Although there was only a scratch on the neck, blood was oozing out. Chu Qiao shook her head and said nonchalantly: "It's okay, I just accidentally wiped it."
"Why are you so careless?" Zhao Song frowned and asked with concern, "I'll go find a doctor right away and take good care of it."
"No need." Chu Qiao held him back, "It's just a minor injury, there's no need to mobilize a large force."
"That won't work." Zhao Song frowned unhappily, but he knew his words were not powerful enough. He turned to look at Yan Xun and said, "Prince Yan, what do you think?"
Yan Xun frowned slightly and looked up at Chu Qiao's slightly pale face. Years of tacit understanding made him understand something. He did not urge her, but just asked in a low voice: "Are you really okay?"
Chu Qiao shook her head and said firmly, "It's okay."
Zhao Song looked at the two of them and suddenly felt that he was being excluded. He said for the sake of conversation, "Then I'll go get some golden medicine." After saying that, he turned around and left.
Chu Qiao sat in the back seat of Yan Xun's table, leaned forward, and whispered, "It was Zalu's people who stole the secret box in your camp. I have killed them."
Yan Xun said: "That thing is useless, it's just a cover-up, why are you risking your life for it?"
"The people of Zalu don't have this ability!" Chu Qiao gently stroked the wound on her neck and snorted, "Something unexpected happened. Has any expert come to the capital recently?"
"Masters in the capital?" Yan Xun raised his eyebrows, his expression suddenly becoming unpredictable, "That's quite a lot."
"Brother Xun!" A charming voice suddenly rang out, and in the crowd, a girl in a sable dress, surrounded by a group of girls, ran up laughing. However, as soon as he approached, the smile on his face disappeared immediately. He looked coldly at the girl sitting behind Yan Xun and said coldly: "Why is she here?"
Chu Qiao stood up and bowed respectfully, "Eighth Princess."
Zhao Chun didn't even look at Chu Qiao, he walked straight to Yan Xun and sat down, he said angrily, "You didn't come to see me these few days, is it because she came back?"
Yan Xun stood up, stood beside Chu Qiao, and said calmly: "Yan Xun is terrified and dare not disturb the princess' rest."
"Well, as soon as she came back, you called me princess?" Then she pointed at Chu Qiao and said coldly, "Who allowed a lowly slave like you to come in?"
As soon as the words fell, Yan Xun's face suddenly turned cold, and the handsome brows of the man slowly frowned, "Princess, you are a noble lady, how can you speak dirty words. I brought Ah Chu in, do you want to kick me out with you?"
Zhao Chun pursed his lips, his eyes suddenly turned red, and he stomped his feet fiercely, but did not answer Yan Xun's words. He just pointed at Chu Qiao and shouted, "You wait!" After that, he turned and ran away. The royal daughters who came with her glared at Chu Qiao in unison and chased after her.
Chu Qiao sighed and said in a deep voice: "Why do you have to offend her at this time? I'll just leave."
The man's deep voice was like the clear spring water in the mountain stream. He spoke slowly, word by word, "When I was young, I had to endure it because I had no other choice. If I still need to swallow my anger about this kind of thing now, then all my efforts over the years would be meaningless."
Yan Xun sat at his seat and slowly took a sip of wine. His face was calm, his eyebrows and eyes were handsome, he was wearing white clothes and had black hair, like a person in a painting.
At this moment, a sudden gust of wind blew in, bringing a chilly chill. Everyone immediately turned their heads to look.
The curtain of the big tent moved, and a young man in a purple robe and white fur coat walked in. He was handsome and heroic, with eyebrows like swords, eyes like cold stars, and a face like a jade. He was handsome and tall, like a sword out of a sheath, with the sharp blade flashing a terrifying cold light. However, there was an extremely incongruous scratch on the tall neck, and at this moment, a trace of blood was seeping out.
Chu Qiao's pupils suddenly shrank and her brows were tightly furrowed!
"Fourth Young Master!" The Second Young Master Wei and a group of princes and sons immediately stepped forward and said with a smile on their faces, "After seven years of separation, the Fourth Young Master is even more charming than before!"
Zhuge Yue smiled faintly, and returned the greetings one by one, behaving in a measured manner, chatting and laughing among the crowd, no longer the paranoid and suspicious lonely boy. Seven years of experience have made him like a sword out of a sheath, able to radiate his own brilliance at any time.
The lights flickered, and the big tent was filled with jubilation. Zhuge Yue, who had broken away from the crowd, scanned the crowd and finally fixed his gaze on the last seat in the corner.
Yan Xun drank quietly without raising his head. His broad back completely blocked the woman behind him, preventing the cold light in front from continuing to explore.
"Prince Yan, how are you?" A deep voice sounded slowly above his head.
Yan Xun raised his head, smiled, and stood up, "Fourth Young Master Zhuge, long time no see."
Zhuge Yue raised the corner of his mouth, gave a devilish and cold smile, tilted his head slightly, looked behind Yan Xun, and said slowly in a low voice: "Xing'er, don't you recognize me?"
Chu Qiao raised her head, her face calm, a faint smile on her lips, and looked at her former master and said softly, "The Fourth Young Master is famous all over the world, who wouldn't know him?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a huge bell rang out. Nine long and five short bells, the sound was powerful, and it echoed in the camp that stretched for more than ten miles.
The noisy tent suddenly fell into silence. Everyone prostrated themselves on the ground and knelt loudly, saying, "Greetings to our king!"
The curtain of the big tent was opened, the north wind was blowing, the lights were swaying, and in the silence, there were orderly footsteps outside. A large number of troops surrounded the imperial tent, and the cold metal chill brought by the armor instantly covered up the rich smell of meat.
Chu Qiao raised her head carefully, but only saw a group of people wearing white deerskin boots stepping on the bearskin carpet in the big tent. Leading the group was a pair of ordinary-sized boots with bright yellow clouds and dragons embroidered on the edges of their white boots. They walked steadily and slowly, without any hurry or impatience.
"Everyone, get up." A deep voice sounded slowly from above. It was not loud, nor harsh, and even a little hoarse, but it had the heavy power of the waves, slowly covering the big tent that was noisy just now.
Everyone stood up at the same time, but no one dared to raise their heads and look upwards.
Emperor Xia's voice sounded low from above, "Everyone sit down, Qi'er, let's begin."
The third prince Zhao Qi replied respectfully, "Yes, father." Then he stepped forward and said loudly, "The state banquet is about to begin. Everyone, please take your seats."
The sound of stringed instruments suddenly rang out, and a group of dancers in scantily clad clothes with graceful figures flowed in from the aisles on both sides. Each of them had a face as rosy as spring peaches and skin as white as snow. They swung their long sleeves and danced seductively in the venue. All kinds of delicacies were served. Everyone's spirits finally relaxed, and gradually, laughter began to rise and gradually spread.
Zhuge Yue still stood in front of Yan Xun's table, his eyes were deep and his face was cold. He looked at the girl standing next to Yan Xun, at her calm and indifferent face that revealed a familiar stubbornness, nodded slowly, turned away resolutely without saying a word. The swing of the fur coat brought with it a cold wind, like a sharp sword, cutting through the royal wine on the table, causing the water waves to vibrate and sway gently.
Chu Qiao's fingers suddenly became cold, and an emotion rose in her chest, causing her brows to frown deeply. The girl slowly closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then sat down.
A hand suddenly rested on her shoulder. Chu Qiao raised her head and met Yan Xun's dark eyes.
Yan Xun didn't say anything, but she could clearly understand what he wanted to convey. For many years, in every moment of frustration, in every night filled with hatred, they encouraged each other in this way: wait, endure, there will always be a day when you can stand up.
Chu Qiao nodded silently. There was a lot of noise and chatter all around. She raised her head and looked towards the northernmost end of the tent. There, the lights were bright and the light was so dazzling that it was almost impossible to look directly at it. The girl opened her eyes wide, looking at the man surrounded by light. Too much light obscured him. Under the brilliant lights, his face was blurry. Only the ferocious dragon claws embroidered with golden dragons could be seen. They looked like sharp steel blades, pointing at every sinister look in the tent from afar.
With a loud bang, the curtains at the front door of the tent were all pulled open, and a sharp wind suddenly rushed into the tent. I saw the grand square filled with blazing torches. At a glance, there were more than 300 seats. All those who were not qualified to enter the main tent sat in the outer tent, surrounding it, leaving a large open space in the venue. The atmosphere was bustling and more lively than that in the imperial tent. As soon as the curtain of the main tent was lifted, there was a thunderous cheering and applause from outside.
At this moment, the crisp and rapid sound of horse hooves suddenly rang out. When everyone looked up, they saw hundreds of powerful war horses galloping towards them from a distance at an astonishing speed and with extraordinary swiftness.
Just as everyone was surprised, a hundred white-armored soldiers suddenly rushed out of the team, jumped on the spot, and climbed onto the backs of the still galloping horses. Their movements were uniform, quick and decisive, without any delay.
The princes and nobles who were watching immediately burst into thunderous applause. I saw the light cavalry driving into the center of the field, holding a knife in the left hand and a shield in the right hand, controlling the horse with their legs, and constantly posing in various styles and postures. Their movements were as smooth as flowing water, neat and beautiful, and also practical in combat. The leading light cavalry general was not very old. He wore a black iron helmet, so his face could not be seen clearly. He commanded with confidence, and his posture was upright, handsome and heroic.
At this moment, all the soldiers suddenly put away their swords, placed their shields behind their horses, took out the crossbows from their waists, bent the bows and put arrows on them, hooked the stirrups with their feet, turned over and hung upside down, and released their arms under the horse's belly. There was a sharp sound of whooshing through the air, and a hundred powerful arrows flew towards a target at the same time.
With a bang, the heavy target was broken by the huge force, but it did not fall. Instead, it flew vertically and shot into a huge pine tree with a whistling sound. There are a hundred sharp arrows densely inserted in the red heart, and many of them have pierced through the tails of other arrows, stacked up layer by layer!
In an instant, the whole place fell into dead silence. The soldiers turned around and sat up straight. The leading general dismounted from his horse, took off his helmet, knelt on one knee on the ground, and said in a sonorous and deep voice: "Your son Zhao Che, I wish your father great fortune and a long life!"
With a loud bang, the whole audience was in an uproar, and everyone applauded and cheered for the miraculous archery skills.
"After several years of experience at the border, Che'er has made great progress." Emperor Xia sat on it, with a hint of relief in his voice.