Three-foot jade balance
Cui Luzhu gestured and said, "Lady Sun said your skills are too poor and there's nothing to show to the nobles. You must practice harder and are not allowed to go out."
She mimicked Ah Qiu's comical dance moves from earlier that morning with her hands.
A-Qiu looked at it and couldn't help but smile.
She suddenly froze, unconsciously touching the corner of her mouth with her hand and looking at her reflection in the water. Her face, which was covered by thick powder and could not be seen clearly, now showed a genuine smile, like sunlight shimmering in the water.
Zhang E'xu asked, puzzled, "What's wrong?"
Ah Qiu said calmly, "It's nothing. This seems to be the first time I've truly laughed."
Cui Luzhu patted her face, as if trying to sense what a real smile looked like. She leaned closer to look carefully, then said dismissively, "In the dance club, you'll have plenty of opportunities to smile in the future."
Zhang Exu said confidently, "That's right. When performing for important people, you'll get beaten if you don't smile." She pointed to her face, "Therefore, we all just draw our lips into a smiling shape."
Ah Qiu looked closely at Cui Luzhu and then suddenly realized what was going on.
She always thought Cui Luzhu's smiling face was quite pleasing, but in reality it was because her lip makeup had an upward curve at both ends, and it was more exaggerated than others'.
Cui Luzhu stuck out her tongue and made a face, saying, "That way, I'll get beaten less."
All three of them laughed. They really laughed.
Tangli's curfew couldn't stop Aqiu. Tonight, she had to take advantage of the moonlight and head to the Ministry of Personnel to find someone.
A person who wielded significant influence over the political situation of the imperial court.
After all, she didn't enter the palace purely to become a dancer.
The Tangli Garden is extremely quiet at night, with only the rustling sound of the wind passing through the towering ancient trees.
It was as quiet as an ancient tomb or a mountain.
It is hard to imagine that this was once a place where music and song flourished in the previous dynasty, a place where people would go out at night with candles and make merry all night long.
In the previous dynasty, there were tens of thousands of musicians, who lived and worked in the four gardens of the east, west, south, and north. But now, there are only two or three hundred people in the garden. The sitting and standing musicians are all gathered in the east garden, while the dance troupe of a few dozen people lives alone in the west garden.
With few people and much land, the desolate palace seemed even more deserted and cold, a place far from people.
But this was just A-Qiu's feeling as he walked through the water corridor with its ancient trees.
Once you get up there, it's a completely different world.
The starlight, dazzling and beautiful, outlines the intricately carved beams and painted rafters, the glazed tiles and jade steps of the Jianzhang Palace. The front and back palaces appear before A Qiu, dressed in white, standing atop the highest building in the Tangli Garden—the Xiyin Pavilion, with their flying eaves.
The assassins of Lanling all wore white, regardless of whether they were traveling at night or not.
During the Warring States period, Prince Dan of Yan saw Jing Ke off as he attempted to assassinate the King of Qin. At the Yi River, all the guests present were dressed in white robes and hats. Gao Jianli played the zither, producing a mournful tune.
That was the lament of song and the symbol of the assassin's unwavering resolve.
For ordinary people, the arrival of the Lanling Assassin is itself a huge deterrent.
For a master, no matter what clothes a night traveler wears, they cannot conceal their presence in the slightest.
A-Qiu waited as he moved quickly.
Using their conspicuous appearance as bait, they will see who the first "expert" they attract is.
Before entering the palace, his master, Wan Qiqing, had given him a warning.
No matter how low-key she tried to be, the first thing she couldn't hide was the "Four Stars of Heavenly Secrets" who had been hidden deep in the palace for many years.
Who the Four Stars of Tianji were is now unknown. Forty years ago, these four entered the palace and concealed their original identities and appearances, living incognito within the palace for many years.
They were a secret royal guard specifically planted to deal with assassins and protect the emperor's safety.
"The most difficult situation to guard against is when the enemy is in the dark while we are in the light. The Four Stars of Tianji have been hidden in the palace since previous generations, and no one knows their identities."
The master, who stood casually by the window, paused slightly: "Even I never saw their true faces back then."
A Qiu's bright clothes swept swiftly across the sky.
Her figure was light and graceful, like a crane soaring through the clouds above a magnificent palace. Below, the Ming Palace was vast and imposing, with soldiers patrolling its streets and alleys, yet no one could detect the traces of her passing through the air.
Some people occasionally look up at the sky and feel something is amiss, but they can't quite put their finger on what's wrong.
"The moon must have been blocked by something just now."
“It must be the clouds in the sky,” said another guard, rubbing his eyes and pointing it out to his comrade.
"Look, isn't there a wisp of cloud next to the moon?"
The two of them looked up at the sky together.
The moon shone brightly, the night sky was clear and spotless, stretching for thousands of miles. Only beside the half-moon, a wisp of cloud lingered, its edges refracting a rainbow of light. The two of them, without prior agreement, felt a sense of clarity wash over them.
The universe is indeed vast.
A-Qiu, who had been moving swiftly along the eaves, suddenly stopped and stood still in mid-air.
The next moment, she stepped onto the palace ridge, slowly turned around, and faced an unexpected person.
Junior Tutor Gu Yi.
A Qiu had imagined countless times in his mind how he should deal with the Four Stars of Heavenly Secrets.
But she never imagined that it would be Gu Yi who came, and what would happen then.
Actually, she should have realized that Gu Yi was the most likely person to discover her. After all, she had shown herself to Gu Yi first, and Gu Yi had so obviously... been watching her.
But she never considered this possibility.
Is it that she doesn't want to think about facing Gu Yi face-to-face and questioning him like this, or is it that she never considered Gu Yi as a potential enemy?
The moonlight fell on Gu Yi's flowing black clothes, yet seemed to blend seamlessly with his figure and attire.
A-Qiu's gaze drifted downwards.
This time, Gu Yi not only didn't wear a cloak, but his collar was also half open.
Her long, black hair, streaked with silver, cascaded loosely down her back, unbound and untied.
...
So, no matter how you look at it, he looked like he had just been dragged out of bed, hurriedly picked up a piece of clothing and rushed over.
A-Qiu was a little distracted.
...Am I the one who made Master Gu, dressed so disheveled, climb over the palace walls in the middle of the night to come here?
Gu Yi followed her gaze downwards, and couldn't help but cough lightly, subtly adjusting his collar.
A-Qiu quickly regained his senses, coughed lightly, and said seriously, "Young Master, are you admiring the moon on the rooftop in the middle of the night?"
If she wasn't mistaken, she heard a soft laugh coming from somewhere in the palace.
The voice was as melodious as a silver bell; it belonged to a woman.
Gu Yi's eyes flickered slightly when she preemptively asked him the question, but he quickly regained his composure and said, "That's right."
A Qiu retorted confidently, "Does this dynasty still have palace rules and laws? As an important official, can one simply climb over the wall at night? What about the city's defenses and guards? What about the Imperial Guards? What about the safety of the Emperor?"
Gu Yi, accustomed to his high position and absolute authority, was unaccustomed to verbal sparring. Faced with A Qiu's rapid-fire questions, he was speechless. After a moment, he finally said, "And what about you?"
Ah Qiu laughed and said, "My dancing skills are not very good. My instructor told me to practice more. I just wanted to find a quiet place at night where no one would bother me to practice my lessons!"
She spoke amiably, yet her body moved, her palm forming a knife-like shape within her white sleeve, thrusting straight out.
Unlike other assassins in Lanling, A Qiu did not use weapons lightly, nor did he take lives easily.
She ranked first on the "List of Exiled Immortals" of the Lanling Assassins, and her code name in the hall was "Jing Ke". Her style was to "take the head of a general from a million-strong army", and she was known for her ability to seize command.
Her stabbing technique was also extremely simple: a single strike that "pierced the sun like a rainbow."
This is a strike that she finally summarized after exhaustively studying various body techniques and thrusting methods and dissecting the ancient martial arts, returning to the essence of simplicity.
Anticipate the enemy's moves, assess the situation, and act decisively; a single strike is sufficient, as multiple strikes are futile.
An assassin is not a dancer. If one cannot defeat the opponent, engaging in a prolonged fight for half an hour, displaying various beautiful movements and exquisite skills, is superfluous. It is better to retreat.
Gu Yi seemed to wake from a dream, his body slightly shifting as he said with emotion, "You are from Lanling."
It was only then that he realized she was a Lanling Assassin, and A Qiu also found it strange. Logically speaking, with her distinctive Lanling white robes and such a dignified and masterful demeanor, Gu Yi should have been able to recognize her at first glance.
So, when Gu Yi saw her, and until she made her move just now, what was he thinking with such a deep and distant look in his eyes?
A Qiu caught a glimpse of light out of the corner of his eye.
It's not the moonlight reflected from the sharp edges of swords or knives, but a precious light that is refined, bright, and profound.
It's like... the light from her white jade Qiang flute, "Double Wings".
The light changed from a single star to a sliver, shining brightly yet quietly before her eyes.
It is dazzling because its unwavering and consistent presence cannot be ignored. It is unremarkable because its arrival is uneventful, like chopping vegetables or slicing melons.
A Qiu suddenly felt that his "Rainbow" strike might not have been powerful enough.
A crisp "snap" rang out in the air.
A Qiu watched helplessly as Gu Yi's seemingly ordinary wave of his hand forced him to change his palm strike from a chop to a flick, accurately catching the foot-sized blow that Gu Yi was about to deliver.
It was as if she offered herself up to Gu Yi to slap his palm.
A Qiu's first feeling was: pain.
My second feeling was that I wanted to cry but couldn't.
The light flashed and then disappeared, giving her no chance to see it again.
I remember now, the legendary weapon of Junior Tutor Gu Yi was the Three-Foot Jade Balance. It was a celestial artifact carved with the movement of stars and the imitation of heaven and earth, its jade quality radiant and beautiful.
It's called a "legend" because Gu Yi hasn't used it for many years, so no one has seen it—generally speaking, with his position second only to the emperor, he doesn't need to personally take up arms.
And those who could receive the teachings of Yuheng were probably only the emperor and the crown prince.
Gu Yi was nominally the Junior Tutor, but in reality, he was the Imperial Tutor. However, the Emperor probably felt that Gu Yi looked too young, and bestowing upon him a title like "Grand Tutor Gu" would certainly not be convincing to the people.
Although the blow to the palm wasn't hard, the residual force sent A-Qiu crashing onto the roof ridge, staggering back a few steps.
She was thinking that she had been having a really bad day lately. She had just received a bamboo slap from Instructor Sun in the morning, and then she received a jade slap from Junior Tutor Gu in the evening.
When he was young, A Qiu was quite mischievous and often got a beating from his master in Lanling, but as he grew older, he almost never made any mistakes.
But after all, it had been many years since he had been punished, and this punishment left A Qiu somewhat dazed. He even forgot to run away and just stared blankly at Gu Yi, looking like he was waiting for his punishment.
Gu Yi coughed lightly and said, "Do you know you were wrong?"
A-Qiu nodded obediently and said foolishly, "A-Qiu shouldn't have wandered around the palace at night and even attacked you, Young Master."
Gu Yi stared blankly at her overly obedient expression, then rubbed his forehead for a moment before saying, "It seems your master has taught you well. Go back now; the palace isn't a place you can just wander around in. Next time we meet, it won't be so easy."
A-Qiu obediently bowed to the ground, then leaped up and flew back the way he came.
As soon as A Qiu left, a woman dressed in gorgeous purple robes and with her face veiled by purple gauze appeared on the other side of the palace eaves.
Under the moonlight, the woman's figure was graceful, making it impossible to tell her age.
She was covering her mouth and laughing, her laughter shaking her whole body.
The silvery laughter echoed above the Miaoji Hall, yet it seemed as if no one heard it.
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