Madam Ji was delighted as she looked at the pair of lovely children standing hand in hand in front of her.
Thinking of her first son-in-law who was an old man of about the same age as herself, and looking at the handsome, elegant and refined appearance of the new son-in-law in front of her, she liked him more and more.
She pulled Cheng Qianye and said, "You are my son-in-law now. In my heart, you are no different from my own son. I have enclosed the old house where her brother was the prince in the west of the city, as well as a piece of mountain garden around it. I have stepped up the renovation in the past few days. I will finish the main house first, and you two can move in and live there peacefully. If there is anything missing, just tell me."
Yao Tianxiang twisted her mother's sleeve and said, "Mom, with your arrangements, what else can I lack? I am only worried about one thing. My husband is a gentle and handsome guest. I am afraid that those big and strong military ruffians in my brother's army will scare him."
Madam Ji nodded her head and said, "They say girls are extroverts. Now that she's married, she's already turning to her husband."
She patted Cheng Qianye's hand and said, "Don't be afraid, my son. If your brother-in-law starts to bother you, just tell me and I'll punish him!"
Cheng Qianye's expression remained unchanged as he sat on her lap with a smile on his face.
He was depressed in his heart. The old lady spoke nicely, but she had no intention of letting him go. She would not care about the fact that Yao Hong was keeping him under house arrest. The most she could do was to make his life a little better on the surface.
If he wants to leave Wei State, he must convince Princess Tianxiang to become his own and work together to escape from the control of her brother Yao Hong.
A few days later, Cheng Qianye and Yao Tianxiang moved into the newly built princess mansion.
I saw the mansions, magnificent and grand, with carved beams and painted buildings, exotic flowers and stones everywhere. Everything was exquisite and every place was extravagant.
There were groups of servants in the courtyard, concubines singing and dancing, and music and dance every night.
Cheng Qianye and Yao Tianxiang spent their days either boating on the waterside pavilion or listening to opera in the garden. They lived a newlywed life without shame or sex, never mentioning returning home, and seemed to be happy and not wanting to return to Jin.
Duke Heng of Wei often came to invite him to banquets, and continuously sent people to bring rare treasures, handsome slaves and beautiful concubines.
One day, Cheng Qianye took Princess Tianxiang with him and sat by the waterside pavilion, watching the rippling waves, enjoying the gentle breeze, and listening to a Huangmei Opera being sung in the pavilion on the water.
The song they sang was a passage from "The Double Saviors".
The female role has a fair face and red dress, a willow waist, and green jade fingers holding the Xiang Fei fan. She babbled: "Everyone praises my Pan An appearance, but it turns out that the gauze hat is reflecting the beauty of the moon."
Cheng Qianye and Yao Tianxiang shouted "good" in unison, and servants came up to give them tips from the audience.
The two beauties both came down from the stage and expressed their gratitude. They bowed gracefully in front of Cheng Qianye and raised their eyes to send him amorous glances.
Yao Tianxiang took a sip of tea and asked, "What's going on?"
The housekeeper beside her bowed and replied, "In reply to your question, Princess, I heard that the Prince Consort loves Huangmei Opera the most. This pair of actors is a pair of famous actors from Suzhou that His Majesty has specially ordered to be brought to the palace for the Princess and Prince Consort to entertain themselves. One is called Liu Yue and the other is called Chun Xin."
"Brother really cares about me." Yao Tianxiang smiled sweetly, "In that case, my husband, just accept this Liu Yue Chun Xin."
Cheng Qianye rolled his eyes in his heart, but laughed out loud: "Thank you for your kindness, uncle."
Yao Tianxiang put down the tea bowl and ordered the servants: "Go, wash the man clean and send him to the prince consort's room tonight."
Cheng Qianye secretly reached out and pinched Yao Tianxiang's arm.
Yao Tianxiang was indignant and pinched back. The two of them fought back and forth for three or four moves, and because of the presence of servants, they reluctantly waved their hands.
The lady in charge looked at it and nodded secretly, then privately sent someone to report to Duke Heng of Wei, Yao Hong, not to mention it.
A few days later, Duke Heng of Wei sent someone to invite Cheng Qianye to go with him to review the naval training.
On the stands by the river, soldiers stood in rows and battle flags were flying.
Dozens of burly and majestic generals sat in attendance. Cheng Qianye was wearing a light robe, and only Mo Qiaosheng was following him, which seemed a bit out of place.
The sound of drums rang out, and the warships lined up on the vast river were sailing in an orderly manner, crisscrossing each other, and changing into various formations in an orderly manner.
Even Cheng Qianye, who knew nothing about military affairs, was deeply moved by this momentum and couldn't help but applaud in admiration.
The rehearsal of the ship soldiers was over. The infantry, chariot soldiers and cavalry soldiers took to the stage one by one and began to rehearse on the parade ground under the stands.
Sitting next to Cheng Qianye was a general wearing a silver helmet and with curly hair and beard. His last name was Yuan Wu. He laughed and opened his palm like a palm leaf fan and said to Cheng Qianye: "Jin Yuehou has just come to our land. What do you think of our brave guards?"
Cheng Qianye cupped his hands and said, "Your army is so brave and powerful that it is admirable."
Yuan Wu was still unwilling to let it go after hearing this: "Old Yuan, I have always heard people say that northerners are good at riding horses, while southerners are good at soldiers. I have always been dissatisfied with this. It is a rare opportunity that the Marquis is here. I wonder if you could condescend to show me how the northerners are good at riding horses, so that we can also see how the northerners are good at riding horses."
Cheng Qianye's riding skills were acquired recently and he could just barely sit on the horse without falling off. Comparing himself with these generals who had fought on the battlefield for many years was nothing but humiliation.
I had to refuse again and again.
Yuan Wu obviously wanted to humiliate the Marquis of Jinyue on purpose. He stretched out his black hand and grabbed Cheng Qianye's wrist: "My Lord, you are a handsome man, a rare talent. Don't be so modest, haha."
He stretched his hand halfway, but couldn't move it because it was tightly held by a clamp-like hand.
The black-clad attendant behind Cheng Qianye stretched out his arm and grabbed his wrist. His pair of dark eyes, like a wild wolf, were cold and murderous.
Yuan Wu felt goose bumps all over his body, and a chill ran up the skin on his back.
This is a natural reaction when facing a strong enemy on the battlefield.
He stood up and shouted, "Who are you?"
Mo Qiaosheng shook off his hand, looked him straight in the eyes, and did not retreat at all. He clasped his fists in front of his chest and said, "I am a small soldier under the Marquis. If the general insists on a comparison, I am willing to accept your advice on behalf of the lord."
Snap, snap, snap.
"Your courage is commendable, and your loyalty is admirable." Yao Hong then clapped his hands three times slowly from the main seat, "In that case. Yuan Wu, you can have a fight with this young man. Just stop when you are satisfied, and don't hurt the harmony."
Yuan Wu snorted and walked away with a flick of his sleeves.
The two men each rode a horse, held a strong bow, and hung a quiver on their head. They set up two targets a hundred paces away and competed in archery.
Yuan Wu rode his horse first, without much aiming, he drew his bow to a full moon and shot his arrow like a meteor. With a whoosh, it hit the bull's eye, and the whole audience burst into cheers.
Mo Qiaosheng said nothing, drew his bow and arrow, and shot the same arrow into the bull's eye.
Yuan Wu snorted, turned his horse's head, and rode away. While the horse was galloping back and forth, he leaned over and drew his bow. With a whoosh, the second arrow hit the center of the bull's eye as usual.
Mo Qiaosheng rode his horse forward, ran back and forth several times, but never drew his bow, and the surrounding soldiers booed.
When the horse was running fiercely, he took out three arrows from the quiver at once. There was a sound of swishing and swishing, and the three arrows flew out one after another, but they did not hit the center of the target, but only the outermost circle of the target ring, arranged in a product shape.
He rode his horse without stopping, going in the opposite direction, twisted his waist, turned around, and shot another arrow backwards. There was a sound of breaking through the air, and the arrow hit the tail of the first arrow. It continued to move forward, splitting the original arrow in half and sinking into the center of the bull's eye.
The arrow shaft that was split into two swayed slowly on the target, and then fell to the ground with a click.
The whole audience was silent, and only after a moment did they burst into applause.
Although they were not their own soldiers, men on the battlefield respected the strong the most, and all the soldiers were impressed by Mo Qiaosheng's miraculous strength.
Yao Hong cheered, stood up, and said loudly: "No need to compete anymore, both of you are excellent archers, please take a break and come forward to receive your reward."
The two returned to the viewing platform and knelt on one knee in front of the coach to salute.
Yuan Wu blushed and said, "I am not as skilled as you. I admit defeat. I have brought shame to you, my lord."
Yao Hong laughed loudly, helped him up, and patted his shoulder: "Don't take it personally, Yuan Laochu, you don't know that there are people better than you."
He helped Mo Qiaosheng up and praised him, "I wonder your name, what position you hold in the army? I think you are one of the best archers in the Jin army."
Mo Qiaosheng bowed and said, "I am sorry to bother you with your inquiry, sir. I am only a slave serving you. My archery skills are just average in our army, and there are many who are better than me."
Yao Hong glanced sideways and said, "Hey, you are too modest. I don't believe there is anyone who can beat your archery skills."
"It's true. I can only shoot three arrows in a row without missing, but there are comrades in my army who can shoot seven arrows in a row without missing."
There was a buzz of discussion at the banquet, and everyone looked at Cheng Qianye with a lot more respect, no longer with contempt and disdain.
Yao Hong sat back in his seat and said to Cheng Qianye, "My dear brother, is this man really a slave?"
Cheng Qianye nodded in agreement.
When Yao Hong saw how brave Mo Qiaosheng was and heard that he was just a slave, he felt itchy.
Thinking that the Marquis of Jin Yue is a lustful man and may not value this slave, I will offer him extra gold, silver and beauties and try to exchange him for me.
So he opened his mouth and said, "Since this man is a slave, I wonder..."
"Brother, you are going to bully my husband again. He brought this personal attendant from home, and you can't take him away from him." A pleasant female voice interrupted him.
Princess Tianxiang, dressed in military uniform, stepped onto the platform.
"Tianxiang, how can a woman like you come here?" Yao Hong was interrupted and said unhappily, "Stop making trouble. Go home quickly."
Yao Tianxiang took Cheng Qianye's arm and sat down beside him.
"Who has the patience to watch you roughnecks reviewing the troops? I'm here to take my husband back home, so that you won't try to bully him while I'm away."
"You!" Yao Hong was speechless. He had never been able to deal with this fierce girl.
Cheng Qianye took out a handkerchief and handed it to Yao Tianxiang: "Why are you running so fast? You're sweating. Wipe it off quickly."
Yao Tianxiang raised her little face and said, "Wipe it for me."
The solemn and majestic martial arts arena suddenly became charming. The generals coughed and looked up at the sky, feeling very embarrassed.
Yao Hong held his forehead and waved his hand: "Go, go, take your husband first."
Yao Tianxiang took Cheng Qianye and left.
After getting off the platform, Cheng Qianye breathed a sigh of relief, bowed slightly, and whispered, "Thank you, Princess, for rescuing me."
Yao Tianxiang said coldly, "These are the only things I can solve. If my brother really wants to kill you, he won't care about me. If one day, he changes his mind, I can't protect you. Even if it's my head, he can cut it off if he's cruel enough."
"To him, the relationship between brother and sister is just a thin layer of paper. If you want to survive, you must plan to leave quickly."
The author has something to say: I don't have to mention Tang Bohu, mainly because Tang Bohu is too famous for his paintings of spring sex, and using his paintings is just to hint at the atmosphere. I have said it before. Although it is set in a period similar to the Western Zhou Dynasty, the utensils and supplies will travel through time. Because my level is not good enough, it is too tiring for me to research all the items of the Western Zhou Dynasty, so I just forget it.