Ye Primrose recalled what had just happened, and told Yao Biao in detail:

As usual, they left the city early to practice. Ruo Xiao broke a three-foot-long branch to practice his sword. Nightshade carries a small basket and sits under the tree doing needlework. Suddenly, Ruo Xiao threw the branch in his hand far away, and lay down on the clearing, and then he didn't move, just staring blankly at the clear autumn sky above him with his eyes open.

Nightshade waited for a while, but didn't see any movement from him, and asked, "Tired?" ”

"Ignore me," replied listlessly.

Nightshade smiled softly, lowered her head and continued to do needlework, ignoring him.

Ruo Xiao lay down for a while, sat up, looked at the work in her hands boredly, and asked:

"What are you sewing?"

Nightshade didn't raise her head: "Ignore you." ”

Ruo Xiao smiled. "What are we going to eat for lunch today?"

"You don't practice well, and you desert."

"It's annoying; I really don't want to practice anymore, what's the point! "If you shout, lie back on the ground covered with fallen leaves." Obviously, I don't have martial arts anymore, so it's impossible for me to get it back. I've been practicing for sixteen years, how can I still find it...... What kind of Gu did I fall for, and I actually daydreamed like this; I was confused and fell into Yao Biao's trap again, fantasizing that Uncle didn't really waste my kung fu...... Why am I so cheap......"

Nightshade put the needlework back in the basket, stood up, patted the dirt on her body, walked up to him, bowed her head and asked:

"Hey, do you want to eat the goldenrod?"

"I want to eat what my aunt made."

"You're really picky; What else? ”

Speaking of eating, Ruo Xiao came to the head of the spirit, turned over and sat up, and said with great interest: "I still want to eat roasted sweet potatoes, sauce elbows, roast chicken, and big buns from Fuxing——"

"You think you have a few bucks;" Ye Laixiang sneered: "Let's go, let's eat." ”

"I'm going too?"

"Anyway, you don't want to practice, so you might as well go into the city and go shopping."

They returned to the city, unwilling to trouble Lu Jiang; If there was only one offering from Master Yao, and the money on his body was still sufficient, the two of them went to the Bell Tower Street, which had the most restaurants, and had a full meal.

After the meal, Ruo Xiao still didn't want to go back to the city to practice, so the two of them sat in the restaurant and drank tea, chatting about some happy topics while drinking. Soon, noon passed. The street is lined with paving, and the surrounding restaurants are deserted. The shopkeepers began to clean up and prepare for dinner. Seeing that the surrounding seats were lifted upside down on the table, and the shopkeeper splashed water under his feet and swept the ground, the two of them couldn't stay any longer, so they had to get up and leave the restaurant and go to the street.

"Let's go out of the city, it's been a long delay." Nightshade incense road.

Ruo Xiao was silent for a long time, and said sullenly: "I'm so annoying." ”

"Actually-" Nightshade hesitated for a long time, and said, "You've already made a lot of progress, why can't you see it?" Don't be in such a hurry, isn't it only two months? ”

"You don't understand," Ruo Xiao muttered quietly, glancing at her secretly.

Nightshade smiled: "I don't understand; But a lot of things are pretty much the same. I just think, how can you expect to pick it up in two months if you throw it away for a year. It's just a normal thing, but it shouldn't be an exception for your martial arts. ”

"Of course," replied Ruo with a disgraced face, "but the situation is different now; If I could see the growth, I would be willing to spend another two years; But I couldn't see it at all. Just like every day of the year, nothing has changed. It seems to you that by dancing with those few branches, I have recovered some of my swordsmanship. But-that's anyone's will, even if Uncle really scraps my martial arts, I'll still be there. But the feeling behind that is that it is lost, and there is no way to get it back. I'm no different from a wreck. ”

"So, in your eyes, aren't we all wasted people?"

"No; I'm just talking about martial arts. Ruo Xiao lowered his head and walked slowly, his fingers kept rubbing together and repeatedly. You don't know, I've grown up for sixteen years, and I can say that all my ambitions and only ideals are all in martial arts, and I never thought of doing anything else in the past; All of a sudden, the dream was shattered. I don't know anything else. What difference do you think I'm a wasted person? ”

"Why, you can start over. It's never too late to learn something new from scratch. Besides, why are you so frustrated, Lord Yao is so confident in you. I have confidence in you too. ”

"You've always had faith in me, and I've always been amazed at that." Ruo Xiao smiled, glanced at her, stopped, looked back again, and then, turning and walking back, a few steps back to a hawker stall they had just passed, picked up a lilac hairpin from the pile of colorful jewelry, and asked her:

"Is it pretty?"

Nightshade nodded: "Well, I noticed just now, this one is the most beautiful." However, this kind of should be worn by a girl, and it is not suitable for an aunt. ”

"Who said I was going to send my aunt?" Joshua raised her eyebrows, took out the money to pay the vendor, and then reached out and pinned the hairpin to her hair. "This is for Xiang'er."

Nightshade was slightly stunned, her heart was a hot jump, her cheeks flushed, she touched the hairpin on her head, and lowered her head and asked, "How do you know I'll like this?" ”

"It's not easy, just walked through here, didn't your eyes look here vigorously."

"There are so many pieces of jewelry here, how do you recognize that I have my eye on this one?"

Ruo Xiao pinched up a huge friendless earring, frowned and smiled: "Could it be that you fancy this?" ”

"I hate it," Nightshade sneered, "who told you to spend money indiscriminately, and there is no shortage of hairpins." ”

Ruo Xiao smiled: "I didn't give you for nothing, I have something to ask you." ”

"What's the matter?" Ye Laixiang's heart cooled slightly, and muttered, "I know people like you." ”

"I'm begging you, use this hairpin to clip the mouth of that Miss Xiang'er who has been teaching me endless lessons, and tell her to stop teaching me, I'm annoyed."

Ye Laixiang Xing's eyes widened, glared at him, reached out to take off the hairpin, and said angrily: "I can't do it, I can't do it, I can't do it!" ”

She raised her hand, quickly pinned the hairpin to his head, then stuck out her tongue, made a grimace, turned and ran towards the center of the street, while looking back to see him ugly, but not noticing that two galloping horses were rampage not far away, and did not slow down in the crowded street, and trampled over many stalls along the way, and the crowded pedestrians on the road were panicking and hiding to the side of the street. She only heard Ruoliao shouting, "Be careful!! Before he could react, several pedestrians who were dodging the fast horses rushed past and knocked themselves down at once. In the panic, a pedestrian stepped straight past her. She heard the sound of the horse's hooves and came near, and when she saw that she was about to die, a man suddenly flew up to her, picked her up from the ground, and rolled aside; She didn't see anything clearly, only heard the neighing of the horse, and in another moment, the tall horse in front of her fell to the ground, and fell down with the man on the horse. When the man on the other horse saw this, he immediately reined in his horse and came down to save his companion.

She was in a trance for a long time, realizing that she was holding Ruo Xiao's arms, and his anxious face was right in front of her, patting her face and asking, "Xiang'er?" Xiang'er? Are you okay? ”

She was covered in dirt, but for a while her whole body was paralyzed, and she just stared at him blankly, unable to move.

The rider, who had fallen to the ground, was helped to his feet by his companions. They were two well-dressed and majestic young men, both with eyebrows like swords, their eyes shining, and their faces mixed with heroism and fierceness. The onlookers on the side of the road recognized the identities of the two, and they all fell silent all of a sudden, looking at these two unkind young men, and no one dared to say anything.

The two teenagers looked at the horse that had fallen to the ground, and found that the front leg that had been kicked by Ruo Xiao had been broken and could no longer stand up, so they were even more furious, picked up the horsewhip and walked in front of Ruo Xiao, and shouted:

"Where did the bastard come from, dare to stand in the way of our brother, and don't want to live?!"

Ruo Xiao glanced up at the two of them, but did not answer immediately. He helped Yelanka to her feet, pushed her back into the crowd, and then calmly dusted off the dirt on his body, paced in front of the two teenagers, tilted his head, and asked nonchalantly:

"What, this is your two territory?"

"You kid have eyes and don't know Tarzan?" The young man who was kicked down by him sneered: "The whole of Beiping is our family's territory. Are you dead? ”

Ruo Xiao smiled, squeezed his eyebrows and said:

"How many people in your house, a few catties of noodles in the library, isn't it just a mansion in the end; Your equestrian skills are so good, and the house must be very spacious, so why do you have to come to this impassable street and grab this slap-sized place with us ordinary people who can't live in big houses? ”

"Listen, stinky boy, my gold, silver and jewels have been taken out, and the moat can be filled. My family's soldiers have been dispatched, and they can fill every alley in Beiping City. Do you want us to screw your head off, or do you want to break it yourself? Another teenager yelled.

"Third brother, what are you talking about with him?" The boy who fell off his horse on the side had already caught fire, "Kill him right here!" ”

He raised the whip and struck at Ruoliao with his head and face, but unexpectedly, the whip stopped abruptly in the middle of the road, and he could no longer fight.

Ruo Xiao held the young man's horsewhip and smiled with a dead face: "Look at it, what is the pain of the person who is angry, your body is expensive, what a pity if you are angry." ”

"You...... Bastard, let go! The boy pulled the whip desperately, but he was firmly grasped in his hand and could not move at all. Seeing that the situation was not good, the other young man suddenly pulled out the treasure knife he carried with him, put it on Ruoxiao's neck, and shouted, "Let go!" ”

"Kill him!" The young man with his whip shouted.

"Second brother, this person is not simple. - Let go, or you'll see! ”

The pedestrians of the whole street, the roadside vendors, and the shopkeepers in the restaurants and restaurants all gathered around the side, watching this scene in horror and speechless. Ye Laixiang had already recovered from the previous thrilling encounter at this moment, and recognized the two teenagers in front of her as the two princes of Zhu Di, the king of Yan; It was the second prince Zhu Gaoxu who was kicked off by Ruo Xiao's horse leg and wanted to whip him with a horse whip, and the other one who put a knife on Ruo Xiao's neck was the third prince Zhu Gaosui. Ruo Xiao obviously didn't know about it, and he didn't expect that he was full of jokes, obviously intentional, but he didn't know that he was already in trouble. She was so frightened that she couldn't breathe, her face was pale and dumbfounded.

Ruo Xiao continued to smile and said, "The two of you are angry, and listen to the little one again." The two of you are anxious to ride a horse and hurry, not afraid of many cats and dogs on the road, resolutely and resolutely move forward in the downtown area, never slow down, even if you kick over people's stalls, trample on the chickens and ducks of the store, and even trample to death pedestrians, it can be seen that you two do have national affairs to handle, Tatar disturbs the border, Luchuan rebels, a thousand shots, 100,000 urgent; Shouldering such a heavy responsibility, it is inevitable to step on all obstacles and remove all obstacles. In that case, everyone can understand it; You two will continue to hurry, and the whole city will be proud of you. But the two of you stopped, and you couldn't get along with me as a trivial shopkeeper, wasting precious time in vain, and it would be bad if you delayed the military situation. Not only will the common people suffer, and they will be taken captive by the barbarians to be cattle and horses, but the two of you will also be beheaded all over the house because of the delay of the fighter plane, just because of such a small thing, the country is ruined, how worthless it is. ”

The third prince, Zhu Gaosui, couldn't bear it anymore, and with a loud shout, the knife in his hand was sharpened; Ruo Xiao had already prepared, and his body suddenly fell back as if his backbone had been removed, and the knife slashed against his chin. The whip in his hand had not yet been released, and the second prince, Zhu Gaoxu, was dragged forward by the force of his leaning back to gnaw the mud and let go of his hand. Ruo Xiao straightened up, shook the whip, and hit Zhu Gaosui's blade, and with a crisp sound, the knife fell to the ground, and it was broken in two. He hurriedly laughed and said:

"Rude, rude! The little one really didn't expect that this master's knife turned out to be a defective product, I just took a whip to dust a fly, and it broke off by itself. I can't pay you anymore, it's really no wonder that the villain. ”

The third prince was taken aback when he saw this, and hurriedly helped his second brother to come, and never dared to come forward again. Zhu Gaoxu refused to give up, and rushed forward to fight hard, but was hugged by his third brother and persuaded: "Second brother, our singles are not his opponents, let's go back and find a way." Then he took him to the horse, and the two men got on the horse together.

"Boy, what's your name? Who is your backer? The second prince looked at Shen Ruoyu viciously.

"Me?" Ruo Xiao put the horsewhip on his wrist, and flickered around in a circle, while laughing and saying, "A small name is not valuable; You can't even count on any backers. Can I know your two names? ”

The second prince said: "Tell you, I'm afraid that I will scare your guts!" If there is a kind, you will leave your name and let grandpa remember you! ”

Ruo Xiao smiled and said, "I'm sorry for the two masters, when the little one saw you on a rampage, he was already frightened." I really don't have that species, so I won't say the name. ”

The second prince smiled coldly: "You wait, don't think that if you don't say it, we won't find you." Ming'er asked his father to put the whole city under martial law, search from house to house, and when he found out, he must ask the guards to peel off your skin and light the sky lantern in front of the whole city! ”

After saying that, he laughed cruelly, looking at the shock on Ruo Xiao's face triumphantly. The people on the street were dumbfounded, and Nightshade only felt that she was about to faint.

Ruo Shao was shocked for a moment, but raised his head, looked coldly at the two little princes on the horse, and said word by word and clearly:

"My surname is Shen, and my name is scarce; If you want, I can go with you now. I can't wait until tomorrow to make a big move. ”

He threw the whip in his hand to the ground, walked to the horse in two steps, and looked directly at the two little princes.

Zhu Gaoxu, who has always been known for his fierce temperament, was also taken aback when he saw Shen Ruoyu send him to the door so frankly and frankly to ask for death. He thought about it, turned around and glanced at Zhu Gaosui, and both understood what the other meant.

"Shen-Ruo-Yu-" The second prince gritted his teeth and repeated his name, "Okay; Balls. Grandpa has other things to do today, and he doesn't have time to worry about you. You wait. There are still good things that haven't been eaten, what girls haven't been on, hurry up and try it today, don't blame me for not giving you time. ”

With that, the horse jumped up, rushed out of the crowd, and drove away.

Nightshade immediately rushed up, grabbed him and shouted, "Ruoxiao, why are you so stupid, why do you have to provoke them, what can I do now?" ”

"That's right, this young man has eaten the bear's heart and leopard's guts." The crowd of onlookers hula suddenly surrounded the two of them in the middle and began to talk about it.

"The boy is dead......"

"Insist on being a hero and pretending to be a hero, and kill yourself."

"Even the second prince and the third prince don't recognize each other?"

"There is a backbone, and you can speak for the poor."

"It's a man!"

"I don't think about my family, I ...... all over the house."

Ignoring the crowd, he pulled her up and said, "Let's go." And he went out. The crowd automatically moved out of the way, pointing and pointing behind while continuing to discuss:

"You know, that's the hooligan shop Xiao Er of the Hongjia Hotel."

"Sister-in-law Hong has suffered this time......"

"Lord Yao will intercede with the prince, right?"

"Lord Yao can't protect himself......"

Ruo Xiao pulled her and ran a few streets before stopping.

"Xiang'er, how are you?" He looked her up and down, "Let someone else step on it, okay?" You're scaring me to death. ”

Ye Laixiang looked at him silently for a moment, and suddenly tears flowed out, crying: "You fool, you crazy, I would rather let them trample to death than be arrested by the pro-army!" Why don't you think about it without using your brain? ”

"You're stupid, I didn't do anything wrong, they deliberately found fault. I don't believe that the prince is an unreasonable person. ”

"In front of them, Master Yao has no point in speaking, let alone you. If you are really skinned by them and light the sky lantern, my aunt and I will not live......"

"Sister, why can't you expect me to be better," Ruo Xiao smiled bitterly, "Don't cry, please, quickly take off the hairpin on my head first." How did you get it, I really convinced you. ”

Ye Laixiang then remembered her prank, and remembered that if it weren't for his own mischief, he wouldn't have caused such a big incident. She is to blame for everything. She sat down on the ground and cried loudly. Ruo Xiao had never seen himself cry like this, and he was suddenly frightened, sat down beside her, and said:

"Xiang'er, don't worry, when I was working in Yao Mansion, I often heard Yao Biao say that the prince is a very reasonable person, generous-minded and sympathetic, maybe you take things too seriously, and the prince is not so difficult to speak. I have also heard that the prince is generous and loving, and is not at all different from his two younger brothers - presumably the two brothers just now should be those two younger brothers - since there can be such an elder brother, it means that it is not a matter of family education. If the prince is really a good prince who is sensible and loves the people, he will not connive at his son to bully people outside, let alone arrest me and light the sky lantern. ”

"Why are you so naïve," Yelaika cried, "I can't hold my head up to see people in my life." I killed my best friend......"

"Xiang'er," Ruo Qian donkey skills are poor, "what can I do, you think I'm not afraid, I can't cry with you here, what's the use?" What else do you say I can do, it's just like what the little prince said just now, what else is delicious, good girl, hurry up and enjoy, there is no tomorrow after today......"

Nightshade raised her head and looked at him: "Good girl? ”

Ruo Yu said: "I'm just dreaming, who wants to follow me." ”

"I'm willing to follow you." Nightshade is crisp and neat.

Ruo Xiao smiled bitterly: "Thank you for comforting me, I am hopeless." You'd better help me take the hairpin off. Passers-by looked at me like a monster. ”

Nightshade looked at him; Ruo Yu still had the lilac hairpin pinned to his head, and he dragged it all the way, and it was already tangled with his hair, hanging loosely, so it was not funny. She couldn't laugh at all, and held back her tears, carefully untangled her hair from her clips, gently plucked the hairpins, and meticulously smoothed out his messy hair.

Then, she put a hairpin on her head and asked him, "Does it look good?" ”

Ruo Xiao frowned and shook his head: "Your face is crying like a mess, do you think it looks good?" ”

Ye Lai Xiang lowered her head: "Ruo Xiao, you still say that you haven't grown; You don't know how beautiful you were just now. ”

Ruo Xiao was silent for a long time, and said: "Xiang'er, I don't know, I can't say it - it seems that every time, when things are extremely critical, my martial arts will really be forced out." But when I tried my best to practice, I couldn't do it anyway, and I didn't feel the slightest feeling, which made me wonder if everything that happened was an illusion. ”

He sighed, shrugged his shoulders, and said, "Anyway, it's useless to think about it now. Anyway, I don't need martial arts anymore; Even if it's really still there, it's absolutely useless for me to deal with the entire pro-army of Beiping City alone. ”

"What now?"

"What should I do?" Ruo Xiao stood up: "I'm going to send you home first, and then find a way to explain things clearly to my aunt and Yao Biao." It's best that from now on, all of you forget about me and never know me again. Otherwise, I really don't know how big the trouble will be. Let's go, I'll send you home. ”

He waited for a while, but did not see her move, sighed, leaned down, gently pulled her up, took her shoulder, looked into her eyes, and said:

"Good Xiang'er, a manly man, one person does things and one person does things. It's a big deal, and I don't regret it at all. But if you and your aunt are implicated, and Yao Biao's family is implicated, then I will definitely not be blind. If you really think about it, hurry home and forget the name Shen Ruoliao, if the government finds it, you will say that you don't know me. ”

"So many people have seen me with you......"

"Then say that you hate me, and you are at odds with me, and you desperately say bad things about me, saying that I plan to assassinate the prince, or something, in short, the cleaner you push, the better. You know, don't let me worry about my heart. ”

"I'll go find your beggar friends, the third brother, they will have a way to save you and get you out of the city......"

"Don't look for trouble; Those two little princes must have ordered the city to be closed, and they can't escape. Why are you still pulling the third brother into this matter? Obedient, go home. ”

Ruo Xiao pulled himself and walked in the direction of Wanliuer Hutong. Nightshade followed him obediently, letting her hand hold in his hand, unwilling to pull it out, just silent all the way.

Suddenly, a carriage stopped beside them. A man jumped out of the car and shouted anxiously:

"Ruo Few! Where are you going? ”

It turned out to be Yao Jizhu. Ruo Xiao was a little overjoyed when he saw him, and said, "Young Master Zhu, it just so happens that I have one thing to ask you. ”

"Why are you so polite, are we brothers, why are you always a young master." Young Master Zhu's face was full of worry, "I just heard that you provoked the second prince?" Is it true? ”

Ruo smiled lightly and did not answer Yao Jizhu, but introduced to him:

"This girl is my best friend, and I need to take her home, but there is something urgent at the hotel, and I must rush back to take care of my aunt immediately. Is it convenient for you to go to Wanliuer Hutong? Can you please send Xiang'er back to Huiying Building? ”

When Young Master Zhu saw himself, his eyes lit up, and he didn't know what to say for a while, but instinctively responded:

"Nature...... I'll send Xiang'er home to ......"

His gaze never took off his face, and his amazement and admiration were beyond words. Nightshade blushed under the gaze of that pure sincerity, and involuntarily lowered her head.

Ruo Xiao sighed and smiled, "That's great." I'll go first. Thank you, Master Zhu! ”

With that, he turned and strode away, without looking back.

While the night came to tell the incense, he kept touching his ears and temples nervously; Only then did Yao Biao notice that a lilac hairpin was pinned there beautifully, elegant and generous. She didn't notice it herself.

After she finished speaking, Yao Biao pondered for a moment and asked:

"You just said that he saw you on the side of the street and rushed to the middle of the street to save you - do you remember how far away you were from him? How close are the horses of the two little princes to you? What if he kicked the horse's leg off - just a rollover, and unintentionally swept it onto the horse's leg? ”

Nightshade hesitantly replied, "I ...... me too Not sure, everything happened too fast......"

Yao Biao thought for a while, and then asked, "Xiang'er, do you want to tell all this truthfully again in front of King Yan?" ”

Ye Laixiang said: "As long as you can let the prince let Ruoliao and my aunt go, you can lock me in." I was also to blame. ”

Yao Biao smiled faintly and said:

"It's not that serious. I want to know how the stunned boy will behave when he really sees King Yan. - Xiang'er, drink tea, it's not hot now. ”