Female martial arts fanatics only love to fight, while men fight for their lives.

52

"Akura! Quick! Doctor!"

Xiao Zhengze was originally in poor health, but at most he just had a cough, fever, and lethargy, and rarely suddenly lost consciousness.

Especially now, there was no warning. The knot around her neck was still there one moment, but it suddenly lost its strength and slipped off the next moment.

Lou Xiao hugged the man and picked him up, and was about to rush to the Imperial Medical Office.

The captured Tang coughed up blood and laughed, inexplicably clear in the chaos.

Lou Xiao turned around with a sharp gaze. Xiao Zhengdu lowered his body and grabbed Tang Wang's front and asked coldly, "What did you do?!"

"Hahaha..." She didn't care about Xiao Zhengdu who was close to her face, but stared at Lou Xiao and said proudly,

"It seems... even you can't completely block the Thousand Silk Rain. The hidden weapon developed by three generations of my Tang family has finally shown its power in my hands! Ahem...

It's not a loss for me, a lone man, to save the life of a royal prince! Hahahaha!"

Xiao Zhengdu stood up and kicked her right in the chin, saliva and blood flew everywhere. Tang Wang could no longer speak.

Lou Xiao only ordered "Don't kill him" and walked away with Xiao Zhengze in her arms. The heavy rain was as fine as cow hair, and it was unclear where on his body it fell. The servants had to take off his clothes and check carefully.

And a hidden weapon alone cannot make a person suddenly unconscious.

When she was hit by the bright light ammunition on the roof of the temple, she found that the poisonous fog was not simple in origin.

The Tang family likes to make hidden weapons but is not good at using poison. Weapons used for self-defense have never been coated with deadly poisons, but now...

She placed Xiao Zhengze on the soft bed and told the old servant beside him, "Take off his clothes and check carefully for any traces of needle punctures."

Upon hearing this, Ji Heng paused for a moment, and reluctantly retreated to the servants' side.

Although the old servant didn't understand why she did that, seeing that her expression was serious and not joking, he answered "yes", and Lou Xiao consciously retreated to the outer hall.

Meanwhile, the empress came with the imperial physicians. The physicians carried their medicine boxes, bowed to her and hurried into the bedroom, while the empress sat in front of her.

"Sister, are you feeling unwell? Have you asked the imperial physician to take a look at your body? The raindrops are so fine that you can't feel them when they enter your skin..."

There was no one around at the moment. Lou Xiao was worried that Xiao Zhengze would not have time to perform the ceremony, so she just kept asking about the Queen's condition.

She was too confident that she had stopped them all. Xiao Zhengze had already been caught, so what about her senior sister?

"Don't panic, Xiaoxiao. I'm fine." The Queen comforted her. "But you, the assassin is very difficult to deal with. Are you injured?"

Lou Xiao shook his head, looking somewhat depressed.

The Queen looked at Lou Xiao wearing Xiao Zhengze's cape, and the scarlet lining underneath was torn. She remembered that her formal gown had shielded her from the needles.

He asked his servant Ling Yu to go to the Shanggong Bureau to get another formal dress robe.

The dress, which was too gorgeous and ostentatious, even a little presumptuous if you looked closely, finally fell on her shoulders.

Lou Xiao had no choice but to refuse. Today's Longevity Festival still had many procedures that required her presence, and of course she couldn't just put on a cloak and leave.

Seeing that she had put on her clothes and regained her dignity as the Duke of Zhenguo, the Queen raised her hand and patted her shoulder.

"It's not your fault, don't blame yourself. I'll go in and take a look at my brother first. He's not as fragile as you think."

Lou Xiao nodded again. She was an unmarried woman, so of course she couldn't look at Xiao Zhengze naked like the queen did.

He could only stay in the outer hall and wait for the imperial physician's diagnosis.

At this time, the people sent by Xiao Zhengdu also came to greet him, and wiped the blood off the sword thrown by Lou Xiao and brought it over.

Lou Xiaozheng was asking Xiao Zhengdu about the details of his interrogation of Tang Wang. Lu Huan, who had been staying in the hall without saying a word and had no sense of existence, reached out and took down the sword.

She didn't get anything out of her question. Xiao Zhengdu was thorough in his work, and even she couldn't pry open the mouths of those around him.

She turned her head to look at Lu Huan, saw the sword in his hand again, and let the people around Xiao Zhengdu leave.

"Is this the sword you got in the Northern Desert King's tent?"

The situation was urgent at the time. She reached out to catch it and was in a hurry to chase the assassin without taking a closer look.

"Yes." Lu Huan had been following the empress and witnessed with his own eyes how close she was to the empress. He also witnessed the scene of her fighting the assassin on the roof of the Qinzheng Hall.

At this moment, he somewhat understood the Queen's preference for her. After this incident, no one would dare to say that she was unworthy of the position.

It was curious, as no one had ever seen her take action before.

"Your Majesty asked me to bring it back to the capital. I think he wants the Duke of Zhenguo to personally review it." He held the sword in both hands and handed it to her. Lou Xiaoluo stared at the sword.

I couldn't help noticing the scars and calluses on his fingers, the blood vessels on the back of his hands bulging from exertion, and the rough skin.

Looks weathered, but extremely tough.

Different from every man she had met in the capital.

She reached out her hand and grasped the sword from the middle of the scabbard, and as soon as he let go, she pulled the sword out.

Lu Huan stared at her calmly.

Strictly speaking, she doesn't look like a martial artist.

But when she threw away the scabbard, held the sword in one hand, and used two fingers in the other hand to carefully feel the curvature and sharpness of the blade, she was clearly an expert.

Just like Li Huaiqing would go crazy because of good calligraphy,

She would also be obsessed with a good sword.

"It is three feet and two inches long, with a smooth blade and a clear and bright appearance."

She turned her hand back and looked at it carefully in the light. Lu Huan reminded her to do her job, "Can the Duke of Zhenguo tell where it came from?"

Lou Xiao took the time to glance at him, and said calmly, "Sword-making styles and craftsmanship vary greatly depending on the region, the ability of the swordsmith, and the government and business.

The most important thing is that different regions have different mineral qualities, which will affect the hardness, flexibility, and patterns of the swords they forge..."

Her voice gradually became low, because facing the light, she saw the flowing and rippling patterns on the sword like green water waves.

There are also eagles and cloud patterns rising from the sword guard and soaring above the sword spine.

What she never said was that all swordsmiths would engrave their names on the blade of the sword.

One is to show that he is responsible for the sword, and the other is that if it becomes a famous sword one day, it will be easy to trace its origins and make himself famous.

This sword appeared in the controversial Beimo King's tent. She had not expected to see any traces left by the swordsmith on the sword, but who would have thought that she would see extremely well-hidden patterns between the eagle's wings.

Lou Xiao was distracted for a moment, and Lu Huan waited patiently for her to continue without urging her.

"Is this sword stained with the blood debt of our soldiers?" she asked Lu Huan in a trance.

Lu Huan's silence brought a grief that needed no words.

Lou Xiao closed his eyes slightly, and the hand holding the sword suddenly dropped.

The scabbard held by the servant beside her was very ordinary. She picked it up and sheathed it with one hand. It was quick and neat. The buzzing sound of the sword was covered by the plain scabbard.

Her voice was calm as she told him the same information he knew.

"This sword came from the Jianghu. It is not a trophy, but a fine product that took at least half a year to polish."

The thing she couldn't understand the most was,

"Moreover, the swordsmith is very clear about the identity of the sword's owner."

In other words, there are people in the martial arts world who use the best sword-making skills to provide weapons to the Northern Desert Kingdom that harasses the border from time to time.