Why not ask for her hand in marriage?
A Qiu suddenly understood Gu Yi's intentions.
She recalled what people said about Gu Yi's mysterious origins. He had no family or relatives, and no one knew anything about his background.
Becoming the number one person in Dayan and the successor of Young Master Gu Yi is something that both powerful clans and martial arts families would strive for.
After all, Gu Yi only has one disciple in name only, namely Crown Prince Xie Tiao.
If she could become Gu Yi's apprentice, not only Huang Chaoan or Madam Pei, but also no one in the entire Music Bureau or even the imperial court would dare to make things difficult for her.
It doesn't matter if she doesn't know martial arts.
Crown Prince Xie Tiao doesn't know martial arts, but who would dare to make things difficult for him?
It sounds great, even incredibly good.
The only thing A Qiu didn't understand was why Gu Yi would choose her to make this suggestion out of so many people in the world.
If she were still the former leader of the Divine Weapon Hall, the chief assassin "Jing Ke," she might be able to understand it to some extent.
But now, she has no value whatsoever.
Gu Yi stared at her, his expression suddenly becoming tense: "You don't want to?"
A-Qiu lowered her head for a moment before raising it and stammering, "I...I have to ask my master for his permission."
She was referring to Wan Qiqing, the master of Lanling Hall. In the martial arts world, anyone who already possesses skills and seeks a master must obtain the original master's consent; otherwise, they will be considered a traitor who has abandoned their sect.
Even with her eyes closed, she knew this was wishful thinking. How could her master, the head of the All-Knowing Assassins, possibly agree to it?
According to his master's style, he would never give his own disciple to anyone else, even if the disciple was executed.
Even if Gu Yi isn't officially his master's enemy yet, he's practically one.
She has never been one to fuss over trivial matters, so why couldn't she just clearly refuse instead of blaming the master?
Perhaps, Gu Yi was the person she could never refuse.
Gu Yi's gaze relaxed slightly, and he smiled, "That's easy."
easy?
A-Qiu looked at him in surprise.
Gu Yi seemed relieved of a heavy burden and felt much lighter. He smiled and said, "You probably don't understand your master. He certainly didn't become the head of the All-China Assassins' Hall because of his deep affection for his son."
A-Qiu, puzzled, asked, "What is that?"
Gu Yi seemed to want to laugh, but held it back, and said with a slight smile, "Generally speaking, it depends on the price."
If the price is right, no deal is off. This is the fundamental creed for a powerful figure to stand firm in this world of power struggles and infighting.
A Qiu wasn't originally this dazed, but when facing Gu Yi, she always felt that her reactions were more than ten times slower than usual.
Moreover, everyone would have a biased view of their master, who is such a charming and unrestrained person.
Gu Yi, however, was in a very good mood. He turned around and called out towards the door, "Go and invite the Left Prime Minister."
A Qiu's heart, which had just relaxed slightly, was instantly raised again, and he felt as if his soul had been scattered.
What does Gu Yi want to invite her senior brother for?
The handsome and refined "Jade-faced Marquis of Liu" Gongyi Xiu always gave people the impression of having a warm and gentle smile.
His radiant smile, as bright as the sun, and his pristine white attire, as clear as the moon, captivated countless women in Jianzhang City, from the highest echelons of society to the most brothel-dwelling alleys.
But at this moment, his face no longer showed his usual carefree and unrestrained demeanor, but instead revealed a solemn expression full of worries.
He never dreamed that Gu Yi, the number one person in the dynasty, second only to the emperor, could be so insane.
He claimed that he was not a person who was bound by conventions, nor did he ever attach great importance to sectarianism.
However, even he himself found it utterly unbelievable that the idea of taking the enemy's disciple as a student so readily available.
Gu Yi might as well ask him to ask his master for a marriage proposal; the chances of success would be much higher.
Although they are on opposing sides, if Gu Yi were to propose to a disciple of Lanling Hall, his master would gain face.
But does his attempt to snatch someone else's apprentice to teach imply that the master's teaching is inadequate?
With a heart full of trepidation, Gongyi Xiu stepped into his master Wanqiqing's Songxue Hall.
The moment his clothes stirred and he stepped inside, a gust of wind attacked from the side. A powerful and extremely sharp palm strike mercilessly descended from above his head.
Gongyi Xiu was greatly alarmed, his first thought being that his master intended to kill him here.
Perhaps it was because his master had ventured alone into the palace that night, coming and going as he pleased, while he himself had neither moved an inch nor offered any assistance.
Perhaps it was because his master discovered that he had covered up A Qiu's relationship with Gu Yi.
Perhaps because his master already knew, he became suspicious of his origins.
Perhaps because...
He couldn't think of anything more.
However, once Gongyi Xiu entered the imperial court as an official, he could no longer be the pure Jianghu disciple, the Jade-Faced Marquis.
Success in one's official career also means a change in one's beliefs.
Gongyi Xiu leaned back, dodging the thunderous palm strike above his head. At the same time, the jade-bone fan with a hundred flowers slid out from his sleeve, unfolding open to reveal steel blades hidden within the fan ribs, flashing with dazzling light as they aimed directly at his opponent's face.
A cold, crescent-shaped arc of light suddenly shone brightly and mercilessly slashed across the fan.
The steel fan ribs were intact, but the silk fan surface, which depicted a hundred flowers in bloom and was exquisitely painted, had been torn in two.
Gongyi Xiu leaped back a step, holding the cracked fan in his hand, and roared in fury, "Mo Yi Mingyue!"
Master Xingfeng, the second senior brother of Lanling Hall, the burly and capable Mo Yimingyue, landed on the spot, his crescent blade flashing and disappearing into his waist. He said with a grin, "Senior brother, you haven't neglected your skills after all. I thought you'd forgotten them after being an official for so long."
Gongyi Xiu sensed the hidden meaning in his words and snorted angrily, "No matter how long it has been, I still remember that I am the senior brother of Lanling Hall, unlike you who have no respect for your elders and actually ambushed me in Songxue Hall!"
Mo Yimingyue crossed her arms and laughed, "Was my palm strike a 70-80% imitation of Master's? But I didn't expect Senior Brother to fight back!"
Gongyi Xiu coldly replied, "Even if my master wanted to kill me, he would never want to see his disciple not fight back. Besides, I am not a traitor to our sect."
His words were quite harsh. Mo Yimingyue smiled lazily and said, "I hope Senior Brother will always remember this."
One of the duties of Xingfeng Hall, under the jurisdiction of Mo Yimingyue, is to pursue and eliminate traitors within the sect and clean house.
Gongyi Xiu ignored him and bowed to the tall, imposing figure in white robes standing by the window, saying, "Master!"
Wan Qiqing had his back to him, deep in thought, his mind seemingly drifting into the current situation outside Songxue Hall.
Mo Yimingyue winked at him.
Gongyi Xiu didn't understand whether his master had been like this before he arrived.
Mo Yimingyue lowered her voice and said, "Aren't you going to ask me why I came back?"
Gongyi Xiu suddenly remembered that Mo Yimingyue was always traveling, and in recent years he had mostly been active at the river and land ports along the Yangtze River, at the border between the north and south. Unless something major happened, he would never rashly return to the hall.
Gongyi Xiu frowned and asked, "What happened?"
A smug smile appeared on Mo Yimingyue's lips as she said, "I won't tell you."
Gongyi Xiu was so angry that he shut up and decided to never talk to this person again.
Mo Yimingyue said in a low voice, "I saw Junior Tutor Gu Yi on the Yangtze River."
Gongyi Xiu was shocked and exclaimed, "What?" He looked Mo Yimingyue up and down, and was quite impressed.
Mo Yimingyue was known for his domineering style, and his "Night Tour of the World" was a powerful force on the water. He had heard about it from the naval forces stationed in Jingkou.
He knew that Gu Yi hadn't attended court for the past few days. But Gu Yi's whereabouts were always unpredictable, and he was absent from court for some days every month. Everyone knew that he was partly a江湖人 (jianghu person, a person involved in the martial arts world), so Gongyi Xiu didn't think much of it.
Mo Yimingyue actually saw Gu Yi on the Yangtze River and returned unharmed. This alone was enough to make Gongyi Xiu look at him in a different light.
Gongyi Xiu asked in a low voice, "How many moves did you exchange with the Young Master's 'Carved Moon' sword?"
Mo Yimingyue's face immediately showed an unnatural expression, and she changed the subject, saying, "We didn't fight, and we even had a good chat."
This is another piece of news today that has left Gongyi Xiu utterly stunned.
Neither Mo Yimingyue nor Gu Yi were clearly people who enjoyed chatting. And the fact that Mo Yimingyue had managed to find Gu Yi's whereabouts and come to his door clearly meant she wasn't looking for someone to chat with because she was lonely on her journey.
The fact that the two of them could "have a good chat" made Gongyi Xiu instinctively want to know what they were talking about.
Before he could even ask a question, Wan Qiqing had already turned around and said with an air of nonchalance, "Gu Yi is heading north now, naturally to plead with Li Chongyu and persuade him to let things go. It would be better for Mingyue to part ways with him amicably, because it would not benefit us to break ties with him now."
When Gongyi Xiu heard his master's definition of Gu Yi, he finally felt a little more confident about his mission.
Wan Qiqing's gaze finally fell on Gongyi Xiu, and he said calmly, "Xiu'er, what brings you here today?"
When Gongyi Xiu respectfully presented the scroll of the "Master's Authentic Work," which was admired throughout the land, Wan Qiqing's eyes lit up.
It seemed that even the smallest turns and twists on the ink marks were clearly visible to him.
Gongyi Xiu finally couldn't hold back any longer and asked, "What did he say in his letter?"
When Wan Qiqing finished reading, a slight smile appeared on his lips. He gently rolled up the paper and returned it to Gongyi Xiu, saying, "Mingyue destroyed the spring blossoms painting on your fan, but you can frame this calligraphy as a fan; it would suit you perfectly."
Upon hearing this, Gongyi Xiu immediately disregarded everything else and quickly unrolled the handscroll. His passion for calligraphy and painting was similar to that of his teacher, Wanqiqing; he would become completely absorbed whenever he saw a masterpiece.
That painting of spring blossoms was created when he was at Lanling Hall. He had searched for all the beautiful flowers in the world, planted precious ones in his back garden, collected them, and compiled them into a scroll, trying to capture their spirit. Sometimes it would take him several days to paint just one plant, meticulously depicting its graceful posture and charm. It was truly heartbreaking to see it so badly destroyed by Mo Yimingyue.
But his master actually bestowed Gu Yi's handwriting upon him, and he immediately perked up. After all, Gu Yi's handwriting was a rare and precious artifact, a true marvel of the Southern Dynasty.
Even Mo Yimingyue became curious and leaned her head closer to take a look.
The two of them were almost completely stunned when they saw it.
The brushstrokes, with their interplay of hooks and cursive script, are elegant yet vigorous, resembling bamboo leaves in the wind or plum branches under the moon, exuding a free and unrestrained charm.
The inscription, however, was a "love poem".
"After the dream, the pavilion is locked high; after the wine, the curtains hang low. Last year's spring sorrow returns again; fallen flowers, a person stands alone; light rain, swallows fly in pairs."
I remember when I first met Xiao Ping, her double-layered robe embroidered with the character for "heart." She spoke of longing on the pipa strings; the bright moon was there then, shining on the returning colorful clouds.
Gongyi Xiu stared wide-eyed for a long while before finally saying in bewilderment, "This is... the Junior Tutor's handwriting?"
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