143: The Empire is Splendid, but the Heart is Divided

It was already noon by the time he finished with the miscellaneous tasks.

The maids happily brought exquisite food.

Ever since he stepped onto the fourth floor of the Stone Tower, whether it was medicinal cuisine or other food, it was always available whenever needed.

The academy specifically arranged a group of people to take care of them, the Prodigies of the Inner Courtyard.

Therefore:

Chu Qing truly had no worries about food and drink.

Even his clothes had gone up a notch.

Although they were still the same style of clothing and still made of silk.

However, the quality and the subtle craftsmanship had improved significantly.

After eating and drinking his fill, the maids attended to his bathing and washing.

Throughout the entire process, Chu Qing stood if he wanted to stand, and lay down if he wanted to lie down.

He didn't need to move a muscle.

Three maids, plus Zhao Hongxiu and Lan Lan who had rushed back, provided him with the best service.

Cleaning away impurities.

Applying ointments.

Massaging Qi and blood.

Even checking for hidden injuries on his body, and so on.

It took over an hour before The Crowd finally stopped.

Chu Qing was washed sparkling clean by them.

Minor hidden injuries were massaged away with special techniques.

His hair was dried.

He put on the silkiest red and white brocade robes.

Feeling refreshed.

"You all do what you need to do."

"I'm going out!"

Zhao Hongxiu and the others nodded.

They personally saw Chu Qing off from the Martial Academy.

Zhao Hongxiu leaned against the doorframe, staring blankly at his retreating figure.

The maids hummed lightly and walked away hand in hand.

Lan Lan hesitated and said, "Hongxiu, have you noticed that Qing Ge seems a little different after going out this time and coming back?"

Zhao Hongxiu said with a half-smile, "How is he different?"

Lan Lan thought for a moment and said, "Before, even when he smiled, he was sharp and incisive."

"But this time, after he came back, he's not as sharp and incisive."

Zhao Hongxiu nodded and said, "People always have to grow!"

"It's just... he grows faster than us."

"By the way, Young Miss Lan, how many Great Tendons have you cultivated?"

Lan Lan was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said:

"365 Iron Tendons, and now I'm trying to break through to the more Advanced Bronze Tendon!"

"What about you?"

Zhao Hongxiu brushed her long hair behind her ear and chuckled, "I'm also cultivating Bronze Tendons!"

"I never thought I would one day cultivate 365 Iron Tendons!"

"365 Iron Tendons, it's truly too profound."

"Do you think the Golden Tendons that Qing Ge cultivates will be even more powerful?"

Lan Lan said blankly, "No one in our Wu Fort has ever been able to cultivate 365 Golden Tendons."

"I heard Martial Instructor say that in Shiji County, no one has cultivated Golden Tendons for a very, very long time."

Zhao Hongxiu bit her red lip and suddenly said, "Sister Lan, do you think... can something like Golden Tendons be passed down to offspring?"

Lan Lan's eyes widened.

She instantly understood Zhao Hongxiu's meaning.

"Are you perhaps going to have a child for Qing Ge?"

Zhao Hongxiu tidied her long hair, which had been ruffled by the wind, and nodded.

"Don't you want to?"

Lan Lan gritted her teeth and said, "I do!"

"That's Golden Tendons Great Perfection!"

"My family has urged me dozens of times already."

Zhao Hongxiu smiled and said, "We, perhaps, can try."

"Hmm!"

Just then, a muscular man ran over from not far away.

That was Shi Tiezhu.

He looked at Zhao Hongxiu, his face full of joy: "Senior Sister, you're back?"

Zhao Hongxiu nodded.

Shi Tiezhu excitedly said, "Senior Sister, my Iron Tendons have reached eighty."

"By the time of the year-end assessment, I might be able to cultivate 300 Iron Tendons."

"I heard that the more Iron Tendons one has, the higher one's future achievements will be."

Shi Tiezhu babbled on and on.

He said he wanted to do more missions, earn academic credits, and exchange them for resources.

He said that resources were easier to obtain now than before.

He even invited Zhao Hongxiu to do missions together.

Zhao Hongxiu shook her head and refused.

Are you kidding? She served as Chu Qing's attendant, and now she received two basic resource packs every day.

Plus the resources Chu Qing didn't use.

Her resources were even more than the previous batch of Inner Courtyard disciples.

Now, she only regretted not having enough time and couldn't use so many resources.

She simply had no time to do missions and earn academic credits with Shi Tiezhu.

She waved goodbye!

Zhao Hongxiu walked with light steps, leaving the academy.

She wanted to go back and tell Zhao Wuji about having a child for Chu Qing.

And Shi Tiezhu, gazedfoolishly at her retreating figure.

Watching her long hair flutter and her skirt sway, his heart was filled with admiration.

He felt that his Senior Sister was the most beautiful and purest girl in the world.

"Once I cultivate 300 Iron Tendons, I'll confess to Senior Sister."

"Surely... Senior Sister will accept me!"

...Thump! Thump! Thump!

Chu Qing walked on the stone slab road, completely out of place among the surrounding commoners in their coarse cloth and linen clothes.

Everyone who encountered him would instinctively step aside.

Some even bowed in salute.

As if he were a Big Shot.

The pretty widow's tavern was quite deserted.

Chu Qing went in and found only five or six big men drinking and chatting.

The pretty widow was propping her chin with her small hand, lost in thought.

Upon seeing Chu Qing, her beautiful eyes were filled with surprise and joy.

"Master Qing...!"

The few big men also quickly stood up, cupped their fists, and respectfully said, "Greetings, Master Qing!"

Chu Qing nodded.

The pretty widow actually grabbed his arm directly and said, "Master Qing, come with me to the backyard, let's talk in detail!"

Chu Qing was stunned for a moment.

Because:

The pretty widow's fingers brushed against his skin.

Talk in detail?

"Talk about what in detail?"

The pretty widow giggled coyly, "Oh, you're so annoying..."

Chu Qing was bewildered.

In the end, he was still dragged by the pretty widow to a side room in the backyard.

As soon as they entered the room, the pretty widow knelt on the ground, hugging his knees with both hands, looking up, and pleaded, "Master Qing, please save your servant!"

Chu Qing... "You, Imperial Brocade!"

"I, Mud Leg!"

"How can I save you?"

The pretty widow said with a mournful tone, "Thirty years ago, a displeased look from an Imperial Brocade could make the county magistrate hang himself overnight."

"Twenty years ago, an Imperial Brocade scolding the county magistrate would make the county magistrate resign and flee overnight."

"Ten years ago, wherever the Imperial Brocade's blade pointed, The Crowd would panic!"

"Now, under the suppression of Wu Fort, the Noble families, and the Yamen, the Imperial Brocade lives a difficult life."

"Everywhere, people scold us."

"Although they dare not openly kill us, they secretly trip us up."

"A few days ago, a major event happened in the imperial capital."

"The Brocade King of the Imperial Brocade was taken to the Meridian Gate and beheaded."

"Our Imperial Brocade has completely fallen into decline."

"Now, the county magistrate wants to kill me; several Noble families want to kill me."

"Now, only Master Qing can save me!"

Chu Qing smiled, shook his head, and said, "You're wrong!"

"I cannot save you!"

The pretty widow looked at him pitifully, pleading repeatedly.

Chu Qing, impatient, looked around and happened to see a brocade saber.

He casually grabbed the brocade saber, threw it in front of the pretty widow, and said, "It can save you!"

"Pick it up, slay the county magistrate, annihilate the Noble families!"

"In this Shiji County, you will be heaven!"

The pretty widow... I'm not you!

"Master Qing, this brocade saber is already rusty; it can't cut people anymore!"

Chu Qing smiled and said, "It's fine, just cut a few more people, grind it a few times with bone fragments, and it'll be sharp!"

The pretty widow was silent.

Sharpening a knife with bone fragments?

Listen, is that something a normal person would say?

The pretty widow said faintly, "Master Qing, your servant can pay the price."

As she spoke, she secretly tugged at her collar.

"Your servant has deep ambitions and can do things for Master Qing!"

Her bosom was quite deep, and she didn't believe a man wouldn't yield.

Chu Qing lowered his head and sighed, "Why bother?"

The pretty widow looked up, tears falling, flowing down her bosom, and said, "Master Qing, your servant truly has no other way."

"Oh, right, several Noble families are in frequent contact with the rebels."

"They... might be moving against you!"

Chu Qing smiled.

He probed the pretty widow's ambitions, saying:

"Then, what benefits can you give me?"

"Also, you're just an Imperial Brocade who gathers information... why do they want to kill you?"

"Have you discovered some top-secret intelligence?"