Chapter 61: Backstabbing
Xinyi Zhaoyang remained unmoved. She simply shook her head slightly, her eyes sharp as an eagle, fixed on Luo Zhaohan, who was poised to strike in the stands. She spoke in an unusually calm tone, "Sister Yinzhen, once the arrow is shot, there's no turning back! That's the rule."
She paused, her voice becoming deeper. "If Luo Zhaohan is incompetent and is afraid of hurting others, then she should just admit defeat as soon as possible and no one will laugh at her. But if she insists on fighting for the sake of face and ends up killing someone, then she's incredibly stupid and deserves to be held accountable!"
She turned her head and looked at Chao Yinzhen, her eyes sharp and unquestionable. "Besides, those five people in the field, including Sun Honglei who later stood up on his own, which one of them didn't go there willingly? No one put a knife to their necks and forced them to do it, right?"
Chao Yinzhen was shocked by her words and subconsciously turned his head to carefully examine Xinyi Zhaoyang's profile. He saw that she had a calm expression, and between her brows was a sharpness and determination that was not usually seen.
Chao Yinzhen's heart skipped a beat, as if for the first time he had truly seen the other side of this always smiling princess's sister.
Perhaps Chao Yinzhen had been staring at her for too long, Xinyi Zhaoyang sensed her gaze and turned around. Strangely, the sharpness on her face instantly vanished, replaced by her usual lively and agile expression. She blinked and asked, "Sister Yinzhen, what's wrong with you? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Just when Chao Yinzhen wanted to say something——
call out!
A sharp and piercing sound of breaking through the air suddenly tore through the heavy air!
In the stands, Luo Zhaohan and Wei Yu actually attacked at the same time!
Two sharp arrows, like two bolts of lightning, flashed with a deadly cold gleam, shooting out at a speed barely tangible to the naked eye! Too fast! The people on the sidelines only felt a flash before their eyes, and the arrows had already flown to the center of the field!
"Ah!" An uncontrollable cry of surprise broke out from the crowd!
Luo Jince and Ye Yiheng, who were at opposite ends of the field, tightened their reins almost simultaneously! The two horses raised their front hooves high and neighed loudly!
The two people on horseback turned pale in an instant, and their right hands holding the hydrangea froze in mid-air, not even having time to put it down!
And not far behind them, on the ground, two large red hydrangeas that should have been in their hands were pinned firmly into the soil by two long arrows! The white feathers at the tails of the arrows were still vibrating violently!
"Wow!" After a brief moment of dead silence, a deafening roar erupted! Everyone looked towards the stands again in disbelief!
The Dongling female warrior named Wei Yu was tall and muscular, her strength evident at first glance. Her accuracy with the bow wasn't all that surprising. But Luo Zhaohan was also so formidable?! She shot down Luo Jince's embroidered ball with a single arrow?
And looking at the speed and accuracy, it is not inferior to Wei Yu at all!
While everyone was still immersed in shock, the two people in the stands had already calmly put arrows on the strings and pulled the bows!
Luo Zhaohan's icy gaze was like substance, instantly locking onto Xie Wuqi who was riding his horse towards her!
Xie Wuqi's heroic figure on horseback... Many images flashed uncontrollably through Luo Zhaohan's mind. In her past life, this figure had rushed towards her countless times, carrying all kinds of affection that she had mistakenly believed to be true.
But at this moment, for the first time since his rebirth, in such a murderous situation, he rode his horse towards her again!
A strong, inextricable hatred suddenly surged up from the deepest part of her heart! This was the man! In her past life, he had deceived her, used her, and finally forced her into despair! Luo Zhaohan's fingers gripping the bow suddenly tightened, his knuckles turning white.
At that moment, she clearly felt the resistance she encountered when she stabbed the hairpin into Xie Wuqi's neck, and the sticky and fishy feeling of the hot blood splattering on her face... All her sensory memories came back like a tide, almost drowning her!
It's this brief moment of distraction and turbulent emotions - for masters, victory or failure often depends on this tiny difference!
A crisp sound of a bowstring vibrating violently was heard first!
It was Wei Yu! She caught Luo Zhaohan's slight hesitation and decisively took the initiative!
Luo Zhaohan was suddenly awakened by the sound of the bowstring, her heart trembling, and she secretly cried out, "Oh no!" When she looked intently, Wei Yu's arrow, as fast as a meteor, had already accurately and fiercely nailed the embroidered ball held high by Sun Honglei!
"Dang!" With a crisp sound, the hydrangea and the bell on it were instantly blown away by the powerful force and rolled far to the ground!
At the same time, the arrow in Luo Zhaohan's hand flew out with a little hasty force from her!
bite--!
There was another crisp crash! The embroidered ball in Xie Wuqi's hand also fell to the ground! He suddenly reined in the galloping horse. The horse, in pain, raised its front hooves high and stomped a few steps in frustration.
No one noticed that at the moment the hydrangea slipped out of his hand, Xie Wuqi's palm retracted very secretly, and a small bell was tightly grasped in his palm.
He steadied his horse and looked ahead with a gloomy gaze. Pei Ji was the only one left on the field, still galloping towards the finish line!
The hydrangea in his hand swayed with the horse's shaking, and the bell on it made a rapid and monotonous sound.
The entire polo field fell into a suffocating silence again! Everyone's eyes were focused on Pei Ji and the only remaining hydrangea behind him, which symbolized his "lifeline."
Xie Wuqi stared at Pei Ji's receding figure, an indescribable malevolent thought growing like a poison ivy in his heart. He couldn't help but wonder: What if… what if Pei Ji's horse suddenly got startled and reared up? Then, would the fatal arrow in the stands, meant for his hydrangea, have pierced him instead?
This thought caused Xie Wuqi's mouth to curl into a cold and twisted arc.
On the high platform, the Dongling female warrior Wei Yu had already calmly put the arrow on again. The bow was opened like a full moon, and the arrow tip flashing with cold light was aimed steadily at the shaking hydrangea in Pei Ji's hand!
Luo Zhaohan, who was standing next to him, had just shot an arrow and was now quickly drawing the bow again. His movements were swift but carried a subtle solemnity.
Her eyes were fixed on Pei Ji, or more accurately, on the red hydrangea in Pei Ji's hand that would determine her final fate!
The air seemed to freeze, and the heavy drumbeats seemed to have stopped. Only the increasingly loud galloping sound of Pei Ji's horse and the crisp jingling sound of the bells on the hydrangea, like a countdown to death, were left.
Dark currents surged in Xie Wuqi's eyes, and the bell on his palm burned his skin.
He looked at the two people standing side by side in the arena, a fishy-sweet taste rising in his throat—Luo Zhaohan was destined to be his, locked in his golden cage for all eternity. The possession that should have been completed under the warmth of the candlelight tent now turned into poisonous ivy that crushed his sanity.
"She should be mine." This thought, like a poisoned arrowhead, pierced his heart. The dragon and phoenix candlelight from his previous life's wedding night suddenly flickered before his eyes, the image of wedding wine spilled on the mandarin duck quilt so clear that he could see the gold embroidery.
If the veil had been lifted at that time... the Adam's apple would have rolled heavily, and the gilded bell in the palm of the hand would have suddenly broken through the air!
"call out!"
The hidden weapon, wrapped in yellow sand, struck the horse's leg with pinpoint accuracy, arriving almost simultaneously with Wei Yu's arrow. The startled chestnut horse suddenly raised its hooves, and Pei Ji's dark blue official robes ripped like silk in the gust of wind. Amidst the shrieks of the stands, Luo Zhaohan's arrow, chasing Wei Yu's silver light, split the air currents.
“Dang!”
When the two arrows collided with a crisp sound, Pei Ji's left arm was already stained dark red. Xie Wuqi stared at the blood, tasting rust on his tongue - if it had been a barbed caltrop, blood would have spurted out from the horse's hoof by now.
"Master Pei!" Luo Jince's shouts mingled with the sound of horse hooves as he approached. The hem of the young man's red robe swept across the ground covered with broken arrows, but Pei Ji had already bolted towards the edge of the field. His black iron official boots crushed half a white-feathered arrow, leaving a deep indentation in the yellow sand.
Luo Zhaohan's embroidered shoes suddenly sank into the sand.
From a distance of three meters, she saw the blood on Pei Ji's arm dripping down his fingertips, creating small red plum blossoms on the ground. Her throat suddenly choked. Her hand, which had been so steady when she had put the arrow on, could no longer hold the half-broken bow.
"It's okay." Pei Ji's voice was weathered by the frost of the battlefield, but a crack appeared at the end. He lowered his eyes and saw the tears on the girl's eyelashes, about to fall. His chest suddenly ached. Even when he was tortured by all kinds of torture in the Dali Temple prison, it was not as painful as this moment.
Luo Zhaohan's rapid breaths pounded against the man's bloodstained sleeves. Fear crawled down her spine like a venomous snake. She suddenly remembered last year's winter hunt, when Pei Ji's official uniform had been ripped open by a bear's claws while he was protecting her. A similar dark red had seeped through his undergarment. It turns out that in life-or-death situations, the body is always more loyal than the mind.
Pei Ji's index finger, hanging at his side, trembled slightly. The faint red on the tip of the girl's nose reminded him of the wintersweet blossom she had thrown into the skylight of the Imperial Prison in the Ministry of Justice case file. She had said then, "Master Pei, you should pay more attention to the colors, so that you don't see only blood in your eyes."
"It's just a superficial wound." The soothing words stuck in his throat, turning into a rolling sound in his Adam's apple. He was shocked to find himself craving this burning concern, like a frozen traveler craving the candlelight at his fingertips. The hand in his sleeve suddenly clenched, as if to lock the tear into the lines of his palm.
"Sister!" Luo Jince reined in his horse, sending up a cloud of yellow dust. The agate jingled against the ground, but it couldn't drown out his sudden gasp. The Xiezhi pattern on Pei Ji's sleeve brushed against the strands of hair on Sister's forehead. They were so close that he could clearly see every golden thread on her official robe.
Xie Wuqi's nails dug deep into his palms.
The moment Pei Ji took a half step back, the wound on his arm suddenly felt a burning pain. He remembered what the emperor had said when he saw him this morning, stroking his jade ring: "It's time for Pei Qing to get married."
At that time, he had excused himself by saying "the state is not at peace", but now he did not dare to delve into the strange throbbing in his chest.
"The wound needs bandaging." Luo Zhaohan untied the embroidered handkerchief from his waist, but paused when it touched the blood-stained sleeve. The corner of the handkerchief, embroidered with winter plums, was lifted by the wind, revealing the small "Zhao" character on the corner. If this object fell into the hands of a stranger... the tip of his ear suddenly felt like it was on fire.
Pei Ji's Adam's apple moved. Just as he was about to speak, he heard the thunder of approaching hooves. Xie Wuqi rode in, his chestnut horse snorting loudly as he separated the two of them. "Master Pei, you are very skilled. I will definitely learn the art of riding and archery someday!"
The thong collided with the broken arrow, sparks flying, and Luo Zhaohan abruptly withdrew his hand. The embroidered handkerchief fluttered into the pool of blood between them, quickly stained dark brown by the sand and dust.
"What you should learn from Master Xie is an honest and upright skill." Pei Ji bent down to pick up the bloody broken arrow, his tone as calm as if he were reviewing a case file. "The trick of injuring a horse with a hidden weapon is really unworthy of the title of a descendant of the Wuwei General's Mansion."
Xie Wuqi's pupils suddenly shrank, and the wound on his palm burst open and bled.
In the imperial prison of his previous life, Pei Ji had the same expression when he was interrogating a traitor who colluded with the enemy - it was the look of an eagle looking down at its prey.
Luo Zhaohan suddenly took a half step forward, her purple skirt brushing against Pei Ji's official boots. "If Prince Xie wishes to challenge you, why not challenge him openly and squarely?" She threw the broken bow to the ground. The sound of sandalwood colliding with bluestone startled the sparrows under the eaves. "Zhaohan is always at your service."
That moment just now was so thrilling that it made my heart jump out of my throat!
Everyone in the stands was terrified. Only after seeing that Pei Ji was fine did they dare to rush to the railing and carefully exhale the breath that had been held in their chests.
Oh my God!
If Pei Ji was shot to death today in front of so many eyes, the consequences would be unimaginable. Who knows how big a mess it would cause!
Everyone looked up and saw that Luo Zhaohan had walked down from the stands and came to the court to meet Pei Ji.
However, they were at a safe distance from each other, Luo Zhaohan standing on the ground and Pei Ji riding on his horse, one higher than the other. They stood facing each other, seemingly not speaking much.
Everyone was feeling strange when they saw Pei Ji suddenly bend down and bow seriously to Luo Zhaohan.
At this moment, everyone suddenly realized.
If Luo Zhaohan hadn't shot down the embroidered ball at the last moment, Pei Ji's life would have been in jeopardy! So, no matter what, Luo Zhaohan was definitely worthy of Pei Ji's worship.
Luo Zhaohan raised his hand again and gave her a slight support from a distance, meaning that there was no need to be polite. The two of them were very polite to each other, not even touching the edge of each other's clothes.
However, in this empty football field.
Whether it was Pei Ji riding on a horse or Luo Zhaohan standing on the ground, they both managed to suppress the turbulent emotions in their hearts by bowing and lowering their heads.
Some things, no matter how hard you try to hold back, can't be hidden in your eyes. As long as they make eye contact, the other person can see through what they are thinking at once.
Fortunately, Luo Jince and Ye Yiheng hurried over at this moment. Meanwhile, Princess Xinyi Zhaoyang, Princess Chao Yinzhen, and the Dongling female warrior Wei Yu, who were in the stands, also hurried to the center of the arena.
"Master Pei, you are injured!" Luo Jince was closest to Pei Ji and immediately caught a glimpse of a small stain of blood seeping out of his left light-colored sleeve.
When Luo Zhaohan heard this, he hurriedly lowered his head to look carefully, and sure enough, he saw a glaring red color on Pei Ji's left sleeve.
Pei Ji's expression didn't change much, and he naturally hid his injured left arm slightly behind his back. He wanted to casually say "It's okay, it's just a minor injury", but before he could say anything, he saw Luo Zhaohan frowning slightly.
The words on the tip of his mouth stopped immediately, and he changed his words: "The arrow tip slightly scratched my skin. I can just apply some medicine when I get home. It's nothing serious."
Seeing that Luo Zhaohan's frown slowly relaxed because of his words, Pei Ji finally breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.
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