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Chapter 367 Companionship (IV)

Jiang Shaohua's hands were slender and white, with small palms. Lying quietly in his palms was a delicate and small arrow.

This arrow is about two inches long, shorter than the hairpin that women wear in their hair. The tip of the arrow is triangular and very sharp.

But how can such a short arrow fly so far?
Cui Du's eyes were full of admiration: "I only knew that the princess was good at using spears, but it turns out that the princess can also use flying arrows."

Jiang Shaohua smiled and said, "This is called a sleeve arrow. Before I went to the capital, Shen Gongzheng worked hard for a few days to make it for me. There are nine arrows in total, and I usually hide them in my sleeves and wrists. The sleeves are wide and can cover my tracks. It is convenient to carry with me."

Therefore, when Jiang Shaohua entered the palace, he also had a deadly weapon on him.

The imperial guards who were responsible for body searches could not conduct a close search of the princess. Therefore, Jiang Shaohua was able to enter the palace with an arrow in her sleeve.

Of course, this arrow in her sleeve can only become a deadly weapon in her hands. Such a short arrow looks like a toy for a five or six-year-old child. She has amazing power, and with enough force, the arrow in her sleeve can still kill people.

"Engineer Shen is really thoughtful and considerate." Cui Du still looked amazed.

Jiang Shaohua smiled slightly: "Shen Gongzheng is usually quiet and doesn't like to interact with people. However, in terms of weapon making skills, he is among the top three in the Daliang Dynasty."

To be trusted and valued by King Nanyang, Shen Mu must have real abilities and talents.

Cui Du looked at it again and again. Jiang Shaohua was so amused that he simply gave the arrow in his sleeve to Cui Du: "Take a closer look and you can try it."

Cui Du was very interested. He looked at it over and over again, then threw the arrow in his sleeve out like throwing a dart.

It was thrown more than ten meters away and landed on a small tree, barely piercing the bark. Before Cui Du could feel proud, the arrow in his sleeve shook and fell off.

The guards all laughed out loud.

Jiang Shaohua was also amused: "Your posture is wrong and your strength is not enough."

Cui Du did not feel ashamed and said with a smile: "I have never learned martial arts, and my strength is not comparable to that of the princess. It is already good enough that I can shoot the small tree."

As he said this, he ran forward, picked up the arrow that had fallen on the ground, and ran back, presenting it to the princess with both hands. By the way, he shamelessly asked the princess: "How did the princess get rid of the arrow in her sleeve just now?"

Jiang Shaohua carefully explained the technique of using force and demonstrated it again.

With a move of his right hand, the cold light flashed as fast as lightning and landed on a tree dozens of meters away, piercing deeply into the trunk, leaving only a short arrow feather.

Cui Du gasped, ran over, and tried his best to pull the arrow out of his sleeve, but failed.

The guards watched a great show tonight and laughed so hard that their stomachs almost burst.

Meng Sanbao was most familiar with Cui Du, so he joked, "Mr. Cui, why don't you study how to cultivate grains? You don't need to do such rough and laborious work."

After saying that, he stretched out his hand and pulled out the short arrow.

Cui Du took the arrow from his sleeve and cleared his throat: "You are right to remind me. This is not an area I am good at. I'd better just farm honestly!"

Jiang Shaohua was amused and smiled, and said casually: "If you like it, keep it for fun."

Cui Du's eyes lit up: "Is it really possible?"

Jiang Shaohua laughed: "It's just an arrow in the sleeve, what's wrong with that? Shen Gongzheng shot nine arrows before, because there was no room for more. These days, he has shot hundreds of arrows."

Weapons like these are the easiest to consume. You can't just go looking for them everywhere after you've used them. There's no shortage of skilled craftsmen in the workshop, so they made a lot of them.

To Cui Du, the arrow in his sleeve had been with the princess to the capital, and was given to him by the princess herself, so it was of great significance. He happily thanked the princess for her grace and carefully put the arrow in his sleeve away. That look was really unbearable to watch. Meng Sanbao quietly rolled his eyes.

The next day, the princess continued to inspect the iron mine. Meng Sanbao found a chance to get close to Yin Zhu and gossiped about what happened last night: "...this little mute, will he really marry into the prince's palace in the future?"

Yin Zhu smiled and rolled his eyes at him: "Don't shout nonsense, call me Master Cui."

Meng Sanbao chuckled: "I'm talking to you in private, so I have no worries and just called you out. Don't worry, I will definitely call you Master Cui in person."

Cui Du's status in Nanyang County is getting higher and higher, and he is no longer the pitiful little mute he used to be.

Yin Zhu served the princess all day long, and smiled softly: "I dare not say what will happen in the future, but in short, the princess treats Mr. Cui very well now. I think Mr. Cui is also very good."

"Mr. Cui is handsome, good-tempered, humorous, and never puts on airs. He is very friendly when he sees Tu Bai and me."

"Also, Master Cui is a very capable person. He can even grow corn and sweet potatoes. He has saved countless lives..."

Yin Zhu became more and more excited as he praised.

The more Meng Sanbao listened, the more uncomfortable he felt. He couldn't help but mutter, "Whether he is good or not is the princess's business. It has nothing to do with you."

Yin Zhu was so angry that he laughed. He stretched out his hand and pinched Meng Sanbao hard: "What nonsense are you talking about?"

It is not uncommon for a pretty maid to serve as a concubine.

Meng Sanbao didn't dare to say this out loud, and pretended to cooperate with Sister Yinzhu by making faces and saying, "Ouch, it hurts! Sister Yinzhu, please go easy on me!"

Tu Bai had already turned his head to the side, pretending to be a tree.

……

Jiang Shaohua and his team stayed in the mine for three days.

After inspecting the iron mine, Jiang Shaohua led everyone into the mountains.

Cui Du walked along the mountain road for half a day, and suddenly realized: "Wait, Princess, aren't we going out of the mountain? Why is the mountain road getting deeper and deeper?"

Chen Changshi and others who knew the inside story all laughed.

Jiang Shaohua pursed his lips and smiled: "Don't worry, you will know in half a day."

Cui Du wanted to ask more questions, but Jiang Shaohua had already quickened his pace. With Cui Du's physical strength, he had to speed up his pace immediately and use all his strength to barely keep up. Naturally, he had no time to ask questions.

It gets dark early in the mountains. As soon as the sun sets, the dense forest becomes dark, and the evening breeze rustles the branches and leaves. Fortunately, with the princess by his side, Cui Du feels at ease and strides forward with all his might.

"There is still one hour of mountain road ahead. We will reach our destination if we hold on a little longer." Jiang Shaohua found two branches from somewhere and gave one to the elderly Chen Changshi and the other to Cui Du.

Chen Changshi wiped his sweat and took the branch.

Cui Du had walked the mountain road for a whole day and was tired, hungry and thirsty. He was able to hold on only by relying on his extraordinary willpower: "Thank you, Princess."

Jiang Shaohua looked at Cui Du in the moonlight and said, "If you really can't walk anymore, let your uncle carry you."

Song Yuan nodded. Cui Du was too embarrassed to say no, and used the branches to support himself and continued to move forward with difficulty.

Jiang Shaohua took a few quick steps, came back, and stuffed something into Cui Du's hand.