When Chu Qiao told Yan Xun, who was still not qualified to attend the Daxia banquet, what she had seen during the day, Yan Xun was pruning a potted plant. He lowered his head and said these words calmly.
Chu Qiao tilted her head, considered it carefully, then handed over a pair of scissors and said softly, "So, you said, didn't Zhao Che come back this time to help Zhao Jue?"
Yan Xun smiled faintly, "Mu He Na Yun only gave birth to two sons. If the Mu He clan wants to compete with the Wei clan for the position of crown prince, they can only make every effort to support one person. Zhao Che has been stationed at the border for four years, far away from the imperial capital. Who knows what he is thinking. In the royal family, the Zhao clan has a brotherly relationship, haha."
With a crisp sound of "click", the flower stem of the orchid was immediately cut off by the sharp scissors. This was a pot of top-quality orchid, which was sent to the capital from Dalu in southern Xinjiang by express horse and had just entered the greenhouse. Chu Qiao cried out in pain when she saw this, but saw Yan Xun picked up the Mo Lan without hesitation and threw it aside, then picked up a pot and continued to trim it.
"Now for Mu Heshi, they are just like me, and they have only one choice, which is to continue trimming another pot." Yan Xun smiled slightly, "Who told the gardener to only send two pots of orchids to the palace today?"
Outside, there was snow and wind, and the stars and moon were dim. Chu Qiao suddenly realized that the plan she and Yan Xun had joined forces to frame Zhao Che four years ago had completely failed. The prince who had offended the Wei clan and even the entire Council of Elders and was abandoned by the Muhe clan crawled out of the mud and returned to the imperial capital once again with a heart full of hatred and murderous intent. Although he did not know exactly who the real enemy was, their days would require even more caution and walk on thin ice.
“Don’t worry,” Yan Xun gently placed his hand on Chu Qiao’s shoulder, “Zhao Che’s resurrection from the dead is not necessarily a bad thing. Compared to the sinister Wei Jing and the difficult Zhuge Yue, this prince’s weaknesses are too obvious.”
On this very night, the eighth prince Zhao Jue, the most beloved prince of the Great Xia Emperor, was secretly executed in the Guozong Mansion in the imperial capital. The matter went smoothly. The body was carried out from the Xi'an Gate and disappeared into the endless night in an instant. No one knew what crime he had committed, and no one intended to investigate the whole matter. Everyone only knew that this was the first person killed by King Zhao Zhengde of Xia's personal order after Yan Men was executed on Jiuyoutai. Then, he must have a reason to die. Just like Yan Shicheng, he must die.
As for who is holding the sail and rowing the oars behind this incident, it no longer matters.
Seven days later, Prince Li Ce of Bian Tang will visit Daxia as an envoy. At the same time, he will personally select one of the many princesses of Emperor Xia as his marriage partner. This is the right that Prince Bian Tang fought for himself after attempting suicide by hanging, jumping off a building, and taking poison. As the only son of the King of Tang, Li Ce is a rare flower in the royal family. He does not care about power, fame or wealth, but only values poetry and beauties. Perhaps this is the leisurely mood that only people who have never experienced competition can have.
While the princes of Daxia were secretly fighting each other to the death, Prince Li Ce, who claimed to be the most talented man in Bian Tang, was about to approach the imperial capital of Zhenhuang.
Chu Qiao placed the last chess piece, and while chatting and laughing, she won the last piece of cake in front of Yan Xun, and said slowly: "I don't know who will shoot the most prey in the martial arts school tomorrow, but I know you will be hungry tonight."
Yan Xun smiled gently and looked out the window, only to see a pear tree standing proudly in the wind and snow, with a unique charm.
"Ah Chu, do you remember the bottle of Magnolia Spring that we buried under that tree?"
"Of course I remember," Chu Qiao smiled softly, "We agreed to drink it the day before we return to Yanbei."
Yan Xun gently closed his eyes, sniffed, and said, "I seem to smell the scent of that wine. Do you think I am a little too hasty?"
Chu Qiao shook her head, "You have never been impatient, you just waited too long."
As the sun sets, the vast snowfield turns red. The north wind is about to rise in Zhenhuang, and it is another cold spring. The air is chilly and the ground is covered with frost.
"Xi'er." In the vast snow, a group of people were trudging hard. A man in brocade clothes sat in a luxurious carriage. He stretched out a pair of slender jade-like hands and said to the plump and charming woman with a smiling look, "My hands are cold."
Xi'er smiled and gently opened her collar, revealing most of her fair and plump breasts. Two bright red nipples were faintly visible through the thin white gauze. She said in a charming voice, "Then Xi'er, warm the prince's hands."
The man reached in through the collar and gently grabbed it. He cried out, "Aiya," and said, "Xi'er, what is this?"
The woman whimpered and immediately fell limp in the man's arms. She sneered like a cat, "Prince, it's a heater."
"Really?" The man frowned and rubbed his fingers, "What an elegant fireplace." His voice suddenly became hoarse, "Little fairy, let me be warmer."
The road is difficult to travel at night, and the nobles of the Celestial Empire are now managing their bedtime programs in various ways.
The capital of Zhenhuang is becoming more and more lively.
After eight years, she finally came back here.
The snowy plain was flat and Chu Qiao sat on the horse's back. Colorful memories poured out like a flood.
Eight years ago, it was on this snowy field that she opened her eyes for the first time when she arrived at Simon Continent. The bloody and disgusting killings swept over her. She ran barefoot in tattered clothes in the empty wilderness with nowhere to escape. But today, time has passed in a flash, and she is sitting on horseback, facing a group of shivering children in cages opposite her, and the bow in her hand is almost broken into pieces.
"Ah Chu." Yan Xun rode forward, turned his head and looked at him, frowning slightly, "What's wrong with you?"
"It's okay." Chu Qiao shook her head, "I'm fine."
There was a loud drum sound. Although the weather was so cold, the man on the high platform in the distance was still beating the war drum with his bare chest. The rumbling drum beats seemed to come from under the ground and penetrate into people's spinal cords. The man was sweating profusely, with a red scarf wrapped around his head. He was beating the drum and shouting loudly. The servants of Muhe's family shouted in unison. Everyone was wearing high-grade soft armor made of sea sand green leather and a gold-studded belt around their waists. A group of people stood together, and the sunlight was extremely dazzling. With such wealth and power, it was inevitable that they had some vulgarity of nouveau riche.
"The Muhe family is indeed the first family of the Council of Elders. Haishaqing can even be used as armor for servants. It is true that they are powerful and wealthy."
Chu Qiao glanced to the side and saw a handsome young man with narrow eyes sitting in a dark purple fur tent covered by flags. He was about eighteen or nineteen years old, with a face as white as jade and hair as black as ink. He was wearing a windbreaker made of Southern Wilderness feathers and a snow-carved collar, which made him look even more elegant.
This person was also an old acquaintance of Chu Qiao. In the past, in this season and on this land, he had pointed an arrow at herself.
The Second Young Master Wei took a sip of tea, leaned forward with a smile, and said to the youngest son of the Ling King beside him: "Zhong Yan, the Ling King is also very wealthy. I wonder if he has equipped a personal guard with Haishaqing?"
Zhao Zhongyan was in his early twenties and was of decent appearance. Hearing this, he chuckled and said, "How can we, a small border vassal of Lingxi, be so generous? Wei Jing, are you making fun of me?"
"What's so great about Haishaqing? Tomorrow I will use Biluosha to equip a guard team. That would be a big deal."
The second son of Wei and the youngest son of King Ling laughed when they heard this. General Le Xing's eldest son Le Yi put his hand on the shoulder of the young man who was speaking and laughed, "Your Highness Thirteen, if you really equip a guard with the Blue Sky Veil, then even Crown Prince Bian Tang will be inferior to you."
Zhao Song raised his eyebrows and was about to speak when he suddenly caught a glimpse of a delicate and thin figure behind the heavy guards' flags. He immediately jumped up from his chair, turned around and ran out, shouting as he ran, "I'll argue with you when I come back."
"Ha, you're here too!"
Pushing aside the crowd of people, the young man grabbed the girl's hand and shouted loudly with excitement in his eyes.
Yan Xun stood behind Chu Qiao, his eyes narrowed slightly, and then he nodded calmly, "Your Highness Thirteen."
"Prince Yan, I haven't seen you for a while, where have you been?"
Yan Xun smiled and nodded, "I am just an idler, wandering around Yingge Courtyard all day long, and I don't have anything serious to do."
"Hey, don't be so modest." Zhao Song smiled, showing his white teeth. "A few days ago, Mr. Fu gave us your poems as examples. Alas, you used such uncommon words. I read for a long time but couldn't understand them. I was punished to copy them 200 times. Xiao Dezi is still writing them for me in the palace."
"Oh? His Highness Thirteen hasn't graduated from the Imperial Academy yet?"
"There are still three months left," Zhao Song said, turning his eyes to look at Chu Qiao and smiling, "In another three months, I will be eighteen years old, and I can open a government office, build a mansion, and marry a princess."
"Really?" Yan Xun said, "Then congratulations to His Highness the Thirteenth Prince."
"No, no, you just need to prepare a big gift when the time comes." Zhao Song said with a smile, and then pulled Chu Qiao's sleeve, "Prince Yan, can I borrow your people for a while?"
Yan Xun glanced at Chu Qiao, and seeing that Chu Qiao had no objection, he smiled faintly and nodded.
"Haha, Prince Yan, thank you so much! Ah Chu, follow me!"
The figures of the two disappeared in the crowd in a few seconds. Yan Xun was wearing a long black fur coat, his hair was black and shiny, his eyes were like the sea, gradually losing their warmth, and he looked into the distance.
"Ah Chu, look, what is this?"
Chu Qiao picked up the golden box that Zhao Song had carefully protected. After opening it, she found that it was actually a bunch of long wooden sticks with red powder on the top. It looked strangely familiar.
"Matches?" The girl frowned slightly. "For starting a fire?"
"Ah! Ah Chu, you are amazing!" Zhao Song was amazed and gave a thumbs up. "How do you know everything? This is a tribute from the French to my father from the western sea. This is the first time I have seen it. Look, it can catch fire with just one stroke. Isn't it amazing?"
Chu Qiao smiled faintly and nodded, then she reached out and tapped Zhao Song's forehead, saying with a smile, "Yes, it's amazing. You should keep such an amazing thing well."
“Ah Chu!” Zhao Song covered his head and shouted in frustration, “I told you not to hit my head.”
Chu Qiao shrugged, "If you don't want to play, then don't play."
“Ah Chu,” Zhao Song walked around to Chu Qiao and said sternly, “I have something important to talk to you about. How could you follow Yan Xun to hunt today? Do you know that Zhuge Yue is back? If he sees you, wouldn’t you be in big trouble?”