Chapter 377 Love at First Sight
Tongtian casually caught a few fallen leaves, tossed them upwards, and watched them flutter down. "This is hard to calculate, very hard..."
Yuan Shi stepped on a yellow leaf and said, "You're really bored out of your mind."
Hmph, Yuanshi glanced at Tongtian, turned away with a flick of his sleeve, and said, "This is the one who dares to shamelessly try to steal people from me."
"Hey, Second Brother, where are you going? Why are you angry?" Tongtian was dumbfounded. Besides him, his Second Brother had nowhere else to stay in Chaoge.
Yuanshi glanced at Tongtian as if he were an idiot. Chang Hao was about to choose an empress, yet Tongtian could sit still and have the leisure to watch the show. He, on the other hand, couldn't sit still and was naturally preparing to interfere.
"Second Brother, why are you looking at me like that?" Tongtian looked at himself uncomfortably under Yuanshi's ambiguous gaze. Everything was fine, there was no problem.
“It’s alright, it’s pretty good. Just keep it up. Second Brother has some urgent business to attend to immediately.” Yuanshi patted Tongtian’s shoulder. “Don’t linger in Chaoge for too long. I just saw Kong Xuan. Hurry up and bring him back to Kunlun. If you’re too late, it will be too late. Zhunti seems to have his eye on him.”
When Yuanshi withdrew his hand, he 'inadvertently' hooked the black lotus hanging from the Tongtian Qingping Sword and immediately put it into his sleeve.
Since Tongtian doesn't remember anything anyway, he'll take the black lotus back to its rightful owner to avoid the carefree Tongtian suddenly noticing it and becoming suspicious again since he has no memory of it...
Yuanshi refused to make any further connections, knowing that Tongtian's mind would fill in the blanks, even things that didn't exist could be imagined by Tongtian.
Tongtian immediately stood up. How audacious! He had clearly said that they were not allowed to go down the mountain.
"Thank you for the reminder, Second Brother. You have your business to attend to. If you wish to stay in Chaoge, instruct your junior disciple to make preparations." Tongtian hurriedly left the house. As soon as he descended the mountain, the aura of calamity began to entangle him.
Kong Xuan really deserves a beating. Once he's caught, he's bound to get three beatings.
Yuanshi watched Tongtian leave, finally managing to coax Tongtian away from Chaoge. Without Tongtian causing trouble, Yuanshi began to plan how to openly and legitimately approach Chang Hao, as he couldn't keep hiding and spying from the sidelines forever.
……………………
"Grand Tutor, this first cup of wine is my toast to Heaven. May the Grand Tutor be blessed by Heaven." Chang Hao raised the wine cup.
Wen Zhong nodded, clasped his hands in thanks to the king for his kindness.
"The second cup is offered to the ground, wishing Grand Tutor a smooth and successful journey." Chang Hao poured the wine on the ground. "The third cup is offered to Grand Tutor, wishing him a resounding victory."
Wen Zhong took the wine cup from Chang Hao and drank it all in one gulp, saying, "I will certainly live up to Your Majesty's high expectations."
The king has allocated half of the available troops to him. If he cannot directly attack Xiqi from the rear, the king will be in danger, and the Shang dynasty will be in danger.
"Grand Tutor, take care and be careful in everything you do." Even with all his skills, Chang Hao knew that swords and spears on the battlefield were merciless.
"Your Majesty, please be careful in all matters while in Chaoge, and do not act rashly," Wen Zhong instructed.
"Grand Tutor, rest assured." Chang Hao nodded; he naturally wouldn't be radical.
"Grand Tutor, with Bi Gan and I watching over things, nothing will go wrong in Chaoge." Shang Rong stroked his long beard. The King couldn't be more worry-free. What trouble could possibly arise? Grand Tutor Wen was just worrying unnecessarily.
“That’s right. When the Grand Tutor returns, he might be able to marry the Queen.” Bigan was beaming. As one of the few surviving elders of the royal family, he had been so busy these days that his eyes were almost blurry from looking at so much.
Chang Hao twitched his lips. Using Bi Gan's brilliant mind to choose a queen was a waste of talent. Without his approval, this matter would not be accomplished.
He needs to find a way to dampen their enthusiasm.
Grand Tutor Wen was somewhat relieved and led his army northward.
They will pass through the original fiefdom of the Marquis of Beibo. This time, it is not to suppress the Nine Yi tribes there. According to the king's intention, it is to subdue them, then incorporate them into the local area, and circle around to the rear of Xiqi to cut off all routes for the Marquis of Xibo to return to Xiqi.
"Your Majesty, it's getting late, we should head back," Quan Chang whispered to the king.
"Understood." Chang Hao glanced one last time at the long army and ordered them to return to the palace.
Bi Gan, Shang Rong, and the others traveled light and simply abandoned their carriages, ordering their attendants to bring horses. They rode alongside the king's carriage, discussing in hushed tones the merits and demerits of the various families.
Unfortunately, judging from their red faces and swollen necks, it was clear that they had no agreement and were just short of a full-blown fight.
Chang Hao shook his head and chuckled. Suddenly, he heard a string of piano music, each note captivating and heavenly.
While admiring the music, Chang Hao frowned. The zither music was clear and lonely, yet it also carried a unique gentleness, which was very similar to his father's zither music, making it extremely difficult to imitate.
He had heard his father play it before, and later, no matter how many musicians were summoned, none could replicate his father's style.
"parking……"
"Your Majesty?" Bigan approached the royal carriage.
Chang Hao lifted the carriage curtain and looked out. "Uncle Wang, who is playing the zither here?"
"I did not hear anything." Bi Gan indeed heard nothing.
"Impossible." Chang Hao listened intently, the sound of the zither still lingering in his ears. He couldn't possibly be hallucinating; it couldn't be that he was missing his father too much and was having hallucinations.
“Your Majesty, there was truly no music playing,” Shang Rong testified on behalf of Bi Gan.
"Yes, I didn't hear it either..."
"Alright, the entourage should return to the palace first. I will go find them myself." Chang Hao tore off his outer robe and, with the help of Quan Chang inside the carriage, changed into it.
It wasn't that he didn't know the music he heard was eerie, but he missed his father so much that he wanted to see if it was a similar sound. If, just in case, the person was safe and harmless, he could bring the person back to the palace and play the music only for him.
"Please take your entourage and guards with you, Your Majesty." The security outside Chaoge City is excellent, and Shang Rong and the others are happy for the king to travel around and relax.
"Your Majesty can go hunting and enjoy the scenery; it's better than being cooped up in the palace all the time." Bigan looked at Chang Hao with kindness. "Your Majesty is still young!"
We should do things that young people like.
Chang Hao followed the sound and walked to the foot of the mountain. The music became clearer and clearer, and now even his attendants could hear it.
“You all stay at the foot of the mountain. Quan Chang and Yuan Hong will come up the mountain with me.”
Relying on his regained cultivation, Chang Hao led only Quan Chang and Yuan Hong up the mountain.
Quan Chang frowned the whole way. What kind of good person would be playing the zither on the mountaintop so early in the morning? Could it be that they were deliberately luring the king there?
Yuanshi rose with his zither in hand, turning to face the newcomer. Though his heart was surging with emotion, his face remained aloof and cold, exuding an air of detachment that kept people at arm's length, as if he resided high in the heavens, untouched by the dust of the mortal world.
Chang Hao was mesmerized, as if he were meeting an old friend...
Coming to his senses, Chang Hao covered his lips with his fan. Oh no, he never expected that he could also fall in love at first sight.
He's always avoided men like the plague, so why is he suddenly feeling attracted to them? This is so strange, could he have fallen for someone?
"Where does the Immortal Master come from?" Chang Hao inquired, "and how should we address the Immortal Master?"
Chang Hao glanced at the zither in the arms of this immortal master and the flute hanging at his waist. It was rare to see an immortal master who followed this path.
"Kunlun Hermit, Qingwei." Yuanshi's words were concise and to the point. If he had truly said that he came from Yuxu Palace, Chang Hao would have been in a bad mood.
He wouldn't lie to Chang Hao, but he could choose not to tell.
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