A light breeze blew, the blue waves rippled, and a man and a woman were pulling each other back and forth on the ebony bridge.
"No, I have something to do and I have to leave right away!"
The man explained impatiently, "Your injuries are serious. You can't go anywhere for ten days or half a month!"
Chu Qiao frowned and said in a deep voice: "Don't worry about my business."
"Qiao Qiao, can you bear it? In order to save you, I gave up my escape plan and fell into this terrible political marriage. As compensation, don't you think you should accompany me through this last period of freedom in my life?"
"Li Ce, I need to find someone, can you help me?"
Li Ce snorted, "Man or woman?"
"man……"
"No help."
"You don't have to be so straightforward!"
"Everything else is fine, but this one is non-negotiable! I can't allow a woman to be by my side and still have the ability to miss other men."
"Are you kidding me? What do I have to do with you?"
"No matter what the relationship is, this is a slander on my masculinity."
Chu Qiao groaned helplessly, "Li Ce, besides women and your masculine charm, can't you think about something else every day?"
Li Ce immediately defended himself righteously, "Yes, I am also concerned about some national affairs and academic issues, such as the population and average quality of women in Bian Tang, as well as the body structure and composition of women. In addition, I am determined to improve the social status of women in my country through my efforts."
Chu Qiao, who had resisted the urge to beat him up after hearing the last sentence, gritted her teeth and asked, "Oh? Then how are you going to improve the social status of Bian Tang women?"
"Well, this is what I think," Li Ce looked around obscenely, then whispered, "If all women in the world become relatives of the royal family, then the status of women will naturally be significantly improved."
"A relative of the royal family?"
"Yes, for example, you can sleep with the royal family yourself, or your daughter can sleep with the royal family, or your sister can sleep with the royal family, or you can act as a matchmaker and introduce beautiful women to the royal family, or...ah! Qiao Qiao! This is my territory, you can do whatever you want!"
As the lights come on and night falls, the prosperous Tangjing is bustling with noise. There was a shallow crescent moon, shining brightly and whitely, and the moonlight poured down like mercury all over the ground, shrouding the entire Jinwu Palace, making it look even more magnificent.
Li Ce was like a half-grown mad child, pulling Chu Qiao to run in the palaces shrouded in moonlight. The night wind was a little strong, blowing Chu Qiao's long hair flying behind her.
The moonlight is like water. Those red walls and green tiles, which are either magnificent or simple and elegant, are like sparkling green waves under the bright stars. Li Ce's big red clothes flutter in the wind like a kite. The palace maids, attendants, and officials they met along the way all knelt on both sides of the road in fear and let the two men run away. Behind them, there were a large number of palace maids and attendants, some holding swords, some holding up the hems of their skirts, walking in a long line, like butterflies chasing the wind.
"Wait... wait..." Chu Qiao was weak from the poisoning and hadn't eaten for many days. After running a few steps, she was out of breath. "Wait," she finally stopped. She was a little out of breath. She put one hand on her waist and pointed at Li Ce with the other hand, asking breathlessly, "Crazy Li, where are you going?"
After this exercise, Chu Qiao's pale cheeks became slightly rosy, and her long hair was scattered behind her in a somewhat messy manner, occasionally lifted by the playful wind, emitting a faint fragrance.
Li Ce was bending over, very close to her, staring at her without saying a word. Suddenly his eyes lit up, he stood up abruptly, looked around, clapped his hands and smiled, then walked straight to a palace maid who was following behind him and reached out to take a pearl flower from her hair.
It was a very tacky butterfly hairpin, a hair ornament often worn by palace ladies. But the hairpin was made of purple jade and looked very delicate. Li Ce untied a string of jade from his waist, which was obviously a priceless treasure, and handed it to the palace maid casually, saying with a smile: "I'll exchange it with you."
The little maid was so frightened that she fell to her knees on the ground with a plop. Her face turned pale as she said, "I dare not."
Li Ce was not angry, he threw it to her and said, "You have to change it, I like this one." Then, he turned and walked towards Chu Qiao, pulling the two butterflies on the hairpin as he walked. The hairpin was well made, and one of them couldn't be pulled off, so he opened his mouth and bit it hard with his teeth, then spat it out, turned around and said to the little palace maid, "Don't use jasmine scent in the future, I don't like the smell."
The magnolia buds on both sides of the courtyard have just begun to bloom, and are half open and half closed, with a very elegant shape. It had just rained heavily, and the flower garden was covered with mud and the soil was very soft. Li Ce didn't care that his boots were expensive, and walked into the flower garden carelessly, causing the eunuchs and palace maids behind him to scream. He was seen picking and choosing, and finally picking a purple magnolia with a bud that was just beginning to bloom and shaped like a small lotus. Then he used his slender fingers to flexibly tie the magnolia stem to the hairpin, and then held it in front of his eyes to examine it carefully, revealing a mouthful of white teeth and smiling happily.
“Your Highness…”
"Your Highness..."
Chu Qiao looked at the palace maids kneeling in front of her who were in awe and fear. They were a huge crowd, but Li Ce seemed not to see them. He just stared at the magnolia flower with a smile on his face. His eyes were curved into a line, like a, yes, like a fox.
"Beautiful!" Li Ce walked a few steps to Chu Qiao's side and tied up her long hair loosely with a hairpin. The magnolia hair hung beside her ears and there was a light and hazy fragrance in her hair.
Chu Qiao was stunned for a moment, and the next moment, she heard the palace servants' fawning and praises.
"Li Ce, what are you doing?" Chu Qiao felt a little embarrassed. It seemed that she had never been looked at like this in her life. She reached out to pluck the magnolia flower between her temples.
"What are you doing?" Li Ce slapped Chu Qiao's hand away, frowned and said seriously, "Qiao Qiao, you are a girl, can you act a little bit like a girl?"
Chu Qiao was stunned, and suddenly felt that this was very familiar. After thinking for a while, she remembered that at the Tiancheng Shou Mansion in Wupeng, Zhuge Yue had also drawn her eyebrows and tied her hair for her, and then scolded her, "Every day you are either white or black, as if you were attending a funeral."
Her face suddenly turned red, and she was slightly stunned, then she heard Li Ce smile in her ear, "Let's go, I'll take you out to play." After saying this, Li Ce turned around seriously and said in a deep voice, "No one is allowed to follow me. If a man follows me, I will jump into the river; if a woman follows me, she will never have the chance to sleep with me in her lifetime."
Chu Qiao was stunned when she heard such an incredible threat, but she was surprised to see that those people's faces changed obviously, and they knelt on the ground stupidly, and no one dared to follow her. Only a few people at the back quietly stood up and left. It seemed that they were going to report the news.
"Let's go!" Li Ce leaned close to Chu Qiao's ear, chuckled, then pulled her to the city gate and rode on a horse. He actually sat in the front and let Chu Qiao sit in the back, and shouted happily: "Qiao Qiao, hurry up! Don't let them catch up!"
Chu Qiao then remembered that this man was not very good at riding a horse, so she shook the reins, shouted crisply, and the horse galloped away on the bluestone road.
"Oh!" Li Ce opened his arms and shouted happily. The night wind was quite strong, and his robe flew up silently, sticking to his body. He shouted, "Qiao Qiao! Hurry!"
"Gee!" Chu Qiao shook the reins, and the horse galloped quickly on Taiqing Road. In the huge palace complex, the guards knelt in unison on both sides, the palace lanterns flickered, the night wind was cold, the fragrance of lotus wafted in the air, and the echo of horse hooves echoed back and forth in the square.
Chu Qiao's depressed mood suddenly became clear. The petals in her temples touched her ears from time to time, making her feel a little itchy. She shrugged her shoulders and took a deep breath. She felt that the tiredness of the past few days was swept away, and every part of her body felt refreshed.
The horses galloped and gradually left the inner city. Chu Qiao turned her head from a distance and saw a large number of palace lanterns lit up and the sound of horse hooves, as if someone was chasing them. Li Ce didn't care at all, and was obviously a veteran who had been through many battles. He directed Chu Qiao to escape with gestures. The two of them walked through the streets and soon got rid of the people behind them.
At this time, the wind and dew were fresh, and there was a quiet lake in front of her. There were quiet flower boats on the lake, and melodious singing and string music echoing on the lake. Chu Qiao turned over and jumped off the horse, tying the reins to a tree.
"Qiao Qiao, help me, help me." Li Ce shouted in a very cheerful voice.
Chu Qiao held his hand, and Li Ce jumped down clumsily, then ran to the lake, scooped up a handful of water, and said with a smile: "It's so cool!"
Chu Qiao also came over, squatted by the lake, and stirred the water with her fingers.
The lakeside was very lively, with storytellers, jugglers, street singers, vendors selling all kinds of goods, and several brothels and taverns with warm-colored signs. The scent of girls' makeup drifted on the lake, echoing in the evening breeze along with their seductive songs.
Chu Qiao suddenly didn't want to talk anymore. In such an environment, she always felt at a loss for words. Over the years, this kind of life seemed so far away from her, so far away that she seemed unable to fit in anymore.
Li Ce looked at her sideways with a smile on his face. He suddenly stood up, grabbed her wrist and shouted, "Come with me, come with me. I'll take you to a good place!"
This is not the main street of Tangjing, and the business and restaurants here are not as prosperous as the main street, but it has a more ancient folk customs. Li Ce seemed to be very familiar with this place. He pulled her back and forth among the crowd and didn't mind at all that those people with muddy legs and feet would dirty his robe.
The two of them were dressed luxuriously and looked young and beautiful. They soon attracted a lot of attention. Some small vendors even came forward to sell rouge and cosmetics, and persuaded Li Ce to buy rouge for his beautiful young wife.
As I was walking along, I suddenly saw a big elm tree in front of me. There was a small stall under the tree. The stall owner was a young woman. She was not very pretty, but fair-skinned, with big, watery eyes. She was wearing a blue dress. Next to her was a young man about her age.
"Boss lady!" Li Ce shouted loudly before running in.
The woman turned around when she heard the voice and said with a smile, "It's the eldest master, you are here again?"
"Yes!" Li Ce pulled Chu Qiao to a small seat in the corner and said, "I brought a friend with me. Two bowls of noodles, a plate of beef, half a plate of shrimp dumplings, and more vinegar."
"Yes." The young proprietress agreed with a smile. The young man next to her smiled awkwardly at Chu Qiao and Li Ce, but said nothing.
The proprietress said, "This is the first time you've brought a friend here."
Chu Qiao looked at Li Ce strangely and frowned, "Are you familiar with her?"
"Yes," Li Ce said with a smile, "I often came here when I was a child. At that time, I always sneaked out of the palace. One time, I was chased by the guards, so I took off my clothes and gave them to a child, asking him to help me lead the guards away. As a result, I forgot to take off my money bag tied to my clothes. I wandered around for a day and got hungry. I happened to meet the proprietress of this restaurant. Oh, she was not very old at that time. She followed her parents to set up a stall here. She saw that I was very hungry, so she treated me to noodles. After that, I often came here."
"Oh!" Chu Qiao nodded.
"Qiao Qiao, are you touched? Do you think I'm not only beautiful on the outside, but also beautiful on the inside?"
Chu Qiao rolled her eyes, held her chin with both hands, and was too lazy to answer.