"Do they have a grudge?" Chang Lili muttered subconsciously, but the next moment, as if she had discovered a new continent, she exclaimed in surprise, "No way? Could it be that Meng Yuxiu hates him for taking away his title of the most handsome man? I didn't know he was so secretly passionate!"
She looked at Meng Yuxiu with an incredulous expression, her opinion of him greatly changed.
As the drums sounded, the crowd quieted down, and Chang Lili also stopped laughing and looked towards the arena.
Meng Yuxiu and Chu Moyu also turned their gaze away and led their horses into the arena.
All the participants were young gentlemen, with very few veterans. It seems that at some point, the horse archery competition became the domain of the young.
The drumbeats were like raindrops, instantly stirring up the atmosphere in the arena. Everyone tensed up, and the young gentlemen were all ready to go.
Only Chu Moyu and Meng Yuxiu at the back of the line remained calm, but they would always glance at each other out of the corner of their eyes.
Chu Moyu had long heard of Meng Yuxiu's great name. Although he was only a minor deputy commander of the palace guards at the moment, he had grand ambitions and naturally regarded Meng Yuxiu, the number one general of Yun Kingdom, as his number one rival.
However, he didn't want to make enemies with him too early. His foundation was not yet stable, and he didn't want to have another enemy.
For some reason, Meng Yuxiu didn't like him. He was puzzled, but he met Meng Yuxiu's sharp gaze without fear.
At this moment, he noticed that Meng Yuxiu was glancing at a bright and beautiful woman in red sitting at the table from time to time, and he couldn't help but turn his head to look.
The woman had exquisite features and a radiant smile. Her red dress accentuated her fair skin, and even from a distance, her stunning beauty was still evident.
She rested her chin on her hand, looking at herself with great interest.
He lowered his eyelids, remaining expressionless, but inwardly he felt disdain.
He only considered Chang Lili to be one of the many girls who were infatuated with him.
The drumbeats suddenly quickened, grew louder and more powerful, but then abruptly stopped. A high-pitched eunuch announced, "The archery competition has officially begun."
At this moment, the man in purple standing at the front of the group mounted his horse, held a bow and arrow, and arrogantly arrived at the starting line of the race.
"The first to appear is Xu Ai, the son of the Vice Minister of Rites," the eunuch's shrill voice rang out.
Chang Lili quickly grabbed a handful of melon seeds and, in a relaxed mood to watch the excitement, changed to a more comfortable sitting position.
As the drums sounded, Xu Ai pulled on the reins, and the horse beneath him galloped faster and faster. Although he had an ordinary appearance, he now had a dashing and heroic air about him.
Everyone stared intently as he drew his bow, his eyes slightly narrowed, looking at the target in the arena.
Everyone watched nervously, wondering when he would release the arrow, which target he would hit, and where it would strike.
Chang Lili paused in her act of putting sunflower seeds into her mouth. She subconsciously felt that the trip was worthwhile; the competition was quite interesting.
Suddenly, Xu Ai released his bow and arrow, the arrowhead slicing through the air, and everyone's eyes followed the arrow.
He was clearly aiming for the furthest target, but unfortunately he was too confident and his arrow didn't even touch the target.
After a moment of silence, thunderous laughter suddenly erupted. Xu Ai, on horseback, turned pale with embarrassment and anger, threw his bow and arrows on the ground, and abandoned his horse to ride away.
Chang Lili put the melon seeds back on the plate and couldn't help but laugh along with the crowd.
She thought to herself that she hadn't yet discovered how spectacular or exciting the equestrian archery competition was, but it was certainly quite interesting.
Then came the second person to participate in the competition, the third, the fourth...
The situation on the field was quite dire. Shooting arrows while riding a horse is indeed difficult. Although many people eventually hit the target, most of them hit targets that were too close, and most of the time their aim was off.
Chang Lili shook her head, finally realizing that the main event would only be seen near the end of the competition.
She couldn't help but look over at Meng Yuxiu, only to find him turned to Chu Moyu, seemingly saying something to him.
"General Meng, would you like to switch places with me?" Chu Moyu's pale red lips curled into a wicked smile, his eyebrows slightly raised.
Meng Yuxiu said in an unfriendly but self-righteous tone, "You are the one the girls are most looking forward to appearing on stage. Letting you go first is to fulfill their wishes."
"I have a feeling that General Meng is angry because I stole his thunder," Chu Moyu said provocatively, his smile deepening.
Meng Yuxiu's gaze turned cold, but he quickly regained his composure. Realizing his loss of composure, he composed himself and said calmly, "I wanted to switch places with Deputy Commander Chu only because my bow hasn't arrived yet, and I wanted to wait a little longer."
Chu Moyu blatantly revealed his disbelief: "The bows and arrows for the competition are all ready. Is the general joking?"
"But I am not used to using the bows and arrows in the palace. I would like to ask Deputy Commander Chu to make an exception for me," Meng Yuxiu said quite sincerely.
Chu Moyu tightened his grip on the reins, a hint of disdain in his smile: "Then I'd like to see just how exquisite and superb General Meng's archery and horsemanship really are. I'm really looking forward to it."
He finished speaking slowly, then pulled on the reins and switched places with Meng Yuxiu.
Chang Lili almost stood up from her seat, watching the two talking with different expressions and even changing seats. Her curiosity was about to explode.
Gradually, the number of people in the group decreased, and the restlessness among the crowd became more and more obvious. Soon, Chu Moyu and Meng Yuxiu made their appearance.
Chang Lili stopped eating sunflower seeds and dozing off, clapped her hands, and stood ready.
"Chu Moyu, Deputy Commander of the Palace Guard, enter the arena." The eunuch's shrill voice rang out.
The screams of the women rose and fell, and Chang Lili couldn't help but shake her head. Everyone said that these daughters of noble families were so reserved and self-respecting, but now they were really going crazy.
Chu Moyu's expression was indifferent as he mounted his horse, a simple movement that was pleasing to the eye.
Her gaze followed Chu Moyu closely, feeling that no matter his strength, watching him compete was a pleasure.
At this moment, someone walked quickly to Meng Yuxiu and presented him with a long wooden box.
The box was opened, causing a stir among the crowd. What appeared in Meng Yuxiu's hand was an exquisite bow and arrow, carved with openwork cloud shapes, which was indescribably beautiful.
Chang Lili stared in disbelief, then saw Meng Yuxiu take out a dark-skinned arrow, nock it on the bow, and test it.
"I never thought I'd see the Flowing Cloud Bow in my lifetime. I thought it was treasured by General Meng and would never see the light of day again." Chang Lili heard someone say this, and others echoed.
It seems that this bow is something Meng Yuxiu treasures very much; I never expected him to take it out to match his own arrows.
In fact, Chang Lili had just made that arrow on a whim. Seeing how much he cherished it, she felt happy but also guilty.
However, she had prepared something even better for Meng Yuxiu; this arrow was merely an appetizer.
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