Chapter 34: Horse Racing
Li Zijun seemed to have become the most devout believer at this moment, and he stood there and kept his gaze on the holy woman, and he did not move again until the prayer service was over.
I don't know why, Winnie missed the appointment! In the crowd that came to pray, Li Zijun didn't find her. But Li Zijun was about to forget the purpose of his coming here at this time, and just wanted to kneel at the feet of that holy woman and confide in her all the things in his chest!
After all the prayers were over, the crowd slowly walked out of the church, and Li Zijun couldn't wait for the crowd to disperse, so he pushed aside the crowd and walked quickly to the saint.
"Hello!" After watching the holy woman say these two words, Li Zijun was a little speechless for a while, and he couldn't think of what to say to the holy woman in front of him.
"Hello!" the saint replied to Li Zijun habitually, but when she turned her head to look at Li Zijun, her professional smile instantly condensed, and she seemed to have recognized Li Zijun.
"May I ask you what's the matter?" the holy woman quickly concealed her surprise, regained her kind smile, looked at Li Zijun and asked.
"Oh, I'm here to ask to see Archmage Kaye, I wonder if he wants to see me?" Li Zijun thought for a long time, and finally came up with a reason, but his slightly dull expression still betrayed his true thoughts.
"We are all children of God, of course the archmage can't refuse the visit of his brothers and sisters, if Archmage Kaye is here, he will be happy to see you!" The saint saw through Li Zijun's thoughts, but she didn't say anything, and still gave Li Zijun a warm smile.
"If you're willing to leave your name, I'll tell him about your presence when Archmage Kaye returns!" In fact, the saint had already guessed Li Zijun's identity, but she still wanted to hear Li Zijun's personal confirmation.
"I'm from the Seine, my full name is Edlaide Lee, you can call me Amity. Many years ago, Archmage Kaye saved my life, and this time I want to express my gratitude to Archmage in person!" Facing this holy woman, Li Zijun felt that there was no need to hide anything, and when he heard the holy woman ask, he didn't want to say fifteen or ten.
Seeing Li Zijun say his name in person, the saint's heart seemed to be pierced by a steel needle, her face instantly became extremely pale, and her body shook a little.
"Are you okay!" Seeing that the saint's face changed greatly, Li Zijun wanted to reach out to support the saint, but he was afraid that his recklessness would offend the saint, and he was a little at a loss for a while.
"I'm fine!
"Archmage Kaye has gone out to teach the Fa, and it will take a while before he comes back, but don't worry, I will definitely tell him the news that you have been here! As for the fact that he saved you, you don't have to pay too much attention to it, saving the world is originally the duty of the gods to give us people, I believe that Archmage Kaye has the same idea as me!" The saint had already returned to normal at this time, but her eyes when she looked at Li Zijun became more and more gentle.
"Oh, then I'll take my leave!" Hearing the saint say this, Li Zijun could no longer find an excuse to stay here, he felt very lost, and after bowing deeply to the goddess, he turned around and walked out.
"Wait a minute!" Looking at Li Zijun's lonely back, the saint felt incomparably heartache again, she was entangled in her heart for a long time, and stopped Li Zijun at the moment when he was about to step out of the church door.
"Is there anything else you have to do?" Li Zijun turned his head and looked at the saint with a blank face, not knowing what else she wanted to say.
"You've come here from so far away from the Seine, and if you let you go like that, Archmage Kaye will complain that I've been mistreating his brother! If you're interested, can I show you around?"
"Interested! Interested!" Li Zijun didn't want to leave so soon, but when he heard the invitation of the Holy Maiden, he immediately took back one leg that was about to step out of the door, and at the same time showed a happy smile on his face.
The saint took Li Zijun to visit almost all the buildings of the Cult of Light here, and explained to him the allusions of each building and the stories of the Cult of Light about the gods while visiting.
Li Zijun followed behind the saint like a primary school student, listening carefully to every word she said, and from time to time he showed a willing expression.
The two of them walked around the Cult of Light for a whole day without realizing it, and it was not until the clergy next to them reminded them that they saw the sky outside like ink.
"I didn't expect it to get dark so soon, I'm really sorry to delay you for so long today!" Li Zijun looked at the saint and said apologetically.
"I hope my introduction didn't make you feel bored!"
"No, no, I listened very happily! If you don't mind, I want to come and hear your explanations often, is it okay?" Li Zijun asked with an eager look at the holy woman.
Hearing Li Zijun's words, the saint's eyes flashed obviously, but then she became a little hesitant.
"I always welcome your visit!" said the saint with a smile. But Li Zijun didn't notice that there was a faint sadness hidden behind the saint's smile.
Li Zijun heard the words of the saint and left happily.
Seeing Li Zijun on the horse disappear at the intersection, a layer of fog gradually rose on the saint's eyes! She turned around and sighed deeply, and after returning to her room, she immediately packed her bags and left a letter for Archmage Kaye, Zuihou explained some things to the other clergy, and left the capital overnight.
Because of the appearance of the saint, it aroused those inexplicable feelings in Edlaide's heart, which also made Li Zijun ignore Winnie's no-show, but at this time, Winnie had already begun to fidget in her own home! She was not only worried that Ed would misunderstand due to the failure of the appointment, but also worried that her mother, who had always been healthy, suddenly fell ill today! Even the prayer that she had never missed had to give up today.
Looking at her anxious daughter through the window, the mother's heart was also full of questions.
"Master, you have to make me pretend to be sick today, so that I can't even fulfill the prayer of the Divine Sect!"
"I'll give you a satisfactory explanation of this matter later, but don't let Winnie know about it! And in the period leading up to the Emperor's birthday, try not to let Winnie go out alone, not to take her to prayer, and not to allow her to attend the ball alone!" said the old man in front of the lady with a serious expression.
"What is it that makes you so nervous, sir?" asked Madame worriedly.
"Don't ask any more questions, I'll tell you why! The old man also saw Vinnie's performance, and his tone seemed more and more worried.
Vinnie's father, Alec, is the Minister of Agriculture of the Dongyu Empire, and it has been rumored that he will be the strongest contender for the next prime minister!
Alec was cautious in his words and deeds, never intervening in the battles of the princes, let alone leaning towards any faction. At the same time, his personal ability is very outstanding, and he is a rare doer in the Dongyu Empire! It is for these reasons that he has always been respected by the ministers of the court and the central government, and is deeply trusted by the emperor Bixia.
A few days ago, Alec overheard that his young daughter, Winnie, had met a teenager at a dance party and had a crush on the young man. As a father, Alec naturally investigated Li Zijun's background. When he learned that the young man was Edlaide, he felt an incomparably headache, and after some deliberation, he made up his mind to stop Winnie from having a relationship with Li Zijun! It was because of Alec's idea that the old lady pretended to be sick.
Alec knew Edlaide's true identity and what he was doing in the Seine Peninsula! He had already decided that Edlaide had entered the battle for Dongwoo's future throne whether he wanted it or not.
Although the strength of the Seine Peninsula has developed by leaps and bounds in recent years, compared with several other competitors, Edlaide's strength is still too weak!
The struggle between the royal families has always been the darkest, dirtiest, and most cold-blooded! This kind of struggle can have a winner at the most, and the others will only become a silent stepping stone under the feet of the victor!
Alec not only represents himself, but he also represents the interests of the entire family! He must not let Edlaide rely on Vinnie's connections and drag him into the unpredictable whirlpool of power struggle for the future of the empire! In desperation, Alec had to let his wife pretend to be sick, as long as he did not let Vinnie meet Edlaide before the emperor's birthday, and when the celebration was over, Edlaide would have to return to the Seine Peninsula, and at that time it was believed that Winnie would only regard Edlaide as a small episode in her life, and would not bring any danger to herself and the family. And just like that, Winnie was unknowingly put under house arrest!
In the following days, Li Zijun, who knew nothing about what happened to Vinnie, was still full of beautiful fantasies, looking for Winnie at the ball.
But after failing again and again, Li Zijun finally had an unhappy idea, he thought that Winnie regarded him as a game object, and he became the most ridiculous fool in the game.
Li Zijun couldn't tell the women around him about such a thing, so he thought of the holy woman of the Light God Sect.
Of course, Li Zijun was disappointed that when he rushed to the Bright God Sect, he was told that the Holy Maiden had already left the capital on the day he took his leave. Seeing that those clergy of the Bright God Sect were secretive about themselves, Li Zijun felt even more lost!
The day of the emperor's birthday celebration is getting closer and closer, and the bigwigs in the court are looking for all kinds of excuses to transfer their proud children back to the capital at this time. The bigwigs hope that their children can show their faces during the celebration and lay a solid foundation for their future careers! Winnie's eldest brother White also returned to the capital for this reason, and White's return to Beijing also helped Winnie open up the mystery in her heart.
After being dragged at home by her mother for so many days, Winnie already felt that her mother's illness was a little strange.
Winnie's parents have always had a good relationship, and every time her mother is sick, Alec always asks for famous doctors in the capital and accompanies her every step of the way. But after her mother's illness this time, her father didn't seem to care very much, and always needed her reminder before he remembered to pay attention to his wife's condition.
The strangest thing was that Winnie felt as if her mother's condition worsened every time she saw her. But as long as she is not around, the old lady's complexion will become no different from that of a good person. What made Winnie most suspicious was that she once saw her mother, who had been bedridden for many days, walking on her own. Although the old lady later found various reasons to explain, this doubt was still planted in Winnie's heart.
This time, when White returned to the city, as soon as he entered his mother's room, his mother jumped out of bed, which made Winnie think that her mother was faking her illness.
With such suspicions, Winnie began to try to ask for a walk outside, but whenever she made such a request, her mother's condition suddenly worsened, and she could not live without her mother at all.
Seeing that the eldest brother, who has always been filial, always indifferent, Winnie finally found out that she had been deceived! It's just that she hasn't found the reason why her parents cheated on her for a while, but she is sure that her parents must have some unspeakable difficulties, so she chooses to let her stay at home, and she has no resentment towards her parents in her heart. It's just that after knowing that her mother is okay, Winnie feels more and more depressed, and her performance becomes more and more depressed.
"Master, it's not a way to keep Winnie in the mansion all the time, don't you let her go out and walk around?" A few days ago, Alec had told her the reason for putting Winnie under house arrest, and she didn't approve of Winnie marrying far away to the Seine Peninsula, and she was trying her best to cooperate with Alec's Jihua these days, but the old lady was a little heartbroken when she saw Winnie's appearance.
"Father, tomorrow our military department will organize a horse race, and the participants are all figures in the army, why don't I take my sister to see the excitement tomorrow and relieve boredom?" White also said beside him.
Thinking that Edlade was unlikely to attend the military's party, Alec reluctantly agreed to their request.
"Master Hou, why are you sitting here listlessly, can't the food here still arouse your interest?" Li Zijun was not interested in anything during this time, just sitting at the table out of habit.
"Brother Bob, when did you enter the city, why didn't you come to me when you entered the city?" Li Zijun looked up and saw that it was Bob, and immediately said in surprise.
"Now the military department is busy with the emperor's birthday celebration, and ordinary military affairs are a little too much to take care of. This is only two days ago when the sixth prince asked me about it, and the military department remembered to let me enter the city. I just went to the Hou Mansion, and they all said that you came here for a ball, and I rushed over immediately. How's it going, I don't seem to have much energy!" Bob asked with concern as he sat down next to Li Zijun.
"It's these balls every day, it's hard to get tired of it! Besides, big brother, you know, I've never been interested in dancing, and my second sister has to let me come to these balls, so I can only doze off here!" Li Zijun said as he dozed off a big bit.
"Master Hou, Fei Yi has already sent a letter from there, and Belon has already reported to the Hou Mansion, I really don't know how to thank you for this matter!"
"I'll treat you as a big brother, so don't say anything else. If you really want xiexie me, why don't you help me think about something fun, I've been a little fat during this time!"
"Master Hou, I came to you today just for this matter, are you interested in horse racing?"
"Horse racing, is there still a place for horse racing in the capital?" Over the years, as Li Zijun's martial arts have become higher and higher, his riding skills have also improved rapidly. In addition, the grassland is a place where horses are produced, and Li Zijun, who has a group of tiger bandits, is of course impossible not to have a few good horses. Hearing Bob say this, Li Zijun immediately became interested.
"If you're interested, don't go anywhere tomorrow morning, I'll take you directly to the military department's horse race!"
"Okay! we'll make up our minds!" Li Zijun was so happy that he almost jumped out of his chair.
Early the next morning, Bob took Li Zijun to the military department's racecourse outside the city. After so many days in the capital, Li Zijun was choked enough, and today he finally found an opportunity to vent and run wild on the racetrack.
White had just taken Winnie to the racecourse when he saw Li Zijun jumping over obstacles.
"It seems that this capital is really a hidden dragon and a crouching tiger! At such a young age, equestrian skills are so good, it's really not easy!" White didn't know Li Zijun, and couldn't help but sigh when he looked at his excellent riding skills.
"Who are you talking about?" Winnie followed White's finger to see a familiar figure, and she looked closely at it to make sure it was correct.
"Ed, Ed, I'm Winnie!" Winnie waved the silk scarf in her hand in the direction of Li Zijun.
"Master Hou, do you know her?" Bob asked when he heard Winnie's cry and came to Li Zijun's side.
"An untrustworthy person, there is no need to ignore her!" Li Zijun just glanced at Winnie, then turned his head in other directions, ignoring Winnie's call at all.
"What's the big deal, I don't know anyone on a horse!" Winnie said indignantly when she saw Li Zijun's expression.
"He's Edlaide?" White was startled when he heard Winnie's call, and said to himself, how could this guy be here!
"Big brother, do you know him?" Winnie looked back at White strangely.
"How do I know him, I just heard your call!" White knew he had slipped out, and hurriedly dodged Winnie's gaze.
"No, I just shouted 'Charity'. I don't even know his full name, how do you know?" Winnie asked, pulling White as she thought of something.
"The race is about to start, let's hurry over!" White was a loyal young man who couldn't lie at all, and was forced by Winnie to not know what to say, and hurried to the stable.
"You must be hiding something from me, I don't believe you can hide from me today!" Winnie chased after White.
There are two types of horse racing: one is speed, and the other is skill, which involves jumping over designated obstacles and picking up objects on the ground.
Li Zijun's purpose here is to have fun, not to be in the limelight, and he didn't even choose the most Haode horse in the Hou Mansion. But the others had a very different idea from him, especially the group of gentlemen that Li Zijun met when he first arrived in the capital, they also came to participate in this competition, their purpose was very simple, they were to take this opportunity to show off their riding skills!
It's just that Li Zijun has just seen their trials, most of them are some showmanship, compared with a strong general in the army like Bob, they are more like toddler naughty boys. Ironically, they didn't have the slightest bit of self-awareness, but walked around the horse farm with their toes in high spirits.
"Hello, Marquis Edred!" White came to Li Zijun's side and greeted him with a standard knightly salute.
"Hello!" Li Zijun didn't know White's identity yet, and he had an instinctive dislike for him, but he still returned a salute to White.
"Can you tell me how you met my sister? Oh, I'm Winnie's brother White. ”
"You're Winnie's big brother?" At this time, Li Zijun realized that their faces were vaguely similar, and he felt slightly better about White.
"Winnie and I didn't know each other yet, we just danced once and had a casual conversation. Li Zijun thought of Winnie's no-show, and felt a little uncomfortable.
"How about we make a bet?" White suddenly made such a request to Li Zijun.
"Bet on what?"
"If I win in this horse race, please stay away from my sister forever!"
"And what if I win?"
"I will no longer interfere with your dealings!"
"I really want to say it, it's you who take advantage!"
"Could it be that Master Hou is afraid?"
"Haha, use the Agitation Technique!Can you tell me that Weishenme is going to stop me from interacting with Vinnie?" When White rode over just now, Li Zijun had already felt the extraordinary riding skills of him, and it should be said that there was a great possibility to defeat himself, so he had such a question.
"Because of the family!" said White, cheerfully.
Hearing White's answer, Li Zijun probably guessed the reason why he couldn't find Winnie, and his dislike for Winnie also faded a little.
"Okay, I promise you!" Li Zijun said helplessly.
"Xiexie, Master Hou!"
Not long after Lee and White made a bet, they stood on the track with the other runners.
This time, the horses had to go around a mountain beam, get the flag with a number on the side of the road, and then get back here. The first knights to return here were the speed winners.
With an order, dozens of war horses rushed out. It's not a short stretch, there's no need to push the horses right now, and the real win is in the second half.
Therefore, except for those gentlemen in the capital who ran at the front like crazy, everyone else chose to follow the team unhurriedly.
Seeing that Li Zijun rushed out without recklessness, White felt some pressure.
Li Zijun suddenly felt a hint of danger at this time, and then he thought of the smug smiles on the faces of those gentlemen who had just rushed out, and felt as if he had underestimated them.
I remember that when Li Zijun first arrived in the capital, he had encountered this group of gentlemen, although their riding skills were all fancy, but they also understood the habits of some war horses, and it stands to reason that they should not have made the mistake just now! Thinking of this, Li Zijun began to slow down, and he suspected that the other party had set up an ambush behind the mountain beam.