Chapter 32 Warming Up "Good archery, young lady."
"My Lord...Miss."
The next day, Chuntao came to the Winter Hunting and Archery Banquet and couldn't help but exclaimed after listening to Wen Ying's explanation.
"Yes, I came out too quickly and forgot to check whether Anle was still in Yan Jing's room." Wen Ying said with a sigh.
"No, miss. What I mean is, you had two groups of people drugging me, but no one of them used the drug?!"
"Is this the point, Chuntao?"
·
It’s a rare sunny winter day, and the sunshine shines on my body, bringing a faint warmth.
Wen Ying got up a little earlier than others. She moved a bench and sat on the open space in the hunting camp, squinting her eyes to bask in the sun.
The girl, wearing a plush finger coat, held a hand warmer in her hands. The misty warm smoke rose into the air and dissipated along with the white clouds exhaled by the girl.
"Miss Liu got up so early."
A familiar voice sounded from behind, and Wen Ying turned around in response.
Yan Jing was wearing a dark blue riding suit, with a smile on his face, walking slowly towards him with an elegant and calm posture.
It seems that he has forgotten everything that happened yesterday.
Wen Ying did not bring it up on her own initiative, but smiled as usual and said, "Remembering the hunting today, I got up a little earlier. I hope Lord Yan will receive too many tokens and forget mine."
As she spoke, she took out a braided red rope from her sleeve, took out the peace locket tied to the end, and gently lifted it up and handed it over.
The warm, white jade was pure and flawless in the bright winter sun, just like Mr. Wushuang himself.
The warm sun shone through his dark eyes. Yan Jing closed his eyes slightly, stretched out his hand to hook the red string, and chuckled, "I am not as popular as you think, Miss. I have never received a token of love in the past years."
In the past, when the Great Hua was conquering the world, there was a shortage of food, scarce arable land, and wars were raging. Wives would make tokens for their husbands who were out hunting, praying for their safe return.
Continuing to this day, before the annual horseback riding and archery banquet and hunting, unmarried girls will give their favorite men their own tokens to express their feelings.
The number of tokens received is often a source of bragging and pride for the young men of noble families, symbolizing their status, talent and charm.
As the most outstanding young talent among his peers, how could Yan Jing not have received the token?
"Lord Yan is coaxing me again." Wen Ying looked at Yan Jing helplessly and did not take his words to heart.
Yan Jing lowered his eyes to the girl's rosy fingers holding the hand warmer. After a moment's hesitation, he suddenly asked, "Have you ever held a bow, Miss?"
Wen Ying's body stiffened, and she slightly turned away, her voice becoming lighter: "No."
The bow and arrow requires precision and eyesight. It was the first weapon she learned. It can be said that she grew up holding a bow.
Yan Jing didn't seem to notice her strangeness, and just said gently: "You seemed to like Miss Gao's horseback archery ceremony yesterday. Do you want to try archery?"
Wen Ying was slightly stunned when she heard this, and hesitated and said, "Is it okay?"
Yan Jing nodded, looked at a fenced-off area in the distance, and pointed: "There is a warm-up area over there, with various weapons and targets, including light bows, which young lady can use as well."
Wen Ying had never heard of such a place before, and looked over with some curiosity: "Are those weapons specially prepared for the horse riding and archery banquet?"
"No." Yan Jing shook his head slightly, smiled and said, "General Gao Xuan returned to Beijing and brought some old weapons from the military camp. He probably just wanted to liven up the atmosphere."
A stern look flashed across Wen Ying's eyes, and she raised her brows and curled her lips: "In that case, of course I will go to show my support."
The arrow that killed Lan Gen was from the military camp, and Gao Xuan happened to bring many bows and arrows and other weapons back to the capital.
In addition, Gao Xuan has a close relationship with his father's case.
All the events seemed to point to him as the mastermind behind the incident.
As the Golden Crow gradually rose higher, more and more people arrived at the hunting camp.
When Wen Ying and Yan Jing were walking on the path between the tents, they often saw young ladies looking at Yan Jing shyly, as if they wanted to come forward and talk to him, but Yan Jing did not stop for them.
"Sir, it seems that many people want to talk to you." Wen Ying saw the fifth girl holding up the token and seemed hesitant to speak, so she couldn't help but remind the people around her.
"It's just Miss's illusion." Yan Jing's tone was flat, and he didn't seem to think there was anything wrong.
Wen Ying: ...
She suddenly began to believe that Yan Jing had never received a token of love before.
Is Yan Jing such a person who can't understand the atmosphere?
As we approached the warm-up area, the cold silence of winter was replaced by the noise of the crowd, and the first thing we heard was—
"good!"
"Miss Gao has great archery skills!"
As you step into the entrance, what comes into view is the white and gold corners of the clothes fluttering in the wind. The girl bends her bow like a full moon, takes a deep breath, and relaxes her fingertips.
The flying arrow broke through the cold wind and shot straight towards the target fifty steps away!
"Hit the bull's eye!" The servant next to him shouted out the result.
Gao Lerong relaxed her shoulders a little, gently wiped the sweat from her forehead, and a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.
This was the third bull's eye she had hit since the morning. Although it was not as perfect as before, it was still pretty good.
"Okay!" The girl's clear voice came with a smile. Gao Lerong was stunned for a moment and turned to look at the source of the voice.
Liu Qing, wearing a white fox cloak, clapped happily, and the man standing next to the girl looked at Liu Qing tenderly.
Before Gao Lerong could say anything, she heard a male voice behind her impatiently say, "Haven't you had enough fun yet? Come back."
Her heart sank, and she threw the bow and arrow to the servant beside her, then turned and walked towards her father.
Wen Ying frowned upon seeing this.
Did Gao Xuan have such a strong personality in the past?
"Miss Liu, the position for the bow and arrow is vacant." Yan Jing interrupted Wen Ying's thoughts at the right time.
The attendant readily handed over the light bow and quiver.
"Oh, okay." Wen Ying took the bow and arrow, handed the hand warmer to the servant, and pulled the bowstring casually. She used a little more force and almost pulled it to the full extent. She was so scared that she quickly loosened her strength.
She used to use a heavy bow, and the light bow was no different from a childhood toy to her.
His big hand covered the back of her hand. Yan Jing's voice was cold, but his tone was gentle, like spring water flowing under the ice: "If you use the bow and arrow in the wrong posture, it is easy to get injured. You must first learn the correct way to hold the bow."
The warmth of his palm passed through the sleeve and touched her skin, like fingertips sliding across her heart, causing a tingling sensation.
"The wrist should be relaxed, but not too relaxed," he explained patiently, his eyes focused as if his mind was not distracted, "so that you can ensure accuracy and stability when exerting force."
Yan Jing's voice flowed through her ears. She couldn't help but move away a little, but the man put his arm around her waist and pulled her back.
He glanced slightly to the side, his eyes were deep, and his voice rose at the end: "Miss, concentrate."
Wen Ying's ears turned red. For the first time in her life, she felt the bow and arrow in her hand was hot. She tried her best to hold the bow like a beginner.
The cold wind was blowing, and it was difficult for arrows to hit the target. While I was waiting intently, harsh and mocking words came from afar on the wind.
"What does it look like for a girl to show her face in public?"
Gao Xuan looked at his daughter with disgust, as if every word he spoke carried an icy edge, cooling down Wen Ying's boiling blood.
Gao Lerong lowered her head, put her hands behind her back, and said softly: "I just want to be like my father..."
"Nonsense, what's so good about imitating a military commander who lives from hand to mouth?" Gao Xuan frowned and raised his voice, "Wouldn't it be better to marry a high-ranking official and live a life without worries?"
"As long as you find a reason to detain the people and then release them at the right time, you will get a lot of benefits. This is what a general would fight for his whole life..."
Before Gao Xuan finished speaking, his eyes suddenly widened and he instinctively tilted his head to the side. Almost at the same time, an arrow with a hurricane passed by the edge of his ear and quickly sank into the wooden board of the wall behind him.
If he hadn't reacted in time, this arrow would have resulted in blood!
Gao Lerong realized something and turned around immediately.
The archer fell gently into the arms of the man behind her, as if shooting that arrow had exhausted all her strength, and even her voice became a little weak:
"I'm sorry, General Gao. I don't know how to shoot arrows. I'm sorry to disturb you."
Yan Jing's Adam's apple rolled slightly, he lowered his head slightly, his hair drooped slightly, and said softly: "You are not hurt."
The girl shook her head gently, using Yan Jing's robe to block the cold light in her eyes.
Wen Ying could tell that Gao Xuan was secretly mocking Yan Jing. She felt that he had detained so many believers but had not obtained much information from them, which was a thankless task. He must have collected a lot of bail or bribes from their families.
But she watched how Yan Jing did it step by step.
He could have killed the alchemist directly, but he took a long detour and created a huge fuss in order to prevent other alchemists with ill intentions from creating another [Suzaku Cult].
He knew very well that the lower-level believers would not know many inside stories, but he insisted on detaining and interrogating them all in order to have more time to find solutions to help them solve the problems they were facing.
All the manpower, material resources and energy were borne by Yan Jing alone.
How can we allow others to slander such a righteous act?
How could she hold back her anger if she didn't teach Gao Xuan a lesson?
Gao Xuan slammed his palm heavily on the table, making a loud noise that shook the teacup slightly. He said in a deep voice: "How dare you assassinate an official of the imperial court in front of him!"
"General."
With his fingertips immersed in the girl's long hair, Yan Jing gently covered Wen Ying's ears, as if he was afraid that she would be frightened, and said lightly: "It was just an accident."
"Accident? The target is in the north, and the general is in the southeast. The difference is so far, how can it be called an accident!" Gao Xuan's voice was low and cold, carrying anger that surged like waves.
He was a military commander and could tell the difference between an accidental stray arrow and an intentional target.
In his opinion, it was obvious that Yan Jing was controlling the direction of the bow and arrow from behind, and he did it on purpose!
"It was windy just now, and Miss Liu is a beginner, so it's understandable that such an accident happened. If the general insists on pursuing the matter," Yan Jing stroked Wen Ying's head comfortingly, raised his eyelids, and looked into the distance with indifferent dark eyes, "I'll apologize on behalf of the young lady."
"Okay, okay...you must stand up for this woman, and I will report the truth to His Majesty." Gao Xuan laughed in anger, stood up angrily, and strode towards the exit.
"Please do as you wish." Yan Jing's voice was still calm and he didn't care.
Wen Ying felt a little annoyed, realizing that she was too impulsive and seemed to have caused trouble for Yan Jing. She carefully looked up to check Yan Jing's expression.
But unexpectedly, he met the phoenix eyes filled with smiles, and the strong emotion even began to melt the frost on the surface.
"Good bow skills, young lady."
Wen Ying stared at the man's tender eyes in a daze, her lips moving slightly, as if she wanted to say something.
"Master Yan," the attendant beside him bowed his head and reminded, "The hunt is about to begin."
Releasing his arms around the girl, Yan Jing smiled and said, "I'll be back soon."
Wen Ying closed her lips, swallowed the words that were about to come out, and said softly:
"good."
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