Chapter 120 Everything Will Begin
Next, Fu Mingyi led Xiao Qing to do two things.
The first thing I did was meet Ying Ying.
Fu Mingyi generously let them be alone, and waited outside the door himself.
He looked up at the sky. Although it was midsummer, the sky was overcast, a gentle breeze was blowing, and the temperature was not very high.
It makes people feel calmer without them even realizing it.
He looked at the few wispy clouds on the horizon and thought he had probably figured out Xiao Qing's personality.
Inside the hall, Xiao Qing had already asked the question a second time.
"Are you really doing this voluntarily? Although we're in General Zhao's camp now, we might have to go to the battlefield later. You're only... thirteen years old?"
In her eyes, this is what a young boy who has just started junior high school is like.
"General Zhao was about this age when he joined the army. Besides, Ying won't be on the battlefield anytime soon, so even if he joins the army, it will be at least two more years. General Zhao has said that now, due to the vacancies in military positions, the requirements for joining the army have been relaxed, which is a rare opportunity."
Xiao Qing still harbored doubts. "I remember you didn't want to stay in General Zhao's camp, but hoped to become a palace maid... Of course, I didn't mean that being a palace maid was so great... nor..."
Xiao Qing had gotten herself into a tangled mess and didn't know how to express herself better.
Ying Ying smiled. His eyes were especially beautiful when he smiled, just like when Xiao Qing first saw him.
"It's just a pity that I can't always be by Your Majesty's side."
"If you don't want to..."
Yingying nodded. "Yingying is willing." He knelt on one knee. "But..." He seemed a little hesitant.
"What?" Xiao Qing took a step forward. "Get up and say it."
“Ying Ying no longer wishes to use this name in the army.” He looked up at Xiao Qing, gazing intently. “May His Majesty bestow a new name upon him?”
Xiao Qing was stunned for a moment.
She didn't want to give anyone a name. She always felt that this was a privilege reserved for each person and their loved ones.
Even with the three kittens, Xiao Xiao, Xiao Lan, and Yao Yao, she felt that Ying Ying should have been the one to name them.
But as she gazed into Ying Ying's eyes for a long time, she could tell he was serious. And he faced her with such an almost pleading expression…
Perhaps, he didn't want people to know about his experience as a palace servant.
Xiao Qing unconsciously squatted down and suddenly asked, "Do you want me to bestow a name upon you?"
Ying Ying's eye twitched.
"No, it was His Majesty, but not as a gift from His Majesty."
Xiao Qing's heart skipped a beat.
For him, joining the army might really be a good opportunity to make a name for himself, just as Fu Mingyi said.
Yingying is perceptive, calm, intelligent, and courageous. A few years of military training can easily mold a boy into a strong and upright man. This is a good thing for him.
"Your eyes are beautiful, like... midnight. How about we call you Midnight? If you don't like it..."
“I like it very much. Ziye likes it very much.” Yingying smiled, the happy smile extending to the corners of her mouth.
Xiao Qing touched her head. "If you like it, that's good. Actually, I don't like it..." Never mind, Ying Ying and she are different. What she thinks is wrong, Ying Ying may not think is wrong.
She thought about naming the three kittens, and she knew that Yingying must have made such a request because she cared about it too much.
That's settled then.
"General Zhao's imperial guards are also in the palace. I will come to see you."
Ying Ying shook her head. "It's not in the palace, but in the military camp outside the city."
Xiao Qing was taken aback. "Why are you outside the city?"
"The Imperial Guard was recently reorganized, and some of its troops were concentrated in the training camp outside the city, while also guarding Nanhua City together with the Nanhua City garrison."
Xiao Qing nodded. She had heard about the reorganization of the Imperial Guards, but she hadn't looked into it in detail.
Zhao Youchen's arrangement must have its reasons.
"It's not far outside the city... So, may I enter the palace?"
"There were many boys in the army who were the same age as me. General Zhao arranged for us to go to the South Training Ground every month to participate in the evaluation to determine our fate."
Xiao Qing smiled and said, "That's good." She could ask Zhao Youchen about the time later and they could still meet.
She helped him stand up, saying, "Since you're going, hone your skills. That way, you'll have a life-saving asset if you have to go to the battlefield."
Yingying nodded and bowed deeply again, saying, "Your Majesty, Ziye made the decision when he sent Xiaoxiao away."
After Ying Ying left, Xiao Qing sat there quietly for almost a quarter of an hour.
Yingying didn't say what he had decided, and she didn't ask.
However, she guessed that Fu Mingyi must have played a significant role in his willingness to do so.
Fu Mingyi raised his hand and knocked on the door frame, revealing half of his profile right by the door, which made Xiao Qing unconsciously take a second look.
Can I still see him?
"This is His Majesty's freedom."
Xiao Qing nodded, "Thank you, Grand Tutor."
The second thing Fu Mingyi took her to do was to meet a masked man.
The man was tall and imposing, with a half-mask on his face and dressed in night clothes. He was clearly a person with excellent martial arts skills, and his inner strength was concealed.
Fu Mingyi explained, "This will be the teacher who will instruct His Majesty in martial arts from now on."
Xiao Qing's mind flashed back to the martial arts novels she had read before, and she asked curiously, "Do I need to become an apprentice?"
Fu Mingyi smiled. "There's no need for formal apprenticeship; simply calling him 'Master' is sufficient. His Majesty can never fully learn all of his skills."
Xiao Qing understood; this was probably because they thought she wasn't qualified enough.
"May I ask your surname, sir?"
The masked man whispered, "No surname, no given name."
Xiao Qing felt a headache coming on.
She looked at Fu Mingyi, but he said, "Your subject shall step aside."
So only Xiao Qing and the masked man remained.
"Calling someone 'sir' is too difficult to distinguish. 'Sir' has no surname or given name. Surely you wouldn't ask me to call him 'Mr. Wu'?"
Unexpectedly, the masked man nodded and said, "Okay."
The indifference in his tone was truly...
Xiao Qing had no choice but to bow and say, "Greetings, Mr. Wu."
This gentleman is indeed a straightforward and direct person.
Without exchanging pleasantries with Xiao Qing, he suddenly drew his knife and attacked Xiao Qing's neck.
Xiao Qing was startled and quickly stepped back, then suddenly remembered the small bamboo tube Li Qinghe had given her, so she reached out to take it. She now carries this with her almost all the time.
But the masked man caught up with her again. In her panic, she couldn't untie the bamboo tube no matter what she tried. After failing to dodge several times, she could only watch helplessly as the masked man's hand formed an eagle claw, almost grabbing her throat in the next second.
What's going on?!
Xiao Qing's eyes widened and he shouted, "Grand Tutor!"
The masked man nimbly withdrew his hand and stepped back, putting his hands behind his back, and said, "I will teach Your Majesty three things. As for how well Your Majesty learns them, that depends on how hard Your Majesty works."
Xiao Qing blinked, calming her wildly beating heart. "Which three?"
"Movement techniques, hidden weapons, and disguise."
Xiao Qing secretly glanced at the door behind the masked man.
The door remained unmoved; Fu Mingyi clearly had no intention of coming in.
This can only mean one thing—this Mr. Wu is someone Fu Mingyi trusts implicitly.
Looking at the masked man's serious and indifferent face, Xiao Qing couldn't help but think of the ten-year agreement proposed by Fu Mingyi.
Everything will eventually end, and everything will begin.
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