Although there is no unrest in the Hao Kingdom for the time being, the situation is worrying. Emperor Hao Uhaduluo has only barely suppressed the turbulent situation. He is walking on thin ice. If there is even the slightest imbalance, the ice may break.
His mission in coming to Da Qi was to search for the whereabouts of Wuhejialou, but Wuhejialou has been missing until now, and his life or death is unknown, which also means that he has failed in two missions in a row.
He is a relative of the emperor, and his identity is already criticized. There are countless eyes in the court staring at him, waiting for him to make a mistake, waiting to take advantage of the situation and step on him.
Fortunately, there is always a way out. He met Chu Qianhuang who came to him in Da Qi.
Bringing Chu Qianhuang back to Hao Country would not only allow him to atone for his sins and stop those people, but it would also be a great achievement.
Whether it is the new type of bow she provided or the potatoes with extremely high yield per mu, they can make the Hao Kingdom stronger and establish Uhaduro's prestige among the people and the military.
As long as Uhadula can stabilize the country and resolve internal troubles, he will surely become the people's choice, and then a mere Uhadulao will not be able to make any waves at all.
While thinking, Andaman became ambitious and looked back at the carriage where Chu Qianhuang was.
The official from the Ministry of Rites saw Andaman looking back and thought he was looking at Prince Rui's carriage, so he said, "Since the prince has no objection, I will go back and report to Prince Rui about the emperor's crossing of the river."
If everything goes well, they will cross the river tomorrow. Before leaving the border of Da Qi, Prince Rui, as the envoy escorting the bride, will have to write a memorial to the emperor in the capital, stating the hardships of the journey, lamenting the princess' reluctance to leave the emperor and her homeland, etc.
Andaman responded absentmindedly again, with a very cold attitude.
Whenever he heard the name of Emperor Da Qi, he felt uncomfortable as if a hard object was stuffed in his heart.
The emperor of Da Qi was extremely cunning. He had a very good relationship with Prince Chen, but he pretended to be at odds with the brothers in order to lull himself into complacency.
The Emperor of Da Qi must have known that Wuhejialou was hiding in Prince Chen's Palace, but he pretended not to know.
Also, the marriage between the two countries kept changing... He was like a fool being played around by the Emperor of Da Qi.
Andaman felt as if countless ants were crawling in his heart. He felt irritated, but also felt that there were still some things he couldn't figure out.
Because the attitude of the Emperor of Da Qi was too strange. If it was really the Emperor of Da Qi who hid Wuhejialou, then why did he hide him in the Prince Chen's Mansion?
Last year, it was the Prince of Chen who escorted Wuhe Jialou back to Hao. Now Jialou's whereabouts are unknown. Anyone would suspect that the Prince of Chen is hiding Jialou. In this case, wouldn't it be too easy for Jialou to be exposed if he was hiding in the Prince of Chen's mansion? ! After all, the capital is the territory of Da Qi. If the Emperor of Da Qi and the Prince of Chen want to hide someone, there are plenty of places to place them.
Moreover, Andaman never dared to underestimate Uhagaru. Although Uhagaru looked bright and clear, he was actually scheming and full of tricks. In his dreams at midnight, Andaman had doubted more than once whether all this was a trap set by Uhagaru. Some things always seemed too logical.
He was in the middle of the situation and there were some facts that he couldn't see through.
Andaman kicked the horse's belly and rode away.
He told himself that he would be able to return to Hao Kingdom tomorrow, and he would deal with everything after returning to Hao Kingdom.
He shook off the myriad thoughts in his mind and concentrated on walking.
They rode non-stop along the way, only resting for half an hour at noon for a quick lunch, and then the convoy continued on its way.
When the sun was halfway down, they arrived outside Changjing Town.
At dusk, Changjing Town was empty, vast, and silent under the cover of the setting sun, without any sound of living people.
This town, which has been empty for half a year, is filled with an uncomfortable atmosphere and feels dead.
The convoy stopped at the entrance of the town, and the people accompanying them immediately reported the unusual situation in the town to Prince Rui and officials from the Ministry of Rites.
Prince Rui was a little surprised and parted the curtains to look at the town outside.
Everywhere I looked was a scene of desolation. The houses and signboards were covered with dust and cobwebs. Even the wine banners fluttering in the wind outside the restaurant had faded and were in tatters under the ravages of wind and rain.
Anyone can see that this is a dead city with no one living in it.
Prince Rui frowned slightly. They had originally planned to resupply some things in this town, but they didn't expect that this town was already an empty city. It was estimated that all the townspeople had moved away.
It was now late, and Prince Rui had no plans to cross the river overnight, so he discussed with the officials from the Ministry of Rites and Andaman about setting up camp in the town for the night, saying that looking for another place to stay temporarily would delay tomorrow's itinerary.
Andaman agreed very kindly. After all, he knew very well why the town had become like this.
So, at the command of "Enter the town", the convoy began to move forward along the wide street again.
In this empty town, the sound of horse hooves and wheel wheels seemed particularly loud.
As everyone walked forward, they couldn't help but look left and right. Some of the doors of the houses were closed, while some were open. The shabby wooden doors occasionally made a creaking sound when blown by the wind, which was a bit creepy.
The sun was still setting, the sky was half light and half dark, and it felt eerie being in this deserted town.
After walking two blocks forward, Andaman pulled the reins and stopped in front of a restaurant. He turned around and told his followers, "Go tell Prince Rui that we can stay overnight in this restaurant. We should be able to spend the night after a little cleaning."
The attendant immediately obeyed the order, but when he turned around, his face changed drastically and he blurted out: "Prince, Prince Rui is missing!!"
What?! Upon hearing this, the Prince of Andaman turned around and suddenly opened his eyes wide.
Indeed, Prince Rui's carriage was gone.
Not only Prince Rui, but also officials from the Ministry of Rites and other people from Da Qi disappeared.
Half of the team in the rear was missing, as if they had disappeared out of thin air. Because their attention was previously drawn to this dead city, they had no idea when the Qi people disappeared.
Andaman realized something and his face changed drastically, as if he had seen a ghost.
Damn! It's obvious that someone has set an ambush here.
Andaman felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head, and his heart was chilled.
He pulled the reins, turned the horse's head, and immediately gave the order: "Retreat! Retreat immediately!"
However, his order was already too late.
“Swish, swish, swish!”
Arrows came from the shadows on both sides of the street, forming a dense rain of arrows. The enemy occupied the high ground, and those arrows shot down from the second floor of the houses, the treetops, and the tops of the walls. The sharp sound of breaking through the air was chilling.
The sky grew darker, dim and gloomy, and the sharp arrow tips flashed with cold light.
In the chaos, some feather arrows hit several Hao people and several tall horses. The screams of pain from people and horses came one after another. Some people fell off their horses, some horses fell to the ground with a bang, and some horses lost control and went crazy...
The strong smell of blood quickly spread in the air and spread with the cool breeze at dusk.
Andaman was initially caught off guard by the sudden ambush, but he was not a rookie who had just fought in the battlefield for the first time. He quickly calmed down and ordered his entourage to continue retreating out of the town.
In this town, they would just be each other's prey.
Andaman, escorted by several close guards, quickly dismounted and used the tall horse as his human shield.
Several guards, each holding a scimitar in their hands, were guarding Andaman and retreating continuously.
All of Andaman's personal guards were skilled in martial arts. One of them, a bearded guard, was quick-witted and swift in using a knife to deflect a feather arrow. With a "clang" sound, sparks flew between the arrow tip and the blade.
The bearded guard felt his wrist go numb and said to Andaman, "Prince, these arrows are very powerful!"
At the same time, another Hao man nearby also blocked an arrow, but his knife was knocked out of his hand.
There were more Hao people around who were unable to dodge the arrows and were injured. In just a short while, there were already quite a few wounded people in their team. The ground was littered with dead bodies with their eyes open, and blood was flowing like a river.
Andaman's face became even uglier. After the reminder from the bearded guard, he also noticed that these arrows were extremely accurate, had a long range, and were powerful, with the potential to break through the enemy lines.
These arrows were not shot by ordinary people. Or rather, they were not shot by ordinary bows. They were more like the new type of bow that Chu Qianhuang showed him last year.
Yes, it must be this one!
Andaman was in a state of confusion. At this moment, even he himself didn't know whether he was more afraid or more angry at being plotted against.
He couldn't care about these things anymore. The key now was to escape. Only by staying alive could he take revenge and plan for the future.
He absolutely cannot die here!
Just then, a familiar male voice came from the front right: "Andaman!"
The other party called his name in Haoyu's voice, which was neither cold nor hot, but it seemed to suppress all the noisy voices around.
Andaman shuddered, with only this voice left in his ears, and he looked over.
Then a young monk in white robes appeared at a window on the second floor. The monk pulled a black bow of peculiar shape, with an arrow already on the bow and the tip of the arrow aimed at himself.
Uhaga Tower!
Andaman's pupils shrank sharply, and he had no time to react. Uhagaru had already let go of the arrow, and the feathered arrow flew out of the string and shot towards him at lightning speed...
"Prince!"
Andaman heard someone calling his name and he wanted to hide, but his body's reaction was not as fast as the arrow.
The next moment, the arrow hit his chest, and he seemed to hear the sound of his ribs breaking...
Andaman's eyes were almost wide open, his tall body fell straight back, and all the sounds disappeared from him in an instant.
The smell of blood in the air became stronger.
Several Hao people around Andaman also saw the Uhaga Tower, and they couldn't help but reveal a little fear on their faces.
Uhajaro put away his bow and looked down.
Even though he had just killed someone, his expression did not contain a trace of murderous intent. He was neither happy nor sad, and looked noble and detached, like an unworldly god overlooking all living beings.
Just his gaze made people feel an invisible pressure, making the Hao people on the street want to bow down to him.
The sun had completely set, and a faint silver moon could be seen hanging in the night sky, faintly stained with blood.
The moonlight in the capital was also not very good. The dark clouds in the sky obscured the stars and the moon, making the night sky dim and dark.
The weather in February was characterized by drizzle every now and then, with no moon at night and no sun during the day.
Chu Qianchen became even more of a homebody. Not only did he not leave the palace, he even did not leave his house. He never left the house.
On February 20th, the weather turned sunny, with bright sunshine and cloudless blue sky.
Early in the morning, Chu Qianchen was dragged out of the house by Gu Jue, and the two went to the training ground to ride horses.
Gu Jue's wound had been healed for fifty days and had recovered about 70% to 80%. Chu Qianchen finally allowed him to ride a horse and practice Tai Chi, Five Animal Exercises, etc., but he still did not allow him to engage in large-scale physical combat, especially fighting with others.
Jueying, who hadn't played with Gu Jue for a long time, was in a very good mood. While galloping on the racecourse, his horse's tail was swinging happily.
After running a circle, it came to Chu Qianchen to act coquettishly and ask for a piece of candy, which made some people marvel.
Everyone in the palace knew how proud the prince's beloved horse Jueying was. In the past, it had never given face to anyone except the prince, but it was willing to lower its noble head to the princess.
"That's great!" Chu Yunmu sighed enviously. Jueying didn't give him any face at all and didn't even eat the candy he fed him.
6◇9◇Book◇Bar
On the other side, Chu Yunyi was fighting with Yunzhan. Both of them were riding on horses and using spears, but Yunzhan still gave in to Chu Yunyi, so he only used his right arm, with his left arm placed behind his back, and he didn't even hold the reins.
The two men and their horses seemed to be integrated into one, their bodies were agile and flexible, and the two red-tasseled spears were danced with great power, combining both hardness and softness.
Chu Yunmu looked at Gu Jue and Jueying for a while, then at Yunzhan and Chu Yunyi. While eating yam and jujube paste cake, he asserted: "Chu Yunyi is bound to lose!"
He even turned around and asked Tang Yuchu and Xue Fengyan: "Brother Tang, Brother Xue, is that right?"
Tang Yuchu: "..."
Xue Fengyan: "..."
Chu Qianchen: “…”
If it were someone else, they might mistakenly think that Chu Yunmu had a sharp vision at such a young age. In fact, everyone present knew that Chu Yunmu had just seen too much. Chu Yunyi had never defeated Yunzhan.
The brothers Chu Yunmu and Chu Yunyi have been living in the palace for nearly a month, and neither of them has left.
Chu Yunyi trained with Yunzhan every day, and as for Chu Yunmu, he had even more people to guide him. Gu Jue arranged a teacher for him to read. Every day, he had to read with the teacher for two hours, and the teacher would also assign homework. The rest of the time, Chu Yunmu was sometimes led by Yunzhan, and sometimes left to Su Mubai and Xue Feng to play with them.
Chu Yunmu's personality was not as awkward as Chu Yunyi's. He was sweet-mouthed and not shy. Except for his biological elder brother, he called everyone brother and was not shy at all. There were no children in the palace, and Yunzhan and Xue Fengyan were both bachelors. They were also very nice to Chu Yunmu and they all got to know each other very well.
Gu Jue walked around again and stopped a few steps away. He watched Chu Yunyi and Yun Zhan duel and suddenly said, "A dragon emerges from the water."
The spear in Chu Yunyi's hand had already stabbed out. His eyebrows twitched, and he changed his moves intentionally, from the original "Flames Piercing the Clouds" to "Dragon Emerging from Water". The spear was as fast as lightning and as powerful as thunder, unstoppable.
Yunzhan smiled, and changed his tactics intelligently, "entangling" Chu Yunyi's spear.
Gu Jue added: "The swallows seize the nest."
Chu Yunyi of course understood that Gu Jue was instructing him, and he followed his instructions again, and his spear skills were even more fierce than before.
The two spears collided and entangled from time to time, and the silver spear tips danced out silver flowers.
Chu Yunmu even forgot to eat his snacks. His eyes were wide open and he stared intently.
Clearly, Chu Yunyi was suppressed by Yunzhan with one hand just now, and his defense was stronger than his offense. But now the two of them have turned around, and it is Yunzhan who is forced to retreat step by step by Chu Yunyi...
"The phoenix spreads its wings."
After another reminder from Gu Jue, Chu Yunyi turned quickly on horseback, thrusting out with his spear at an extremely strange angle, while his long arms shook rapidly, twisting and picking.
At this time, if Yunzhan could use his left hand, he would have a chance to grab the reins, or bend down and hug the horse's neck, but his left hand could not move, and his body fell off the horse's back.
Yunzhan was used to falling off horses, so he adjusted his posture in mid-air and at the same time stabbed the ground with his spear to stabilize his body. He landed lightly on the ground, slightly bent one knee to relieve the impact.
The unfinished cake in Chu Yunmu's hand slipped out, but Tang Yuchu beside him was quick-witted and caught it immediately. He kindly stuffed the half cake into the little boy's mouth, and then touched the little brat's head with the hand that had touched the cake: "Don't waste food."
Chu Yunyi had also stopped his horse. Until now, he still found it unbelievable that he actually won.
Obviously, his brother-in-law only gave him some pointers, but he was still the same person, yet he was able to defeat Yun Zhan with one hand.
Chu Yunyi's eyes were shining brightly and his blood was boiling.
He knew that his body had not fully grown yet, and his strength, speed, etc. were not as good as Yun Zhan and the others. Although he would occasionally feel frustrated by this, he also clearly knew that this was the limitation of his age, and all he could do was to practice harder.
After Gu Jue’s guidance just now, Chu Yunyi felt as if he suddenly had an epiphany.
Gu Jue pointed out a direction for him. It turned out that the same "him" could be even more powerful. If his body contained Gu Jue's soul, then let alone Yun Zhan with one hand, even Yun Zhan with all his strength would probably not be a match for Gu Jue.
Gu Jue, his brother-in-law, is really amazing! "Pa pa pa!"
Chu Yunmu clapped his hands desperately, with half a piece of cake still stuffed in his mouth, and his cheeks were puffy.
"Awesome, brother-in-law, you are so awesome!" Chu Yunmu quickly swallowed the cake and said anxiously, "Brother-in-law, please teach me too!" A pair of phoenix eyes similar to Chu Qianchen's seemed to be glowing.
Of course the prince is powerful! Chu Qianchen looked at Gu Jue, who was wearing moon-white Hu clothing, with a smile on his face.
When Gu Jue wore the slim-fitting Hu clothing, he had a different demeanor, heroic and valiant, without any of the laziness of an idle wandering cloud or wild crane.
Chu Qianchen was also eager to try, with the corners of her lips curved up, thinking to herself: After three months, she will ask the prince to teach her archery. She is good at standing shooting, but not running shooting. She needs to practice hard. The prince is the best at teaching people! Chu Qianchen did not allow Gu Jue to work hard. Seeing that he had walked three or four laps on the horse, she dragged him away from the training ground.
When I came out, I saw Jiang Yuan coming towards me not far ahead. He had his usual expressionless face, but walked hurriedly.
"Your Highness, Princess," Jiang Yuan reported cryptically, "Chu Lingxiao is back. He just went to Yuanqing Temple to 'report'."
Chu Qianchen looked indifferent and just nodded slightly.
She knew that something interesting was about to happen, so she would just watch.
At noon in February, the temperature was just right under the scorching sun, and there was a hint of warmth in the breeze.
At this moment, Chu Lingxiao's heart was as hot as the sun in the sky.
He arrived at Yuanqing Temple an hour ago and has not left yet.
Chu Lingxiao was waiting in the open space outside the alchemy room, feeling both nervous and expectant. From time to time, he would look in the direction of the alchemy room, waiting for the pills to come out of the furnace.
Together with Chu Lingxiao, there was a middle-aged man wearing the Grand Master's green robe and a dozen imperial guards. These imperial guards were sent by the emperor to protect Taoist Xuan Jing and guard the alchemy furnace.
"Lord Chu, it is really a cause for celebration that we have found the marrow balsam this time." The middle-aged man bowed to Chu Lingxiao with a smile on his face.
"No, no." Chu Lingxiao replied politely, his eyes shining with surprise.
He searched for more than half a month in the towns near the capital before he finally found this medicinal ingredient called marrow fragrant resin. He did not dare to stop for a moment and hurriedly brought it to Xuan Jing.
The only thing missing from Xuan Jing's elixir is the marrow fragrant resin. It is said that refining the Bu Yuan elixir would take ninety-nine and eighty-one days, but with the marrow fragrant resin as the medicine, the process can be accelerated.
As long as Xuan Jing can refine the Buyuan Pill, he will have made a great contribution and will be on the verge of success.
"Mr. Chu has made great contributions this time, and promotion is just around the corner." A glimmer of jealousy or envy flashed across the middle-aged man's eyes, and he still had some disdain for Chu Lingxiao in his heart: I have never seen someone who likes to fight for credit so much. In order to take all the credit, he does everything himself, for fear that they will steal his credit! Chu Lingxiao didn't care what others thought at all. This was his first big job in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and he had to do it well. He must not let anyone ruin his job.
While thinking, Chu Lingxiao looked towards the alchemy room again, and the door of the alchemy room was still closed.
Chu Lingxiao waited and waited, and could not help but call the little Taoist boy guarding the gate and asked, "Did Taoist Xuan Jing tell you how long it would take to master it?"
The little Taoist boy was only about eleven or twelve years old, with a handsome appearance and a likable personality. He said politely, "Master said it would take at least two hours, or at most a day and a night."
Chu Lingxiao said "Oh" and was a little disappointed. He walked back and forth in the open space twice and asked the little Taoist boy: "Little Taoist, there is no sound in the alchemy room. Why don't you go in and take a look?"
The little Taoist boy patiently replied: "Master said that when refining the elixir, you must keep your mind focused and not be disturbed. Otherwise, at best you will go astray, at worst..."
Chu Lingxiao walked away embarrassedly and continued to pace back and forth in the open space. When he walked towards the little Taoist boy for the third time, something strange happened.
"Bang!"
A loud bang that shook the earth came from the direction of the alchemy room, and a stream of hot air suddenly exploded like a muffled thunder, and even the door of the alchemy room was blown up. The door fell heavily two meters in front and broke into four pieces.
The little Taoist boy guarding the gate was also hit by the huge airflow and fell to the ground in a mess.
The entire ground of Yuanqing Temple seemed to shake with the loud noise just now. If Chu Lingxiao had not witnessed it with his own eyes, he would have thought that it was a dragon turning over.
The commotion was really too big.
The Taoist priests, Taoist children and pilgrims in Yuanqing Temple also felt it, and many of them rushed over to see what was happening.
Chu Lingxiao was standing at the door of the alchemy room. Without the door blocking him, the black dust and mist inside the alchemy room continued to float out...
He was shocked and scared, not knowing what was going on.
Chu Lingxiao hesitated for a moment, and was really anxious, so he took out a handkerchief to cover his mouth and nose, then gritted his teeth and rushed into the alchemy room, shouting: "Master Xuan Jing! Master Xuan Jing..."
The middle-aged man and the imperial guards also followed in, covering their mouths and noses with one hand and fanning themselves with their sleeves with the other.
The alchemy room was grey and in a mess.
The huge alchemy furnace exploded into two pieces, and pieces of coal-like things were scattered all over the ground.
Taoist Priest Xuan Jing sat on the ground in a mess, leaning against a wall. He looked dusty and his green Taoist robe was dirty and torn. His arm was still bleeding, and blood was dripping onto the ground...
But he seemed unaware of it, and stared in dismay at the alchemy furnace in front of him that was blown into two halves.
(End of this chapter)