109. A civil official, but with some martial arts skills.
Everyone turned their heads and saw the little prince proudly raising his head: "Grand Tutor, how was my shooting?"
“Your Highness is exceptionally intelligent. However…” Qu Zijin turned his head and pointed to the little prince’s crooked posture, “His posture needs to be more standard.”
The little princess snorted defiantly and picked up a bow and arrow as well.
She squinted one eye and aimed carefully.
Then, the arrow flew off at an angle and landed on the grass next to the target.
"Oh dear!" The little princess stomped her foot in frustration.
It's the little dumpling's turn.
The little boy held the bow with both hands, imitating the little prince, and pulled it back with all his might—
"Whoosh!"
The arrow flew out limply, tracing an arc in the air, and then...
It landed on Qu Zijin's boots, leaving a red dot.
The entire room fell silent.
"I'm sorry!" The little dumpling was at a loss.
Qu Zijin looked down at the red dot on his new boots, then at the little dumpling who was about to cry, and shook his head and smiled, "It's alright, it just means that the county princess at least shot the arrow."
Although the range is less than one meter, how can it not be considered a successful launch?
The little dumpling was a bit confused: "So... does this count as a success?"
"You did it! Little Moon shot so accurately!" The little princess was the first to rush over, lying through her teeth. "That red dot is so pretty!"
"Exactly!" the little prince quickly chimed in, "It looks much better than my red dotted eyes!"
"That's right, that's right! My little sister succeeded on her first try! She's incredibly talented!" said the second brother.
Then the four little dumplings all looked at Qu Zijin.
Qu Zijin paused, and with the atmosphere so tense, he hesitated before praising, "The county princess's arrow was quite... uh... reminiscent of Hou Yi shooting down the sun?"
He himself felt it was outrageous after he finished speaking, and the tips of his ears turned red.
The little dumpling was a bit bewildered by the group's enthusiastic praise, as if she might actually be really amazing?
At this moment, the second brother picked up his bow without saying a word.
"Watch me." He deftly nocked the arrow and drew the string, the movements fluid and seamless.
With a "whoosh," the arrow hit the bullseye, exploding into a bright red flower.
"Wow—" The little dumpling was immediately drawn in and clapped her hands. "Second brother is so amazing!"
Seeing this, the young prince's competitive spirit flared up: "Jin Lizhi, shall we have a contest?"
Upon hearing this, everyone present immediately tensed up.
The scene of the last competition between these two little devils is still fresh in my mind.
The second brother scratched his head and agreed, "Okay, but this time friendship comes first, competition second."
"Good! I practiced diligently after that!" The little prince picked up the bow and stood next to his second brother.
The second brother changed the color of the arrow tip to orange.
The two men took turns firing, and the arrows whizzed and struck the target.
It's clear that the young prince has made great progress.
However, his second brother practiced archery for a longer period of time than him.
In the end, the second brother won by a narrow margin, and the big orange flower on the bullseye was particularly eye-catching—yes, the second brother, being a straightforward guy, still chose to go all out and didn't hold back.
Everyone nervously turned their attention to the two of them, fearing that the previous scene would repeat itself.
"Hmph, you win," the young prince scoffed, but amidst everyone's surprised gazes, he added, "Can you teach me your archery skills?"
The second brother paused for a moment, then smiled sheepishly: "Actually, Your Highness, you've really improved a lot. I was stunned."
The two rivals suddenly started praising each other, leaving everyone around them dumbfounded.
However, the young prince was still a bit unconvinced, and a wicked idea popped into his head. His eyes darted around, and he suddenly pointed at Qu Zijin: "Jin Lizhi, do you dare to compete with the Grand Tutor?"
The second brother readily agreed: "What's there to be afraid of?"
With that, he strode confidently before Qu Zijin: "Grand Tutor, I challenge you!"
Seeing his second brother's eager expression, Qu Zijin rubbed his temples helplessly: "Let's forget it. It's not honorable for me to win a contest with a child..."
"Is the Grand Tutor afraid of losing to a child like me?" The second brother insisted on having a contest. "Does the Grand Tutor not dare to?"
Qu Zijin simply shook his head: "There's no point in competing between us. Even if I win, it will be a disgrace for me."
"How could it be shameful?!" the second brother retorted, crossing his arms. "I am known throughout the martial world as the Invincible Golden Swordsman of the East, undefeated in the world! I should be the one who feels ashamed even if I win! Because you are a scholar, while I am a knight-errant!"
Qu Zijin, exasperated, could only sigh and say, "Fine, if you want to compete, then let's have a friendly spar."
A target ten paces away is already a challenge for these children.
The second brother held his breath and focused intently, hitting the bullseye with an arrow, winning cheers from the crowd.
Qu Zijin casually shot an arrow, which struck the target right next to his second brother's arrow, without missing a beat.
"Grand Tutor is amazing!" the little dumpling clapped her hands and cheered. "Second Brother is amazing too!"
"Not bad, not bad!" the little princess nodded.
"What's so special about that!" the second brother retorted, unconvinced. "The real test is at the thirty-step target!"
The target at thirty paces was already quite far away; the children had to squint to see the bullseye.
The second brother gritted his teeth, his arm trembling slightly, but he still managed to put the arrow on the target.
Qu Zijin remained calm and composed, drawing his bow with perfect posture and aiming the arrow like a shooting star, once again hitting the bullseye.
"Wow! Awesome!" the little dumpling cheered and screamed.
"The Grand Tutor is truly a man of great talent..." The young prince exclaimed in surprise, his mouth agape.
“Yes!” The little princess exclaimed in surprise. “Isn’t the Grand Tutor a civil official? How can he also shoot arrows?”
Qu Zijin turned to look at them helplessly: "Didn't I just say this in class a while ago? The six arts of a gentleman: rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics. Of course I know them all, otherwise how could I teach you?"
Thanks to Wei Xiuming's vigorous promotion and popularization of education after he ascended the throne at a young age, all ordinary people, and even women who were previously not allowed to attend school, were now qualified to receive an education.
Basic schools and private academies only taught numbers, but Qu Zijin was diligent and intelligent, and was admitted to a prestigious university, which gave him, a boy from a poor family, the qualification to learn rites, music, archery and horsemanship.
Qu Zijin put down his bow and arrows after thinking for a while, preparing to have a long discussion with the children about the enormous changes that Wei Xiuming's promotion and popularization of education brought to all social classes, the significance and necessity of this policy, its impact on the future, and the foundation it laid...
However, before he could even speak, his competitive second brother suddenly pointed into the distance: "A hundred-pace target! I want to compete against a hundred-pace target!"
—It was a lucky accident that saved my friends.
"A hundred steps?!" The clueless friends looked in the direction he was pointing and gasped in unison.
The target was so far away that it was almost a tiny black dot, barely visible in the sunlight.
The little princess squinted for a long time and asked, "Where is it? I can't see the bullseye."
"This is too far..." The little dumpling hugged her little bow, tilted her head back and strained to see, "It's farther than the distance from Yue'er's home to school!"
Although it wasn't actually that far, the distance was still quite significant.
Qu Zijin frowned slightly: "Li Zhi, a hundred paces is really too far for a child..."
"I don't care! I want to compete!" The second brother stubbornly stomped his foot. "If the Grand Tutor doesn't compete, it means he's looking down on me!"
Qu Zijin looked at the stubborn little guy and finally gave in: "Alright."
He knew that Jin Lizhi was currently driven by a competitive spirit, recklessly determined to fight to the bitter end.
Since that's the case, it's good to let him sober up.
"Then, I'll go first." Qu Zijin straightened his clothes and slowly walked to the shooting position.
The Grand Tutor, who usually appeared frail, now stood tall and straight, his bow drawn like a crescent moon, exuding a rare air of heroism.
Shedding his gentle, scholarly air, he is also a dashing and heroic young man.
"Whoosh—"
The arrow pierced the air and, to everyone's astonishment, turned into a tiny black dot before finally embedding itself firmly in the seemingly unreachable bullseye.
"Oh my god!" the little princess exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hand. "Did it really hit the target?"
"So far..." The little dumpling tilted its head back, its eyes wide open, "Grand Tutor is the real Hou Yi! Grand Tutor could shoot down the sun directly!"
The young prince, who had instigated his second brother to compete, was also stunned. He rubbed his eyes hard and exclaimed, "I couldn't even see the target clearly, yet the Grand Tutor managed to hit it?!"
---
Small Theater:
Little dumpling: Wow!
Little Princess: Oh my god!
The young prince: (shocked) Is the Grand Tutor really that amazing?
Qu Zijin: Cough, you flatter me.
(The three little ones looked at the Grand Tutor with admiration.)
Qu Zijin: (Ears turn red) (Gradually becoming shy)
Qu Zijin: (Suddenly) So, (seriously) you must study hard in the future and not cause trouble in class. When you grow up, you must never use your knowledge and status to do evil.
Qu Zijin: If any of you grow up to be unruly and unreasonable, then—
Qu Zijin: (staring) Although I am a civil official, I am also somewhat skilled in martial arts.
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