Distant Mountain Battle Song

Chapter 114 Beauty
Yun Ce had always wanted to visit Chang'an to see just how majestic and grand this magnificent city was, but Lin Weizhou always made excuses, saying that it was difficult to get a pass to enter the city.

I know this is just another load of nonsense.

Yun Ce had no choice but to listen; in his view, Lin Weizhou's evaluation of him was not yet over.

Lin Weizhou knew that Yun Ce knew he was just making excuses, so he didn't offer any further explanation. Perhaps he felt it was unnecessary.

Therefore, he no longer deliberately chatted with Yun Ce, but preferred to stroll around the Yun family manor, which was undergoing extensive construction. Everything and everyone there seemed new and exciting.

Sitting under the eaves and playing the flute became Yun Ce's new hobby. He didn't know how to play the flute before, but An Ji thought that Yun Ce had great musical talent, so she taught him to play the flute.

In the Han Dynasty, music held a very high status. Almost every scholar and literati with a certain level of refinement was proficient in one or more musical instruments, with the guqin, guzheng, and pipa being the most prominent.

Yun Ce had heard An Ji play the guqin brought by Lin Weizhou. To be honest, the piece wasn't very good. Although the piece "High Mountains and Flowing Water" might be an original, Yun Ce couldn't hear the artistic conception of "lofty mountains" and "flowing water".

It's probably very difficult to judge; true soulmates like Zhong Ziqi and Yu Boya are hard to find.

Anji had tested Yun Ce and found that he was not suited to playing the guqin or the guzheng, and as for the pipa, an instrument that requires ten flexible fingers, Yun Ce was completely out of his league.

So, the flute is quite good.

After Yun Ce learned to play the flute, his rendition of "The Shepherd Boy" became more and more beautiful, until it captivated An Ji, a woman who had been learning music from her mother since childhood.

So she brought out many flute pieces, hoping Yun Ce could play them, but unfortunately, they didn't sound as good as hers.

Until Yun Ce started playing "Wild Geese" again, albeit haltingly, An Ji could no longer gauge whether this person's musical talent was high or low.

"The seed has sprouted."

Eji ran back from the field quickly, her little face flushed and her cheerful appearance was endearing.

Everyone in Yunjiazhuang ran towards the fields.

When Yun Ce reached the edge of the field, he stopped. The wheat that had been planted first had already sprouted, appearing as a pale yellow color from afar, but becoming less noticeable as he got closer.

This is the highest realm of "the grass appears green from afar but is not visible up close".

Yun Ce came to the edge of the field and pulled up a thin seedling. Seeing that the wheat at the base was still plump, he was filled with hope for this wheat field. The wheat itself had not yet exhausted its nutrients.

Looking at the beans that Eji liked, there was still no sign of life there. So far, only the wheat and millet fields had sprouted.

"If the seedlings can sprout, there will be a harvest." Feng An put his hands on his hips as if he were a seasoned farmer.

The sprouting of wheat and millet was within Yun Ce's expectations. He then dug through the bean field and found a bean about the size of a ping-pong ball. The bean had split into two halves and was being pulled apart by a plump bud.

Yun Ce planted the bean again, covered it with soil, and said to E Ji, "The bean has sprouted. When it's ripe, I'll make you some tofu."

Eji listened to Yun Ce's words with a calm expression, and pulled him up, saying, "Is my lord unhappy?"

Yun Ce shook his head and said, "I'm not unhappy."

Eji rested her head on Yun Ce's shoulder and said, "I'll go fishing with you today."

After saying that, he pushed Yun Ce back into the courtyard, took the fishing gear, and headed towards Longhu Lake.

Once the fishhook was in Dragon Lake, Eji whispered, "My lord dislikes that Lin Weizhou so much, why don't we kill him tonight?"

Yun Ce shook his head and said, "They're trying to temper my wildness."

"How to say?"

"Papermaking was not only a world-shaking achievement in the Han Dynasty, but it was also an auspicious omen. A meritorious official like me should have been taken to Chang'an to see the emperor. It would never have been left unattended in Lantian County like this."

I mentioned to Lin Weizhou several times that I wanted to visit Chang'an, but he always made excuses and refused, and each time he did so more casually than the last.

This means that they have already used the secret formula I gave them to produce paper, and my importance is rapidly decreasing.

I reckon that once paper is available for sale, nobody will care about me anymore.

"What can we do then? My lord's papermaking skills have been wasted."

Yun Ce smiled and said, "You reap what you sow. Sometimes, the reward is just different from what we expect."

Eji didn't understand Yun Ce's calculating words, nor did she want to. Most of the time, Eji just wanted to hear him talk; she didn't really care what he said. The fishing rod twitched, and Yun Ce lifted it up in one swift motion. He didn't need any skill at all; relying on the sturdiness of the rod, the strength of the line, and his own power, he pulled a three-foot-long fish up.

This fish has a large head, bulging eyes, and a mouth full of sharp teeth. It also has a ring of white, bead-like growths around its neck.

People in Chang'an like to call this fish "good fish," and they especially like to eat the rosary-like fleshy growth around the neck of this fish, which is said to be very nutritious.

Yun Ce was not used to accepting such fish, let alone their highly nutritious diet.

After catching the fish, they casually tossed it back into the lake.

The big fish bounced in the water and then disappeared into the deep water, I wonder if it had any gratitude at all.

Eji whispered, "That crazy woman who always carries a spear is coming."

Yun Ce turned around and saw that the dirty woman had now changed and cleaned herself up. After eating a full meal, she looked like a lotus flower emerging from the water.

This was not Yun Ce's praise, but a true description of a lotus flower emerging from the water. In short, this woman's appearance was perfect from every angle.

Even so, he was still wearing a set of rough cloth clothes.

Yun Ce nodded to the woman and said, "Are you leaving?"

The woman smiled, her smile so bright it was as if a hundred flowers were blooming. She bowed deeply to Yun Ce and said, "Heng Ji thanks you for saving my life twice, my lord."

Yun Ce frowned and said, "Why are you, a woman, behaving like a man?"

Hengji smiled and said, "I am so grateful to you for saving my life, my lord. How could I possibly repay you?"

Yun Ce then asked, "How did you recognize me when my face was covered and it was pitch black?"

Hengji bowed again and said, "In the entire city of Chuyun, there is probably only one person who can save us, and is willing to save us mother and children without asking for anything in return."

Yun Ce tossed a gold bead to Heng Ji and laughed, "I can't tell anyone about my entering and leaving Yun City that night."

Heng Ji smiled and said, "Of course."

Yun Ce looked at Heng Ji for a moment and said, "Then go ahead, and have Lao Chou prepare a carriage for you."

Heng Ji would usually just laugh loudly and then leave.

Eji quickly said, "Did she see you kill someone?"

Yun Ce nodded and said, "Yes, she saw it."

"You killed the governor of Daizhou, and Hong Guniang and Pei Chuan saw it?"

Yun Ce nodded.

Eji sighed and said, "We must silence them."

Yun Ce laughed loudly, "If we can't wipe them out, we can only hope they have a heart."

Eji whispered in Yun Ce's ear, "This woman is so beautiful, she must be a woman of great background."

Yun Ce said, "Not only is she good-looking, but she's also very lucky. Most importantly, this woman has a heart of stone."

"Is this why your husband doesn't want her?"

"I don't have the ability to be someone's stepfather, nor do I have the ability to raise someone's son to be like my own. For this kind of person, it's enough to receive a little favor; don't think too much about anything else."

When Hengji reached the end of Yun Ce's line of sight, she leaned against a tree, panting heavily. Sweat instantly poured from her forehead, condensing on her nose and chin, dripping down her face.

She knew that if she and her children continued to live in the Yun family manor, there would be no great danger. But if she asked to leave, given that she knew a lot about Yun Ce's secrets, it would likely mean certain death.

However, she couldn't wait any longer. If she waited any longer, Xiao Huoqing would never have another chance. Lin Weizhou might see through her identity, and that would be the greatest danger for the three of them.

Today, she deliberately displayed her beauty, but Yun Ce didn't pay attention. He was the first man to ignore her appearance, which made her feel both gratified and somewhat resentful.

She wiped the sweat from her brow under the tree, then opened her arms to let the cool breeze flow into her sleeves…

(End of this chapter)