Moonlight and wind

Wudu, located in the hinterland of the Great Wu Kingdom, is a vast land surrounded by mountains. There are only four passes leading into Wudu. The passes are heavily guarded all year round, and they are especially on guard against martial artists. The economy and culture here are prosperous, and the people live and work in peace and contentment, giving the impression of a prosperous era.

Emperor Wu, the ruler of the great Wu Kingdom, has many versions of his name told by the people of the Wu Kingdom.

Some people say that Emperor Wu’s martial arts skills are so superb that he has reached the level of Martial Emperor and can control the power of heaven and earth; others say that Emperor Wu does not know martial arts, so he is so wary of martial artists for fear that his throne will be taken away.

Regardless of whether Emperor Wu had martial arts skills or not, one thing is certain: he loved women!

Every early spring, a nationwide selection of girls is held to enter the palace. This may not be a bad thing for some families, as there are always some people who want to rely on their own daughters to reach the top in one step!

Yecheng Qu, a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, was also known as Hanlin Qu. Because he had been weak and sickly since childhood, he was unable to learn martial arts and only passed the civil service examination.

In this martial country, Hanlin was unhappy because he could not get promoted. Later, he placed his hope on the next generation, hoping that his son could become a military officer so that he could have someone to rely on.

Unfortunately, seventeen years later, his only daughter, Xuanyue, was arranged by Hanlin Qu to enter the palace to be selected as a concubine. This was the last straw for him!

"Miss, after the winter, you will enter the palace for the selection in early spring next year. You must practice these etiquette rules diligently!" An old woman was holding a teacup, drinking tea with her eyes lowered, and was arrogant, not taking the eldest lady of the Hanlin Academy seriously at all.

This woman was none other than the nanny hired by Hanlin Que. It was said that nine out of ten women trained by her would pass the beauty pageant, but one of them was so ugly!

Xuanyue stood with her hands hanging down, "Yes, Madam, please give me your guidance!" "Okay, that's all for today. I'm tired from the journey. We'll continue tomorrow!" After saying that, Madam waved her hand, motioning Xuanyue to go out.

Xuanyue led the maid Zi Ling'er out of the nanny's room. "What are you so proud of!" The maid Zi Ling'er spat at the room after leaving, "This is really like finding an ancestor!"

"Forget it, let her be!" "The young lady can tolerate it, but I can't! It's too bullying!" Zi Ling'er put her hands on her hips, indignant.

Suddenly, Que Xuanyue stopped and Zi Ling'er immediately came up to her. The two whispered for a while, smiled at each other, then became dignified again and walked towards their own rooms.

At night, Madam Chai Hao door, sitting under the lamplight, counting silver bills and keeping accounts, her face was full of smiles!

Just when he was feeling proud, a marble passed through the window paper and hit the candle wick, and the room instantly became dark.

"What's going on!" Soon the nanny's voice was heard from inside the room, followed by the sound of the nanny getting up and opening the door.

As soon as the nanny stuck her head out, she felt a black screen in front of her eyes and fell to the ground. Then countless fists hit her body like raindrops, making her scream in pain!

Zi Ling'er pulled the sack on the nanny's head, rode on her back, and beat them up together with Qu Xuanyue!

"You took my money, but still made me lose the election! Not only that, you also told everyone that I am ugly!" Zi Ling'er said while beating me!

"It's you! It's not my fault that you lost the election! Miss, your appearance is given by your parents, and this old woman can't change it! Please, miss, stop hitting me! My old bones are about to fall apart!"

Seeing that the fight was almost over, Qu Xuanyue winked at Zi Ling'er, and the two of them dropped the sacks and hid behind the rockery in the courtyard.

The nanny struggled to get out of the sack and sat on the ground gasping for breath. The night in deep winter was extremely cold, and the nanny fell ill the next day.

When Qu Hanlin came to offer condolences, the nanny did not dare to say that the failed lady came to take revenge, so she could only say that she was old and had caught a cold. So Qu Xuanyue's training was postponed for a few more days.

In the boudoir, Xuanyue was playing with a jade bracelet. One could see that there was a bead missing from the bracelet, and there were large gaps between the beads.

"Yue'er," Qu Hanlin walked in from outside. Qu Xuanyue quickly put the bracelet back on her wrist, stood up and saluted Qu Hanlin.

"Although Madam is not feeling well, you can't slack off. You must not neglect your arts of music, chess, calligraphy and painting." After Hanlin Qu sat down, Zi Ling'er brought her tea.

"Father is right. Xuan Yue dare not slack off." Looking at his daughter, who had grown into a graceful, beautiful, and dignified daughter, Qu Hanlin nodded with satisfaction.

"Go see the nanny when you have time and ask her to train him as soon as possible. Time is running out." Hanlin Qu took a sip of tea and continued.

"Don't worry, Dad. Yue'er will try her best to learn from nanny!" Xuanyue smiled, which was even more touching.

After seeing off Qu Hanlin, Qu Xuanyue leaned back on the chair, sighed deeply, took off the bracelet, and rubbed the beads with her slender fingertips.

"Ling'er!" Xuanyue seemed to remember something, and immediately sat up straight, calling Zi Ling'er to come over. "Miss," Zi Ling'er squatted beside Xuanyue's legs, Xuanyue leaned over and whispered a few words in Zi Ling'er's ear, and Zi Ling'er stood up and left. After a while, two sets of men's robes came in.

"Zi Zhong has sent away all the servants at the back door and is waiting at the door." Zi Ling'er said as she changed Xuanyue's clothes.

"Are there any good players today?" "Zi Zhong said they look pretty good, all of them are tall and mighty!" Zi Ling'er did not stop the work in her hands.

"Being tall and mighty doesn't necessarily make one a good fighter, but at least one has some skills." As he spoke, Xuanyue tied his hair up and wore a crown, a dark blue embroidered robe, and looked heroic, a typical suave young man from a wealthy family.

Zi Ling'er changed into a servant's clothes and followed Xuanyue to the back door quietly. A young man who was peeking out of the door saw them coming and waved his hand, asking them to hurry up.

"Miss, let's do less of this kind of thing in the future. Every time I do this, I feel like throwing up!" The servant Zi Zhong pouted to express his dissatisfaction.

"What are you afraid of? When have we ever been discovered? Don't worry!" A young man took two servants and sneaked into the most prosperous street in Wudu.

After turning a corner, the three of them came to a ring and stopped. A young man dressed as a shop assistant immediately ran over and said, "Hey, young master, you haven't come to take care of our business for many days!" Then he led the three of them to sit down at a square table near the ring.

"All the competitors today are top-notch! Young master, if you are not satisfied with what you see, just slap me in the face!" The waiter wiped the table neatly with the rag on his shoulder, "I'll make you some tea right away!" After saying that, he ran to the back of the arena.

Because the Wu State values ​​martial arts, this kind of arena can be seen everywhere, just like a theatre troupe.

Most of those who participate in the competition are wandering warriors with some skills. On the one hand, fighting in the competition can improve their martial arts, and on the other hand, it can also bring in a considerable amount of income.

If you are luckier, you may be noticed by a noble and be taken home to be a palace guard. If you are noticed by a royal relative and be taken home to be a bodyguard, then you will be lucky!

Several waves of people came and went on the ring, but none of them caught Xuanyue's eye, and she even felt a little tired of them.

Just as he was about to leave, a young man in a turquoise robe jumped onto the stage. "Sir, have you registered?" the waiter standing below the stage shouted.

The man drew out his sword and stabbed at a big man on the stage. Fortunately, the big man was a martial artist and dodged his sword.

"Then I'll play with you!" The big man pulled out a mountain axe from behind and chopped at the young man in green. The two of them started fighting on the ring. This aroused Xuanyue's interest, "It's quite interesting!"

The rules of the ring are to stop when the time is right. Everyone is just trying to make a living, and no one will kill anyone.

Everyone was watching the excitement when the young man in green used his inner strength to control his sword with his Qi. The sword made a faint sound, like the sound of a piano.

The young man in green held the sword in front of him with both hands. The cold light of the sword reflected his vicious eyes, making them even more terrifying!

The young man in green smiled evilly and stabbed at the big man at an extremely fast speed!

"Yunyin Sword Technique!" Qu Xuanyue was shocked, "Not good!" Seeing that the sword was about to pierce the big man's chest, Qu Xuanyue took off the jade bracelet on her wrist and pulled out a bead. The bead shot out from between Qu Xuanyue's three fingers and hit the wrist of the young man in green, causing his sword to deflect to one side and pierce the big man's left arm!

There was a sigh from the audience, "What the hell! Do you know the rules?" "That's right!" "Where did this martial arts master come from!"

The young man in green glanced at the audience and saw Xuanyue in the crowd. Hatred flashed between his brows, and he put away his sword and ran away.

"The arena is really dangerous today!" The three of them chatted and laughed as they walked towards the Hanlin Mansion. When they came to the back door, they saw from afar a group of servants kneeling in front of the door, not daring to look up!

"Oh no! We've been discovered!"