Chapter 62 What are you looking at me for?
Previously, their normal competition was archery, which is also the simplest shooting method. The servant behind him went to fetch the arrows, and Pei Wu was about to take them when Zhao Tuo suddenly said, "There's no point in just competing in this."
Pei Wu raised his eyes but did not speak, waiting quietly for Zhao Tuo to continue.
Zhao Tuo smiled and pointed into the air, pointing directly to the pavilion where Jiang Ru and the others were. Jiang Ru and Song Shu quickly hid under the window, wondering what Zhao Tuo was up to this time.
They couldn't hear what they were saying, and could only barely see people, so the two of them became extremely suspicious.
The small building had a pavilion with a half-open window, and a small pink flower hung on the windowsill. Zhao Tuo pointed to the flower and said, "This flower is in full bloom. Why don't we have a contest to see who can shoot it down first?"
Song Pingzhang knew who was in that room, Pei Wu knew, and Zhao Tuo knew even more. But just a few days ago he was pursuing Song Shu, and today he was going to disregard Song Shu's safety and compete in this way.
Jiang Ru and Song Shu hid under the window. Jiang Ru lowered her voice and asked, "Have we been discovered?"
Song Shu shook her head: "I don't know."
Jiang Ru: "It must be just a coincidence. I'll just take a look secretly."
As she spoke, she slowly straightened up, revealing only one eye. Zhao Tuo lowered his raised hand, but the eyes of the people in the room remained fixed on it.
Jiang Ru squatted back down and shook her head at Song Shu: "We should have been discovered."
Normally, if someone discovers it, it's no big deal. But in this kind of situation, it's better to avoid them a little.
Song Shu took a few steps back, sat down at the table, and waved to Jiang Ru: "Then sit for a while."
Jiang Ru then went over and sat down.
Song Shu had prepared everything very well, with tea and pastries available. If you were hungry, you could eat something to fill your stomach. Jiang Ru took a rose pastry and ate it leisurely.
They couldn't stay here to watch, so Song Shu's maid went downstairs to find out what was going on.
As soon as Zhao Tuo said this, everyone on the field felt it was inappropriate. The place Zhao Tuo was referring to was inhabited. If someone shot an arrow that went astray and happened to hit someone inside, that would be an undeserved disaster.
An official tried to intervene, but Zhao Tuo ignored him and simply looked at Pei Wu: "What does Lord Pei think?"
Pei Wu glanced at it without changing his expression and simply said, "Not good."
Zhao Tuo raised his chin: "You don't dare? As long as your archery skills are good enough, you won't hit the people inside the house. You have so little confidence in your archery skills?"
Pei Wu was confident that he wouldn't miss, but he didn't trust Zhao Tuo. Besides, he wouldn't gamble with Jiang Ru inside the house no matter what.
He was not angered by Zhao Tuo's words, but calmly said, "Your Highness, archery is not about accuracy, but about the mind."
"If we only care about winning and ignore the people, even if we win, we will lose."
Zhao Tuo's face darkened for a moment, then he snorted coldly: "Then let's have a horse archery contest."
Horse archery, as the name suggests, is shooting arrows while riding a horse. The rule in Daxia is generally to ride a horse at high speed and fire three arrows in succession.
This time, Pei Wu nodded: "As Your Highness wishes."
Since the competition was to be a horse archery contest, someone brought two horses. The two horses were about the same size, one dark brown and the other reddish-brown. Zhao Tuo chose the reddish-brown one first, leaving Pei Wu with the dark brown one.
The dark brown horse had a few white hairs on its forehead and was named Taxue. Pei Wu patted Taxue's head. Taxue was a medium-sized horse, and its back was almost up to Pei Wu's shoulder height, but it was a very docile horse.
Zhao Tuo went first. The bow of the Great Xia was extremely difficult to draw. If one was not skilled, sometimes one could not even draw the bow. It was not as difficult as the Divine Arm Crossbow, but it still required the use of waist strength to draw the bow fully.
The bows given to the envoys from the Southern Kingdom were easier to draw, but the horse-drawn bow had a longer range, and since they wanted to vent their frustrations, they brought this bow instead.
Zhao Tuo had already mounted his horse. The horse he had chosen was named Feiyun. It had a bad temper and wasn't very cooperative at first, but after Zhao Tuo rode it around a couple of times, it finally became obedient.
It carried Zhao Tuo at breakneck speed. The earthen embankment was a hundred meters away. There were two deer hides on the top of the embankment. To increase the difficulty, someone below would carry the deer hides and move them.
Zhao Tuo had previously tried to draw the bow, and although it was difficult to draw, he was able to.
He noticed that Pei Wu didn't seem capable of drawing the bow. Pei Wu was a frail scholar; he was good at reading, but his horsemanship and archery skills might not be as good as his.
Zhao Tuozhi was full of pride. He drew his longbow and the first arrow barely hit the edge of the deerskin, which was considered a hit.
The first archer wasn't very accurate, but Zhao Tuo was still satisfied. Soon, he fired two more arrows, both hitting the target with the same accuracy.
His first arrow was a slight hindrance; otherwise, he would have been considered top-tier. Now, he can only be considered barely above average.
He reined in his horse and headed back. The envoy from the Southern Kingdom had at least managed to turn the tide temporarily, and a smile appeared on his face as he praised His Highness's superb martial arts skills.
Zhao Tuo remained seated on his horse, looking at Pei Wu with a defiant air, and said, "Lord Pei, please."
All the officials of the Great Xia knew Pei Wu. He was a true civil official. Putting aside whether he could shoot arrows, it was questionable whether he could even ride a horse. If he fell off his horse, it would be a disgrace to the Great Xia.
Some anxious officials had already surrounded Song Pingzhang, urging him to think of a solution. Others had moved to Pei Wu's side, subtly urging him to admit defeat. Although admitting defeat now would be wrong, if they actually lost later, they would truly lose face for everyone.
Pei Wu didn't respond to the others, but gently stroked Taxue's head. Taxue's head kept rubbing against his purple robe sleeves, making them messy, but he didn't mind.
Pei Wu smiled, and with a nimble flip, he was on horseback in an instant. His sleeves fluttered, and he was a dashing young man. Ta Xue obediently followed his commands. The people outside the railing recognized Pei Wu and cheered.
After Jiang Ru finished eating the rose pastry and drinking a couple of sips of tea, she heard a commotion outside. She stood up and tentatively walked to the window. No one outside noticed her, and Zhao Tuo, who had been there earlier, was no longer there.
There was a familiar figure in the arena: Pei Wu, dressed in purple, was handsome and elegant, sitting calmly on his horse.
Jiang Ru exclaimed, "Ah!" "How did my cousin end up on a horse?"
Hearing the sound, Song Shu also went to the window, and Pei Wu was indeed sitting on his horse.
A servant handed him a crossbow, which he bent down to take. Jiang Ru frowned: "Isn't today supposed to be a martial arts competition? Why is it my cousin's turn?"
She knew a little about Pei Wu's archery skills, but not all of them, and was a little worried. She rested her chin on her hand and said, "You must hit the target."
At this moment, Pei Wu, sitting on his horse, was truly the most eye-catching person in the crowd. Jiang Ru saw that he was calm and composed, and knew that he would not take the initiative to go on stage if he was not confident, so she felt a little relieved.
Song Shu asked in surprise, "Your cousin can also shoot arrows?"
Jiang Ru nodded: "Of course I will."
Just then, Song Shu's personal maid, Xiao Tao, returned. Xiao Tao said, "The prince of the Southern Kingdom said he wanted to compete with Lord Pei, so he chose the window decorations outside our house. Lord Pei refused, so the prince of the Southern Kingdom chose horse archery instead."
Jiang Ru knew that Pei Wu wouldn't go out on his own initiative. Even if he were to go, it would be at someone else's request. It turned out that Zhao Tuo was behind it all. Jiang Ru was so angry that she gritted her teeth. She thought that she had been too lenient with him a few days ago and should teach him a lesson.
But it doesn't matter. She didn't teach Zhao Tuo a lesson enough before. Now that he has humiliated himself, Pei Wu will definitely win.
Jiang Ru glared angrily at Zhao Tuo, then turned her gaze to Pei Wu, who was riding a tall, fine horse. After running around a few times, Pei Wu galloped toward the earthen embankment.
When the distance was about right, he drew his longbow and shot an arrow.
The distance was too far, and Jiang Ru could only see Pei Wu's back. He hardly needed to control the horse, and it obediently led him along.
Behind the earthen embankment, there were designated archers who would immediately report the location of the target as soon as the arrow was shot. Once the arrow was embedded in the deerskin, the archers would quickly report the location, and their voices would carry from the earthen embankment to the field.
Pei Wu fired two arrows in quick succession, both hitting their targets, and both striking the eyes of the deer hides. His accuracy was impeccable.
The officials present gasped in shock when they heard that Pei Wu had hit the target with both arrows, and some whispered among themselves, "Did you know that Lord Pei could shoot arrows?"
"I don't know, I've never seen it before."
Have you seen it? What about you?
"I've never seen him before. I thought Lord Pei was just a weak scholar. He's actually quite shrewd."
After two arrows, if Pei Wu's next arrow doesn't miss, he will win.
The envoys from the Southern Kingdom understood this as well. Their smiles, which had only appeared briefly, vanished again. Their faces turned as black as coal, yet they still tried to maintain a semblance of decorum, praising the young man as something promising.
To hit two shots from a hundred meters away requires exceptional accuracy, especially considering the deerskin was moving. This shows that Pei Wu's consecutive hits were no coincidence.
Zhao Tuo's archery skills were not bad; at least among the princes of the Southern Kingdom, he was already considered one of the best. However, the bows of the Great Xia Kingdom were too difficult to draw, which is why he missed once.
I thought Pei Wu wouldn't even be able to draw the bow, but to my surprise, he not only could draw it, but he also shot more accurately than Zhao Tuo.
Zhao Tuo felt a mix of emotions as he stared at Pei Wu in the distance, even suspecting that the people of Da Xia had deliberately given Pei Wu preferential treatment, and that the lie had worked.
However, there are not only people from the Great Xia on that side, but also people from the Southern Kingdom, so it is impossible to fake it.
Moreover, Pei Wu's bow-drawing motion didn't seem like he was incapable, which means he truly possesses real skill.
Under everyone's gaze, Pei Wu drew his longbow, ready to shoot his third arrow. Everyone on the field held their breath and dared not speak, staring intently at Pei Wu.
Pei Wu aimed at the deer in the distance. Just as he was about to shoot, he shifted slightly to the left. The arrow flew forward swiftly and, with a "clang," struck the deer's tail.
It hit the mark again, but not as hard as the previous two arrows.
When the releasers reported that Pei Wu had only hit the tail, there was a collective sigh of regret from the Great Xia side, who wondered if Pei Wu had been too arrogant and that was why his third arrow had missed.
The envoys from the Southern Kingdom breathed a sigh of relief. If Pei Wu had hit his target with all three arrows, they would have truly lost face.
Now that Pei Wu's third arrow missed, they can be considered even. The Southern Kingdom won't lose face; at least it has salvaged some dignity.
Actually, saying it's even is giving the Southern Kingdom face, because in reality, even if Pei Wu's last arrow missed, strictly speaking, he still won.
Pei Wu put away his bow and crossbow, pulled Ta Xue around, and returned to the field. The horse's hooves clattered as he returned. Many officials came forward to congratulate him, and Pei Wu politely thanked them all before getting off Ta Xue.
For some reason, he looked up and seemed to glance in Jiang Ru's direction.
Now that they were closer and inside the arena, Jiang Ru could finally barely see Pei Wu's movements and also see him glance at her.
She suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable: "Why is he looking at me like that?"
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