The white feather arrow landed on the pitch-black curved bow, and she slowly pulled the string, her slender fingertips pale and powerful. The cold wind lifted the sleeves of her dark red phoenix robe, revealing her white wrists, which were originally weak and boneless, but seemed to contain incomparably powerful power. She narrowed one eye, aiming at the red bullseye in front of her, and her unusually serious expression made it easy to lose her mind.

It's a rare gamble!

A seemingly delicate and rumored to be a beautiful princess and a young general who gallops on the battlefield and is famous for archery, gambling on archery, imperial power and military power! It seems that at the beginning, the winner has already been decided?

The people around were talking in private, and they were discussing whether the imperial concubine would keep her promise and no longer interfere in the affairs of the court? Will the emperor sit idly by and ignore this?

Countless pairs of eyes stared at the woman who stretched the bow and pulled the string, smiling at how she would end up after losing this big bet?

The black strings were stretched to the brim, and it seemed that they would break if they were added any more force. The slender fingers were opened, and the white feather arrow seemed to be endowed with mysterious power, and with a "boom", it galloped towards the center of the bull's-eye. Different azimuths, the same target, the white feather arrow grazed the black feather arrow's sharp arrow cluster, the fierce friction of the metal and iron tools, the sound was sharp, and sparks flew out. At that moment, the expressions on everyone's faces changed qualitatively, people's smiles disappeared, and the discussion suddenly stopped.

There was a suffocating silence in the Siyu Pavilion, and there was silence.

Luo Zhi's confidence was full of determination, and the whole body was broken, he stared in disbelief at the black feather arrow that was shocked by the white feather arrow, the bullseye position that the black feather arrow had hit was now occupied by the white feather arrow.

How...... How can it be? How could such a woman have such superb archery skills and profound internal strength?

He lost! I thought I was going to win a bet, but I lost!

It was a defeat in his life, not to a powerful enemy on the battlefield, but to a woman. This made it a little difficult for the always arrogant young general to accept.

"Seventh sister-in-law!" The Nine Emperor Princes opened their mouths wide in surprise, their eyes widened wider than copper bells, and exclaimed, "When did you practice your archery skills so well?" ”

Man Yao smiled faintly. This year, she didn't waste any time, and every day was arranged very tightly.

After the Nine Emperor Princes shouted, the surrounding people also came back to their senses and looked at the woman in front of them in shock. It is not difficult to see a woman who can shoot arrows, but it is impossible for all the generals present to be able to knock down other people's arrows that have been hit by the bull's-eye and replace their positions without destroying the target of the arrow. But such a seemingly delicate woman did it! No one would have expected that their imperial concubine not only had a beautiful appearance that captivated the country and the city, but also had a touching high archery skill.

"Niangniang Chitose Chitose!" I don't know who took the lead in shouting, except for the Nine Emperor Princes and Luo Zhi, all the ministers, generals, palace people and eunuchs knelt on the ground, and the shout almost broke the eardrums.

Zong Zheng walked down the Guangting without worry, took the sinking wood bow in Manyao's hand, and handed it behind him, Xiao Xiangzi hurriedly followed respectfully, who knew that the bow was so heavy that it almost didn't fall to the ground, and he was scared into a cold sweat.

Zong Zheng took her shoulder, tilted his head slightly, and squinted at her, when did she practice such archery? He didn't know!

Man Yao turned his head and smiled at him, he was a little cunning, as if to say, "You don't know a lot." ”

Zong Zhengwu's hand that caught her shoulder suddenly tightened, a dangerous light flashed in his eyes, he was stunned for a moment, and he shook his body intuitively, these days, she can be regarded as a man who has been abstinent for a long time after the horror of the explosion, and he will not give up if she does not toss until she is exhausted every day. Seeing her look timid, he picked the corners of his eyes with satisfaction, knowing that it was good to be afraid!

With a wave of his robe, he signaled that the kneeling man could get up.

Everyone got up and praised the archery skills of the imperial concubine, holding her to the heavens and the earth.

The corners of his lips bent shallowly, hiding the mockery in his heart, from the white demon to the harem chaos to the goddess in their mouth now, this has become not ordinary fast. She stared at Luo Zhi, who was still immersed in the blow of defeat at the hands of a woman, and asked, "General Luo, can you take it?" ”

Luo Zhi came back to his senses at this time, he has always called himself a manly man, and he dares to act, but he doesn't know what to do at the moment. After a moment of silence, he turned and knelt down in front of her, and took out a small bronze medal from his bosom, on which was engraved the word "Luo". He twisted his eyebrows, turned his face to the side, as if he had made up his mind after a fierce ideological struggle, raised the bronze medal with both hands, gritted his teeth and said: "Niangniang is good at archery, and the last general is willing to admit defeat." The Luo family's soldiers are here, but the last general will not accept it! ”

He said it crisply and briskly, admitting defeat, but he was not convinced. Such a man is not a bloody man.

Man Yao smiled slightly: , why are you not convinced? ”

Luo Zhi thought for a while and said, "If Niangniang shoots that arrow first, the last general can also turn defeat into victory."

He smiled and said in a voice that couldn't hear his emotions, "Really? Well, come on, bring a bow and arrows."

Xiao Xiangzi hurriedly held the bow with both hands and handed it over, Manyao took it with one hand, Zong Zheng frowned slightly, but he didn't say anything, let go of her shoulders, glanced at the arrogant Luo Zhi on the side, and retreated a little with a look in his eyes.

In the distance, the target was made of fine wood, and the bull's-eye's white feather tube had been removed, and Luo Zhi took a black feather arrow, ready to defeat her in the same way after she shot it. That method is not too difficult for him. He was ready, just waiting for the woman to make a move. But, alas,...... He didn't have that chance.

This time, the white feather arrow in Manyao's hand not only hit the bull's-eye, but the powerful internal force carried by the sharp arrow split the solid arrow target, only to hear the sound of "pop", the split wood shot out in all directions, and the shattered sawdust flew, like the smoke and dust splashed by countless horses' hooves, which could not be dispersed for a long time.

There was another deathly silence.

If the previous arrow is more important about accuracy, then this arrow is shocking by the huge momentum created by the deep internal force.

Luo Zhi's hand holding the bow chip was completely stiff, the last time, he rushed to capture the bull's-eye, and wanted to directly make her die, but she was shocked by the arrow feather and turned into a victory. And this time, she shot first and directly destroyed the arrow target, not even leaving him a chance to shoot. He turned his head to look at her, and saw that her face was calm and indifferent, and he was unwilling to say: "Niangniang has violated the current rules." ”

Man Yao smiled faintly: "What is the current rule? Hongu only said that whoever has the arrow in the center of the bull's-eye wins. "A palace man went to pick up the white feather arrow that was shot, and the tip of the arrow was impressively pierced into a complete red bull's-eye.

Luo Zhi was speechless for a moment.

Manyao Zhengse said: "General Luo, do you know why you lost?" ”

Luo Zhi closed his lips and frowned silently. Because he is too arrogant and confident, he has committed the taboo of soldiers and underestimated the enemy! Missed the best chance to win. If he didn't look down on women, and used more than three percent of the strength of one arrow, and the arrow pierced deep enough, then, even if the imperial concubine had deep internal strength, he could only destroy the arrow target but not shock his arrow, then he won. If he had been patient and probed the opponent's strength before thinking of countermeasures, he might have had the same chance to win, but he didn't, so he lost, and lost completely. Today's two arrows of the imperial concubine made him understand more than one truth.

Women, it turns out that it can also be like this.

He hesitated slightly, but opened it anyway. "If the mother can give me another chance......",

Wandering. Said: "General Luo, you are a general of tens of thousands of people, and you may be the commander of hundreds of thousands of people in the future, you should understand, what are you shouldering?" The stability of border passes has a direct impact on the fate of a country. If on the battlefield, the enemy understands your temperament and deploys a female general to fight against you, and you lose the war because you underestimate the enemy, will the other party give you a second chance? Who can give them a chance to the thousands of soldiers who have died because of your mistakes? ”

Luo Zhi was stunned, speechless. He stubbornly took out the talisman again and handed it to Manyao. He knew what this meant, the Luo family army would no longer be under the command of their Luo family, and he would be ashamed of his ancestors.

Seeing that although there was unwillingness in his eyes, her face was quite calm, she didn't say anything more, and slowly took the talisman in her hand, but she didn't even look at it, as if that thing was not even a toy to her.

Zong Zheng took her hand without worry, and his voice was low and majestic: "It's all gone." ”

The ministers kowtowed, and before leaving, Luo Zhi suddenly asked: "Niangniang has some archery skills, why don't you split the arrows directly?" That will make it easier to win. ”

Man Yao smiled meaningfully: "A good arrow, it can't bear to be destroyed." ”

The imperial concubine has been gone for a long time, and Luo Zhi is still kneeling in place, he has been thinking about everything in his life today, and the last sentence. It wasn't until all the ministers dispersed that he got up and went home. Along the way, he wondered how to explain the matter to his elderly mother.

After returning home, Luo Zhi wandered in the courtyard, not daring to enter the house, he didn't dare to imagine what his mother would do if he knew that he lost the talisman in the bet? This afternoon, every moment has become extremely tormenting.

On the second day, she finally didn't hide it, and Luo's mother knew that her son actually used the soldier talisman as a bet, and fainted on the spot. After waking up, I cried, made trouble, and hanged myself, it was useless to persuade anyone, and the whole Luo Mansion was very lively.

When this news reached the palace, he smiled and said, "Let's go, go to Luofu to visit Mrs. Luo." "It's a big gift.

It is undoubtedly a great grace for the imperial concubine to visit in person, and the Luo Mansion went out and knelt down to greet her. It was also on that day that Man Yao understood why Luo Zhi didn't look down on women.

From the moment she stepped into Luo's mansion, Luo's mother rushed out to salute, after the old man betrayed the old, pulled her to cry in the dark, scolded her son for being unfilial, starting from Luo Zhi's great-grandfather followed the second generation of Emperor Lin to fight the country, until the death of Luo Zhi's father, the heroic deeds of the three generations, and talked about the whole day in the middle of the mouth did not stop crying, even eating was not idle, while wiping tears, while drinking water to replenish water, and then crying after replenishing.

It's not to leave, and it's not to stay, so just listen to her carefully. Luo Zhi sat next to him, frowning, and persuaded his mother several times, but was scolded back, and in exchange for a more violent cry. He looked up at the sky helplessly, and saw that Manyao was not a little impatient, and he couldn't help but admire the patience of this noble woman.

When it was dark, Zongzheng Wuwu saw that she had not returned to the palace, so he sent someone to pick her up.

Luo Mu let go of her embarrassedly, and sighed lamentingly: "Let the mother laugh." Several generations of our Luo family have been loyal and brave, and they have been destroyed in the hands of the old woman, the unsuccessful son, how can the old woman have the face to face his father when she dies in the future! Niangniang, you don't know, the most hated thing in Zhi'er's father's life is gambling, and this rebel actually took the military talisman as a bet and did such a big rebellious thing, how can he inherit his father's will and protect the frontier in the future? ”

Luo Mu said as she peeked at the man. Manyao only listened to her quietly, and his face was silent. Luo's mother saw that she didn't react and stopped. "Get up and send it off.

When he arrived in the courtyard outside, he stopped, turned around and took out the talisman, and handed it to Luo Zhi.

Luo Zhi was stunned, looked at her puzzled, and didn't dare to reach out to pick it up.

Luo's mother had bright eyes and glanced at her son, but Luo Zhi still didn't move.

Man Yao smiled slightly: "This palace saw that the general was drunk yesterday, so he joked with the general. The Luo family army is the elite division of our dynasty, and Luo Jianghan is an indispensable loyal and good general of our dynasty, how can this talisman be used to bet at will? ”

She was reminding him not to be reckless in the future, and to think twice before acting.

Luo Zhi's eyes changed a few times, he naturally knew that it was not a joke, if he won, he would definitely force her to promise to quit the court in front of all the officials, and no longer participate in political affairs. And this talisman is in her hands, she can take the opportunity to control more military power, why should she return it to him?

"Why?" He thought about it and asked.

Manyao said: "This palace is not Wu Zetian, and I have no intention of being Wu Zetian." In her eyes, the country, the world, and the people's livelihood are not as good as that person. And she, just trying to help her husband, that's all.

Luo Zhi asked, "Who is Wu Zetian?" ”

I forgot that people in this era don't know that there is such a person as Wu Zetian. She said lightly: "The only female emperor in history." “

Luo Zhi was shocked on the spot, is there still a woman who has ever been an emperor in history? Why didn't he know? The woman in front of him sometimes reminded him with deep words and actions, and sometimes she was direct and frank and surprising. She doesn't seem to be afraid of anything, doesn't care about anything. She used one day to make him understand a lot of things, the imperial power cannot be invaded, women cannot be despised in, opportunities are grasped by people, and there is no law of success or failure...... Everything he has is a gift from the emperor, with or without it, but in a word, in a blink of an eye.

A seemingly weak imperial concubine is still so powerful, how terrible is that unfathomable emperor?

Luo Zhi took a deep breath and felt a chill down his spine. He knelt down and reached out to receive the talisman.

Man Yao looked at him deeply, and said with some seriousness: "General Luo, I hope you ...... It will not disappoint the palace and the emperor. ”

Luo Zhi raised his head, his previous disdain and arrogance were no longer seen in his eyes, and he said with the attitude that a soldier should have: "The last general understands." Please rest assured that the emperor and the mother. ”

Man Yao nodded with relief, and after leaving Luofu, she went to see Xiang Ying again, and it was already late when she returned to the palace, and she was exhausted.

Zong Zheng Wuwu had been waiting for her in the Manxiang Hall for an hour, and when he saw her tired, he was distressed in his arms, "Why did you come back so late?" ”

She was so tired that she didn't want to speak, her whole body leaned softly in his arms, and she didn't want to move. He didn't ask, he wrapped his arms around her, his chin rubbing against her forehead.

After a pause, she looked up and smiled at him, "Is the excerpt finished?" ”

He nodded "yes".

She rubbed in his arms, and suddenly wanted to be hypocritical, "Don't worry, I want to bathe, you carry me over."

"Okay." Somasa's carefree voice was magnetic and gentle. He ordered hot water to be prepared and carried her. Then he waited for her outside the bathroom, but after waiting for a long time, she didn't come out.

Because she doesn't like people to take a bath, there are no palace maids around, and she is the only one in the house.

Zong Zheng waited for half an hour, listening to no movement inside, he frowned, called her twice outside the door, but there was no response.

He pushed the door in, and his heart seemed to be squeezed by a soft hand, and it hurt so softly that she fell asleep leaning against the edge of the bath!

The mist rising in the room had already dissipated, and the woman by the pool had a thin face, slightly pale skin, and shallow frowning eyebrows, with a trace of indelible fatigue. The white long hangs down, draped over the smooth fragrant shoulders that are exposed to the water, and a section is immersed in the water, gently floating and scattering, like a thought being played. The bath towel she was holding in her right hand was placed on her left arm, as if she had accidentally fallen asleep in the middle of washing. In her sleep, she faded away from the cold, so beautiful that people couldn't bear to touch it.

Zong Zheng walked over slowly, his steps were extremely light and light, he tried the water with his hands, and he was already cold. He frowned and gently picked her up, put her on his body, and wiped her body with a dry towel with an unusually gentle movement. Finally, he carefully wrapped her in a blanket and carried her back to the dormitory.

She didn't know anything about this series of actions. I don't know if he was too gentle, or if she slept too soundly?

Put her on the bed and cover her with the quilt. He stared silently at her sleeping face, reluctant to look away.

There were three knocks outside the door, and Leng Yan called out in a low voice: "Your Majesty, the landlord has news." ”

Zong Zheng frowned, got up and went out, Leng Yan handed over a white note with both hands, and his face was not very good.

Zong Zheng took it without worry, unfolded it, and his face changed suddenly.

Phoenix Nirvana, the soul of women