Lin Ke followed Xiao Shang down the stairs into the hall.
Xiao Shang left him alone in the empty hall, telling him to wait there and that Bingbing would be down shortly.
About a quarter of an hour passed before footsteps sounded on the stairs. Lin Ke saw Bingbing slowly approaching, dressed in red with a white gauze robe over it.
She looked like a fairy slowly descending a stairway from heaven. Lin Ke watched her approach with an unchanging smile.
Not a ripple stirred within him.
Only when she came close did Lin Ke speak. "Miss Bingbing, it's been several days. You've grown even prettier."
Bingbing's expression did not change in the slightest. She merely looked at Lin Ke coldly and asked, "What brings you here, Young Master Lin?"
Lin Ke smiled. "I've been studying a few movements that require strong coordination lately. Take a look."
With that, Lin Ke stepped back twice, took a short running start, and jumped. His legs stretched into a straight line in midair as he bent his body backward toward his right leg.
He did not stop after landing. Instead, he bent backward, raised one leg straight toward the sky, and supported himself on one foot and both arms.
Backward Kick to the Purple-Gold Crown!
Then his straightened leg slowly lowered. The instant it touched the ground, his other leg rose straight up. He repeated this over and over, as though turning somersaults.
But Lin Ke kept three of his four limbs on the ground throughout.
Linked Backbend!
These were all fairly difficult movements.
"This..." Watching from the side, Bingbing's mouth fell slightly open before she covered it with her hand.
After a while, Lin Ke stood up and asked, "What do you think, Miss Bingbing?"
Bingbing immediately replied, "You performed that very well. It requires considerable coordination between your limbs and body, but it isn't suitable for us. And when you do it, it looks... indecent..."
Actually, Bingbing had wanted to say that the movement was unsuitable for men. But she felt she could not do it herself, so she had squeezed out the word "indecent" instead.
Lin Ke smiled. "I know. I mainly use it to practice coordination. I certainly wouldn't do it in public."
Bingbing nodded.
Lin Ke continued, "Bingbing, what do you think of those two movements? Would you like to learn them? I can teach you."
Bingbing nodded and said, "Thank you, Young Master Lin."
Lin Ke continued with a smile, "I have one condition. Teach me some movements you usually use to train your coordination, or your most difficult ones. Sword dances or any other dances will do."
Bingbing thought for a moment, and a little color rose into her face. Who knew what had crossed her mind?
Then she took a deep breath, raised her head, and said, "Yes, there are a few. But I need to change into something suitable for practicing. This dress is inconvenient!"
Lin Ke nodded with a smile. "Go ahead. I'll wait."
Watching Bingbing's retreating figure as she went upstairs, he felt a surge of delight.
Finally, I can learn some new movements!
I wonder if I'll have a chance to get my hands on the complete sword dance...
Afterward, the two practiced the dances they had learned. A group of girls sat nearby, and every so often, one of them would stand up to imitate their movements.
Chattering, giggling, and playful laughter went on without end...
Bingbing practiced the "classical ballet" Lin Ke had taught her, while Lin Ke practiced a classical dance movement they called the "Double Flying Swallow Turn"!
Lin Ke planted one leg on the ground and tried to keep spinning, but he simply could not get himself to turn.
From time to time, he had to interrupt Bingbing's focused practice to ask for advice.
Bingbing, on the other hand, learned quickly. She had almost mastered her movements already.
Lin Ke felt rather helpless.
I haven't learned mine yet!
What if Bingbing masters hers and goes straight upstairs to rest?
So he kept interrupting Bingbing's dancing, asking her to clear up his confusion.
Bingbing, whose face had shown a smile for practically the first time ever, grew increasingly irritated by Lin Ke calling "Miss Bingbing" over and over...
"Miss Bingbing, why can't I spin?"
"Miss Bingbing, am I not switching my feet fast enough?"
"Bingbing..."
"All right, that's enough for today. We need to rest." Bingbing cut off Lin Ke's next question.
Lin Ke turned to look at the sky outside the door, then nodded and asked, "All right, we'll stop here today. May I come again tomorrow?"
Bingbing hesitated, but still nodded.
A smile appeared on Lin Ke's face. "Good. Sorry for troubling you again tomorrow, Bingbing."
As he spoke, he raised his hands and bowed slightly with his hands clasped. Seeing this, Bingbing returned a gentle curtsy...
Back in his own courtyard, Lin Ke lay on his bed and recalled how, while demonstrating the dance for Bingbing earlier, he had suddenly gotten the idea to make an OK sign with his hand.
But before he had finished forming the gesture, Bingbing's expression had changed abruptly, and she had hurriedly spoken up to stop him.
He had been rather puzzled. Did the OK sign have some peculiar meaning here?
This isn't Korea.
But Bingbing's explanation had left him unsure whether to laugh or cry.
Although Bingbing had phrased it delicately, she had also blushed as she said, "That gesture means, ahem... a man's... it's indecent."
Lin Ke realized that this world shared that interpretation with Korea. The gesture was insulting, implying that certain parts were extremely short...
He was rather speechless, but also grateful that Bingbing had pointed it out. This was another difference between the two worlds.
When watching a film or reading a novel, many people would bring their own knowledge into it, then pick it apart, declaring this unreasonable and that unreasonable.
But what was the reality?
The two worlds differed in many ways. Servile status, for example.
The son of the minister of rites had servile status. That would have been difficult to believe in his previous life.
The same went for dancing. There were bound to be many differences between the two worlds.
He had then asked whether there were any other gestures he should not use.
Who would have thought there were several more?
For example, pinching the little finger with the thumb to make a three meant weakness... holding all five fingers stiff and drawing them toward the mouth meant telling the person before you to shut up...
There were two or three other gestures. In short, they were all strange!
But Lin Ke had specifically asked, "Are there any taboos about raising your middle finger?"
Bingbing had thought for a moment and said, "I've never heard of that gesture."
And so Lin Ke could only marvel at the cultural differences between different worlds.
The afternoon passed just like that, still without a ripple, as though he had returned to his days of studying.
Night arrived, and Lin Ke slowly closed his eyes in bed, ready to rest.
Boom!
But a tremendous crash startled him awake. He quickly climbed out of bed, opened the door, and ran into the courtyard.
Then he saw a man in the courtyard holding a tree steady with one hand. The tree looked as though it had been forcibly shoved straight into the ground.
A tree?
The moment Lin Ke saw the visitor holding a tree, he knew who it was.
Who else could it be?
The reigning minister, Qi Tianxia-Qi Dayan!
"Uncle Qi, look at you. You didn't even let me know before coming. I could have welcomed you properly."
Lin Ke spoke with a smile as he jogged over.
Only this time, Qi Tianxia was not wearing his fitted black outfit. He wore coarse hemp clothing with some mud on it, probably picked up while carrying the tree, and a white cloth was wrapped around his head!
He really did look like an ordinary man who had just finished working.
A porter of servile status-Qi Dayan!
Seeing his outfit, Lin Ke knew that Qi Tianxia had been off playing a role.
A dignified minister of war, having to mingle with a bunch of porters. It could not have been easy for him.
Beneath the bright moonlight, Qi Tianxia looked at Lin Ke, whose bearing was completely different from ten days ago. A trace of surprise appeared in his eyes.
He grinned and said, "You brat, didn't I bring your plum tree over as soon as I had some time? And you don't even think to get me a cup of water first."
"Right away, Uncle Qi!"
Lin Ke hurriedly turned around to pour Qi Tianxia a cup of water.
When he brought it out, Qi Tianxia was already sitting on the ground beneath the eaves. Lin Ke smiled, approached, sat beside him, and handed him the cup.
Only after looking around the courtyard did Qi Tianxia address Lin Ke, who was sitting on the ground. "Not bad, brat. You've kept this courtyard in good shape."
Qi Tianxia praised him with a smile. When he noticed the stacks of split firewood at the foot of the wall, he teased, "You've started reading and painting, but you still haven't given up chopping wood?"
"Only by staying true from beginning to end can one achieve anything." Lin Ke turned to look at the plum tree in the courtyard. "Also, Uncle Qi, I'm doing well here. If you're busy, don't trouble yourself to come anymore. It's quite a distance."
Exactly!
Making a racket in the middle of the night and disturbing my sweet dreams.
"Don't come anymore?" Qi Tianxia's eyes widened. This brat was actually chasing him away! Rather speechless, he said, "This courtyard belongs to me!"
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