Chapter 230 A Sensation for the Entire Audience (First Update)
The young eunuch carried the zither case back to Prince Rui's residence.
Princess Rui was sitting in the pavilion, yawning.
The young eunuch said, "Your Highness, would you like to take a look?"
Princess Rui was completely at ease with the things she had retrieved from Gu Jiao. She waved her hand and said to the little eunuch, "Take them and keep them."
"Yes!" The little eunuch carried the zither case into Princess Rui's room.
Lady Xu was directing her maids to tidy up the room when a young eunuch bowed to her and said, "Sister Xu, the Princess Consort asked me to bring the zither over. I don't know where to put it?"
The female officer found a cabinet that was frequently opened: "Just put it here, we'll need to play it again in a few days."
The envoys from Liang Kingdom are about to arrive. The Crown Princess just sent word that she hopes Princess Rui can play a piece at the palace banquet to welcome the envoys.
Honestly, doesn't the Crown Princess know that her princess is pregnant?
Princess Rui underwent surgery before the Lunar New Year, and became pregnant before she had fully recovered. The imperial physicians advised her to rest in bed as much as possible.
The female official, Xu, was full of complaints, but dared not voice them, and could only close the cabinet in frustration.
In March, when the grass grows and the orioles fly, the capital city is a scene of prosperity and flourishing.
The streets were packed with pedestrians, a constant flow of people.
The main streets of the capital are very wide, capable of accommodating at least four carriages side by side. On even wider streets, such as Zhuque Avenue near the palace, a dozen or more carriages can pass without feeling crowded.
Xiao Sanzi brought the carriage to a steady stop at the destination Gu Jiao had indicated.
Xiao Sanzi looked up at the four large characters "Taihe Martial Arts School" on the signboard, somewhat disbelieving his eyes: "Miss Gu, have we come to the wrong place?"
He keeps turning left and right, then right and right again. Could it be that he turned the wrong way?
Gu Jiao lifted the curtains and looked around, saying, "That's right, this is the place."
Xiao Sanzi was even more confused: "No, Miss Gu, what are you doing here? Are you... on a house call?"
Why do doctors need to change clothes when making house calls? Does this clinic not allow female doctors to enter?
Countless questions flashed through Xiao Sanzi's mind.
Gu Jiao didn't answer, but jumped off the carriage and said, "Stop the carriage in the alley and wait for me for a while."
"Oh." Xiao Sanzi is not usually a talkative person, otherwise Gu Jiao would not have been happy to let him drive the carriage.
Xiao Sanzi parked the carriage in the alley to the right of the martial arts school, and Gu Jiao stepped into the school.
Taihe Martial Arts School is one of the top martial arts schools in the capital. It has three floors. Upon entering, there is a large hall. On the wall directly opposite the entrance, there is a huge character for "martial arts" written in cursive script. Various weapons are displayed on both sides. At this moment, several disciples of the martial arts school are practicing hand-to-hand combat in the hall, as if they are discussing how to spar.
It's not surprising to see strangers; they're probably used to strangers.
This is not surprising.
In the Zhao Kingdom, there is no military examination, only a civil examination. Therefore, the Zhao Kingdom only produces one civil champion every three years, unlike the Liang and Yan Kingdoms, which also select a military champion from across the country at the same time as producing a civil champion.
However, the Zhao Kingdom also needed martial arts talents. Some went directly into the army, such as Gu Changqing; others were unwilling to serve the court and only hoped to use their martial arts skills to find a way out for themselves.
Martial arts schools emerged in response to this situation.
Although it is said that all other professions are inferior except for studying, some people are not born to study. They want to learn martial arts. After learning martial arts, they can become bodyguards, grandmasters, or guards in wealthy families. In short, they will not go hungry, which is better than toiling in the fields.
Therefore, martial arts schools are quite popular in Zhao Kingdom.
Of course, martial arts schools are also divided into types, which are called "clean schools" and "black schools" in the industry. A clean school means that it only accepts disciples and simply teaches martial arts; while a black school is much more complicated. In addition to recruiting disciples, it also offers many other services.
Taihe Martial Arts School is a shady establishment.
This was something Gu Chengfeng revealed to Gu Jiao. The main reason was that Gu Jiao would beat Gu Chengfeng up every few days. At first, Gu Chengfeng could barely defeat Gu Jiao, but gradually Gu Jiao fought him to a draw, and then gradually, Gu Jiao beat him until his head was a pig's head.
Even if he can take a beating, you shouldn't beat him like that!
His skill is stealing, not being someone's punching bag!
If Gu Jiao wants to regain her strength from her previous life, she must constantly find stronger punching bags.
Gu Jiao took out a mask from her bosom and put it on.
The mask was also obtained by robbing Gu Chengfeng; he didn't spend a single copper coin.
She entered the martial arts school with ease, passed through the hanging flower gate to a seemingly empty tea room, and gently turned the oil lamp on the tea table. With a loud bang, the wall of the tea room opened.
A cacophony of noise rushed out.
Gu Jiao walked into the passageway expressionlessly, and the wall behind her slammed shut with a bang.
Once the door was closed, the noise from the front seemed to be amplified.
At the end of the passage was a large martial arts arena, a three-story wooden building. Two floors were viewing rooms, and in the middle of the first floor stood four cold and imposing arenas. At this moment, three of the arenas were occupied by martial arts contests.
Gu Jiao walked to the counter and lightly tapped the table with her knuckles.
The somewhat sleepy innkeeper yawned: "Martial arts contest or betting? Martial arts contest is ten coins, betting is one hundred coins, and if you want a room, add two hundred..."
Before he could finish speaking, a small domino landed in front of him.
The shopkeeper glanced at the small dominoes, his expression froze, and he was half awake.
He immediately stood up, changed his expression, and said with a grin, "Young Master Li, what brings you here? Didn't you just come a few days ago?"
Gu Jiao didn't speak, but only glanced at the roster beside him.
The shopkeeper understood and whispered a reminder: "East Arena."
Gu Jiao strode towards the east arena.
The people queuing behind Gu Jiao to get their tokens for the martial arts competition were getting annoyed. One of them yelled at the shopkeeper, "What's going on? We've been queuing for ages and haven't even gotten in yet, how come he got in? Didn't they say you had to get a token to enter?"
The shopkeeper glanced at the newbies with a mocking look and held up a set of fishbone tiles: "Do you know what this is?"
Everyone shook their heads.
The shopkeeper raised an eyebrow and said arrogantly, "These are martial arts dominoes."
"Martial arts master?"
Those who had been complaining about Gu Jiao just moments before all fell silent.
Is that seemingly frail young boy actually a martial arts master?
In a martial arts school, the master who teaches kung fu is called a martial arts master. However, in the arena, only a master who has won a hundred matches is qualified to be called a martial arts master.
"He...he's won fifty matches already?" someone exclaimed.
Generally speaking, only those who have won fifty matches can be called martial arts masters.
The shopkeeper clicked his tongue impatiently and said, "What are you thinking? It's just one show!"
He killed a martial arts master in one match.
The unwritten rule of martial arts schools in the capital is that if you challenge an opponent who is above your level, you can take away their identity if you win.
However, not everyone is qualified to take on challenges from above. Not only do they have to sign a death waiver, but they also have to pay a huge deposit. If they lose, the entire deposit will belong to the challenged person.
When the young boy first arrived, he boasted that he would fight the most powerful master in the hall that day.
According to the rules of the martial arts school, one can only challenge someone two levels higher than the opponent. However, the young boy had bet a full thousand taels of silver, so the school made an exception for him and allowed him to challenge someone three levels higher.
The martial arts instructor was initially unwilling to accept the match, but the martial arts school persuaded him and got the boy to add another five hundred taels of silver before finally getting him to agree.
In martial arts competitions where opponents of higher levels are at risk of death, this is the unwritten rule.
Everyone thought the boy was doomed, and no one bet on him to win, so everyone lost money.
A young man holding a sword scoffed disdainfully, "Tch~ What's so great about beating a martial arts master? I heard that several martial arts experts came to your martial arts school today. I don't believe he can get lucky!"
Everyone nodded in agreement. Yes, he was so skinny, how could he possibly beat a martial arts master? He must have just gotten incredibly lucky!
Gu Jiao was unaware of the heated discussion among these people, and even if she did, she probably wouldn't care.
There are four arenas in the east, west, south, and north, and the number of experts assigned to each arena changes every day. The shopkeeper pointed to the east arena, which should be where the strongest fighters are.
"Hero Yan Sandao wins! Is there any other master who wishes to challenge Hero Yan?"
On the stage, a servant dressed in martial arts school clothes carried a gong and a mallet, striking them and shouting.
This master Yan had been guarding the arena all morning, defeating countless masters, and no one dared to fight him anymore.
"If not, then Master Yan will—" Just as the servant was about to end the match, a lithe little figure leaped onto the stage.
...
Meanwhile, the old Marquis was punished by being forced to copy military books in the palace. He copied them for a whole day and night, and finally finished copying the last one.
This was much more tiring than practicing martial arts. He copied until he was dizzy, his limbs were numb, and he almost suffered internal injuries.
No, it's more like it's already caused internal injuries!
Marquis Xuanping has not returned since he slipped away, and no one knows what he has been up to.
The old lord ignored him, propped himself up on the table to stand up, and almost fell to the ground because his legs were too numb, making him look like a sixty-year-old man.
The old marquis, dragging his weary body, carried the fried military books to the imperial study to apologize to the emperor.
The emperor wore a net on his head, which looked awful. He wasn't as shameless as Marquis Xuanping, who didn't even attend the morning court session to preserve his imperial image.
"Your Majesty, I have finished copying the military treatise," the old Marquis said outside the Imperial Study.
"Bring it in," the emperor said impatiently, waving his hand.
Eunuch Wei walked over, took the military treatise that the old Marquis had copied, and whispered to the old Marquis, "Go back."
The old marquis understood and bowed respectfully towards the imperial study, saying, "Your subject... takes his leave!"
Having said that, he turned around and limped out of the palace.
The old marquis got into the carriage.
The coachman asked, "Sir, are you alright? Are we heading back to the Marquis's residence now? Should we find you a doctor? You don't look well."
How can one's complexion be good after copying military books for so long? If those civil officials practiced martial arts for a day and a night, they would become exactly like me.
However, the old Marquis was really frustrated. Copying the books was making him miserable, and he didn't want to go back to the mansion to deal with Madam Gu's questioning.
He paused, then said, "Let's go to the martial arts school."
The old master was a regular at the martial arts school. The school didn't know his exact identity, only that he was a gentleman surnamed Gu who was very generous.
The old master came to the martial arts school for two reasons: first, he enjoyed watching martial arts competitions, and second, he could select some promising talents from among them.
Of course, the old Marquis had very high standards, so over the years, he had actually chosen fewer than ten people.
Of these ten people, only two withstood his rigorous training; the rest were sent away.
The old lord requested a side room on the second floor.
The waiter asked him if he wanted to place a bet, and he tossed a silver ingot onto the table: "No, thank you."
If you don't place a bet, then this silver ingot will be nothing but a reward.
The shop assistant beamed and stuffed the silver ingot into his pocket: "I'll make you some tea right away! Would you like Longjing or Tieguanyin?"
"Longjing," the old Marquis said.
"Alright!" The waiter immediately brewed a pot of the finest pre-rain Longjing tea and brought out several exquisite and delicious snacks. "Enjoy your meal. I'll be waiting outside. Just give me a call if you need anything."
The old marquis waved his hand.
The waiter left with a smile.
While sipping his tea, the old lord began to watch the martial arts competition on the arena.
His room faced the west arena, which offered the best view. However, for some reason, he was drawn to the fight on the east arena.
He was a seven-foot-tall strong man wielding two axes, whose brute strength and internal power far surpassed those of ordinary masters. However, his opponent was an inconspicuous young boy in blue.
The young boy in blue didn't even use a weapon; he was fighting his opponent bare-handed. Even so, his opponent still couldn't gain the upper hand.
"That's interesting."
After about seven or eight moves, the burly man with two axes was kicked off the fighting platform by the young boy in blue.
Soon, a master wielding a red-tasseled spear jumped onto the arena.
The old lord was a martial artist, and he could tell at a glance that this person's martial arts skills far surpassed those of the previous double-axe master, and that the young boy in blue was in danger.
For some reason, his heart started racing.
The young man in green made the first move, and as expected, the expert with the red-tasseled spear easily dodged it, leaped away in a few steps, and executed a beautiful counterattack!
The spearhead pierced straight into the boy's heart!
Oops!
The old marquis stood up in alarm!
How can someone fight so fiercely? Is it a duel between people of a higher level?
That's it, that child can't escape now.
Not only did he think this way, but the people around the ring thought the same.
The chill of the spear penetrated the thin clothes and entered the body of the young man in blue. The moment it pierced the heart, the young man in blue suddenly grabbed the spear with his left hand, used the momentum to leap up, kicked the opponent in the heart, and flipped over upon landing, snatching the red-tasseled spear from the opponent's hand!
His movements were fluid and seamless, leaving no room for error!
The young man in blue gave his opponent no chance to catch his breath. Using his spear as a lever, he leaped up and swept his opponent to the ground with a horizontal kick.
The young boy in blue grabbed the red-tasseled spear and was about to stab the man hard, but suddenly stopped, broke off the spearhead with his bare hands, and used the shaft to knock the man off the stage.
The old marquis was soaked in sweat.
He was both scared and excited; he was so thrilled that he even wanted to join the fray.
Although the boy was wearing a mask, judging from his figure, he should be no more than ten years old. To have such skills at such a young age truly proves the saying – heroes have emerged from among the young since ancient times!
Of course, martial arts skills are only one aspect.
The young man's act of breaking off the spearhead with his bare hands and using the shaft to knock his opponent off the stage greatly impressed the old Marquis.
The gloom of being punished to copy texts suddenly disappeared, and the old Marquis felt completely refreshed.
After that, no one dared to challenge the young boy in blue again.
The young boy in blue robes sadly stepped down from the arena.
"If I had known, I would have deliberately lost a few games."
Gu Jiao rubbed her wrist and walked towards the entrance.
"Young man, please wait!"
A familiar voice sounded behind her, and Gu Jiao paused, turning around in surprise.
Gu Jiao put on a mask and changed her clothes. The old Marquis didn't recognize her, but Gu Jiao recognized the old Marquis.
Gu Jiao frowned slightly. What grudge could they have that led them to chase her all the way to the martial arts school?
The old marquis politely cupped his hands in greeting: "Young brother, may I have a word with you in private?"
Gu Jiao remained silent.
It turns out he didn't recognize her.
The old lord thought the young man was afraid of strangers, so he smiled and said, "Young man, don't take it personally. I mean you no harm. I just saw that you are very skilled and wanted to ask if you would be interested in joining the army?"
No.
She needs to go home and cook.
The other party remained silent. The old marquis looked thoughtfully at the man's throat and asked, "Young man, are you... unable to speak?"
Gu Jiao thought for a moment and nodded.
The agents in the organization actually undergo voice training; women can imitate men's voices, and men can imitate women's voices. However, Gu Jiao doesn't like to talk, let alone spend all day at home making noises. She ranked first in all other training categories, but last in voice training.
Because she couldn't speak like a man, Gu Jiao never uttered a word at the martial arts school, and everyone assumed she was mute.
The old Marquis was deeply moved, thinking, "What a fine young man, disabled yet determined!"
However, he cannot speak, which would cause him a lot of trouble on the battlefield.
The old marquis temporarily abandoned his plan to bring Gu Jiao into the army, but he still wanted to befriend this person: "Young brother, would you like to be friends?"
The age difference is quite significant, but it would be nice to be friends despite the age gap.
The old Marquis was a true martial arts fanatic. Many people thought he was born to fight, but that's not the case. He was born with a love for martial arts, but he was often forced to combine martial arts and fighting.
Gu Jiao has no interest in making friends with such an old person.
Gu Jiao shook her head and refused him.
The old marquis sighed in disappointment.
Gu Jiao turned to leave, when suddenly Huang Zhong rushed in anxiously: "Master! You're here! I knew you wouldn't go back to the manor, you must have come here!"
master?
Gu Jiao looked at Huang Zhong, then at the old Marquis.
Huang Zhong was Lord Gu's confidant and a guard in the Ding'an Marquis's residence. He called this old man "Master"...
Could this old man be Lord Gu's biological father?
"What's wrong?" the old Marquis asked, frowning.
Huang Zhong glanced at Gu Jiao beside him, vaguely feeling that the young man in blue robes had a familiar air about him, but he couldn't remember where he had seen him before. In addition, he was in a hurry to get to the point, so he didn't think much of it.
He said, "The Ling family has sent people. The young master is not here. The old lady wants you to go back immediately."
The heir of the Ling family.
Great, my identity is now completely confirmed.
Gu Jiao, who had already left, suddenly turned back, took out paper and charcoal pencil from her bosom, and wrote in a flash: "Not, to, be, friends, or, to, swear, sworn, buddies, are, you, willing, to, do, that, you?"
The old marquis was taken aback.
Gu Jiao continued writing: "I've bowed to you, son, you are my son!"
"Isn't he my nephew?" The old Marquis was successfully misled.
Gu Jiao thought for a moment and wrote: No, no, let, him, call, father!
Lord Gu: (⊙o⊙)!
Monthly passes are doubled in the last few days, so those who still have monthly passes should hurry up and vote.
(End of this chapter)
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