Chapter 36: The big bird is a horse, the small horse is a bird.
"Who am I?" He repeated, and Xia Chuqi's eyes dimmed slightly as he thought of the bustling metropolis of his past life, the towering skyscrapers, the military green barracks, and his comrades with whom he had shared life and death. There was also the "Golden Seal Jade Box" that he had only recently obtained... Suddenly, it all seemed like a dream, and he stood there in a daze.
"Say." He was obviously very patient, and a single word brought her mind back.
"Well, I..."
Under his gaze that didn't waver, she suddenly curled up the corner of her lips and said, "What, you like me?"
Zhao Zun hummed, his eyes full of cold intent.
"Then, you want to marry me?"
“……”
She raised an eyebrow, her eyes curved in a smile, and with her limited knowledge of feudal etiquette, she began to banter, "You don't like me, nor do you want to marry me, what's the point of asking me this? Next, are you going to ask about my birthdate and all that? These questions involve the six rites, I understand them. Could it be that you, sir, don't?"
"Stop beating around the bush and speak quickly!" He again overbearingly brought the topic back.
"It's not that I don't want to say!" Xia Qiqi smiled, "But I'm afraid if I say it out loud, you'll be scared to death."
Seeing him give her a cold glance, expressionless, she rolled her eyes and thought for a moment, fitting the eerie atmosphere of the dark night. With a ghostly aura, she crept up to him, taking advantage of his unpreparedness, and fiercely grabbed his sleeve, adopting the classic pose of Nie Xiaoqian from "A Chinese Ghost Story". In a soft, alluring voice, she said, "Actually, I'm a beautiful ghost who has returned through borrowing a corpse. The King of Hell specifically sent me to seduce men like you..."
Zhao Zhuo drew back his sleeve and said, "Yan Wang really has blind eyes."
"Hey, must you be so sarcastic?"
He narrowed his eyes and his gaze fell on her face again, "Don't squeeze your eyes into a pair of fighting roosters all the time, it's ugly."
He finished speaking, turned around with a cold face and went to pull the big bird that was eating the green grass. With a beautiful flip, he rode on it. He looked back and stretched out his hand to her.
"Come!"
Get out of here!
Arrogant! Shameless! No taste! Can't even recognize a beauty!
Is she making sheep's eyes? That's flirting, throwing flirtatious glances, get it?
Bastard, he's not a normal man.
In her heart, she cursed him with a bloody head, but Xia Chuqi was relieved that he didn't continue to ask. Otherwise, she really wouldn't have known how to answer.
She walked away with a huff, carrying the injured pigeon, and let him lift her onto the horse, sitting in front of him. This time, the horse slowed down significantly, and the gentle night breeze carried the faint scent of the man's subtle body fragrance and a hint of masculinity. To be honest, if he hadn't just shown his "disdain", she could have indulged in the pleasure of being held by the handsome man with an open heart.
Nowadays - she stroked the little dove's head and hummed a gentle tune.
"Old fox, even using a carrier pigeon?"
He grunted and said nothing else.
"No humanity! But pigeons can recognize their owners, right?"
"Doves only recognize their nests."
"Alas, a pitiful sight indeed." With a slight pout, Xia Chuqi's expression towards the pigeon in her arms softened with a hint of empathy, "Poor thing, it seems we're both victims of shameless people. In that case, I'll give you a name too."
She talked to herself, both praising and blaming. He pulled on the reins, pretending he hadn't heard.
"Hmm, what should I call you?" She seemed hesitant for a moment before bursting into laughter. "I've got it, I'll just call you Little Horse."
Zhao Yu's hand on the reins tightened, as if he couldn't bear this name. Even the big black horse doing weight-bearing exercises couldn't help but twitch its head and let out a loud snort, expressing its strong discontent.
"What are you proud of?" Xia Chuqi slapped the horse's back with a loud slap, full of annoyance towards its owner. "The horse can be called Big Bird, but can't the bird be called Little Horse? Hehe, don't say it, these two names are really a perfect match."
At the beginning of summer, Qi got her wish and Zhao Zhuo remained silent for a long time, sitting upright on his horse. Because the horse was not running too fast, he didn't hold her waist tightly like before, honestly treating her obviously not as a piece of white tofu, no, an unmarried big girl.
Hurt one's dignity!
Calling him an iceberg would be an insult to icebergs.
The ice will melt, but this guy probably won't melt, right?
At the beginning of summer, she glanced at him and saw that his cold and handsome face was stiff and rigid. It was clear that he had no interest in her as a woman, only using her, a pure ascetic like Liu Xiahui.
Something's off...
This guy always has beauties surrounding him, and according to Mei Zi, he really doesn't find people to serve him in bed...
It can't be him...
With a jumbled mind, she couldn't help but recall the time she treated him by the Qingling River. As her attention focused on medicine, she forgot that it was improper for two people of the opposite sex to be alone together and blurted out the question.
"I say, you're still not fully recovered?"
"Huh?" Zhao Zhuo was clearly unable to keep up with her rhythm.
"Last time I diagnosed you, indeed your yang energy was deficient and your kidney yang was insufficient, but that was due to the severe injury on your shoulders at the time. Now that your injury has recovered, and you are in the prime of life with abundant blood and energy, logically speaking, you should be vigorous and strong..."
Zhao You's hand tightened on the reins.
At the beginning of summer, Qi thought he had hit his weak point and laughed with great satisfaction. "Don't worry, you don't have to be discouraged. With me, Xiaoshen Doctor, I'll make sure you're invincible and unrivaled. It's not a problem at all... However, we need to discuss the price..."
Her waist suddenly tightened, a cold male breath rushed into her nostrils, the man's strength was so great that it seemed to strangle her waist, making it difficult for her to breathe, and she turned back to scold him.
"What's so fierce? Not working but not losing face?"
His eyes grew even more profound in the dark night, one word at a time, "Shut up for me!"
"You're the kind of person who holds it in and hurts their internal organs!" She retorted, mumbling a few ambiguous words, feeling increasingly stifled, her voice suddenly softened, trying to use gentleness to overcome strength.
"Alright, alright, just consider everything I said as nonsense... My only hope is that once our strategic plan is complete, you'll let me leave as promised. I'm not a person with grand ambitions, I just want to live a carefree life and don't want to see the sky or look at people's faces."
"You have a slave contract." He let go with an expressionless face, with an air of a master.
"Can't be redeemed?"
"Cannot."
"Didn't you agree last time?"
"Grandpa said... Pū luò."
His pair of seemingly piercing cold eyes made Xia Chuqi's heart feel a chill, she gritted her teeth in frustration, regretting not explaining clearly earlier. In anger, she slapped the big black horse hard, startling it to let out a loud whinny and quicken its pace, before letting out a furious roar in the cold wind.
"What the... Are you trying to enslave me for the rest of my life?"
……
……
From then on, they parted ways with an air of finality, and the two had no more words for each other.
It took twice as long to get here than it did to come, and when they arrived at the Qinggang County boundary stone, Zhao Zhu stopped his horse. All that could be heard was a shrill whistle, and from the grass outside the boundary stone, a dark figure emerged. With hair tied up in a bun, wearing black clothes and short sleeves, extremely tall and looking agile and capable, he hadn't even approached the side of the horse before kneeling on one knee, clasping his fists together in greeting.
"Dad!"
Zhao Zun nodded and let Xia Chuyi hand over the carrier pigeon to him.
"It's all set."
"Yes!" The man stood up and took over the carrier pigeon, glanced at Xia Chuqi, and then gave Zhao Zun a signal. He leaned in close to his ear and whispered a few sentences. Although they were extremely close, Xia Chuqi didn't understand a single word, only hearing Zhao Zun say "I know" faintly before he whipped his horse again and galloped away.
The city gate of the relay station has been closed for some time.
The guards patrolling the city walls saw the king's horse rushing over, and quickly raised flags to notify the soldiers below to open the gate. With a heavy "creak" of the iron gate, the majestic black horse galloped into the neatly lined up gate of the soldiers.
They had not yet reached Ma's residence when a group of imperial guards in brocade uniforms appeared ahead.
In the hazy firelight, the person surrounded in the middle was none other than Dongfang Qingyun, the ravishing beauty in red, with a smile in her eyebrows and eyes.
Digression
Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo...
Big bird is a horse, little horse is a bird - what's going on here?
Haha, no more teasing today. Now, I'm being serious and bowing to thank everyone for their support along the way. Also, I want to mention that this novel will officially enter VIP mode around September 6th, so I hope to get the support of all the ladies with a genuine version. For those who are not yet members of Xanadu, please quickly register and join our group [36138976] to discuss the plot, play games, and have fun together!
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