Chapter 25 Wooden Archery: Win or Lose, It's All About Having Fun
The phrase "before marriage" truly stunned everyone present. The surroundings fell silent instantly, then erupted into a frenzy, like boiling oil in hot water.
"Her fiancée is your fiancée."
"How come you have a fiancée after only a few days? When did you get engaged? How come we didn't know?"
"Miss Shen... is that Miss Shen who, according to rumors, slept with Prince Jin at the banquet at the Marquis of Cheng'an's residence a couple of days ago?"
"They're already engaged after such a short time? That's incredibly fast!"
Some people questioned Qi Jingxuan, while others whispered among themselves.
Qi Jingxuan couldn't hear those who were far away and speaking softly, but he knew from their scrutinizing gazes and disdainful expressions that they weren't saying anything nice.
He coughed loudly twice more, deliberately raising his voice so everyone around could hear: "That's right, the imperial decree for the marriage is about to be issued. This is the future Princess Consort of Jin, your sister-in-law!"
With the imperial decree of marriage in place, even if the marriage was not exactly honorable, it could at least suppress some of the public criticism.
The man who had greeted Qi Jingxuan earlier laughed and said, "Your Highness, you are younger than me. In terms of seniority, Miss Shen should be my sister-in-law. She should call me Third Brother Gu."
"Pooh!"
Qi Jingxuan cursed, "Gu San, stop taking advantage of me! My queen calls you 'big brother,' so does that make me your little brother? If you're so capable, let's fight and see who's the real big brother!"
He said this with a smile on his face and his tone was very familiar, clearly indicating that he had a good relationship with the other party.
The man called Gu San laughed loudly and waved his hands repeatedly: "No, no, when I was a kid I beat you so badly you had a bruise on your face. My father didn't see His Majesty in a good mood for a whole month. The bruise on your face has faded, and my father was still left out in the courtyard to sunbathe by His Majesty every time there was a court assembly."
"You beat my eyes too, and when I got home I didn't get a single word of comfort from my family. Instead, my dad gave me a beating with a bamboo stick. I still remember it to this day!"
Qi Jingxuan raised his chin and snorted coldly, saying matter-of-factly, "There's nothing I can do about it. Who told me to be born into a good family?"
Gu San shook his head and chuckled, then turned his gaze to Shen Yan beside him as the others came forward to greet Qi Jingxuan.
Hearing that this Miss Shen was the only daughter of Inspector Shen and had been pampered since childhood, he thought she would feel uncomfortable in such a setting.
But at this moment, she remained calm and composed, completely ignoring the whispers and prying eyes around her. She even listened intently to Qi Jingxuan's banter with others, as if their casual remarks were quite interesting.
This relaxed and carefree demeanor—I wonder if it's an act or genuine.
If that's true, then she is indeed an interesting girl.
After exchanging a few casual words, someone extended an invitation to Qi Jingxuan: "Your Highness, would you like to play some wooden archery? We just finished this round and were about to start a new one."
Upon hearing this, Qi Jingxuan turned to look at Shen Yan and asked in a low voice, "Do you want to play?"
He came with Shen Yan today, so naturally everything was for Shen Yan's benefit. If she wanted to play, he would play with her; if she didn't want to play, he would take her to see other places.
Shen Yan looked at the wooden archery field in front of her and did not answer immediately, seemingly hesitant.
Upon seeing this, Qi Jingxuan slapped his forehead: "I forgot, you probably haven't played this before. Let's play something else, there are plenty of fun things here."
He was a man, and by nature a playboy who didn't like reading and preferred these "improper" things. But Shen Yan was a young lady from a scholarly family, and she probably preferred things like music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
Thinking of this, Qi Jingxuan suddenly felt a headache coming on. He was good at cockfighting and dog racing, but as for music, chess, calligraphy, and painting... he really wasn't good at any of them.
Just as I was thinking about how to make up for my shortcomings so that I could play with Chen Yan in the future, I heard her say, "I've played before. Every year at the temple fair in my area, there are people setting up wooden archery stalls and you can win prizes. It's just that I'm not very good at it, and I never win the best prizes."
The reason she hadn't spoken was because the wooden archery in front of her was quite different from the ones back home; both the setting and the equipment were far too refined. If it weren't for the fact that the overall appearance was similar, she wouldn't have recognized it.
In that instant, Shen Yan understood why Qi Jingxuan said the house was too small; in his eyes, it really was small.
Hearing that she hadn't had a good time, Qi Jingxuan didn't seem to care and said, "Hey, what's the big deal? I'm not much better at it either, but I still come here often."
“Exactly,” Gu San said, “Everyone’s just playing around to pass the time, who’s going to use this to become the top scholar?”
This remark drew a burst of laughter from the crowd. After the laughter subsided, Gu San continued to invite, "Come, come, come together. This is Miss Shen's first time visiting, so let's set up a prize."
Qi Jingxuan kept staring at Shen Yan, watching her reaction. He saw that she had only been somewhat interested, but her eyes lit up when she heard about the "prize". He immediately said to Gu San, "What prize? My manor has plenty of good things. They will all be hers when Miss Shen marries into the family. Don't try to fob us off with some junk."
Gu San chuckled and immediately unfastened a piece of black jade pendant from his waist, holding it in his hand and shaking it.
"How about this jade pendant? You've been eyeing it for ages, haven't you? I'll bring it out today as a lucky draw for your sister-in-law!"
This jade pendant is a family heirloom of the Yongchang Marquis's family. It was originally passed down to Gu San's eldest brother, but he later managed to snatch it away.
Qi Jingxuan tried to snatch it several times after seeing it, but failed each time.
Seeing that he was willing to take out this jade pendant as a prize, Qi Jingxuan didn't bother to argue about the "sister-in-law" in his words and immediately decided: "Okay, that's it. Don't regret it!"
"Regret is for cowards!"
Gu San said, and immediately ordered his men to clean up the mess from before and start a new game.
The waiter quickly rearranged the area and brought over a carved lacquered wooden tray.
Gu San tossed the jade pendant in his hand into the wooden plate, and the others followed suit, taking out items from their own bodies and throwing them in to join in the fun.
After everyone had finished, the waiter took the wooden tray and stepped aside.
Beside the archery range stood a tall table with a mahogany tray on it, upon which were arranged two rows of exquisitely carved and hollowed-out wooden balls.
Gu San took one out and tossed it to Shen Yan: "Miss Shen, this is your first time here, you go first."
Shen Yan took the wooden ball, examined it for a moment, and couldn't recognize what kind of wood it was made of, but she could tell at a glance that it must be good wood. It was also carved with a double fish biting its tail, and the carving was delicate and lifelike.
She tossed the wooden ball in her hand, then gently tossed it twice, and asked Gu San, "How do you play here? What are the specific rules?"
"Is it enough to just hit the woodpile, or can it only be thrown or rolled? Is there any requirement for the order in which the balls hit the woodpile? Do I need to change to a new ball after each throw, or can I use the same ball all the time?"
Everyone was stunned for a moment because they didn't expect her to ask such detailed questions. Gu San was the first to come to his senses and said with a smile, "Miss Chen, please do as you please. Play however you want. We usually just play around and don't have many rules."
Shen Yan nodded upon hearing this, and then asked, "May I try it first?"
Gu San chuckled and gestured, "Of course."
He then stepped aside, revealing the wooden shoots in the area.
Of the fifteen wooden shoots, ten were painted red and engraved with the characters "仁" (benevolence), "义" (righteousness), "礼" (propriety), "智" (wisdom), and "信" (trustworthiness), respectively. The other five were painted black and engraved with the characters "贪" (greed), "佞" (sycophancy), and "傲" (arrogance).
Knocking down a red wooden stake results in a "win," allowing the player to continue throwing. Knocking down a black stake results in a "loss," and it's the turn of the next player to throw. The player who knocks down the most red wooden stakes in a round wins.
Shen Yan stood inside the circle drawn in the field, bounced the wooden ball in her hand, and then threw it toward one of the red characters.
Her aim was good, but unfortunately she used a little too much force. The wooden ball grazed the top of the wood stalk, rolled forward a distance on the ground, and slowly came to a stop.
Qi Jingxuan clenched his fist, secretly regretting it, and took another ball from the plate and handed it to her.
Shen Yan shook her head and said, "I still want to use the one from before."
The waiter had already picked up the ball, and upon hearing this, he immediately wiped it clean and handed it back with both hands.
Shen Yan caught the ball, tossed it a few times, and then threw it out again.
This time it was quite accurate, knocking down a wooden shoot, but it knocked down the black characters instead.
Everyone shook their heads and sighed, but Qi Jingxuan comforted them, saying, "It's alright, just try a few more times, and you'll definitely win."
Anyway, with him here, even if Shen Yan tries a few more times until she hits the target, Gu San and the others won't say anything.
Shen Yan smiled and shook her head, saying, "No need, we can begin."
"ah"
Qi Jingxuan was stunned. Before he could react, he saw her throw the wooden ball out again with a decisive action.
With a thud, the character "仁" (ren, meaning benevolence) fell to the ground, and cheers erupted from the audience.
Seeing this, Qi Jingxuan couldn't help but shout loudly and clap his hands vigorously, encouraging her to keep up the good work.
In the next few balls, Shen Yan indeed "continued her efforts", and the words "righteousness", "propriety", "wisdom" and "trust" all fell down.
The fifteen wooden shoots were arranged in an alternating pattern; the red ones had all fallen over, while the black ones were all standing upright, clearly not due to luck.
Moreover, the red wooden shoots fell in order, further demonstrating the power of their strength.
Gu San, who had been casually watching from the side with his arms crossed, was so shocked that his jaw almost dropped to the ground.
"Miss Shen is such a skilled player, yet she says she doesn't play well."
If this isn't good, then what is?
And why is she, a pampered daughter from a scholarly family, more skilled at playing with these kinds of things than these spoiled brats?
Shen Yan smiled and said, "I'm really bad at playing; I've never gotten a good result."
Gu San's brow twitched: "I heard Miss Shen is from Yingzhou. Are people from your area really good at wooden archery?"
Yingzhou is a harsh and cold border region, notoriously poor and remote. How come everyone has so much free time to play this kind of game to kill time?
“No, that’s not it,” Shen Yan said. “People don’t usually play these games, but there are some really good prizes at temple fairs. If you want to win these prizes, you naturally have to practice more.”
"But the stall owners who come out to set up their stalls are also there to make money; how can we let someone easily win the prize?"
"Therefore, there are many rules for the wooden arrow shooting stalls at our temple fair. For those with slightly better prizes, there are not only requirements on the order in which the wooden arrows are knocked down, but also that only the ball can be rolled on the ground. Some even do not allow the same ball to be used from beginning to end."
The requirement for a specific order and ball switching is understandable; it's all to increase the difficulty of the wooden shot.
The former goes without saying, while the latter, by changing the size and weight of the ball, makes it difficult for people to quickly figure out the force and angle required to throw each ball.
But why can it only be a rolling ball?
"Whether it's throwing or bouncing, as long as you practice diligently, you can become proficient."
Someone asked, puzzled.
Shen Yan shook her head and pointed to the bluestone ground in front of her.
"Young master thinks there is no difference because the ground here is paved with whole bluestone slabs, which is very flat and has little impact on the rolling ball. With more practice, you can find the right accuracy."
"But even the main streets in our city don't have such good stone paving. Most places are made of sand and dirt, so potholes are inevitable. Once you throw the ball, whether you hit it or which one you hit depends entirely on luck."
Even if you memorize where the pits and slopes are in this round, the stall owner will change the position of the wooden shoots in the next round, and all the memorized information will be useless.
"I've never been very lucky, so I rarely win any games that require bocce. I can only win a few rounds with the simplest throws."
Upon hearing her explanation, everyone suddenly understood.
"I see, no wonder you asked earlier if it could only be a ground ball."
"If we practice diligently, can we also hit the bullseye every time like Miss Shen?"
"Dream on! How many years have you been playing this game? Have you ever had such accuracy?"
"That's right, why is it that even though we play all day, we're not as good as Miss Shen? Miss Shen is so amazing just by winning some prizes at the annual temple fair, why can't we do it?"
Qi Jingxuan was listening with pride when the words "100% accuracy" suddenly came out, making him inexplicably tense. He subconsciously squeezed his legs together and nervously looked around.
Shen Yan did not notice his reaction and answered everyone's questions with a smile: "Young masters play wooden archery for entertainment. They can have fun regardless of winning or losing. However, the border of Yingzhou is bitterly cold. Although wooden archery is not expensive during the temple fair, a game can be played with just a few copper coins. But if you just throw it away in the air and don't even hear a sound, everyone will feel sorry for you. So either you don't play, or if you do play, you want to win as much as possible to take home a prize."
"Different goals and different mindsets lead to different results."
"But if I had to choose, I would naturally prefer to have a lot of fun and enjoy myself, regardless of winning or losing, just for the sake of having fun."
The phrase "just for fun" made everyone laugh again. Gu San listened silently and couldn't help but nudge Qi Jingxuan with his elbow.
"You have a good eye. This Miss Shen is really interesting."
He showed no embarrassment or awkwardness when interacting with these scions of noble families, and he did not feel inferior at all when talking about his background. What was remarkable was that he could explain the difference between the situation at the border and in the capital in just a few words, and they listened with great interest, not feeling that talking about these things in the current situation would spoil their mood.
Qi Jingxuan was frantically looking around when he heard this. He looked away, exclaimed "Ah!", and asked blankly, "What did you say?"
Gu San rolled his eyes: "It's nothing. I just said remember to send me an invitation when you get married, so I can ask for a drink at your wedding."
"Of course."
Qi Jingxuan casually agreed. Seeing Shen Yan chatting and laughing peacefully beside him, he finally felt relieved and stopped thinking about the archer. He then took her to continue playing in Yafeng Garden.
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Author's Note: This is a make-up to yesterday's update; today's (the 12th) update will be written separately.
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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