Phoenix Hairpin

The next morning, just after dawn, Lu Mingyu got up and went to the martial arts training ground.

  Lu Lin got up even earlier.

  After many years in the military camp, Lu Lin has long been used to getting up early to practice martial arts. His usual weapon was a thick-backed long knife, which was longer and heavier than ordinary long swords.

  The blade was sharp and flew up and down.

  Lu Mingyu's eyes lit up, and she laughed loudly: "Father, I will fight with you."

  Lu Lin stopped, stood with his sword horizontally, with a clear smile on his face: "Why are you fighting with me, because you think no one is right? Your opponent, you don't have enough fun practising swords!"

  Lu Mingyu smiled playfully: "Exactly."

She usually practices swordsmanship with a regular long sword. An ordinary person would not be able to handle her precious "Baoyu Jian" sword.

  Lu Lin also smiled: "Come on! Today I will test Fourth Miss Lu's swordsmanship." 

The father and daughter looked at each other and smiled, and immediately shot at the same time.

  One was holding a long sword, the shadow of the sword flashed, and the cold light was awe-inspiring. Another was holding a long knife in one hand, opening and closing, mighty and domineering. For a while, the fight was evenly matched.

  The generals and soldiers who had been practising in the training ground all stopped their movements at the same time and stood together more than ten meters away.

  It was so far away that it was hard to see clearly. In order not to be accidentally injured by Baoyu Jian, it had to be like this.

  While the commander of the personal army, Lu Yi, was watching intently, the chief steward, Lu Jia, came over at some point.

  The two of them are full-blood brothers and were both once Lu Lin's personal guards. Lu Jia suffered from fainting spells and was unable to go to the battlefield, so he became the steward of the Lu family. Lu Yi was brave and skilled in battle, but Lu Lin was worried about the safety of his children at home while he was away fighting, so he appointed Lu Yi as the commander of the guards to protect King Xingyang's Mansion.

  "It's a pity that Fourth Miss was born as a daughter." Lu Yi couldn't help but sighed: "The divine power and martial arts in this body are not only far behind the second son; even the prince is slightly inferior."

  Lu Lin had a reputation as the God of War of the Kingdom, and he was unparalleled in bravery. Even the combination of Marquis of Guangping and Marquis of Puyang was not Lu Lin's opponent. When Lu Lin went into battle holding a long knife, killing the enemy was like chopping melons and vegetables.

  But when Lu Lin fought against Lu Mingyu at this time, he didn't have the slightest advantage and was even faintly overwhelmed by Lu Mingyu.

  After a hundred moves, Lu Lin took two steps back.

  Lu Mingyu raised her eyebrows, and the long sword became more and more fierce. When the swords clashed, Lu Lin's right hand trembled slightly, and he wanted to take a step back.

  Lu Jia's blood boiled with excitement, and he smiled at Lu Yi: "Miss has amazing powers and excellent martial arts. Although she can't lead troops to fight the enemy, she can still shock everyone in the future." 

That's true.

  In the future, if the young lady becomes a princess, who would dare to bully her in the palace?

  Emperor Yongjia was an emperor who was about to conquer the world, how can he not admire his daughter-in-law who was extraordinary in force?

  To take a step back, if the young couple were bickering and angry in future, it will not be the young lady who sheds tears. It's fine if she doesn't beat up the Second Prince.

  The steward of the concierge came hurriedly: "Housekeeper Lu, the Second Prince is here."

  Lu Jia was startled and exchanged a glance with Lu Yi.

  Why did the Second Prince come so early in the morning?

  "Report to the Lord and Miss now?" Lu Yi suggested.

  Lu Jia's thoughts flashed, and he said in a low voice: "The lord and the young lady are having a rare fight, and they are in high spirits. They won't like to be disturbed now. Please directly invite Your Highness to come to the training ground!" 

Lu Yi glanced at Lu Jia thoughtfully.

  Lu Jia blinked, Lu Yi instantly understood, and nodded in agreement: "That's a good idea."

  ...

  Li Jing, dressed in a jade-green brocade robe, came quickly.

  At the training ground, the fight between father and daughter was at its peak, and the guards were divided into two groups. One group was Lu Lin's personal soldiers, and they cheered for Lu Lin one after another. The other group was the guards of the mansion, raising their voices to support Lu Mingyu.

  The appearance of Li Jing did not disturb the crowd immersed in this thrilling atmosphere.

  Lu Jia and Lu Yi stepped forward together, and greeted each other with cupped hands: "Little Lu Jia (Lu Yi), I have met His Royal Highness the Second Prince."

  Li Jing smiled slightly: "You are welcome, Commander Lu, the steward Lu." 

These were people who were very loyal to Lu Mingyu's father and daughter. Their status in the Lu Mansion should not be underestimated. As the future son-in-law of the Lu family, Li Jing was gentle and polite to Lu Jia and Lu Yi.

  Lu Jia was in charge of the foreign affairs of the Lu Mansion and often dealt with nobles and officials. At this time, he couldn't help but praise the Second Prince secretly in his heart!

  In the past, the Third Prince often came to the Lu residence. Every time he saw them, he was never so polite.

  "Fourth Miss is fighting with the King," Lu Jia said with a smile, "It will take half an hour of practice before it stops. I just thought, His Highness is not an outsider, so I simply invited His Highness to the training ground." 

One word, that he was not an 'outsider', made Li Jing's smile deepen: "The housekeeper Lu is right. There is no morning court today, so I came to Lu's mansion to pay my respects to my father-in-law. So let me also watch as my father-in-law and Xiaoyu practise." saying that, he stepped into the martial arts training field.

  Lu Yi winked at Lu Jia, Lu Jia nodded slightly, and the two brothers smiled silently, and followed together.

  The guards who had formed a circle quietly stepped aside. Li Jing didn't approach and stood ten meters away with the Lu family guards to watch.

  Lu Lin, who was wearing a black military uniform, was not as strong as his daughter, but his sword skills were exquisite and even better. Plus, he had rich combat experience. Although he was at a disadvantage, he was not defeated and still had the strength to fight.

  Lu Mingyu was wearing a red military uniform, waving a long sword like a burst of flames.

  Li Jing's gaze was fixed on the figure of the young girl who was burning like a flame.

  ...

  A person who practices martial arts has keen eyes and ears.

  Li Jing stepped into the training ground, and Lu Mingyu had already caught sight of it out of the corner of her eye.

  However, she didn't stop, and the long sword in her hand became more and more fierce.

  Lu Lin watched all directions with his eyes and listened to all directions, and laughed in a low voice while making moves: "Are you still fighting? The future son-in-law is watching!" 

"It's just for him to see the long sword in my hand." Lu Mingyu continued without moving her brows. Wielding a long sword to attack: "I haven't married yet, and there is still time to retire."

  Lu Lin: "..."

  After a while, Lu Fei, along with his brother and sisters came to the martial arts training ground together.

  Seeing Li Jing, the brothers and sisters were a little surprised, and they all came forward to greet Li Jing.

  Li Jing smiled and said: "Xiaoyu and I have made a marriage agreement. After the dowry, the wedding date will be fixed soon. From now on, I will follow Xiaoyu to call my èrgē,(1) sān jiě, (2) wǔ mèi, (3) liù dì (4). If you continue to be so courteous, you're trying to chase me away.."

  Li Jing was so witty and humorous, making the four brothers and sisters of Lu Fei feel like a spring breeze, and quickly shortened the distance between each other.

  Lu Fei was not restrained, and joked with a smile: "Your Highness wants me to call you brother-in-law, but you have to wait."

  Lu Xuan nodded in agreement: "That's right, without the red seal, I wouldn't change my name to brother-in-law. "

  Li Jing laughed dumbfoundedly.

  So, after Lu Mingyu put away her long sword at the end of the fight, what she saw was the harmonious scene of Li Jing, Lu Fei and others talking and laughing.

  Lu Mingyu faintly twitched the corners of her mouth. Then, she watched Li Jing approach, took out a clean handkerchief, and gently wiped the sweat from her forehead.

  Lu Mingyu: "..."

T/N I love the character of Li Jing. He is so much different than other ML of historical novels. I know many reviews have commented that he is inferior to the FL and so on, but I think he is much more manly than any other character. Only a man who is confident about his own's masculinity doesn't need to suppress a woman to prove he is a man. It is true in a fictional world, it is true in the real world.

Ok, rant over.