Chapter 59 Countermeasures

  The sunlight fell on Xiao Zhi's deep and profound eyes, as if they had been dyed with a layer of ink. After hearing Li Peinan's praise, she couldn't help but lift her sleeve to wipe away the thin sweat on her forehead, revealing a shy smile towards the school stage. At this time, the guards reined in their horses, and the horse hooves kicked up a cloud of dust. A gray shadow suddenly rolled out from under the stopped horse legs, tumbling and crawling over, wrapped in dust and sand, and with a whooshing sound, it rushed straight towards the wooden stake. Xiao Zhi suddenly realized that something hard was coming at her, raised her hand to strike back, twisted her waist, and the jade pendant fell off, hitting the stake head and breaking into two halves.

  A corn kernel suddenly cried out and rolled onto the sandy ground. It was fleeing from the White General's flying peck, rushing into the school grounds to seek help. At this time of day, Min An usually stood on a wooden stake practicing his skills, so it rushed in with ease, wrapped in a cloud of sand without even looking clearly, and directly pounced onto the stake head. If it were Min An, he would have stretched out his arms to embrace it, and wouldn't have let this unexpected event occur today.

  Xiao Zhiqin hastily jumped down from the wooden stake, stretched out her hand to pick up Yumi, and repeatedly said in her mouth: "Sorry, sorry, whose monkey is this?" Yumi bared his teeth, scratched Xiao's white jade-like hand with a claw, and two blood marks seeped out.

  Xiao Zhiqing hastily shook off the corn, hid his hands behind his back, and used a handkerchief from his sleeve to wipe away the dirty sand and bloodstains. The corn was knocked over by an external force and rolled around on the sandy ground once more. It got up, jumped a few times, chirped twice at Li Peinan who was hurrying over, then ran out of the school grounds to find its owner and tattle.

  Li Peinan said to Lijun: "Take a look back." Lijun beckoned to the guards to follow him and leave quickly. Li Peinan thought for a moment, turned his head and said again: "Tie up the general and give the monkey some treatment for its injuries."

  Soon, there were only two figures standing quietly in the schoolyard.

  Xiao Zhiqing slightly lowered her head, pursed her lips, and kept her hands behind her back. Her expression remained calm and gentle as water. Li Peinan suspected that she might have fainted at the sight of blood, thinking about her old hemophobia. He still had to ask, "How are you?"

  Xiao Zhiqin used his good right hand to hold up the broken jade, and sighed: "The excellent dragon-patterned jade that the young master rewarded me with is now broken in two, what a pity."

  Li Peinan said lightly: "According to the usual rules, if we win the game, I'll give you another piece."

  Xiao Zhiqing lightly bowed and wiped the broken jade clean, carefully putting it into his sleeve pocket. He then looked up and said: "I have an impolite request to make..."

  "It's an unreasonable request, so let's just forget it."

  Xiao Zhongqiu lowered his eyes and nodded in agreement: "The young master is right, I was overstepping."

  Li Peinan turned around and walked towards the outside of the campus, she followed behind him, took out her hand that had been hidden all along and looked at it, saw that the bloodstains were still crawling on it, and then tied a handkerchief around her left hand. Li Peinan didn't turn his head until he reached the main building's entrance to ask: "Is there anything else?"

  Xiao Zhiqing smiled slightly: "The young master said to follow the usual rules, let me remind you, after the horse ball stand, it's the martial arts test."

  "How's your practice going?"

  "It has been months since it last stopped."

  "Uh-huh."

  Li Peinan dropped a word and didn't respond, lifting his foot to head towards the backyard. Xiao Zhiqin hastily said: "The Qi Lian family has recently taken in a batch of talented young men, among whom are some with exceptionally high swordsmanship skills. If the Young Master still hides that Gentleman's Sword Three Moves, I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to help the Young Lady win on the martial arts arena."

  Li Peinan stopped in his tracks: "Which three moves of swordsmanship do you want to learn?"

  Xiao Zhiqing bowed slightly and said slowly, "The student does not dare to overstep, but thinks that it would be good for the young master to practice once. In the future, when practicing with the young lord, the student can say with confidence, 'I have experience and can point out one or two weaknesses.'"

  Xiao Zhiqing was the substitute for Li Peinan in the previous round of the tournament and achieved three consecutive victories. What she said made some sense. Li Peinan was considering this point, called the guards to bring over the weapon rack, and chose a long sword. He looked back at Xiao Zhiqing's left hand tied with a silk cloth, hesitated for a moment, and finally replaced the weapon with a bamboo sword.

  Xiao Zhiqing was already holding a long sword in his hand and saluted from afar: "Please instruct, Young Master."

  Li Peinan immediately launched the first sword "Toumu Baqiong", and for the first time in front of Xiao Zhixiang, he performed three self-created sword moves that had never been passed on. Xiao Zhixiang took a wrong step, turned her body, held up her long sword to block the sword move, and felt a soft force pressing down from above, and couldn't help but smile at the corner of her mouth. After one blow, she stood still and said: "Thank you, Crown Prince, for sparing my life."

  Li Peinan stood with his hands behind his back, as if he had never left the place, and just nodded.

  Xiao Zhiqing smiled and said, "There are still two moves left." Li Peinan then used "Regretful Late Encounter" and "White-Haired Couple's Return", holding back his strength to only two-tenths of his power due to her injured hand. Xiao Zhiqing was naturally able to dodge easily and saw through the entire sword style's attacking route.

  Li Peinan asked: "Looked good?" She hesitated and shook her head. He put the bamboo sword behind his back and said lightly: "I'll only use it once, the rest you can figure out yourself."

  Xiao Zhiqing immediately began practicing with her sword, making mistakes several times in a row, causing Li Peinan to furrow his brow. He stood up and orally recited the hand-sword incantation, urging her on for two quarters of an hour. Outside the courtyard wall, Min An heard the sound of him directing her sword moves and was even more unwilling to come in and interrupt this gathering, so he quietly walked away.

  The autumn sun climbed high into the sky, and Xiao Zhi's forehead was beaded with sweat. Li Peinan said, "Take a rest first." He turned his head and walked towards the bamboo house in the backyard. Xiao Zhi bowed to his back, then walked aside and asked who the monkey on the school grounds belonged to earlier. Upon hearing it was Min An's pet, he took out some silver and instructed his followers to buy a fruit basket.

  The thatched hut surrounded by bamboo fences, a tree, a table and a shed was Min's entire territory. At this time, the yellow wildflowers were emerging under the autumn sun and had climbed up to his doorstep. The bamboo door was tightly closed, indicating that the owner was not at home. Li Qun stood outside the window with a bamboo basket in hand, while the corn was still swaying back and forth on the frame.

  Li Peinan approached, and Lijun hastily said: "The young master went out of the mansion to buy raw meat to feed the leopard, saying it was to thank the leopard for its help." He found this amusing, but just as he was about to smile, he suddenly saw his own son standing with a cold expression. He coughed and continued: "The young master also thanked Leopard Slave and went to the stone house to find him, giving him some food. Afterwards, the two of them went to the side courtyard." Then he stopped speaking.

  Li Peinan naturally asked: "What are you going to the side house for?"

  Li Qun said in a low voice, "The young master has a kind heart. I heard that the guard was beaten and injured, so he called for Bao Nu to apply medicine to the guard." But these people were intimidated by the young master's authority and didn't dare set foot in the side house.

  Li Peinan immediately understood that Min An had come to the main building early in the morning, but hadn't entered the study. He thought to himself that a lowly attendant could actually make Min An turn his head to visit him, without first coming to report to him, which was simply unseemly. His footsteps had only taken two steps towards the side courtyard when he stopped again, restrained by his own status.

  Corn shouted loudly and ran over the roof, his movements were quite agile. Since he was unharmed, Li Peinan also felt relieved and told Lijun: "Call Min'an back."

  Before receiving the order from Lü Qun, Min An was leaning on his chin with one hand on the red wood table, looking at the punished guard who was kowtowing on the bed. He muttered to himself: "Big brother must be in a lot of pain, fortunately, he didn't knock out any teeth. Otherwise, when eating, there would always be rice grains that would get stuck in the gap and couldn't be licked out."

  The guard pulled his eyebrows and felt that the back injury hurt even more.

  Min An supported his head again, recalling the scene of filling teeth, and said with a sigh: "A good doctor has also come out of Qingquan County, I should have followed him earlier."

  He inquired of the guards, what were the strict rules in the prince's mansion, and what was more severe than a flogging. The guard who had been grateful for his gift of medicine also spoke freely, especially mentioning that there was a garden in the prince's mansion with white walls and black tiles, with Taihu stones as boundary markers, separating one small hill after another, where furnace stones were piled up. Every time it rained, the stones would emit a light mist, reflecting the rare flowers and trees all over the ground, with clouds steaming and haze rising, as if a paradise on earth had been refined.

  "What a luxurious garden, it's just for raising domestic animals?" Min An was shocked, "How much silver would that cost?"

  The guard replied, "The young master does not raise domestic animals and birds just because he likes hunting. He has lived in the Western Frontier for a long time, riding horses and capturing some rare species, but there is no place to raise them, so he built a garden to keep them. The rare flowers and strange rocks in the garden were all presented by the generals of various tribes in the Western Frontier, with Island Jiu's family contributing the most, without spending a single silver coin."

  Min An thought for a moment and asked again: "Is there a hunting dog enclosure in the garden?"

  The guard answered truthfully: "No, all the hunting dogs were driven into the fire pit by the young master to exchange for the prey, so no enclosure was built."

  Min An calmed down, thinking about what the King of Chu Nan had said. The unimportant subordinates in the Crown Prince's mansion would end up like dogs. A cat jumped in from the window and stood on the table, meowing loudly. Min An saw that its nose was again bandaged with mud medicine, knowing it had fought with the general again and lost unfortunately. But he didn't know who the kind-hearted person was this time to apply the medicine for it.

  Corn cried for half a day and jumped for half a day. Min An roughly understood what had happened. He took out a bag of roasted corn kernels to coax him, and Li Qun walked over from behind, slapped his palm, and thought how could he run slower than a monkey, but instead let it report to the young master and get him in trouble.

  The young master changed his attitude towards the little steward, and this private subordinate was the clearest. Whatever the reason, first follow the young master's meaning, treat the little steward well, and it will not go wrong.

  Min'an took the bamboo basket from Lai Qun's hand and stuffed the corn into it, then carried it back to the bamboo house together. He walked slowly, thinking of the coping method taught by Fei Yi, so he had some confidence in his heart, and when facing Li Peinan later, he always stood up straight, put his eyes on Li Peinan's shoulder, and maintained a humble attitude that was neither high nor low, quietly listening to what was being said.

  Li Peinan stood beside the bamboo fence and saw Min An standing in front of him with his hands hanging down, saying: "Drive away the corn, go into the house." The corn heard its name, had a reaction, stuck out half of its face from behind Min An's shoulder to take a look, showed its teeth, then shrank back into the bamboo basket.

  Min An didn't have the heart to ask about the reason, turned around and waved his hand at Yu Mi: "Go play." Yu Mi was eating snacks, sitting steadily in a bamboo basket, no matter how he was driven, he wouldn't leave.

  Li Peinan could only take a step back, allowing Min An to continue standing in front of him with the bamboo basket on his back. He reached out and lifted Min An's left arm, asking, "Does it still hurt?" Min An didn't dare reveal the injury on his left shoulder, nor did he dare say it didn't hurt; all he knew was to nod. His lips were pursed tightly, his eyes both obedient and cautious, making Li Peinan want to touch his face, but unable to bring himself to do so.

  Li Peinan still remembered that Min An had said something extremely fearful. He held onto Min An's uninjured right hand and led him into the house, while Yu Mi protected his master with loyalty, showing her face again and baring her teeth once more.

  Li Peinan realized that if he didn't get rid of the corn first, he wouldn't be able to talk, so he called someone to forcibly take away the corn. However, afterwards, Min An worried about the corn's injuries and was even more afraid that it would suddenly think of something and go fight with the general again. His expression changed involuntarily, his eyes seemed to want to grow silk threads, layer upon layer stretching out the window, using a thread of force to hook back the corn.

  Li Peinan blocked the window and said to Min An, "I have carefully considered it, to ensure that what I say is heard by you, this method must be used."

  Min An returned his gaze and looked at Li Peinan's face, recalling the lesson of "great disrespect", then moved his eyes to his shoulder, nodded slightly, and maintained a calm expression.

  Li Peinan gazed at Min An's pale skin and the two red lips that were pursed, as if holding a hint of peach blossom fragrance, feeling utterly tempted. He lowered his head to peck at Min An's lips, but unexpectedly, Min An caught a whiff of a familiar white sandalwood scent and couldn't maintain his composure, taking a step back in fear. Li Peinan's face turned cold as he grasped Min An's collar, using gentle force to pull him close, planting a solid kiss on his lips.

  Min An was enveloped in a familiar breath, his face flushed with a faint red glow, and he strained to regain his composure amidst the throbbing of his chest. He stood there stupidly, motionless, as Li Peinan could even hear the pounding of his heart, and couldn't help but chuckle: "Can you hear me now?"

  Min An licked his lips and whispered: "I... I'm thirsty."

  Li Peinan turned to look for tea on the table, but the bamboo house was simply furnished and had only a teapot without cups. He heard a rustling sound behind him and, without turning his head, stretched out his hand to grab Min An's waistband, preventing him from escaping the house.

  Min An struggled a bit, his wrinkled robes had come undone in some places, he thought to himself that it was unlucky, and turned his face away, continuing to silently gaze at Li Pei Nan's shoulder. Li Pei Nan didn't look at Min An, reached out with one hand to grab a bamboo tube from the bamboo stool, while still holding onto Min An's waistband with his right hand. Min An had originally wanted to quietly take a step back, but found that his robes had come undone even more, so he slowly turned his body around again, and just like adding a layer of sugar syrup to zongzi, he stuck close to Li Pei Nan's side.

  Li Peinan rinsed the bamboo tube with tea water, filled a tube with cool tea and handed it to Min An's mouth. Min An originally wanted to take it by hand, but Li Peinan raised his hand and said: "Be good." Min An could only nod and tiptoe to drink a few sips of tea from Li Peinan's hand.

  Li Peinan asked in a low voice: "Not running anymore?"

  Min said quietly: "Young master, first return my waistband."

  Thank you to Ah Yue, Yu Guo Tian Qing (3), 987, Zhu Er Duo, Xiao Xiang Gua, Huang Sang, Su Xiao You, Mao Qiu, Rong Ma Ma, H, and Xiao Wei Ge's landmine (*^__^*)

  Thank you for tomorrow's little dress, 9918mm rocket artillery (*^__^*)l3l4