67Chapter 67: Chance Encounter

Chapter 67 Encounter by Chance

The scenery in the south of the Yangtze River is beautiful, but it is a bit bleak in winter.

The small bridge flows, the singing and the soft voice, the two walked hand in hand on the bluestone path, wandering aimlessly.

I have lived in Pingjiang for two days, and I have seen several special places. Several gardens are beautiful, but they are all private gardens and are not often open.

"If you have nowhere to go, you can go to the Qingzhu Xiaozhu in the east of the city to listen to music." The owner of the painted paper umbrella said.

"Is there anything special?" Jing Shao picked an umbrella with a green phoenix painted on it and showed it to the people around him.

Mu Hanzhang nodded and paid the shopkeeper.

"This Qingzhu Xiaozhu sounds elegant, but it is not a teahouse." The owner took the money and smiled and explained that a place where music is usually sung must be a teahouse, but this Qingzhu Xiaozhu is different. It is indeed elegant, but it does not sell tea, but snacks. The snacks there are very expensive and exquisitely made. The playful young men in Pingjiang City who don't like to pretend to drink tea like that place the most.

When Jing Shao heard this, he immediately became interested. His own princess likes elegant things, but he likes all kinds of snacks. In this way, he can kill two birds with one stone! So he pulled the people around him and headed east of the city.

Qingzhu Xiaozhu is indeed an elegant place. It is wrapped in layers of evergreen bamboo all year round, and only a cobblestone path leads to it. In the center of the bamboo forest is a small pavilion made entirely of bamboo, surrounded by gurgling water. A singing girl sits on it with a pipa, singing softly and softly Jiangnan songs. There are sixteen bamboo pavilions on all sides of the small pavilion. Each pavilion is equipped with tables, chairs, and a heater. One pavilion can only seat one table of guests. In order to maintain the elegance, although snacks are sold here, there are no noisy waiters to order dishes. Guests must go to the back of the bamboo forest and talk directly to the shopkeeper.

Maybe it was because of the cold weather. When Jing Shao and his friends came, there were only five or six pavilions with people.

The freshly baked plum blossom cake, paired with a bowl of hot wontons, was really delicious. Mu Hanzhang picked up a piece of plum blossom cake. These things were delicious, but too expensive. A plate of snacks and two bowls of wontons cost one or two taels of silver! No wonder the business was so bad.

Jing Shao took a sip of the soup. The fresh and fragrant hot soup tasted quite refreshing in this cold winter. He looked up and saw his princess staring at the plum blossom cake in a daze, so he took his spoon, scooped a wonton and put it to his lips: "Try it quickly, it won't taste good if it gets cold."

Mu Hanzhang was stunned, and subconsciously opened his mouth to hold the wonton in his mouth. The fresh and fragrant taste immediately filled his lips and teeth. The saltiness was moderate, the meat was tender and smooth, and it tasted a little sesame oil. It was delicious!

Seeing that his princess finally stopped worrying about money and ate seriously, Jing Shao ate his bowl of wontons with peace of mind, and then got up to buy another bowl with a sense of satisfaction. In order to have a good time, the two of them did not bring any followers. Jing Shao, who was reluctant to order his princess around, had to go by himself.

Mu Hanzhang was eating wontons elegantly and seriously. Suddenly, a person came over from the pavilion next to him, and his voice was clear and pleasant: "Sir, I'm bothering you."

Mu Hanzhang turned his head and looked, and couldn't help but be stunned.

The person in front of him was dressed in snow-white. Although it was winter, there was still a layer of gauze over the long robe. Looking up along the slender figure, the facial features were delicate, the tail of the eyes was slightly raised, and it was a beautiful face, but the arc of the lips that seemed to smile made him look a little dangerous.

"What can I do for you, sir?" Mu Hanzhang stood up, subconsciously grasped the handle of the knife at his waist, and pressed his thumb on the machine buckle.

The man saw Mu Hanzhang's face clearly, and the curve of his lips couldn't help but widen a bit: "May I ask if this sword of yours is the famous ancient weapon Hanzhang sword?" Although he mentioned the sword, his eyes did not stay on the sword, but stared at Mu Hanzhang's handsome face.

Mu Hanzhang frowned slightly: "This sword was given by a friend, and I don't know its name." The scabbard of Hanzhang's sword was old and dull. Even if it was washed by a silversmith later, it was still ordinary. This man could recognize it at a glance, so he must be a well-informed person.

"Can you lend it to me for a look?" The man stepped forward and almost got close to Mu Hanzhang's ear. The next moment, he was dragged back by the collar.

Jing Shao was holding a bowl of wontons. As soon as he came out of the bamboo forest, he saw a scoundrel approaching his princess, with one hand reaching for his waist. He was immediately furious and threw away the wontons. He rushed over in three or two steps, grabbed the man's collar, and punched him in the eye.

The man reacted quickly, almost subconsciously raised his hand and blocked Jing Shao's fist. Jing Shao was about to hit him on the chin with his backhand, but when he saw his face clearly, he was stunned. He had seen this face for so many years and would never make a mistake. This man was the most important purpose of his trip to Jiangnan - Huainan King Gu Huaiqing!

A moment of stunned was enough for Gu Huaiqing to escape from his control. He turned his head and turned over suddenly, and quickly punched Jing Shao in the face. Jing Shao immediately raised his hand to block, but the fist did not fall, but quickly retracted, and the man jumped away.

Gu Huaiqing straightened his clothes elegantly and looked at Jing Shao coldly: "It is not a gentleman's behavior to hit someone without knowing the right or wrong." Two guards from the pavilion next to him heard this and quickly ran out to protect him.

Jing Shao ignored him and hugged his princess to look at her: "Jun Qing, are you okay?"

Mu Hanzhang shook his head: "I'm fine." Seeing that Gu Huaiqing seemed to be in the right, he gently leaned into Jing Shao's arms and touched his back soothingly.

But this comfort seemed wrong to Jing Shao. Jun Qing rarely took the initiative to snuggle into his arms. In this state, he must have been wronged! The anger that had just subsided burned again. No matter whether he was the King of Huainan or the King of Huaibei, he would beat him first!

Gu Huaiqing's face flashed with a moment of surprise. He just paid attention to the sword and didn't pay attention to the two people. In broad daylight, they were so intimate and ambiguous. They were probably married in a formal way! Before he could apologize, Jing Shao rushed over again.

Signaling the two guards not to intervene, Gu Huaiqing stepped forward to take the fight.

Jing Shao punched the door directly, and when the other party raised his hand to block it, he suddenly lowered his body and swept his leg. Gu Huaiqing immediately jumped high and kicked Jing Shao with his leg. Jing Shao turned around and kicked his leg away, and then flew over.

The two were equally skilled, and the fight was indistinguishable.

Mu Hanzhang watched in amazement as the two men started a duel of eight scenes, which developed into eye-poking and crotch-touching tricks, and finally turned into rolling on the ground and fighting each other without any skills.

People who were listening to the music came to watch the fun, and the two guards drew their swords with a swish, and scared those idle young men so much that they ran away. The boss heard the noise and hurriedly came up to dissuade them. This commotion killed the business for a while. Mu Hanzhang stepped forward and gave him a South China Sea pearl as compensation. The boss's wrinkled face immediately smiled: "Everyone, take your time to spar, I'll make you a pot of tea!"

The two people on the ground didn't care whether it was shameful to fight like this. They fought until both of them were bruised and panting, and then they reluctantly separated and lay on their backs on the ground covered with fallen leaves to catch their breath.

I thought they were going to stop fighting. After three breaths, the two looked at each other, and at the same time, they jumped up, crossed their arms, and secretly tried their strength. Gu Huaiqing looked at Jing Shao, whose lips were blue and nose was bleeding, and who still looked vicious, and finally couldn't help laughing, and fell to the ground with his head raised: "Hahaha, I didn't know you two were husband and wife, I'm sorry, brother, just hit me again!"

Jing Shao ignored him, got up from the ground, and kicked him.

Gu Huaiqing: "..." In the past, people would turn hostility into friendship after hearing such words? This person is really...too interesting!

Mu Hanzhang hurriedly stepped forward and asked the boss for a cloth to wipe Jing Shao's face: "I said it's okay, why did you fight again?"

"Humph!" Jing Shao snorted, but it was a bit difficult to end the current situation.

I had thought of going to Jiangnan to meet the King of Huainan and discuss future matters with him, but I didn't expect to meet him here. In the last life, even though the two of them had fought for so long, Jing Shao never regarded this person as an enemy, but as a rare opponent in his life, or even a confidant with whom he had been in spiritual contact for a long time! Therefore, he had another plan for the Huainan fiefdom this time, but he did not expect that the situation would develop into this as soon as they met.

Gu Huaiqing got up from the ground, rubbed his sore shoulders, and grabbed Jing Shao's arm: "No fight, no acquaintance. I have never seen someone who is so congenial to me. I want to be sworn brothers with you today!" Thinking about what despicable moves Jing Shao had just used in the fight, he had never seen a person with extraordinary background and high martial arts skills but as shameless as himself! It is really a rare confidant!

"Ah?" Jing Shao was stunned. This King of Huainan really did not play by the rules. How did this fight become sworn brothers?

A prince and a vassal king became sworn brothers. What kind of words are these? Jing Shao frowned and looked at him: "Your status must be extraordinary, it's not appropriate to swear brotherhood with anyone casually, right?"

Who knew that Gu Huaiqing ordered the guards to prepare candles and yellow paper without hesitation, and pulled him up: "No matter who I am or who you are, it's hard to find a true friend, I will definitely swear brotherhood today!"

Mu Hanzhang looked at the two people who were still holding on to their demeanor with bruised faces, and couldn't help but pursed his lips and chuckled.

Burning yellow paper, killing chicken blood, Gu Huaiqing said it would rain, and everything was ready in a moment, and he pulled Jing Shao to swear brotherhood.

"God bless you, I, Gu Huaiqing, am here today to..." Gu Huaiqing held the incense in his hand, and said halfway, suddenly stopped, chuckled and turned his head, "Brother, I haven't asked for your name yet."

"..." Jing Shao sighed helplessly. The King of Huainan, who was a few years younger than in his previous life, was still so unpredictable, "Jing Shao."

The smile on Gu Huaiqing's lips froze immediately, "Jing" is the royal surname. There are not many people with the surname Jing in the world, and the person named Jing Shao who appeared in Jiangnan at this time can only be a king.

Jing Shao imitated Gu Huaiqing's half-smile: "What, are you still bowing?"

"Bow! Why not!" Gu Huaiqing came back to his senses and stuffed the incense into Jing Shao's hand, "God bless you, I, Gu Huaiqing, am here today to become a brother with Jing Shao. From now on, we will share happiness and hardships together!"