Chapter 30 You Win

"Whoosh!" The arrow was blown off course by the wind and only hit the fourth ring.

The sixth princess was first surprised, then overjoyed, but she didn't show a smile on her face. It seemed that God was still on her side.

The seventh prince drew another arrow, aimed at the bullseye, and stood tall and straight, like a small pine tree.

He carefully sensed the wind direction; the strong wind blew his hair, strands tangled with the dark red ribbon, fluttering freely in the air.

The seventh prince aimed and was about to let go.

"Ah!" It was Xie Mianmian's voice.

His heart skipped a beat. He didn't even realize when he had let go of the string. He looked anxiously in the direction of the child, worried that something might have happened to her.

He turned around abruptly, only to find the child clapping happily in place.

If we could turn back time, when the Seventh Prince was shooting his second arrow, Xie Mianmian stared at him with shining eyes, not daring to blink for a moment, afraid of missing something.

She only felt that the Seventh Prince looked very focused and handsome as he drew his bow, and her eyes were unconsciously drawn to him.

The Seventh Prince is truly remarkable; his eyes are as sharp as a golden eagle's, and he hit the target in a flash.

The child longed to be like him, full of vigor and ambition.

So Xie Mianmian picked up the small bow that the Sixth Princess had given her, and imitating the Seventh Prince, she held the bow in her right hand and strained to draw the bowstring taut with her left.

His light brown eyes were fixed on the bullseye, thinking of the Seventh Prince, and he deftly released his grip on the bowstring.

Whoosh! The arrow, which was originally going to miss the target, was blown towards the second ring by the strong wind!

"Ah!" Xie Mianmian jumped up excitedly. It turned out that she really could do it. She really could shoot arrows, and she wasn't just a blind cat as they said!

Xie Mianmian looked happily at the Seventh Prince.

Two pairs of eyes, one cold and one warm, gazed at each other from afar, separated by the crowd.

The Seventh Prince looked at Xie Mianmian's accidental shot that hit the bullseye, then at his own arrow that had just missed the target, and smiled helplessly.

The sixth princess looked at the arrow that had been blown to the ground by the wind, put her hands on her hips, and came over excitedly to show off, "Hmph, I won."

"Oh? Is that so?" The Seventh Prince pointed casually at Xie Mianmian's target.

The sixth princess choked, "That's a second ring! She's never hit it before."

"Then Xie Mianmian will win." She'd let the child have it; she wasn't jealous at all.

The Seventh Prince took the small bow from Eunuch Li and, meeting Xie Mianmian's puzzled gaze, handed it to the child.

"You won, this is your reward."

Xie Mianmian was overwhelmed with surprise. This was a reward from the Seventh Prince, a reward personally given to her by the Seventh Prince!

The child felt very happy, like he had eaten a whole plate of candied lychees; his mind was dizzy, but his heart was filled with sweetness.

The person being worshipped has been affirmed!

Xie Mianmian hurriedly wanted to kneel down to express her gratitude, but was quickly stopped by Eunuch Li.

Seventh Prince: Not at all.

The child who was stopped did not make a fuss. He curtsied, bowed his head, and solemnly took the small bow from the Seventh Prince.

The impromptu competition came to an end, and the final winner was a five-year-old girl, leaving everyone present dumbfounded.

"Alright, everyone, go practice your archery." The master stepped in to smooth things over.

Xie Mianmian thus obtained two new bows and arrows, but the one she was using was the one given to her by the Sixth Princess.

She really cherishes the Seventh Prince's bow and is reluctant to use it.

The child is now practicing archery intently in front of the target.

The sixth princess walked over, leaned close to Xie Mianmian, and whispered in the child's ear, "Don't you know how to tame animals? On the day of the spring hunt, you can drive all the wild animals over, and then I will be in charge of shooting arrows. That way, we can get first place in the spring hunt."

As she spoke, the Sixth Princess winked at the child, but she didn't get a response from Xie Mianmian for a long time.

Seeing that the child was keeping his head down and not speaking, she felt a little strange, so she bent down and leaned her head over the child's face.

Xie Mianmian's eyes were red and moist, and large tears kept sliding down her chubby cheeks. The child didn't make a sound, but just cried quietly.

One drop, two drops, countless drops—slowly, the tears fell to the ground, forming small puddles.

The sixth princess panicked and hurriedly pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the child's face.

"Hey, don't cry. I didn't bully you. Why are you crying after just a few words?" Her voice trembled slightly, which was unusual for her.

Xie Mianmian sniffed her slightly red nose, her voice choked with sobs, filled with sorrow, "Sixth Prince, is our archery training just for shooting wild beasts?"

The sixth princess, not understanding what was going on, nodded blankly.

"We don't want to, okay?" The child wiped his eyes with his hand.

The sixth princess remained silent. Everyone wanted to win first place in the spring hunt; it had always been so, and so did she.

"Then Mianmian will never practice archery again!" After saying that, Xie Mianmian threw the bow and arrow in her hand to the ground and ran away crying.

Looking at the bow and arrows on the ground, now dirty and covered in mud, he realized it was the very same one he had given to the child.

The sixth princess turned her head sharply to one side.

She just said she didn't want the bow she gave her. Who does Xie Mianmian think she is? Such an arrogant and presumptuous study companion, she doesn't want it anymore!

The sixth princess kept a straight face, tilted her head back, and quickly wiped her face with the back of her hand from an angle where no one could see her.

Xie Mianmian ran all the way to the animal park, which was the very park that the emperor had set up specifically for her to tame wild beasts.

In the huge garden, the snow wolf was lying in the grass with its eyes closed, basking in the sun.

The child quietly sat down next to the snow wolf, gently stroking its soft, clean fur with her little hands. It seemed that Uncle Huang had sent someone to take good care of it, and Xie Mianmian breathed a sigh of relief.

The snow wolf slowly opened its eyes, its icy blue pupils gazing gently at the child.

The child noticed that its eyes were half-open and tired.

"Are you alright? You look really tired."

"I'm fine," the snow wolf said weakly. "It moved, do you want to touch it?"

Xie Mianmian slowly touched the snow wolf's belly, carefully feeling it.

"Ouch! It's kicking me!" The child's mood finally improved.

Touched by the shock of life, Xie Mianmian's face broke into a sweet smile.

"The little wolf is so naughty! It keeps kicking my hand!" the child laughed.

Xie Mianmian suddenly remembered something and asked, "It keeps kicking you, does your stomach hurt?"

The snow wolf shook its head, looking at its belly with a kind expression. "I'm so happy to be able to feel its presence."

The child lay down close to the snow wolf's belly, wrapped his arms around its waist, and buried his face in its fluffy, soft fur.

The man and the beast breathed quietly.

Xie Mianmian smelled the warm scent of the sun-baked fur, placed her hand on the snow wolf's belly, and followed its breathing rhythm.

The child stared blankly, wondering, "Is this what a mother is? When a child rolls around in its mother's belly, the mother feels very happy."

Did her mother think the same way when she was in her mother's womb? Xie Mianmian didn't know.

The price of giving birth to her was death. Would the mother be willing to accept that?

The snow wolf looked at the quiet child and sensed something was wrong. "Did Mianmian get into trouble today?"