World of Chessboard

The battle on stage quickly ended, and upon hearing the discussions of the students below, they quickly joined the discussion.

Duke Huan also went over with interest, smiling as he listened. The guards saw that the lord did not forbid them, so they put down their worries and spoke loudly. Only Chen Huayi was hiding by the side with his head lowered, not making a sound. From the looks of it, he had been reprimanded by Prince Huan.

When Prince Huan saw that Chen Huayi had been drinking water silently at the side, he suddenly laughed, "I suddenly remembered something about how one would see the contribution of a soldier." The ones with the most blood stains on their bodies will be the ones who contributed the most. What do you think? " As soon as he spoke, everyone stopped to listen.

The guard who had participated in the battle glanced at his clothes. "Something doesn't seem right. Was it because he killed too few people?"

Huan Wang said, "Otherwise … I mean, to us, the less blood we have, the higher our martial arts, right? " He pointed at Chen Huayi, then at Ran Hao who was walking over and said, "Only two people had no blood on them."

Zhao Qingyan slowly walked back and asked with a smile, "Is Thirteenth Uncle telling a boring story again?" Chen Huayi did not have any blood because he was lazy. He had to wash his clothes after getting the blood. Hao: I don't have any blood because I think I'm dirty. Thirteenth Uncle had blood on his sleeve … It's because you always use your sleeves to wipe the knife's fault that you should have changed it! "

The guard laughed when he heard his last words. The two lords in charge of military duties in the Privy Council were the two princes in front of them. This was because with their status as princes, they did not place too much importance on the etiquette of officials. Plus, they were young and easy-going, so there was no harm in making a joke in addition to business.

Duke Huan looked at his own sleeves and said with a bitter smile, "I'm used to it, I'm used to it." Seeing that Chen Huayi and Ran Hao did not say anything, he ridiculed: "I say, two meritorious officials, why are you not happy? Who pissed you off? "

Zhao Qingyan took down an oily paper bag from the horse's back and said, "Hao, don't bother about that coffin face of yours. As for Chen Huayi, this young master was calculating with his fingers. He was definitely hungry. I have some snacks here, and he'll be happy if you give him something to eat. "

As expected, Chen Huayi's eyes shone brightly as he pounced forward and grabbed the paper bag. "I won't hold back!" He swallowed two lumps of hemp in one gulp.

Zhao Qingyan raised an eyebrow, "Heh, why are you so unruly? I brought you all these to satisfy your craving on the way here. You ate them all, is that appropriate? " Although he said that, he was smiling without any dissatisfaction.

As Chen Huayi ate, he looked at the big bundle on the young prince's back as he said, "Can the young prince still feel wronged? "With such a big bag, I'll eat some food to lighten the burden on you. Don't tire it out on such a long mountain road."

Zhang Zian snorted and turned his head away with a disdainful look on his face.

The crowd was taken aback for a moment before they burst out in laughter.

Zhao Qingyan stroked his lost mane and said, "You're not tired since you're not even sweating, are you?" He rubbed his hoof against his face to show that he agreed.

Duke Huan patted his treasured mount and sighed, "Truly, even a Ferghana Horse cannot outrun one of your Cyan Blood Horses." The mountain path was dangerous, so their speed wasn't very fast. However, they had already run for several hours. The reason why he had stopped here was because he wanted to let the guards and mounts rest. If he continued running, most of the horses would not be able to hold on.

One of the guards asked curiously: "Is this a Cyan Frog Horse? The Lord must be joking, right? "

Duke Huan glared at him, "Chu Zhenye, are you stupid? You want to find me a cyan horse that can outrun a Ferghana horse? "

Chu Zhenye felt wronged, "I only asked because I thought it was impossible."

Zhao Qingyan looked at his BMW with a smile, "How beautiful is your fur color? A light green horse, how beautiful! I've never seen a horse this color in my life. "

Prince Huan facepalmed, "You only used this horse as a mount because it looked good. In the end, you ran into such a clever horse."

Zhao Qingyan patted Ran Hao's horse with her other hand and said, "Let me introduce you. This is the best horse in Prince Qi's Mansion, the Moonlight Jade Lion." He added: "He was also not sweating. "Uncle Thirteen is too old, or else he didn't eat well today."

Even though everyone was praising Ran Hao's amazing martial arts, they all knew that he was Zhao Qing Yan's' page boy '. In the end, he was still just a servant. What kind of a horse was the Moonlight Jade Lion? The mounts of Zhao Yun of the Three Kingdoms. How could its excellence be described with the word "expensive"?

Back then, when Zhao Qingyan bought a horse for a thousand gold, the name of a popinjay was spread far and wide. In the end, this horse was given to Ran Hao instead. What was the concept of the best horse in the Qi King's Manor? There were dozens of horses in Prince Qi's mansion. Other than the one Zhao Qingyan brought home, which did not belong to any expensive breed, the Luminous Jade Lion was the most powerful. The Qi King's Manor was a place of great power and status, and the servants there were all very well treated. However, no matter what, there was no reason for him to give such a famous horse to a servant.

The identity of Ran Hao was not a secret in the Kingdom of Chen. It was because his status was still low that the crowd could not understand why the Qi King Manor treated him so well.

No matter how confused he was, it was impossible for him to ask. The doubts in his heart were completely forgotten by the bunch of boorish people.

Prince Huan gave a noncommittal shrug. "After all, the peak of a horse only exists for a dozen years. When I first rode him on the battlefield at sixteen, he was eight years old, so it's about time I let him rest. "

Zhao Qingyan stroked his head and smiled, "You can still run for about ten more years. If nothing goes wrong, you will be my only mount." He had a calm smile on his face, but there was no sadness in his words.

Duke Huan pretended not to hear. "How's everyone's rest? Drink some water and hurry on your way. Once you're down the mountain, find an inn to rest in. "Hurry up, I'll pay for dinner tonight to treat you guys to a good meal."

When the guards heard the order, they didn't bother to chat anymore. They hastily drank a few mouthfuls of water, jumped onto their horses and sped on.

— —

The number of rooms was limited. Most of the guards only stayed in one room for eight people, and even King Huan and Zhao Qingyan stayed in one room for six people.

Zhao Qingyan looked at the shared bed, which could only fit six or seven people side by side. It was so thin that it could touch a person's bed, and there was also a wall with spots of mildew on it. He loved cleanliness so much that he only stayed in the top room. He had never been in such a predicament before.

Furthermore, after travelling for an entire day, if he were to find an inn in such a remote location, there was no possibility of him taking a bath. This group of men were fighting and killing each other. Naturally, they did not have Zhao Qingyan's warm internal energy to adjust their body's temperature, nor did they notice the "delicate" young nobleman standing blankly in front of the door. They unceremoniously spread out their bedding, took off their boots and socks and were about to rest. That smell... At least it was an unprecedented feeling for Zhao Qingyan.

To be honest, under the intentional arrangement of Prince Huan, not only did they have the least amount of people in their room, but they also had the highest cultivation bases in their inner force — at least their body odor wouldn't be so outrageous.

However, for the young prince of Qi, who was dressed in luxurious clothing and ate food with incense burning every day without leaving a single trace of a bad taste, it was likely that he was facing an extremely difficult decision.

How could Prince Huan not understand his thoughts when he saw that Han Li refused to come in? With a wry smile, he tried to persuade her, "Mo'er, how about you make do with the night? At least the bedding is clean, and it's not too crowded.

"Uncle Thirteen …" Zhao Qingyan hesitated for a while before she asked with difficulty, "Don't tell me that you all live in these kinds of places when you run errands?"

Duke Huan gave a dry cough, "I don't usually."

Chen Huayi yawned and added, "After all, the silver that we get for every job we do is fixed. We are more interested in eating than living here." For example, in this room, even if it was the more expensive one, one person would only get seventy to eighty gold coins. If one was lucky, one could bring along a few pancakes – the kind that could be eaten or not. As for the rooms that the young prince usually stayed in, they would be worth at least five to six taels of silver each night, or even ten to twenty taels of silver each. "One tael of silver is equivalent to one thousand and two hundred taels of silver. Ten taels of silver is twelve thousand taels of silver, which is to say …"

Zhao Qingyan decisively stopped him from continuing, "Stop!"

Chen Huayi tried his best to persuade him, "I know that Young Master is not lacking in silver, but you still have to find a place to spend it, don't you think? In this wilderness, it would be great if you didn't find a hole to sleep in, right? "

Zhao Qingyan raised his hand and pressed it against his twitching eyebrows. "Actually, I'd rather dig a pit and sleep. Not long ago, I was lying on the stone steps for an entire night."

Chen Huayi continued seriously, "The young prince's grass garden is being cleaned by people every day. Even the stone steps in front of his door are being swept clean. The bluestones were specially brought from outside the city and the top layer was made of jade. Even though that kind of white jade is not expensive, it would only be thirty taels of silver for a piece. The price of sleeping here would be a few hundred taels. "

"I've seen the pit outside. There are bugs, mud, things that turn black after the leaves rot. There might even be some unclean things left behind by birds, rabbits, and other things." "As for this place …"

Zhao Qingyan smiled with exceptional gentleness. "Chen Huayi, do you believe that I will throw you out right now and bury you in that pit?"

Chen Huayi was startled and laughed out loud. "No matter what, I am still such a big pile of people. It's actually not easy for Young Prince to bury me, right? Or do you want to rest early? "

Zhao Qingyan's smile did not change as he gently said two words: "Hao."

When Ran Hao who was packing his things heard what was said, he stood up and looked at Chen Huayi.

Chen Huayi immediately became listless. "Don't! I believe it, I believe it, don't bury me. "

Zhao Qingyan stopped smiling and said indifferently, "Then shut up." He walked into the room.

Ran Hao had already tidied up the bunks that had been left for him and Zhao Qingyan by the wall. He folded his own mattress into two and spread it over Zhao Qingyan's mattress, pressing down on the folded mattress with the edge. The two of them made a space of one and a half, and he made up his own chair for the night.

Zhao Qingyan stood up and walked over. He pointed at his blanket and said, "Take this bed and cover it. Give me the package."

Ran Hao was startled, he then carried the clothes to the chair and handed it to him, then went to the chair. Apparently, he was going to sleep in a chair at night.

Duke Huan coughed and asked, "Mo'er, what are you doing?"

Zhao Qingyan took out a plush cloak and a long robe. He did not understand what was going on and asked, "Uncle Thirteen, what do you want to ask?"

Prince Huan looked at the rest of the guards and spread out his hands. "Look, we all have the same intention."

Zhao Qingyan paused for a second, then exchanged a glance with Ran Hao and nodded, "Then come over and sleep." He stretched out his hand to put the folded mattress back on his body. His face was filled with fatigue.

Ran Hao hesitated for a moment and then lay down against the wall next to Zhao Qing.

Zhao Qingyan bent over and took off her boots. She moved her hands to the appropriate position and lay down. After covering herself with a long robe and cloak, she curled up inside and closed her eyes to sleep. Even the guards, who were scampering here and there every day, were exhausted. How could his body not be tired? He fell asleep almost as soon as he laid down, how could he care so much?

Everyone in this room was sleeping peacefully. Other than Chu Zhenye, who was snoring softly on the far right, the rest of the people were only breathing lightly. On the other hand, Zhao Qingyan and Ran Hao were so quiet that they could barely hear the sound of breathing. The only sound that could be heard that night was when Prince Huan got up and covered Zhao Qingyan's body with the blanket. He then sighed.

The summer was hot, but the night was not very cold. Prince Huan's body, which practiced martial arts, did not need to be covered. However, Zhao Qingyan, who had Zhu Yanyan in her body, was terrified. That long robe and cloak could not help Zhao Qingyan resist the coldness of the night.

Maybe it was because Zhao Qingyan felt the added weight on her, but she did not wake up. She only relaxed her curled up body a little. Prince Huan reached out and touched his ice-cold face. He looked at this childish nephew of his and laughed silently in helplessness and heartache.

The problem of living like a prince was obvious, but wasn't this the most normal reaction of a prince? If you are used to traveling and sleeping in the open air, you may become bitter and unpicky. However, Duke Huan did not want Zhao Qing Yan to suffer at all, nor did he want him to spend all his time running around.

It couldn't be better this way.