Ning Dao Covered with Snow

Chapter 73 Be Prepared
Yan Ciwan deliberately described herself as pitiful, helpless and weak in order to gain sympathy. If she really encountered danger tomorrow night, Xiao Wang and Li Chengge might be able to help her.

But Xiao Wang took her words seriously.

Xiao Wang rolled up his wide sleeves, revealing the small crossbow tied to his forearm.

I don't know how he operated it, but he easily removed the crossbow in no time.

"This is for your self-defense." He handed over the crossbow.

Yan Ciwan didn't expect that he would be so sincere that he would even give her his own self-defense weapon.

Even though she knew that he was helping her because he was poisoned by Luoxianweng and needed her help to detoxify, she still felt touched.

"I appreciate your kindness, but you should keep this crossbow for self-defense. I have martial arts skills and a Ning Dao, so ordinary people can't hurt me."

Xiao Wang was very persistent: "I know you are a martial arts expert, but it is better to be safe than sorry. Wear it just in case. I like to study these mechanical techniques when I have nothing to do. In addition to this crossbow, I have also made other weapons for self-defense. You don't need to worry about me."

In the end, Yan Ci Wan accepted his crossbow.

She lifted up her sleeves to reveal her forearm, and Xiao Wang personally tied the crossbow to her forearm and taught her how to use the crossbow.

Yan Ciwan tried to shoot an arrow at the painting on the wall.

The small crossbow arrow shot out and hit the person in the painting right on the neck.

Xiao Wang sincerely praised: "Amazing!"

"I learned horse archery for a period of time before."

Yan Ciwan was taught the art of riding and archery by the King of Xizhou. As the best rider and archer in the Daye Dynasty, it was natural that Yan Ciwan, who was carefully taught by him, would not be far behind.

Xiao Wang carefully pulled out the crossbow arrow and put it into the quiver. He then took out a new crossbow arrow and loaded it into the crossbow trigger.

He warned, "There are only two crossbow arrows in here. The arrowheads are coated with poison that can paralyze the whole body. You must use them carefully to avoid hurting yourself."

Yan Ciwan wrote down what he said.

She lowered her right hand, and her sleeves fell naturally, covering the crossbow.

Xiao Wang took off the silver ring on his ring finger.

There is a small mechanism on the back of the ring. With a slight flick, a long and thin blade will pop out from the front of the ring.

"Take this too, maybe it can be useful."

Yan Ciwan took the ring, pressed the mechanism, and the blade was immediately retracted.

She put the silver ring on her right thumb and it was the perfect size.

Xiao Wang then took out a thumb-sized cigarette holder and pointed at the thin fuse at the bottom of the cigarette holder and said.

"As long as you pull out the fuse, thick smoke will come out of the chimney, which can blur people's vision and also alert your companions in the distance to tell them where you are."

Yan Ciwan took the pipe and asked curiously, "Did you make this yourself?"

"Well, since I can't become an official, I don't need to study as hard as my brothers, so I have plenty of time to study those unconventional methods. These are the results of my random thinking."

When Xiao Wang said this, his face had a dull expression, neither unwilling nor complacent, and there was a sense of alienation as if he was out of the matter.

Yan Ciwan was puzzled: "Why can't you become an official? Is it because of Luo Xianweng?"

"Because my biological mother is a prostitute."

Yan Ciwan was stunned.

The women of low status in Daye were generally slaves or prostitutes, but no matter which type they were, their descendants could not take part in the imperial examinations, let alone become officials.

Given the status of the Xiao family, it would be easy to redeem a woman of low birth and make her a good woman. But Xiao Wang said that he could not enter the government, which only meant that his biological mother was still a low birth until her death.

As an outsider, Yan Ciwan had no way of knowing what the reason behind this was.

She was a little embarrassed: "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked these questions."

Xiao Wang smiled lightly and indicated that it was okay.

"Now I have been included in the Xiao family tree, but my biological mother's origin is still there. If I insist on entering the officialdom, I will definitely be impeached by the Censorate. My grandfather has been very good to me. I don't want to cause trouble for him, so I voluntarily give up the path of entering the officialdom. I just want to be an idle rich man in this life."

Yan Ciwan comforted her, "There's nothing wrong with you being like this now. You can travel around and enjoy the scenery. You don't have to worry about your studies, nor do you have to work hard for your career. You are free every day. How happy you are!"

"I think this is good, it's relaxing and comfortable."

After chatting, Yan Ciwan said goodbye to Xiao Wang and left Songtao Pavilion.

She went to Taoran Ju to visit Liu who was still recuperating.

Chao Yuanzhi still stayed by her side, and Liu didn't dare to say anything. She could only hold Yan Ciwan's hand tightly and beg her to find Chaolu.

Yan Ciwan said gently: "Don't worry, I will definitely find Chaolu back."

These words were not just consolation, she really had a plan, but because Chao Yuanzhi was watching her, she couldn't tell the whole truth.

Afterwards, Chao Yuanzhi personally saw Yan Ciwan off from Taoran Ju.

"It was you who kidnapped Luhua, right?" Chao Yuanzhi stared at her seriously, not missing the slightest change in expression on her face.

Yan Ciwan was surprised: "Luhua was kidnapped? When did it happen?"

"There are no outsiders here. You don't have to pretend anymore. Luhua was kidnapped by you!"

"It wasn't me. I swear on my life that if it was me who kidnapped Luhua, let me be struck by lightning and die a miserable death." Yan Ciwan said this with an extremely firm tone.

Chao Yuanzhi could not see any trace of lying on her face, and in the end he could only watch her walk out of the gate of the Chao Mansion.

One day later, on the Mid-Autumn Festival, the official post station specially prepared mooncake gift boxes for every guest in the post station, and Yan Ciwan was no exception.

She was not interested in the mooncakes and her eyes were fixed on the map of the governor's mansion on the table.

She memorized all the arrangements in the diagram, and then began to check the equipment on her body.

The sword was hidden in the belt, the crossbow was hidden in the sleeve, the pipe was hidden in the trouser leg, and the silver ring was worn on the thumb of the right hand.

After confirming that everything was correct, she pushed the door open and left the official inn with Si Buping.

It was dusk, the sun was setting, and the sky was filled with gorgeous sunset glow. As it was the Mid-Autumn Festival, there was a lantern festival in the city, and many people came out to join in the fun, so there were a lot of people on the street.

Yan Ciwan was originally planning to ride a horse, but was called into a carriage by Si Buping.

The space inside the car was spacious, more than enough for the two of them to sit.

But Yan Ciwan still felt a little stuffy in the car, so she pressed her back against the car wall, trying to keep as much distance as possible from the other person in the car.

Si Buping looked at her with a smile and asked, "Are you afraid of me?"

"No, the Grand Leader is a good man. I respect you so much, how could I be afraid of you?" Yan Ciwan smiled foolishly after saying this, trying his best to make himself look innocent and harmless.

"A good person?" Si Buping thought the term was quite novel. "It's the first time someone has commented on me like this."

"That's because I speak directly." Yan Ciwan continued to smile foolishly.

Si Buping's gaze lingered on her face, and as if he remembered something, he suddenly asked, "Are you engaged?"

(End of this chapter)