With God so on, how could Anke not put in even more effort?
He swiftly drew four arrows. With unstoppable force, each arrow struck the ground with a single, decisive blow.
"Good, good, cousin! Fifth brother is truly impressed with you!" Yongqi couldn't help but clap his hands in delight. Although he knew his cousin's archery skills were exceptional, comparable to his father's, she was very low-key, and very few people had ever witnessed her achieve such a feat.
Anke: I'm not performing a talent show, do I need everyone to have seen it before? (￣?^￣??)
An Ke, still blindfolded, curled up a mischievous smile. "Then Fifth Brother will have to keep a close eye on things from now on."
Then she drew five more arrows from the quiver. Yongqi was very confused. It was the wind that had caused the four drums to roll together. Although he couldn't fire arrows from all four limbs like his cousin, he could still hit the target one by one. But now there was no wind, and the drums hadn't revealed their positions. What was his cousin's intention in drawing these five arrows?
Qing'er didn't think too much about the intricacies of the situation, but watching An Ke draw her bow and nock an arrow was incredibly exhilarating. It perfectly matched An Ke's words: "A dashing young man in fine clothes, riding a spirited horse." Although An'an wasn't a young man, her current demeanor perfectly embodied that image. In Qing'er's eyes, there was probably no other woman in the entire capital who could compare to An'an.
Ertai watched with a smile as the young princess who had once taught him archery once again broadened his horizons, filling him with admiration. How could anyone not submit to her, how could anyone not feel respect for her? Ertai's gaze followed the figure that made his heart leap.
Although the remaining five drums were not connected, Anke was still confident that he could hit them all with arrows.
Anke then inserted her hand between five arrows, with fingers separating each arrow. As her long, slender, white fingers withdrew, the arrows whizzed towards the scattered drums.
As the muffled drumbeats echoed, An Ke tossed the bow to the waiting guard beside him. Without even looking at his score, he turned to Yong Qi and Qing Er and ripped off the gauze covering his eyes.
"Are you so confident that you can hit all of them?" Yongqi had just recovered from the shock when he saw Anke's confident and flamboyant actions, so he couldn't help but tease her.
“Since I’m determined to compete, I’m confident I can make all my arrows hit the drum. Fifth Brother, you still don’t understand me as your cousin.” An Ke said with a proud look.
Qing'er clapped for An Ke from the side, "If An Ke is determined to do something, she will do it no matter what. Where there's a will, there's a way." Qing'er winked at An Ke in perfect unison, out of Yong Qi's sight.
"Qing'er understands me best. I never fight a battle I'm not prepared for," An Ke said arrogantly.
"Now I finally understand why Father Emperor dotes on you so much. You are just like Father Emperor when he was young. When Father Emperor was young, he was just as flamboyant and confident as you are now, arrogant yet capable of it." Yongqi was very emotional, never expecting to see the Emperor Emperor's shadow in his own cousin.
I remember when I was a child, I went hunting with my father, the Emperor. It was such a large hunting ground, and my grandfather and the Empress Dowager were also there. As soon as my grandfather shot an arrow, my father, uncles, and elders all rushed into the depths of the dense forest. Wherever they went, birds and beasts scattered.
To this day, he still vividly remembers his father's dashing figure on horseback. It left a deep and indelible impression on him as a child. In his heart, his father is supreme, worthy of his respect and admiration, and the goal he aspires to reach.
“Of course, my archery skills were taught by both my father and my imperial uncle. Naturally, I learned to use their strengths and avoid their weaknesses.” An Ke walked up with a smile. She picked up the teapot on the table and poured herself a cup. She was really thirsty now, and An Ke couldn’t be bothered with the pleasing manner of tea tasting. She just gulped down the cup like a cow drinking water.
After finishing a cup, she said self-deprecatingly, "If everyone drinks this good tea like I do, it's a complete waste. What do you think of this tea, Qing'er?" An Ke remembered that Qing'er's favorite tea was Biluochun. Back when she was about to go down the mountain to buy supplies in Wutai Mountain, Qing'er didn't ask for anything, only asking someone to bring back some Biluochun for her.
Qing'er loved to enjoy reading while sipping tea. Over time, even An Ke, who had a terrible memory, remembered it.
“This tea is excellent, even better than the tea I drank at Mount Wutai.” Qing’er could hardly stop talking about this tea. “I remember the Emperor loved it so much that he used the morning dew to brew Biluochun.”
“If you like, you can take some back with you later.” An Ke said enthusiastically and generously, “I can’t guarantee anything else, but I can have as much Biluochun tea as you want. Isn’t it just Biluochun tea brewed with morning dew? I’ll collect some for you when we get back.”
She said it so casually, as if she didn't care about the little thing of having to get up early in the morning.
Even Qing'er couldn't help but tease, "Are you sure it's morning dew? By the time you get up, the morning dew will probably have been dried up by the sun."
"How could that be? I'll have the stars wake me up early. It's just morning dew, right? Don't underestimate me, I'll definitely get it for you." Anke made this promise.
"Alright, alright, Ertai hasn't even started shooting yet! Although your archery skills were quite amazing just now, we also need to see Ertai. Didn't you drag us here to be the referees?" Yongqi saw the two of them chatting endlessly over tea, and then looked at Ertai, who was smiling and watching Anke from the side, and just couldn't bear to watch. He was here to be the referee, not to be a third wheel illuminating their lives. He'd rather be the villain himself.
"Right, right, I almost forgot the important matter." An Ke seemed to have just remembered, her face full of apology. "You can begin. I've already witnessed your horsemanship. Now let's see your archery skills." To demonstrate the credibility of her words, An Ke quickly focused, her eyes widening slightly.
"Alright, please enlighten me, Princess." Looking at the lively and spirited princess, Ertai couldn't help but chuckle, momentarily confused. He shook his head and blindfolded himself with the gauze beside him. Faced with such a tense situation, Ertai also began to take things seriously.
As if divine intervention was on their side, another divine assist came – a gust of wind.
The two drums collided as before. With lightning speed, Ertai drew two arrows, nocked them on his bow, and released them. The arrows flew towards the drums the instant they left the bow.
Yongqi, who was watching from the sidelines, wore an expression of disbelief. Anke was one thing, after all, she was trained by his uncle and father, but how could Ertai be like this?
Qing'er just smiled like an aunt, thinking that the CP she was shipping was just that in sync.
Anke, who was intently watching Ertai, had a hint of doubt in her clear eyes. Anke was somewhat suspicious, but still unsure. She chose to continue watching; if it really was the person from her childhood, then he would surely reveal some subtle flaws when he shot the arrow.
Indeed, people shouldn't be nagged. Anke had just been nagging him to reveal more subtle flaws, and Ertai immediately did. No one knew that when Anke taught that person archery as a child, he could only fire two arrows at a time. He couldn't draw many arrows like Anke. If both arrows hit their mark, he wouldn't use his right hand to hold the arrow next time, but his left, placing the bow on his right hand.
After getting the arrows, Anke, as a child, even mocked the chubby boy, saying it was like taking off his pants to fart—completely unnecessary. But the chubby boy just couldn't change. Anke could only let him change without forcing him. After all, everyone has habits they can't break, and she couldn't force him to change. She herself was sometimes a bit obsessive-compulsive.
An Ke stared at that tall, handsome figure, momentarily lost in thought. It was as if she had returned to her childhood, when she was practicing archery alone on the training field, and suddenly a chubby little boy barged in.
The chubby boy was still crying, showing no sign of being a man. An Ke looked down on such a person; after all, she had lived in modern times for over 20 years, and naturally, she couldn't stand people who cried all the time. But seeing the chubby boy's height, An Ke couldn't bring herself to say anything "vicious."
"This is a training ground. Whose son are you? How did you end up here?" Anke asked in a less than friendly tone.
"I...I got separated from my mother, waaaaah!" The chubby little boy cried, wiping away his endless tears. At the time, Anke wondered if the child was made of a fountain? How could he keep crying like that?
"Which family's young master are you? Where did you come from?" An Ke asked with absolute certainty, because she was already familiar with almost all the princes in the palace, and there was no one she couldn't recognize.
"I ran away from the palace banquet and ended up here without realizing it," the chubby boy sobbed, his big eyes brimming with tears that seemed ready to fall at any moment.
Anke was utterly speechless. It seemed like this chubby boy could only remember the last question she asked.
"Alright, alright, don't cry anymore. I'll take you back in a bit." So, little Anke patiently pulled the chubby boy to sit down beside her.
The chubby boy had been watching quietly, but when he saw that Anke's hands were red and she still hadn't given up shooting arrows, his eyes lit up. He remembered how his mother would pick up his brother when his hands were red from pulling the bow, tenderly blowing on them and applying medicine. But this little girl didn't complain of pain or fatigue, continuing to draw the bow, her forehead covered in sweat, yet she never gave up.
At such a young age, when people are naturally admiring others, Anke inexplicably entered the chubby boy's heart.
"Sister, can you teach me archery too?" the chubby boy asked with bright eyes.
Although An Ke didn't know which family's son he was from, he knew that the palace banquet was being held today, and those present were undoubtedly ministers favored by the Emperor. He directly presented him with a small challenge: "If you can draw the bow, I'll teach you archery." If he could, An Ke would keep his promise; if he couldn't, he might as well go to sleep—he didn't have time to play with a little brat.
An is terrible because he forgot that he is also a little kid.
Anke: No, no, no, I'm already an eight-year-old big kid.
Don't let his small size fool you, he has a lot of explosive power. The chubby kid drew the bow in one go.
Anke looked at the chubby boy, slightly shocked, but quickly realized what was going on. She figured it was probably because of the boy's weight that he could easily pull the bow up.
Chubby kid: That hurts???
So, on that bright, sunny afternoon, Anke taught the chubby boy archery. She taught him the same archery techniques his uncle had just taught him. They practiced for about an hour. Anke silently escorted him back to the banquet hall. She didn't bother to find out who he was. The palace didn't prepare banquets all the time. From that day on, Anke never saw the chubby boy again. In the days that followed, Anke gradually forgot about the chubby boy. Forgotten memories will eventually return with new chapters.
However, from that day on, Ertai, who was a chubby boy, returned to the mansion with great effort and practiced archery desperately.
Emerging from her memories, Anke looked at Ertai before her. She immediately felt a surge of relief. When they were children, Ertai had called her "Master."
Before long, Ertai had fired all ten arrows.
At this moment, Steward Wang had the drums brought over and arranged together for the masters to view.
"Ertai, when did you learn such archery skills? You've been hiding your talent for ages!" Yongqi stepped forward and patted Ertai on the shoulder. "You didn't even show it to me on the hunting grounds, you were keeping it a secret from me." Yongqi was just quite shocked, but he didn't mean to blame Ertai.
Couldn't they just stop hiding it? After all, the Emperor is so suspicious, and he mainly presents himself as a playboy. If there's too much information, wouldn't that ruin his public image? Ertai could only awkwardly laugh to the side.
“In terms of archery skills, I think you are evenly matched. You hit all ten arrows.” Qing’er was very fair. “But if we’re talking about the number of arrows that hit the bullseye, then An’an’s aim was definitely better.”
Yongqi nodded in complete agreement. While Ertai had also hit the drums, his shots were either too high or too low. Anke, on the other hand, had hit the center of the drums with every shot. The difference in skill was obvious, no doubt about it!
Anke then stepped out from the pavilion. "Not bad. As your master, I am quite satisfied with your archery skills."
Ertai smiled knowingly, revealing two small tiger teeth. The little girl from his childhood had finally recognized him.
Yongqi and Qing'er were left standing there completely bewildered.
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