Yijuan cloud

Chapter 41 You don’t have to be afraid

At the first shot, Prince Yi slowly drew the bow to full capacity and narrowed his eyes casually.

Because I was standing on the far left, the white feather arrow was aimed at me first.

All the maids and slaves were so frightened that they fell silent.

Prince Yi usually didn't treat his servants harshly, so everyone present probably thought that Prince Yi was just having fun while drinking, but they didn't expect that he really treated people like squirrels.

When she was concerned about the prince's aim, Linghua plopped down on her knees, kowtowed and tremblingly said: "Your Majesty, please spare me."

Wen Jin also knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, please take a closer look."

Zhong Ming scolded in a low voice: "How brave! Your Majesty has decided the case, don't lie, and escort me out!"

Then two guards came forward and took Wen Jin and Linghua away.

Before the escort had gone far, a black shadow came towards me quickly. I watched it magnify in front of my eyes, and seemed to shoot straight towards the center of my eyebrows.

I seemed to hear the sound of breaking through the sky, my breath froze for a moment, and my mind went blank.

In the sight, people in the corridor in the distance were wearing colorful clothes, looking like a dazzling cloud in a trance.

Only the leader, Prince Yi, was wearing a white robe.

I haven't seen him in white yet.His skin was very white, set off by white clothes, and his face was like white jade, cold and indifferent, without any color in his face.

There was a "ding" sound, and my head suddenly shook. I was forced to stagger and fall by the force of the arrow.

The boy next to him also exclaimed and fell to the ground.

My eyes went dark for a while, then brightened for a while. When it lit up, I could see the figure in front of me.

After a while, I could hear the wind, the boy's rapid breathing, and the servant girl's kowtow.

I stretched out my hand to brush away the black mass in front of my eyes. It turned out to be my loose hair, and the hosta was broken into several pieces on the ground.

"It's your turn." Prince Yi's voice sounded.

The boy lay on the ground, kowtowing: "Your Majesty, please spare my life! It's all my fault. To tell the truth, my servant... my servant and Miss Duo'er are... I only got to know each other when I came to this house... she... she I often go to the lake to play...play the flute...when my slave hears it...just...just..."

"Is he telling the truth?"

Prince Yi picked up another arrow from the arrow pot and pointed it at me, speaking in a light tone.

I turned to my kneeling position and said hoarsely: "Your Majesty will shoot the slave again. The slave also said that she does not recognize this person."

"Still stubborn." Prince Yi pointed his bow at the boy beside me and said with a smile, "Get up, get up."

The boy stood up, trembling all over.

We are standing at the place where we can shoot, more than a hundred steps away from Prince Yi. Only people with excellent archery skills can hit the target with perfect accuracy, but a human target is not as good as a swan. The target is so big, even if it misses the vital part, there is still a chance of being injured. It's also very big.

The young man had just stood firm when he heard a "swish" sound, and the arrow was as fast as the wind. In an instant, it penetrated into the young man's chest and came out with a "chi" sound.

The boy staggered back two steps and fell straight backwards.

The blood stains quickly seeped into the floor tiles, as if they were wet on a rainy day.

Suddenly, a heavy rain fell and hit me.

As soon as I lowered my head, I saw bright red blood spattered on the pink pleated skirt, and my internal organs couldn't help but surge.

King Yi took up his bow again, and it was the servant woman's turn.

She had already collapsed to the ground.

Two guards came over and lifted her up, but her legs were shaking violently. Just as she stood firm, she suddenly fell to the ground again and said in a trembling voice:
"I said...I said...it was Feng Rong...he fell in love with Duo'er girls. He...he promised the old slave one tael of silver and asked him to coax her to the lake. Those shoes and socks...are …It was made by the old slave’s wife.”

For several days, everyone in the house was in fear.

Maybe when you see me, you can think of the tragic situation when the young man Feng Rong died. There is unconcealable fear in his eyes when he looks at me.

Even Xianggui was much more polite to me, but there was more alienation and resentment in that politeness.

One day, Linghua came to the front yard to deliver clean clothes and stopped by to see me.

In the past few days, I had not been anywhere else except to the study. I was depressed, so when I saw her, I happily pulled her to sit down on the couch.

She looked at me carefully for a while and said, "It's not bad. I was worried that you were frightened and couldn't bear it. It was really scary that day. They were all saying, it's a good thing that the prince wanted to shoot you in the head that day." , the arrow just missed the target. If it had been shot at the body, it would have been injured even if it was not dead. They put it simply, you were really dangerous then. If it hit the head, how could you still survive? The prince usually has a good temper. I didn't expect him to be so ruthless. I thought, maybe it was a matter of bad luck, so I resorted to such a method. Amitabha, thank you for being safe and sound. However, you have been serving the prince these past few days. How are you? "

I smiled: "I'll go back when Zhong Ming's hand is healed. Don't worry, I'll be careful. I haven't had a long memory after this incident. I have to be careful about everything in the future." , I will never fall into other people’s traps again.”

Linghua lowered her voice and said: "That pervert was too bold, and he deserved to die. But the prince was cruel enough, and thought he was trying to scare someone. Who would have thought that he could shoot someone with just one arrow like a swan?" He is dead, and there is also the woman who was kicked out of the house. I heard that after twenty rounds of beatings, she was carried out. At such an old age, I am afraid that even if she goes out, she will be useless. "

I forced a smile and lowered my head to embroider a handkerchief.

They saw this from a distance. How could I not know how cold-hearted the king was when I was among them?He is indeed a terrible person.

Linghua still had work to do, so she said a few words and was about to leave. Unexpectedly, Xianggui came to my room.

When he opened the door and saw her, Linghua was about to leave. Xianggui said lightly: "There's no need to be in such a hurry. I'll leave after saying a few words. You happen to be here, and you're also happy for Duo'er. The prince said, this time Duo'er will be The offense is because you are still a little maid, so the villain dares to be arrogant. Since you are serving as a servant for the prince, Duo'er, you will be promoted to a big maid in the future."

If you are promoted to be a maid in the palace, you will have to serve the king in the future. What is a good job in such a stormy place?After Xianggui left, Linghua smiled and said, "It's good now, I really stayed."

I sighed: "I would rather go back and be with you. Here, there are so many people staring at me every day, and I am cautious every day. It is obviously the same errand of serving others, but it has become a bad thing in the eyes of others. I really don't know what is better about it." "

Linghua said: "Don't be dissatisfied. People always walk towards heights. It's more comfortable to be a little maid, but you also know how many times you will be angry. Once you become a big maid, there will naturally be a group of people in the future." Flattery, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages in the end, I will have to have you take care of me from now on."

I pouted at her: "You're still teasing me!" I sniffed again and said, "What kind of powder is used in Xianggui? I can't smell it, I just think it smells good."

Linghua also sniffed: "Maybe I asked Xiao Wu to take it with me outside. There are many foreign traders here, maybe it's not from our place."

"No wonder I can't smell it."

Linghua said: "If you like it, go and buy it from Xiao Wu. Anyway, your monthly salary has increased now."

I shook my head and said: "It must be very expensive, I can't bear to part with it."

Linghua said: "How come you have become a money addict now?"

In the battle ahead, I heard that another victory was won, and the Tatar army lost its troops and generals. King Yi was very happy and held a big banquet to celebrate.

On every table, there is a grilled lamb dish, which is grilled on the spot using a whole full-moon lamb.

Since all the visitors were distinguished guests, the meat was cut by capable maids.

With Tang Shou as the honor, Xianggui is naturally by his side.

And I was waiting on Jiang Chujie’s case.

He was not surprised when he saw me dressed in women's clothing and appearing as a maid from the palace. He just whispered in a low voice as if nothing had happened while singing and dancing on the field.
"Last time at the wine shop, I saw that the girl was disguised as a man. I wonder who the girl was looking for last time? If the person is in the north, I can help the girl find him."

I cut off a piece of mutton for him, put it on the plate, and said softly: "Thank you, Mr. Jiang. I am just an acquaintance. I admitted my mistake that day. You don't need to take it to heart. There is another matter. I am on the order of the prince. I went to serve General Fan for a few days. General Fan was afraid of the inconvenience of taking a slave girl out, so he ordered the slave girl to pretend to be a servant. It was originally a small matter, but I still wanted to ask the young master not to talk to outsiders."

He smiled and said: "This is natural." As he spoke, he looked towards the opposite side.

I followed his gaze and saw Tang Shou smiling and lowering his head closer to Xianggui, while Xianggui had a nervous look on his face and leaned back repeatedly.

Fortunately, at this time, King Yi loudly invited everyone to drink together. Tang Shou sat up straight and raised his glass in celebration.

Xianggui glanced at King Yi gratefully, but King Yi was picking up his wine glass and drinking to his heart's content. How could he see her eyes?

After the celebration banquet, it was Tang Shou's birthday.

King Yi was reading in the study, and Xianggui served tea. King Yi took a sip, and after putting it down, he suddenly said: "I almost forgot, the day after tomorrow is Eunuch Tang's birthday, so I have to give a gift in advance."

Zhu Qing smiled and said: "Whatever the prince wants to give, just ask the servant to deliver it."

King Yi stood up, walked around and thought for a while, and said: "A while ago, I received a new jade sacred tree ornament. It is a strange object. That's it. Go get it."

Zhuqing left, and King Yi said again: "That thing is delicate, so we have to find a suitable person to send it over. Xianggui, you go with Zhuqing."

Xianggui bent her knees and smiled: "Yes."

For a moment, King Yi and I were the only ones left in the study. King Yi put down the book and said, "Prepare the pen and ink."

I agreed and went over to rub the ink on the inkstone.

In the quiet room, only the rustling of ink could be heard. He slowly wrote big characters on the paper. He didn't know what he was writing. His expression was very relaxed. After a while, he put away the pen. I went over to take it and looked at it. Hanging, he couldn't help but be startled.

The words on the plain paper were graceful and elegant, clearly saying "Don't be surprised by favor or disgrace, watching the flowers blooming and falling in front of the court; leaving or staying without intention, watching the clouds rolling and relaxing in the sky."

King Yi saw me looking at it and said, "Have you ever read this poem?"

I hurriedly closed my eyes, put the pen back on the pen rest, and whispered: "I only know a few words, but I have never read them."

King Yi didn't say anything more, he just folded up the plain paper, put it on the case, and then flipped through the book to read.

I saw that he was concentrating on what he was looking at and wouldn't use it for a while, so I took a step back slightly.King Yi suddenly asked: "I was very careful about shooting arrows that day, so you don't have to be afraid."

There was a sudden thought in my heart, and I couldn't help but feel frightened and frightened. I stood there blankly, holding my breath and concentrating.

But King Yi stood up and came over, stopped in front of me, and said warmly: "Don't be afraid."

I just lowered my head, my mind was full of thoughts, not knowing what he meant, so I stood facing him awkwardly and cautiously.

After being quiet for a while, I heard him say, "I'll reward you with the water chestnut cake on the table." Then he walked outside.

It wasn't until the bead curtain made noise for a while that it calmed down again. Then I breathed a sigh of relief and looked doubtfully at the plate of pastries on which he had tasted a piece.

Could it be that I am innocent because he found out that the servant Feng Rong was lying early in the morning?That's why he deliberately missed the arrow and shot Feng Rong to death with another arrow?

After leaving the study, King Yi left the house, returned at night, and went straight to the bedroom.

As there was no need for me to work, I just stayed in my room.

I was ready to go to sleep. Wen Jin knocked on the door in a panic. After entering the house, he closed the door and said in horror:

"Xianggui went to the town guard office and hasn't come back yet. The prince just sent someone to look for her. I don't know what went wrong."

(End of this chapter)