"Oh! I remember now! Wasn't he the one who supposedly climbed over the widow's wall in the middle of the night?"
Kotinger's hand trembled violently! The arrow flew straight to the edge of the fifth ring!
The stall owner immediately beamed, "If you interrupt your aim, it doesn't count as a perfect shot! To win the treasured sword, you'll have to start counting again!"
Liu Jinghong, standing to the side, teased, "It's not that great, is it?"
Ke Tinghe glared at the person spouting nonsense before turning to Liu Jinghong and saying, "This general will definitely help you get the treasured sword today!"
He slammed his hand on the table, picked up three arrows with one hand, drew the bow, and aimed—
"Tch. You've already done it, so you can't even talk about it? Wasn't he the one who stole the neighbor's puppy in the middle of the night?"
"Yes, yes! It's him! Ke Tinghe! He calls himself the General Who Protects the Nation, but he does all sorts of shady things. I heard he even stole the undergarment that Miss Qiangwei from Chunfeng Tower had hanging out to dry in the courtyard!"
All three arrows were fired simultaneously, but all missed the target.
"Who the hell is spreading these rumors?!" Ke Tinghe roared in a fit of impotence. No wonder he felt like everyone was staring at him when he went out today!
"If I catch him, I'll skin him alive!"
The entire room fell silent.
The few people who had been shouting the loudest just moments before suddenly shrank back into the crowd like quails.
In truth, they knew these rumors couldn't be true. After all, a high-ranking official like a General of the State, what kind of woman couldn't he have? What kind of treasure couldn't he obtain? Why would he bother with such petty thievery?
But that's how the world is; good news doesn't travel far, but bad news spreads like wildfire. Regardless of whether the rumor is true or not, it's spread by word of mouth first, all for the sake of harming others without benefiting oneself, just for a bit of fun!
Liu Jinghong and Chu Hongluan exchanged a glance, suppressing a laugh.
"Ahem. Since General Ke is not in good condition today, I will not force him." With that, Liu Jinghong tossed a large ingot of silver to the stall owner and bought the knife.
Everyone was happy.
The moment Chu Hongluan grasped the hilt of the knife, she felt a tremor in her soul, a warmth spreading through her entire body. As if her meridians had suddenly been opened, the moment she held the knife, she skillfully executed an extremely sharp and elegant flourish.
The crowd was so startled that they retreated in surprise, letting out a gasp.
Kotinghe's eyes lit up.
"So Miss Chu is also a martial arts expert?!"
No, she's been pampered her whole life and has never even touched a sword or spear!
"Well, I studied with the teacher for a few days when I was a child."
Chu Hongluan suppressed her doubts and casually replied.
When she first saw the knife today, she couldn't take her eyes off it. It was as if the knife had some kind of fatal attraction for her, and she even had an extremely absurd thought: This is my knife.
Liu Jinghong noticed her unusual behavior and the knife, which led him to decide on a whim to show off at the stall, waiting for an opportunity when Ke Tinghe appeared.
Now that she has the knife, she feels an almost innate familiarity with it, as if the knife was originally hers.
"Miss Chu is truly gifted; it's a pity she doesn't practice martial arts. Coincidentally, I also have some knowledge of swordsmanship. Would I have the honor of inviting Miss Chu to a tea house for a chat?"
Liu Jinghong frowned and stepped aside to shield Chu Hongluan: "What are you trying to get close to!"
Ke Tinghe chuckled teasingly, "Why is Prince Liu still so possessive of his food? As the saying goes, a beautiful lady is the object of a gentleman's affections. Miss Chu and I hit it off immediately, so what's wrong with inviting her for tea?"
That's right, "instant rapport" refers to his instant connection with Chu Hongluan. As for him and Liu Jinghong, their identities are too sensitive, so they can only be "enemies."
How can you get two enemies to appear in the same frame legitimately?
Of course, they're jealous of each other over the same woman.
Liu Jinghong snorted coldly, "You interfere when I'm shooting arrows, and you interfere when I invite Miss Chu to go on an outing? Have some tea? I think you're deliberately trying to make things difficult for me!"
True to his usual good-for-nothing and spoiled ways, Liu Jinghong punched Ke Tinghe in the face!
Holy crap! You're serious, kid!
Caught completely off guard, Ke Tinghe staggered several steps from the punch, narrowly missing a tooth! Without a word, he rushed forward and began wrestling with Liu Jinghong!
Considering that Liu Jinghong should not reveal her inner strength, Ke Tinghe pretended to be furious and didn't even draw his knife, resorting to brute force in hand-to-hand combat!
But the beating was real, because his face is now incredibly sore.
Fist against fist, foot against foot, the most primal clash of muscles!
"Stop! Stop it! Don't fight anymore! Please stop fighting!"
Chu Hongluan pretended to call for a stop from the side, without even moving her feet.
She glanced at the expressions of the onlookers out of the corner of her eye, and feeling that the time was right, she spoke again: "Alright. It's just a tea party, why don't we all go together? Why make a scene in the street? It's just making us a laughingstock."
After saying that, he ignored the two of them and turned to walk towards the teahouse.
Even the female protagonist had left, so the fight naturally couldn't continue. The two tacitly stopped fighting and chased after Chu Hongluan.
All that was left was a bunch of onlookers staring at each other in disbelief.
"Really? Prince Liu and General Ke got into a fight in the street over Miss Chu?!"
"My God! This is Chu Hongluan! The notorious womanizer! Has she washed away her frivolity and not only cured her womanizing, but she's also become so popular with suitors?"
"Yes! It's one thing for Prince Liu to act foolishly, but General Ke has also gone mad?"
"Hey! Didn't you all just say that General Ke was immoral and climbed over a widow's wall in the middle of the night? Maybe that's not just a rumor?"
"Oh yeah. What if he does have some kind of unusual fetish?"
"Hahahaha, I think so too."
"Yes, I am. When I get back, I must tell my wife about what I saw and heard today."
On the other side, in a private room of the teahouse.
"Did I have a grudge against you in my past life? We agreed to act, but you went so far as to hit me so hard!"
Liu Jinghong smiled faintly: "That's to make it more realistic—ouch, be gentle."
Chu Hongluan paused in applying ointment to the wound on his face, glared at him irritably, but her fingers became noticeably gentler when they touched his skin.
It's itchy.
After treating all the wounds, big and small, on Liu Jinghong's body, Ke Tinghe couldn't wait any longer and looked up, saying, "Quick! Apply some to me too!"
Before Chu Hongluan could refuse, Liu Jinghong had already taken the ointment and approached him menacingly: "Here, let me apply it for you!"
"Ah—this is murder!!!"
After the incident, Kotinghe was depressed by himself.
"You all heard those rumors outside today, didn't you? Who exactly is spreading these rumors about me, General? What? Climbing over a widow's wall? What? Stealing a resident paparazzi's lapdog? What? Stealing a courtesan's undergarment from the sun?! It's utterly infuriating!"
"......"
A long silence.
Kotinghe finally realized what was happening.
"Damn it! Could it be you two who were spreading rumors about me?!"
"Heh, isn't this just to make you more conspicuous, to maximize efficiency, and to lure out those damned things as soon as possible..."
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