The Marquis Is Innocent

Chapter 63:

The Lu Li Terrace holds a conspicuous position and attracts attention. Xiao Qiao knew there were many pairs of eyes watching her at this moment. When she saw her brother greeting her at the bottom of the stage, she only smiled back at him to avoid suspicion. Without showing too much emotion, but the encouragement in her eyes was obvious.

Xiao Qiao heard a rhythmic sound of wooden clogs stepping over the stone steps, turned her head, and looked.

On the steps of the Lu Li Terrace appeared a beautiful figure.

She recognized her. It was Su E Huang.

Su E Huang lifted her skirt and walked up the stairs, followed by two maids on her left and right. The beautiful figure swayed against the green stone steps and headed in Mrs. Xus direction.

When she reached close, the guards stopped her.

The guards of Lu Li Terrace came over and reported to Mrs. Xu and said Mrs. Su, the wife of the Duke of Zuo Feng Yi, had arrived and begged to see her.

Mrs. Xu had caught a glimpse of Su E Huang but did not move, nor did she turn her head to look, only to let her come over.

After hearing about Mrs. Su, the wife of the late Duke of Zuo Feng Yi, Mrs. Zhu turned her head and saw Su E Huang standing there. Her face immediately sank.

The guards went back and let Su E Huang through. Su E Huang came to Mrs. Xu and bowed to her respectfully.

Mrs. Xu smiled slightly and told her she did not need to be polite.

Su E Huang then bowed to Mrs. Zhu.

Mrs. Zhu said in a sarcastic voice: Get up. Although you are a widow, you were once the wife of the Duke of Zuo Feng Yi. I am just a country woman. How can I afford such a big salute from you?

When she spoke, her face twisted to the side.

Su E Huang, still smiling, got up and turned to Xiao Qiao, who was sitting on Mrs. Xus right side, and said, After the last time when we parted, I have often missed my sister and hoped to see her again. Today, I have gotten my wish.

Xiao Qiao smiled, nodded slightly, and said, I am grateful to Madam for your concern.

While they were talking, Mrs. Zhu said, When did you come to Yuyang? You didnt tell us in advance, making it seem like we were neglecting you.

Su E Huang said, Madam, you are unaware of this. I have a nephew named Su Xin, a lieutenant of Zhongshan and an excellent archer. He has the honor to come to the conference. I came here to support my nephew. Also, although I have not set foot in Yuyang for many years, I always think of my Grand Aunt and Madam. I took this opportunity to visit my Grand Aunt and Madam. Yesterday, I arrived late and could not visit the house immediately. I was afraid of disturbing the rest of my Grand Aunt and Madam and did not dare to come to the door, but I thought it would be a good idea to come here early this morning to pay my respects.

The corners of Mrs. Zhus lips were slightly hooked and did not speak.

The field for the archery competition had been set up in the middle of the training ground. At the starting point, thirty-two warriors were on their horses, with recurve bows on their arms, eager to try, ready to listen to the signal to go.

Su E Huang pointed to a tall, purple-robed young man in the middle and said with a smile, He is my nephew, Su Xin. Although he is not much younger than me, he has been in the Zhongshan army for a few years. This time he won the appreciation of his superiors and had the honor to come to Yuyang to present his skills.

Xiao Qiao glanced at him.

Su Xin was in his early twenties, with a tall body and long arms. Riding a Wu Zhui horse with a magnificent saddle embedded with precious stones, glittering in the sunlight, standing out in the crowd of warriors. With his head held high, he sat on the horses back, looking confident.

Mrs. Xu looked at him and nodded, A young hero, too.

Su E Huang was thanking her praise. With hesitation and flashing eyes, she stepped towards Mrs. Xu. Before lifting her feet, she heard Mrs. Zhu say: I did not know you were coming this morning, so I did not set a seat for you here. I see the archery about to start, and since you are here to support your nephew, why dont you go to the Xuanwu Terrace and take your seat?

The Xuanwu Terrace is located at the side of the Lu Li Terrace and is for the noble women who come to watch the battle in Yuyang City.

Su E Huang stopped in her tracks, stared at Mrs. Zhu, and then smiled, Thank you for arranging this, Madam. In that case, I will go down. Later on, I will pay my respects to my Grand Aunt and Madam. After saying this, she bowed to Mrs. Xu and Mrs. Zhu. After saying goodbye to Xiao Qiao, she turned around with her maids and went away with the same grace.

After Su E Huang left, Mrs. Xu looked as usual, but Mrs. Zhu showed a hint of contempt at her back and gave a faint hum to her nose.

Xiao Qiao looked at her without the slightest expression, but her heart was inevitably surprised.

No one has felt the killing power from Mrs. Zhu more deeply than she has, therefore, she was not surprised Mrs. Zhu drove away Su E Huang.

However, she wondered why this woman, who could not be faulted in any way, would be so disliked by Mrs. Zhu.

Mrs. Zhu spoke with a gun and a stick and without politeness.

It seemed in her mind, other than herself, Su girl was also an object of disgust.

At this time, the noise in the training ground quieted down. The whole field held its voice to look at the thirty-two warriors, who were ready to go into the riding arena.

Xiao Qiao knew the competition was about to begin and had no time to think about anything else. She concentrated on watching the battle, looking for her brothers figure.

At the sound of the signal, the thirty-two horsemen set off in unison, vying for the finish line where the golden bell was hung a hundred feet away. At first, the thirty-two horsemen went in their way, but after twenty to thirty feet, the horses heads divided into front and back. The warrior on the red horse at the front aimed his bow at the golden bell, followed by the white horse warrior sweeping a stick. The red horse warrior dived to avoid it and drew his halberd to thrust back and the two entangled in a fight.

The rules say that each person is limited to bringing three arrows. The arrows are considered out if they miss the Golden Bell or fall to the ground.

Since someone had made a start, the remaining warriors followed suit. Besides, the rules allowed it. Everyone wanted to stop their opponents and be the first to shoot down the golden bell. With the tight beat of the drums and the cheering of the soldiers watching the battle on the training ground, a vicious fight started on the horse track. Soon, one by one, people were defeated and fell off their horses.

Halfway through the journey, less than half of the thirty-two warriors remained. The rest were either injured and fell off their horses, had their bows and arrows taken away, or had already shot three arrows and missed the mark.

Qiao Cis weapon was the double halberd. He grew up with a passion for martial arts, practicing hard every morning and evening in the training ground at home, in winter and summer, rain or shine. He was born with muscles and bones to practice martial arts. Over the years, he became comfortable with it. The horse Wei Yan gave him is one of a thousand horses, and although he only rode for a short time, it had a good spirit. Today, man and horse are together halfway through the journey and vaguely have the potential to stand out.

He defeated a warrior who tried to take his bow and arrows from behind. He knocked him off his horse with his halberd.

It was the third opponent he defeated.

Wei Shaos army had always been tough. Although the Lu Li Conference was a martial arts competition between brothers in arms, it was all real guns and swords, and the warriors were protected by armor.

The youngest of the warriors, Qiao Ci, was a handsome man, and the soldiers in the military arena knew him as the brother of the lady. His horse drew a lot of attention as soon as he set off. Halfway through the race, they saw he had excellent riding skills and outstanding martial arts, defeating the three warriors who were fighting him one after another. He was restrained, unlike the warriors who were determined to win and attacked their opponents vital points. They saw him and the other warrior fight more than a dozen rounds. When he finally pressed the other side, he reversed hand to change the halberd head for the halberd staff to hit the other side. They could not help but feel respect and began to cheer for him.

Her brothers heroic appearance, together with everyones spirit, won the applause of the people in the training ground. Although Xiao Qiao was delighted, her heart was more nervous. Her eyes opened wide, following the back of his galloping horse, both hands balled into fists, not even daring to blink.

After Qiao Ci shot down the warrior, he clenched his horses belly. The horse sensed his masters intention and rushed to the finish line at full speed, quickly overtaking the first few people. As he drew his bow and arrow and was about to shoot the first arrow, there was a wind of swords in his ears slashing down.

Su Xin came with a sword. Qiao Ci immediately drew out his halberd to meet him. The two of them went back and forth amidst the shouting of the soldiers around them. In the blink of an eye, they made about 20 moves.

Su Xin is the eldest son of Su E Huang eldest brother. Because Su E Huangs eldest brother is much older than her, the age difference between the aunt and nephew is not much. Ten years ago, when Xing Xun had not entered Luoyang, his aunt Su E Huang was married to Liu Li. She was famous all over Luoyang, and the Su family had a moment of glory. But now the family has fallen into decline and the children are withered. Su Xin is determined to show off his family. He came here just to become famous in a battle at Lu Li Terrace. He started with a fierce attack, wounding several people one after another, killing a way out, and seeing Qiao Cis bravery, he regarded the white-robed warrior as a formidable enemy. Seeing him rush to the forefront, he fought to catch up and stop his momentum. Qiao Ci fought increasingly bravely, and Su Xin was gradually overwhelmed. When he sees the warriors catching up, his heart is anxious and came up with a plan. When Qiao Ci came down with a halberd, he suddenly shouted, showing a painful face his body wavered, as if he was injured and would fall off the horse.

Qiao Ci immediately withdrew his hand. But suddenly, Su Xin pulled out a short knife from the side of the horses belly that had not been used and swung it toward Qiao Ci. Qiao Ci saw the sharpness and quickly dodged. But it happened abruptly and he did not completely dodge it. One side of his arm was cut by the sharp edge. Fortunately, he wore armor, but the protective sleeve cut a slit. In a burst of pain, he looked down, and blood flowed out, staining the white robe.

There is some distance away from the Lu Li Terrace, but Xiao Qiao still saw the situation was not right. Her heart jumped, and run to the guardrail, opening her eyes wide to watch.

Qiao Ci fought against Su Xin, and he was about to overwhelm him. Unexpectedly, Su Xin cheated, which made Qiao Ci suffer, and the soldiers on both sides booed. Su Xin seemed to ignore it. After forcing Qiao Ci away, he gritted his teeth and turned the horses head sharply, rushing towards the finish line. He aimed ahead, drew his bow, and fired an arrow.

The first arrow shot and missed. It passed by the rope where the golden bell hung.

Su Xin was annoyed and hurriedly set up his bow again, aiming and preparing to shoot the second arrow.

However, at this moment, an arrow decorated with white feathers left the string to catch up from behind, breaking the wind from his sides like thunder and lightning toward the golden bell.

The arrow was fired by Qiao Ci behind him.

The training ground was instantly silent, countless pairs of eyes fixed on a white feather arrow.

The arrow tore through the air resistance, ran to the end, passed through the rope, and finally nailed into the blocking target.

The rope broke, unable to suspend the heavy golden bell. The golden bell wavered a few times and fell on the next gong above.

Dang sound. A clear and long metal impact sound.

Su Xin froze. He watched the white-robed warrior gallop past him like the wind, reaching the end of the line and rolling off his horse. He walked briskly to the target, pulled off the feathered arrow, then jumped onto the high platform, held the arrow high, and waved his hand in all directions.

A thunderous applause erupted from the training ground. The group of noblewomen from Yuyang on the Xuanwu stage looked at Qiao Ci.

Xiao Qiaos heart, which was hanging in her throat, finally fell at this moment.

Under the bright light of the autumn sun, she saw her brother standing on the high platform with his arms raised, white robe, and silver armor, full of vigor.

In the training ground, at this moment, almost everyone was cheering and shouting about his heroic performance.

Xiao Qiaos nose was sour with excitement. She raised her hand and covered her mouth and nose.

Wei Shao stood on a viewing platform not far from the high platform. His gaze moved away from the youthful boy on the high platform and looked across to the Lu Li Terrace.

He saw her standing on the railing, covering her face with her hands, apparently about to cry with joy.

The corners of Wei Shaos lips were slightly hooked. He subconsciously glanced at his eldest brother Wei Yan, who was not far from him.

Wei Yan looked in the direction of the Lu Li Terrace. He tilted his head slightly and seemed lost in thought.

In the training ground, Qiao Ci became the center of attention of ten thousand people. General Li Dian, who witnessed the whole process, said to Gongsun Yang, This is the son of a phoenix and a lion. He has a benevolent style. In time, he will become a great talent.

No one paid attention to the unintentional line of sight from Wei Yan.

Wei Shao averted his eyes and looked calm.

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