They all thought that Meng Ru was just playing around for a while, pestering her personal guard to practice martial arts. When the time came, she would naturally give up.
As such, after she persisted for a few days, the women in the Inner Court were all greatly shocked, as was Cui’er, her personal maid.
Every day before dawn, the Eldest Young Lady would wake up early. Unlike before, she didn’t need to dress up quietly. As long as she casually brushed her hair, she would put on her clothes and carry her wooden sword to the courtyard where the personal guard, Yang Kai, would be waiting.
Although she was sweating profusely every day, the Eldest Young Lady was still in high spirits. The dull hacking and slashing of her sword made her movements even more skilled.
The two personal maidservants were also dragged along by the Eldest Young Lady, mainly because she despised Cui’er for stopping her from practicing martial arts, thinking that if Cui’er could also join them, she might be able to shut up.
Unfortunately, not everyone had the perseverance of the Eldest Young Lady.
Cui’er only managed to endure for two days before she could no longer endure. The movements of her sword were simple and dull, not to mention the fact that her entire body was aching every day. Although she was a maidservant, she had grown up with the Eldest Young Lady and had lived a luxurious life, so how could she have ever suffered such pain?
However, after withdrawing this time, she didn’t say much to the Eldest Young Lady, probably feeling embarrassed.
On the other hand, although Qian Qian looked shy and timid, her perseverance was excellent.
On top of that, Yang Kai also discovered that Miss Qian's talent in martial arts was not inferior to the Eldest Young Lady’s.
One taught with a different purpose while the other focused on learning, and the days flew by.
In the blink of an eye, two months had passed. The daily contact between the Eldest Young Lady and Yang Kai had allowed their relationship to improve by leaps and bounds. Yang Kai could clearly feel the affection in the Eldest Young Lady’s eyes when she occasionally glanced at him, a look that only a woman who had feelings for him would have.
Since the day he had risked his life to save her, the Eldest Young Lady’s attitude towards him had been extraordinary. These days, their interactions and teachings had only brought their relationship closer.
He felt that he wasn’t far from breaking Senior Sister Qu’s heart barrier, but he didn’t know how far it would take to succeed. He could only take things one step at a time. After all, he didn’t have such experience and the Samsara World had its own rules.
One day, after Yang Kai finished teaching Eldest Young Lady, Cui’er took out a warm wet towel and wiped her face. Eldest Young Lady suddenly said, “Guard Yang, accompany me out of the city tomorrow.”
Yang Kai was stunned for a moment before nodding, “Yes!”
He didn’t know what the Eldest Young Lady wanted to do outside the city, but ever since she returned to the Meng Mansion, she hadn’t even left Embroidered Building. At most, she had gone to the garden for a stroll.
For her to suddenly leave the city, there should be something important, but as a guard, it was not appropriate for him to ask.
“Do you need to prepare anything?” Yang Kai asked.
“No need, you can just follow me.” The Eldest Young Lady’s smile seemed somewhat forced, “I’m a bit tired today, I’ll go rest first. Guard Yang should also rest early.”
Yang Kai nodded and retreated into the darkness.
The next day, Eldest Young Lady wore a simple set of clothes. A carriage had been prepared outside the Meng Mansion, and a group of guards with sabers and swords escorted her.
Yang Kai and Yin Zhiyong stood guard on both sides of the carriage, not leaving it.
Beside Yang Kai is Miss Qian Qian, while Cui’er led the way.
Placing his left hand on the narrow saber at his waist, Yang Kai looked around, ready to defend from any troubles at any moment. Although the last crisis of Treasure Field Peak’s bandits had been resolved, Yang Kai didn’t know if the Meng Mansion and Treasure Field Peak had been fighting or not.
He had to be prepared to fight at any moment.
At one point, when he glanced back, his eyes met with Qian Qian’s.
Yang Kai nodded at her and smiled, causing Miss Qian Qian's face to turn red as she quickly lowered her head, nearly falling to the ground.
Yang Kai quickly grabbed her arm, “Be careful!”
Qian Qian hurriedly pulled back her arm and whispered, “Thank… thank you!”
Yang Kai smiled. Towards this maidservant who was easily embarrassed and could endure hardship, she is still quite good, unlike Cui’er, who was like a wild cat, relying on her status as the Eldest Young Lady’s personal maidservant to call out to others.
“What’s wrong?” Eldest Young Lady lifted the curtain of the carriage and revealed her beautiful face. She should have heard the commotion outside.
“It's nothing,” Yang Kai shook his head.
Eldest Young Lady looked at him and the blushing Qian Qian suspiciously and snorted, “Don’t bully Qian Qian, if I find out, I won’t let you off.”
“This subordinate wouldn’t dare!” Yang Kai couldn’t help laughing in his heart, thinking that the one he wanted to bully was her! However, he couldn’t say these words for the time being, so he could only act cautiously.
Eldest Young Lady waved her little fist at him menacingly before lowering the curtain.
A moment later, her faint voice rang out to the outside, “Today is my mother’s death anniversary. Every year at this time, I will offer a few incense sticks to her in gratitude.”
Yang Kai immediately understood why the Eldest Young Lady had left the city today. The Temple was located a few dozen kilometers away from the city, and its incense was burning brightly.
Such Temple were extremely rare in the 3000 Worlds, and Yang Kai had never seen them in the Universe World before, but he knew of their existence.
This seemed to be related to a mysterious belief.
Moreover, after spending so much time in the Meng Mansion, he had learned some details about it from Yin Zhiyong.
Although the Eldest Young Lady was the Eldest Young Lady, in reality, she was not the first born. The Eldest Young Lady’s mother was not the right match for Meng Deye, but a woman he had befriended when he was at his lowest.
Although Meng Deye had many wives and concubines, he had the deepest feelings for this woman who had followed him when he was young, regardless of his poverty.
It was a pity that the Eldest Young Lady's mother died early.
Perhaps Meng Deye felt some guilt and nostalgia, so among all his children, he doted on Meng Ru the most. Even though Meng Ru was so old, he had never forced her to marry.
In this Samsara World, a 26-27 years old women who were still unmarried hardly exists, and would even be treated as if they were jinxes.
However, the Eldest Young Lady was still alive and well in a great family like the Meng Mansion, and as the daughter of a noble family, even if she insisted on wielding a sword and saber, Meng Deye let her be.
Monastery Temple was a few dozen kilometers away from White Jade City, and it was filled with incense offerings. On the way up the mountain, many people entered and exited along the mountain path. When they saw the lineup of the Meng Mansion, they all retreated.
To these ordinary people, the Meng Mansion was a colossus they could not afford to provoke.
Half an hour later, the group arrived at the top of the mountain. Yang Kai looked up and saw the majestic temple.
In front of them was a bald old monk wearing a simple kasaya with a scar on his head. Obviously, he had received the news in advance and knew that the Meng Mansion’s Eldest Young Lady was coming.
Meng Ru and the old monk should have known each other since a long time ago. After all, every year, she would come to the Temple, get off the carriage, greet the old monk, and follow him deeper into the temple.
The group of guards followed closely behind. Yang Kai and Yin Zhiyong glanced at each other before silently hiding in the crowd.
One of them was in the open while the other was in the shadows. With the other guards of the Meng Mansion protecting her, Meng Ru’s safety was guaranteed.
Meng Ru followed the bald old monk into the Chang Ming Hall first, adding some incense oil to her mother’s lamp, then went to another hall to offer incense, kowtow, and draw lots.
It's unknown what she had encountered, but meng Ru mood suddenly improved and her smile returned.
After strolling around for a while, Meng Ru was a little tired, so she found a stone pavilion and sat down. Cui’er quickly took out the pastries and tea she had prepared, and the guards scattered to guard the stone pavilion.
Inside the stone pavilion, Meng Ru was chatting happily with the two maidservants, her beautiful eyes glancing around as if she hadn’t seen the person she wanted to see. She was slightly disappointed, but when she thought about how he would always be near her no matter what, she felt relieved.
A young man wearing a white robe suddenly walked over from nearby, followed by a Sword Servant.
This young man had a handsome face, a tall figure, and a gentle and refined smile. He was truly a young master with a jade-like appearance.
When Cui’er raised her eyes to look at him, her eyes went wide.
“Halt! In front of us is the Eldest Young Lady of the Meng Mansion taking a rest,” The guard stepped forward to stop him.
This person’s status was obviously not low, but he wasn’t annoyed, simply cupping his fists and smiling, “Please pass on the message that Feng Family’s Feng Cheng Si is requesting an audience with Eldest Young Lady Meng!”
The guards were startled as they recognized who this person was, their arrogant attitude completely disappearing.
Although his voice wasn’t loud, it wasn’t far from Meng Ru’s, so she could naturally hear him. When she heard Feng Cheng Si’s name, she quickly turned her head and wore a look of surprise before waving to Cui’er and whispering a few words into her ear.
Cui’er nodded and took a few steps forward, arriving in front of Feng Cheng Si and bowing respectfully, “Young City Lord, my Young Lady requests your presence!”
Feng Cheng Si smiled and nodded, “Thank you!”
Cui’er quickly glanced at him before quickly lowering her head, her face blushing.
Leading him to the stone pavilion, Cui’er stood behind Meng Ru.
Meng Ru sized up Feng Cheng Si and smiled, “It’s really the Young City Lord, why have you come here?” This was not the first time the two of them had met. The last time they had met, Yang Kai had stood guard in front of her, fighting until he was exhausted, and in the end, Feng Cheng Si had led White Jade City’s cavalry to support.
However, on the way back, Meng Ru had been worried about Yang Kai’s life and death, so she didn’t have the mood to say much to Feng Cheng Si.
Feng Cheng Si smiled and said, “Today’s weather is quite good, so I decided to come out on a whim. I didn’t expect to meet Little Sister Ru here, it seems I made the right choice.”
Meng Ru estimated that Feng Cheng Si was older than her, and he had shown her some kindness in the past, so she didn’t dislike him calling her Little Sister Ru, but it was a bit abrupt.
Smiling, she said, “I wanted to thank you for the Young City Lord’s assistance last time, but I haven’t had a chance to do so recently. Please forgive me, Young City Lord!”
TO BE CONTINUED...
Martial Peak