Xie Guang and others suddenly realized at this time: It turned out that Murong Xue had just taken a grape from the plate and hid it on his body. When he pretended to reveal a flaw during the competition, causing Shan Tingxian to pursue him, he suddenly used a slingshot to attack. Shot Shan Tingxian in the forehead with a grape.
Because everyone had already made an appointment before the competition, the two of them had a weapons test, and there was no deliberate rule not to use concealed weapons. Therefore, Murong Xue suddenly made such a move. Although it was a bit tricky, he could not be accused of foul play.
Moreover, when Murong Xue hit Shan Tingxian with a slingshot, the flying arrow used was just a fresh grape. If it had been replaced by an ordinary stone marble or iron marble, Shan Tingxian would have been hit with broken bones in his forehead and was seriously injured on the spot. . So, seriously speaking, Murong Xue was quite merciful and very measured.
Xie Guang was stunned for a long time, and then he smiled awkwardly: "Mr. Murong is very good at shooting, and Xie has learned it before. I didn't expect that you actually have this killer move, which is eye-opening. It's really... really Yes…I admire it.”
Murong Xue laughed loudly: "Master Taifu, you are ridiculous. In fact, Beizhi was overwhelmed by Brother Shan's swordsmanship just now. He was forced to resort to this little trick. He could not win without force. , making people laugh and generous."
With that said, he turned to Shan Tingxian and said: "Sir Shan's martial arts is far better than mine. I just failed to take precautions and I succeeded. Please forgive me."
Murong Xue had a very high emotional intelligence. She was not complacent about winning by a margin. Instead, she took the initiative to admit in public that she was no match for Shan Tingxian in swordsmanship, which was enough to give her opponent a leg up. Seeing this scene, Shan Tingxian didn't want to argue any more. After all, he was a martial artist. Martial arts competitions were commonplace and he could deal with winning or losing casually. He raised his hands with a smile and said: "Mr. Murong." You're welcome. It's Shan who is not good at learning, and his skills are not as good as others, so he has nothing to say about losing. If you have a chance in the future, let's discuss it with an adult."
After saying that, he threw the wooden sword in his hand to the servant and turned back to the table.
Murong Xue also sat down peacefully, picked up the wine bottle, and accepted the mixed congratulations from everyone present.
Xie Guang felt a little unhappy that the banquet had progressed to this point. After drinking a few more glasses of wine, he ended the banquet hastily on the pretext that he would have to meet the prince tomorrow. Of course, Murong Xue was eager to leave this hellish place as soon as possible. She quickly thanked the other party again for the hospitality and said goodbye.
Returning to his residence, Murong Xue saw that Rui Ji was not resting at this time, but was sitting next to the lampstand on the desk, dozing off with her head supported by her hands.
"Eh? Miss Rui Ji, why haven't you gone to bed yet?"
Ruiji suddenly woke up and realized that Murong Xue was back. She quickly stood up to greet him and stepped forward to help him take off his outer cloak. At the same time, she said softly: "Young master has not returned home yet, how can I rest on my own first, and..."
"And what?" Murong Xue took the tea bowl handed by Rui Ji and asked while drinking.
Rui Ji's pretty face turned red and she said shyly: "Besides, this house is so big and there is no one there. I am timid and a little scared."
Murong Xue laughed when she heard this: "So that's it. You don't have to be afraid. It's very safe here and no one will disturb you..."
Unexpectedly, before he finished speaking, he heard a whooshing sound, and a short arrow suddenly flew in from outside, and with a bang, it was nailed to the pillar on the side of the hall.
Seeing this, Rui Ji was immediately frightened and turned pale. She covered her mouth with her little hand and did not dare to say a word.
Murong Xue was also quite shocked. When he stood up to check, he found that there was a bag tied to the end of the short arrow, with the mark that Shen Lie had agreed with him before. Then he felt relieved and said with a slight embarrassment: "Um... don't worry. This is a letter from my friend."
-
Li Bing, the crown prince of the Holy Tang Dynasty, was ordered to lead the Wucheng Palace in the eastern capital to supervise the government and supervise the country. However, strictly speaking, there are only three ministers directly under his command, Prince Zhan Shi Murongxue, Prince Xima Lao Jianhua and Huangmen Minister Shan Tingxian.
Zhan Shi's position can be described as the prince's general manager, controlling the three temples and ten palaces in the East Palace. Although Li Bing's East Palace official office is currently incomplete and does not have that many institutions and personnel, the rank is the rank. Among the three ministers, Murong Xue has the highest position. He is responsible for all matters related to His Highness the Crown Prince. Have the right to ask.
Prince Xima is the chief of the Economic Bureau of the East Palace. As the name suggests, he is mainly responsible for assisting the prince in studying classics and handling daily official documents. Therefore, Lao Jianhua's duties can be regarded as secretary-like.
The Huangmen Minister also has similar powers to the Prince's Horse Washing, but Shan Tingxian comes from a martial arts background and is highly skilled in martial arts. With this specialty, he is more responsible for Li Bing's safety and security, and is a standard bodyguard.
Since the crown prince Li Bing had a manager, secretary and bodyguard, his whole state has changed a lot from before. He was no longer as depressed and bored as when he first came to Luoyi, but gradually became more relaxed. He spent most of his time every day reviewing the reports sent by various provinces and ministries. In his free time, he practiced literature and martial arts, or chatted with his subordinates.
Among the three subordinates, Murong Xue was of the same age as Li Bing. He had both civil and military skills and a rich family background. Therefore, he was the most palatable to the crown prince and the two of them had the best rapport. Especially every time they talked about the polo matches, poetry gatherings, cocktail parties in the imperial capital, and the annual Sakura Song Festival in Changlefang, the two of them felt as if they were close friends.
This situation couldn't help but arouse Lao Jianhua's fear and displeasure.
Previously, thanks to the help of Jianhua, Taifu Xie Guang also changed his arbitrary style and began to pay attention to how to get along with Li Bing. He would often take the initiative to discuss things with the prince, which also made the relationship between the two people increasingly relaxed. .
However, the easing situation was limited to the relationship between the prince and the tutor. The state of mutual discord gradually spread to the prince Zhan Shi and the prince Xima.
As Li Bing inquired about politics day by day, the conflicts and differences between Murong Xue and Lao Jianhua became more and more serious. The two often argued with each other when giving advice to His Highness the Crown Prince because of their different positions and political views, and even got into red-faced quarrels. And every time at this time, Li Bing would not help in any way, but would just sit next to them and watch them bicker with a smile.
Li Bing felt that both Murong Xue and Lao Jianhua were very interesting.
The prince Zhan served Murong Xue because he was rich in knowledge, while the prince Lao Jianhua had rich experience. Murong Xue was young, so he was quick in thinking, while Lao Jianhua was old and steady, so he was wily and resourceful. Murong Xue had a sharp-tongued talent. Teeth, Lao Jianhua has sharp teeth that are eloquent. When the two of them come together, they are really matched against each other, and they will meet talented people, making it difficult to distinguish between them.
Li Bing had always heard in the past that the emperor's uncle Li Chengwu was most afraid of the ministers bickering and quarreling during court discussions. Whenever encountering such a situation, the emperor's uncle would have a headache and complain that the dragon's body was not in good condition.
Li Bing was very curious, why did he find this kind of thing so interesting?
Moreover, through the fierce debates between Murong Xue and Lao Jianhua, Li Bing could always discover some key points, and he could often detect the intentions and purposes behind their opinions, which would further help him form his own independent strategy. claim.
It is precisely because of this that Li Bing was not disturbed by Murong Xuelao Jianhua's quarrel and became swayed. On the contrary, he could always jump out of the two people's perspectives and make different and decisive judgments, and he could also combine the two. Everyone was speechless.
Time flies so fast among these disturbances, and several months pass by in a flash.
Prince Li Bing is making progress, and Murong Xue has also gained a lot. He was not very familiar with the government affairs of the East Palace from the beginning, and he was in a state of opposing Lao Jianhua just to oppose Lao Jianhua. He gradually entered the stage of deepening his understanding of his duties.
During this period, he also found another small courtyard in Luoyi, the eastern capital, with the help of Shen Lie Nilin, returned the original mansion presented by Xie Guang, and then moved Rui Ji to his new home.
Although the environment was quite different when she moved from a big house to a small house, Ruiji was not depressed at all. Instead, she felt happier and more at ease. The only thing that made her slightly regretful was that until now, Murong Xue had never put her in his bed room, and they still got along with her as a brother and sister.
The cooperation between Murong Xue and Shen Lie has so far been limited to the investigation of the murder of Commander He Jingming. Since Murong Xue first came to Luoyi not long ago, Waituo broke into the enemy camp alone, and the position has not yet been fully established, so no substantial investigation progress has been made.
However, he specially asked the Nilin Division spy to send a message to Shen Lie, suggesting that he temporarily give up the idea of secretly arresting Lao Jianhua. According to Murong Xue's observation, Lao Jianhua not only had high personal martial arts skills, but also Xie Guang carefully protected him and sent a large number of masters to protect him. Beiya had no chance at all. Acting hastily will not only have a low success rate, but may also cause unnecessary losses, so a long-term plan is needed.
That evening, he wrote down the information about Xie Guang and Lao Jianhua in a secret form. As soon as the front foot was handed over to the people of Nilinsi to take away, the servant of the East Palace suddenly came to the back foot's house, saying that the prince had summoned Murong Xue to enter the palace immediately. See you.
Murong Xue was a little stunned. Under Rui Ji's service, he changed into court clothes and asked the chamberlain why the prince summoned him at this time.
The little chamberlain smiled flatteringly and said: "Reporting to Mr. Zhan Shi, the Sa family is not sure about the details. But from what the foreman said, it seems that they want to discuss the water control and the long sword army. Oh, by the way, I heard that Taifu Xie will also be here soon. Participating."
As soon as Murong Xue heard that these two things were being discussed, her head suddenly felt as big as a bucket. He looked at the drip mark that recorded the time, turned to Rui Ji and said helplessly: "You should rest for the night, don't wait for me to come back. There will definitely be another all-night quarrel today."
