The prince is very fierce

"Ling'er!"

The sudden noise really scared Xu Buling. He hurriedly folded the bellyband and prepared to put it back. However, it was difficult to fold it as neatly as Mrs. Lu in a hurry. Seeing that the door had been pushed open, he stuffed it into his arms without thinking and closed the cabinet door. At the same time, he picked up the painting box next to him and pretended to look around.

Mrs. Lu walked into the room gracefully and put the scissors on the table. Seeing Xu Buling looking around, she frowned slightly:

"You haven't moved for so long, what are you doing in the room?"

"Uh..."

Xu Buling rarely showed a little embarrassment. He thought for a while: "There is no suitable place in the room. I'm thinking about where to hang it."

Mrs. Lu raised her eyes and scanned the room. She pointed to the most conspicuous wall at the entrance: "Just hang it there." Then she sat down on the couch and poured herself a cup of tea.

Xu Buling took a breath, as if he had no excuse to ask Madam Lu to leave, so he could only bite the bullet and walk to the wall, take out the portrait of the empress dowager, and hang it on the wall.

Mrs. Lu sipped her tea, looked at the painting that countless people treasured, and snorted softly:

"It's just average. It's a pity that the Queen Mother kept it like a treasure for so many years and mentioned it to me every now and then. In my opinion, it's no different from those paintings by scholars on the street, except that Xu Danqing is more famous."

After Xu Buling hung up the painting, he stepped back a few steps to look at it, and nodded: "Aunt Lu is much better than this painting. Xu Danqing is unlucky, otherwise he would have stopped writing after seeing Aunt Lu."

"Hmph~ How can a dignified prince of a vassal state be so slick..."

Mrs. Lu scolded softly, but her eyes were obviously very happy. She put down the teacup and stood up: "Let's go eat."

"Well... I'll observe Xu Danqing's original work and come later..."

"Is it beautiful?"

The tone obviously changed a bit.

"...It's just average."

Xu Buling sighed in his heart and reluctantly left the boudoir with Mrs. Lu. After that, Mrs. Lu basically stayed by his side, eating together and chatting about trivial matters.

During the meal, a maid came over and said that a decree had just been issued at the morning court meeting, which would select the top ten winners of Zhaohong and grant them the title of military scholar with a golden plaque inscribed by the emperor.

The emperor's decree was to be announced to the world, and was generally used for major decisions. Mrs. Lu thought this was a bit of a joke, but she couldn't get involved in the affairs of the warriors, so she just asked Xu Buling for his opinion.

Xu Buling agreed with this. After all, the suppression of warriors in the past ten years was indeed a bit excessive. If no more jujubes were given, the accumulated contradictions would only increase.

Being able to stand at the top of the world's warriors and receive the golden plaque of "Number One in the World" inscribed by the emperor himself can be said to be a lifelong pursuit of a warrior. Setting up a target for the people of the rivers and lakes to fight against each other is better than letting the knights break the law with martial arts and go against the court everywhere. It can also be regarded as a way to maintain stability.

After breakfast, Xu Buling still didn't find a chance to go to Madam Lu's boudoir alone, so he had to say goodbye first.

After walking out of the courtyard and coming to a deserted place, Xu Buling took out the peony bellyband from his arms, unfolded it and looked at it for a few times, and couldn't help but feel a headache - Aunt Lu would find out sooner or later that a piece of underwear was missing. He was the only man who could enter Madam Lu's boudoir. Either the maid stole it or he took it. If Aunt Lu thought wrongly, she would definitely regard him as a lecherous and filthy person. He still had to find a chance to return it...

After thinking for a while, Xu Buling took out a purse from his arms, and the Queen Mother's "Lotus Hidden Carp" was stored in it. After Xu Buling folded the peony bellyband and put it in it, he turned around and hid near the courtyard and waited for an opportunity to act...

------

Just after noon, Ning Qingye dressed up as a Jianghu traveler and walked out of the courtyard to go to Chen Siye's inn to inquire about business.

When passing by the Sun family shop in the bluestone alley, Ning Qingye stopped to see if Xu Buling came to buy wine.

Today, the wine shop business is particularly good, and there are many people standing outside, chattering about the news that has just come.

Shopkeeper Sun smiled happily, greeting the drinkers back and forth, and also expressed his own views:

"In my opinion, among these ten martial arts champions, the old man Situ from the Qianren Gate of Tanzhou will definitely take one, and the kid from the Lu family of Donghai will also be OK. Taoist Wu, who do you think is better between the two?"

There were guests at the three wine tables. At the table facing the alley, there was a Taoist priest and a tower-like man. Hearing the inquiry from Shopkeeper Sun, the Taoist shook his head:

"I have never seen him, so I don't know."

The man next to him was a bit rougher in character. He put one foot on the stool and held a wine bowl, and laughed:

"Lu Baiming is known as 'his sword does not move, his mind is a hundred times loud', but he has never left the mountain. No matter how high his kung fu is, it is all behind closed doors. He is definitely not a match for Senior Situ."

Shopkeeper Sun put two plates of side dishes on the table and laughed: "I asked him when I was drinking with Senior Situ a few years ago."

"Oh~?!"

When Shopkeeper Sun said this, he immediately attracted the attention of all the Jianghu people inside and outside the wine shop.

Ning Qingye's eyes under the bamboo hat were also a bit curious.

"Shopkeeper Sun, don't brag. I know you've met many people, but Senior Situ has a famous bad temper. Would he talk to you about this?"

"No matter how bad his temper is, two bowls of wine will suppress it."

Shopkeeper Sun chuckled, whetting everyone's appetite before saying, "Old Situ plays with a knife. According to him, the knife moves in a domineering way and the sword moves in a cunning way. If they really fight, he will win if they fight to the death, and Xiao Lu will win if they compete."

"Hahaha..."

Everyone in the wine shop shook their heads and laughed. The Iron Tower man slapped the wine table with admiration in his eyes: "These words sound like the tone of Senior Situ. They are so crazy. It's a pity that I have been traveling around the world for so many years and have not been able to meet Senior Situ. It is really a pity."

"Yeah yeah……"

The wine shop was noisy.

Ning Qingye thought about it carefully and felt that Situ Yuejin was a little crazy. People in the Jianghu world are very particular about their discussions. If it is not a battle of life and death, you will not be able to show your true ability. Situ Yuejin's words are completely contemptuous of Lu Baiming.

However, Ning Qingye has a pragmatic temperament. She is obviously not qualified as a martial arts master. The rumors about martial arts masters are of little use. After watching for a while, she left the alley alone with her sword...