The huge Yanbei Hall was silent at this moment.

The girl's back straightened up. Although she was petite, she seemed to possess infinite power, and every gesture she made showed her determination to trample everything under her feet.

Cai Lin was speechless for a moment.

Shen Miao was right. If they were shooting arrows at each other like this, he would be the one in the most danger. It was simply because Shen Miao had no archery skills. If the shot was even slightly off target, the arrow might have pierced his head. But Cai Lin didn't think that much. He simply thought, if he could just shoot first, Shen Miao's temper would surely scare her to the point of her legs going weak, tears streaming down her face as she begged for mercy. He could then play a good trick on Shen Miao, and that way, Shen Miao would be humiliated, and naturally, he could vent Shen Yue's anger.

As for what happened after that, Cai Lin didn't even think about it. In his mind, Shen Miao was naturally terrified after he shot her with an arrow. How could she have the energy to shoot him with an arrow? Besides, a woman who had never even pulled a bow before might not even be able to pull a large bow. In the end, she was just a joke.

Cai Lin thought so, but he hadn't anticipated Shen Miao's reaction. She just stared at him quietly, her composure beyond her years suddenly making Cai Lin irritated and angry. Shen Miao's gaze was like that of a child at play, pitiful and ridiculous.

They were both at an age when they were most prone to impulsiveness. Cai Lin said without hesitation, "Why wouldn't I dare? A life-or-death petition is a life-or-death petition!"

"Ah!" Lord Cai sighed anxiously at the men's table. He wanted to rush forward and give his unfilial son a good beating. He had previously thought Cai Lin was just being naughty, but he hadn't expected him to pick on Shen Miao. Lord Cai wasn't worried about his son's safety when it came to the death warrant, but he was afraid Cai Lin would embarrass Shen Miao, or even miss and injure her. Not everyone could withstand a rough and tumble man like Shen Xin.

Chen Yue said anxiously, "How could Fifth Sister sign a life-or-death agreement? It's just a test, how could it go to such lengths? This won't do."

"Yeah, how could Fifth Sister be so ignorant?" Ren Wanyun frowned. "How could you say such things in the heat of the moment? What if something goes wrong?"

She didn't even mention that it was Cai Lin who forced Shen Miao to make this choice, and simply attributed everything to Shen Miao's angry behavior. Chen Ruoqiu shook her head and sighed softly: "After all, she is too competitive."

They were so nonchalant in their “concern” for Shen Miao and were “anxious” about her that naturally there were also some men at the table who were interested in this.

Prince Yu stared intently at the purple-clad girl on the stage, his cloudy eyes radiating interest. It was like a beast spotting its prey, but the look was disgusting.

"This Miss Shen is really brave but not wise." King Zhou pointed out: "She even signed a life and death agreement. Doesn't she know that if something goes wrong, Shen Xin can't use this matter to talk about it?"

"It's probably to protect the Shen family's reputation." Fu Xiuyi looked at Shen Miao on the stage and said, "After all, no one wants to hear bad things about their own family."

"Unfortunately, even this doesn't change the facts." Prince Jing shook his head. "She was too impulsive. No wonder she was called ignorant and stupid."

Pei Lang took a sip of the tea on the table. He also felt that Shen Miao's actions were too impulsive. Although he knew that Prince Yu's words were too extreme, if Shen Miao was truly willing to consider the Shen family, she should find a way to escape unscathed. Although she might be criticized temporarily, it was better than making a fool of herself in public.

"Dad, she will definitely win." Su Minglang clenched his fist to show his father his position.

Master Su glanced at his youngest son. He didn't know why, but he always felt that Su Minglang paid special attention to Shen Miao. Master Su thought that it was probably because she just happened to catch Su Minglang's eye. Ever since Su Minglang's reminder forced the Su family to retreat, Master Su has been much more friendly to his youngest son. Now, not wanting to spoil his youngest son's interest, he vaguely echoed his words: "Not bad, you will definitely win."

Su Mingfeng didn't know the attitudes of Su Minglang and Master Su. If he knew, he would definitely sneer at them. Because at that moment, he was sitting on the pavilion, looking at the inspection table from afar and couldn't help but say, "Miss Shen is really bold. She even signed a life and death agreement. Could it be that General Shen always told her about the military camp, and she thought it was a military competition? She is so stupid."

Su Mingfeng never hides anything when talking to his friends, but today he didn't hear his most picky friend agree with him, so he couldn't help but look back at him.

The young man in purple was holding a crabapple in his hand and thinking with his head tilted to one side. The sun was shining brightly and the breeze made the tassel on his dagger flutter slightly. His eyebrows were handsome and heroic, and the way he looked thoughtful made people sigh that he was unparalleled.

"Xie San, what are you thinking about?" Su Mingfeng couldn't help asking.

Xie Jingxing put the crabapple into his arms, then suddenly stood up and smiled: "Interesting, how about we make a bet?"

"What bet?"

"Let's bet—" Xie Jingxing pointed at the stage, his smile indescribably charming: "Who will win?"

"Of course it's Cai Lin." Su Mingfeng frowned. "Do you think there's another candidate?"

“I bet on Shen Miao to win,” he said.

Preparations have already begun on stage.

Today's martial arts archery competition was enough to raise the attention of everyone present. This wasn't a test challenge, it was a gamble of life.

Guangwen Hall had indeed had someone write a death warrant, the bloody handwriting standing out against the snow-white cloth. Shen Miao picked up the pen and wrote her own name, her writing extremely casually, as if she didn't even take the weight of this thousand-pound object seriously.

That was natural. She had written her own name countless times before. When she wrote Fu Xiuyi's letter of surrender to the Xiongnu, when she volunteered to become a hostage of the Qin State, when Wanyu got married, when the Crown Prince was deposed... The two words "Chen Miao" represented blood and tears, and the suffering within was something no one could understand.

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