Chapter 7: A Beauty Alone, Pure and Elegant

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  As soon as she saw someone by the river, the girl was startled. Before Ah Qiu and his brother could ask any questions, she had already glared at them with her dark, almond-shaped eyes, taken a step back, and shouted in a low voice: "Who are you?"

  "Who are you? My young master is bathing here, get out!" Ah Qiu brothers saw that it was a woman and couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. Although the girl was beautiful, they weren't people who would take pity on her, and immediately gave their leader a dirty look.

  As soon as the girl stopped speaking, a figure immediately flashed out from beside her, trampling the grass and reeds, and stood in front of the girl. This person was also a young girl, wearing a tight-fitting green tunic, with a short skirt and a bow and arrow on her back, and a hat made of silkworm silk on her head, looking very pretty, her slender hand already pressed on the hilt of the short sword at her waist.

  "Qing Yu, don't bother with them, let's just take the water and go."

  The girl clearly saw the appearance of Xi Bin and the three men, and knew that these three were not strongmen with ulterior motives hiding here. The girl then parted the grass and walked out in a big and straightforward manner. Her eyes glanced at Xi Bin like a sparrow, seemingly relaxed, but still being cautious in her heart.

  At this time, Xi Bin finally saw her whole appearance. The girl was wearing a narrow-sleeved and tight-fitting deep dress, which was also suitable for traveling far away. On the clothes were embroidered with both exquisite and elegant floral patterns. The skirt had been turned several times, wrapped around her buttocks and then opened like a trumpet mouth, her figure was slender and proportionate, although her face still had some childishness, she already had some natural charm of a woman.

  Xī Bīn saw her and couldn't help but feel a slight flutter in his heart. Having seen many modern beauties striking poses, he only truly understood the charm of "women like water" when he saw this ancient beauty dressed in traditional finery. The beauty of ancient women, whether in their attire or adornments, was not as elaborate as that of later generations. Their natural, unadorned beauty could actually move people's hearts more deeply. The surrounding area was overgrown with weeds, but because of these two beauties, it suddenly seemed full of life.

  This mistress and servant girl should also be traveling a long way, they drilled into the wild grass, suddenly met three big men, still calm, just this courage, not many women can do it, it seems to have traveled extensively, truly seen the world.

  Xī Bīn hastily drank to stop ā Chóu brothers and said: "The two girls are just passing by guests, what's the panic, retreat."

  A Qiu, Zai Qiu retreated back to Xi Bin's side, lowering her hands.

  Those bright eyes quickly swept over the Ah Q brothers, as if sizing up their identities. When her gaze fell on the weapons in their hands, her eyes flickered slightly, and a hint of a smile played on her lips, an expression that was both intriguing and captivating.

  Qiaoniang Qingyu heard the young lady's instructions, and then slowly walked to the riverbank. She had a cloth bag slung over her shoulder, which she opened and took out an exquisitely carved water jug. She squatted down by the river and began to scoop up water.

  Xī Bīn gazed at her, the beautiful and charming maid, pleasing to the eye, and after a moment's thought, he recalled a suitable ancient poem. At that time, poems were sung or recited, just like the Mongolians' impromptu performances on horseback, which was the most natural thing to do.

  At that time, the hypocritical atmosphere was not prevalent, and praising someone to their face did not lose courtesy. However, Xi Bin felt embarrassed to sing nervously in front of a strange girl, so he drew out his voice and hummed: "In the wild there is a creeping grass, dew drops glisten. There is a beautiful person, elegant and gentle. We meet by chance, just as I wished..."

  The young lady listened, first giving him a fierce stare with her beautiful eyes, then carefully sizing him up. Although the boy's complexion was not very good, he had a strong and healthy physique, with handsome eyebrows and bright eyes, which was quite rare. She slightly raised her nose, without looking at him again, with an expression of elegance, but already showing a hint of pride.

  The young lady Qingyu was fetching water not far from Xi Bin, and this miss deliberately avoided looking at Xi Bin. Her gaze shifted, and she looked towards the riverbank, just in time to see Xi Bin's two big feet still soaking in the river water. The girl's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly as she said, "Qingyu, go upstream to fetch water."

  Qing Yu turned back, the young lady wrinkled her nose, gave Xi Bin a glance, and then pouted. Qing Yu understood, glared at Xi Bin, picked up the water jug to pour out the river water, and continued walking along the riverbank upstream.

  The riverbank had never been trampled by humans, and the reeds along the river grew densely, making it extremely difficult to walk forward. Not only did she have to push aside the Artemisia and reeds, but also crickets and grasshoppers were jumping all over the place, and those insects jumped very high, if she wasn't careful they would jump into her mouth. She had to cover her face, and Xi Bin saw this and couldn't help but laugh: "Hey, watch out for snakes!"

  "Ah!"

  Qing Yu was so startled that she jumped three feet high, almost dropping the water jug in her hand. Her movements were quick and agile as she flipped her wrist to draw out her sword, hastily asking "Where? Where?"

  The young lady glared at Xi Bin with a bad temper and said to her, "He's just teasing you. What's there to be afraid of about snakes? You're really useless." This young lady was quite bold, and as she spoke, she parted the grass and reeds and strode forward in big steps.

  Xī Bīn burst out laughing and said, "I only said to be careful that there might be snakes in the grass, I didn't say that there are snakes appearing right now, just kindly reminding you all, how is this intentionally teasing?"

  "Pfft! Who wants to bother with you." The young lady didn't have the heart to engage in a war of words with him, and Shi Bin's verbal sparring was rendered useless. Without even turning her head, she spat at him and walked away to Qing Yu's side. Qing Yu saw this and hastily called out: "Second Miss, wait for me!" He also hurried after her, his feet moving quickly.

  Xī Bīn finally saw two beautiful women, but they only said one sentence to him, and it was a swear word. He felt a bit annoyed, so he shouted again: "Hey, do you need to run that far? I'm already in the lower reaches! You can run further upstream, but upstream is still downstream of upstream, who knows if the birds and beasts on the mountain are drinking water and urinating in an even more upscale place? Out of sight, out of mind. Hey, hey..."

  He shouted loudly for half a day, but the two girls didn't pay attention to him. Instead, they walked faster and faster, their beautiful figures disappearing into the grass as they turned around a river bend.

  Xī Bīn stretched his neck and looked again for a moment, but he couldn't even see the shadow of the house. He felt bored and turned his head to see that ā Chóu brothers were staring at him, and he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. "What are you looking at me for?"

  "Ah Q scratched his head and said: 'Young master, I think these two young ladies have the same accent as you, they seem to be from Wu State too.'"

  "Is that so?" Xi Bin thought for a moment, the two girls' voices were soft and gentle, indeed not the accent of Lu people. He became even more curious, in ancient times transportation was inconvenient, two delicate girls who would bruise easily, traveled thousands of miles alone between Lu and Wu, this is unlikely. He hurriedly said: "A Qiu, take a look if there are any companions on the road."

  A'qiu tiptoed and looked outside, frowning: "Young master, I'm not tall enough to see the situation on the road."

  "Come on, help me up!"

  Xí Bīn hastily pulled his feet out of the water, put on cloth socks, and wore deerskin boots. He was helped up by others. Qìng Jì gōngzǐ had a slender waist and broad shoulders, with a robust physique. In terms of height, only Kǒng Shèngrén was taller than him in this group. ā Chóu brothers helped him up, and Xí Bīn took a look ahead on the road, indeed seeing more than twenty riders with lithe figures stopped under a tree in the distance, each with an arrow on their shoulder and a bow at their waist.

  Xī Bīn saw this and his heart slightly stirred: "This group of people's status is not low, they can afford to use so many fine horses, they must be from a wealthy and aristocratic family."

  Ren Bingyue and Qing Yu arrived at a bend, where the river was half a person deep, with clear water that revealed its bottom. On the riverbank lay a half-fallen willow tree, its branches and leaves lush and verdant. Fish swam and leaped in the water, creating a picturesque scene that delighted their hearts. They decided to stop here for a while.

  Qing Yu was fetching water upstream, while Ren Yue was washing her face a little downstream. The girl loved cleanliness and had been traveling with her family for a hundred miles that day. Although she wore a veil over her face when riding the horse, some dust still accumulated on her skin. Now that she had washed her face clean, Ren Yue took out a white handkerchief from her bosom and gently wiped her cheeks, feeling refreshed.

  Qing Yu scooped up water, smiling and saying: "Second Miss, just now that person was reciting a poem, expressing his admiration for you. I think he looks very heroic, a rare sight among men. Why didn't you pay attention to him?"

  Ren Bingyue glared at her and a faint blush rose to her cheeks: "You chatterbox, be more careful on the way, I see that those two guards beside him are carrying our Wu family's forged weapons, they should all be together with those people resting below, maybe they're also from some aristocratic family in Wu country doing business in Lu country, the farther away we are from them the better, our important matters can't be leaked."

  Qing Yu smiled and said, "Alright, Second Miss, actually there's no need to be so careful. Once we pass through the mountain valley ahead, we'll arrive at Qi City and meet up with Eldest Miss. After Eldest Miss hands over the goods, we can head back. By then, you might not even have a chance to see him."

  Ren Bingyue snorted: "A slick-talking scoundrel, what's the point of seeing him? Has the water been drawn? Let's go."

  "Yes, Second Miss." The two maidservants were extremely close, and Qingyu's response was accompanied by a smile, but her expression didn't show much deference. She smiled again: "Second Miss, you had the family guards withdraw to the riverbank, wasn't it to get washed up? Let's head back now?"

  Ren Bing glared at her and scolded, "Didn't you see those rascals downstream?" As she spoke, she couldn't help but burst out laughing herself, her voice trembling with mirth. "How can people relax in the bath with you around?"

  She hummed and turned to leave, but suddenly stopped in her tracks. Her eyes sparkled with a sly smile as she said: "Come on, Qingyu, let's wash our feet before we go. I see they have water jars next to them too. Let him ramble on, we'll give them the water we used to wash our feet."

  Two young girls, not very old, as soon as they thought of a trick to tease people, were immediately excited, and immediately took off their riding boots, untied their stockings, pulled down the white gauze socks, and soaked their white feet in the water.

  Behind the weeping willows leaning on the riverbank, Kong Lao Fu Zi stood in the water holding onto the tree trunk and silently exclaimed: "What's to be done?"

  Don't look at Confucius' humble life, but in the details of his daily life, he was a very particular person. Those soldiers who took off their clothes and jumped into the river naked, Confucius didn't want to bathe with them together, so he went upstream alone and found this elegant place.

  He hung his clothes on the tree trunk, brushed his teeth with a willow branch, and took a bath. He was feeling carefree when two women suddenly appeared. Mr. Kong was naked at this moment and didn't dare to respond, so he stood behind the tree crown holding his breath waiting for them to leave. But who would have thought that the two women came back again.

  Now he didn't dare make a sound, and could only pinch his nose and endure.

  Ren Bingyue sat by the river, stretching a pair of jade feet into the cool water, and a pair of beautiful eyes narrowed comfortably. This horseback ride was bumpy, but she didn't feel anything before, now that the coolness seeped into her heart, she suddenly felt that all the scattered bones in her body had softened.

  Qing Yu saw her expression and advised: "Second Miss, this road is really tiring, why don't... you take a bath here to refresh yourself?"

  Ren Bingyue was originally unwilling, but at this moment her feet were soaking in the clear spring water, feeling so comfortable that she didn't want to pull them out. After hearing Qing Yu's words, she couldn't help but feel a little moved.

  Seeing her moved, Qingyu patted her chest and said: "Don't worry, miss. That person has two sturdy attendants by his side. Just now, he saw the young lady but didn't have any malicious intentions. How could he chase after us now? Besides, I have a bow in my hand and arrows in my quiver. If he dares to sneak up and peek, if he looks at me with his left eye, I'll shoot his left eye; if he looks at me with his right eye, I'll shoot his right eye..."

  "Get out of here! Even if you did hit him with an arrow, I'm still the one who's at a disadvantage!"

  She gazed at the clear river water, her jade-like feet kicking and splashing, creating a ripple effect that was as soft as silk. She couldn't resist the temptation of the river water any longer, so she bit her lip, blushed, and said: "Alright, I'll take a bath here, you'd better keep a close eye on me."

  Qing Yu responded in a series of voices, took down the bow and arrow, and smiled at her with a hint of flirtation. Ren Er Miss stood up gently, lightly pulled out the silk belt around her waist, and slightly shyly opened her robe to reveal the white undergarment inside. Although the color of her clothes was plain, paired with her delicate face, she looked extremely charming and alluring.

  Behind the willow tree, Teacher Kong listened to their conversation, as if struck by a thunderbolt on a clear day. His big eyes were wide with shock, his soul already flown away.