The girl was dressed in a white fox fur coat, her black hair fluttering, her eyes as dark as ink. She lowered her head slightly, squinted her eyes, and looked coldly at the stunned young master of the Wei family. Her eyes and brows were full of undisguised contempt.
"Stop!" Song Que, the lieutenant general guarding the front gate, walked up with his men and said in a deep voice, "Whoever dares to be so presumptuous in the imperial city, stop!"
Chu Qiao looked at Wei Jing, whose face had turned blue, with a calm expression and a hint of sarcasm in her eyes. She snorted coldly, withdrew her sword with a backhand sound, and stood where she was with her head held high.
"Commander Song," Wei Jing tried to calm his rapid breathing and said in a deep voice, "Who is she and why is she allowed to carry weapons in the imperial city?"
Seeing that he did not explain why he started a fight in the imperial city, but instead got entangled in the issue of weapons, Song Que could not help but frown slowly. But although he is stubborn, he is not a fool. He wants to settle down in the imperial court. If he offends the aristocratic families, how can he survive? Song Que suppressed his displeasure, turned to look at Chu Qiao, and said, "Miss Chu, shouldn't you explain why you carry weapons in the imperial city?"
Chu Qiao raised her eyebrows slightly and looked at the sword in Wei Jing's hand and the swords, bows and crossbows all over the ground. The meaning was self-evident: there were also people carrying weapons there.
Song Que's face turned red, but he didn't say anything.
Wei Jing shouted coldly: "Who are you to compare yourself with me? Not only did you carry a weapon in the imperial city, but you also dared to use violence against me. I wonder who dares to excuse you today. Lieutenant General Song, how do you think this matter should be handled?"
Song Que frowned, but did not dare to offend the young master of the Wei family, whose temperament had changed drastically since his finger was cut off. Just as he was about to speak, a clear voice suddenly sounded behind him. Everyone was stunned and turned around.
"I asked her to take this sword."
The pitch-black warhorse, tall and upright, slowly approached.
Zhuge Yue, dressed in a long sable fur coat, rode slowly towards the crowd, but did not dismount at all. Instead, he stood high on his horse, looked at the girl below, held out his hand, and said in a deep voice, "How long do you want me to wait? Give it to me."
Chu Qiao said nothing, staring intently into Zhuge Yue's indifferent eyes. The cold wind blew along the gazes of the two people, like the eternal wind blowing through the track of time. Those doubts, those temptations, and those hatreds were all stone tablets standing in place on the track and would never disappear. It seemed like a long time had passed, but in fact it was only a moment. Chu Qiao slowly stretched out her hand, just like the Lantern Festival many years ago, and handed over the sword in her hand.
"General Song, I just asked you to call her about this matter. I have a sword in Prince Yan's Yingge Courtyard, and I just asked this maid to get the sword."
Song Que nodded respectfully, "I see. I am sorry for being nosy."
Zhuge Yue glanced at the large man lying on the ground, his expression unchanged as he slowly said, "I told you to get a sword, but you are here sparring with Master Wei's men. This is truly lawless. Is this how Master Yan disciplines his servants?"
Exchange martial arts? Wei Jing's face changed and he immediately became angry. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly saw Zhuge Yue turning around, looking at him calmly and saying, "Master Wei, I will take this person away first."
After saying that, he turned around and was about to leave.
"This matter has nothing to do with the Fourth Young Master. Why did the Fourth Young Master force himself on me?" Wei Jing snorted coldly and said with a gloomy expression.
Zhuge Yue turned around, frowning slightly, “Master Wei, are you saying that I have ulterior motives and am meddling in other people’s business?”
"You have just been promoted to a saber-carrying lieutenant, and you can't wait to equip your guards with bows and crossbows to walk around the imperial city. Master Wei, you are moving too fast."
Wei Jing was furious, but before he could finish his words, Zhuge Yue continued, “It will not do you any good if what happened today gets out. Young Master Wei, you come from a wealthy family, you should understand the interests involved, distinguish between the primary and the secondary, and know the importance. You are so reckless and reckless, I’m sure even if Master Wei Guang were here today, he wouldn’t be happy.”
Wei Jing's eyes were red, but he said nothing more. How could he not understand the pros and cons of this? He just kept it in his heart for seven years, and every time they met it was like a burning fire in his heart, unbearable.
“Let’s go.” Zhuge Yue said slowly, turning his horse around and walking away.
Song Que followed behind with a solemn voice to see them off. Chu Qiao glanced at Wei Jing’s eyes that were almost spitting fire, and then followed Zhuge Yue.
Snow was falling heavily in the sky, the sun was setting, and night was falling. On both sides of the long Xuanmen Road, snowflakes were constantly flying. Chu Qiao followed behind Zhuge Yue and gradually disappeared in the fluttering snow.
Wei Jing clenched his teeth, then suddenly shouted angrily, kicked one of his subordinates in the abdomen, and left in anger.
The quiet green lake is now covered with heavy snow. The scenery on both sides is like in a painting, with carved corridors, jade trees, and white snow. An exquisite stone arch bridge spans the lake, leading to an octagonal pavilion in the center of the lake.
There were two figures standing in the pavilion. The man was wearing a sable fur coat, had a handsome face, sharp eyebrows, bright eyes, and a hint of evil charm; the woman was no more than fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing a white fox fur coat, which made her look even more beautiful and otherworldly.
These two people were none other than Zhuge Yue and Chu Qiao who had just left Xuanmen Dao.
"I didn't mean to save you. I just happened to dislike Wei Jing. You don't have to be grateful to me."
The woman raised her head, her face cold, "I don't mean to thank you."
Zhuge Yue smiled, "You are still so stubborn. Seven years have passed. It seems Yan Xun has not taught you how to be tactful."
"You too, it seems the sage on Wolong Mountain didn't teach you what stupidity is. You are still so arrogant."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhuge Yue raised his eyebrows, and his body suddenly rose from the ground and retreated rapidly. At the same time, the girl who had been standing peacefully in the same place had rushed forward like lightning, with strange steps and agile movements, using a small grappling technique to move forward swiftly. Zhuge Yue stretched out his arms to block the attack, and with both hands, he grabbed the girl’s wrist. Chu Qiao flexibly retracted, turned over and kicked forward, and immediately landed outside the pavilion, with her feet stepping on the frozen lake surface, and the white snow on the ground instantly rose into the air.
A long red sword wrapped in green cloth was pulled out, the sword edge was sharp, the light was flashing, the sword moved like a dragon, the strange fighting style was accompanied by bold and open moves, stirring up the snow all over the sky, dancing tenderly.
Zhuge Yue had no suitable weapon at hand, so he casually plucked a branch of plum blossoms that was in full bloom beside the pavilion, and suddenly white plum blossoms came towards him.
Looking from afar, one could see two agile shadows fighting with each other in the snowy sky and above the frozen green lake. Their moves were fierce, yet they were indescribably graceful. The wind swept across the sky and the earth, and snow fog filled the air. Plum blossoms on both sides of the river fluttered and fell, alternating between red and white, and swirled in the air along with the falling snow.
Chu Qiao's white fox fur fluttered in the wind, and her three-foot-long sword swam like a dragon in battle. For a moment, she and Zhuge Yue were evenly matched.
At this moment, for some unknown reason, his feet suddenly slipped and he lost his balance. Zhuge Yue hit his sword and it flew out of his hand in an instant. Chu Qiao was shocked and tried to stand up with one hand on the ground, but at this moment there was a sudden crisp sound under her feet. The vibration was too great, the ice cracked, and the cold lake water seeped out.
The girl was stunned and let out a low cry, but it was too late for her to turn around and run away. Her body trembled and she fell down.
In a flash, Zhuge Yue's face darkened, and his body moved like a startled wild goose. He grabbed Chu Qiao's arm, held it tightly, and suddenly exerted force to pull her back.
"You are still so stupid!" In a flash, a cold dagger pressed firmly against Zhuge Yue's throat. The girl's eyes were fierce and she sneered, "I fooled you all the time before, and now seven years have passed, and you still haven't improved?"
Zhuge Yue smiled coldly and curled his lips in disdain, "Do you always have to be so confident?"
It was also a sharp dagger, held in Zhuge Yue's palm, the blade pressed tightly against Chu Qiao's vest, and with a slight movement, it hit the vital point.
Tit for tat! Evenly matched! It's so hard to tell who will win!
A cold wind suddenly blew, mixed with icy snow and blew on the two people's faces. They were very close to each other, their breath was connected, their skin was touching, and from a distance, it looked like they were hugging each other and confessing their feelings to each other. Only the nearby plum blossoms in the snow and wind could feel how tense the atmosphere was.
“Zhuge Yue, the hatred between you and me is as deep as the sea, and will never be resolved. I am not killing you today only because I do not want to implicate Yan Xun. I will temporarily place your head on your neck. As long as I am alive, it will not belong to you.”
Zhuge Yue sneered, "Just you?"
"Only me!" Chu Qiao said in a resounding voice, emphasizing each word, "The death of the Jing family's child will not be in vain."
“Okay!” He let go, turned back, picked up the broken red sword on the ground, and stood under the plum tree. Zhuge Yue said coldly, “I will wait for you. When you have the ability, come back to retrieve this sword.”
The north wind blew fiercely. Chu Qiao stood there, watching Zhuge Yue's receding figure, her hands gradually clenching at her sides.
Everything that just happened was just a show.
Now that the time for my return is approaching, how can I have the time to get entangled with the Zhuge family? At the beginning, Zhuge Yue let her go and did not reveal her identity. Instead, he made Xiao Ba a scapegoat and was tortured to death as the murderer who assassinated Old Master Zhuge. So his return now is the beginning of the crisis.
Just let him wait and wait for me to take revenge. As long as he doesn't take the initiative and doesn't reveal his identity, I can buy precious time for Yan Xun.
Whether he believed it or not, it was worth the risk.
Chu Qiao stood there for a while, then left the plum garden alone. On the other side of the green lake, the flowers and trees were swaying, and pine and cypress trees were standing. A Jing and Yan Xun walked out slowly.
“Ah Jing, when you led Zhuge Yue to Xuanmen Dao just now, did he notice you?”
"No," Ah Jing replied firmly, "I am very careful."
Yan Xun nodded and said slowly in a low voice: "That's good."
“Sir,” Ah Jing frowned in confusion, “Why are you so sure that Zhuge Yue will help me out?”
"Haha," Yan Xun smiled softly, "I think he must be wondering about this question himself, why did he help Ah Chu out of trouble?" Yan Xun said in a deep voice that Ah Jing couldn't understand, "In this world, maybe I am the only one who understands him and understands why he did this. Ah Jing, you have to be more alert in the future. The Zhuge family has been involved, and the situation has become more complicated. The number of people on night watch must be doubled. Once discovered, they will be killed without mercy."
Ah Jing was stunned, "Kill? Prince, is this okay?"