Chapter 3: Anti-Crossover Hope No.16 Temple of Rites (Part 1)
The carriage continued to move forward steadily, but I could no longer regain my leisurely mood.
The worst thing about people is that they cannot recognize the current situation.
Now I am not the heroine of a time-travel game, who plays life happily and then runs away with a handsome man without any worries. Moreover, even the heroine of a time-travel game has to go through some trials. As for how hard it is, it depends on the author's mood.
I began to pray that I would not have the misfortune of having a stepmother.
Now I am a pawn in someone else's hands. It is really uncomfortable not to have the freedom of life and death in my own hands. It is very proud to be able to go out with a political celebrity, but the premise is that I don't have to worry about being snapped off a part of my body by the other party at any time... I hope to end this state as soon as possible, find a way to reverse the time travel, and go back.
"Hey, what do you want me to do?" I shook off his hand and retreated to the corner again. After making sure I was as far away from him as possible, I spoke in a muffled voice.
"I told you." He picked up a book again and began to flip through it casually.
"Humph," I raised my eyebrows, "I can't even deal with you, do you think I can make King Luo happy?"
He chuckled without even raising his head and said, "On this point... I have confidence in you."
For some reason, I felt angry as if I was being laughed at. "Even if I can make him happy, would the great King Luo work for you just because Minmin can make her happy? You think too highly of me, don't you? Besides, even if he is really obsessed with sensual pleasures and works for you, such a person is not useful."
"You don't need to worry about this." After a pause, he suddenly raised his head and looked at me, "If you only regard yourself as a person of pleasure, sex and pleasure... then you are looking down on yourself, aren't you?"
I think there was a blatant look of anger in my eyes now.
"You don't have to try to persuade me to give up this method," he concluded, looking back at the book, "Whether it works or not is up to me, not you."
The roundabout tactic failed!
This bastard is extremely smart. The person he wants to win over must be a tough guy. I am not stupid enough to think that I can succeed as long as I sing, dance and smile to seduce King Luo. Moreover, the big fox will never use such an inefficient method. Suddenly, a bad premonition crossed my mind. Wait a minute, the big fox's words from beginning to end were all one-sided. Is he and King Luo really in a relationship of winning over and being won over? What if they are mortal enemies? Then I may be forced to perform a time-travel version of Infernal Affairs on King Luo's territory!
That kind of creature, the kind that was called a spy in ancient times, is generally called a spy in modern times, is called a special agent by foreigners, a traitor by the Japanese devils, a spy by the Kuomintang reactionaries, and an underground worker by the Chinese Communist Party! ! Since ancient times, people who do this kind of work are often not good people on both sides. If they don't do it well, they will die miserably, and if they do it well, few of them will have a good end - have you ever seen a monument to the people's heroes erected for spies?
Can I just say I quit?
"Well, then, can I ask you a question? What is your relationship with Prince Luo? Could he be the rebellious Sixth Prince?"
"no."
"Then ...what does King Luo do? What kind of person is he? How can I carry out my work if you don't tell me anything?"
"He is the leader of Weiyang Sect. He was originally a man of the Jianghu. In order to win him over, the imperial court gave him a sinecure of a prince."
Weiyang Gate?!
I heard about it when I was in Cangchunlou. How should I put it? It's a bit like an ancient intelligence agency, just like the encrypted version of the Internet. This kind of awesome industry is very popular both in modern times and in ancient times. I suddenly had an inexplicable feeling. If I graduated from a modern university in four years and passed the civil service exam, I would also have to join an intelligence agency. I didn't expect that King Luo was my colleague!
Perhaps it was my tearful expression that caught the big fox's attention. He pretended not to care and asked, "What? Do you know each other?" There was already a hint of vigilance in his tone.
"I don't know him." Don't tell me that I really don't know him. Seeing that he is on full alert, it would be a shame if I knew him now.
The big fox didn't comment, continued reading and ignored me.
Actually, I can’t say that I don’t know Prince Luo at all. I remember that he appeared in my last performance, in the VIP seats of Cangchunlou. That was the only seat I could see clearly from the stage. However, there was also a third prince in the seats at that time, so I didn’t know which one was Prince Luo. I began to desperately recall the faces of the two people at that time. The one wearing a yellow robe had a thin face, a withered look, and drooping eyes and mouth corners. It was obvious that he indulged himself too much. The other one wore a white robe, had a square face, and ordinary facial features. I really couldn’t leave any impression on him, except that he had a graceful temperament. Thinking back to the appearance of the two people, I suddenly didn’t want Prince Luo to be the guy in the yellow robe...
All in silence.
The closer we got to Tianzu Temple, the more people there were on the road. The speed of the carriage gradually slowed down. In the end, there were crowds of people outside the carriage, and the carriage could only move forward. This situation reminded me of the traffic jams in Beijing, and my mood inexplicably improved.
"Master, it's almost noon. We will miss the sacrifice. Do you want to change the official road?" The coachman poked his head in to ask for instructions.
"good."
With a simple command from the big fox, all the accompanying personnel except me moved quickly. Once on the official road, the guards' momentum changed and they all went into alert. Yes, being on the official road was equivalent to telling everyone that the people in the car were high-ranking officials, nobles, and relatives of the emperor. It was like hanging a sign saying: Come and rob me, come and rob me, la la la ~ ~ The danger level was rising sharply.
I gently opened the curtains. The carriage was traveling on a straight and flat road. Commoners were not allowed to set foot on the official road. I looked at the crowded and happy crowd in the distance... This carriage seemed to be far away from them in two different time and space...
Guard Yang outside the car gave me a warning look, then lowered the curtain without giving me a chance to refuse.
The interior of the car suddenly became dark and unreal.
"What are you looking at?" The big fox's voice came from behind.
"Lu." I lay on the covered window frame with my back to him, and suddenly I felt that he was very sad.
"Oh, so, what do you think?"
I turned around and looked into his eyes seriously, feeling very complicated. This person has been living this kind of life since he was a child? Why does he keep getting deeper and deeper into it? Does he not want to get out of it, or is he unable to?
"I feel...I feel there is only one word to describe it."
"What?"
"……open."
His breathing suddenly became disordered. The flickering sunlight outside the car shone through the translucent gauze curtains on his face. The light and shadow were intertwined, and I couldn't see his eyes clearly. My sight unconsciously moved down to his hand hanging beside him. His fingertips were trembling slightly... I suddenly wanted to know his expression at the moment. I looked up at his face and couldn't help but get closer. But he pushed me away.
He turned around and said to me with his back to me, "Minmin, a woman cannot raise her head in front of a man. You have been in a place of prostitution for too long, so it is inevitable that you are rude. When we get to Tianzu Temple later, I will send someone to teach you the etiquette that a woman should know." After a pause, he added, "King Luo is a very accomplished person, don't embarrass me in front of him."
When we arrived at the Tianzu Temple, the "person who taught me etiquette" mentioned by the big fox was already waiting in the yard.
A dozen maids in pink gauze skirts surrounded her like stars surrounding the moon, and she looked even more elegant in her white dress. She was very beautiful, with eyebrows like distant mountains and eyes like shooting stars. When she saw the big fox get off the car, she walked over with graceful steps and head down, her snow-white neck hanging down in a beautiful arc. At that moment, the beauty reminded me of Xu Zhimo's poem: The most gentle thing is the head down, just like a water lotus that is too shy...
With a charming blessing, she opened her cherry lips slightly:
"Your Highness is greeted by your servant Jiwen."
She, she, is she the big fox’s wife? ! Or is she the concubine? ! !
When the big fox nodded indifferently and said, "Let's go ahead," I used my resentful eyes to fully convey two messages:
First of all, you are so lucky!
Second, God is absolutely blind!
Jiwen stood softly behind the big fox, still with her head down, quietly looking at me from the corner of her eyes. I have always been fond of beautiful people, so I immediately smiled sweetly at her. Unexpectedly, she and the big fox were both stunned. What happened? Did I smile too brightly?
"Come down." The big fox stretched out a hand to me. I have to admit that he was very gentlemanly and elegant. However, I would like to decline your invitation.
"No, I can get off by myself."
As soon as I finished speaking, everyone in the yard looked at me in shock! The fox's outstretched hand was still hanging in the air, but I had no intention of taking it back.
"I'll say it."
"I said I can get off by myself. I don't need your help."
"I'm not helping you. A woman should get off a car like she's getting off. Get off."
Who is he to order me around? I didn't care about his hand and jumped down in anger. But in the blink of an eye, I was thrown back into the car with a dizzy head! He, he actually threw me in again like a sack? !
"If you can't learn how to get off the car today, don't get off." The big fox stretched out his hand again.
"you……"
I glared at him for a while, then put on a rogue face and pulled over the quilt I had used in the morning to wrap myself up tightly, leaving only my small face exposed. "If you don't want to go down, then don't go down. Anyway, there's food, drinks and books to read in the car. I'll feel as comfortable as a god~" and made a face at the same time.
The big fox probably didn't expect me to say that, and a strange expression that could barely be called a smile began to appear on his face, "Very good, Minmin probably doesn't know the etiquette for women to get off the car, right? Jiwen!"
"I am here."
The big fox retracted his arm and took a step back, "Show her."
If I saw it correctly, a look of hurt flashed across Jiwen's beautiful face.
The guard came up, Jiwen held his arm expressionlessly, and stepped into the carriage with light steps like a willow in the wind. She nodded to me who was wrapped in the quilt, and then demonstrated the action of getting off the carriage with a graceful posture. After getting off the carriage, she bowed slightly to the guard, "Miss Minmin, women should bow to men. If the other party is of lower status than you, you should bow slightly, if he is higher, you should bow deeply, and if he is equal, you should say "Blessings". With Miss Minmin's status, you should bow deeply to the guards, and kowtow to His Highness."
What?!!
Being forced by a big fox to get out of the car by his hand and kowtow to him?! Is there still law?!
No! Absolutely not! I, Minmin, have a golden knee, how can I kneel down just like that?
The big fox looked at me.
I won't move.
The big fox looked at me and told Jiwen, "It seems that Minmin hasn't learned it yet, so you can demonstrate it again."
Jiwen demonstrated it again.
I won't move.
The big fox said, "Show it again."
I won't move.
The big fox suddenly smiled, looked at Jiwen and said slowly: "What should a woman do if she fails to learn etiquette three times?"
The beautiful Jiwen replied expressionlessly: "Slap your face."
I don’t know if it was my illusion, but there was an emotion in Jiwen’s eyes that could almost be called gloating.
The big fox narrowed his eyes. Based on past experience, nothing good would happen under this expression. I subconsciously shrank back into the quilt.
"Minmin...you can't hit me."
The big fox actually felt sorry for me? Before I could decide whether to be happy or not, the next sentence of the big fox had already made it clear for me, "She can't have a wound on her face, otherwise I won't be able to give her away."
Screw him… I still expected him to feel sorry for me. What a fool I was.
"Jiwen, please teach her a few more times."
Jiwen looked at me with complicated eyes and continued to demonstrate helplessly.
Alas, Jiwen, actually, you don't have to look at me so complicatedly. Your husband has absolutely no intention of cheating on you. He doesn't hit me just because he is carefully preserving the goods to be sold in the hope of appreciation in value. Maybe he is thinking of some more despicable tricks than a slap in the face to force me to submit.
Soon, I realized that the big fox was already doing something "more despicable than slapping someone in the face":
I didn't move, the big fox didn't move, the only one who was moving was Jiwen.
Although getting on and off the carriage is not considered heavy physical labor, Jiwen is a weak and spoiled woman. How can she endure the tossing of climbing up and down dozens of times continuously, not to mention the tossing of maintaining a difficult and elegant posture. Fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead and nose, her breathing gradually became heavier, and her movements became slower. Jiwen looked at me with more and more resentment...
It's over, it's over. I am shaken. I can't bear to see a beautiful woman suffer, especially when she is super innocent. Do I really have to torture a weak woman like this because of my willfulness? My conscience can't let me go! But do I really have to kneel down to an inexplicable ancient man? My self-esteem won't allow it! What should I do?
During my frantic psychological struggle, Jiwen went up and down several times, becoming increasingly powerless. She stumbled when getting on the bus for the nth time, tripped over the steps, and fell forward! I couldn't sit still any longer, so I took a quick step forward to hold her fallen body, and glanced at the big fox who was standing there with no intention of helping.
you are vicious!
The big fox is really amazing. He knows that hard methods like slapping my face won't work on me. He sees that I'm the type who responds to soft tactics and not hard tactics. He targets other people's weaknesses and uses strong measures directly. You can judge people like this in such a short time together. Big fox, you are a real talent!
"Okay, I'll do it. But I don't want you to help me." I raised my hand and pointed at Guard Yang who still had a cool face, "I want him to do it." Then I ignored the reaction of someone and turned to Jiwen, "How should I salute the guard?"
Isn't it just getting off the car? Whoever holds my hand, I'm getting off. I don't want to kowtow to a fox. I have to kneel anyway, so of course I have to kneel to a handsome guy!
The big fox said coldly: "No."
No?! Why not? Why do you have to help me get off the car? Does this guy have a habit of helping people get off the car?
"Minmin is my honored guest. You don't need to bow to anyone except me." After instructing everyone in the courtyard, he walked to the car, stretched out his hand, smiled at me and said, "You don't have to kowtow, just bow deeply. Come down, Minmin."
Am I... am I blinded by the sun? I actually feel that the big fox's smile is very warm? It is the most natural smile that seems to burst out from the depths of the soul, without disguise and falsehood, without any protection...
As if possessed by a ghost, I slowly reached out my hand and placed it on his arm, then lightly jumped off the carriage, and bent down slowly as I had seen countless times, my mind in a mess.
A pair of slightly cool hands gently helped me up, and the fox hunter still had that warm smile that scared me to death, "Very good." He said, "Minmin, you've learned very well."
The sunshine that morning, the chirping of cicadas on the mulberry and locust trees in Tianzu Temple, the touch of his slightly cool hands on my forearms, and that rare warm smile, are all sealed in my memory. I didn't know at that time that at the moment he helped me up, he had made a decision that I didn't know about, and whether I was willing or not, from that moment on, my fate was tied to his...
