Chapter 410: Extra 01 The Empress (Second update)

Chapter 410: Extra 01 The Empress (Second update)

Chapter 410 Extra 01 The Empress (Second update)

It’s the Chinese Valentine’s Day again.

In the blink of an eye, it has been three months since the death of the late emperor, and the national mourning has finally ended.

This Qixi Festival is the first festival after the national mourning. The people in the capital, who have been suppressed for a long time, are all in a carnival of being released from prison, and they all go out to have fun.

The streets of Beijing are celebrating the Chinese Valentine's Day. Long streets are decorated with lights and colorful decorations. Most of the lanterns, fans, flowers and fruits, embroidery, calligraphy and painting, and even the Four Treasures of the Study sold in various shops contain patterns related to the Chinese Valentine's Day, such as the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. The seven fairies, such as magpies, Yeyue and Magpie Bridge, are all dazzling.

The daytime in July is very hot, but at dusk, the weather gradually turns cooler, as if it has suddenly turned from midsummer to early autumn.

Because today is the Chinese Valentine's Day, there is no curfew in the capital. Even at dusk, people from outside the city are flocking in one after another. There is a huge flow of people, all planning to participate in tonight's Chinese Valentine's Day Lantern Festival, some to do some small business, and some to To visit the lantern festival and join in the fun.

Shen Qianchen and Gu Jue are naturally the latter.

To suit the occasion, Shen Qianchen wore a pink underskirt embroidered with magpies and peaches. She wore pink silk flowers in her bun and peach-shaped pink jade beads in the same color as the underskirt. The moon is as beautiful as a peach blossom.

The two of them came out to play incognito. Of course, Gu Jue was not wearing a dragon robe, nor the Taoist robe that he always loved to wear. Instead, he was wearing a slim-fitting green lotus-colored Hufu with lapels, which outlined his tall and straight lines, and was tied with a black belt. It tightened his thin waist, making his figure become more slender and lean.

Gu Jue's robe is also embroidered with a magpie, a magpie holding a peach blossom in its mouth. If you look closely, you will find that his clothes match those worn by Shen Qianchen.

Both of them have outstanding looks. They are one of a kind. No matter where they go, they will attract many people's amazing eyes. From time to time, people will stop and look at them.

Night has not yet fallen, but the street is already very lively, with some shouting vendors on both sides, and a circus team playing gongs and drums on the street performing chest-breaking boulders.

The two of them walked along, visiting stalls and watching sideshows, and bought many miscellaneous trinkets, such as round fans, sepak takraw balls, purses, combs, glazed beaded flowers, etc.

As they walked, they came to a stall surrounded by many men, women and children. The stall owner shouted enthusiastically: "Catch goldfish and shoot wooden arrows. The goldfish you catch and everything you shoot belong to you."

"Five coins played ten times."

At this moment, there was a child squatting on the ground to fish for goldfish at the stall, but the fishing net was made of paper and broke when it touched the water. The child tried again and again unconvinced, but found nothing.

Seeing Shen Qianchen look at it twice, Gu Jue asked, "Are you playing?"

Shen Qianchen shook his head and said helplessly: "Yueying is naughty enough."

Her Yueying is getting more and more naughty. She not only likes to flutter butterflies, but also likes to catch fish. Now Shen Qianchen doesn't dare to raise fish in his small study. If he takes this goldfish back, it will be a cat's toy, which is pitiful.

Shen Qianchen took two more steps forward, casually picked up a small bow from the stall, took out five copper coins with his other hand and gave them to the stall owner, then turned around and asked Gu Jue with a smile:

"What do you want?"

Everyone else could hear what she meant. She was planning to shoot the arrows herself and let her husband choose what he wanted.

The passers-by who were watching found it interesting how the young couple turned upside down.

A plump middle-aged woman kindly advised: "My dear wife, his bow string is loose and his arrows cannot shoot far. You'd better ask your husband-in-law to come."

As she spoke, the middle-aged woman looked Gu Jue up and down with bright eyes. She felt that this young man was really good-looking. The legendary Song Yu should be like this.

Others were also cheering and echoing: "Yes, little lady, let your man come on."

Gu Jue's eyes flickered slightly and the corners of his lips curled up. The title "your man" really gave him an indescribable pleasure.

Seeing the excitement here, other people on the street also gathered around, three floors inside and three floors outside.

Shen Qianchen casually flicked the string of the small bow with her fingers. Of course she knew that this bow was not easy to shoot accurately. Not only was the bow string loose and the arrow could not shoot far, but the tail feathers of the wooden arrows used by the stall owner were also tampered with, so The arrows shot are not accurate either.

These are common tricks used by these stall owners, and people who come to play are just doing it for fun.

Shen Qianchen smiled slightly, raised his chin, and said with a bit of arrogance: "I will do it myself." What he was thinking in his mind was that there is no way to kill a chicken with a powerful knife.

"Jiuxia!" She blinked her phoenix eyes and urged him to choose quickly, her voice was sweet at the end.

Gu Jue casually glanced at the shelves in front of him, raised his hand and pointed: "Just that folding fan."

The folding fan is inserted into a bamboo tube. According to the rules of the game, Shen Qianchen has to shoot down the bamboo tube with one arrow to be considered "hit."

"Okay." Shen Qianchen started to draw the bow and set the arrow with great interest. His movements were as skillful as flowing water. The people next to him could tell at a glance that he had an extraordinary momentum.

"Whoosh—"

The wooden arrow shot out softly and began to fall in mid-air before it reached the shelf, completely missing the folding fan.

Most people are not surprised by this result.

After all, most of the people who come to this kind of stall have nothing to gain. Otherwise, how can the stall owner make money?

Everyone booed for a while, and some people started to cheer and encourage Gu Jue to come in.

Gu Jue said nothing to this, and Shen Qianchen also said nothing and continued to shoot the second arrow calmly.

The second arrow shot farther than the first arrow and was closer to the bamboo tube, only missing by an inch.

The others made regretful sounds and shouted: "It's very close, little lady, please try harder."

"Little lady, I think you should stop shooting at the fan and shoot at the bronze mirror. The bronze mirror is big and you can definitely hit it."

"Yeah, maybe that dressing box is good too."

“…”

The stall owner and onlookers all thought that Shen Qianchen's second arrow was just a coincidence. Only Gu Jue knew that the girl's next arrow was going to hit.

"Whoosh!"

The third arrow was obviously more powerful than the first two arrows when it was shot, and its trajectory in mid-air was also more stable. The tip of the arrow was steadily aimed at the center of the bamboo tube.

With a "click" sound, the bamboo tube tipped over, and the folding fan inside also fell out.

"Hit, hit!"

"This little lady is shot!"

The onlookers were even more excited than Shen Qianchen, and they clapped and cheered continuously.

A mere folding fan is not worth much. The stall owner also smiled, handed the folding fan to Gu Jue with both hands, and praised: "Sir, my lady's archery skills are really good!"

The stall owner only said nice things, but Gu Jue said seriously: "Indeed." His little girl has always been awesome.

Shen Qianchen was in high spirits and asked Gu Jue, "What else do you want?"

Gu Jue pointed at another thing very cooperatively.

This time it was a mask with a magpie painted on it.

Shen Qianchen nodded happily: "Just right, one for you and one for me."

So, her fourth arrow shot a mask, and her fifth arrow also shot a mask. The two masks were a pair.

If once is a coincidence, then hitting three arrows twice or three times in a row is not a coincidence.

The surrounding onlookers were in an uproar, with praises, exclamations and calls for friends one after another. There were even more people around the stall. "Sir, these are two masks." The stall owner also gave the pair of masks to Gu Jue, who was about to cry without tears.

As the saying goes, people cannot be judged by their appearance, and sea water cannot be measured.

It turns out that this pretty little lady is an expert in archery. No wonder she asked her husband directly what he wanted.

Many people in the crowd pointed at the young couple, and some people had already made up stories with their imaginations. They thought that this delicate little lady should be a martial arts master who could cross the Yangtze River with a hundred steps. And this seemingly vigorous young man said: He may be a weak scholar who has no strength to tie a chicken, otherwise how could a husband ask his wife to shoot arrows?

Shen Qianchen happily put on a magpie mask on Gu Jue, then put on another mask on himself, then took his hand and left quickly.

"Let's go."

She didn't shoot the remaining five arrows. She had had enough fun anyway.

The people at the back were still discussing and gathered around the booth without leaving. Some people enthusiastically took out five copper coins to shoot arrows.

Shen Qianchen pulled Gu Jue with his head covered and walked forward. After walking about fifty feet, he suddenly stopped.

The next moment, a crisp and happy laughter escaped from her mouth, and she couldn't help laughing.

"Weak scholar..." She couldn't help laughing, thinking that just now someone thought Gu Jue was a weak scholar, which made her laugh. This joke is really funny.

The magpie mask blocked her face, revealing only a pair of phoenix eyes as bright as stars, with particularly thick and long black eyelashes.

At this time, the phoenix eyes behind the mask smiled like a crescent moon, and bright light flowed in the pupils.

Just this pair of smiling eyes made Gu Jue unable to look away, and a desire for exclusivity suddenly arose in his heart.

He wanted these eyes to only look at him.

He wants her to always be in his sight...

Suddenly, something flashed through Gu Jue's mind, and he inexplicably thought of something she said at the Temple of Heaven last month.

His eyes flashed, and he said with a meaningful smile: "I seem to be quite protective of food."

The next moment, Shen Qianchen's laughter stopped suddenly, his eyes widened, a trace of surprise flashed across his eyes, and his long eyelashes twitched.

Then, Gu Jue saw her ears turning red little by little. The blush spread down, and even her slender neck turned pale pink, disappearing at the collar...

Gu Jue couldn't help but want to get closer, leaning slightly, wanting to lift her mask and look at her cheeks...

Shen Qianchen quickly grabbed his hand, held it tightly, and dragged him forcefully to a teahouse on the street, saying, "Let's go to the teahouse to sit."

"Okay." Gu Jue's voice, as cold as wine, sounded behind her, with a hint of smile echoing in her ears, lingering in her ears.

Shen Qianchen felt ashamed that he had read his thoughts. His heart was beating fast and his ears were burning even hotter.

When she entered the teahouse and took off her mask, she was back to normal. She ordered a pot of tea and two plates of snacks without blushing or heartbeat.

Gu Jue also took off his mask and placed it next to hers. The two magpies on the mask were placed side by side, with their beaks facing each other.

Shen Qianchen's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately looked away and scanned the lobby of the teahouse.

There were many tea-goers sitting in the teahouse, more than half of whom were scholars wearing silk scarves and straight skirts. They sat together in twos and threes, and the seven or eight tables around them all seemed to know each other, and they were chatting away.

Judging from their accents, they come from all over the world, so they must have come to the capital to take the exam.

Shen Qianchen often goes to the imperial study room, so he also knows that this year's spring has been delayed because of Gu Lang's death. There will be three consecutive exams, each lasting three days. The weather in June and July is really too hot. The students were afraid that they would not be able to hold on any longer, so after discussing with the Imperial Academy, the cabinet simply proposed to change this year's Spring Festival to "Autumn Festival", and all foreign candidates who were stranded in the capital could live in the Imperial College, with food and accommodation included.

At first, Shen Qianchen just drank tea and looked at the environment, until the word "Xindi" came into her ears, which immediately attracted her attention.

"...The new emperor ascended the throne and issued a decree to reduce taxes. The people will also be blessed this year." A thin man in green clothes raised his glass and sighed.

Some people agreed, some were non-committal, and some objected: "It's just a small favor to win people's hearts."

A blue-clothed official looked disapproving and sneered: "As soon as the new emperor ascended the throne, he rashly issued an order to recruit troops. I am afraid that he is a militaristic person. Da Qi may go to war with other countries soon."

No one wants to fight. When the topic of "war" is mentioned, the faces of all the students are solemn.

Another student in a brown brocade robe retorted righteously: "The new emperor is prepared for danger in times of peace. It is better than the 'last' one. He has only been in power for a few years. He is greedy for money, free money, and extremely extravagant. If an enemy country really sends troops to attack at this moment." Da Qi, don’t I, Da Qi, have no soldiers to use and become a lamb to be slaughtered?”

The man in blue was not convinced and said sternly: "Now that the world is at peace, Chidi has just been leveled, the vitality of the Lin country has been greatly damaged, and Nan Hao cannot protect himself, so how can he have any spare power to invade our Da Qi."

"One code equals another code. Eating empty pay is because the generals in the army are greedy and should be punished. At this time, recruiting soldiers is more than enough. Raising soldiers consumes the national treasury, and the people also need strong men to support their families!"

“…”

The man in blue kept talking about the harmful effects of recruiting soldiers. The students on the other side who supported the new emperor were not convinced either. People from both sides went back and forth, and no one was convinced by the other.

The air was full of gunpowder.

Speaking of excitement, the man in blue slapped the table angrily and said: "I dare say that this time there will be a question about stationing troops."

What he means is that the new emperor has just ascended the throne. This is the first general examination under his rule. The new emperor will definitely pay close attention to it. So when he selects the first batch of Jinshi, he will definitely select those scholars who conform to his political views. .

Now, all the civil servants in the court are veterans from the previous two dynasties. The new talents selected starting from this session of examination will be the team that the new emperor will train in the future.

The other students looked at each other thoughtfully, feeling that what the other party said was reasonable.

The blue-clothed examiner sneered, showing a bit of arrogance, and said loudly: "Learning literature and martial arts will bring you to the emperor's family. But we scholars are studying for the imperial examination for the common people. In order to show our ambitions, I went against my will to cater to the new generation." Emperor, this is not what I want. I am also prepared to fail the exam."

After saying that, he let out a long sigh, raised his head and drank all the tea in the cup, feeling both heroic and helpless.

The other candidates were discussing among themselves for a while.

After a while, a middle-aged man with a goatee frowned and sighed: "The sea is open to all rivers and has tolerance. If the new emperor is so stubborn, how can he make Daqi prosperous!"

Shen Qianchen listened to their discussion while drinking tea. She was so interested that she didn't even notice Gu Jue refilling her tea.

Anyway, she would eat whatever Gu Jue fed into her mouth. Occasionally, he would raise a glass and take a few sips of warm tea to soothe her throat and remove the smell.

Naturally, she wouldn't notice the envious looks cast by the other women around her, thinking that this young couple must have just gotten married after the national mourning, so they were so sweet.

Shen Qianchen came close to Gu Jue's ear and lowered his voice curiously and asked him, "Did they guess correctly?"

This question was related to an imperial examination question and must not be heard by others, so Shen Qianchen lowered his voice so low that his lips almost touched his ears.

Gu Jue's ears twitched slightly, and even the little finger of his right hand flexed.

He didn't look at her and didn't speak. Shen Qianchen thought he hadn't heard clearly and was about to repeat it again. Gu Jue moved and brought his lips to her ear, blowing his breath up.

"Do you want to know?" he asked with a smile.

See you tomorrow morning~~

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(End of chapter)