Chapter 173 There is a kind of man

  At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, one's temperament was quite in line with the preferences of the King of Shu, so he asked, "Huaichen stays in Shu State, I will appoint you as a guest minister, how about that?"

  "Wang's affection is overwhelming, and I am deeply grateful." Song Chuyi put down his wine cup and refused with a serious expression.

  Keqing, is a title conferred on non-nationals who hold high office in their own country. At this juncture of Qin-Shu trade relations, accepting this position would be utterly unacceptable; otherwise, Guhan and others will surely die upon their return. Furthermore, who knows whether the King of Shu is intentionally testing her?

  "What's wrong with that? I've heard that Huai Jin is young and famous in the Central Plains, a truly rare talent." The King of Shu said so, but didn't mention Guest Qing again, instead asking about Song Chu Yi's itinerary, "Sir, where do you plan to settle?"

  "I'll stay in Wangcheng for a few more months first. I've heard that there's a Tianjing nearby, and I'd like to follow in Zhuangzi's footsteps and take a look." Song said with a smile.

  Near the valley, there are many lakes of various sizes, inlaid among the mountains, like amber, like jade, like a bright mirror, with crystal clear blue water reflecting the lush green mountains and vibrant flowers. It's as if it's not a scene from the mortal world. Moreover, for some unknown reason, this valley is cool all year round, and it's said that it can enlighten one's mind. The Shu state also has a legend that these places are the dwelling places of ancient gods, so they are called heavenly realms.

  These places are not allowed for ordinary people to trespass, but the Shu people think that those who have high learning and extensive knowledge can communicate with gods, so they never stop scholars from entering.

  "Since you are enlightened, the heavenly realm is indeed the only choice." The King of Shu nodded in agreement, already having some faith that Song ChuYi truly wanted to stay in Shu Kingdom to comprehend the Heavenly Way.

  The sound of silk and bamboo is pleasant to the ear, but King Shu feels it's a bit dull. He can't help but sigh and say, "From Qin country to Shu, it will take some time, right? When can my son, Chou Mei Ren, enter my arms?"

  "This beauty is such that, from a distance, one can appreciate her lovely appearance, but when she gets close, it's as if she has bewitched my heart." Song Chu put down his wine cup with a smile, and the servant girl beside him immediately refilled it.

  The King of Shu leaned against the armrest, tilting his head back to finish a cup of wine. He smacked his lips, stroked his chin whiskers, and a hint of ambiguity crept into his eyes. "Does that beauty have any special skills? For instance, in the bedchamber..."

  "Haha. Wang Shang, this is really putting Hua Jin in a difficult position. Such a beauty, for me to be able to catch a glimpse of her is already rare, how can I know these things?" Song Chu said, his body leaning forward slightly, his voice becoming softer, "However, I've heard that your dancing skills are exceptional, and your singing voice is even more enchanting."

  Exceptional dance skills must come from a flexible waist, and a voice that echoes through the rafters...

  The King of Shu's throat slightly moved, and he felt a reaction somewhere. Every time this happened, when he was about to pick one from the harem to solve the problem, seeing those ordinary women made him unable to do it.

  Actually, those beauties are not bad. Unfortunately, King Shu is tired of being in the harem every day, and the freshness has almost disappeared. Moreover, he misses a heavenly beauty in his heart, so he feels even less interested.

  Song Chu interrupted his melancholy, "Can Wang Shang retire from his entourage?"

  Every time Song Chu Er could give him a surprise, he immediately waved his hand and ordered everyone to leave.

  "Even if a beautiful woman were to arrive right now, it would still take some time. Can't the Emperor always abstain? Why not try something new and fresh?" said Song Chu.

  The King of Shu was very interested and couldn't help but get up from his throne to sit down next to Song Chu, "Tell me more about it!"

  "Has King Wang ever heard of the nobles in Zhongyuan who like to keep young boys as companions?" Song Chu asked.

  The King of Shu scrunched up his face in distaste, "I've heard it before, it's utterly disgusting."

  "But I've heard that in this world, there is a kind of man. His skin is as warm as jade, his heart is as clear as a spring, his breath is like a gentle breeze, and his voice is like the call of a phoenix. With a hint of a smile, he is gentle but not weak, charming but not vulgar, with a demeanor that is vastly different from women." Song Chu said slowly.

  Wen Yu, Qing Quan, Qing Feng... The King of Shu imagined for a moment, if it were such a man in his arms... Although it felt a bit strange, it wasn't as nauseating as he had previously imagined.

  Song Chu looked at his subtle facial expression and slightly curved the corner of his mouth, saying, "I'll discuss with Wang Shang the subtleties within."

  The King of Shu was not particularly interested in men, but out of curiosity, he urged repeatedly, "Tell me, tell me."

  The two of them got together and started chatting enthusiastically.

  As a strategist, if you want to get along well, the monarch expects what you can take out, and in this aspect, Song Chu is undoubtedly very qualified.

  They chatted for nearly two hours, and when King Shu let Song Chuyi out of the palace, the sky was already pitch black.

  Outside, the fog drifted away, like fine rain threads falling, only from the front hall to the palace gate, and on my hair, I found fine water droplets, a faintly white color that made me feel as if I had aged several years.

  As soon as Song Chu got on the horse cart, she closed her eyes and took a short rest. It wasn't until they returned to the post house that she came back to herself, only to realize that now there was only one person left.

  Inside the house, only one lamp was lit. Song Chuyi poured herself a glass of water and gulped it down, only to realize how cold it was afterwards. The icy water stimulated her mouth, tongue and throat, making her teeth chatter.

  "Sir is thirsty." The maid brought over a pot of hot tea and poured a cup for Song Chu.

  As soon as Song Chu got the hot tea, she covered her slightly cold hands and saw two maids lighting up the lamps in the room with fire tongs. She said in Sichuan dialect, "Don't light them, go down."

  "Yes." The maids bowed and backed out.

  In the vast house, only a few dim yellow lights accompanied her.

  Loneliness is not unfamiliar or scary for Song ChuYi. For anyone, perseverance and determination are indispensable on the road to success.

  Under the lamp, Song Chuyi closed his eyes and thought about things.

  The plan in Shu has already started, but Song ChuYi thinks that now is not the best time to continue. The King of Shu is impulsive when it comes to "desire", but he's not a foolish person. On the surface, he seems very close and intimate with her, but who knows if he's actually heavily guarded against her in private. Moreover, Wei seems to have murderous intentions towards her, and if she carelessly moves around, her life might be forfeited to Shu one of these days.

  The top priority is to meet with Ji Yu and Qi Bian as soon as possible. With the protection of these two, she can feel slightly at ease doing other things.

  She didn't know how long she had been sitting quietly, but when Song Chuyi came back to her senses, the water in her hand was only a little warm. She straightened up and was about to get up when her ears caught a faint unusual sound. It seemed like the sound of fabric rubbing against something, flashing by quickly, making people wonder if it was an illusion.

  Put down the water cup, Song Chu heard the sound of his clothes rubbing against each other, which was slightly different from just now.

  The light flickered slightly, and Song Chuyi caught a glimpse of the shadow on the ground. Behind her, someone was indeed holding a sword and quietly approaching, with only two feet between them.

  "Who's there?!" Song Chu suddenly shouted loudly.

  The person behind him was slightly startled, his movements slowed down for a moment, but saw Song Chu Yi rolling on the ground. A short sword appeared in his hand, and almost in the blink of an eye, his calf felt cool, followed by hot blood spurting out.

  The killer reacted quickly and stabbed a sword at Song Chuyi's body with a swift and fierce motion, more agile than her previous action.

  Two men shook hands. In a flash, three black-clad men emerged from somewhere in the house and surrounded Song Chuyi in a fan shape.

  At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, a loud shout from one side not only made the killer's movements hesitate for a moment, but also startled the guards outside. The corridor outside had already echoed with urgent footsteps, followed by a call, "Sir?"

  Four men in black immediately pounced on him. Song Chuyi's three-legged cat kung fu was far from enough to protect himself from the encirclement of several killers, and he was instantly covered in bruises!

  She was too busy to even dare to divide her attention to answer the guard's words. So she took advantage of dodging the sword and plunged onto the table, sweeping the teapot and cups on the table to the ground.

  Without any answer, people outside knew something was wrong. With a loud crash, the door was kicked open and Shu soldiers rushed in.

  "Run!" one of the assassins let out a hoarse voice.

  The other three immediately retreated as they were told and turned around to climb out of the back window.

  "Seize the assassin!" The Shu soldiers rushed to the window in an uproar.

  "Don't go after him!" Shu Qian shouted in Sichuan dialect.

  Many Shu soldiers were stunned, some people did not react and had already followed from the rear window in pursuit.

  "Don't chase!" Song Chuyi shouted again.

  The Shu soldiers who had run to the window stopped in their tracks and turned around with puzzled faces.

  "These four are not dead men, they gave up the assassination so easily. Perhaps it's to lure you away, so others can make another attempt!" Song Chu said.

  It's not necessarily a case of "borrowing a tiger to leave the mountain", but it's better to be safe than sorry. Since King Wei wants to take her life and clearly knows that she is surrounded by many swordsmen from Qin, he won't just send four assassins, even if this time it's not a trap. Killing four of them wouldn't be a big deal for them, the priority is still to protect her life safely tonight.

  The leading general thought what Song Chuyi said was reasonable, waved his hand to signal them to return to their team, and turned back to the frightened maids with a bad tone, "Don't you hurry up to call a doctor for Mr. to bandage?"

  Song Chu Yi's wounds were all on his back and arms, how could he let the doctor clean them? "No need, I'll use my medical skills to get the medicine myself, and I'll bandage them up."

  The Shu general looked at Song Chuyi for a moment, didn't force the issue, and ordered someone to bring over the medicine box according to her wishes. Then he arranged guards around the house, strengthening protection.

  Song Chu Er's medical skills were not particularly impressive, but when it came to treating external injuries and bandaging wounds, she had no problem. The only issue was that the wound on her back couldn't be applied with medicine, so for now, she could only temporarily rinse it clean with water and wrap it up roughly with a clean cloth.

  In the thick night color, four black shadows quickly advanced in the wild grass as tall as a person, and soon arrived at a small courtyard.

  The small courtyard gate was half open, and the windows of the main house emitted a dim light. The four people pulled down their face masks and walked straight into the house.

  A young man in a grey robe with wide sleeves knelt on the floor, engrossed in arranging the pieces on the chessboard, while seven sturdy swordsmen stood by the wall, leaning on their swords.

  "Mr. Min." The only woman among the four spoke first.

  The girl's face was small, with willow eyebrows and phoenix eyes, a high nose bridge, extremely thin lips, and she subconsciously pursed them tightly, making her delicate features appear slightly cold.

  Min Chi threw the chess piece in his hand into the pot, turned his head to glance at the four people, and smiled lightly, "Lost?"

  A hint of annoyance flashed across the faces of the four people. The woman frowned and said in a tone that seemed to be questioning, "You knew we would fail!"

  "You use force to compete with wisdom, unless you have an overwhelming advantage and don't give her any chance to survive, otherwise it's hard to get the better of her." So this result was already within his expectation.

  The woman's eyebrows furrowed even tighter, the arc of her willow eyebrows revealing a few degrees of sharpness. "King Wang sent you here just to make decisions! I see that you and he are old friends, and there is no intention of taking action at all!"

  "Zi Chuan! How dare you speak to sir like that!" scolded a middle-aged man beside him.

  The woman known as Purple River threw the black scarf in her hand to the ground, gave Min Chi a cold stare, and stormed out.

  Someone stepped forward to apologize on behalf of Zi Chuan, saying "I hope you won't bother with this insignificant woman, sir." The middle-aged man bowed and made a gesture of respect.

  "Yin Chuan doesn't have to be like this." Min Chi stood up and personally helped him up, "She's right, I didn't intend to kill Song Huaijin at first. But I also know that the king's order cannot be disobeyed. Don't worry, it's just that the timing to kill him is not yet ripe."

  Yin Chuan hesitated for a moment, then asked, "I've found out that Song Huaijin has ordered all the Qin guards to return to Xianyang, leaving only one behind. If we don't make our move now, when will we?"

  "The Qin messenger, Ju Ran, has been detained alone in Shu. Don't you think it's strange? Let's wait and see what happens next. I'll repeat the king's order: capture him alive if possible, but if not, behead him to eradicate the root." Min Chi spoke slowly and deliberately, with a hint of warning.

  Yin Chuan repeated these words to himself, suddenly understanding that Wang Shang was still interested in Song Chu, so the order emphasized "capturing alive", and only when necessary could they take action to silence him.

  Min Chi saw his expression change and knew he understood the implication, so he said, "It's getting late, let's rest."

  "Yes!" Yoon led the crowd out.

  The room was quiet. Minchi lowered his eyes to look at the chessboard, which was a replay of the game with Song Chuyi that day. He didn't play many games with Song Chuyi, but every time he watched her moves, he felt that if he could have an intellectual battle with someone like her, this life would be more interesting. If he had a choice, he wouldn't choose to assassinate her either.

  Outside, the mist is faint. The entire building of the distant Wang City is hidden in it.

  Spent the second half of the night calmly.

  The next morning, Song Chuyi woke up with a burning pain in her back. The maid had just finished combing her hair when the eunuch Yu Cheng hurried over to ask about her injuries and summon her to the palace.

  Song Chu didn't have time for breakfast, simply tidied up a bit, put on a deep blue loose-sleeved robe, and followed Yu Cheng into the palace.

  The Shu King was always one to think and act, Song Chu knew that, but she really didn't expect that yesterday he had just planned to guide the Shu King's interest in men, this morning he excitedly told her: "Hua Jin, I tried it out last night, and indeed the taste is quite different!"

  Looking at Shu Wang's face, which seemed to have regained its youthful vitality, Song Chu was stunned with his mouth agape for half a day.

  "Unfortunately, I didn't find the kind of warm jade spring-like man you mentioned for the time being, but the young man from last night was barely passable. The King of Shu's expression still lingered, and when he saw Song Chu's eyes were dull, he asked, "Hua Jin's face is pale, are his injuries severe?"

  Song Chu suddenly came back to her senses, last night she had bled a lot from the wound on her back, but she didn't want to say that her injury was serious, in case the King of Shu had a sudden change of heart and ordered the doctor to treat her. "The injury isn't too severe, it's just a bit shocking." After a pause, she smiled and changed the subject, "Your Majesty's understanding is truly admirable, you can grasp the three parts so quickly."

  "Haha!" The King of Shu was quite delighted, he had found a new target, "Later I will have the Queen select some handsome young men."

  Song Chuoyi's back was burning with pain, but the corners of his lips curled up into an arc. "Wang Shang, Huai Jin suddenly thought of a handsome man as beautiful as a clear breeze and bright moon."