Two red lines
Wu Qi did not wake up until noon the next day.
The fever has subsided, and apart from a slightly sore throat, I'm otherwise fine.
Wu Qi was wearing the old woman's old clothes. His cheeks were slightly flushed from sleeping for too long. He was weak after being sick and only felt hungry.
I'm so hungry!
Yi Shen and the old man chatted outside the courtyard, while the food on the table inside remained untouched. Wu Qi immediately realized that the two men were waiting for her to eat together.
"Awake?" Yi Shen got up and touched her forehead. It wasn't as hot as it was yesterday, so the fever must have subsided. "Sit down and eat."
I thought the food on the mountain would be all wild vegetables, but it turned out to be quite plentiful, with even roasted chicken.
"Eat quickly, and leave as soon as you're done." The old man tore off a chicken leg and ate it himself, saying indistinctly, "Don't stay here every day. If those men in black come looking for me, my family will be gone."
"No, no, I'll protect you, Grandpa." Wu Qi sat down next to Grandpa with a smile. "Grandpa, we're leaving after we finish eating. Take good care of yourself from now on."
The old man gave a soft "hmm".
After the group finished eating, the old man pulled out an oxcart from somewhere. The ox was still chewing grass, and there were haystacks on the wooden planks behind it.
The old man said, "I'll see you off."
The two thanked him and got into the oxcart.
Wu Qi lay on the haystack, looking up at the sky with contentment. Occasionally, he would glance at Yi Shen beside him and find it amusing to see him sitting upright.
He chuckled to himself for a long time but said nothing.
People have their own personalities, and there's no need to change for anyone else.
The old man had lived in these mountains for so long that he could find the path with his eyes closed. He led his cow along the path, occasionally bursting into song, "The mountains and rivers are still beautiful, but high-ranking officials knock on the door to disturb us."
Hearing this music, Wu Qi felt it was somewhat familiar.
There are four folk songs, and the one that Ah Weng sang was "The Widower's Song". The next line is: "In the city of gold and silver, my wife has died. I sadly went to the Yellow Springs and am trapped in the world forever."
This song tells the story of a licentious and tyrannical monarch who loves beautiful women. Upon hearing this, high-ranking officials and nobles went door to door, just to see if there was a beautiful woman living there. If there was, they would take her into the palace, regardless of whether she was married or not, leaving her only with some gold and silver.
Some complained bitterly, living in constant fear, terrified of hearing a high-ranking official knocking on their door. Others offered their daughters or wives to high-ranking officials, seeking only money, claiming that "women enjoy all the riches and honors in the palace; this is a blessing earned through three lifetimes." But in the end, when those women grew old, they could only wait to die.
A man's wife was taken to the palace. In the middle of the night, he had a nightmare in which his wife jumped into a dry well. He woke up in tears, grabbed a pen from the table, wrote "The Widower's Song" on the wall, and then killed himself by smashing his head against it.
The people sang this song to warn the monarch.
Besides this piece, there are three other pieces.
Someone once predicted: "The one who listens to all four songs will become a wise ruler."
Unfortunately, very few monarchs would step down those steps, leave those palace gates, and go to the common people to hear these four songs.
The image of the tombstone she had seen in the old man's courtyard kept replaying in Wu Qi's mind. She lay on the haystack, quietly listening to the entire piece.
Descending from the east side of this mountain leads directly out of Qingcui City. After escorting the two of them to the foot of the mountain, the old man waved his hand and said, "Let fate decide their fate."
Wu Qi exclaimed, "Thank you, Grandpa!"
The old man turned his back, waved, and left gracefully.
Wu Qi and Yi Shen bought two horses and some food, and rode straight to Pingwu City.
"Young Master Yi, you didn't leave money for Grandpa too, did you?"
"Um."
"Where did you hide the money?" Wu Qi asked with a smile. "Let me guess. If I guess right, Young Master Yi will have to answer one question for me."
"good."
Wu Qi thought for a moment, then glanced at Yi Shen and smiled, "I guess Young Master Yi put the money on the table."
Wu Qi secretly put the money under the quilt, but Yi Shen always did things openly and honestly. Even if he secretly put money away, he would put it in a conspicuous place.
As expected, Yi Shen said, "Hmm."
Yi Shen bought a white horse, while Wu Qi bought a brown horse. In the mountains and forests, the two horses moved at about the same speed.
What Wu Qi most wanted to know was why Yi Shen wanted to learn swordsmanship?
The etiquette and rules of aristocratic families forbid their children from learning swordsmanship.
Wu Qi has always been rebellious. Ever since she got into a fight with a beggar in the capital when she was a child, she has wanted to learn swordsmanship. She doesn't ask for much, just enough to protect herself.
It just so happened that Aunt Hehua knew swordsmanship, so she secretly followed Aunt Hehua to learn swordsmanship.
Why does Ke Yi Shen know swordsmanship?
Among the ten sons of prominent families, when it comes to Yi Shen, the third young master of the Yi family, everyone will surely give him a thumbs up and praise him, saying, "He is pure and virtuous, a model of a young master from a prominent family."
Although the etiquette and rules of aristocratic families are indeed quite restrictive, even clearly stating that men's ten fingers must be kept clean and tidy and that nails must be trimmed regularly, Yi Shen has always followed etiquette and rules. How could he have learned a sword technique that is explicitly prohibited by the etiquette and rules of aristocratic families?
If you were to ask what the biggest taboo in the etiquette of aristocratic families is...
First, there is the glittering of halberds; second, there is martial arts.
"Liu Ge" refers to the fact that children of aristocratic families are strictly prohibited from developing the Bei Kun or the next "Bei Kun"; "Wu" refers to the fact that children of aristocratic families are strictly prohibited from learning martial arts, and are not even allowed to learn lightness skills.
Yi Shen's swordsmanship is on par with Wu Qi's, so he must have secretly studied it for several years, just like Wu Qi.
Therefore, Wu Qi was very curious as to why Yi Shen wanted to learn swordsmanship.
Wu Qi asked, "Young Master Yi, why do you want to learn swordsmanship?"
Seeing that Yi Shen did not answer, Wu Qi continued, "Young Master Yi, don't worry, I will keep it a secret for you. When we return to the capital, no one will know that you know swordsmanship."
"I just wanted to learn it, so I did."
"Dishonest, so dishonest!" Wu Qi shook his head and said, "What reason could possibly make our Third Young Master Yi break the rules and learn swordsmanship on his own? It's too hard to guess! What kind of person or thing could have such a strong allure? The Third Young Master Yi seems to have been completely bewitched and walked right into a trap!"
As she continued speaking in increasingly nonsensical terms, Yi Shen pulled on the reins and calmly asked, "Do you remember when you were a child, you got into an argument with a beggar in the capital?"
"I remember."
Do you remember when the beggar pushed you?
"I remember, you even helped me up!"
After a long silence, Yi Shen said, "Yes, that's the reason."
Because she was pushed by a beggar, he went to learn swordsmanship.
Wu Qi grew very fast for a period of time when she was young, and the family went through many different sets of clothes for her, but Yi Shen did not grow much taller during that period.
From a distance, the two people appeared to be about the same height.
When he was a child, a little beggar stole money from Wu Qi on the street. Wu Qi chased him for two blocks before catching him. He pretended to take him to the government office and insisted that he tell him who taught him to steal money.
The little beggar was caught stealing money for the first time. He was scared and gritted his teeth, saying that he had learned it himself.
The big beggar rushed over and said that he was the one who taught him.
The two started arguing. Wu Qi felt that the older beggar shouldn't teach the younger beggar to steal money, as it was petty theft. The older beggar scoffed and said, "What do you know? He'd starve to death if he didn't steal money."
"How could they starve to death! They have hands and feet!"
"They all think we're dirty, that we're sick, and they won't even let us wash dishes. What can we do? Starve to death?!" The big beggar became more and more angry as he spoke. Seeing Wu Qi dressed in fine clothes yet still having the nerve to lecture them, he was even more furious and pushed her.
Wu Qi, who was in a daze, was pushed and stumbled. Fortunately, Yi Shen behind her caught her and prevented her from falling.
After a long while, Wu Qi said to the two beggars, "I'm sorry, I don't know your difficulties and I shouldn't criticize you, but..." She glanced at the little beggar, who looked to be only seven or eight years old, "He's so young, you shouldn't teach him to steal chickens and dogs."
“If you two are willing, then go to the Witch’s Mansion,” she said. “The Witch’s Mansion cannot guarantee you wealth and honor, but at least you won’t have to suffer from the freezing cold or worry about starving to death.”
The two beggars stared blankly at the girl in front of them, then realized that she was a lady from the Wu family, and thanked her while apologizing.
Yi Shen said, "Don't push her anymore."
The beggar's push sparked Yi Shen's interest in learning swordsmanship.
On that same day, after returning home, Wu Qi ran to Aunt He Hua's side, wanting to learn swordsmanship.
If you really count it, the two of them started learning swordsmanship around the same time, but since they were learning swordsmanship, they each studied it quietly and didn't reveal it to others.
That day in the mountains, they had no choice but to reveal their swordsmanship.
Wu Qi laughed and said, "It seems we two are perfectly in sync!"
Yi Shen asked, "Why did you learn swordsmanship?"
Wu Qi replied, "It's not entirely about self-preservation. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I just felt I should learn swordsmanship, or maybe I wanted to protect those who needed protection?"
She wasn't entirely sure what she was saying.
How many people in the world need protection? Does she think that learning swordsmanship will allow her to protect everyone?
I'm not afraid of being laughed at if I tell others.
Moreover, she didn't even dare let others know that she knew how to use a sword.
“If it weren’t for our swordsmanship, we might have been dead just two days ago.” Wu Qi looked ahead, Pingwu City was right in front of them. She said, “Be careful. Even though the emperor is far away, it’s best not to reveal that we know swordsmanship. What do you think, Third Young Master Yi?”
"Um."
Their actions were not merely for self-preservation, but also out of fear that the reigning emperor would find fault with them and punish the aristocratic families.
The five great families can only do business now. They have the name of the family but no real power, so it is best to act with caution.
The two rode into Pingwu City without anyone checking their identities.
Wu Qi originally thought that the two of them riding horses were too conspicuous, but there were at least a dozen people riding into the city and swaggering around on horseback.
Pingwu City was brightly decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers, with glass lanterns hanging high in the treetops. The sun shone brightly, but the glass lanterns burned with an eerie glow, their light long since swallowed by the sunlight, their purpose unknown.
Street vendors stood on the street corner, loudly hawking their wares. A group of men stepped forward and bought a string of firecrackers, while women wearing veils accompanied them and bought some red paper cuttings or lanterns.
The lanterns here also have halberds burning inside, which can provide light when lit.
A gust of wind blew by, lifting a woman's veil and revealing her entire face.
Wu Qi gasped when he saw the woman's face clearly.
The woman had two red lines drawn on her face.
A path runs from the left sun axle to the right sun axle.
A line runs from the forehead, through the nose, to the chin.
The way he died was exactly the same as that of Chief Zhou.
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