Nine whole days passed.
Every night, intermittent screams would float in the sky above Fengming Pavilion, which made people worried.
Regarding this, the servants in charge of serving in the cabinet kept it secret and would not disclose it to the public at all.
This caused other servants outside Fengming Pavilion and in the palace to be surprised. They all wanted to know what happened in this courtyard located in the center of the huge Jiangxia Palace.
There was talk in private that a nurse who was on night duty told what he had seen while drunk.
One day when he was on duty at night, he passed by Fengming Pavilion and saw two black figures chasing each other on the roof of the pavilion.
It seemed that only one person was being chased and beaten.
That seemed to be the young prince, and those screams were made by the young prince after being beaten.
Just as he was about to sound the gong as a warning, someone held his shoulders from behind.
Quietly, like a ghost.
The nurse trembled and looked back hurriedly.
But he saw Cui Guanshi’s ghost-like mask.
A sinister voice came from behind the mask.
"Don't stay here for too long. The young prince is competing with the new instructor Shi? No need to make a fuss!"
Before the nursing home responded, Manager Cui left quietly.
The nurse didn't dare to take a breath. If he hadn't seen a shadow behind him, he would have thought he had encountered a ghost!
This story was gloomy and legendary, but everyone who heard it believed it, because more than one or two people saw the young prince and a short-built "ganghu master" fighting on the roof with guns.
Since then, the news that the young prince started practicing martial arts spread like wildfire in the palace.
There was a lively discussion in the mansion for a long time, and everyone from the janitor to the person washing the buckets could express their opinions.
Once the heat is over, people say nothing and regard the restlessness every night as the most common thing, but this is a pain for those who have poor sleep quality.
But the days are still going on as usual, the door of Fengming Pavilion is still open every day, and Xiao Yu's daily morning exercises are still going on.
It's just that he stopped running and walked around the lake wearing a loose robe. No matter how wide the clothes were, they couldn't hide his limp when walking.
Manager Cui is as diligent as ever. He still follows Xiao Yu on the lake every morning and reports to him the situation in the house, expenses and expenditures on the previous day, as well as some information reported from outside.
It's just that the more money he spends, the more troubled Cui becomes. In less than a month since the day Xiao Yu boasted that he would help the expatriates rebuild their homes in Haikou, he has lost almost a lot of weight, and he also looks... He looked much more haggard and had a few more strands of silver hair on his head.
But to this day, to be honest, Manager Cui is still skeptical about whether the money spent can be used in the right direction.
Whenever he saw those expatriates who were like street gangsters leaving the house happily carrying a bag of money, he always suspected that these guys had either gone to a liquor store, a gambling house or a brothel.
He also sent people to keep an eye on him several times. Fortunately, the money was not used on the wrong road, so he felt relieved.
As for the young prince, he did his job as a hands-off shopkeeper to the extreme. He was very imaginative and told Cui Guanshi whatever he thought of. You can imagine how hard Guan Cui worked.
It seems that this is how the master-servant relationship should be.
It's just that recently, his attention to the reconstruction of Chunhefang has decreased, and it seems that he is no longer as enthusiastic as before.
His interest returned to the study, to practicing calligraphy and annotating the pile of books left by Pan Duo.
Fortunately, Prince Consort Pan didn't know what he was busy with during this period and never came to visit him. If he knew that Xiao Yu also deleted and edited the comments he made, he would have to jump in and scold him.
There was no news about Consort Pan, but another news from Princess Yongning's Mansion reached Xiao Yu's ears.
That's good news. Yang Hua is basically fine.
He was ordered to go to the palace to see the emperor once. After leaving the palace, he moved out of the eldest princess's mansion and was no longer a guest in the eldest princess's mansion.
It is said that the emperor personally chose a large house for him. It was in Yongkang, not far from the residence of Princess Jincheng. It was said to be the old residence of a certain prince who was executed.
There are rumors inside and outside the court that it is certain that Yang Hua will marry Princess Jincheng and become an official. However, the door and plaque of the palace are still empty. It is not yet known whether it should be "Consort Prince Consort's Palace" or "General So-and-so's Palace." We can only wait until the emperor promulgates the decree.
After receiving this news, Xiao Yu's mood was unclear.
He and Yang Hua didn't have much of a friendship, but the two women, Hu Xianzhen and Xiao Yurong, connected them.
I just don’t know how Empress Dowager Hu of the Northern Dynasty would feel after receiving such news. Those decisive people like her may be secretly sad, but they will never go to Jiangnan again! If he comes again, he will definitely come with war.
Besides, on the Jiangxia Palace side, in sync with Yang Hua's recovery from his injury, Liu Boxuan was able to walk on the ground.
In order to facilitate Liu Shishu's scope of activities, Xiao Yu asked Manager Cui to expand the "forbidden area" of Fengming Pavilion to the entire backyard.
Many of the domestic servants were given the day off and spent the whole day in the front yard doing nothing.
But the backyard was as usual every night, with chickens flying and dogs screaming.
Everyone in the mansion knew that the young prince had hired a powerful and strict "shooting instructor" to train in actual combat all day long.
But it is really incomprehensible for a good little prince, who is rich and noble, to be willing to suffer the consequences instead of enjoying the blessings.
And every time they hear the young prince's screams, the servants who usually receive the young prince's favors can't help but feel anxious, wishing they could take it for the young prince.
But the door leading to the backyard has always been guarded by Cui Guanshi's confidant Hu Yuan, and ordinary people cannot peek into the situation inside.
All I know is that every night there is a constant sound of gold and iron clashing in the backyard, and the screams of the young prince continue. This situation continues until late at night.
That night, the palace remained as usual.
Under the moonlight, Liu Boxuan stood under the corridor in a light cyan silk robe, stroking his beard and instructing two young people to practice shooting.
Although he looked calm on the surface, in his heart he was impressed by the rapid progress of the young prince's marksmanship.
Although he is still at a disadvantage in the competition with Dendrobium, he is no longer passively beaten as before. Now he has the ability to parry, and occasionally he can have one or two exquisite counterattacks, at least he no longer gets beaten.
When Liu Boxuan saw this, he smiled approvingly, and the young prince would be ready to start training soon.
Think of Dendrobium, that abandoned child.
Although he is not smart, he is extremely talented in martial arts and has natural supernatural power. It took him eight months to teach himself how to use a gun to reach Xiao Yu's current level.
It has only been ten days since Xiao Yu picked up the spear again.
Perhaps, in terms of talent, Xiao Yu will be even higher!
Liu Boxuan thought of Xiao Yu's boyhood again.
At that time, although Xiao Yu had some basic skills in spearmanship, it was not systematic.
It was only on a whim that Prince Jiangxia or himself had time to teach him some basic entry-level marksmanship skills.
No one thought about letting him reach the pinnacle of achievements in marksmanship, just treating it as entertainment and fitness.
The subsequent incident of falling from a tree caused him to have a long period of hiatus.
But he didn't expect that the young prince would grow up so rapidly in such a short period of time.
After thinking about this, Liu Boxuan smiled knowingly. If he was in danger, with a spear in his hand, the young prince could save himself. Even if ordinary generals on the battlefield went out to duel, he should not fall behind.
Liu Boxuan clapped his hands: "Okay, that's it for tonight!"
The two were fighting vigorously, and when they heard the applause, they quickly separated and returned the salute with guns in each other's hands.
Xiao Yu wiped his sweat and looked outside the court.
Qingxue, who had been watching the battle, walked into the open space holding two sweat towels.
"Brother Dendrobium."
Qingxue shouted kindly and handed a sweat towel to Shi Hu.
The young man who could not speak quickly took the towel and smiled naively at the girl.
Qingxue also smiled at him, and her smile was also very sweet.
But the girl's thoughts were still on her young prince.
She gently wiped the sweat off his face, and the care and affection on her face were beyond words.
To be honest, as a girl, she was very afraid of seeing others dancing with guns and sticks, especially when someone was beaten and injured.
But this is his young prince here. Even if he is afraid of swords, she will stay with him until the end.
But then again, although I am afraid, when I see the masculine and heroic performance of the man I like, I still feel unspeakable fondness in my heart. However, fear and liking are always contradictory. Which one is more like? He was still more afraid, and he didn't seem to be able to explain clearly. Thinking of this, the girl couldn't help laughing.
"Why are you laughing? You shouldn't have been beaten badly tonight, right?" Xiao Yu said with a smile, his voice still gentle.
"Not at all!" Qingxue's shy eyes drifted to the side, "Although I don't understand much about weapons, and sometimes I get scared when I see dangerous places, but there is one thing... the young prince did not let me do anything today. This slave is worried. Until the past few days, whenever she saw the young prince and Brother Shihu fighting each other, the slave was worried to death. The young prince knows that the injury to the young prince also hurts..."
Qingxue actually wanted to say: The pain was on the young prince, but it also hurt on Qingxue's heart.
But halfway through, she realized that she was from a girl's family, how could she say such shameful words casually? His face turned red all of a sudden, but fortunately it was night, so no one should be able to see it.
She originally wanted to forget it before she finished speaking, but Xiao Yu's face came closer, as if he wanted to see some clues on her face.
She quickly took a step back and said with a wave of eyes: "What is the young prince doing?"
"Just now you said the injury was on the young prince, but where did the pain come from?"
"It hurts Qingxue's heart!"
After Qingxue said this, she quickly covered her mouth. She was really a bad guy and deserved a beating.
She saw a different look in Xiao Yu's eyes than before. He seemed to be looking a little inappropriate, but that look made Qingxue's heart beat fast. Fortunately, it was night, so the two people not far away should not be able to see clearly. Clear them out!
"How much does it hurt? Tell me." Xiao Yu's voice was very low, which seemed to be teasing.
Qingxue's cheeks began to feel hot. She put away the sweat towel, held the corner of her clothes and turned half of her body. She lowered her eyes and said shyly:
"The young prince is so bad. Why did he become so glib today, like a slut? He didn't care about the occasion when he spoke, and everyone saw it."
The girl's body swayed slightly, and her soft body bumped into Xiao Yu's arms intentionally or unintentionally. Coupled with the faint body fragrance that the girl only had, the young prince was also a little distraught.
He actually had the urge to go up and hug Qingxue's slender waist.
His breathing suddenly accelerated, and he seemed to hear Qingxue's slightly accelerated breathing.
Liu Boxuan's deep voice and the "ahhh" sound made by Dendrobium's gestures came to my ears.
The desire that had just been ignited in his heart was suppressed at this moment.
What happened just now? Xiao Yu couldn't help but ask himself. He even wanted to pour a basin of cold water on himself.
Maybe it was the excessive excitement tonight that made him let himself go a little bit!
But I don’t know why, Qingxue looks particularly feminine tonight, but she doesn’t seem to be any different from usual ones?
It is said that food and clothing lead to lust, and as a good young man with a healthy body, it is not possible that he has held back on that aspect for too long.
Xiao Yu quickly shook his head and muttered silently:
Xiao Yu is a bastard... Xiao Yu is a bastard... Xiao Yu is a bastard...
Qingxue turned around and saw Xiao Yu looking at the sky, mumbling something in his mouth, his clear eyes full of curiosity and concern.
"My young prince, what are you doing? Is it... did my slave say something just now that made you unhappy? My slave... my slave... you are so presumptuous."
Qingxue has a graceful figure and a blessed body, but she looks so charming, which makes Xiao Yu's slowly declining anger start to rise again.
He held back his anger and looked at the night sky, hoping that the vast Milky Way would make him calm down, but tonight except for a crescent moon, there was not a single star in sight.
He smiled indifferently: "Haha... No... No, it was fine just now, haha... It would be better if you don't call yourself a slave when no one is around in the future, haha..."
Qingxue was confused. She only thought that the young prince was very strange, and his breathing was much heavier than usual. In her opinion, it should be that the young prince was tired after practicing his spear!
But she still bowed her head gracefully and said: "Slave... I don't dare to break the rules of the palace."
Under the night, these exquisite curves and charming but not demonic temperament made Xiao Yu really couldn't help but want to hug her again.
Hearing a cough from beside him, Qingxue didn't feel anything yet, but Xiao Yu hurriedly looked in the direction of the sound.
I saw Liu Boxuan and Shi Hu standing in the night looking at him and Qingxue, but they couldn't see clearly what the expressions were on their faces. Maybe they would feel embarrassed too!
"Uh... uh... Uncle Liu Shi, my nephew is rude. He was too busy talking to the maid and ignored Uncle Shi."
Xiao Yu spoke very mechanically, even Qingxue's name was replaced by the maid. He turned half of his body on the spot and saluted his mentor with a cupped fist.
Liu Boxuan also spoke, but his tone was somewhat mixed with embarrassment.
"My young prince, I shouldn't bother you and Miss Qingxue... but you still have a long time to live. As an uncle, I would like to have a few words with you alone..."
"Yeah, good."
Qingxue didn't seem to notice anything just now. When Liu Boxuan said this, the girl's face was even hotter. She wished she could find a place to hide in a ditch or something.
She hurriedly said: "Little prince, this servant is going down first!"
He was already in a hurry to leave before he finished speaking.
Xiao Yu opened his mouth, not knowing whether he should pursue him or not.
Seeing this, Shi Hu pointed at Xiao Yu and laughed.
Just as he was smiling happily, he heard Liu Boxuan beside him say: "Shi Hu, you should go and have a rest too! You have to get up early tomorrow and have to go on a journey! I will talk to the young prince for a while."
Dendrobium was suddenly startled, and her face that was originally full of smiles suddenly froze at that moment.
He was in a hurry and was about to open his mouth when he saw that Xiao Yu had already walked over a few steps ahead of him and asked:
"Uncle Liu Shi, what do you mean? You are leaving tomorrow?"
Liu Boxuan stroked his long beard and did not deny it. He glanced at Dendrobium and repeated: "Dendrobium, go back and pack your things first, then go to bed and sleep. I must watch you sleep before I go back."
Dendrobium looked obviously a little unhappy, but he still dragged his gun back and looked at Xiao Yu reluctantly before leaving.
There was no one else here, and the courtyard seemed particularly silent.
Xiao Yu then asked: "Uncle Liu Shi, your injury hasn't healed yet, why did you leave in such a hurry? If you go back to Jingxiang, how can you bear the fatigue of traveling and traveling in your current situation?"
Liu Boxuan stroked his beard: "Young prince, I will not return to Jiangxia for the time being."
"Then why are you leaving? I've had people seal off the entire courtyard. No one knows you live here. If... if someone informs the government, I will have a way to deal with them and will not put Liu Shishu in danger. .”
Liu Boxuan shook his head: "No, no."
"Why is that?"
Liu Boxuan squinted his eyes and looked at the night sky. After a moment, he slowly uttered eight words: "Entrusted by others... I have to do something loyal..."
"Who are you entrusted by? Who are you loyal to? Why didn't you tell me earlier! Uncle Liu Shi, your business is my, Xiao Yu's business. Well... Since this is the case, Uncle Liu Shi, you can continue to rest peacefully here, and I will help you tomorrow. You go to do something...but, I don’t know what it is?”
When Xiao Yu said this, he looked at Liu Boxuan seriously.
"How can we let the young prince put himself in danger again?"
Liu Boxuan became excited when he said this, and the wounds on his body that had not healed began to hurt again.
He couldn't help but hold on to the pillar, his whole body trembling slightly.
Seeing this, Xiao Yu hurriedly went to help him, but felt that his robe was soaked with sweat and wet.
"Uncle Liu Shi, your body..." Xiao Yu couldn't help but feel sad and sighed, "You might as well sit down and tell me the matter first, whether to do it or not, and then make a decision."
So the uncle and nephew sat down on the stone pier beside the corridor.
Liu Boxuan rested for a moment and then said, "Young prince, you just wanted to ask me who I am loyal to, right?"
"Well, that's right. What is it that makes Uncle Shi so eager to do it?"
"If I said that I was entrusted by a dead man to find his orphans and clan members, how would the young prince feel?"
"The orphan...the clansman...is he a barbarian?"
"Yeah." Liu Boxuan nodded.
"Is it them?" Xiao Yu said suddenly.
"The young prince is smart and knows everything when he thinks about it."
Xiao Yu narrowed his eyes, looking unbelievable.
"Why are they? What's going on?"
"My lord, are they your enemies?"
"It doesn't matter, everyone is their own master."
"Are they bad people then?"
"I don't know. I'm not familiar with them, and I don't know them as people."
"So we have no sworn hatred against them."
"That's right."
Xiao Yu replied and looked up at Liu Boxuan again, with a puzzled expression on his face.
Liu Boxuan spoke eloquently: "When a person is about to die, he also speaks well. When I was tracking, a Hu man was silenced. Before he died, he begged me to save his only son. Perhaps, that child was His only thought in the world. At that time, what I saw was no longer an enemy, but a father who fell on the road to find his biological child, without completing his last wish. You, Uncle Liu Shi, have always been soft-hearted. A person like this can't achieve great things, haha... As a living person, putting aside everything else and fulfilling the last wish for a father, that must still be done. In these days, whether sitting or sitting Whether I'm on the bed or walking in this courtyard, that father always appears in front of me. His expectant eyes make me unable to forget or refuse. Even if I don't go back to Jingxiang, I still want to find that child and take him with him. All the tribesmen were sent back to Monan, their hometown."
Xiao Yu chuckled and his body trembled slightly. "Uncle Liu Shi hasn't changed at all. Back then, my mother-in-law always said that Uncle Liu Shi was soft-hearted. It was because of his soft-heartedness that he was always willing to serve as an aide under my father's account. It was also because of his soft-heartedness that he was a person worth entrusting to me. Mother knows people well. There were so many disciples and former officials of my father's time. How many of them were still there when my family was in decline. Apart from Manager Zhao, you are the only one, Liu Shishu. Hey, Liu Shishu, don't worry, you can live here with me. That child Whatever you call it, just leave it to me. There is not so much reason to explain. I don’t care what the people behind the scenes are doing. I am just like Uncle Shi. It is not an exaggeration to save an innocent child. Bar!"
Liu Boxuan laughed loudly, but he still coughed while laughing.
Xiao Yu hurriedly patted Liu Boxuan on the back, but Liu Boxuan waved his hand and said he didn't need it.
"Uncle Liu Shi, do you have any clues about the child?"
"There are no clues yet." Liu Boxuan sighed, "The barbarian died after giving the explanation. He only told me the name of the child..."
"name?"
"That barbarian speaks rude Chinese. From what I hear, the pronunciation is probably...She Quli..."
