kuo frowned and asked, "Where is Zhao Xiwei?"
Li Jian replied, "My position will not be affected in any way."
Song Yinxing looked at Wu Qi and heard her calmly ask Li Jian, "How did Lord Zhou Lang die?"
Thinking of Li Xi's words, Li Jian repeated, "Those men came to Lord Zhou with the letter. Because they were from Pingwu City and had a letter written by Miss Li Shuying, Lord Zhou let them in and even had someone pour them tea. However, Lord Zhou only glanced at the letter before folding it up and saying, 'This wasn't written by her. What have you done to her?'"
"At the time, there was no one in the house. Lord Zhou knew he couldn't get anything out of them, so he told them to leave. But then, a group of men in black rushed into the mansion, killed Lord Zhou without saying a word, gouged out his eyes, and ordered the two men to bury him somewhere."
"For some reason, those two people drew two red lines on Lord Zhou's body and face, as if it were a blessing from Pingwu City. Then, for some unknown reason, they poured Pingwu City's 'Liuge' into Lord Zhou's mouth and buried him in the peach blossom grove. Unfortunately, they were all caught in the act..."
Everything now has an explanation.
If what Zhao Lang said is true, then why would the person who hid in the bamboo forest be so afraid? Because a group of men in black rushed into the mansion.
Why does Lord Zhou Lang have two red lines on his body and face? Because in Pingwu City, those two red lines were drawn on men and women respectively, representing the wish for many children and much happiness.
Perhaps the two men also admired Zhou Lang and didn't want him to die so unjustly, so they drew lines of many children and much happiness on his body and face.
As for why the halberd was poured?
Wu Qi guessed that the two men knew they were going to die and left some clues for everyone to investigate.
After all, she had personally witnessed the two people burying the body in the peach blossom grove, and they had even started arguing.
In this world, there are many things we cannot control.
"I have another question," Wu Qi said. "Did Lord Li Xi say who those men in black were?"
"He didn't say, but..."
Li Jian quietly handed the item in his hand to Wu Qi.
Wu Qi took it and nodded knowingly.
She held a silver clasp in her hand.
This silver clasp is exactly the same as the silver clasp that the old man found in his house before he died.
At that time, the old man found two silver buckles in the house, which confirmed who the group of men in black were. Since the silver buckles were exactly the same, it meant that the people who had chased Wu Qi and Yi Shen in Qingcui City and the people who killed Zhou Lang were the same group of people, or that they were under the orders of the same person.
As for who that person is...
Wu Qi gripped the silver clasp in his hand and said coldly, "General Wei."
At the same time, the city gates opened wide, and a troop of soldiers entered the city. The leader had half-white hair and beard, two scars on his face, a burly build, and a rough face like sand, the look of someone who had been on the battlefield for a long time.
He had a sword at his waist, wore armor, and rode a grey-white horse, exuding an imposing aura without being angry.
It was General Wei Mao.
"General, shall we return to the residence first or go to the audience first?"
Wei Mao pulled on the reins, gazing at the palace in the distance, but could only see shops and taverns, where people sang and danced in broad daylight. After a long while, he said, "You all return to your residence; I will go to pay my respects."
Passing by Langyue Tower, Wei Mao glanced at the red plaque with gold lettering and vaguely heard two groups of people arguing. He turned back and rode his horse toward the palace.
Wei Mao left, but the argument at Langyue Tower continued.
The two groups were arguing about an old matter—whether Wu Qi should be included in the "Three Beauties".
Wu Qi was naturally beautiful. For a time, there were several minor arguments among the people about whether Wu Qi should be included in the "Double Beauty" group, and be called one of the "Three Beauties" along with the two ladies of the Song family.
Now, the two groups are arguing again at Langyue Tower.
Both sides expressed their opinions and refused to yield.
One of them said, "Speaking solely of the beauty of the Wu family's daughter, she is a celestial being. Who wouldn't stop and take a second look if they saw her on the street?! In my opinion, she naturally deserves to be included in the 'Three Beauties,' and should be the 'First of the Three Beauties'!! Does anyone have any objections?!"
The other party said, "I have an objection! Although the Wu family's lady is indeed beautiful, her personality is not as gentle as that of the Song family's lady, Song Lingshu, and compared to the Song family's lady, Song Yinxing, she is more unruly. She is not like a lady."
"Are you sick? We're talking about beauty, the face. Do you even know what a face is?"
"You're the one who's sick! What good is beauty alone! So what if the Wu family's lady is a goddess? If she has a heart of snakes, she'll still be scorned by everyone!"
"Who are you calling heartless? How could a lady of the Wu family be heartless?!"
"Assumptions!! Do you understand what assumptions are?! Besides, you can't see into someone's heart, how do you know if the Wu family's lady isn't a snake in the heart?!"
"Wu Qi, if you knew Wu Qi at all, you would know that she could never be a heartless viper!!"
The two sides were arguing fiercely. Wu Qi listened from the side while eating candied hawthorns. Suddenly, he thought of his teacher's poetry lessons and couldn't help but say: "Two faces can change into three, without asking my will. Appearance is determined by heaven, so why talk about natural beauty?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
