It was a woman. Although she was in a mess, one could still tell that she was dressed very gorgeously. She was wearing a lake green long skirt with a thousand layers of hem and surrounded by green flowers. She looked delicate yet unobtrusive. She had long black hair that was draped behind her, looking a little messy. She had long legs, a thin waist, and a tall figure. At first glance, she was a beauty with an excellent figure.
However, the beauty’s current condition did not seem to be very good, because she was lying on the horse’s back and seemed to have fallen asleep.
"Hey? It looks like a lady is sleeping." Although someone was tied up tightly, he still found the key to the problem at a glance. He immediately winked at the people next to him and said, "There is a woman here, please give me some face. Hurry up and untie the rope."
Tieyou glanced at him and raised his eyebrows, "No way."
Just then, a mountain breeze blew and blew up the woman's long hair. Li Ce was sharp-eyed. He was stunned when he saw it clearly. Then he opened his mouth and shouted loudly: "Lady! Qiao Qiao! Come and save me! I am Li Ce!"
His voice was so sudden that everyone was startled, especially the horse. It had been wandering in the mountains for a long time without seeing anyone, and when he called it, it thought it was a wolf. It was immediately frightened and raised its hooves, neighing loudly.
In an instant, the girl lying on the horse's back fell to the ground with a thud and rolled over. Before she could lie down steadily, the heartless horse had already fled away as if trying to escape!
"Ah!" Li Ce was shocked and his face suddenly changed. He shouted quickly, "Why are you still standing there? Why don't you go and save people?" The carriage of the Bian Tang royal family left Yuping Mountain at lightning speed. Several middle-aged men walked out of a forest on the mountain. All of them were dressed as woodcutters. One of them said to another in a deep voice, "Go back and tell King Luo that the prince has escaped from marriage for the sixth time. He is crazy and even more absurd than the rumors say. There is nothing to be afraid of. Everything should be done according to the original plan."
"Yes!" the man answered and immediately blew a whistle. After a while, a pitch-black warhorse came galloping over. The man dressed as a woodcutter jumped on the horse and galloped away.
At this time, the trees on both sides of the mountain road are lush and green. After a heavy rain, everything is renewed and the weather is fresh.
Chu Qiao, who originally wanted to go to Tangjing to find Yan Xun, fell into a coma due to the poison, and in this way, she walked into the commercial heart of the entire continent. It was the height of summer, the green lotus was in full bloom, and the cool breeze carried the fragrance of the lake of green lotus into the pavilions overlooking the water.
Two maids were half-kneeling on the ground, one fanning herself. In the four corners of the pavilion, the newly formed ice emits a cool air that relieves the summer heat. A crystal clear pearl curtain was placed across the couch, and a plain-faced woman in a goose yellow gauze palace dress was lying softly on it, with her long black hair scattered on her face, long eyelashes, her brows slightly furrowed, and her face a little pale, but it did not damage her pretty face. A quilt as thin as gauze covered the woman's chest, and it was embroidered with large rose patterns. The embroidery thread was dark white with silver threads interspersed in it. Under the reflection of the setting sun, soft light flowed like water.
The woman frowned slightly, and her slender white hands slowly moved. Her eyelashes fluttered twice like butterfly wings, and finally she opened her autumn-water eyes faintly. This woman was none other than Chu Qiao. For a moment, she felt dazed and looked around in confusion, not knowing where she was.
"Ah! You're awake!" The maid was only thirteen or fourteen years old. She was very happy to see her wake up. She got up and ran out, shouting to the people outside, "Wake up, wake up!"
"Madam, please lie down first and wait for the imperial physician to come and take your pulse." As she said this, another maid was about to untie the ropes on the bed, as if she wanted to lower the thick curtain.
The green silk mat beneath her body was cold to the touch, but her clothes were soaked with sweat, and a few strands of wet hair stuck to her temples. Chu Qiao frowned and looked at the maid, "Who is the Madam?"
"You!" the little maid asked doubtfully.
Chu Qiao looked gloomy, and looked around carefully, and said in a deep voice: "Where is this place? Who are you? Why am I here?"
The little maid seemed to be frightened. She mumbled for a long time before mumbling, "This is the imperial palace. I am Qiu Sui, and the lady was brought back by His Highness."
"The palace?" Chu Qiao raised her eyebrows, and suddenly remembered that she seemed to have had a dream before. The face in the dream smiled so hard that it asked for a beating.
Could it be... She pushed the little palace maid away, jumped off the couch, waved aside the jingling curtains and ran out.
"Madam! Madam, you haven't put on your shoes yet!" The little maid was so anxious that tears were about to fall, and she hurried behind.
The setting sun was fiery red, the water was flowing slowly, and Chu Qiao was running barefoot along the quaint corridor, holding up her skirt. In the distant green lake, lotus leaves blocked out the sun. An exquisite yet ancient building sat in the middle of the water, built entirely of unpainted square wood. The logs still have the grain of the tree itself, and the winding growth rings can be vaguely seen. The water pavilion is ventilated on all sides and has no fences. Walking through the water pavilion, the layers of green gauze hanging on the water pavilion sway in the wind, like dancing butterflies.
In the middle of the water pavilion, a young man was leaning against a square wooden pillar, sitting with his legs bent. Next to his palm was an exquisite silver wine jug. There was no cup, only a few freshly peeled lotus seeds, scattered on the ground like pearls. In his hand was a long flute that was entirely green. He did not blow it, but simply turned it back and forth between his fingers, twirling it nimbly and circling like a dance. There was a slight layer of mist on the lake, hiding the man's eyes and eyebrows. One could only see the corners of his bright red clothes fluttering in the breeze, like butterflies spreading their wings and ready to fly.
"Madam! Madam..." About a dozen girls in palace dress followed behind Chu Qiao, holding shoes, red hairpins, cloaks, etc. in their hands, speaking in a soft Wu dialect, their voices as soft as cotton.
When Chu Qiao approached, the man suddenly grinned and chuckled. His smile was very handsome, like a colored brush painting, with slightly raised eyebrows and eyes like willow branches. He suddenly put down his flute, opened his arms, and said with a smile: "Come on, Qiao Qiao, give me a warm hug after a long separation!"
With a bang, a fist hit the man's chest, and instantly, a pig-killing scream rang out. Chu Qiao grabbed the man by the collar and said angrily, "Li Ce! What are you doing?"
"Ah! Protect His Highness!"
"There's an assassin! Protect His Highness!"
Chaotic screams suddenly sounded. Li Ce coughed and waved to the people around him, "It's okay, don't panic, everyone retreat!"
After the people around him dispersed suspiciously, Li Ce looked at the girl in front of him with a bitter face and said pitifully: "Qiao Qiao, can you please not express your feelings for me in this way every time? It hurts."
"What are your intentions? Why did you bring me back?"
Li Ce sighed helplessly and blinked his eyes, "Qiao Qiao, is this the attitude you use to face your savior?"
Chu Qiao was not moved at all and shouted sternly: "Tell the truth!"
"I'm telling the truth," Li Ce sighed helplessly, "On my way to escape my marriage, I met you who was poisoned and unconscious. If it wasn't for saving you, I wouldn't have been caught and tied up by my father. Qiao Qiao, I sacrificed so much for you, but you treat me like this. I'm very sad."
Chu Qiao stared at him in confusion, her expression somewhat relaxed, "Really?"
Li Ce immediately raised his hand to swear, "It's absolutely true!"
Chu Qiao frowned and thought for a while, then slowly let go of her hand and said in a deep voice, "I'm sorry."
“It’s okay,” Li Ce said with a carefree smile, “I’m used to beautiful women touching me.” As soon as he finished speaking, Li Ce suddenly jumped up like a monkey, pushed Chu Qiao behind the pillar of the water pavilion, and then sat down again in the same position as before, his face suddenly became melancholy, but he said, “Don’t come out, it will be fine in a while.”
The breeze was blowing gently, the lake was clear and blue, Li Ce wore a wide robe with big sleeves, raised the long flute to his lips, and then opened his lips slightly.
Just when Chu Qiao thought he was going to play the flute, she only heard a few unpleasant hissing sounds, and behind her, a melodious flute sound suddenly rang out, making her feel relaxed and happy.
Chu Qiao turned around immediately and saw an old man with white hair squatting on the ground, playing the flute loudly in a very indecent posture.
Just when Chu Qiao was confused, a burst of giggling sounds suddenly came. Chu Qiao looked up and saw a group of beautifully dressed girls walking together under the shade of willows in the distance. When they heard the flute sound, they all looked over and pointed at Li Ce with surprised eyes, obviously impressed by his charm.
Li Ce remained unmoved and continued to calmly perform the flute-playing pose with a distant gaze, making it impossible to tell what he was looking at. The gauze curtain fluttered in the wind, making his figure seem ethereal, like a banished immortal.
About half a cup of tea later, the girls slowly walked away. A man was seen waving a red flag in the distance. After waving it twice, Li Ce heaved a sigh of relief and said to the old man hiding behind the pillar, "That's enough, stop blowing it."
The old man squatted there for a long time, his legs were numb, he stood up tremblingly, and said with sweat on his forehead: "Your Highness..."
"Okay, Master Yu, go back. I promise that your son won't have to go to the southern border to guard the border. Just...just...yes, let's replace him with the son of your old rival Master Lu. Who told him that he can't play the flute or the piano, and his daughter is so ugly."
"Yes, yes, thank you very much, Your Highness, for your help." The old man hurriedly thanked him and then retreated with the help of his servants.
Chu Qiao looked at Li Ce strangely, frowned slightly, and asked in confusion: "What are you doing?"
"Did you see it?" Li Ce's eyes lit up and he said happily, "Among the group of women that just passed by, there was one wearing a green skirt. Did you see it?"
Chu Qiao frowned and said, "I was so busy watching you show off that I didn't notice the woman in green clothes."
"Oh, what a pity, what a pity," Li Ce said, shaking his head. "She is the daughter of Mr. He, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue who was just transferred back to Beijing. She plays the flute very well and is also very beautiful. The key is that I met her twice and she didn't even look at me."
"Is it unusual for me not to look you in the eye?"
"Of course!" Li Ce said naturally, "Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. No matter what the reason is, it's not easy for you to come to Bian Tang once. I will do my best to be a good host today. Come on, I'll take you out to play."
Chu Qiao was stunned for a moment, and asked stupidly, "Play?"
Li Ce reached out his hand, put his arm around Chu Qiao's shoulders, and sneered, "Qiao Qiao, don't be so old-fashioned. Besides revenge, Datong, and fighting, there are many fun things in life."