sparring

At this moment, Cui Cui was kneeling on the ground. Her little face was deathly pale with fright. Her body trembled slightly. Seeing her Cui Cui like this, Jiang Chaoyu wanted to defend her.

"This is my fault, and I hope Your Highness will forgive me." Jiang Chaoyu knelt on the ground with Cui Cui, trying to get Xu Huanong's forgiveness.

Xu Huanong picked up a green rice dumpling from the table and took a small bite. It had been quite a while since she'd had anything like it. She suddenly realized it tasted really good.

Seeing that her words had frightened the two kneeling on the ground, Xu Huanong felt a little embarrassed. She put down the pastries in her hand, covered her mouth and chuckled, "It was my fault, I actually frightened this little sister."

"Get up." Xu Huanong got up and helped Jiang Chaoyu up.

"Thank you, Princess!" The Princess's words had really startled Jiang Chaoyu. As the Princess helped Jiang Chaoyu up, Jiang Chaoyu quietly placed her hand on Xu Huanong's pulse.

It wouldn't have mattered if they hadn't investigated, but this investigation revealed that the princess's body was actually quite weak.

Jiang Chaoyu was taken aback, lowering her head to hide the surprise in her eyes. The royal family really did have their own ways. Just like the Second Prince, Zeng Chenhua.

After helping Jiang Chaoyu up, Xu Huanong pretended to cough twice, feigning weakness in front of Jiang Chaoyu.

Jiang Chaoyu, who saw through it all, didn't say anything, but only showed concern for Xu Huanong's health. "Princess, what about your health?" she inquired.

Seeing this, the maid next to Xu Huanong quickly took out a small pill and handed it to Xu Huanong, who swallowed it as soon as she took it.

After swallowing the medicine, Xu Huanong waved his hand and said, "It's an old problem, it's nothing serious."

Instead, curious gazes fell on Jiang Chaoyu's veil, indicating why she was wearing one. "Second Miss, what's this?"

When Xu Huanong asked, Jiang Chaoyu turned to the side and gently lifted a corner of her veil, revealing only the red rashes on one side of her face. They were densely packed together and looked extremely frightening. After seeing the incredulous expression on Xu Huanong's face, Jiang Chaoyu gently put the veil back on.

"I don't know why, but a few days ago I developed a red rash on my face. The medicine the doctor prescribed didn't work, and now I'm like this."

Seeing this, Xu Huanong felt sorry for Jiang Chaoyu, "Such a beautiful face, what a pity. Is there any other way?"

Jiang Chaoyu shook her head, a few tears glistening in her eyes, and said in a trembling voice, "It's nothing serious, the doctor said it will be fine after two or three months of recuperation."

Upon hearing this, Xu Huanong exclaimed, "It'll take this long!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Huanong noticed that a string of tears quickly fell from Jiang Chaoyu's eyes. Seeing this, Cui Cui handed a handkerchief to Jiang Chaoyu.

She gently wiped her face with a handkerchief, her movements careful and slow. The tear stains on the handkerchief shimmered faintly, and her face, concealed by the handkerchief, appeared even more pitiful, making one feel an irresistible sympathy.

Jiang Chaoyu stopped crying and looked at Xu Huanong, but said tentatively, "I'm sorry to have made the Princess laugh. What brings you here, Princess?"

Seeing her suppressing her grievances, Xu Huanong felt sorry for her. "The imperial physician once advised me to go out more so that I could recover faster. Now that there is such a lively Spring Festival banquet, I have come. I saw you giving pastries to your maid and found it amusing, so I came to see which family you belong to."

As she spoke, Xu Huanong coughed again, explaining to herself, "Perhaps I caught a chill earlier, and that's why I'm coughing a bit."

"Princess, you must take care of your health," Jiang Chaoyu said with concern.

Upon hearing this, Xu Huanong smiled at Jiang Chaoyu, then cast a concerned look at her, "Don't worry, but Miss, please be careful too. A woman's face is very important. But I should go now."

After saying this, Xu Huanong got up and left. Jiang Chaoyu bowed and saw Xu Huanong off.

The two women stared at Xu Huanong's figure until he disappeared from sight before letting out a long sigh of relief. After he had gone far away, Cuicui quietly complained to Jiang Chaoyu, "Miss, Cuicui was so scared just now."

Jiang Chaoyu quickly patted her chest to comfort herself, "I was also frightened just now. I can't do something like this again. Even the Princess suddenly came."

Immediately afterwards, Jiang Chaoyu grasped Cuicui's hand, "But don't worry, your young lady is here, don't be afraid."

After comforting Jiang Chaoyu, he sat down and suddenly heard a cheer. He quickly looked to see where the commotion was coming from.

Following the sound, they discovered it was at the archery range. A man's arrow struck the bullseye with pinpoint accuracy. Ignoring the cheers from the platform, he nocked another arrow, drew the bow, and released it; the arrow struck the bullseye again. Several arrows followed, each hitting its mark, until the bullseye was riddled with arrows.

This man wore a round-necked, narrow-sleeved robe, with a quiver embroidered with cloud patterns. His belt was tightly fastened at the waist. His eyebrows were like swords, his cheekbones were sharply defined, and his jawline was as hard as a stone carving. His gaze was as sharp as a hawk's, yet he exuded a chilling aura forged in the crucible of battle.

Just as you were paying attention, a voice sounded beside you. "That's Liao Yangli, the second son of the Minister of War, the one your father wanted to propose marriage for you."

"Liao Yangli!" Jiang Chaoyu tightened her grip on the teacup, repeating the name in her mind. Wasn't this the one Cui Cui said killed? He was a handsome man, but she never expected him to be like this in private.

Looking elsewhere, I came across a person whose face seemed familiar, but I couldn't quite place where I'd seen him before. However, I noticed that his archery skills were quite impressive.

The moment Xie Yunyin turned his gaze, he was still staring intently at Jiang Chaoyu, who was sitting in the high seat. However, Jiang Chaoyu looked at him blankly, probably having forgotten him. But it didn't matter; there would be plenty of time to get to know her later.

Seeing this, the arrow was nocked and released, hitting the target again, which drew cheers from the crowd.

"younger sister!"

Upon hearing the voice, Jiang Chaoyu realized that Jiang Yuyao had returned and was standing next to her.

Jiang Yuyao teased Jiang Chaoyu, saying, "Seeing how much you care, I can also tell my father to arrange a marriage between our families as soon as possible."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chaoyu looked at the man. Liao Yangli seemed to realize that someone was paying attention to him and looked in Jiang Chaoyu's direction. Seeing this, Jiang Chaoyu looked away and turned to look at Jiang Yuyao.

Jiang Chaoyu, recalling what Cui Cui had said earlier, no longer had any good impression of this man.

What good is admiring his archery skills if one day the arrow turns around and points at you? You're just asking for trouble.

"Sister, please don't. I'm afraid my current appearance will frighten that young master," Jiang Chaoyu emphasized, using her rash as an example.

Jiang Yuyao used this sentence to brush off Jiang Chaoyu, "My father told you to find a good husband before we came." Then she returned to her seat and sat down, where she naturally noticed that the green rice dumplings on her table had been moved.

Picking up the bitten glutinous rice ball, he asked Jiang Chaoyu, "Has someone been here?"

Jiang Chaoyu looked at the half-eaten qingtuan and felt helpless. Why couldn't the princess finish it? She decided to tell the truth, "Just now, the princess scolded me for giving Cui Cui a qingtuan and then left."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuyao raised an eyebrow. She didn't believe Jiang Chaoyu's answer. Putting down the green rice dumpling, she asked, "Oh~ just to come and scold you? What did you say?"

Jiang Chaoyu shook her head and answered honestly, "I didn't say anything."

Jiang Yuyao looked at the place where Xu Huanong had once been, thinking that she had originally gone there to look for Xu Huanong, but unexpectedly missed him.

"In that case, then see if there's anyone you like." Jiang Yuyao gestured for Jiang Chaoyu to look around and see if there was anyone she clicked with.

"Sister is joking. Everyone says that marriage is arranged by parents and matchmakers. How can I make such a decision?"

Upon hearing Jiang Chaoyu's words, Jiang Yuyao felt as if she had heard a joke. "If parents can decide, then why does my sister always wear a veil?"

The purpose of the visit was made clear from the outset: "This Spring Festival banquet is ostensibly a celebration of spring, but it is merely a platform for various noble families to select sons-in-law. Otherwise, why are there only women on the stage?"

Jiang Yuyao's gaze seemed to pierce through Jiang Chaoyu's veil, as if she could see that Jiang Chaoyu's rash was fake.

Sure enough, when I looked around earlier, I noticed that the observation deck was full of women, while the area below was full of men. I found that strange at the time, and now it has confirmed my suspicions.

Seeing that Jiang Chaoyu remained silent, Jiang Yuyao pointed directly to another person on the field.

The man, dressed in bright yellow, was the team leader whom Jiang Chaoyu had praised to Cui Cui earlier. He wore an elegant belt around his waist, giving him a refined and dashing appearance. His hair was tied in a bun and secured with a ribbon; his face was handsome, with a touch of scholarly refinement.

“Then, Zhang Xunyan, the eldest son of the Minister of Rites, said that your sister was dissatisfied with the previous one, but this one has always been unacceptable to the family. If your sister were to enter the family, she would be the principal wife, unlike your mother.”

Upon hearing Jiang Yuyao mention her mother, Jiang Chaoyu retorted directly, "If she finds a good family, she can be happy as a concubine. If she marries the wrong person, it will only result in favoring the concubine and neglecting the wife."

Upon hearing Jiang Chaoyu's words, Jiang Yuyao found it quite amusing and retorted sarcastically, "Is my sister seeking happiness?"

“My dear sister, this is the best time for you to find a husband. If you miss this opportunity, Father will arrange things arbitrarily in the future, and may even marry you off to the wrong person in order to consolidate his position. That would be unbearable.” Jiang Yuyao said these words, which sounded like she was threatening Jiang Chaoyu to others.

But at this moment, Jiang Chaoyu seemed to understand Jiang Yuyao's thoughts.

He lifted the veil off Jiang Yuyao's face, revealing a face covered with dense red rashes, some of which were even oozing pus, making it look rather gruesome.

Jiang Yuyao had previously thought that Jiang Chaoyu was just pretending, but now it seemed that it was true. Her breath caught in her throat, and an expression of disbelief appeared on her face. She stared blankly for a moment, her mouth slightly agape.

Jiang Chaoyu had never seen Jiang Yuyao look like this before. She guessed that she was frightened by the red rash on her face. It seemed that she had been too harsh on herself back then. Seeing this, she put her veil back on.

"It seems that my sister was frightened. I don't know what happened before, but she developed some red rashes on her face. I thought it was nothing serious, but I didn't expect it to be so serious."

She used the same trick she had used on the princess, tears streaming down her face. Although this trick was not very effective against Jiang Yuyao, Jiang Yuyao had already seen Jiang Chaoyu's face. A face is the most precious thing for an unmarried woman, and now that Jiang Chaoyu's face was ruined, she probably wouldn't be forced to do it.

The words she had been thinking of saying before, Jiang Yuyao could no longer utter: "Why didn't you say it a few days ago? I still thought you were just pretending to be sick."

But the look in Jiang Chaoyu's eyes seemed to say, "So what if I said it? Did you ever believe me?"

Not knowing where to begin, Jiang Yuyao could only say, "Since your face is already like this, I will tell Father."

Jiang Chaoyu had been holding back for too long, and when she blurted out, her voice was already choked with emotion, "What good would it do to tell Father?"