Drunk Bamboo

Arriving at the palace, I got off the carriage and was greeted by a hunched-backed old man with a black eye patch on his left eye. He was not scary at all. As I got closer, I could see that his face was wrinkled with smiles and he looked very kind.

The old man didn't bow, just like the old man next door greeted the younger generation casually: "The prince and princess are back."

Chaoyang took a step forward and reminded him seriously, "Lao Liu, meet the princess."

Lao Liu then realized something, clasped his hands together, and said with a smile: "Lao Liu greets the princess."

Chaoyang's face darkened. What kind of etiquette was this? All the instructions from the past few days were in vain. He turned to explain to Xie Yuzhu: "Lao Liu was originally a man of the underworld, and later joined the army to fight. He is a rough man and does not know the rules. Princess, please don't be offended."

Xie Yuzhu glanced at the expressions of the few people. Hua Qinfeng, the real owner of the palace, looked annoyed and annoyed. Lao Liu was still smiling and his expression did not change. Only Chaoyang was cautious and careful, with a frown on his face.

He smiled slightly and said, "No need to be polite. Just treat me the same way you treat the prince. No need to be polite to me. Just follow the rules of the palace."

Hua Qinfeng agreed with Xie Yuzhu's words and continued, "Yes, you shouldn't have so many rules in the palace. This is Lao Liu, the gatekeeper. Even though he is blind in one eye, he was a great archer on the battlefield and never missed a shot."

Lao Liu corrected with a smile: "Now it is still a hundred percent accurate."

Xie Yuzhu was full of admiration: "Great, can I learn from you?"

I’ve read about the skill of shooting an arrow through a target from a hundred paces away in books before, and I’ve also seen sharpshooters who never miss a target in TV dramas. I always felt that these were exaggerated, but I always longed for them in my heart. Now that I can see them with my own eyes, how can I not be excited?

When Hua Qinfeng heard about learning archery, his eyes lit up and he immediately became interested. He took over the conversation and said, "There are plenty of weapons in the mansion. You can learn whatever you want. However, your foundation is not good enough. You need to practice the basics first. Otherwise, you can learn the horse stance from me starting tomorrow."

Practice basic skills? Do horse stance? Is it so difficult to learn archery?

Xie Yuzhu looked at Lao Liu and gave a dry laugh.

Lao Liu smiled and said nothing.

Chaoyang immediately saw Xie Yuzhu's reluctance and said, "My Lord, it's time to take the princess to see Nanny Bai."

Xie Yuzhu found a way to step down immediately: "There is no rush to learn martial arts, Your Majesty, let's go see the elders first."

"Okay, after meeting Aunt Bai, I'll tell you in detail. I see that you are very weak, and practicing martial arts can strengthen your body..." Hua Qinfeng was still stubbornly talking about the previous topic, tirelessly telling Xie Yuzhu the benefits of learning martial arts.

"Yes...Your Highness is right..." Xie Yuzhu responded as she walked. Who made her say she wanted to learn archery on a whim? She knew her own limitations. She just wanted to shoot a few arrows as an amateur to try her hand. She never thought about becoming a real archer.

"I promise you, after two years of training, you will be stronger than a bull..."

Stronger than a bull!

Chaoyang widened his eyes and kept winking at Hua Qinfeng.

Hua Qinfeng said to himself: "You are a little too old to learn martial arts at this age, but it's okay. I am here to develop a set of martial arts training guidelines for you..."

"Well... Your Majesty, why don't you tell me what Nanny Bai likes? What should I say later?" Xie Yuzhu smiled and did not interrupt his interest, but changed the subject.

Hua Qinfeng answered her question as expected: "Madame Bai is my mother's wet nurse..."

Lao Liu looked at their backs, narrowed his eyes and laughed: "The prince seems to like this princess very much."

When they arrived at Bailian Pavilion, before they even entered the door, Hua Qinfeng called out to the inside of the house: "Mammy, Mammy!"

Bai Guo met them at the door with tea in hand, and said in a casual manner: "Your Highness, you are shouting so loudly that your ears are going to be deafened."

Hua Qinfeng said, "You are the only one who talks too much."

Bai Guo stuck out his tongue in defiance, then when he saw Xie Yuzhu, he straightened his expression and bowed to her in a proper manner.

Xie Yuzhu smiled and nodded.

The people in the palace are quite strange. The prince doesn't look like a prince, the guards don't look like guards, the maids don't look like maids, and the gatekeeper doesn't look like a gatekeeper.

There is no distinction between superiors and inferiors, they are more like an ordinary family.

Xie Yuzhu followed Hua Qinfeng into the door. A white-haired old lady was sitting in the lobby, looking at them kindly with kind eyes.

"Yuzhu greets Madam."

Nanny Bai stood up and helped Xie Yuzhu up: "Princess, please get up. I can't bear your bow."

Xie Yuzhu supported Nanny Bai with her backhand and took her back to her seat. She smiled gently and said, "The prince regards you as his closest elder, so you are naturally worthy of Yuzhu's respect. From now on, Yuzhu will honor you together with the prince."

"The princess is as filial as the prince. Come, sit next to me." Nanny Bai was pleased. She held her hand and said to Bai Guo, "Bai Guo, bring me my red sandalwood box."

"it is good."

Hua Qinfeng sat in the hall, surprisingly quiet and also surprisingly serious, watching Xie Yuzhu and Nanny Bai talking.

Aunt Bai took the rosewood box handed to her by Bai Guo and slowly opened it, revealing gold and silver jewelry inside.

"These were given by Concubine Shu in the past. Some were brought from the White Country. The styles are a bit old, but the workmanship is fine and the quality is no worse than the current ones. Princess, please pick the ones you like."

Hua Qinfeng's eyes widened visibly, and he blurted out, "Mammy, these are all left for you by Mother. Xie Yuzhu has already received many treasures in the palace, so just keep your things yourself."

Nanny Bai, Bai Guo, and Chao Yang glared at him almost at the same time.

Xie Yuzhu was sympathetic and said, "Your Highness is right. These are all your thoughts for your mother. It's not easy for Yuzhu to take them."

Before Nanny Bai could speak, Hua Qinfeng interrupted her: "Nanny, Xie Yuzhu married me, we are a family, there is no need to talk about these empty formalities, Xie Yuzhu won't mind, right!"

He raised an eyebrow at her.

Xie Yuzhu smiled and nodded: "Your Majesty knows me best."

Xie Yuzhu: Those people in the palace are not your family. This Nanny Bai is the one you care about the most, and you are reluctant to let her spend any money on anything.

Seeing that Xie Yuzhu was not angry, Nanny Bai liked her even more: "These are all old things of mine. Next time, Bai Guo and I will go to the store to pick out the latest ones for the princess."

"The best jewelry store is Feicui Xuan. I've only heard of it but never been there. Ma'am, next time we will go to Feicui Xuan to choose jewelry for the princess!" Bai Guo said excitedly.

"Okay, of course we have to give the best to the princess." Nanny Bai said with a smile.

"Princess, please come with us. I'll take you around Zhongdu." Bai Guo has already started looking forward to the days to come.

"Okay, let's go together." Xie Yuzhu smiled and responded.

Hua Qinfeng didn't expect that the three women would soon be chatting together and having a great time.

Chaoyang breathed a sigh of relief.

The conversation was enjoyable, and Bai Guo was no longer restrained, and spoke freely: "The princess is so easy to get along with, and she is not at all spoiled like a young lady from an aristocratic family. Our prince has been unlucky for half his life, and finally he has some luck."

Hua Qinfeng glanced at her coldly and said, "Little girl, don't be so mean, or you won't be able to get married."

Bai Guo pursed his lips and leaned towards Aunt Bai: "I won't get married. I will follow you and take care of you all my life!"

Nanny Bai said earnestly, "Nonsense, you are seventeen, you should think about your future. You didn't like the one the matchmaker introduced, but now you have the princess, she is from a famous family, she will be the one to check and see what you have to say in the future."

Xie Yuzhu smiled politely. She would never do the work of a matchmaker.

Hua Qinfeng was annoyed by her chattering: "You are only okay at cooking. It's almost time for lunch, hurry up and cook. The dishes made by the people in the palace look good, but they taste tasteless."

Bai Guo: "Your Majesty, you have been in the West for too long, and your taste has become stronger. We cooked the food to suit your taste. Now that the princess is here, we have to listen to her."

Xie Yuzhu smiled and said, "I'm not picky about food. I'll cook whatever you guys ate before."