Chapter 0146: Ice and Snow Fairy Xie Chengze, Frequently Spouting Teacher’s Quotes
The blade on the sole of his shoe scraped white marks across the ice. After a few trial glides to adjust to the surface, Xie Chengze released his hand from Shen Yuan’s support and slid toward the center of the rink.
The young man clad in red riding attire moved with elongated arms swaying gently at his sides. As his legs crossed, the ice blades left two fluid trails on the surface, resembling the passing traces of meteor tails. He glided like a scarlet vermilion bird spreading its wings across the ice. When reaching the edge, he crossed his legs again, skimming along the snowbank before returning to the center—every movement flowing with natural grace, blending elegance with powerful visual appeal.
After brief initial trials, his skating gained both speed and complexity. Against the white winter landscape, the youth appeared like an ethereal spirit born of ice and snow, so breathtakingly beautiful that all spectators halted in their tracks, their faces revealing stunned admiration.
The ice surface had grown uneven after snowfall. While skating, Xie Chengze inevitably hit a rough patch, lurching forward abruptly. The watching soldiers collectively gasped.
Just as Shen Yuan—too captivated to react in time—feared the young man would fall, the radiant figure anchored his weight on one leg. Leaning forward with accelerated momentum, he bent his body at a steep angle, his right hand barely grazing the ice as he completed the remaining course without any mishap.
Such agile footwork drew enthusiastic applause from the soldiers.
“Marvelous! Truly extraordinary! Never seen anything like it—is this some new fashion from the capital?”
“His Highness the Second Prince’s movements were absolutely miraculous! How could he lean so far without falling?”
“Enough talk—this makes me want to try! But I suppose this is a pastime only for noble families,” one soldier lamented with envy.
Xie Chengze eventually glided to a halt before Shen Yuan. Noting the man’s utterly dazzled expression, he inexplicably felt a flicker of self-consciousness, though his wind-flushed cheeks concealed whether it was from shyness or cold.
Tilting his chin up with a hint of pride, he asked, “Well, Lord Shen? Impressed?”
Shen Yuan regained his composure with a light cough, draping his outer cloak over the youth’s shoulders. His voice dropped to a near-whisper, “Mm…”
Turning slightly aside, his earlobes flushed crimson—likely from the biting wind. “Put this on. Don’t catch cold.”
Xie Chengze obediently wrapped himself in the cloak before pressing further, “Don’t just ‘mm’! Aren’t you the Capital’s Top Talent? Put that silver tongue to use!”
Su Qinghe nearby glanced at Shen Yuan in confusion: Since when had Brother Shen earned that title?
Naturally, this belonged to the original storyline—when Shen Yuan later assumed exam supervision for the Spring Examination and faced doubts about his capabilities, he composed poems within seven paces, astonishing the entire court after forty-nine steps, thus cementing his reputation as the Capital’s Peerless Genius.
This was meant to occur in the future. Xie Chengze’s present reference formed their private understanding—a subtle intimacy only they shared.
Looking at the unconcealed teasing expression on Xie Chengze’s face, Shen Yuan tugged at the fastening cord of his outer robe with a mix of amusement and helplessness, speaking with feigned solemnity, “Your Highness’s grace is unparalleled in this world. My humble words cannot do it justice—I only know it will linger in my mind for years, unforgettable until my dying day.”
Su Qinghe, standing nearby: ( ° △ ° )
Did he mishear? Was this the same upright, flattery-averse Brother Shen he knew?
Xie Chengze couldn’t hold back his laughter, patting Shen Yuan’s shoulder before adopting a serious tone. “Since Lord Shen holds such admiration for the art of ice skating, you must master this skill thoroughly. In the future, you shall showcase your talent before His Majesty and the tourists to earn imperial favor.”
Shen Yuan: “…”
Suddenly burdened with a new task, Shen Yuan thought ruefully, I shouldn’t have praised him in the first place.
Still, since Xie Chengze was personally teaching him, Shen Yuan complied. Ice skating proved less difficult than he had imagined. With his martial arts background and solid footwork, he picked it up quickly and was soon gliding smoothly across the rink.
Initially assuming Xie Chengze genuinely wanted him to use ice skating as an attraction for tourists, Shen Yuan was surprised when—after Old Gu arranged for blacksmiths to work overtime producing ice skates—Xie Chengze immediately selected twenty soldiers with solid foundations and ordered Shen Yuan to supervise their skating training.
Meanwhile, Xie Chengze vanished without a trace again, his whereabouts unknown.
Shen Yuan dutifully began training the soldiers, while on another front, resentment among the Standing Army troops grew daily.
After Xie Shoujun took command of the Standing Army, he imposed strict military discipline on these former bandits. Unsurprisingly, the unruly ex-bandits resisted fiercely. They protested by refusing to work, only to be taunted by blunt-speaking soldiers who called them “useless.” Enraged, the former bandits escalated to physical clashes with the soldiers.
When Xie Chengze received word of the conflict, he rushed over with Zhu Xiaobiao. Upon arrival, they found the two groups brawling disgracefully, tumbling across the snow in a chaotic mess.
Xie Shoujun stood imposingly nearby, his dark spear planted in the snow, arms crossed as he calmly observed the disorderly scene—showing no intention of intervening.
Noticing Xie Chengze’s arrival, he slightly lowered his arms, preparing to reassure him not to worry since the fight would settle on its own.
Instead, he watched as Xie Chengze jogged over, bent slightly to catch his breath, and patted his chest in relief. “Thank goodness! They haven’t finished fighting yet.”
Xie Shoujun: ?
Xie Chengze, visibly excited, plopped down on a small stool he’d brought, cupped his hands around his mouth, and began egging them on: “Beat him up! Hit him harder! Tch, why not kick him in the crotch? And you call yourself a former bandit? Can’t even use a cheap shot?”
“Hey, hey! If you can’t win, bite his face! Or just kiss him! Even if you lose, you can still gross him out!”
“Oi! You there! That’s not fair! They’re not using weapons, but you—no sense of martial morality! Bet you don’t have a wife, do you? What woman would ever want you? You’re an embarrassment!”
The former bandits: “…”
We’re in the middle of a serious fight here—must you ruin the mood?!
Xie Chengze grew tired of sitting and rose to pace a few steps, clasping his small hands behind his back like an invigilating homeroom teacher. He remarked with disdain, “Tsk, tsk, look at you all—only capable of bullying defenseless commoners. The moment you encounter the Standing Army, you get toyed with like walnuts.”
“Oh no, at least walnuts have hard shells and nourish the brain. You lot? Your shells aren’t particularly tough, and your brains aren’t much to speak of either.”
“Ah, you truly are the worst cohort of garrison soldiers I’ve ever trained! Don’t you dare claim to be part of the Standing Army I led!”