"Be careful!" Zhao Song shouted loudly and rushed to the seat.
At the same time, a bright white light suddenly came from the back seat. Just when Tuda's fist was about to hit Chu Qiao's body, the light puffed and shot into the big man's head, leaving a big bloody hole on the back of his head!
At this moment, Chu Qiao's head just hit the ground.
Tuda's eyes widened in disbelief, blood gushed out of his mouth and nose, his gaze was dull, and he finally fell to the ground with a thud, blood gushing out from the back of his head, which was heart-wrenching.
"How dare you!" Zama was furious. He jumped up from his seat and shouted, "How dare you carry a weapon before the emperor, Yan Xun! Are you going to rebel?"
Yan Xun sat at his seat leisurely, his face cold, holding a piece of porcelain fragment between his index and middle fingers, and asked calmly: "A cup, is it also considered a weapon?"
The astonished crowd then realized that the thing Yan Xun used to kill Tuda was actually a broken cup!
Zhao Song said in a cold voice: "Father, Princess Zama's subordinates did not follow the rules and attacked from behind. They really deserve to be killed."
Emperor Xia nodded nonchalantly, and the guards on both sides hurriedly stepped out and dragged Tuda's body out of the tent.
"Princess, have you rested enough?" The calm-looking girl turned around and looked at Zama, who looked uneasy, without any emotion in her eyes. She said in a deep voice, "If you still feel tired, you can ask other subordinates to play again."
The nobles of Daxia quickly shifted their attention from the dead loser and looked at Zama as if they were watching a show, waiting to see how she would respond.
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Zama had never thought of fighting Chu Qiao. What she said before was just because she thought Tuda would be able to kill Chu Qiao. But now that Tuda was dead, if she still made excuses, everyone would be able to see that she was cowardly and did not dare to fight. But she was the one who took the initiative to challenge. According to the customs of the Northwest, cowards are more despicable than deserters on the battlefield and will be despised by everyone.
Zama gritted his teeth, cracked the whip, stood up and shouted, "Let's compete, am I afraid of a lowly slave like you?"
"Wait," Zhao Qi suddenly stood up and said with a smile, "It's been a long time since I've seen a woman with such superb martial arts skills. How about this, we just competed in martial arts, and this time we will compete in archery, what do you think?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone understood. The Batuha family dominates the northwest and is very powerful. Old Batu has a hot temper. If his precious daughter is harmed in the imperial capital, he will definitely be furious and resentful. In addition, Princess Zama has always been famous for her superb archery skills, so what Zhao Qi said was just to save face for the Northwest.
She was just a little slave girl. Although she was an excellent shooter, her archery skills were not necessarily outstanding. The people who were waiting to watch the fun were disappointed, but there was nothing they could do.
However, at the seventh seat at the head, the man in the purple robe and white fur coat narrowed his eyes slightly. Zhuge Yue, who had learned Chu Qiao's superb archery skills, picked up the wine glass, raised his head and took a sip.
Sure enough, Zama's face suddenly became much better. He proudly took out a powerful crossbow, walked to the center of the field and said, "You go first?"
"I dare not. Princess, please go first."
Zama sneered, waved his hand and took out three powerful arrows, bent the bow, and with a whoosh, three sharp arrows shot out at the same time, shooting towards the red heart of the target a hundred steps away like lightning. The arrows burst out in succession, the wind whistled, and his superb skills immediately aroused a lot of praise.
However, before the thunderous applause had died down, the girl suddenly knelt on one knee and pulled the huge crossbow that was slightly taller than her. Three powerful arrows followed Zama's sharp arrow closely. With three crisp whooshing sounds, they pierced through Zama's three arrow tails with unstoppable force and hit the bull's eye of the target almost at the same time as her arrow!
The winner is decided in just a breath!
The crowd could hardly believe their eyes and cheered like thunder for a long time.
“Princess Zama, thank you for your kindness.” Chu Qiao nodded lightly and walked towards the big tent.
Even Emperor Xia was slightly moved and sighed, "I haven't seen such archery skills for many years. It's really not easy for you as a girl."
Chu Qiao raised her eyebrows, but still knelt heavily on the ground and said in a deep voice: "Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty."
Zhao Song said excitedly: "In this case, father, won't you give me something as a reward?"
Emperor Xia glanced at his youngest son calmly and said, "Give each of them a piece of silk."
Zhao Song was obviously very dissatisfied with this reward. He was about to say something but was stopped by a look from Zhao Qi.
The ceremonial officer came forward carrying two pieces of silk. Chu Qiao and Zama accepted the rewards with different expressions and then left. The atmosphere in the big tent was lively. At this moment, another dancer came forward to perform a dance, and everyone's attention was immediately attracted to her. Yan Xun raised his head and looked at Chu Qiao, and they smiled at each other.
The grand royal hunting banquet finally ended. Chu Qiao and Yan Xun returned to the tent. A Jing was seriously injured, and Zuo Tang arranged to keep watch outside.
Yan Xun poured a pot of tea and sat on a chair to drink. Chu Qiao sat by the brazier and looked up and said, "Emperor Xia rewarded Zhao Che with the Longquan Sword. What do you think?"
"Obviously, he is warning the Muhe clan not to blame Zhao Che for Muhexifeng's death."
Chu Qiao frowned and nodded, "In this case, wouldn't the Wei clan be blamed for this? Could it be that he wants to use this incident to allow the Wei clan and the Muhe clan to fight among themselves?"
"Yes," Yan Xun nodded, "The Muhe family is too domineering. The higher they are praised, the more miserable they will fall, just like the Ou family thirty years ago."
Chu Qiao sighed, and suddenly felt very tired today. Too many things and too many people rushed into the situation in one day, making the already confusing relationship even more complicated. She rubbed her temple and said, "I'm going to go back first. You should also go to bed early."
Just as she was about to stand up and leave, Yan Xun's voice suddenly rang out behind her, "Ah Chu, that guy called Tuda just attacked you from behind, why didn't you hide? With your alertness, it's impossible that you didn't notice it."
Chu Qiao turned around and said naturally, "Because you are behind me."
The wind outside was quite strong, blowing on the tent, and a slight cool air blew in through the tent. Yan Xun was slightly stunned, but soon, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, he smiled sincerely and said: "Yes, I am really stupid."
"I'm leaving now."
As the curtain was lifted, the girl disappeared into the tent.
Yan Xun's lips curled up slightly, his expression was very warm, and his heart, as hard as ice, slowly melted and a warm and humid wind blew in softly.
Because he was at the back, he could rest assured that the most dangerous part of his back was left empty without any defense.
They have always been each other's most trustworthy people, just like when they were children, he could only close his eyes in front of her, and she could only sleep peacefully in front of him.
The stars and the moon were dim, the night was long, and the young Prince of Yanbei raised his head slightly, "Ah Chu, thank you for letting me still have someone I can trust."
The tent was warm. Chu Qiao took a shower and felt very tired. She leaned on the couch and wanted to close her eyes, but the moment she closed her eyes, she saw the sword placed on the bedside.
She sat up and gently drew out the sword. The green sword light shone like flowing water under the light, and the dark red sword pattern flickered gently like strange blood.
It had been seven years, and she had thought that they would meet again, but she had never expected it to be in this way.
She knew that Zhuge Yue must have seen the wound on her neck. It seemed that they had always been like this, in opposition, on the verge of a fight. No matter when or where, they were destined to be enemies.
The child's screams seemed to echo in her ears again. The broken arm, the bleeding sack, and the cold Ting Lake slowly moved before her eyes like a movie. The piece of braised pork that had smelled so fragrant in the dark night when she was most helpless was like a sharp arrow, piercing her heart.
"Yue'er, do you believe in Fifth Brother? I will protect you!"
The sour breath echoed in her chest again. Her eyes were sharp, and the voice that echoed in her nightmares day and night rang in her ears again. Xiao Ba's cry before his death in the prison car on Jiuwai Street had occupied her nightmares for seven years.
"Sister Yue'er! Save me, save me!"
The ground was covered with blood and flesh, and the child who was tortured to death was unrecognizable. On that nightmarish night, she secretly escaped from Shengjin Palace and came to Caishikou, where she fought with vicious dogs for the broken bodies, but she could not find the child's head or hands and feet. She didn't even have the ability to bury the child's body. She could only let all the flesh and blood sink into the Red Water Lake, dyeing the water red, which was stained with the scent of aristocratic rouge, wine and meat.
"Xiao Ba, just lie here and wait for me to avenge you."
That day, the tears had dried up, and only the raging hatred was lingering fiercely in the heart. The child clenched his fists and bit his lower lip tightly like a ferocious little beast.
In a flash, seven years have passed.
Zhuge Yue, you are finally back.
In the darkness, the deep breathing of a young girl could be heard slowly.
Do you know that I have been waiting for you for a long time?
There were few stars in the sky. It was the wind from Yanbei, carrying a murderous and bloody smell, blowing from afar along the contours of the Simon land. In the early spring of the 773rd year of the Baicang calendar, it was the middle of winter on the Hongchuan Plateau, with heavy snow falling from the sky and the whole place looking bleak. The highway from the Xia-Tang border to Zhenhuang was blocked by heavy snow, and business travel was cut off. Prices in the capital soared. A large number of merchants hoarded goods and took the opportunity to raise the prices of necessities such as oil, rice, tea, and salt. Residents rushed to buy rice and grain, and order in the imperial capital was in chaos.
On the sixth day of March, the Shengjin Palace summoned Muhexiyun, a direct descendant of the Muhe family, and severely reprimanded him. He was dismissed from his post as the prefect of the imperial capital and replaced by the emperor's third son, Zhao Qi. This was the first time in the 300-year history of the empire that a descendant of the Zhao family took charge of the imperial capital's prefectural government. From then on, the responsibility of guarding the three armed forces of the Zhenhuang imperial capital was completely in the hands of the royal family.
After Zhao Qi came to power, he immediately took over the Green Camp troops and reorganized them. Zhao Qi's biological mother, Concubine Shu, was the half-sister of Wei Guang, the head of the Wei clan. Therefore, all of Zhao Qi's policies were warmly supported by the generals of the Wei clan. Within three days, the imperial capital's defenses were completely renewed. On the tenth day of March, Zhao Qi led the Green Camp troops to the outskirts of Zhenhuang City and personally repaired the capital's highway. For a time, this story became a legend among the people of the imperial capital.
At this moment, outside the city, on the snowy wilderness, a horseman suddenly came galloping towards them against the wind and snow. There was a vast expanse of land ahead, with no human habitation. The sky and earth were all pale white, making it impossible to tell east, south, west, or north.
Just across a slope, on another vast snowy field, Wu Daoya was half-closed in his eyes, wearing a green hood, with white frost on his long eyebrows. His face was frozen pale, but his eyes were staring straight ahead with a calm expression, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.