Let Me Pursue You

This way of playing is not all about the skill of ejection, but also about the luck of each person. It seems that it is not very friendly, but after hearing the word "Caitou", the smiles on the faces of the people present remain unchanged, but they can't help but tremble . An upright old official who was not optimistic about the Nanzhao prince opened his mouth to dissuade the saint, but Lu Shiqing quietly pressed the back of his hand to signal no.

The veteran also knew that interrupting at this time violated the etiquette of a monarch and his ministers, so he had no choice but to shake his sleeves and endure his anger in silence.

Emperor Huining pondered for a while, and soon laughed loudly: "This game is interesting, so I will do as you say." Then he turned his head and told his eunuchs, "Hurry up and get someone to 'arrange'."

Lu Shiqing heard the meaning of "arrangement" in the old emperor's mouth, and thought it was because he said that he would not give the lottery, and he was afraid that if Xiju really won, the lion would open his mouth, so he planned to send someone to do something.

Xiju smiled when he heard the words, stroked the jade ring on his little finger, and remained silent.

Lu Shiqing noticed his actions, blinked lightly, played with the tea pot in his hand, raised his eyelids and looked at him, seeing him looking back, he offered tea as a substitute, and respected him from afar.

Hoshii accepted this respect very friendly, raised his head and drank the tea like wine.

Soon someone brought some cages of miscellaneous birds **** with books. Emperor Huining seemed to be in a good mood, and turned to look at his sons present: "You guys, who wants to compete with the prince?"

The second prince, Zheng Ji, responded immediately.

Ever since the Lingnan iron mine incident was exposed, the second prince, who had been imprisoned in the mansion for more than half a year, was finally pardoned by the saint. Seeing that Father hoped that someone could suppress Xiju, he stood up. He is a warrior, so it's no problem to play with a slingshot.

Emperor Huining nodded in satisfaction, and asked the rest of his sons. Of course, he skipped the Ninth Prince, who was always weak, and finally ordered three more, including Zheng Zhuo, and two generals to participate in the competition. After speaking, he glanced Yuan Yu: "Shi Chen also play together?"

Yuan Yu waved his hand and refused: "Your Majesty, I won't embarrass you, but Shemei is good at playing with the slingshot, you might as well ask her to try it."

Yuan Cixian froze when he heard the words, and looked at Lu Shiqing with a guilty conscience. She is good at playing with the slingshot, so good that one shot made Tan Hualang fall off the horse in public, and fell into the mud.

Lu Shiqing raised his eyebrows in confusion.

What does she think of him in this way, could it be that she has the consciousness to be a fiancée, and she has to ask his permission to show her face?

He blinked and motioned her to play, he didn't mind.

Yuan Cixian didn't seem to see it, she turned her mouth to the saint, and said reluctantly, "Your Majesty, I don't want to play. These birds are so cute, why shoot them? It's too cruel."

Emperor Hui Ning choked when she said it, as if he had been accused by a little girl of being cruel and immoral, which was embarrassing. He pondered for a while and said, "Then tell me, what should I do so as not to be cruel?"

Yuan Cixian was just looking for an excuse to avoid showing her catapult skills in front of Lu Shiqing, but the sage was willing to change the rules for her, so he had to say: "It's better...the one who gets the book while the bird is not dead, the one who gets it. Marks count."

Emperor Huining's eyes lit up, he stretched out his index finger towards her, and said approvingly, "This method is more interesting!"

Several princes and generals broke out in cold sweat. interesting? Isn't it interesting to shoot a bird with a golden marble and make the bird fall to the ground without dying. It is simply difficult for a strong bird.

It's just that the sage has spoken, and no one dares to disobey him. Xiju also nodded in agreement, and praised Yuancixian for her kindness.

Yuan Cixian twitched the corners of his mouth at him with a fake smile, because the sage had changed the rules for her, so it was hard for her to shirk. When the competition started, she stood on the ring with all the princes and generals.

The doors of the seven golden cages were opened one by one, and hundreds of birds of different fur and color fluttered from the sky above the Yuting Pavilion, causing everyone to look up.

Wanting to take advantage of the speed, a general grasped the slingshot tightly in his hand, immediately picked a nearby one, and fired a bullet, but unexpectedly, he shot too hard and hit the bird's chest directly. The bird fell to the ground limply, dead in one breath.

The palace man bent over to clean up and put the dead bird into the basket.

The second prince learned from this lesson, so he was a little more careful when he shot, trying his best to control the direction and force, so that the golden marble passed by the bird's wings smoothly. This move was quite accurate, but unfortunately it was not enough to shoot down the bird, instead it frightened the snake, causing it to hide itself in the corner of the pavilion eaves.

The rest of them also failed one after another. For a while, Yuan Cixian, Zheng Zhuo and Xiju were the only ones left in the ring who hadn't made a move. The three of them waited silently until a gust of east wind blew, and then they seemed to think of going together, Qi Qiyang With a bow in his hand, he shot a golden bullet at the flock of birds gathered in the east.

Three shots were fired in an instant, three bullets pierced through the air but did not hit a single bird, instead they passed through the flock of birds, so frightened that all the birds fled in a panic and all rushed into the water curtain. The water curtain is light and thin, and just because the wind is deflected inward, it infiltrates the wings of the birds all at once. A few chicks with sparse hair soon slowed down their wings flapping due to the overwhelming load, and slowly fell to the ground.

Emperor Huining slapped his palms three times in succession and said, "Wonderful!"

Empress Liang also whispered to him with a smile: "Liu Lang and Ci Xian are extremely intelligent."

Lu Shiqing smiled helplessly when he heard the words. Laughter is Xiaoyuan Cixian's exquisite seven orifices, but helplessness is a natural tacit understanding between her and Xiju and Zheng Zhuo.

The palace servants were wondering who the fallen birds should be, they went forward to grab the books and took a look, but saw that there were no marks on them, so they fished them all into the basket, indicating that the competition should continue.

Seeing this, the other princes and military generals imitated the three of them one after another and waited for an opportunity. Only the second prince seemed a little dissatisfied with Zheng Zhuo, his nose fluttered under his gloomy face, and he used the old method to shoot birds, but he managed to get a few books, but none of them were marked.

Seeing this, Yuan Cixian stopped to wait and see again. Most of the birds surviving in the sky above Ziyu Pavilion are full-winged, and they would not be easily broken by the spring water, not to mention that their colleagues have sacrificed before them, so they will not fall into the old trick. Moreover, she suspected that Emperor Huining arranged quite a few marks, so instead of shooting aimlessly like this, it is better to find out which books should be shot down.

She thought for a while, took the bullet and shot at a bird that was close to the water curtain, but it missed the bird's body, and let the golden bullet hit the silk hanging around its neck. The bright yellow silk fluttered towards the water curtain, and was immediately soaked by the water, making the color darker.

She squinted her eyes and saw that there was no ink writing on it, so she turned to look for others.

This method can be regarded as cunning, it looks like cheating, but it is not a bad rule, but she has fired several bullets one after another, but still cannot see the so-called mark.

After a stick of incense, seeing that there were fewer and fewer birds in the sky above the Yuting, and there were only a few birds left, but everyone found nothing, Yuan Cixian came back to his senses. I'm afraid Emperor Huining didn't prepare a mark at all.

But she couldn't figure it out, how would the old emperor tell Xi Juyuan?

When the birds were all gone, everyone present looked at each other in blank dismay, and the same question as Yuan Cixian inevitably came up in their hearts. It is understandable for the old emperor to worry about Xiju Lion's open mouth, but it may not be justifiable to play with others in public like this.

Just when everyone was worried and puzzled, Lu Shiqing suddenly took a look at Yuan Cixian, and pointed upward with the hand hidden in his sleeve where only she could see.

Yuan Cixian suddenly came to his senses, and shot a bullet towards the eaves of the pavilion he was pointing at. There was a loud "bang", and outside the water curtain, a brown bird was startled by the sound.

Everyone was surprised that there was still a bird that slipped through the net, but they quickly realized that this bird was probably not released from the cage at all, but Emperor Huining had quietly arranged it on the outside of the pavilion eaves earlier. And it must have a mark on the book it carries.

After all, there were hundreds of birds flying in the pavilion just now, and it's not unusual for one of them to escape, even if Xiju has some thoughts in his heart, it's impossible for him to turn against the saint on the surface. In this way, the game will be smooth.

After successfully scaring the bird, Yuan Cixian shot the second shot without any pause, and this time he shot at the bird.

However, Emperor Huining underestimated Xiju's ability. The moment Yuan Cixian made a shot, he also drew his bow quickly. Although he was a step behind her, he had amazing arm strength and excellent shooting skills. Follow up.

Zheng Zhuo suddenly raised his head, rushed forward, and almost at the same time, he also shot one.

At this moment, the bird had flown far away, and only a vague shadow could be seen through a layer of water curtain, but the two golden marbles pursued it accurately, and after breaking through the water curtain, there was almost no sign of slowing down, and they both hit the bird's body.

With a sound of "pop", the bird fell to the ground, and everyone's hearts tensed up, but Yuan Cixian had already predicted the result: Zheng Zhuo's goal was not to win, but to prevent Xi from winning, so this bomb must be to death You can tell that the bird must have died without looking.

The palace servants rushed down to the high pavilion to pick it up, and after a while presented the bird carcass, and said to Emperor Huining who was holding his breath, "Return to Your Majesty, there is a mark on the book on the bird's neck, but the bird died. , two golden marbles, one hit the bird's breast and the other hit the bird's wing."

The implication is that the one who hit the bird's chest was killed, but the one who hit the bird's wing should be the winner of the book. But the problem is that the golden marbles all look the same, and most of the people present have no eyesight to see clearly just now, even if they really saw clearly, the words are not convincing, so naturally they cannot judge the outcome.

This is the wisdom of Xiju again. If he also hit the bird's chest, Emperor Huining would definitely declare that both of them lost, but the current situation is a bit tricky, the old emperor has already cheated once, and it is really unreasonable to say that no one will give the prize. After signaling Yuan Cixian and others to return to their seats, he said: "In this case, I will give Liulang and the crown prince half a prize as appropriate."

The old emperor's words were quite clever. The word "as appropriate" means that there is no winner or loser, and there is no prize in the first place, but he is willing to give it a favor. This is to gain the upper hand first, to prevent Hoshii from making excessive requests, and if he still asks shamelessly, he can also refuse "as appropriate".

According to etiquette, Emperor Huining should have first asked Xiju what he wanted as a prize, but perhaps he was a little dissatisfied with his scramble for the marble that knocked down Yuan Cixian, so he turned his head and asked Zheng Zhuo first with a smile. : "What does Liulang want?"

In fact, Emperor Huining was quite satisfied with Zheng Zhuo's performance today, even if he didn't speak up, he would be rewarded in the future. Zheng Zhuo judged the situation and naturally chose to retreat, and said: "I don't want anything, but the weather is hot recently, mosquitoes and horseflies are bothering people, and I heard that my mother can't sleep well at night. If Dad can give me some incense Mother, my son will be grateful."

Emperor Huining seemed to be more satisfied with this son, and couldn't stop praising him for his filial piety. He immediately ordered his eunuchs to arrange for Zheng Zhuo's mother, Xue Cairen, immediately. As for the so-called "half" lottery, naturally it doesn't matter.

After the reward here, the old emperor glanced at Xiju: "What does the prince want?"

Xiju looked a little bit troubled, and replied: "What I want, I'm afraid I can't count it as 'half'."

Everyone's heart trembled, they couldn't count half and half, could it be a city?

Emperor Huining raised his eyebrows and said, "Talk about it first."

Xiju was silent, reached out and took off the jade ring on his little finger: "I want to ask Your Majesty to marry the owner of this ring."

Yuan Cixian, Shao and Qi Qi raised their heads.

There was an uproar all around, all the courtiers seemed to be wondering who the so-called master was. Even Emperor Hui Ning was a nobleman who forgot things a lot, and he couldn't figure it out for a while, and didn't remember what this jade ring was all about.

Lu Shiqing blinked lightly, but did not speak.

Xiju has already begun to explain: "A few years ago, I in Nanzhao presented a piece of high-quality uncut jade to Your Majesty. This jade ring in the shape of a woman was probably given to the nobles in the court after your Majesty asked someone to make it. The ring Master, is here today."

Only then did Emperor Huining vaguely realize that there was such a thing, and after hearing this, he continued to think about who gave the ring to. Empress Liang had already remembered what was going on, her expression changed drastically, and she glanced at her daughter.

Shaohe's face turned pale, and he was clutching the cuffs of his clothes tightly. The next moment, Xiju looked over and smiled at her, "It's Princess Shaohe."

Yuan Cixian frowned. She originally thought that Xiju had mistakenly thought that the ring belonged to her, so she would provoke Lu Shiqing. But now it seems that he has already found out the real owner of the ring, who came here for Shaohe from the very beginning.

If it was her that Xiju wanted to marry, she wasn't too worried. No matter how good-looking Emperor Hui Ning was, he wouldn't be so reckless because of a competition, asking her to remarry a prince of another country and make Da Zhou a prince. The laughingstock of the world, but now that the object is Shaohe, it is a bit difficult to deal with.

Emperor Huining had also been in a high position for many years, and he came here in the wind and waves. Even though he was surprised in his heart, he didn't show it on his face. He just acted as if he had suddenly realized, and didn't even ask how the ring got into his hands, and smiled silently. Said: "So, it is true that 'half' can't be counted, the prince might as well change the lottery."

Xiju also smiled indifferently: "What if I show enough sincerity to make up for the half of the difference?"

There was dead silence everywhere, Shao He had lowered his eyes and remained silent since the first time he raised his head, only trembling slightly covered in his sleeves.

Empress Liang looked at Emperor Huining with eyes full of pleading, but as expected, she saw a little wavering in him, and saw that he didn't say anything to death, but instead turned to probing: "The prince asked to marry my daughter with the lottery of the competition. It's not proper etiquette, not to mention Shaohe is the jewel in my palm, and she definitely can't marry you far away from Nanzhao with just a little so-called 'sincerity'."

The implication of this is to hear what he can come up with.

Xiju nodded slightly: "Xiju understands. I implore Your Majesty to move to the Zichen Palace and take a step to speak."

Emperor Huining was silent, patted the back of the queen's hand to comfort him, and then announced the end of the banquet, signaling Xiju to come with him.

Everyone watched the sage leave, secretly guessing Nanzhao's intentions, but they dared not reveal anything in front of the queen, and only whispered to each other when the nobles withdrew for the next time.

Yuan Cixian felt uneasy, said hello to elder brother, then left with Lu Shiqing, waited for his carriage, and asked anxiously when there was no one around, "What's going on in Nanzhao?"

Lu Shiqing didn't answer for a moment, looked down at the two red marks on her fingers, grabbed her hand, bent over and took out a porcelain bottle from the medicine box under the carriage, and applied the ointment inside to her.

These two red marks were strangled by the slingshot. Although Yuan Cixian has some attainments in martial arts, he is still delicate and tender. In the competition just now, it was inevitable that he would hurt his hand a bit.

She looked down at his meticulous movements, couldn't help but choked, and said silently: "You don't need to apply ointment for this small injury." After she finished, she sighed, "I'm still slow, if I don't give Xiju a chance to get it The lottery will be fine."

Lu Shiqing waited until she finished giving her the medicine, then raised her eyelids and said, "It's already very good. This matter has nothing to do with you. If Xiju is inevitable, even without today's competition and without that ring, he is still ready." I want to mention this matter. If he is not certain, and he can't come up with enough conditions to make the saint tempted, then Shaohe will naturally not be sacrificed."

Yuan Cixian frowned and asked, "Which one do you think it is?"

Lu Shiqing glanced at her: "You already know the answer." Otherwise, why would she frown.

"Xiju can really come up with the conditions to ask the saint to let go?"

Lu Shiqing nodded.

She hated Nanzhao in her heart, and said anxiously: "Although Xiju's action has no causal relationship with the ring, Shaohe was sincerely helping you back then...do you have any way to make the sage change his mind?"

She hadn't mentioned the reason for the ring to Lu Shiqing earlier, she just acquiesced that with his ability, she would definitely find out the truth, so she didn't explain much now.

Lu Shiqing was silent for a while and said: "I understand morality and kindness, but the conditions that Xiju is willing to put forward may not be something I can turn over with just a word of mouth. There is nothing I can do about it."

Yuan Cixian frowned and wanted to say more, but he was firmly interrupted: "Do you want me to die?" He looked at her fixedly, "Yuan Cixian, I'm not afraid of death, but if I risk everything The price is to keep Shaohe, but you are the one who needs to be sacrificed?"