8 Collision
Lu Jing didn't know what he was thinking about, but nodded at her: "Go and try."
The sun sets in the west, and the afterglow of the setting sun illuminates the ground.
Lu Jingfang returned from the palace. The Hebei battlefield had been cleared, and the victory report had been delivered to the Imperial Study. His father had discussed with him the reward for the troops today, and had drawn up a preliminary list of honors for the soldiers.
After having dinner in the palace, Lu Jing finally had some free time.
Sun Jing stayed behind in Prince Zhao's mansion, taking advantage of the moment when His Highness entered the palace to report several important matters of the day. Lord Wei Fan had also delivered the important documents to His Highness's study, leaving them for His Highness to deal with that evening.
Lu Jing ordered the Zhending Prince's residence in Kyoto to be tidied up, and then asked, "Is there anything else?"
Sun Jing said truthfully, "Your Highness, Lord Gu sent someone to ask this afternoon if he could take someone to inspect the garden."
Lord Gu has recently been ordered by His Majesty to participate in the renovation of Prince Zhao's Palace, which is what he should do.
"Where are the others?"
Sun Jing said, "A quarter of an hour after his dismissal, Lord Gu returned home first."
Lord Gu is very measured in his actions. I would like to ask Your Highness what you think. Lord Gu's style of doing things is quite different from three years ago.
"Okay." Lu Jing said concisely.
Sun Jing received the order, and there was indeed no reason for His Highness to disapprove.
…
The day was calm and peaceful. Gu Ningxi was busy with the expansion and renovation of Prince Zhao's Mansion, and there was no news from the East Palace.
The weather was fine, and she wanted to finalize the blueprints quickly, so as not to delay until the heat of June, which would make construction difficult. The Minister had also specifically instructed her to spend more time at Prince Zhao's mansion, rather than rushing back to the Ministry of Works as scheduled.
In fact, she could ask King Zhao first, but she had to have a suitable alternative in hand in advance. Otherwise, when King Zhao asked, she would be completely clueless and waste his time.
After observing the flower garden for the past two days, Gu Ningxi already had a rough idea in his mind.
The garden of Prince Zhao's mansion still looked the same as I remembered. It was spring now, and the grass and trees were lush and green.
The flower garden at Prince Zhao's mansion was already the largest of the princes' residences, and this time, it was to be expanded by nearly double its size. Gu Ningxi looked around and saw that whenever Prince Zhao's mansion held a banquet, the open space in front of the pavilion was often used for pitching pots.
Prince Zhao's skill at throwing pots was incredibly accurate, and some joked that with His Royal Highness Prince Zhao around, they could just fight for second place. But Prince Huai, in his youth, loved to compete with his fifth brother. Whenever there was a banquet or a gathering in the palace, he would challenge him to a duel, but of course he never won.
No one would like to meet King Zhao while playing the game of tossing pots, except for the young Gu Ningxi.
At large banquets, teams of two or more would form to play the game of pitching pots. Gu Ningxi always teamed up with Prince Zhao, and he never refused. Gu Ningxi's skill at pitching pots was quite good, and with Prince Zhao's favor, as long as she could hit a few balls, she could easily win various prizes, such as jade pendants and gold and silver ingots. She still had quite a few of these in a box in her study.
Once, on the occasion of His Majesty's birthday, the palace prepared particularly generous prizes. She and King Zhao each received a newly minted gold ingot and went to His Majesty to express their gratitude.
I was young and energetic at that time, and always loved to play and have fun.
Gu Ningxi saved up the gold ingots for a while, and added them to the monthly silver he had saved to buy his mother a pair of jade bracelets with excellent water content.
My mother loved the bracelets, but at first she was reluctant to wear them. The Gu family's harem was dominated by two wives. Mrs. Shen came from an earl's family, had a generous dowry, and was in charge of the household expenses. My mother, on the other hand, had only the expenses of the public household, and the servants loved to gossip and compare them privately. My mother, always gentle, only felt guilty when she heard this, feeling that her background made her inferior to her elder sister and third brother.
But Gu Ningxi never thought it was a big deal; she wanted to add a dowry to her mother and give her mother more confidence.
Gu Ningxi still remembers the surprise and relief in her mother's eyes when she received the bracelet.
The past was beautiful, and a smile unconsciously appeared on Gu Ningxi's lips.
She found a rock by the lake and sat down to rest for a bit. Looking across the lake, the willow trees on the other side seemed taller. Their branches swayed in the wind, spreading a vibrant green.
She recalled the days when they were shooting willows at the willow tree, and no one could beat King Zhao on a galloping horse.
The water in the pool rippled gently, and Gu Ningxi rested his chin on his hand. Expanding this place would require more thought.
Green leaves fall lightly on the lake, creating ripples.
After concentrating for a long time, Gu Ningxi stood up. She had originally intended to go to the training grounds, but just as she reached the grounds, she heard the sounds of archery practice from inside. She briefly asked the attendants outside the training grounds and learned that several generals were competing on the field.
Gu Ningxi planned to come back another day, but after turning back a few steps, he ran into His Royal Highness Prince Zhao halfway.
She hurriedly saluted: "Hail, Your Highness."
"No thanks."
Lu Jing naturally had to go to the training grounds. The North had just sent over a dozen new bows and arrows. He was busy with afternoon meetings, so he let his friends choose for themselves.
Gu Ningxi wondered whether she should explain that she had no intention of spying on the East Palace. But she was afraid that if she said it, it would only make her statement more obvious.
Lu Jing knew her original intention and just said, "Go and take a look."
"Yes, thank you, Your Highness."
King Zhao spoke, and Gu Ningxi followed him in reluctantly.
Fortunately, none of them were strangers on the scene. Lord Wei Fan, needless to say, Gu Ningxi had had some interactions with him in Kyoto. Xie Qian, Marquis of Wu'an, was a rising star in Kyoto. Another was Zhen Yuan, Crown Prince of Zhending, who had recently returned from his military campaign and was Prince Zhao's first cousin. Gu Ningxi had met him briefly when he had come to the capital to be crowned Crown Prince. Besides these two, Qin Yu, Crown Prince of the Duke of Qi, was one of the three great generals of Prince Zhao's Black Armor Army, still stationed on the battlefield.
After they exchanged greetings, except for Lord Wei, the other two looked at each other regarding this uninvited guest.
The news of the return of the Crown Prince of Zhending to the capital has not yet spread throughout the capital. It is estimated that he will formally meet the emperor at the court meeting three days later.
The several precious bows here were all collected by him from the battlefield. He compared them with the bows and arrows used by the Jin army and took the best of them.
A hundred steps away was a row of targets, and you could see several arrow feathers stuck in the red center.
Xie Qian had just replaced his bow and adjusted the bowstring, and there was a look of satisfaction in his eyes.
Gu Ningxi took a few more glances at it. This bow must be made of high-quality mulberry wood. It was indeed quite good, and the grain of the wood was also very beautiful.
Lu Jing had no interest in trying out his bow today, so he just watched from the center.
Gu Ningxi stood beside him silently for a while, trying to find a suitable opportunity to leave.
As she was composing her words, Wu Anhou had already loaded two arrows onto his bow. With a flick of his aim, a pair of arrows pierced the air, creating a gust of wind as they pierced the farthest target's center.
Everyone in the field was used to it. It was just an ordinary drill and there was nothing worth cheering for.
Gu Ningxi, on the other hand, stared at the target for a long time, admiring it in his heart.
Zhen Yuan had also tried a few bows. They were used to sparring in the army, so there was nothing new about it.
Xie Qian put away his bow and looked at Lord Gu from the East Palace standing beside His Highness. He also had some tentative intentions to intimidate him: "Lord Gu, why not give it a try?"
He handed the bow and arrow to Gu Ningxi.
Archery is one of the six arts of a gentleman. Gu Ningxi was born in the Xuanping Marquis Mansion, so he naturally practiced it when he was young.
She paused and subconsciously looked at King Zhao.
Lu Jing didn't know what he was thinking about, and nodded to her: "Go and try."
"……yes."
When Xie Qian was about to hand over the bow, Lu Jing ordered someone to replace it with the lightest bow.
Gu Ningxi took it and adjusted the bowstring quite well, and was able to draw the bow with ease.
Wei Fan and Zhen Yuan both looked over, somewhat curious about Lord Gu's archery skills.
Gu Ningxi stood in the middle of the field resignedly. As a mere civil servant, it was extremely difficult for her to compete in archery with them.
So she naturally picked the nearest target, then hesitated whether she could ask someone to move closer.
She glanced back at King Zhao guiltily, then decided to give up. If she moved closer and still missed, she would have no excuse.
Lu Jing was also looking at her, and his expression was obviously more serious than when he was watching others shooting arrows just now.
Gu Ningxi took the arrow, pulled the bowstring, and aimed at the center of the target.
After confirming again and again, she let go, and the arrow flew out, and was soon blown a little off course by the gentle spring breeze.
The bow was certainly a good one, but after shooting three arrows in a row, only the second arrow barely grazed the target, and the other two arrows flew towards freedom.
Gu Ningxi looked at the empty target and couldn't help but smile when he lowered his head.
She returned the bow to the attendant beside her, and when she returned to King Zhao, she was a little afraid to look him in the eye.
Although it cannot be compared with those who have been to the battlefield, it is still a bit embarrassing.
Xie Qian coughed twice. If it were anyone else, he would have definitely made some mocking remarks, especially since they were from the Eastern Palace. But when he looked at Lord Gu in the sunlight, he had a vague feeling that he had bullied someone.
He finally said politely, "Master Gu, why don't you find a more skilled teacher to practice with?"
To be fair, what he said was already very polite.
The field suddenly became quiet for a moment, with only the sound of the wind remaining.
Lu Jing said calmly, "Alright, once you've chosen your bow, get to work." He turned to Gu Ningxi and said, "Let's go."
"Oh." Gu Ningxi nodded and quickly followed.
After respectfully seeing His Highness off, Xie Qian recalled the look on His Highness Prince Zhao's face just now and sensed that something was amiss.
He said, "Why do I see that Your Highness seems a little unhappy?"
Zhen Yuan thought so too, and they both looked at Wei Fan.
Wei Fan smiled and said, "You just said that you wanted Master Gu to find a more capable teacher?"
"Yeah, what's wrong?"
Wei Fan rarely kept the secret: "If I remember correctly—" His tone was actually very firm, "It seems that His Highness personally taught Lord Gu the art of archery."
The bow and arrow in his hand nearly fell to the ground. Xie Qian moved his lips: "...Ah?"
His eyes were full of disbelief as he looked at Lord Wei who nodded in assurance, then he looked at the target which was practically unscathed.
"Please ask a more experienced teacher to help you practice with me."
The words echoed in the wind. Xie Qian was silent for a long time. In the silence, he thought:
Lord Gu's archery skills pose no threat to Your Highness on the battlefield; but if they were to be spread, it would ruin the reputation of Your Highness Prince Zhao throughout the world.
【Author’s words】
The segment review has been opened, welcome to play! Comment to receive a small red envelope, muah!
Xiao Lu: Shameful, so shameful.
"This article poses no threat to me in the academic world, but it will ruin my reputation in the education world."
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