Pampered Consort of the Fragrant Orchard

Ji Liufeng was examining the condition of the carriage when he felt people flying overhead. When he looked up, he saw Han Mingyi and Du Xiaoli. Shaking his head, he said, “Really, they don’t even take the main door. Are they trying to show off their affection?”

Since they knew Han Mingyi and Du Xiaoli were coming, the area around the inn had been cleared, and there wasn’t a single person on the street.

As Han Mingyi brought Du Xiaoli onto the ground, Du Xiaoli unwrapped herself from his embrace, saying, “Why did you fly out like that without warning me, I have qing gong too.”

“I decided to do it on the spot!” Han Mingyi replied, pulling Du Xiaoli’s hand. “Where do you want to walk? There shouldn’t be much to see on the streets right now, right?”

Du Xiaoli thought the same. The winter temperature in the north was already below zero, and the sky had already darkened. People had long gone home, so where could there be anything to see?

“Then let’s just stroll wherever.”

“Okay.”

The two of them walked along the streets. Before long, they came to a small river with a bridge arching over it. The bridge design was different from in the South; bridges in the South were mostly arched, whereas these bridges in the North were straight.

“Let’s go on the bridge and take a look.”

Approaching the bridge, Du Xiaoli saw that the river below had frozen over. The translucent ice below gave her the strong urge to go ice skating.

“It would be so nice if I had a pair of ice skates right now.”

Han Mingyi followed her onto the bridge, and hearing her words, asked, “What are ice skates?”

“They are a kind of shoe that glides across ice. If the ice is thick enough, they allow you to skate on it, it’s very fun,” Du Xiaoli explained.

“Really? Then you should design a pair to test out.” Han Mingyi leaned his back onto the side of the bridge.

“Sure, once I go back, I’ll find Blacksmith Wang to test it out. I think he should be able to produce them,” Du Xiaoli agreed.

“Why go to him? He isn’t a shoemaker,” Han Mingyi curiously asked.

“Because there are blades under the ice skates, mounted on the soles. Also, the shape is pretty unique, most people can’t weld it,” Du Xiaoli explained.

“Mm, Blacksmith Wang can weld many things. His technique is also excellent,” Han Mingyi commented.

“That’s right, I remember he used to be located in Zhou County. Did you call him to the capital?” Du Xiaoli asked, thinking back on Blacksmith Wang’s tiny store from before.

Han Mingyi nodded. As a gust of wind blew across the river, he pulled Du Xiaoli into his arms, saying, “Blacksmith Wang is actually their family brand. Their family’s ironworking skills have always been better than others, but five or six generations ago, their family was exterminated because they were involved in weapons-building. Only later was it discovered that there was a side bloodline that hadn’t been discovered. After everything their family went through, the family forefathers cautioned their descendants not to go to the capital. Those forefathers had been too skilled at iron-making in the capital, which was why they were called by rebels to make weapons.”

“I didn’t know any of that had happened. Then, since he’s in the capital, isn’t that going against his ancestors’ orders?” Du Xiaoli asked.

I learned of all this by accident when I was sword-fighting in Zhou County. At first, he said he wasn’t willing to, but then I sent someone to investigate his family history, and thought of a way to get him to follow me,” Han Mingyi said with a trace of pride.

Du Xiaoli, still in Han Mingyi’s arms, said, “That’s the time we met at the blacksmith shop? At that time you were so pretentious, with your tail up in the air. And you said I was a trickster!”

Han Mingyi also remembered that time, but he didn’t plan on admitting to it. “Did I?”

“Yes!”

“No, you’re definitely mixing things up,” Han Mingyi denied.

“Is that what you think?” Du Xiaoli raised her head to gaze at Han Mingyi.

“Mm, I did do that.” Han Mingyi met Du XIaoli’s eyes and smiled, kissing her on the forehead. “Even if you’re a trickster, you’re still a cute trickster.”

“Hmph, at least you’re relatively sensible.” Du Xiaoli put her hands on his waist, using her fox fur to block the cold.

“How is your wound? Should we go back now?” Although Han Mingyi enjoyed her clinginess, he still put her health first, considering her arm injury.

“It’s already scabbed over,” Du Xiaoli said.

“If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would find it impossible to believe there’s such an amazing martial arts technique,” Han Mingyi commented.

References 1. — 轻功 or qing gong; a fairly well-known Chinese martial arts technique of making the body lighter so as to jump off surfaces (looks kind of like flying) MoonWhisperer, skyrise's Thoughts

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