073. Lessons

Liang Shenyu was not wearing a military robe, but a long gown with wide sleeves, which was a plain silk gown worn by the sons of nobles. He looked gentle and elegant. He walked calmly among the children of aristocratic families, took the bow, shook it with his hand, and let out a light sigh.

Too light.

You have to use some more strength.

But there was no choice. It was impossible to find a bow commonly used on the battlefield here.

Liang Shenyu walked calmly to the corridor, taking the quiver with him. His current position was more than twice the distance from the lower line to the target.

Rong Se looked at him intently.

He just raised his hand, drew the bowstring, and the sunlight shone on the sharp blade like a cluster of fire. In an instant, the light suddenly left the string and hit the bull's eye in the blink of an eye. The general who drew the bow had a stern look on his face, and even a gentle and exquisite robe could not hide his attractive aura. On the battlefield, the Marquis Dingbei, who was wearing armor and holding a sword, was no longer hiding his brilliance, but showed his sharpness, just like his powerful arrow.

Then another arrow shot up, splitting the previous one and driving it into the bull's eye. Three arrows in a row all hit the target.

There was silence in the courtyard for a moment.

The young masters of noble families looked at each other with different expressions.

Dingbei Hou had guarded the border for many years and had fought against the Huns countless times. He was the war god commander of the Jin Dynasty. Naturally, he was no match for them. Apart from a little fear and terror, they were mostly shocked and admired.

After a moment, the crisp sound of slapping suddenly rang out.

It was Rong Se who was clapping his hands and sighing.

The crowd seemed to be suddenly awakened, and shouts of admiration rose one after another.

Liang Shenyu fiddled with the bow twice, but did not put it down. He just gave Rong Se a smiling look from a distance, feeling quite pleased with himself. His words were polite: "Thank you for your praise, everyone."

Rong Se just looked at him gently, with praise and a hint of regret in his eyes.

He looked at Marquis Dingbei bathed in the light. All people saw was his strength and excellence, but Rong Se saw Liang Shenyu's repeated life and death on the battlefield, the fourteen years he had walked alone carrying the ambitions of his father and brothers and the rise and fall of the Marquis's mansion, and his body that had few scars despite his achievements but had truly suffered pain.

Rong Se was a little helpless.

He knew that he was inexplicably sentimental, but he could always see Liang Shenyu screaming in despair in the wind and snow behind the indestructible Marquis Dingbei.

But he concealed these emotions well and gave Liang Shenyu a thumbs up from a distance amid the praises.

Just then, she caught a glimpse of Xi Chaoyi, Cao Haoyun and a young man coming over. Rong Se's gentle expression instantly restrained. If her guess was correct, the young man who was shrinking his head beside Xi Chaoyi was Liu Xu's good son.

Liang Shenyu in the corridor twisted his bow, his expression darkened, and the smile on his lips became colder.

"My humble servant, I am here to see the prince."

Liu Chi saluted tremblingly, with cold sweat on his palms. He did not expect that the Regent would actually come to him. At the same time, he knew very well that Rong Se was a man with far more power than the emperor.

"Get up." Rong Sequ surprisingly did not make things difficult, and his calm tone even sounded gentle.

Liu Chi was unsure of the Regent King's intention, but he still stood up as he was told, thinking of finding an excuse to leave.

Rong Se was not so upset by Liu Chi that he looked at him calmly and said with a smile, "Master Liu has just arrived in Jinjing. I think there are many things he doesn't understand. It's normal for him to be curious."

Liu Chi felt something was wrong when he heard this.

The yard suddenly became quiet again.

"I heard that Master Liu has been asking about Concubine Yan recently. Since she is my biological mother, Master Liu can ask me directly about whatever he wants to know." Rong Se was very amiable and spoke each word carefully. "I will tell you everything I know."

Liu Chi's face turned pale, and he said reluctantly: "Your Majesty has misunderstood... How dare I."

Just as he finished speaking, an arrow suddenly came, brushed Liu Chi's cheek and pierced into the tree stump in front of him, piercing through the not-so-thick trunk of the osmanthus tree.

The audience was shocked. Liu Chi was stunned for a moment, staring at the arrow for a long time, his knees went weak and he sat down paralyzed.

Marquis Dingbei walked over slowly, still holding the bow in his hand, and said gently, "Sorry, it was also a misunderstanding. I am not good at archery and I scared Master Liu."

Rong Se almost laughed out loud when he heard this.

The rest of the young masters from the noble families also looked at the three arrows that had hit the target in succession. How could they not see that Marquis Dingbei had done this on purpose?

Seeing this, Cao Haoyun couldn't help but say, "Liang Shuyun, how far do you have to go to get here?"

Liang Shenyu smiled and looked at him, "Mr. Liu's idle talk is all misunderstanding. How can one of my arrows not miss the target?"

"How can it be considered gossip?" Cao Haoyun did not hide his disgust, muttering in a low voice: "These are all facts, why are you afraid of what others say? Liang Shuyun, so many eyes are watching us, Liu Chi is the son of a governor after all, don't go too far."

Cao Haoyun has been accustomed to Rong Se since he was a child. He can enter and leave the palace freely and no one will blame him if he makes a mistake. Even if he is afraid of Rong Se, he is confident that Rong Se dare not do anything to him, so he is fearless.

Rong Se's eyes were cold, but before he could speak, Liang Shenyu hooked the bowstring and plucked it, then smiled nonchalantly, "Mr. Cao, where did you get this from? I don't understand a word you said. Today, in front of all the nobles, please explain clearly what is the truth?"

Cao Haoyun always thought Rong Se was lowly, and was about to speak, but Xi Chaoyi suddenly pulled his sleeve and interrupted him before he could finish his words.

"My Lord." Xi Chaoyi smiled apologetically and bowed as a courtesy. "Liu Chi has offended your Lordship, and he deserves this today. But this... Today is for fun, and all the young masters and young ladies are in the garden. I would like to trouble your Lordship and your Lordship to give me some face and let this matter end here. How about that?"

Liang Shenyu glanced at him with a half-smile, but the latter still looked respectful and did not dare to show any dissatisfaction.

He is quite flexible.

"What do you think, Your Majesty?" Liang Shenyu did not make a decision, but looked at Rong Se.

Rong Se was silent for a moment, took a deep look at Cao Haoyun, and then said: "My biological mother was the concubine of Emperor Yuanguang. She will be moved to the imperial mausoleum on a chosen day, and her spirit tablet will be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. This matter has been handled by Guanglu Temple, and no one in the court has any objection, including Master Cao."

When Cao Haoyun was named, he trembled for no reason. He felt much weaker and even more afraid. If Xi Chaoyi hadn't stopped him, if he had said it, wouldn't the reputation of the late emperor be damaged as well?

At that time, the romantic affair between Concubine Yan and the late emperor spread throughout the streets and alleys. It was said that Concubine Yan was born in the world of seduction and deliberately seduced the emperor. Naturally, she could not be buried in the imperial mausoleum after committing suicide. Now, isn't it telling the world that Yan Shuang is right, and even the royal family recognizes her identity.

Cao Haoyun felt very aggrieved and pursed his lips in silence.

"Just because the late emperor and His Majesty favor you doesn't mean you can act recklessly in front of me. If you say something disrespectful next time, I will punish you. I'm sure Lord Cao will have nothing to say."

Rong Se was not used to his rights at first, until he saw Cao Haoyun shuddering with an expression of resentment and fear, and he was really pleased.

Once again, he was grateful to the original owner for leaving him with a noble status, which saved him from having to endure the anger of these brainless villains.

Having said that, Rong Se turned his gaze to Liu Chi again and narrowed his eyes slightly.

He came here not just for this matter. The Liu family had hosted Liang Shenyu for banquets many times in the past few days, and even the Xi family and the Cao family had joined in. Rong Se could see the intention behind this.

Still want to pull it.

"Liu family, take care of yourselves." Rong Se said loudly, then took a sip of the sweet lychee wine slowly, and said slowly: "I don't mean to disturb you all. Since it's a banquet, you can do as you please. Dingbei Hou - come here."

"Yes." Liang Shenyu handed the bow to Yun Chu, returned to sit next to Rong Se, and sneered in a low voice: "I thought he was so brave, but he was so scared by just one arrow."

Liu Chi, who had not walked far, heard these words and his face turned pale and ugly. He was frightened by an arrow shot today and sat on the ground. He had completely lost face.

Xi Chaoyi said solemnly beside him, "Alright, let's stop here. Ah Yun, you too, be careful with what you say in the future. You know the temper of the Regent King. He has restrained himself these days, but when he first took office, many people died in the court. You and I both know that he is a madman. Even if he really kills someone here, who can do anything to him?"

Liu Chi's teeth were still trembling as he whispered, "Then, then what about Marquis Dingbei?"

When Liu Chi heard the rumors in the past, he didn't believe it. Until today, he saw that Marquis Dingbei really obeyed the orders of the Regent King.

Cao Haoyun complained, "How come he and my cousin have been classmates for many years and their friendship is not as good as that of Rong Se?"

Xi Chaoyi said nothing more.

He was not as naive as Cao Haoyun, who thought that His Majesty was a pure and kind person. When Marquis Dingbei returned to the capital to serve the king, he turned around and became so close to the Regent Prince. It was hard to say whether His Majesty had done something to make Marquis Dingbei turn against him.

Don't trust everything the emperor says.

"Let Yuanyuan go." Xi Chaoyi was silent for a while and said this, "Marquis Dingbei is not someone she can conquer."

Liu Chi himself was a lustful man, so he thought that he could make Dingbei Hou surrender by relying on his sister's beauty. From the beginning, Xi Chaoyi felt that this matter was suspenseful.

When visiting the gardens and feasting, female guests, if accompanied by their husbands or brothers, could sit together with the male guests. After the young ladies of the noble families had exchanged greetings, they would walk away in the gardens in groups of two or three. After three rounds of drinks, the male guests gradually let go and played pot throwing and archery together.

Rong Se ate the snacks he brought with him, looked at the osmanthus tree, and said to Yun Chu, "Remember to bring some back when you leave. I'll make osmanthus cake for you. It's also good to dry it and soak it in water."

A qualified chef must have eyes that can discover ingredients.

After saying this, his eyes paused.

Not far away, standing next to Xi Chaoyi was a graceful lady, dressed in an elegant dress, with her hair tied up in a bun, her eyebrows as dark as clouds, and her temperament as calm as a tranquil one.

Rong Se has some impression of this person.

She was the princess who married Xi Chaoyi, the only daughter of Rong Xu, Rong Zhixu, whose title was Xuanhe. Her biological mother was of low rank and died after giving birth to her.

But what surprised Rongse was that although autumn was not hotter than summer, the princess was wrapped up tightly from head to toe, not even exposing her neck.

The Jin Dynasty never had such requirements for women's clothing.