Chapter 26 You Qinghe, please don't hurt him again, it will hurt.
Fu Sui reined in her horse and stopped in front of Yue Shanling. Today, she had braided all her hair into thin braids, then gathered them into several bunches, which were scattered high and low around her ears and behind her. Beaded chains and colorful stones were woven into the top of her hair, and two fluffy pom-poms hung down beside her face and swayed.
She stopped Yue Shanling: "General, would you like to have a contest with me?"
Yue Shanling lowered his eyes to look at the small, lacquered red bow hanging on Fu Suima's side: "If the princess wants to lose more slowly, I can borrow the bow from Qin An."
Qin An didn't bring a bow at all. Fu Sui was unconvinced. This man was really arrogant. Did he think he could beat her with his bare hands?
Beside Yue Shanling lay an ancient, large bow sheathed, its string unstrung. Below it hung a horizontal sword with a ring pommel, its hilt gleaming coldly. On the other side was an old leather scepter, from which hung a wolf's tail. Fu Sui glanced at the deep marks on the wolf's tail, pondering whether they were markings or bloodstains that couldn't be washed away.
"What should we do if the general loses?"
Yue Shanling didn't think he would lose, but since Fu Sui wanted to have a match, he didn't mind playing along: "I'll let the princess decide what to do with me."
As soon as she finished speaking, Fu Sui turned her horse around. The horn for the encirclement had already sounded. She skipped over the meadow and headed straight for the sandy area, intending to start with the gazelles.
Fu Sui drew his bow, nocked the string, calculated the distance, and spurred his horses forward stealthily.
Before the gazelle could even enter Fu Sui's shooting range, a sudden gust of wind swept past, startling the fluffy balls around her face. The gazelle Fu Sui was aiming at let out a miserable cry, pierced through by the arrow, and flew three or four steps before coming to a stop.
Fu Sui turned around, and about three zhang behind her, Yue Shanling had already nocked his bow and released the first arrow, the bowstring still humming.
Startled by the screams of the gazelles, the rest scattered and fled. Gazelles are excellent runners, and once they start running, it's a true test of archery skills.
Fu Sui's eyes darted around, and he turned to walk toward the yellow sheep that was still struggling to survive. He drew his bow and shot an arrow at the sheep, then turned back and said, "General Yue, your archery is excellent, but it's a pity that this arrow hit the prey that I had already shot."
Yue Shanling didn't argue, but smiled and said, "Next time, Princess, don't shoot in the belly, the yellow sheep will run away with the arrow."
"If I hadn't been shot through the neck and had nowhere to shoot, I wouldn't have shot in the stomach," Fu Sui thought to himself, but smiled and held up a finger, waving it across the mountain ridge: "Then I'll take the lead by one arrow."
Chasing gazelles and deer, Fu Sui was determined to compete with Yue Shanling. Yue Shanling followed behind her, occasionally firing an arrow to finish off any prey that Fu Sui had shot and which had escaped. After an hour or two, he hadn't caught a single prey himself.
At noon, the group ate a simple meal in the Forbidden Garden. Cooking utensils were readily available there, and Tian Ganyou and Qiao Er caught several rabbits, which they handed over to the servants to skin and clean. Qiao Zhenzhen and Yanshan also worked together to shoot three rabbits and a pheasant, and the two offered the rabbits for everyone to roast and eat.
Tian Ganyou was determined to demonstrate his unique recipe and took on the task of roasting rabbit meat. He set up three fires and roasted three rabbits at the same time, managing to do so with ease.
Qiao Er and the Prince of Xiping both took out their knives to cut flesh for their younger sister. Fu Sui brought her own knife, but she refused to use it, blinking as she looked at Yue Shanling.
Without saying a word, Yue Shanling consciously pulled out his knife, washed it with clean water, and handed the tender meat from the rabbit breast to Fu Sui.
"Where is the Seventh Prince?" Qiao Er asked belatedly.
Tian Ganyou was also puzzled. He had clearly blown the horn, so he should have heard it. Why didn't he turn back?
Yue Shanling thought for a moment and said, "I saw him go into the mountains and forests, and he probably won't be able to return for a while."
Yanshan was somewhat worried upon hearing this: "I've heard there are wild beasts in the mountains. He doesn't know the way. What if he wanders into the deep forest?"
Just as the group had almost finished eating, Prince Xiping and Qiao Er discussed whether they should send someone to search for them.
Before they could even set off, the Seventh Prince had already arrived on horseback. Without waiting for his horse to stop, he jumped off and strode towards the Princess of Yanshan.
Perhaps from the sweat of riding, the Seventh Prince removed his clothes and piled them around his elbows and waist. It was only the beginning of summer, and the weather wasn't yet scorching hot, yet the Seventh Prince wasn't wearing anything underneath. His bare shoulders and chest glistened slightly, and his tanned skin was taut over his bulging muscles, as if cast in bronze and iron.
Seeing this, Qiao Zhenzhen quickly hid behind her brother, and Yanshan also lowered his head. At this moment, the Prince of Xiping was mounting his horse, and before he could dismount and block Yanshan, the Seventh Prince had already reached Yanshan.
He pulled a small, furry thing out of his clothes and handed it to Yanshan without saying a word: "Here, take this. Don't be angry with me."
In his hand was a warm mass. Yanshan looked down and saw it was a leopard cat cub. He didn't know where the Seventh Prince had caught it. The little leopard cat had been jostled around in the Seventh Prince's arms the whole way, its tail flapping wildly in fright.
Yanshan hadn't been angry with the Seventh Prince at all. She looked up, intending to explain, but her eyes fell upon his bare chest, several strands of turquoise stones overlapping on it, adding to its allure. Yanshan blushed and lowered her head again.
Yanshan remained silent, and the Seventh Prince was unsure whether she had forgiven him. He eagerly awaited her answer when suddenly someone grabbed his belt and pulled him backward. He stumbled back a few steps to regain his balance, but when he looked again, Princess Yanshan was gone. Only the Prince of Xiping, his eyes bloodshot, stood before him, demanding, "What are you doing!"
The Seventh Prince felt somewhat aggrieved; he couldn't understand why the Prince of Xiping was so hostile towards him. Qiao Er quietly reminded him from the side, "Put your clothes on properly; what kind of behavior is this in front of the ladies?"
The seventh prince then realized how rude he had been and hurriedly pulled up his clothes to cover himself.
Yanshan peeked out from behind his elder brother and saw the Seventh Prince blushing and frantically putting on his clothes. His trousers were covered in dirt, and two blades of grass had somehow gotten into his hair. After quickly finishing his clothes, he nervously glanced at the Prince of Xiping, like a student who had done something wrong and was afraid of being punished by his teacher. Yanshan hugged the little raccoon in his arms, his eyes crinkling, and smiled softly.
That shy smile, like a wild peony about to bloom, caught the Seventh Prince's eye. He was stunned for a moment, completely forgetting that he was being glared at by the Prince of Xiping. He grinned foolishly, revealing a bright canine tooth between his lips.
While things were in chaos over there, Fu Sui remained seated and did not move. Yue Shanling also remained still, cutting up rabbit meat and handing it to Fu Sui.
Fu Sui glanced quickly to the side, and seeing that no one was paying attention, opened her mouth and took the meat from his hand. Her tongue swept over his fingers, rolled in her throat, and she looked up at Fu Sui.
Fu Sui chewed on his meat and tilted his head to look at Yan Shan and the others, leaving only Yue Shanling's back of his head visible.
He stared silently at his fingertips, waiting for Fu Sui to finish swallowing the meat, then cut off a small piece and, pretending not to hear, handed it to Fu Sui again.
The soft, moist tongue curled up again, even more audacious than before, hooking around his fingertips and refusing to leave. Yue Shanling kept his eyes fixed on the grass and rabbit meat in front of him, letting the wonderful sensation from his fingertips amplify and engulf his entire body. It wasn't until a breeze blew by, its cool touch biting to the bone, that he regained some of his senses.
The owner of the tongue had already snuggled up to Yanshan, clamoring to pet the leopard cat, his fingers leaving no trace in the wind. Yue Shanling slowly exhaled a breath of hot air, opened the wine flask, and tilted his head back to drink it all in one gulp.
Apart from the seventh prince still howling as he chased the deer, everyone was less energetic in the afternoon than in the morning.
Tian Ganyou took his falconers to hunt geese, while Qiao Zhenzhen and Yanshan wrapped the civet cub in soft cloth, asked someone for some goat milk, fed it in a small bowl, and discussed giving it a name. Qiao Er and the Prince of Xiping lingered around their sisters, hunting rabbits and playing a game of shooting grass rings nearby.
A strange whistling sound, somewhat like a bird call, came from the forest. Yue Shanling listened intently and realized it was Yan Tianqing's signal; they had spotted a wild boar.
Yue Shanling was the first to enter the forest along the mountain path, with Fu Sui following closely behind. Qiao Er, having heard that there were wild boars, also wanted to join in. After asking the Prince of Xiping and deciding against it, he entrusted Qiao Zhenzhen to the Prince of Xiping and spurred his horse to catch up.
The wild boars were fierce. This place was discovered by Yan Tianqing and Cheng Liyang. The Imperial Guards had not yet arrived, so they could not surround them with long spears and could only kill them with bows, arrows, swords, and axes.
The startled wild boar darted about in the woods, and the horse, unable to break through the trees, could only follow at a distance. Fu Sui, lacking strength, could not inflict serious damage with his light bow. Yan Tianqing fired two arrows in pursuit, but the boar showed no sign of weakening; it must have just managed to avoid vital organs while running and dodging, sustaining only minor wounds.
Seeing that the wild boar was about to escape, Yue Shanling, seeing that Fu Sui couldn't subdue it, took out an iron arrow from his quiver. Before Yue Shanling could nock the arrow, Fu Sui pulled something from a pouch that had never been opened, raised his hand, and shot it towards the wild boar.
A short iron arrow, only half the length of a regular arrow, was embedded in the wild boar's neck. The boar thrashed and thrashed in pain, but Fu Sui quickly twisted the bowstring and fired another arrow from the boar's side and rear. There was only a bloody hole where the arrow had entered; the short iron arrow hadn't penetrated completely.
A crossbow? Yue Shanling's heart skipped a beat. Hiding a crossbow was considered as hiding weapons and armor, which was a forbidden item.
He cautiously surveyed his surroundings. The Imperial Guards hadn't arrived yet; nearby was only the man carrying the golden eagle from the Princess's residence, and a little further away were Yan Tianqing and a group of servants from the Princess's residence. The people from the Princess's residence all appeared normal, seemingly unsurprised by Fu Sui's carrying of the crossbow, presumably because they were all trustworthy. Yue Shanling breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, no outsiders had seen them.
The wild boar, wounded twice by crossbow bolts, still tried to escape, staggering. Fu Sui frowned and gave chase; a boar with crossbow wounds could not remain in the forbidden garden.
Cheng Liyang estimated that the wild boar wouldn't last long. He had already scouted the direction Fu Sui was chasing and found no danger. He left the princess's entourage behind to prepare to block the imperial guards. Yan Tianqing chased after the mountain ridge for dozens of meters before realizing that there was no one behind him. After thinking for a moment, he turned his horse around and stopped chasing.
Qiao Er was delayed and couldn't keep up with Fu Sui and the other person. He took a detour before finally finding this place. He only had time to see the wild boar running wildly with blood on its skin and Fu Sui chasing it across the mountain ridge. He looked at the pools of blood on the ground and the grass and trees that had been smashed by the wild boar. He wisely chose not to go and risk his life.
The wild boar was at its last gasp; it hadn't run far before it began panting heavily, blood dripping from its mouth. After a few more steps, it convulsed and collapsed into the grass. Yue Shanling pulled out his knife and plunged it into the boar's heart, killing it instantly. He then used the knife to reopen the two crossbow wounds and scoop out the bolts. This was probably where the wild boar usually drank water; there was a stream nearby. Yue Shanling used the stream water to clean the two crossbow bolts and returned them to Fu Sui.
“The sun is already setting, and the general has not caught a single prey. He is destined to lose today’s contest.” Fu Sui twirled along the stream.
Yue Shanling disassembled the crossbow and put it back in its original pouch. With his back to Fu Sui, he rubbed his fingers together, the soft, damp touch seeming to linger on them. Was this not considered punishment after all?
“Or,” Fu Sui hopped over to Yue Shanling’s back, tilting his head to look at Yue Shanling, “the general can shoot one, no, two wild boars before the sun sets.”
Looking up at the sky over the mountain ridge, shooting two wild boars wouldn't be too difficult, but since she wanted to win, why spoil her fun?
Sunlight dripped through the leaves of the tree, and as Yue Shanling looked up, it touched his neck, instantly transforming into a sharp, cold glint that pierced Fu Sui's mind. Fu Sui almost trembled. She took several deep breaths before she could barely grab Yue Shanling's clothes to steady herself and force herself to calm down.
Yue Shanling was tall, and Fu Sui had to stand on tiptoe to see him clearly. Yue Shanling sensed Fu Sui's unusual behavior behind him and was about to turn around when a soft and fragrant scent, unique to women, wafted onto his neck.
He was scalded and his breath caught in his throat.
A slightly cool finger touched it, tracing the scar from back to front. The spot where the cold finger touched felt like it was burning; every inch of skin, every muscle trembled. The prominent Adam's apple bobbed up and down with the movement of the finger, hitting the fingertip just as the finger reached its tip.
"How did you get hurt?" Yue Shanling heard Fu Sui's trembling voice, almost a whisper of sobs, beside him, which brushed against Yue Shanling's reason like a feather.
"When I was young, I was ignorant and angered my father." The voice that came out was hoarse and dry, as if the pressure on his throat was not a hand, but a sharp stone, as if his throat had been dragged and ground raw in the Gobi Desert.
Fu Sui had assumed he was wounded on the battlefield, and breathed a slight sigh of relief upon hearing it was merely due to some reckless past actions. However, upon hearing the word "father" again, her heart ached as if ants were gnawing at it, an unbearable pain. She reached out and covered the scar, unsure whether she was referring to Yue Shanling or someone else: "Don't hurt yourself again, it will hurt."
Yue Shanling didn't look back. The person behind him was slumped on his back, seemingly crying. At this moment, Fu Sui probably didn't want him to turn around either. Even though Fu Sui's emotions seemed inexplicable, Yue Shanling had a vague feeling that the person Fu Sui was crying for wasn't him.
"Princess, you have had a very fruitful day. It's a pity that the wild boar had too many holes in it. Otherwise, you could have skinned it and made a sturdy and durable bag." Yue Shanling changed the subject and asked Fu Sui to speak.
Fu Sui said in a deep voice, "I am a princess who lives a life of luxury, why would I need something sturdy and durable?"
“Even precious gold and jade cannot be used to make arrows, but the rough hide of wild boar has its uses.”
"What did General Yue use them for?" Fu Sui asked softly.
Seeing that Fu Sui had stopped crying, Yue Shanling said to him, "This wild boar can only be used to cut small pieces of hide, which are good for making wristbands and skin rings."
Wristbands were one thing, but Fu Sui chuckled, "What would I need so many wristbands for? One that fits perfectly is enough, isn't it?"
“Old archers in the army carry four or five thumb rings with them. After a long time of drawing the bowstring, their fingers will become congested and swollen. The thumb ring used in the morning will be too tight on their fingers by noon and will no longer be usable. Therefore, they need to replace it with a more suitable size in time.”
Even though the young men of the capital have many thumb rings, they only use them for playing with. This is the first time Fu Sui has heard of needing to change the size of the thumb rings for long periods of archery practice. "Where do they get their thumb rings? Are they issued by the army, or do they buy them themselves?"
The fit of the thumb ring directly affects an archer's accuracy; for soldiers on the battlefield, it's a matter of life and death, so they can't just buy any unsuitable one. "Some veterans make their own, so a sturdy piece of leather is more useful to a soldier than silk or satin."
Fu Sui wiped the last of her tears on Yue Shanling's clothes. Her small face was fair and delicate, showing no signs of having just cried. She looked down to find Yue Shanling's hand and saw that he was wearing a tubular deer antler thumb ring: "Did you make this one yourself, General?"
"Yes, I once shot a stag and used a piece of its antler to make this one. Tubular thumb rings are more delicate, and to make one that fits well, you have to modify it as you use it."
Qin An was worried that Fu Sui would wear down his joints, so he prepared thumb rings for Fu Sui with ingot-shaped ones, and each time he would measure the size and hand them over to the craftsmen to make them. Fu Sui reached out and took the deer antler thumb ring off Yue Shanling's fingers. The deer antler was polished until the edges were rounded and crystal clear, while the middle was slightly thinner, coarser, and gray in color.
When she looked up again, she had become the arrogant and flamboyant Princess Yong'an. She held the antler thumb ring in her hand and put it behind her back, her eyes revealing cunning: "I suppose the general can't bear to see the wild boar in the forest suffer any more calamities, so you might as well give me this antler thumb ring."
Yue Shanling glanced at Fu Sui's still slightly damp eyelashes and her expression that said, "I won't return it to you even if you don't agree," and chuckled, "It's its good fortune to have won the princess's favor."
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