Chapter 50 Blood Circulation

"Young man."

In the attic, shaded by trees, Han Jie had a panoramic view of the scene on the training ground. He touched the railing, feeling deeply moved.

This kind of youthful spirit was too far away from him. Although he was not envious, he couldn't help but feel excited when he saw these young people in their prime.

The attendant said, "They have just arrived and do not know how high the heavens are or how deep the earth is. They are acting a little frivolously."

"You are not frivolous, so why call yourself a young man?" Han Jie said, "It is because you do not know the immensity of the world that you have the courage to hold a torch against the wind and walk alone through thousands of mountains."

The attendant raised his eyebrows slightly, feeling something was a little unusual: "General, you seem to be very optimistic about these young people."

Han Jie stroked his beard and said slowly, "After all, I picked them up. If I say I have no expectations for them, I am deceiving myself. Ren Yao is indeed the descendant of Pingnan Marquis. She has a solid foundation and is hardworking. The most precious thing is her ambition. Although she is a woman, she dares to think and act. She is much better than those young men who are only interested in playing chickens and running horses."

The attendant said, "Miss Ren is a skilled martial artist, not dissimilar to her father. With more practice, she will surely become a sharp weapon in the future."

Han Jie shook his head: "Being strong doesn't necessarily mean you can become something useful. Even the best steel needs to be tempered through thousands of hammers. She is too strong and inflexible, which may not be a good thing. In this respect, she is not as good as Jiang Ling."

The attendant was surprised: "You mean the son of Marquis Jiang'an?"

"Yes." Han Jie said, "He looks careless and incompetent, but he actually knows everything. He often rides a horse to hunt, and no matter how weak his physical strength is, he can still be compared with a woman. If he really wanted to break away, how could Ming Huashang hold him back? He couldn't bear to leave her alone, so he ran slowly with her. With his father's power and status, he didn't need to do so. This boy looks cynical, but he is actually loyal and righteous, sincere, and can let go of failure. He is much more resistant than Ren Yao, and is a piece of steel."

The attendant said, "I didn't expect the general to think so highly of Prince Jiang."

Han Jie smiled and said, "I have no talent or ability, but I have been following the Queen for a long time and have learned some of the Queen's skills in judging people. I have seen Marquis Jiang An before. He is a man as shrewd as a fox, but he is so indifferent to his own son. I heard that he married a girl from the Zhou family who is twelve years younger than him. It's no wonder."

With a stepmother, there will be a stepfather. Marquis Jiang An has a lovely wife who is a generation younger than him and always keeps his ear to the ground. He also has a well-behaved and lovely young son. How can he have a good face when he sees his eldest son who is ignorant and always causing trouble?

The more impatiently he scolded, the less Jiang Ling wanted to learn. If he hadn't met Han Jie, in a few years, Jiang Ling would have really become a playboy who only knew how to spend his time in debauchery.

The attendant saw that Han Jie was rarely interested in talking, so he asked, "What do you think of the other two?"

"The other two?"

"Xie Jichuan, the eldest son of the Xie family in Chen County, and Ming Huazhang, the son of the Duke of Zhenguo." The attendant said, "These two young men were also favored by the general and highly recommended to your majesty."

"You mean them?" Han Jie stroked his beard. This time he paused for a long time before speaking. "Actually, until now I still can't say whether it was right to recommend these two people to the Queen. They are both cunning, especially Xie Jichuan. I don't understand him."

Han Jie has been with the Queen for many years, acting as her eyes, ears and tongue, and moving freely between the two identities of light and darkness, always gaining the Queen's trust. No one dares to question his ability to judge people, but now, Han Jie actually said that he couldn't understand a 17-year-old boy?

The attendant was stunned, and after a moment he smiled and said, "General, you are joking."

Han Jie shook his head and said nothing. Although he did not argue, his expression was not relaxed at all. He continued, "Compared with the above people, Ming Huazhang is the most ideal and perfect. He is stronger and more rational than Ren Yao, smarter and more stable than Jiang Ling, and more loyal and righteous than Xie Jichuan. He is brave and resourceful, both civil and military, and has a perfect balance between loyalty and rationality. He seems to be a natural candidate for leader."

The attendant was not surprised by this. Ming Huazhang's ability was obvious to all. He followed Han Jie's words and flattered him: "It seems that the general values ​​Ming Zhonglang Jiang the most. In time, Zhonglang Jiang will surely become the general and your majesty's right-hand man."

Han Jie smiled and shook his head gently: "No. The person I am most optimistic about is not him."

The attendant was surprised again: "What?"

"Although Minghua Zhang is perfect, he is too perfect, like a gentleman copied from a book. Little did he know that extreme strength leads to humiliation, and excessive rigidity leads to fracture."

The attendant was caught off guard by this statement. He was confused and asked, "Who is the person that the general values ​​most?"

Han Jie raised his hand and pointed to the edge of the training ground, where the girl was stumbling away with the help of her brother. The attendant looked over there, his expression becoming more and more confused: "She?"

Han Jie heard contempt in his tone. He could not blame the attendant, because many people present felt the same way as him, thinking that the woman was able to run ten laps, which showed some resilience, but that was all.

They looked down on this weak, incompetent girl who seemed to be unable to do anything. However, no matter how high her martial arts skills were, she was nothing more than a weapon to kill people. Ming Huashang was sharp, transparent, and smooth, and had a natural insight into people's hearts. She was like a weed, which looked soft but could grow endlessly and never give up.

This is the weapon of a general who can defeat the enemy without fighting.

Initially, Han Jie just thought Ming Huazhang was too uncontrollable, so he turned his attention to his relatives, trying to control Ming Huazhang with hostages. Unexpectedly, he found Ming Huashang during this observation. The more Han Jie looked, the more surprised he felt. What he saw today proved that Han Jie's vision was correct.

This woman has unlimited potential and is the most suitable person to be a spy. However, she seems to have no ambition, and Han Jie still doesn't know how to drive her.

Han Jie did not tell his attendants these reasons. He just smiled and said calmly, "Just wait and see."

Ming Huazhang helped Ming Huashang back to the house. As soon as they entered the room, Ming Huashang collapsed on the bed. Ming Huazhang closed the door and went out for a while. When he came back, he had a bottle of medicine in his hand.

Ming Huashang had some ominous premonitions: "Second brother..."

Ming Huazhang sat on the bedside, pulled out the medicine plug, and poured the medicine oil on his hands. His fingers were slender and smooth, and after being dipped in the medicine oil, they were shiny and had an indescribable aura.

What's even more terrible is that Ming Huazhang lowered his eyebrows and said calmly: "Take off your clothes."

Ming Huachang was shocked. She looked at Ming Huazhang's profile and couldn't imagine that these words came from her cold and elegant brother. Ming Huazhang seemed to feel that his words were ambiguous and added: "I mean to tie up your dress. I want to apply medicine on you."

Ming Huashang couldn't do it. She carefully tucked her legs under her skirt like a chick hatching eggs and whispered, "No, I'll just take a nap."

Ming Huazhang had a clear conscience when he spoke, he just wanted to help Ming Huachang to relieve his pain. But Ming Huachang was so shy, and he felt more and more uncomfortable.

Ming Huazhang coughed and said, "You didn't exercise often before, and you suddenly ran so far. If you don't stretch your tendons and veins, you will be in so much pain that you can't walk tomorrow. There are no maids here, so it's inconvenient for others to apply medicine for you."

Ming Huashang really wanted to say that Ren Yao was there, but she changed her mind and thought, in the eyes of the dragon and phoenix twins, would the sister from the neighborhood whom she just met be more trustworthy than her own brother?

Moreover, Ming Huazhang was such a gentleman, and he said "take off your clothes" so calmly and naturally, which showed that he was just trying to help his sister's blood circulation and didn't even regard her as a woman! If she insisted on refusing, wouldn't she be confessing herself?

Ming Huashang hesitated to speak, but finally, in order to show that she was not afraid of suspicion, she said, "Okay, then thank you, second brother."

Ming Huashang lifted up her skirt and Ming Huazhang immediately said, "No need to untie it, just tie up your trouser legs."

Ming Huashang paused, raised his head and quickly glanced at Ming Huazhang, and whispered, "I know."

Ming Huazhang appeared indifferent on the surface, but his fingers were tightly clenched. The warmth of the medicinal oil seemed to penetrate his body, and even the tips of his ears turned pink.

Ming Huazhang didn't think much about it when he first took the medicated oil, but now he feels very nervous. He feels a little regretful. He should have let Ren Yao come.

But it has come to this point, if he leaves, it will only be more embarrassing, as if he has some unfaithful intentions towards his sister. Ming Huashang rolled up her trouser legs section by section, revealing her calves as smooth as mutton-fat jade. Ming Huazhang pinched her palm hard, raised his hand calmly, pressed Ming Huashang's leg, and put his palm on her skin.

Both of them felt a little strange, but in order to maintain the close and clear conscience of the brother-sister relationship between the dragon and the phoenix, no one said it out loud. Ming Huazhang tried his best to ignore the delicate touch of his fingertips and said, "Get ready, it may hurt a little."

Ming Huashang nodded, thinking that she had persisted through ten rounds, so how could she be afraid of pain? Before she could finish this thought, she felt a sore and numb pain in her calf acupuncture points, and she cried out "wow".

“It hurts!”

Ming Huazhang was helpless and said, "Bear with it. The more painful it is when you press this acupoint, the more serious your strain is, and the more you need to move around."

Ming Huachang soon lost interest in those subtle thoughts. She screamed in pain and couldn't help kicking her legs. Ming Huazhang failed repeatedly and finally couldn't bear it anymore.

He suddenly grabbed Ming Huashang's waist, lifted her up and put her on his legs. With his other hand, he grabbed her ankle and held her in place.

Ming Huashang was stunned, with tears still in her eyes, and she stared at him blankly.

Ming Huazhang ignored Ming Huachang, and put his hands around her shoulders, carefully kneading the acupuncture points on her calves. His profile was cold and clear, and his eyelashes were as long as crow feathers, casting a layer of hazy shadows that obscured the expression in his eyes.

But even if he couldn't see it, Ming Huashang knew that his eyes must be focused, as if he was looking at some elegant copybook of calligraphy or reading some solemn book.

He is so devoted to everything he does.

Ming Huachang wanted to hide but had nowhere to go, wanted to escape but had no way to escape, she could only stay in Ming Huazhang's arms, whimpering and crying in pain. A strand of Ming Huazhang's hair fell down, and the end of the hair fell on Ming Huachang's neck, swaying back and forth, making her itch.

Ming Huashang twisted her body, trying to avoid the unknown assailant. The person behind her sighed softly, like moonlight falling on snow, and said helplessly: "Be quiet, it will be fine soon."

“Itchy!”

"Um?"

Ming Huachang turned around with all her strength and finally caught the culprit from behind her neck. Ming Huachang angrily dragged him in front of Ming Huazhang and accused him, "Look at your hair!"

Ming Huazhang was helpless: "Okay, I'll apologize on its behalf. You can't sleep yet, stand up and stretch your muscles."

Ming Huashang thought it was really troublesome. She slowly stood up on the bed, thinking that she could just pretend to do it. Unexpectedly, Ming Huazhang suddenly pressed down on her shoulders, and Ming Huashang screamed.

Ming Huashang's eyes were filled with tears. Why did she feel awkward and shy towards Ming Huazhang? In Ming Huazhang's eyes, there was no difference between men and women!

Ming Huazhang saw her crying pitifully. Although he knew he was doing the right thing, he couldn't help but feel a little guilty. Ming Huazhang asked, "Does it hurt?"

Ming Huashang complained with tears in her eyes: "Yeah."

"You're still showing off." Ming Huazhang stood by the bed with his hands behind his back, and said coldly, "I told you to do it within your ability. You're different from them. No one will blame you if you can't finish the run. Why are you still being stubborn?"

Ming Huashang held her head high and said, "I don't want them to look down on me."

Ming Huazhang chuckled, like petals passing over the eaves, and the moon softened for a brief moment: "When the mansion hired a master of music, chess, calligraphy and painting for you, why didn't you seem so ambitious?"

Ming Huashang pouted for a long while before she said in a whisper as soft as a mosquito: "That's different. I know what kind of person I am. It doesn't matter if they look down on me, but they can't look down on my second brother."

Ming Huazhang was stunned for a moment, thinking he had misheard: "What did you say?"

"Brother, you are a gentleman. You always hold yourself to the standards of a gentleman. How can you let others criticize you because of me?"

Ming Huazhang was completely stunned this time. He didn't expect that the seemingly heartless Ming Huachang actually had such a delicate mind. He paused and said, "I don't care. The virtue of a gentleman is cultivated for himself, so why should he care about the opinions of others?"

"But I care." Ming Huashang simply lay down on the bed and said unreasonably, "I don't care. My second brother is a true gentleman and the best person in the world. I won't allow anyone to say bad things about you!"

Ming Huachang's behavior was very childish, and Ming Huazhang was dazed watching it.

He never thought of himself as a gentleman, nor did he think he was that good, but Ming Huashang stubbornly put him on a pedestal. Ming Huazhang looked at Ming Huashang, who was angry, and was confused for a moment: "Why?"

"Because you are my second brother." Ming Huashang felt very sorry that he had no blood relationship with her, but still smiled and said, "When I was a child, I learned the Four Books and found them very difficult. I thought that the Book of Heaven was no more difficult than that, right? But my second brother memorized them very quickly. The teachers praised you for your diligence and wisdom, the servants praised you for being a humble gentleman, and my grandmother also praised you as the hope of the Ming family. At that time, I felt that my second brother was good at everything and learned everything quickly, just like the moon in the sky, always bright and clear, shining on the road under our feet. Even if I can't reach as high as my second brother, I hope that the moon will never fall."

Ming Huazhang lowered his eyes and looked at her quietly, saying: "This is your childhood illusion. In fact, if you get to know a few more men, you will find that I am just looking for an ordinary person."

"No," Ming Huashang said stubbornly, "My second brother must be the best. You just don't know how good you are."

Ming Huazhang gave up arguing with her. Ming Huachang's logic was always so unusual. He leaned over, pulled the quilt over her, and gently stroked her hair: "Go to sleep. Don't worry about the afternoon class. I'll help you take leave."

Ming Huashang was shaken and struggled softly: "Isn't it not good to miss class on the first day..."

"It's okay." Ming Huazhang said, "I'll help you when you wake up."