"This humble servant greets Your Highness!" Lanqin said as she walked to the Fourth Prince's side.
The Fourth Prince nodded, slightly surprised that Lanqin had come at this time, and said to Nian Gengyao, "Gengyao, this is another of my concubines."
Nian Gengyao narrowed his eyes slightly, looked at Lanqin, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Greetings, Consort Niu!"
Lanqin clearly saw the disgust in Nian Gengyao's slightly stern eyes, indicating that Nian must have spoken ill of her to him quite a bit. These siblings probably saw her as an obstacle in their way.
Lanqin returned the greeting, then stood aside and asked the Fourth Prince, "Your Highness, what are they doing? Is it a competition?"
When Lanqin came in, Hongli and Hongzhou both had joy in their eyes, clearly indicating that they had been somewhat isolated and helpless.
"The three princes said they wanted to have a competition today, so they came over and dragged me over to watch them shoot arrows," the Fourth Prince said. "Gengyao and Shilan also came along to watch. How did you get here?"
Lanqin couldn't say that Lady Fucha had tricked her into coming, so she could only say, "I was thinking of Hongli and wanted to go pick him up from school."
"Sister, you've never gone to pick him up before. Did you go to pick up the Fourth Prince today on special occasion?" Lady Nian said sweetly from the side.
Lanqin said, "I just had a sudden urge to come and pick him up today."
Having said this, Madam Nian couldn't say anything more, so she glared at Lanqin and remained silent. Nian Gengyao, who was standing to the side, also glanced at Lanqin a few times when he saw her speak like this.
Whether you cower or stick your neck out, you'll get stabbed anyway. If you back down in front of Madam Nian, she'll probably just push you even harder.
"Your Highness, are they shooting arrows to see who can shoot more accurately?" Lanqin watched the three children shooting arrows in the sun, with many arrows already crookedly stuck in the target in the distance.
"Hmm. The three of them just said they would each shoot twenty arrows and see who hits the bullseye the most times. Gengyao is here today; he's a master archer. Let him judge whose archery is better," said Fourth Master.
Lanqin's heart tightened. Hongli and Hongzhou were only three or four years old, barely old enough to be considered skilled archers. Besides, Lanqin felt it was unnecessary to compare such young children and determine who was better. She couldn't say these things in front of so many people, but she planned to discuss them with the Fourth Prince when they were alone.
The Nian family and Nian Gengyao were whispering to each other the whole time, while the Fourth Prince stood between them and Lanqin, a faint smile always on his face.
Lanqin watched as Hongli and Hongzhou, with their small arms, drew arrows one by one from the quiver, nocked them onto the bow, and finally pulled them out with all their might—all done in one smooth motion. This was because the Fourth Prince had been teaching them archery since they were very young.
Lanqin watched as their arms were raised lower and lower again and again, which meant that their arms were starting to ache.
“Brother, look at Sheng’er, isn’t he a natural archer?” Madam Nian asked her elder brother. Hong Sheng was indeed a very good archer. He was more than a year older than Hongli and Hongzhou, and perhaps he really did have his brother-in-law’s genes, with natural arm strength, so when he shot an arrow, he was accurate every time.
It turned out that today, Hongsheng had suddenly shown goodwill towards Hongli and Hongzhou in the elementary school classroom and started talking to them about archery. Before they knew it, Hongsheng had dragged the two of them to the training ground for a competition.
Immediately afterward, the Fourth Prince and the Nian siblings arrived. Hongli wondered who had notified them, but since they were already there, he had no choice but to continue the competition.
“Sheng’er has the natural talent of a master archer. I only need to give him some pointers, and he will make great progress,” Nian Gengyao said.
"Gengyao, then I'm entrusting my three sons to you. Why don't you teach them a bit together?" the Fourth Prince said with a smile.
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness. I will go and give them some guidance later," Nian Gengyao said.
Lanqin listened from the side, feeling a little nervous. She had a feeling that Nian Gengyao wasn't so kind as to genuinely and seriously guide Hongli and Hongzhou. His sister had been jealous of her for many years, so how could she not complain to Nian Gengyao?
Hongzhou could no longer lift his arm and could only give the Fourth Prince a helpless, bitter smile. The Fourth Prince then said to the servant beside him, "Bring the Fifth Prince down. He can no longer shoot."
"Hongli, keep going! I really can't lift my arm anymore," Hongzhou said to Hongli beside him, feeling a little frustrated.
"Go and rest." Hongli nodded to Hongzhou, his forehead covered with tiny beads of sweat.
"You're done for too, so just admit defeat." Hong Sheng laughed when he saw Hong Li's face turn red.
"I won't admit defeat." Hongli glared at Hongsheng. He always felt that Hongsheng could never truly become good brothers with him and Hongzhou, and that their "harmonious coexistence" these past few days was probably intentional.
Hong Sheng chuckled, then picked up the next arrow. His movements were practiced and his expression was calm, unlike that of a child of about five years old.
Lanqin, watching from below, seemed to notice that Hongli was having some difficulty. She saw that the back of his shirt was starting to stick to his back, indicating that he was already drenched in sweat.
“Your Highness, he’s just a child. Why must we compete to see who wins? I see that Hongli’s clothes are soaked.” Lanqin said.
Upon hearing this, Lady Nian said in a mocking tone, "Sister Niu is feeling sorry for the Fourth Prince. Why don't you let the Fourth Prince admit defeat to our Hongsheng, then we can stop the competition."
Nian Gengyao also said, "Boys should have a competitive spirit, otherwise they will grow up to be as timid and useless as ladies in the inner quarters. Your Highness, let them continue to compete until a winner is determined. This way, they will not dare not to work hard in the future."
The Fourth Prince seemed oblivious to their argument, still watching Hongli and Hongsheng in the arena.
"Haha, if you can't take it anymore, just call it a stop. Your mother is still here; if she saw you working so hard, she'd be heartbroken," Hongsheng said sarcastically.
"Stop talking nonsense. If you can't hold on, just give up. Why are you trying so hard to persuade me to give up?" Hongli glared at Hongsheng and said.
Hongsheng remained silent and continued drawing his bow and shooting arrows in one smooth motion. He shot very well, but Lanqin did not believe that her son would necessarily lose.
On the sidelines, Nian Shi and Nian Gengyao watched as Hongsheng and Hongli shot with increasing accuracy, and neither of them seemed willing to give up.
"The Fourth Prince's arrows are also quite good!" Nian Gengyao said unconsciously.
Lady Nian grew increasingly unhappy. She desperately wanted her son to outshine the Fourth Prince and her eldest brother, but Hongli was never lagging behind and kept competing with Hongsheng.
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