Gongzi Qi only smiled and did not answer.
Gongzi Yi added, "Even Gongzi Xiu alone is no match for you!"
Young Master Xiu said calmly, "Good luck to you."
Hua Wuduo laughed triumphantly.
Upon hearing this, Gongzi Yi was greatly surprised and couldn't help but feel somewhat dejected. After a moment, his eyes lit up again, and he asked, "Which of you three has the highest martial arts skill?" Seeing the three of them looking at each other, clearly also puzzled, Gongzi Yi smiled mischievously and suggested, "How about we have a contest now?"
Hua Wuduo said, "How can we compete? Using knives and guns would be too hurtful to our feelings. I won't do it."
Gongzi Yi said, "If martial arts don't work, then let's have a contest of words. There are boats over there. Each of you will use your internal energy to steer one. Whoever reaches Bright Moon Island in the lake first wins. I will be the referee."
Hua Wuduo said, "Good idea. I also want to know who among the three of us has the best martial arts skills."
Gongzi Qi smiled lazily, "Anyway, I'm just idling around."
Young Master Xiu said, "I also want to know who has the highest martial arts skills." After saying this, he stood up first.
The three of them each chose a boat and stood at the bow, facing the wind. The bright moon hung in the sky, and the night breeze blew across the lake. The young men's clothes fluttered, and their drunken postures were all quite charming.
At the bow of the ship, the three men, their expressions arrogant, exchanged glances, their eyes revealing an undisguised determination to win.
At the back of the boat, Gongzi Yi unhesitatingly sat down on Hua Wuduo's boat. Hua Wuduo glanced back at him, knowing full well that he was intentionally holding him back, but he didn't care at all. Instead, he raised his head high, as if to say, "Even so, I will not lose to you."
Gongzi Yi said, "Alright."
The three boats sailed away at the same time, cutting through the waves.
Gongzi Yi, holding a wine cup, drank as he recited: "Who moored their boat at the ancient Bian River yesterday? A thousand lanterns transformed the night into a spectacle of fish and dragons. Unwilling to follow the waves, they rose and fell in rhythm with the song. Their blue glow flickered and disappeared before the mountain, the waves and winds turning, yet they too could remain firm. The bright moon easily sets, people easily disperse; let us return and call for wine to gaze upon it once more..."
On Mingyue Island, the sun slowly rose, the water and sky merged into one line, and golden light seemed to dye the earth in an instant. The four people stood side by side on the shore, watching the rising sun.
Gongzi Qi said, "Even if the four of us are separated in the future, we must remember that we once watched the sunrise together side by side on Bright Moon Island."
Gongzi Yi suddenly asked, "What if you die? How will you remember?"
Gongzi Qi smiled and said, "Then those who are alive will remember it for him."
Upon hearing this, Hua Wuduo patted his chest and said with great pride, "I'll remember this for you. You'll all die before me."
Gongzi Xiu suddenly said, "Don't get too carried away." He then leaped onto the light boat and sailed away first.
Hua Wuduo watched Gongzi Xiu's retreating figure and sighed with pride, "Xiu must be holding a grudge because I beat him."
Gongzi Qi laughed and said, "He let you have it."
Hua Wuduo disagreed, saying, "You're just jealous of me." Because Qi also lost.
Gongzi Qi smiled but remained silent.
Gongzi Yi replied dismissively, "It's not pathetic that others are intentionally letting you have your way; what's pathetic is that they're clearly letting you have your way, but you don't even notice."
These words deeply hurt Hua Wuduo. On the way back, Hua Wuduo threw a tantrum and refused to use his internal energy to propel the boat. Gongzi Qi also refused to use his internal energy to propel the boat and take the two idlers with him. In the end, they compromised and the three of them rowed back together. Since none of the three knew how to row and did not cooperate with each other, each rowed their own way, causing the boat to circle several times in the water without leaving Mingyue Island. After a fierce battle with the oars, the three of them finally collapsed on the boat, covered in water and laughing wildly.
The sun hung leisurely in the sky, the sky was azure, white clouds drifted by, a breeze blew, and the surface of Daming Lake shimmered. In the distance, a small boat was drifting along with the current...
No one knew that the three people lying on the small boat were mocking each other and hurling insults at each other.
How can I see my beauty?
When they reached the shore, Prince Xiu had already been gone for quite some time.
It was nearly noon. They hadn't returned home all night and hadn't gone to class this morning. They were worried that things wouldn't be easy when they got back. The three of them were anxious and hurried back to the academy on horseback.
Upon arriving at the academy, they ran into Gongzi Yu and Gongzi Xun, who were leading their horses down the mountain. Gongzi Yu immediately greeted them, saying, "Why are you only returning now!"
Hua Wu asked, "What's wrong?"
Gongzi said, "The Dean already knows that you didn't return last night and were absent again this morning. He severely reprimanded Master Ji. Master Ji wants me and Xun to find you immediately. Go see Master Ji quickly. Gongzi Xiu has already gone ahead."
Gongzi Qi said, "Alright, let's go now."
The three men quickly handed the reins to the two men and jogged to see Master Ji.
Playing too much comes at a price. After reciting the four of them for nearly an hour, Master Ji finally punished them by making each of them copy the Book of Songs twenty times. Hua Wuduo had just breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Master Ji say, "In addition, Hua Wuduo will be responsible for cleaning the latrines for ten days."
"What?!" Hua Wuduo immediately cried out in protest, "Why is she the only one who has to clean the latrines for ten days?!"
Upon hearing this, Master Ji looked her up and down, scrutinizing her until he noticed her hands and feet were ice-cold, before asking kindly, "Isn't that enough?!"
Hua Wuduo was immediately horrified and quickly lowered his head, saying, "That's enough, that's more than enough."
Master Ji nodded in satisfaction, and with a flick of his sleeve, the four men withdrew one by one.
Just as he was about to cross the threshold, Hua Wuduo deliberately let out a long sigh: "Alas... this is the difference in treatment between classes." Before Master Ji could react, Hua Wuduo had already disappeared.
That evening, Hua Wuduo appeared by the outhouse carrying a brush and a wooden bucket, with Gongzi Yi following behind.
Hua Wuduo was extremely depressed, while Gongzi Yi was in the opposite mood, extremely happy.
Hua Wuduo pinched his nose and silently cleaned the outhouse.
Gongzi Yi, however, leaned leisurely against a tree in the distance, whistling as he watched her busy work.
Hua Wuduo carefully washed and finished his work. Just as he was about to leave, he saw Gongzi Zheng rushing towards him. Before Hua Wuduo could make way for him, he was rudely pushed aside. Hua Wuduo was angry, but before he could retaliate, he saw Gongzi Zheng rush into the outhouse. Then, a loud noise came from the outhouse. Hua Wuduo didn't have time to think and hurriedly covered his nose and left.
In the evening, during their leisure time, everyone gathered together to talk about what happened at Daming Lake yesterday. The topic always revolved around who was the most beautiful, how Qi Xin was, and how she truly deserved to be called the most beautiful woman in the world.
Hua Wuduo was quite unconvinced. Although Qi Xin was beautiful, she lacked her sister's captivating charm. Qi Xin couldn't compare to her sister's alluring and seductive demeanor. In Hua Wuduo's mind, even if Qi Xin was beautiful, she was still somewhat lacking. She had already decided that her sister, Fang Ruowei, was the future most beautiful woman in the world.
Surprisingly, Gongzi Yi remained silent all night, listening to everyone's idle chatter. Occasionally, he would chuckle secretly, then put on a serious face, though he couldn't hide the smugness in his eyes. Gongzi Qi and Hua Wuduo, standing on either side, couldn't help but secretly observe him. They exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with doubt, wondering what Gongzi Yi was thinking.
When night fell, Hua Wuduo blew out the lamp, and the two went to their respective beds one after the other.
Gongzi Yi suddenly said, "I'm going down the mountain tomorrow afternoon. You'll come with me."
Hua Wuduo asked, "Where are you going?"
Gongzi Yi said, "Qi Xin invited me to meet her in the woods at Changpo tomorrow."
Qi Xin asked him out? Qi Xin actually asked him out? Hua Wuduo was very surprised. No wonder he had been absent-mindedly chuckling all day. He immediately asked, "How are we going to get down the mountain? Tomorrow afternoon is Master Deng's class. I don't want to be cleaning the outhouse for a month."
“That is a problem,” said Gongzi Yi. “I’ll leave this to you to handle.”
Hua Wuduo simply said, "I'm not going."
Gongzi Yi said, "I must go down the mountain tomorrow afternoon." The implication was that you had no choice but to go.
Hua Wuduo, however, did not take it seriously and said, "If you dare to go down the mountain without permission, I will report you to Master Ji and make sure you can't leave the mountain."
A muffled groan came from the darkness, and a moment later:
"Ten taels!"
"I'm not going."
"20 taels."
"I'm not going!"
"50 taels!"
"I won't go!" For the first time, Hua Wuduo showed great backbone and did not waver in the face of money.
Gongzi Yi's breath hitched, seemingly not expecting Hua Wuduo to be so persistent this time. He sighed and said, "Alas, then forget it."
a long time……
Hua Wuduo's voice came from the darkness: "At least 80 taels!" It turned out he thought the money was too little.
Upon hearing this, Gongzi Yi immediately became excited and said enthusiastically, "Great! Eighty taels it is. What do you plan to do with it?"
Hearing his quick agreement, Hua Wuduo immediately regretted it; she should have asked for a hundred taels. She was silent for a moment before saying, "I haven't decided yet."
Upon hearing this, Gongzi Yi was deflated. After a long pause, he said, "Fine, I'll spend some money to hire someone to help you clean the outhouse."
Oh dear, that's right, how come she didn't think of that?
Early the next morning, Master Ji summoned her. Hua Wuduo was filled with anxiety, wondering what mistake she had made this time. Unexpectedly, Master Ji summoned her and accused her of being lazy the day before, for not cleaning the outhouse properly! He then scolded her for half an hour.
Hua Wu felt wronged. While listening to the reprimand, he thought about the earth-shattering scene that Gongzi Zheng had caused in the outhouse last night and thought to himself: It must have been his doing!
In the afternoon, Master Deng was lecturing on the Book of Poetry. Gongzi Yi and Hua Wuduo arrived at the classroom early, pretending to study their books. Master Deng always arrived early, and seeing that the two of them had arrived even earlier, he couldn't help but give them a few more approving glances. The two of them both put on a very humble and eager-to-learn appearance, and Master Deng nodded secretly.
Master Deng had a habit of always brewing a pot of fine tea and placing it beside him before each class, taking a sip or two whenever he taught. Brewing tea was a very particular matter, and among the students, Gongzi Zheng was the best at brewing tea, so Master Deng always had him brew his tea.
Today, as usual, the young master arrived at the school first, brewed tea, and placed it within easy reach of Master Deng. Master Deng, smelling the aroma of the tea, picked it up and took a small sip.
Hua Wuduo and Gongzi Yi exchanged a knowing smile, their unspoken understanding unspoken.
Soon, the other students arrived one after another. Just as the bell rang for class, Master Deng, pale-faced and clutching his stomach, said, "You all go and study on your own. I'll be right back."
Upon seeing the teacher's appearance, the students understood that he must be in a hurry to relieve himself, so they dared not say anything and began to read as the teacher instructed.
Master Deng left in a hurry.
After everyone had been reading for a while, Master Deng finally returned. But as soon as the students saw him, they saw him clutching his stomach in pain and running back. At this moment, someone laughed and said that the Master must have eaten something delicious to be torturing people like this. Everyone laughed at this.
Back and forth, Master Deng made five or six trips to the outhouse. When he returned from the outhouse for the sixth time, he was already dragging himself in through the door frame, almost falling over the low threshold. He looked like he was about to collapse. Master Deng was pale, sweating, and his fingers trembled as he pointed at Gongzi Zheng, gritting his teeth and saying, "You stay here. I am not feeling well today. Everyone else, get out of class is over."
A loud "whoosh" was heard from inside the school, and the students immediately scattered excitedly like birds and beasts.
Only Hua Wuduo and Gongzi Yi were not as eager as the other students. The two slowly packed up their books, looking extremely reluctant to leave the school. Before leaving, they saw Master Deng grab the bewildered Gongzi Zheng by the collar and weakly scold him: "What did you put in my tea!"
Gongzi Qi, standing outside the door, glanced at the two men who had just come out of the school with sly smiles on their faces and asked, "What mischief have you two gotten yourselves into?"
Gongzi Yi and Hua Wuduo smiled but remained silent upon hearing this. Gongzi Qi immediately smiled knowingly, then turned and leisurely left.
There were no classes in the afternoon, so they were free to do as they pleased. However, leaving the academy on their own was not allowed. The two of them had to leave quietly and secretly. To avoid attracting attention, they could only walk down the mountain and could not ride horses. The two of them fooled the guards at the gate and successfully left the academy. As soon as they left the academy, Gongzi Yi said to Hua Wuduo, "Time is running out. Use your lightness skill to carry me down the mountain."
Isn't this treating her like a horse? Hua Wuduo was very unhappy.
But Gongzi Yi ignored her struggles and climbed onto her back, his legs already skillfully wrapped around her waist.
Hua Wuduo barely suppressed the urge to throw him off the mountain and asked through gritted teeth, "Are you sure?"
Gongzi Yi replied impatiently, "Stop talking nonsense, let's go, let's go!"
Hua Wuduo gritted his teeth, said "Alright!" and suddenly shot out like an arrow, disappearing in the blink of an eye. Then, a mountain breeze carried a person's cry of alarm: "Ah..." The sound seemed extremely shrill, as if the person had suffered some kind of torment.
After about half a cup of tea's time, Hua Wuduo carried Gongzi Yi to the foot of the mountain. Hua Wuduo put Gongzi Yi down, and Gongzi Yi slumped against a large tree, muttering incoherently, "You're really something..."