Capital
These days, Liang Hongyu has intensified her training, almost without rest all day long. She wants to become stronger as soon as possible to avenge her father and grandfather.
Asen looked at Liang Hongyu's back every day. She was dressed in red and holding a sword. There was no expression on her face, but her whole body exuded a chilling murderous aura. Her moves were sharp and ruthless, and every move was deadly.
When the others saw their daughter like this, they all stayed away, but Asen rushed into the gun barrel and said, "Girl, let me practice with you."
Liang Hongyu stopped dancing with the sword when she heard this, "Are you sure you want to practice with me?"
Arsen nodded, "I'm sure."
Before Asen could react, Liang Hongyu's sword was already approaching. Asen was forced to retreat step by step, unable to fight back. Just when he had nowhere to retreat, Qiu Feng threw a sword at him and said, "Asen, take it quickly."
Arsen then took the sword, and the two blades collided in the air. Arsen dodged Liang Hongyu's first move, but before he could see the second move, Liang Hongyu's sword was already against his throat. "With your level, you still want to practice swordsmanship with me."
Arsen was so ashamed that he wished he could find a hole to crawl into.
From that day on, Jinxiu saw another figure practicing swordplay in the backyard, Asen. She asked Qiufeng, who was passing by, "What's wrong with Asen? He knew that the girl was in a bad mood these days, but he still deliberately approached her. Isn't this asking for trouble?"
"He was subdued by the girl in just two moves. Maybe his pride couldn't take it."
"There aren't many people in this world who can surpass our girl. Is his pride going to fail him?"
"There are always people who are better than you. You can't be so confident just because she is your daughter."
As Qiu Feng finished speaking, she heard a "bang" and saw Asen being kicked away by the girl. Then she stepped on Asen's face and said, "Are you so useless? Then don't practice anymore."
Jinxiu and Qiufeng had never seen their daughter treat servants in such an attitude, and their jaws almost dropped. What shocked them even more was that Asen got up again and continued to fight with the daughter, but was kicked away by the daughter again.
This time, Asen wanted to struggle to get up, but his legs and feet felt weak and he couldn't get up. So he simply turned over and lay on the ground, not wanting to get up. Although he was kicked several times by the girl and his whole body was in pain, the blood in his heart rushed from his heels to the top of his head. He felt extremely happy and comfortable, and it was a wonderful feeling.
Asen looked at the vast sky and suddenly burst into laughter. A cloud was floating in the sky, seemingly close at hand, yet out of reach.
Jinxiu and Qiufeng walked over curiously and looked at Asen, who was lying on the ground grinning foolishly. Jinxiu said, "Could this guy have been beaten stupid by the girl? He's still laughing even after being beaten like this."
Qiu Feng just smiled and shook her head, and said to Jin Xiu, "Stop talking nonsense and help him up."
Arsen was supported by the two of them into the room. After settling Arsen down, the two were about to leave, but when they turned around, they saw the girl walking towards the room with a bottle of ointment in her hand.
"Jinxiu, don't leave yet. Apply the medicine to him first." He put the medicine bottle on the table, glanced at Asen lying on the bed, and said to Qiufeng, "Leave Jinxiu alone to take care of Asen."
After hearing this, Qiu Feng followed the girl and left.
Although Liang Hongyu couldn't bear to see Asen like this, if she didn't take ruthless action, how could Asen learn advanced martial arts?
Jinxiu picked up the medicine bottle on the table and used her slender fingers to pick up a little ointment and apply it to Asen's leg injury. "Asen, the girl still cares about you. You must not bear a grudge against her."
The moment the ointment touched his skin, Asen felt a chill that penetrated his bones, and then a burning sensation. Just like the girl, seemingly cold and heartless on the surface, but actually considerate and caring, how could he bear a grudge against her? Without her, he would still be like duckweed, helpless and alone in this world, homeless and rootless. Behind him were thousands of lights, but none of them was his home...
"Jinxiu, tell me about your daughter's past. I want to hear it."
Jinxiu was naturally very happy when she talked about her past life in Liang Mansion. She described the past events excitedly as if they happened yesterday. Although they have enough food and clothing now, they can't get rid of their status as lowly borrowers and are naturally inferior to others.
Asen could imagine that Liang Hongyu must have been a high-spirited and carefree girl in the past. However, overnight, her family was destroyed, and the seeds of revenge were planted in her heart. She grew up to be a mature, decisive, hot-tempered and tough woman.
Three days later, Arsen recovered and started daily training again.
Swords swung freely, sleeves fluttered, and in the courtyard, the silhouettes of a man in blue and a woman in red sometimes overlapped, sometimes staggered. The air was filled with the sound of swords clashing against each other, and the rustling of fallen leaves knocked down by the swords blew in the wind.
A few months later, Liang Hongyu suddenly said to Asen, "Asen, you are truly a martial arts prodigy. You are now ready to become a martial arts master."
Asen asked in disbelief, "Girl, is this true?"
Liang Hongyu closed the scabbard and said, "Why would I lie to you? From now on, you should just work by my side."
"Okay."
Mother Yan is going to select a court prostitute to serve the emperor these days.
Liang Hongyu asked Qiu Feng to find out who the recommender was.
Liang Hongyu was learning flower arrangement in the house that day. Roses, daffodils and roses were competing for beauty on the table. She picked up the colorful flowers with her hands and put them one by one into the vase she had just bought. After Qiu Feng got the news, she immediately replied to Liang Hongyu.
Qiu Feng whispered to Liang Hongyu, "Miss, the person recommended by the higher-ups is none other than the current Grand Tutor Tong Guan." When Liang Hongyu heard the name Tong Guan, her heart was in turmoil and a sharp pain came from between her fingers. She looked down and saw that the thorn of the rose had pierced her finger. A drop of blood oozed from her slender, white jade finger, as scarlet and glaring as the blood that flowed when her grandfather and father were beheaded that day.
"Are you okay, girl?" Qiu Feng asked worriedly.
Liang Hongyu pulled out the thorn from her finger, sucked the blood from it, and said, "It's nothing serious, just a minor injury."
She had waited for so long, and finally this day had come. These days, she had been practicing swordsmanship every day, not daring to slack off at all, just for revenge.
When Mother Yan heard Liang Hongyu offer herself for him, she couldn't help but ask suspiciously, "You're not usually this enthusiastic about this kind of thing. Is it because the sun is rising from the west today?"
"Mother Yan, this is to serve the emperor, I can't look down on others!"
"That's right. Once you become a favorite of the emperor, not only will you be able to escape from this lowly status, but you'll even be able to become his concubine. That way, you'll be able to soar to the heights and become a phoenix."
"I'll go talk to the Grand Tutor right away. He will definitely be satisfied with your conditions." After saying this, Mother Yan left happily.
A few days later, Mother Yan asked Liang Hongyu to meet the Grand Tutor. Liang Hongyu wore a long white cloud silk dress, a misty purple gauze outer garment, and a golden butterfly hairpin in her exquisite bun.
Entering a private room in Zuixinlou, I saw a middle-aged man in front of me sipping tea with his head down. He was wearing a black python robe with auspicious clouds embroidered with gold thread on the cuffs. His facial features were sharp and his eye sockets were deep, but his eyes were as alert as an eagle.
Tong Guan caught a glimpse of someone coming in and put down the teacup in his hand.
Liang Hongyu bowed and saluted, "This servant pays homage to the Grand Tutor."
"Raise your head." Liang Hongyu met Tong Guan's gaze. Those were a pair of sinister and cruel eyes. Liang Hongyu felt a chill all over her body.
Tong Guan was originally a minor eunuch in the palace. However, because he was flattering and opportunistic, well versed in the ways of being an official, and supported by Cai Jing all the way, the emperor appointed Tong Guan as the Privy Councilor. After suppressing the Fang La uprising, he was promoted all the way to the position of Grand Tutor of the dynasty, on par with Cai Jing. At that time, people called Cai Jing the "Prime Minister" and Tong Guan the "Old Prime Minister".
Tong Guan felt that the woman in front of him looked familiar, so he asked, "Have we met before?"
Liang Hongyu replied calmly, "Sir, last year when you pacified Fang La, you passed by here. I was present at the celebration banquet."
Tong Guan suddenly remembered that the woman was sitting next to Han Shizhong at that time.
"Oh, I remember now. I want you to serve me. Are you willing?"
"Of course I am willing."
"Well, I see you are quite clever. You must serve the emperor well, and I will cancel your loan."
"Thank you, sir."
"You should leave now."
"Yes." Liang Hongyu breathed a sigh of relief after walking out of the room.
The next morning, Mother Yan urged Liang Hongyu to dress up quickly so that she could go to the capital with the Grand Tutor at noon.
Seeing her daughter about to go down a path of no return, Qiu Feng begged, "My daughter, you love me so deeply, please let me go in your place."
Liang Hongyu frowned and said, "This opportunity to get close to Tong Guan is hard-won. I must kill my enemy myself."
Jinxiu also said with tears in her eyes: "Miss, can you come back after you go?"
When Mother Yan came in and was about to urge them to come, she saw the master and servants with tears in their eyes. "Your daughter is going to the capital to be a concubine, not to be executed. Why are you crying?"
As he spoke, he looked at Liang Hongyu from head to toe. She was wearing a dark purple dress with golden auspicious clouds embroidered on the hem, exquisite cicada wings embellished on the cuffs, and a bronze hairpin on her head, which made her look extremely beautiful.
After seeing this outfit, Yan's mother smiled from ear to ear and kept saying it was good.
The servants of the Grand Tutor had been waiting outside Zuixin Tower for a long time, urging him repeatedly.
Qiu Feng accompanied Liang Hongyu on the carriage, which drove to the gate of Jingkou.
Watching their receding backs, Jinxiu hurriedly told Asen the news. After hearing this, Asen immediately took down the sword hanging on the wall and galloped out of the city gate on his horse, leaving behind only layers of dust kicked up by his horse's hooves.
The carriage soon arrived at a small woods outside the city gate. The Grand Tutor's carriage had been waiting there for a long time. After confirming that it was Liang Hongyu, he continued on his way, with Liang Hongyu's carriage following closely behind.
When they arrived at Yangzhou City, the sky had already darkened, and Tong Guan prepared to rest in the city for one night.
Liang Hongyu was about to undress and go to bed when a dark figure jumped into the room through the window. She immediately drew her sword. Qiu Feng also became alert, but she heard the figure shout, "Miss, it's me!"
Liang Hongyu saw clearly in the moonlight that it was Ah Sen, and asked, "What are you doing here?"
Asen said: "I'll take you away."
"You kid..." Before she could finish her sentence, she was knocked unconscious by Asen's palm.
Qiu Feng, who was standing next to him, asked in surprise, "Asen, what are you doing?"
"I can't watch a girl die."
"If you insist on taking the girl away, the Grand Tutor will definitely not let her go, and you will end up hurting her instead."
"Then what do you say we should do?"
"How about this, you take the girl away first, and I will serve the emperor in her place. But you have to knock me out first to avoid arousing the suspicion of the Grand Tutor."
"Qiu Feng, are you sure you want to do this?"
"Take the girl away quickly. If we are discovered, no one can escape."
Asen had no choice but to accept Qiu Feng's suggestion. A swordsman knocked Qiu Feng unconscious, then carried the unconscious Liang Hongyu out of the window and rode away on horseback.
Early the next morning, the Grand Tutor's servant knocked on the door for a long time but there was no response. Thinking that something might have happened, he rushed in, but saw only Qiu Feng lying on the ground, and Liang Hongyu was no longer there.
The servant immediately invited the Grand Tutor over.
The Grand Master angrily scolded: "A bunch of rubbish, wake her up first."
The servant poured a basin of water on Qiu Feng, who was lying on the ground. Qiu Feng immediately regained consciousness. Upon seeing the Grand Tutor, she hurriedly knelt and said, "Grand Tutor, please forgive me. My daughter was kidnapped by a villain, and then I was knocked unconscious."
"Can you see the villain's face clearly?"
"Teacher, he was wearing a mask, so I couldn't see him clearly."
"Hurry up and chase after them." Tong Guan scolded the servants.
"Master, I have something to say."
Tong Guan raised his hand to signal the servants not to chase him, frowning and saying, "If you have something to say, please say it quickly."
"This servant is willing to serve the emperor in place of my daughter."
"Raise your head so I can see."
Qiu Feng slowly raised her head.
Tong Guan looked at the woman. She had a pair of phoenix eyes, shimmering eyebrows, and was very beautiful. She had fair skin, red lips, and white teeth. She was comparable to the concubines in the palace, but still a little behind the kidnapped girl. So he said, "Well, she is quite pretty, but still a little behind your daughter."
"Sir, doesn't the emperor like talented women the most? I can play the guqin."
Tong Guan said to Qiu Feng who was kneeling on the ground, "You get up first." Then he ordered the servant to go to the store and ask for a guqin.
Qiu Feng's jade fingers lightly plucked the strings of the zither, and the sound of the zither like flowing water came in a lingering manner, sometimes as thin as a gossamer, like the sound of drizzling rain, sometimes ethereal and ethereal, like the sound of gurgling water in the mountains, or sometimes thousands of horses galloping, like the sound of fighting on the battlefield.
Guests in the inn came over at the sound, and before they knew it, the whole room was packed. The music stopped abruptly, and everyone was talking and praising the piano. Tong Guan was even more delighted, thinking: Today, a bad thing has turned into a good thing. I have found a treasure. He said, "I didn't expect you to have such talent. Very good. Then you can accompany me to the capital to see the emperor on behalf of your daughter."
Qiu Feng bowed and said, "Thank you very much, Grand Master, for your kindness."
Tong Guan's face lit up with joy, and he ordered the servants, "Change her into some clean, nice clothes, and prepare some pearl hairpins and jewelry."
"Understood, sir. Prepare immediately." The servant said and left in a hurry, and the others also dispersed.
Deep in a bamboo forest, Liang Hongyu woke up from a coma and felt a pain in her neck, so she massaged it.
Ah Sen quickly massaged Liang Hongyu's neck. Liang Hongyu saw Ah Sen and guessed what was going on. She took his hand away from her shoulder and scolded him, "Just because you've improved your martial arts, do you dare to be my master?"
Asen said with a smile, "Miss, Qiufeng wants to go and serve the emperor for you, so just let her go. Maybe this is a good destination for her." Then he went to pinch Liang Hongyu's neck again, and this time Liang Hongyu did not refuse.
"Does she really want to go?"
"She said so herself."
"That's good too. She can get more information from the emperor. If she can gain his trust, getting rid of Tong Guan will only be a matter of time."
Mother Yan was happily humming a tune in the courtyard when she turned around and saw Liang Hongyu and Asen walking in together. She immediately exclaimed in surprise, "Why did you go and come back? Don't you want to live anymore?"
Asen explained, "The girl did go there, but she was kidnapped by robbers on the way. I happened to run into her and rescued her."
Mother Yan asked suspiciously, "You didn't kidnap it, did you?"
"How could that be? Look, the girl is injured." Asen said as he let go of Liang Hongyu's injured arm. The blood oozing from the wound had dyed his sleeve red.
Mother Yan said unhappily, "Alright, help her back and bandage her wound."
Just as they were about to enter the house, Mother Yan remembered the Grand Tutor and asked, "Grand Tutor..."
Before Mother Yan could finish, Asen explained, "Qiu Feng went to the capital for the young lady."
Mother Yan pondered for a moment and said, "That's good. Qiufeng plays the zither very well. She should be able to catch the emperor's eye."
Asen applied the powder to the wound and bandaged it carefully. Then he said to Liang Hongyu, "Girl, can't you just make a little wound to fool Mother Yan? Why do you have to be so cruel to yourself?"
"Asen, you have to remember that you can't be so reckless in the future. This time, Qiu Feng went to the capital for me. Otherwise, with Tong Guan's ruthlessness, do you think he would let us go?"
Asen couldn't care less at the time. He would even sacrifice his own life to save the girl. But he still consoled her, saying, "I will be more careful in the future. Don't be angry now."
Liang Hongyu looked at his flattering look and couldn't bear to blame him anymore.
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