Chapter 035 Mother and Daughter Fight for the Bow
In fact, Yang Jinhua was not the only one who noticed Lu Sen. Almost everyone in the group of women behind her who were responsible for collecting souvenirs and standing guard noticed Lu Sen and... Zhan Zhao.
There was no way around it, these two were already the most handsome young men in the entire East Hall, and they even sat at the same table.
Men like to look at beautiful women.
Conversely, women also like to look at handsome men.
Where these two people sat, even if it was in a corner, was the most dazzling and eye-catching place in the eyes of this group of female soldiers.
And there was another person in the women’s army who knew Lu Sen... Zhao Bilian.
She's been having some bad luck lately.
After finally waiting for the house arrest to end, I prepared some delicious pastries and took my brother Shu with me. I wanted to go out of the city to the hilltop to thank Lu Sen.
As a result, she was bumped into by her father before she even walked out of the door. When he asked her questions, he heard that his daughter was still stubborn and wanted to run around and even leave the city. The Prince of Runan was so angry that he half died on the spot.
So, I was confined for another month.
She was not allowed to be released until the day before yesterday, and then she came to Yang's house to help her best friend.
So she was quite surprised when she saw Lu Sen.
Zhao Bilian followed Yang Jinhua to accept gifts at each table and watched Yang Jinhua greet the young talents at each table. In her somewhat anxious mood, Yang Jinhua finally walked to Lu Sen's table.
It is also the last table.
At this moment, everyone's attention was focused here.
"Thank you all for coming to watch the ceremony." Yang Jinhua bowed gracefully, her beautiful peach eyes fixed only on Lu Sen.
Zhan Zhao was a top-notch warrior and he was very quick to notice where Yang Jinhua's gaze was.
He seemed to understand something in his mind.
Everyone presented their souvenirs. Rong Bao stared at Yang Jinhua's face, seeming a little absent-minded. He had not been in Bianjing City for long, and this was the first time he had truly seen the beautiful daughter of a top wealthy family.
Compared with those beautiful girls from the countryside, Yang Jinhua is indeed much stronger in aura.
He handed over his souvenir stupidly and even spoke: "Miss Yang, this is me..."
But before he could finish his words, he was pulled to sit on a stool by the eldest son of the Bao family next to him.
There are rules for the man to follow when attending the coming-of-age ceremony, which is to only give gifts, only look at people, and not say anything.
The eldest son of the Bao family had an embarrassed expression on his face. Bao Rong remembered what he had been told before he came here, and he was so embarrassed that he almost lowered his head into his crotch.
Then Lu Sen and Zhan Zhao also handed over their gifts, but Zhan Zhao's gift was snatched away by a blushing little girl.
The box of Red Plum Cakes that Lu Sen gave out was held by four little hands at the same time.
The scene became quiet in an instant.
Yang Jinhua and Zhao Bilian each held the box with both hands.
The two best friends looked at each other for a while, and then Zhao Bilian said innocently: "I'll hold it for you, isn't that the rule?"
Yang Jinhua smiled, but the corners of her mouth actually showed a sinister feeling.
Zhao Bilian let go and muttered, "I just wanted to help you get it, why are you so fierce?"
Holding Hongmeisu in both hands, Yang Jinhua's face flushed. She smiled at Lu Sen and bowed again.
There was a sudden commotion in the East Hall. It was Yang Jinhua herself who received the man's gift, and on such a special day.
I had met more than twenty tables of people before, but I didn't see her express anything.
Do you simply like this brand of rouge, or... do you already have someone in your heart?
On the side, the two brothers of the Cao family were even more surprised.
Cao You pointed at Yang Jinhua, then looked at his eldest brother: "This, this, this...Brother, am I dazzled? Miss Yang actually took the Red Plum Cake on her own initiative?"
Cao Ping finally managed to close his mouth. He opened the fan in his hand with a swish and used it to cover his face.
"You thought you were smart, but you missed the opportunity to sell favors. Cao Ping, you are a fool."
Cao Ping sighed deeply. He really didn't expect Yang Jinhua to have such a reaction.
"Why?" Cao You looked at his elder brother aggrievedly: "Why should I be beaten if I give Hongmeisu to you, but it's OK if he gives it to me!"
Cao Ping stared at his brother's face for a long time and said, "Look at your own face first, then look at Lu Xiaolang 's face."
Cao You was stunned for a moment, then stared at Lu Sen's face for a while, then helplessly put his hands on his forehead and laughed miserably: "Haha, woman!"
For a time, the Cao brothers all suffered a huge blow.
On this side, after Lu Sen and Yang Jinhua accepted the rouge, they pushed the wooden box behind them forward.
Then the group of female soldiers were stunned.
They can help hold small gifts or put them in cloth bags, but for such a big box... they really have no way to deal with it.
"I'll get it!"
Yang Jinhua walked forward, holding the rouge box in her left hand, pressing her right hand on the middle of the wooden box, then gently kicked with her right foot, using the force to kick the bottom of the box higher, and then pushed with her right hand, and the whole wooden box was lifted horizontally with one hand.
The action was pleasing to the eye and ear, and a group of young talents nearby couldn't help but applaud.
Yang Jinhua left holding the box, and a group of young girls followed her. They played and fought with each other as they walked, and then kept looking back.
Half of his eyes were on Zhan Zhao, and the other half were on Lu Sen, especially Zhao Bilian, who looked back almost every three steps.
After the female army disappeared, the coming-of-age ceremony was over, and the young talents in the East Hall also stood up and left in twos and threes.
Lu Sen and Zhan Zhao walked and talked, then separated at the door and reunited with Hei Zhu, who had finished his meal and been waiting for a long time, and returned to the low mountain.
In the boudoir, Yang Jinhua was lying on the bed with her arms and legs spread. She had just given up all her handkerchief friends and had been smiling fakely all day, her face looked very tired.
Then she took off her slightly cumbersome high-waisted skirt and changed back into her red outfit.
As for the coming-of-age ceremony, she felt that after this day, she seemed to have grown up, but at the same time, there seemed to be no change, or it did not feel real.
It's just a subtle feeling in my state of mind.
After changing back into her tight clothes, she felt much more comfortable both physically and mentally. It turned out that this kind of clothes suited her best.
Then she opened the box of Red Plum Cakes on the dressing table, took out a red lipstick from it, took a sip gently, and looked at the person in the mirror with red lips and a beautiful smile.
After laughing foolishly for a while, she looked at the wooden box standing next to her. She became more and more curious, so she went over, put the box flat and opened it.
When she saw clearly what was in the box, she couldn't help but let out a soft cry.
A beautiful longbow.
If Lu Sen giving her Hongmeisu as a gift would make her happy, then receiving a long bow would be a surprise.
She couldn't wait to take out the longbow and look at it carefully.
The bow is made of black iron, and no one knows how it was polished. The bow is smooth and round. Three emeralds are inlaid in the bow, as if they grew inside.
Under normal circumstances, if someone put gems in a bow like this, he would be scolded to death.
Because this will affect the toughness of the bow and make its structure more prone to breakage, especially when the bow is fully drawn.
But Lu Sen is not an ordinary person, at least in Yang Jinhua's opinion, he is not an ordinary person.
These three gems are inlaid in the bow, which must have a deep meaning.
Yang Jinhua thought about it, took out the bow, and then walked towards the martial arts field at home.
On the way, he happened to meet his mother, Mu Guiying, who called him sweetly, "Mom, where are you going?"
"Nothing, I was just thinking about going out for a walk." Mu Guiying looked at the jeweled longbow in her daughter's hand, and her equally beautiful peach blossom eyes were a little puzzled: "Where did this bow come from... Oh, looking at your smug expression, it must have been given to you by Lu Xiaolang. Do you want to try the bow?"
Yang Jinhua smiled and nodded repeatedly.
"Let's go together and see what's so magical about the longbow that Lu Xiaolang made. Let's go!"
So the mother and daughter hurried to the martial arts arena.
There were several family soldiers practicing martial arts here. When they saw the mistress and the concubine coming over, they immediately stepped aside.
The clever family soldier walked over with a bag of arrows for practice and placed it at the feet of the two men.
This type of arrow is only sharpened at the front and does not have an iron tip, so it can be recycled and reused many times.
Yang Jinhua first tried to draw the bow, and then slowly put the string back to its original position after pulling it to the full. Normally, the bow cannot be released empty after being drawn, which will damage the bow, but there is no problem in slowly putting it back to its original position.
After pulling it back and forth three times, she frowned slightly, "It's very light... Looking at the length of the bow, it should be at least ten stones, but I can only pull it with a force of five stones at most."
"Is it just flashy and useless?" Mu Guiying shook her head helplessly: "Just like the sword used in sacrifices!"
Many sacrificial swords are also decorated with many gems. Such swords are only beautiful , if used in actual combat, they will probably break after two or three clashes with normal weapons.
Yang Jinhua held the jeweled longbow and glared at her mother: "Don't talk nonsense, how could Lu Xiaolang make something flashy and useless. Even if it's flashy and useless, I like it very much."
"Oh, now that you have a lover, you start to dislike your mother. Alas... I have such a miserable life. I gave birth to such an unfilial daughter." Mu Guiying covered her chest with one hand, with a sad expression, just like Xi Shi holding her heart.
Yang Jinhua rolled her eyes. Her mother was always very serious in front of others, even in front of her eldest brother. But she seemed particularly pretentious in front of her daughter.
She ignored her mother, picked up an arrow from the quiver beside her, put it on the string, pulled it to its full length, aimed at the wooden man in front of her, and let go.
Feng!
Bang!
Beep!
The arrow turned into a black beam, pierced through the wooden man, and nailed into the stone wall of the martial arts arena behind, leaving only the tail feathers exposed.
The upper body of the wooden man had disappeared, and it shattered into pieces of wood chips that flew backwards.
The stone wall that was pierced by the arrow had a large spider-web-like crack centered on the tail feather of the arrow.
When the wood chips all over the sky fell to the ground, the two pairs of peach blossom eyes in the martial arts arena widened into almond blossom eyes.
If this arrow hits a person...there won't even be a complete corpse.
After a long while, Mu Guiying reacted first. She stared at the jeweled longbow in her daughter's hand and swallowed her saliva: "Daughter, let me play with this bow!"
Knights like swords and soldiers like guns and bows.
Mu Guiying had fought in dozens of battles, big and small, and she knew the bow very well.
Even the Divine Arm Bow was far inferior to the flashy-looking longbow in my daughter's hand.
It should be said that there is no comparison at all.
So Mu Guiying felt a little greedy and she wanted it too.
After hearing her mother's words, Yang Jinhua finally came to her senses from her shock. She held the jeweled longbow tightly and stared at her mother warily with the eyes of a thief.
Seeing her daughter's suspicious look, Mu Guiying was "deeply shocked". She held her heart once again and cried in a fake voice: "Alas, how could I have given birth to an unfilial daughter..."
"Okay, okay, stop pretending. I'll give it a try." Yang Jinhua got goosebumps stand it anymore, so she stuffed the jeweled longbow into her mother's hands and said, "Okay, you can only try one arrow."
Mu Guiying's "evil plan succeeded" and she smiled with great pride.
She picked up an arrow from the side, put it on the bowstring, pulled it fully, and released it.
The same scene happened again. The upper body of the other wooden man shattered into sawdust, and then a large spider web appeared on the stone wall.
"This bow is amazing. It doesn't require much effort, but the force of the arrow can split rocks and shatter gold." Mu Guiying stroked the jeweled longbow and said gently, "My daughter, I will keep this bow for you first. I will give it to you when you are able to lead troops to war, okay?"
Yang Jinhua stretched out her right hand and snorted, "Give me the bow. When I was a child, you took away the old lady's annual allowance from me with the same excuse, and you haven't given it back to me until today. Now that I've reached adulthood, I don't believe it anymore."
Seeing that her daughter was not fooled, Mu Guiying showed a very smug smile, then lifted her skirt, turned around and ran away.
"Wait, mother, how can you do this? That was given to me by Lu Xiaolang, you can't take it away, mother, please stop!"
Yang Jinhua was extremely anxious, but she couldn't catch up with Mu Guiying.
After all, all her martial arts were taught by Mu Guiying, and she has not yet reached the point where she can surpass her master.
So the two of them chased each other in the martial arts field for a long time.
In the end, Yang Jinhua got her jeweled longbow back, and Mu Guiying teased her daughter until she broke into a slight sweat and felt much more comfortable both physically and mentally.
Having gotten what they wanted, both mother and daughter felt satisfied and very happy.
After Lu Sen returned to Aishan, he spent more than ten days leisurely, and then he received an invitation from the young scholar Chang Wei.
The Chang family’s house at the foot of the mountain has been completed and they are about to move in and host a banquet for relatives, friends, and neighbors.
Naturally Lu Sen had to participate in this matter, otherwise others would blame him for being unkind.
When the time was almost up, Lu Sen took a bundle of vegetables as souvenirs and went down the mountain by himself.
Therefore, growing vegetables in the Northern Song Dynasty's Bianliang City was definitely a very good business. Not only could you make money from selling them, but you could also give them as gifts.
Except for funerals, no one will object if you send a bundle of vegetables to someone on any other day.
It's simply omnipotent.
The house built by the Chang family is very large, with a courtyard design, and the area is estimated to be around three acres.
It seems to be a wealthy family.
Although Lu Sen's yard is about ten acres in size, it is just a yard and can be surrounded by a fence.
The other party's house is a real house built with blue bricks and gray tiles, covering an area of three acres, which is quite large and must have cost a lot.
Old Master Chang and his son Chang Wei were welcoming guests at the door. When they saw Lu Sen coming over with some raw vegetables, the old master's already happy face smiled even more happily.
He came forward and said with a chuckle, "Hey, Lu Xiaolang, it's enough for you to just show up. Why are you so polite and even bring souvenirs with you?"
Having said this, Master Chang immediately took the raw vegetables from Lu Sen.
Chang Wei welcomed Lu Sen into the main gate.
There was a lot of noise inside. In the large inner courtyard, square tables were set up, filled with dishes.
Common people, young and old, men and women, wearing old linen clothes or faded cloth, sat together, eating food, chatting and laughing.
The snotty-nosed little kids were running around in the spaces between the tables, playing and fighting.
There are no so-called etiquette or rules here, but there is an indescribable vitality.
Makes people feel friendly.
Lu Sen randomly found an empty seat and sat down.
Immediately, an old farmer with wrinkles on his face asked with a smile: "What a handsome young man, would you like to drink?"
Lu Sen didn't like drinking, but looking at the other person's simple and honest smile, he held up the cup with both hands and said with a smile: "Can I have a few sips. Father-in-law, can I ask for a full cup?"
"Haha, you are so talkative, young man. Are you married?"
"not yet."
"Where do you live?"
"It's on the hillside next to us."
"Oh, you have real estate, so you are a respectable family. I wonder what kind of woman you like, young man?"
"big."
"Hahaha, you are sensible young man. It's a pity that my granddaughter is married now, otherwise I would definitely take you to see one!"
"It's okay. I'll wait until your great-granddaughter reaches the age of marriage and then send someone to propose marriage..."
"Hey, you young man, you want to take advantage of my family, you are ignorant! Come, I'll give you another drink, clink glasses."
Even though the alcohol content of rice wine at that time was generally not high, Lu Sen felt a little drunk after drinking more than twenty cups in a row, and his face turned red.
The father-in-law across the street was drunk and fell asleep on the table. Then he was carried away by his family.
Lu Sen felt full, so he stood up and said some words of congratulations to Master Chang on his move-in, then he staggered out of the Chang family and returned to Aishan.
Kobayashi was very considerate and brought some warm water with honey.
After taking a few sips, Lu Sen finally sobered up and became completely awake.
Just now, when he was having dinner at Chang's house, in addition to drinking, he was also collecting information.
If you listen carefully when the guests are chatting, you can learn a lot of information.
Mr. Chang plans to set up a primary school at home and run a clan school. Of course, outsiders can also send their children to study there, but the tuition fee will be more expensive.
So Lu Sen called Hei Zhu and Xiao Lin Qin over and said, "I plan to send you to the foot of the mountain to study and learn to read. This is a mandatory requirement and you cannot refuse. Do you understand?"
The two men's expressions immediately fell.
