The emperor would rather have a

Chapter 60: Does horseback archery count?
"Come in quickly, both of you!"

With a creak, the vermilion lacquered door was pushed open a little more. The girl held the door with one hand and waved to Li Yi and the others.

Li Yi immediately stepped into the room, and Ma Renyu followed closely behind him.

"I'm busy, madam."

Li Yi politely bowed to the girl.

As he spoke, his eyes swept across the girl's lilac skirt. Judging from her attire, she should be just a maid in the Prince of Wei's mansion, and most likely Fu Erniang's personal maid.

Otherwise, Fu Erniang would not have let an ordinary maid run errands for her.

"My dear, you don't look like a knight-errant. You look more like..." The girl blushed slightly, covered her mouth and giggled, wondering what funny thing she was thinking of.

Uh...are all the maids in Prince Wei's family so bold?

Li Yi was confused. Why did he feel like he was being teased by a young girl?
"Oh, I'm sorry for being rude, please forgive me, my dear."

The girl probably felt that her words and actions were a bit out of line, so she quickly bowed and apologized to Li Yi.

Li Yi thought to himself that although the maids in Prince Wei's mansion were a bit unrestrained, their manners and demeanor were considerate and respectful.

But as they say, servants follow their masters, so it seems Fu Erniang must be a lady with a bit of personality...

Thinking of this, Li Yi couldn't help but frown.

Perhaps it was because he had been in this era for too long that he inevitably picked up some male chauvinism. He felt that it was uncomfortable for a woman's family to casually invite knights to their home, no matter what the reason.

Hey... the matter hasn't even started yet, but you're already taking care of the King of Wei's daughter.

Li Yi shook his head and decided not to think about it for the time being.

"Let's go, I'll take you to see the Second Lady..."

As she spoke, the girl couldn't help but glance at Li Yi's face again. When she saw Li Yi looking at her with a sense of something, she quickly looked away.

"Madam, is there something wrong with me?"

Li Yi naturally noticed the girl's little movements.

"No, no..." The girl shook her head subconsciously.

Then she quickly changed the subject and said, "After you two gentlemen go in with me, please don't walk around or look around, otherwise you will offend the nobles in the mansion, which will be disastrous."

"Of course we understand..."

Li Yi didn't ask any more questions and just bowed and said yes.

……

In the Prince of Wei's mansion, Li Yi and the other man followed the girl all the way.

From the outside, the entire mansion covers a very large area, and once you go inside, it is an even more unique world.

There are pavilions, towers, waterside terraces, rocks and all kinds of landscapes.

Judging from the surrounding environment, the back door should lead directly to the back garden of the Prince of Wei's Mansion. The area here alone is larger than Li Yi's house in Tokyo.

In comparison, although it is not as elegant as Li Yi's house, its grand scale makes up for this gap, and it appears even more magnificent.

The so-called big is good, and good is big. As long as something is big enough, it will naturally have a unique visual charm.

In this way, the girl led Li Yi and the other two through several courtyard gates in a row.

Along the way, many maids and servants came and went, all looking at Li Yi and the others with curiosity.

"Brother Yi, where is this little girl taking us?"

Ma Renyu took a few quick steps closer to Li Yi and asked in a low voice.

"You ask me, who should I ask?" Li Yi shook his head. "Now that we're here, let's just act according to circumstances."

In fact, he just had a spur-of-the-moment decision, and it was definitely too late to back out now.

However, Li Yi also wanted to see what tricks Fu Er Niang was playing... If Fu Er Niang was difficult to deal with, he could only set his sights on Fu Liu Niang.

Although Fu Liuniang is still young, this is not a big deal these days. Anyway, there is no fear of being caught. At worst, I can just marry her and raise her for a few years.

Of course, this is just his wishful thinking at the moment. It is still unclear whether the King of Wei is willing to marry his daughter to him.

"We're here. After passing this door is my second wife's courtyard..."

Finally, the girl and Li Yi stopped in front of an archway.

She turned around and said, "No outsider has ever entered my Second Lady's courtyard before. You must be careful about your words and actions."

Hearing this, Li Yi began to murmur in his heart. According to what the maid said, it seemed that there had never been a knight entering the mansion before. Was this the first time Fu Er Niang did this?

This matter is becoming more and more confusing.

As they were talking, the three of them entered the courtyard.

Looking up, the yard is not too big, but the furnishings and arrangements are very exquisite, with flowers, trees, pavilions, ponds, and everything you need.

There is even a very conspicuous flower-railed swing on the north side of the yard, decorated with embroidered patterns and borders.

In addition, a space was cleared in the middle of the courtyard, and many maids and servants were busy working nearby.

"The King of Wei's daughter likes to wield swords and spears?"

Ma Renyu pointed to the swords, spears, and halberds placed on the ground. Li Yi took a closer look and saw that the layout of the ground really looked like a martial arts training ground, with not only spears, swords, bows, and crossbows, but also several tall horses and more than a dozen targets.

"Don't run around here. I'll go talk to the Second Lady."

The maid brought Li Yi and the other man to an open space and gave them some instructions.

Then she hurried up to a building in the corner of the yard.

It was then that Li Yi noticed that in the southeast corner of the yard, there was a two-story building with flying eaves, which looked very much like a woman's boudoir.

Li Yi followed the girl's back and looked over, but saw a breeze blowing, and there seemed to be two figures behind a window, one big and one small, one tall and one short, but when he looked closely, they were blocked by the curtains.

Could it be that the two ladies of the King of Wei are upstairs?
After a while, the maid came down again and said to Li Yi and the others, "What skills do you have? My second wife wants to test you."

ability?

Li Yi was stunned for a moment, then reacted.

The so-called knights these days are no longer the same as they were in the Han and pre-Qin periods.

Since the middle and late Tang Dynasty, the world has been in chaos and morality has collapsed. Anyone who is a wanderer can shamelessly call himself a knight-errant.

What is the Jianghu?

It originally referred to vast rivers and lakes, and later evolved to mean "the world", and also referred to the folk environment far away from the court and the ruling class.

To put it bluntly, big thieves and robbers, traveling doctors and jugglers are all considered to be gangsters. It sounds ridiculous to call these people knights-errant.

But who can prove that they are not?
If you insist on saying that a knight-errant is someone who helps the weak and fights for justice... then I'm sorry, there is no morality in troubled times.

Of course, it is not ruled out that there are a very small number of truly chivalrous and righteous people.

But no matter what, those who can survive in the underworld all have some abilities, and each of them has some unique skills.

Li Yi chuckled and said, "Speaking of skills, I do know quite a few. I can play the piano, chess, calligraphy, painting, swords, spears, and clubs. I can play them all once I get the hang of it. I wonder what my lady would like to see?"

He wasn't talking nonsense.

Flute, guitar, drum set, chess, Go, and flying chess.

Pen, pencil, calligraphy, sketch, oil paint, simple drawing.

Li Yi has dabbled in all of them. I wouldn't say he's an expert at them, but he can still impress people with his tricks. He can indeed be said to be proficient in a little bit of music, chess, calligraphy and painting.

As a modern person, I don't have any other special abilities. I just come into contact with many things and learn a variety of things.

Of course, this does not apply to some lazy dogs who know nothing and learn nothing.

As for swords, guns, sticks and clubs, these are Li Yi's bread and butter as a martial artist, so naturally he can use them well.

Hearing this, the maidservant girl was obviously unconvinced and curled her lips and said, "I thought my husband was a good-looking and honest man, but I didn't expect that he couldn't say a single reliable word."

"What I said is absolutely true."

Li Yi acted very sincerely, but the maidservant was puzzled.

Could it be that this handsome man in front of me is really proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting?
However, now was not the time to dwell on this. The maid hurriedly asked, "Then you must have a special skill, right?"

"What's your best skill?" Li Yi was stunned for a moment, then he pondered, "Does horseback archery count?"

"You can ride a horse and shoot arrows?" The maid seemed a little surprised.

Li Yi said modestly: "I know a little, but not much..."

But in fact, he was not only good at riding and shooting, he was very good at it. I'm afraid that there would be no one in the imperial guards who could match him.

Speaking of this, Li Yi still felt helpless.

What he has always been most proud of is his riding and archery skills.

But whether it was the Battle of Gaoping or the later Battle of Xinkou, he had no place to display his unique skills.

From the beginning to the end, they relied on fierce charging and hard fighting, and basically did not fire a single arrow.

However, in those two cases, the so-called horse archery was indeed not of much use.

"I'll ask my second wife..."

The maidservant went upstairs again with a "dengdeng" sound.

When she came down again, she said to Li Yi and the others, "My second wife said that if you really have the ability to ride and shoot, you will definitely be rewarded."

Tsk tsk... Li Yi laughed secretly in his heart. He was the commander of the inner palace guards. Apart from the emperor, who else could give him a reward that would move him?
No, if Madam Fu Er pledges herself to me... hehe, I don't mind!

But Li Yi still replied: "I will do my best..."

　Eight out of ten things in life are not satisfactory.

　　The worse the life is, the more unlucky it is.

　　but--

　　Even if God tortures me a thousand times, I still treat the world as my first love.

　　If God wants to add some strength to my life, then come on, whoever gives in is a grandson!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)