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"I am the Prince Of Qi, Vézé. I am also the one who scribbled in the book. May I know how to address you, young lady? "Vézé pretended to be calm as he greeted the visiting lady in the courtyard.
The lady looked to be in her early twenties. She had a small head and a pleasing round face. She was about 1.68 meters tall. Vézé glanced at the lady's feet. She was only wearing a pair of ordinary cloth shoes. Although he knew that there were no stilettos or high heels in 1854, the 1.68 meter tall lady's hairstyle made her look more than 1.7 meters tall. Her head was taller than most men in this era. Even though he knew that women didn't play tricks on their shoes in this era, Vézé couldn't help but feel that there might be something mysterious about the lady's feet.
The lady opposite Vézé couldn't help but frown at her unusual behavior. The lady nodded at Vézé with obvious disgust. "I am Qi Hongyi. Qi Yuchang is my father."
"Yes, Miss Qi. You came at the right time. I have a gift for Mr. Qi. You can take it with you when you go back. Someone, bring the gift list to Mr. Qi. "Vézé smiled.
Qi Hongyi wasn't moved by the gift list. She nodded to express her gratitude. "Thank you, Prince Of Qi."
Etiquette was very strict these days. The etiquette of the Manchu Qing and the Taiping Rebellion were the same. If they really talked about etiquette, Qi Hongyi's behavior could be considered a crime of great disrespect. That was enough to behead her. But Vézé liked this feeling. Even if the reason why Qi Hongyi acted this way wasn't out of kindness, Vézé didn't plan to dwell on this matter.
Of course, it must be noted that Qi Yuchang's current usefulness to Vézé far exceeded Qi Hongyi's value. Vézé couldn't blame Qi Hongyi even if it was for the sake of keeping Qi Yuchang. At least, that was what Vézé thought.
Seeing how calm Vézé was and how he treated Qi Hongyi as an equal, Qi Hongyi's expression seemed to have lightened a little. She pondered for a moment before asking, "There's something I don't understand. Why did the Prince Of Qi decide to cut off his desire? Therefore, if one has no desire, one can observe its beauty; if one has desire, one can observe its malevolence. But that is not the reason. Constant absence, one wishes to observe its subtlety; constant presence, one wishes to observe its reality. "
Vézé raised his eyebrows. He didn't expect that the first time someone asked him about knowledge in this era would be in such a manner. Seeing that Qi Hongyi wasn't going to pester him endlessly, Vézé said, "The reason why I cut off his words is because I don't think Li Er is that pretentious. When one has no desire, one still wants to observe. Naturally, it's to observe the commotion. It's to observe the smallest details, and that's why it's called observing its subtlety. When one has desire, one looks at the doorway, the rules, and the goal, and that's why it's called observing its reality. That's why Li Er said later that these two things have the same origin but different names. They are both mysterious, the most mysterious of all, and the door of all subtlety. "
Qi Hongyi was stunned. Vézé's explanation was very clear, and his judgment was also very thorough. But the reason was hard to imagine. It was actually "not pretentious". She paused for a moment before continuing to ask, "So the Prince Of Qi cut off his words just because of this" not pretentious "?"
"The general wishes to take over the world, and I see that he has no other choice. The artifact of the world cannot be taken. The doer loses, and the wielder loses. Therefore, things either move or follow, or blow, or be strong or weak, or be carried or be carried. That's why the saints go to extremes, to extravagance, to peace. "Vézé recited another passage from the Book of Dao.
Seeing that Qi Hongyi didn't understand after listening, Vézé had no choice but to continue explaining, "Li Er said that the general wishes to take over the world, and I see that he has no other choice. In the entire Book of Dao, Li Er is against the word 'desire'. Then why did he say, 'Always without, one wishes to observe its subtlety; Always with, one wishes to observe its reality.' Using it this way doesn't match at all! "
Qi Hongyi had studied the Book of Dao before. After listening to Vézé's words, she immediately nodded her head, and her face couldn't help but reveal a look of realization. After pausing for a moment, Qi Hongyi took out a letter and handed it to Vézé seriously, "This is a letter that my father asked me to deliver to the Prince Of Qi."
"Can I read it now?" Vézé asked.
"Huh? The Prince Of Qi can do as he pleases. "Qi Hongyi answered.
"Then let's sit in the room. It's too tiring to stand." Vézé invited.
"This … Then I shall accept your invitation." Qi Hongyi's tone had already softened.
After entering the room, Vézé opened all the doors and windows in the name of ventilation. However, the guards, or at least the guard officers, were very tactful. Everyone stood far away. Although they could see Vézé and Qi Hongyi, they couldn't hear what they were talking about.
Vézé read the letter. There were only some "rumors" in it. There was nothing about what Yang Xiuqing had done to Vézé. After reading it, Vézé kept the letter and asked Qi Hongyi, "Is that all?"
"My father asked me to inform the Prince Of Qi that no one in the King Of The East's residence dares to ask the King Of The East about this, so he doesn't know what the King Of The East is thinking. However, ever since the King Of The East talked to the Prince Of Qi yesterday, he hasn't mentioned anything about the Prince Of Qi. "
"Is that so?" Vézé said absent-mindedly.
"That's right." Qi Hongyi answered, "My father asked the Prince Of Qi not to worry. If there's any news, he will definitely inform the Prince Of Qi as soon as possible."
Vézé thought for a moment and suddenly asked, "Since Miss Qi came to deliver the letter, you must know what happened to me recently. I wonder what Miss Qi thinks about this matter? "
"I'm a woman …" Qi Hongyi immediately rejected.
Before Qi Hongyi could finish, Vézé immediately interrupted her. "What has this got to do with a man and a woman? Walking and running are all done with alternating legs. It's the same for men and women. Even if something happens, at least it's the benevolent and the wise have their own views. If Miss Qi has any thoughts, just say it. "
Hearing Vézé's frankness, Qi Hongyi pursed her lips slightly. "Confucius said, 'If you're not in a position, don't meddle in politics.' I've only skimmed the surface and didn't participate in it. Whatever I say is already wrong. So I really have nothing to say to the Prince Of Qi. "
"Haha! What a good 'if you're not in a position, don't meddle in politics'. " Vézé couldn't help but laugh. "To be able to use such words to this extent, Miss Qi must have really been educated. I really want Miss Qi to be an official under me. Just based on this' if you're not in a position, don't meddle in politics', Miss Qi is definitely not an incompetent official. "
Hearing Vézé's praise, although Qi Hongyi looked a little bashful, most of her expression was one of deep agreement.
Looking at Qi Hongyi's expression, Vézé was quite pleased. In Qi Hongyi, Vézé felt a sense of familiarity that he hadn't felt for a long time. In the 21st century, Chinese women had received ample knowledge, education, and emancipation of their minds. If they were really forced to do something beyond their abilities, after sufficient training, a considerable proportion of women could become administrative personnel. But in this era, the proportion of women who could become officials was naturally very small. The proportion of women who had knowledge of the bureaucratic system was already very low. Vézé didn't expect to see a woman who had the mindset of a Confucian bureaucrat here. This feeling was not so much surprise, but rather joy.
Vézé had already decided that he would make Qi Hongyi his wife. Thinking of this, Vézé looked at Qi Hongyi's feet again. Qi Hongyi was wearing a skirt, and he couldn't tell the size of her shoes. But thinking back, Qi Hongyi looked very comfortable standing and walking, so it was likely that she really didn't have her feet bound.
Looking at Qi Hongyi's face again, she had a round face, fair skin, pretty eyebrows and teeth, and had the unique beauty of a Jiangnan woman. The only thing that Vézé felt was that her nose wasn't straight. But this didn't mean that she had a flat nose. A slightly raised nose was also quite cute.
After confirming her knowledge, attitude, and appearance, Vézé felt that marrying Qi Hongyi wouldn't bring him any unpleasant feelings. Vézé didn't say anything more. He got up and said, "It's getting late, and I have to go to Zhenjiang. Why don't we part ways here? I'll send someone to take care of the things and send Miss Qi home. "
He didn't ask for Qi Hongyi's opinion, nor did he care how surprised Qi Hongyi was when she looked at Vézé. Vézé simply and straightforwardly sent Qi Hongyi home. And Vézé didn't reveal his determination to marry Qi Hongyi to Qi Hongyi. These days, it wasn't up to women to decide who they wanted to marry. Just like the 20 women that Yang Xiuqing had given to Vézé, before and after they were given to Vézé, their fates weren't in their control. Whether Vézé took them into his harem or gave them to his generals as wives, these women didn't have any say.
Although Qi Hongyi was the daughter of Vézé's ally, Qi Yuchang, she couldn't control who she married. Thinking of this, Vézé suddenly felt a great mockery. He personally hoped to build a society where everyone could be liberated and have the right to decide their own fate. But before this society appeared, Vézé could only follow the rules of the old era. And he had to admit that being able to control other people's fates and plunder the people or things he liked gave him quite a pleasant feeling.
After sending off Qi Hongyi, Vézé headed for the north gate of Tianjing City under the protection of the guards. Although the siege outside Tianjing City had been broken, Tianjing City's defenses were still tight. Even Prince Of Qi Vézé had to go through a rather complicated inspection before he could leave the city.
Vézé didn't like to sit in a sedan, so he rode a horse with the guards. Other than the cannons on the city walls, there were also cannons at the gates. The cannons could directly fire at enemies attacking the city gates. This was said to have been designed by the North King, Wei Changhui, when he was in charge of Tianjing City's defenses. It was clear that Wei Changhui had put in a lot of effort when he was defending Tianjing City.
But this great hero had become the North King when Yong 'an had been established, and was now ranked third in the Taiping Rebellion. His status was even higher than the Wing King, Shi Dakai. It looked like he'd been tormented quite badly while defending Tianjing City.
Vézé thought back to Wei Changhui's eagerness to leave Tianjing City and go to Anhui. Vézé also thought back to the King Of The East, Yang Xiuqing, and the mocking smile on Yang Xiuqing's face when he'd told this to him. Vézé felt that Wei Changhui might not be able to leave Tianjing City as he wished.
Vézé felt quite lucky that he could continue to lead troops in Zhenjiang.
Because the paperwork was complete, Vézé wasn't stopped. The general guarding the city gave the order to make way, and Vézé left Tianjing City with less than a hundred men. No matter what status one had, one only needed to bring personal guards when entering Tianjing City. Vézé was the Prince Of Qi after all, which was why he was allowed to bring less than a hundred guards. If he were an official of lower status, he could bring even fewer people into the city.
After leaving Tianjing City, Vézé reined in his horse and looked back. He saw that Tianjing City was still heavily guarded. Even though the strategic situation had taken a turn for the better, Yang Xiuqing hadn't let down his guard. After a few glances, Vézé turned back to the pier.
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