Chapter 256 First Prize
In previous years, few members of the imperial clan, let alone princes, participated in the willow-shooting competition. This was not only because they did not want to compete for the opportunity to show off, but also because they considered themselves superior and would lose face by personally competing with those uncouth soldiers, regardless of whether they won or lost.
This time, however, it's different.
The Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince are the legitimate heir apparent from the Empress's palace, and the Fourth Prince is the son of a favored concubine. Even if the nobles and members of the imperial family had to grit their teeth and participate, they had to find a balance that would allow the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince to win without performing too poorly.
This caused great hardship for several young princes, heirs, and noblemen.
With a limited number of gourds available, the contestants could only compete in batches, causing the boys waiting on the sidelines to change clothes and warm up to complain.
"Does the Crown Prince really have to show off like this? He's forcing us to join in, to be watched like monkeys by the crowd."
The speaker was Zhang Xian, the youngest son of the Marquis of Pingnan. He was not old and was the fourth prince's study companion. He was one of the attendants who often went out to frolic with the fourth prince. Just now, he tried to draw the bow, but he couldn't even draw it halfway. He could only draw it slightly.
Zhang Xian angrily put down the bow, his tone rather impolite, "What kind of broken bow is this? It's so heavy you can't even pull it!"
Prince Changsun Chuheng of Runing looked towards the side where they were shooting willows. Their conversation over there wouldn't reach the ears of the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince, but it was hard to say whether there were any messengers.
Zhang Xian was his cousin, so he whispered:
"The bows and arrows are all provided by the palace, so stop complaining. Since you know you can't draw them, don't neglect your martial arts skills in the future."
Zhang Xian glanced at him sideways, snorted, and said nothing more.
On the other side, Qi Jun picked up the longbow that had been prepared and lightly tugged at the bowstring.
But this hook made him realize something was wrong.
The bowstring was too loose, and it was definitely not a longbow commonly used in the palace. But now that the arrow was on the string, changing the bow at this time would only make people think that the crown prince was using his power to oppress others and that he was deliberately being pretentious.
A series of whooshing sounds rang out as dozens of arrows shot towards the opposite bank. Gourds and willow branches on the other side swayed violently. In an instant, some were happy while others were worried.
Most people were just there for the ride, their arrows hitting nothing but air. Only a small number of arrows struck the gourd, barely managing to get third place. No one even managed to break the gourd.
Qi Huan put down his longbow. He had long been preparing to show off his skills in the willow-shooting competition today. He had practiced hard for some time, so he was quite pleased with himself when he hit the gourd with his arrow.
He merely turned his head and saw the Crown Prince, several people away, still standing in the same spot, holding a longbow, silently lost in thought. He gave a provocative smile:
"Your Majesty, I have already offered a preliminary suggestion, why are you still hesitant to make your move? Are you afraid that you are not as good as me and will not even be able to hit the gourd?"
Qi Jun's gaze remained unmoved, not even glancing at Qi Huan, as he quietly instructed the palace servants beside him:
"Bring me another arrow."
The palace servant trembled in fright, thinking there was something wrong with the arrows he had just retrieved. The next moment, he heard the Crown Prince continue, "I want to shoot two arrows."
Through the railing, the emperor, empress, officials, and relatives could not hear what the young men shooting willows below were saying. They only saw a palace maid beside him run to the side to fetch an arrow and hand it to the crown prince.
Qi Yuxuan heard a few quiet voices of doubt rising from the women's section beside her:
"What is this? Does the Crown Prince intend to shoot two arrows?"
"Isn't that a bit inappropriate... Everyone else has one arrow, but the Crown Prince has two. Doesn't that mean his chances of winning are twice as high as everyone else's?"
"Yes, isn't the Crown Prince...cheating?"
As soon as the word "cheating" was uttered, Qi Yuxuan immediately thought of what Zheng Yanling had just mentioned about the Crown Prince shooting willows when he was fifteen.
What is a fifteen-year-old boy thinking about?
He was probably eager to show off his hard-earned archery skills to his father and mother, and in the meantime, win applause and praise from the crowd.
Given the Crown Prince's personality, he probably never wanted to show off, but because of this spirited arrow, the young general who should have been ranked first alongside him, in order to avoid his sharp edge, admitted to cheating and hastily withdrew from the stage.
Qi Yuxuan felt a pang of unease when she considered this possibility.
The hushed discussion around her continued. Qi Minying pulled her along, and they stood together by the railing.
"Brother, keep it up!"
Qi Minying didn't care about cheating or not; the Crown Prince was her own brother, and no matter what he did or whether he won a prize, he was still her best brother.
She waved enthusiastically to cheer Qi Jun on, and the Empress Dowager and the Emperor did not stop her, watching with amusement as the bright and lively girls acted so "rudely" and unrestrained.
Qi Jun turned around, his gaze falling on Qi Minying, and then looking at Qi Yuxuan, who had obviously been pulled over and whose cheeks were flushed.
He gently curled the corners of his lips into a smile, revealing a very happy expression.
Qi Yuxuan paused, then quickly turned her face away to avoid his gaze.
Qi Jun turned his head, nocked an arrow, raised his arm, closed his eyes, drew the string, released the arrow, and completed the action in one smooth motion.
The several movements were fluid and seamless, leaving the group of onlookers, who had initially been quite critical, completely stunned.
The air seemed to freeze for a while before Qi Yuxuan dared to quietly turn her gaze to the wooden frame on the opposite bank of the river that belonged to the Crown Prince.
The wooden frame was empty except for a thin white willow branch swaying gently. The spot where it had been severed by an arrow was clean and sharp, as if it had been cleaved by a sword. Below, in the middle of the green grass swaying in the breeze, lay a small gourd pierced by an arrow.
This is like two arrows being shot out at the same time; one arrow breaks the willow branch, and the other pierces the gourd.
"good!"
Qi Minying was the first to react, jumping up and down excitedly, shouting, "Brother! You're amazing!"
Only then, as if allowed to make a sound, did a suppressed gasp erupt from the crowd.
"This, Your Highness's archery skills are simply divine! I have never seen anyone shoot two arrows at the same time, severing a willow branch and piercing a gourd!"
"Yes, we've had this many years of shooting willows, and we've never seen such good results before. This is truly a well-deserved first place!"
"Hey, what did the Fourth Prince shoot? A gourd? Oh, he didn't pierce it, haha, that's good, that's good..."
The people around him praised and discussed without trying to lower their voices. The Empress Dowager, the Emperor, and the Empress were both surprised and delighted. They all knew that the Crown Prince was both a scholar and a warrior, but he rarely showed his martial arts skills in front of outsiders. Unexpectedly, he showed his prowess today, which attracted everyone's attention.
The Empress Dowager said "good" several times with satisfaction, and then beckoned to the female official to quickly send tea and towels downstairs to the Crown Prince.
The afternoon sun was getting hotter and hotter; people would start sweating after standing in the sun for a short while. I didn't want the prince to get sunburned.
Seeing a group of people praising the Crown Prince's excellent grades, and hearing someone compare Huan Ge'er with the Crown Prince, praising him in name but criticizing him in reality, the Consort was extremely resentful, but on the surface she still had to put on an expression of pride.
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