Hsu Fengnian laughed and said self-deprecatingly, "It seems like I'm a coward who was scared out of my wits. I don't have the right to criticize someone as ambitious as Zhao Heng, the King of Jing An."
Blue Bird smiled and shook her head, "Zhao Heng has already lost the first move in his discussion with Your Highness."
Xu Fengnian smiled and said, "Don't flatter me. The reason why I was able to win by a fluke was because Xu Xiao set up the most domineering first move for me. It wasn't my true ability. Hmph, I'm still so useless today. It's all because Blue Bird and you girls flatter me. Go, serve tea as punishment! "
Blue Bird smiled and remembered something. Her expression turned cold as she said, "Ning Emei was disrespectful towards King of Jing An's visit. He wanted to see how Your Highness would respond!"
Hsu Fengnian waved his hand and said, "It's reasonable. Ning Emei is a brave warrior who can wield a heavy halberd weighing seventy to eighty kilograms. How could he be willing to risk his life for others? Speaking of which, if he kowtowed to me as soon as he saw me, I would suspect that he was a traitorous fence-sitter. Don't mind this small matter. Otherwise, Ning Emei will laugh at me and look down on me even more."
Hsu Fengnian continued, "In the past, when I heard Xu Xiao talk about his experiences, I didn't take it to heart. Now that I look back, I understand a little. Killing an enemy on horseback is all about risking your life. If you win, you're the boss. If you lose, you're the grandson. It's clear. What a headache. No wonder Xu Xiao said that scholars were the most ruthless and merciless when killing other scholars. Zhao Heng is one of the most sinister people. Sure enough, to practice the saber, you need to personally fight with the enemy. To develop shrewdness, you need to fight with masters like King of Jing An to gain experience. I don't feel bad about giving you a string of 'satisfaction' worth thousands of gold. "
Blue Bird took the sandalwood box and left the room, gently closing the door behind her. Hsu Fengnian took the time to quickly read the last book, "The First Snow". Every word was like a gem. He really couldn't understand how a sixteen-year-old girl could write such a vivid essay. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that her writing was ingenious. Last time when his elder sister went back to Beiliang, he always heard her sigh that she wished the world could have another snow. At that time, he only felt that his elder sister was too sentimental. Now that he flipped to the end, he saw that the ground was covered in snow, and the tragic ending was a clean death. He felt both heartache and peace of mind. It was as if not dying was a failure, and only death was a real life. In the past, Hsu Fengnian didn't have such a state of mind. If someone died beside him, he would appear to be indifferent, but in fact, he would always be worried for a long time. It wasn't until three years ago when he had to walk around in a difficult situation, experiencing hardships and seeing the world's various forms of life that he changed.
Hsu Fengnian said softly, "Old Huang, are you trying to say that my home is where my heart is at ease?"
Hsu Fengnian, who was sitting alone, laughed, "Hey, how can you say such a literary principle?"
— —
In one of the rooms of the inn, Jiang Ni was lying on the table, staring at the dozen or so copper coins. She had asked the stingy Hsu Fengnian for one tael of silver that originally belonged to her. In the end, along the way, she was reluctant to buy anything. With great difficulty, she had steeled her heart and only picked two sets of the cheapest clothes and a cheap wooden hairpin. There were still some copper coins left. She was used to living a poor life. The little clay figurine seemed to have long forgotten the noble demeanor of growing up in the imperial family when she was young. No matter how angry she was at His Royal Highness, no matter how angry she was to the point that she could not eat, it would not affect her studies to earn money. These days, after leaving the Beiliang Palace, where everyone looked at her with disdain, she saw the scenery of the outside world. It was beautiful, but Jiang Ni was not as interesting as she had originally imagined. If it were not for the company of Old Li, she privately felt that it would not be as good as Wudang Mountain. Over there, she could still have a vegetable garden. Looking at the little green, she always had some joy that she did not dare to admit. Originally, she secretly hoped that she could spend the winter on the mountain. That way, she could build a snowman as tall as a person. Then, she would not have to be as restrained as she was in the palace. She could viciously stab the snowballs in front of that hateful fellow. But in the end, she still went down the mountain.
It was just that Jiang Ni, whose hopes had been dashed, wasn't too upset. This was his fate, after all. What was there to complain about? The heavens couldn't hear him anyway.
Old God of Swords Li came to the house and sat down. He tossed peanuts into his mouth and chewed loudly.
Jiang Ni was still staring at the copper coins in a daze. He said absent-mindedly, "Left?"
Old Man Li nodded and said, "Boring. This King of Jing An isn't a man at all. He's so cowardly even in his own territory. To think that he can hug such a plump and pretty lady and roll around in bed every night. He doesn't even have the slightest bit of heroic spirit. Originally, This Old Man didn't think much of that Xu brat no matter how he looked at him. Today, after seeing the imposing manner of Jing An and his son, he finally thinks that Xu brat is cute."
Jiang Ni raised his head and glared at him.
The old God of Swords smiled embarrassedly. He knew that his words wouldn't be pleasant to the little mud man's ears, so he didn't add fuel to the fire. He was just starting to get annoyed. This Old Man had already put down his airs and wanted to watch Hsu Fengnian practice his swordsmanship. This little brat, on the other hand, hadn't done anything for so many days from Mount Lao to Xiangfan. He didn't know how lucky he was. To be able to get a few pointers from This Old Man, how many people yearned for an opportunity that they couldn't get?! Li Chungang was an old fox that couldn't be any older. In fact, he had already guessed some clues. Hsu Fengnian had a cautious personality. To put it nicely, he had an outstanding temperament. To put it bluntly, he was as timid as a mouse. For the sake of the imperial court, he could resist getting close to women. For the sake of secrecy, he wouldn't easily reveal his swordsmanship in public. Occasionally, Li Chungang really wanted to use his finger to fiercely poke that brat's forehead and ask him if he was happy living like this! He was clearly a master who could cross the river no matter where he went, but what difference was there between him and a scoundrel struggling at death's door?!
Jiang Ni sighed and said, "That Sister Guanyin outside the city is so beautiful. The one today is also very beautiful."
The old God of Swords laughed and said, "Little Jiang Ni isn't any worse than them. In another two years, you'll be even more beautiful. It's fine as long as a woman is young. This Old Man dares to say that they're all jealous of you."
Jiang Ni's eyes lit up and asked, "Really?"
The old man rolled his eyes and said, "Why would This Old Man lie to you?"
Jiang Ni immediately squinted his eyes and smiled. The two little dimples on his cheeks made even the old God of Swords want to go drink.
The old man was somewhat helpless.
Jiang Ni carefully put away the copper coins like a miser. He jogged to the bookcase and picked up a secret manual. Fine, he was obediently reading and earning money again. As a result, the old God of Swords felt even more helpless.
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