Chapter 53: The First Meeting with Fu Junzhuo

  Li Jiancheng saw that everyone had finished their oath and the excitement was over, so he took Qin Yao's hand and left.

  "Master, why are you leaving? We can't continue watching?" Qin Yao saw her master pulling her to leave and became anxious. Who doesn't like to watch the excitement?

  "What's there to see? Everyone has already finished making their vows, what else is there to see? You keep chattering and next time I won't bring you along." Qin Yau was intimidated by Li Jiancheng's words and immediately dared not speak again. Meanwhile, Li Jiancheng was secretly laughing in his heart: Little thing, just wait and see how I'll make you obey me completely.

  "Hmph! You stinky young master, you wicked young master, every time using this to threaten me. Just wait till I get a hold of your weakness, and see how you'll still dare to threaten me." At this moment, Qin Yao was thinking in such a way, both of them having ulterior motives, plotting something sinister.

  "Next, Young Master will take you on a journey through Jianghu. Let you see what the real Jianghu is like!" Li Jiancheng smiled at Qin Yao, then took her towards Yangzhou.

  ……

  It was in Luoyang that these events took place, and my second brother Li Shimin also began to make a name for himself.

  In the tenth year of the Dà Yè (614), Li Shimin, the second brother, married Changsun, the future Empress Changsun. Under the auspices of Changsun Wuji's uncle, Gao Shilian, Changsun Wuji was betrothed to Shimin. Shimin and Changsun had known each other since childhood in Daxing City, and also knew her younger sister. Now that they were married, both families were overjoyed.

  In the second year, which was the eleventh month of the eleventh year of Sui Daye (615), I was on my way to Luzhou. Yang Guang was surrounded by 100,000 Turkic cavalry at Yanmen, and Shuming received a recruitment order from General Yun Dingxing to go and rescue him, proposing a plan to feign military strength, drawing flags for dozens of miles during the day and responding with drums at night. At that time, the reinforcements from Dongdu and other counties also arrived at Xinkou, forcing the Turkic Khan to lift the siege and leave. In this battle, Shuming's reputation gradually spread, and Yang Guang gave his beloved daughter to Shuming in marriage, who was later the mother of Wu Wang Li Ke. According to historical records, Wu Wang Li Ke was one of Taizong's most talented sons, knowledgeable about books and reason, warm and elegant. However, due to Longsun Wuji at that time, Li Ke was framed for treason and thus missed the opportunity to become emperor. If he had become emperor, perhaps there would not have been a Zhou Dynasty; but everything is uncertain.

  ……

  At this time, Li Jiancheng and Qin Yu were on their way to Yangzhou, so they didn't know what happened to Shuming either. Of course, if history is followed, he would also know. It's just that these things are not very relevant to him now.

  One evening on the way to Yangzhou.

  "Young master, it's better to return to your usual self. You look uncomfortable the way you were before." Qin Yao said with her mouth full of food as she complained to Li Jiancheng.

  "Traveling the world is a must, forget it! I won't bother telling you, just try to do less in the future." Li Jiancheng was frustrated, who's the boss anyway, and yet he got lectured by her.

  "Young master, this is really delicious, the flavor is great! I've never had this before in my life." Qin Yueru said.

  It was actually Li Jiancheng who, in order to reminisce about his past life, personally cooked some wild game and pulled out some wild vegetables to make a barbecue feast. Qin Yao had never eaten anything like this before, so she thought it tasted great. If only there were some seasonings, the flavor would be even better!

  "It's delicious, eat a bit more, don't waste my efforts." Li Jiancheng said to Qin Yao while eating.

  "Yes, young master!" Qin Yao said vaguely.

  "Gurgle, gurgle..." A sudden growl of hunger came from somewhere, Li Jiancheng looked at Qin Yao, and Qin Yao also looked at Li Jiancheng. The two simultaneously shifted their gaze in the direction where the sound was coming from.

  A figure slowly emerged from the darkness, and it was a woman who looked as beautiful as a flower, with a slender body and long hair flowing behind her back. However, she wore clothes that were different from those of the people in the Central Plains, and held a delicate small sword in her hand.

  As soon as Li Jiancheng saw her outfit, he knew who it was. At this time, a foreign woman appeared not far from Yangzhou and also heading to Yangzhou, she was the only one - Fu Zongshi's great apprentice, Fu Junyu.

  "Wow! You're so beautiful, sister!" Qin Yao shouted without any guard. "Right, it's so late, why are you alone here?" At least she still had some sense.

  "I'm on my way to Yangzhou, but I didn't expect to find no inn here. I didn't want to smell this smell, so I came to take a look." Fu Junru's face was slightly red as she said this.

  "It turns out that sister hasn't eaten yet, how pitiful! Come on, sister, let's eat together!" Qin Yao said generously.

  "But..." Fu Junzhuo hesitated, because she also saw that Li Jiancheng was the one in charge here, unfortunately he didn't speak up.

  "It's okay, our young master is easy to talk to." Qin Yao said, shaking Li Jiancheng's shoulder. Li Jiancheng rolled his eyes: What can I say if you're like this? So he said to Fu Junru: "Miss, please go ahead." Fu Junru heard him speak and sat down, taking the roasted wild vegetables handed over by Qin Yao. However, Li Jiancheng didn't think of letting Qin Yao off so easily, hehe!

  "Right, I think this girl seems to be younger than you, Yao'er?" Li Jiancheng asked doubtfully. Qin Yao is 21 years old this year, and as far as he knows, Fu Junru's age will not exceed 20.

  "Really? I'm 21, how old are you, sister?" Qin Yao asked Fu Jun after hearing the young master's words.

  "I, I'm 20..." Fu Junzhu's face turned red again as she said this, having been called "sister" so many times only to discover that the other person was older than her, which was quite embarrassing.

  "Waaah... Am I really going to be this big?!" Qin Yao heard Fu Junru pretending to cry on the side.

  "Yao'er, don't worry. You're only 21, someone will still want you, haha!" Li Jiancheng said with a smile, no matter what era's women are always concerned about their age.

  "Hmph, it's all because of you, young master. Otherwise, I would have almost forgotten that I'm 21. You owe me." Qin Yao said with a huff.

  "Alright, alright! Young master, I'll help you find a suitable husband in the future, is that okay?" Li Jiancheng said with a straight face.

  "No way, if you don't satisfy others, they won't let you off." Qin Yao said and pounced on Li Jiancheng to bite him.

  "Stop it, there are still people around!" Li Jiancheng hastily shouted to stop. Qin Yao only then remembered that they weren't just the two of them as usual, and at this moment, there were outsiders watching, so she was embarrassed to the point her face turned red.

  To avoid making Qin Yao continue to be shy, Li Jiancheng turned his head and pretended to be puzzled, saying to Fu Junru: "I think the young lady is not from the Central Plains?"

  "No, I am a Goryeo person, and I have come to the Central Plains on business." Fu Jun also spoke the truth.

  "The girl looks so beautiful, alone at midnight, isn't she afraid?" Li Jiancheng said with a gloomy tone.

  "If one is afraid of everything, how can they live naturally? Wouldn't that be very tiring?" Fu Jun replied to Li Jiancheng's words. It's no wonder that she, who followed the master to cultivate, could understand and appreciate nature at such a young age. Unfortunately, she bore the weight of Goryeo's pressure, which made it difficult for her to take a step forward, and ultimately led to her early demise, also being a beauty with a short life.

  "Miss has such insight, it's clear that Miss's cultivation is superb. To have such cultivation, and to be from Goryeo, using a sword with her left hand. I wonder what relationship Miss has with Master Fu Zailin?" Li Jiancheng had an air of being a godly expert, startling Qin Yao into a daze: Young master is indeed young master, able to observe such things!

  "This is the home teacher." Fu Jun also startled, just such observation can find their own identity, this person is indeed extraordinary, Zhongyuan is worthy of Zhongyuan, extraordinary people are everywhere, in a thousand years of Goryeo, except for my master, there is no one who can be compared with him.

  "Ah, I see! Forgive me, forgive me!" Li Jiancheng said with a bow, "But I don't know what brings you to the Central Plains, Miss? Is it because our emperor is attacking your Goryeo that you've come to assassinate him?" Li Jiancheng asked with a smile. Qin Yao thought to herself: Even if Young Master is joking, he can't be so unreasonable, how could she possibly come to assassinate the Emperor? That's just asking for death!

  "Hmph, since you already know, then don't think about leaving alive." Fu Junru was startled by Li Jiancheng's words and instinctively drew his sword. However, Fu Junru had little experience in traveling the jianghu, and he was tricked into revealing his intentions with just one move.

  Qin Yao was already staring with her eyes wide and mouth agape: Young Master is really amazing, how did you know this?

  "Miss, I advise you to go back to Goryeo. How can one person possibly assassinate the Emperor?" Li Jiancheng still felt sympathetic towards her. A woman shouldering such a great burden for the sake of her country, traveling far and wide without hesitation, dedicating her life to her motherland. Thinking about the actions of some people in our ancestors' time, it's truly incomparable.

  "Even if I fail, I must go. Yang Guang has forced me to leave my wife and children scattered, wandering and homeless in Korea. If I don't kill him, it will be hard to calm the resentment of the Korean people." How could Fu Qianruo be persuaded away with just a few words?

  "Now the Sui Dynasty is in chaos, with rebellions rising everywhere and the Turks outside. Can Yang Guang last long? Does he still have the energy to fight Goguryeo at this time? Miss, why must you throw your life away for nothing?" Li Jiancheng continued to persuade her.

  When Li Jiancheng said this, Fu Qian also knew that he had no good feelings towards Yang Guang and was not worried that he would betray him. So she put the sword away, "Even so, as long as Yang Guang is still alive, I will not return."

  He said and left without looking back.