38 Chapter 38
◎A fleeting moment of beauty, how moving it cannot be described.◎
Ah Shan, being utterly inhumane, not only lit the biggest and brightest lamp first, but also confiscated the oil from the other lamps.
The black-clad youth beside Su Chengyu clicked his tongue: "This is too ruthless, they've gone to extremes..." He was glared at by Su Chengyu and silently shut up.
Su Lu rolled up the two red paper rolls and handed them to Song Zhen's subordinates, whispering a few instructions.
At the same moment, amidst the cheers of the Northern Rong delegation, Ashan, drawing his bow and sheathing his arrow, caught sight of this scene and paused slightly. It seemed Su Lu had indeed put pen to paper just now; at times like this, whether he was writing or painting… Ashan's heart sank. He wasn't uneducated; he knew that the literati of Dayan liked to engage in stream-of-consciousness writing, and often achieved remarkable success. For example, they might praise the fragrance of flowers but deliberately avoid mentioning the flowers, painting butterflies fluttering on horse hooves, euphemistically titled "Returning Home from Treading on Flowers, the Horse's Hooves Reek of Fragrance."
This Su Lu, could it be—damn it, he also "painted" the brightest lamp?
Ah Shan's eyelids twitched, and she thought to herself that she must not let him take advantage of this opportunity. Just as she was about to speak, she saw Su Lu get up from his desk and walk towards the corridor.
Outside the Linde Hall, the lights were dim, with only a few palace lanterns illuminating the scene. He was dressed in a dark-patterned black robe, typical of a princess's guard. While not as luxurious as the royal nobles in the hall, he was still captivating.
Its sharpness is like snow on a mountain peak, its elegance like jade in a pool.
Such stunning eyes and brows would inevitably give off a feminine air, but his frosty white clothes softened the vibrancy, making him seem distant.
Not only Ashan, but also the young courtiers in the hall who saw this scene felt a slight choking in their breath, and they all couldn't help but wonder: Could such a person really be forcibly "destroyed" by Princess Ning'an?
Su Lu walked down the corridor steps and took a lantern from the top of the lamp stand.
He was tall and slender, and as he raised his hand, his sleeves slid down a few inches, revealing a section of his jade-white wrist bone.
A kind person reminded him, "Young Master Su, that lantern has run out of oil and won't burn for long."
"It's alright."
He took seven or eight lanterns and placed them on the ground one by one.
Everyone in the hall craned their necks, eager to see what he would take out of the bag Song Zhen had brought. If it weren't for the emperor's presence, they would have surrounded him like the crowd watching street performers.
He took out a stack of silk cloth from the bag. Although it was called silk cloth, it looked much stiffer than silk cloth, as if something had been coated on it and shaped into this form after drying.
Su Lu lit a candle and used the wax as glue to carefully seal the silk cloth to the top of the lantern.
Some of the more astute ministers figured it out, their eyes lighting up for a moment, but then they frowned and shook their heads in regret.
The opening at the top of the lantern is for heat dissipation. Now that it's sealed, the heat can't escape, and the lantern will heat up and rise.
What he wanted to make was a Kongming lantern.
Even if they rise to a height of ten thousand miles, how can these few small lanterns compare to the huge palace lantern on the Taihe Gate city wall?
After all, this round is about "brightness", not "height".
Before they could figure out the problem, Su Lu flicked his wrist and lit the lantern with a candle.
...
The ministers of Da Yan silently watched the lantern swaying precariously, almost rising into the air, and felt that they themselves were about to ascend into the sky as well.
A young official coughed, trying to remind him: "Um... this lamp is already lit without an arrow."
Su Lu lit the remaining lanterns one by one with a candle: "Hmm."
Young official: "..."
Outside the Linde Hall, several Kongming lanterns gradually rose into the sky.
Everyone looked up.
Tonight, there are no stars or moon. The pitch-black night sky is suddenly adorned with lights, like stars in the dark night, creating a unique and tranquil atmosphere.
One of the women in the harem murmured, "So beautiful."
Ah Shan scoffed, "Young Master Su, let's not even talk about whether your lamp is as bright as mine; just the competition rules alone are lacking—"
The rest of the conversation ended abruptly.
Su Lu was drawing his bow to its fullest extent, with tiny sparks of fire on the arrowhead.
To light a lamp with an arrow, the arrowhead must first be wrapped in cotton cloth and lit before being shot onto the wick.
Ah Shan was the same just now.
But the Kongming lantern had already been lit, so how could he—
The unease that had been weighing on her heart suddenly intensified, and she thought of the silk cloths that had been smeared with something... Her mind raced, and in the instant that she understood, her eyes widened suddenly.
The arrow, studded with a tiny spark, soared upwards, precisely piercing the Kongming lantern at an angle, the arrow touching the silk cloth at its tip—
Fireworks exploded in the air.
A dazzling radiance filled the entire sky in an instant.
It's as if the unrestrained and wild hands of a Tang Dynasty painter are wielding their brush on ink-black Xuan paper, indulging in unrestrained passion.
Before the smoke and clouds had even dissipated, a second, third, fourth, and fifth firework exploded, bursting forth in a magnificent and dazzling display.
It's gunpowder.
Ah Shan gazed at the fireworks in the sky, his eyes filled with complex emotions.
The silk cloth was coated with gunpowder, which was then raised into the air by Kongming lanterns and ignited by arrows, exploding into fireworks.
Song Zhen finally let out the breath he had been holding in, wiping his forehead with his hand: "Thank goodness it worked."
After Su Lu finished explaining, he immediately knew that the most difficult part was applying gunpowder to the silk cloth. Fortunately, due to the case of the armory, all the armories in the palace had been completely reorganized. The new leader of the gunpowder depot was his fellow student. With both public and private reasons on his side, he managed to open the depot door.
The others, of course, were unaware of the details behind it all.
The officials of Da Yan, the Northern Rong delegation, the emperor and empress, the palace maids and eunuchs who were cleaning and sweeping in the palace, and the common people outside the city who were working, raising children, or on their way home, all stopped.
Quietly watching the same sky.
Where fireworks rise, light and shadow intertwine.
The firework's light shone equally on everyone's face. At this moment, it felt as if we had returned to the most prosperous time of the Great Yan Dynasty, when the founding emperor also held a banquet in this Linde Hall, with poetry, wine, songs, and laughter, to entertain good friends, loyal officials, distant guests, and close neighbors.
Where else could there be a brighter light, igniting a surge of emotion within?
Two more bowstrings rang out.
The crowd looked in the direction of the sound and saw that the lanterns on both sides of the Taihe Hall gate lit up in response, and the arrows pierced the ribbons tied to them, revealing two couplets written on red paper.
The Vermilion Bird, carrying a lamp, illuminates spring for all nations.
The Golden Guard can freely roam the four seas in peace.
The Empress read it aloud word by word, and the Emperor laughed and clapped his hands: "What a wonderful 'Vermilion Bird Holding a Lamp,' the Imperial Guards cannot refrain from doing so."
The scene was completely ignited.
For a moment, everyone was all smiles, talking about the magnificent scene, exchanging blessings, and praying for peace and prosperity in the Great Yan region. Even a usually stern old scholar squinted at the characters on the calligraphy, looked at them for a long time, and then went to Su Lu, bowed, and sincerely said, "Beautiful calligraphy."
Then everyone remembered that before becoming a "male concubine," Su Lu was the study companion of the Third Prince Lin Tan, and was taught by the most learned scholars and Confucian masters of Dayan.
After a long period of silence, the political scene in Da Yan was about to witness the emergence of a brilliant and talented new star. People seemed to have just discovered this, and regardless of their true feelings, they all put on smiles.
The atmosphere among the Northern Rong delegation was in stark contrast. Several disgruntled individuals pointed at the palace lanterns still brightly lit above the city gate: "What's wrong with fireworks? Who hasn't seen fireworks? Are they still there? It's pitch black now, whose lanterns are lit?!"
"If she dares to rule in favor of that kid, I'll see if there's any fairness left in this world!"
He Lou Wulan stood quietly in the corner, his gaze fixed on a certain spot.
Tuoba Xiu naturally knew who she was looking at. He walked over, cleared his throat, and lowered his voice: "Tone it down. The confidence on your face is practically overflowing."
His gaze swept leisurely over the crowd outside the hall, landing on Xie Yutang, who was holding a gong and drum. He paused, and a look of anticipation gradually appeared on his face. "How confident do you think you are in winning the fight against them?"
The sound of gongs and drums.
The noisy crowd gradually quieted down.
Everyone's attention turned to Xie Yutang.
While Su Lu's fireworks were certainly spectacular, A Shan's ever-burning lamp was no less impressive.
The two sides hold differing opinions on who will win. If Xie Yutang, as the examiner, cannot convince the public with his judgment, it will be difficult to end the matter easily.
The hall fell silent for a moment, everyone waiting to see how the newly appointed envoy would decide the outcome of this battle.
The emperor also looked over.
Xie Yutang didn't keep them in suspense: "The challenge of this game was to light a lamp with an arrow, and you both succeeded. As for whose lamp was the brightest—"
Upon hearing the words "General Ashan," the Northern Rong delegation was initially taken aback, then erupted in cheers. The officials of Da Yan looked at each other in astonishment, and some even shouted their dissatisfaction.
Xie Yutang said, "—Turn on all the lamps of Prince Su Lu."
Everyone was speechless.
What does it mean to have everything lit up?
Xie Yutang said loudly, "Please let me finish speaking."
She was neither humble nor arrogant, and her voice was neither hurried nor slow. She used her inner strength to suppress everyone and quiet them down.
Xie Yutang looked at the Taihe Gate city wall: "General Ashan's longevity lamp gathers the oil of 199 lamps in one place, and burns brightly day and night without fading, hence the name 'Bright'."
"And Prince Su Lu's fireworks, which gather all kinds of splendor and brilliance in a moment, are not unmoving and are also bright."
The Northern Rong delegation sensed something was amiss: "Since both lights are on, how can we compete?"
Xie Yutang smiled slightly: "Since they're both bright, can't we compare them?"
Everyone was taken aback.
"General Ashan's brilliance lies in the timing, while Prince Su Lu's brilliance lies in his capacity."
"Time and quantity are inherently different, so how can there be a distinction between high and low, superior and inferior?"
Therefore, my judgment for this game is a draw.
Xie Yutang's gaze swept over the crowd in front of the hall: "Gentlemen, does anyone have any objections?"
The moment the word "draw" was uttered, everyone fell silent.
Even the few troublemakers from the Northern Rong who had just been shouting about "seeing if there is any fairness left in the world" were speechless.
Xie Yutang looked at Su Lu and A Shan: "What do you two think?"
Su Lu lowered his eyes and clasped his hands in a fist salute: "This subordinate has no objection."
Ah Shan's expression was complicated. He hesitated to speak, but finally bowed and said, "I have no objection either."
At this point in the competition, Su Lu had one win and one draw, while A Shan had one loss and one draw. It wasn't until they arrived at Happy Valley and saw that the third round was about to begin that everyone belatedly realized that A Shan, the "General Rift Wind" who had once struck fear into the hearts of countless Northern Rong soldiers on the battlefield, had actually suffered a crushing defeat in his most proficient skill, "archery," and had reached the absurd state where any further loss, or rather, any failure to win, would constitute a complete defeat.
The instigator of all this was Su Lu, the young heir of the Muqing Prince's Mansion, who was previously disliked by everyone and was openly rebuked for "using his looks to please others" and "lacking any sense of shame."
The old minister who had previously remonstrated angrily in court was now craning his neck and squeezing into the front row, struggling to pull his sleeve out from under the arm of the person next to him, straightening his hair crown, and looking forward to the start of the competition more eagerly than anyone else.
The third round was a mounted archery competition.
From the starting point to the finish line, a wooden stake is set up at intervals, with arrows tied to the stakes with red ribbons. Contestants need to ride their horses to the stakes, untie the three red ribbons, and take the arrows. The first contestant to shoot all three arrows into the bullseye wins.
After Xie Yutang announced the competition rules, everyone looked at each other and saw the same emotion in each other's eyes—excitement.
Even the emperor sat up straight, leaned forward slightly, and showed a rare look of anticipation on his face.
Mounted archery.
It's time for a mounted archery competition.
There is a saying circulating in the armies of both the Da Yan and Bei Rong states: an archer who cannot ride and shoot is not a true archer.
Only archers who can wield their bows and arrows to the fullest on horseback can conquer enemy troops and dominate the battlefield.
The Northern Rong delegation erupted in a brief cheer the moment they saw the warhorses being led up.
The Northern Rong people are a people born on horseback. Children learn to ride horses before they learn to run. Ashan is one of the best among them. If we only talk about archery skills, the cunning people of Dayan may be slightly better, but General Ashan on horseback is an invincible force!
The moment to avenge our defeat has arrived.
After the two matches, the officials of Da Yan were more confident than ever before, as if they were the ones competing. They were all eager to fight and their momentum was in no way inferior to that of the Northern Rong.
Both sides were full of hope that they could win.
There was only one exception.
Looking at this familiar place, Lin Tan couldn't quite describe the feelings in her heart.
Everything changed after Xie Yutang carried the coffin to Paomadi on that snowy day.
Xie Yutang, who had been clinging to him like a piece of candy, was now dressed in court attire, sitting in a high hall, and had become the much-anticipated envoy.
The pageboy who once knelt here and endured his beatings and scoldings became a meritorious official who was entrusted with a critical mission and won glory for the country.
Everyone is getting better.
Only him...
The folding fan was gripped tightly in Lin Tan's palm, digging painfully into her skin.
It's one thing for Xie Yutang to take away his position as his attendant, but anyway, that woman and the military power she holds will be his sooner or later.
But Su Lu, he absolutely could not allow this bastard to climb over him.
In any case, Yanzhou already has an absolute advantage, so even if they lose this game, they won't lose face. He would never abandon the interests of the country for personal grudges.
Having convinced himself of this, Lin Tan gave a wink and called Xiao Fuzi over. He unfolded his folding fan to block the two of them, and finally whispered the plan that had been swirling in his mind for a long time...
The Northern Rong delegation could not possibly bring Ashan's warhorse with them on their way to the capital, and Su Lu, who was on duty at the princess's residence, did not need a mount. Xie Yutang explained the situation to the emperor, who then sent an imperial edict to request two horses from the palace guards.
Riding and archery requires a high degree of coordination between the horse and the rider, and new horses are not allowed to be used. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, both riders were using new horses, which was fair.
The imperial guards' horses were carefully selected, and their height, weight, habits, and quality were almost identical. After receiving instructions, the two horses that were finally brought up were even in perfect unison, as if they were made from the same mold.
To minimize the impact of differences in horse quality on the race.
Seeing this, the Northern Rong delegation had no further objections.
After the horse was brought up, A-Shan went straight to Su Lu's position, took the reins of the horse and carefully examined it. Everyone thought that he was afraid that Da Yan would do something in secret and wanted to check it himself, so they didn't say anything. But to their surprise, he actually mounted the horse.
Ah Shan rode the horse for a short distance, then stopped and said to Xie Yutang, "This horse is quite pleasing to my eye, so I'll choose this one."
As soon as he finished speaking, Da Yan was naturally dissatisfied. They had indeed chosen the horses fairly, and it didn't really matter who rode which horse, but A Shan's attitude was clearly unpleasant.
Lin Tan's heart tightened, but he smiled calmly and said, "General Ashan, these two horses are no different, so why do you have to steal someone else's?"
“Since there’s no difference between the two horses, it doesn’t matter which one I choose,” A’shan said, looking down at Lin Tan from his horse. “The Third Prince emphasizes the word ‘others’ so much, does that mean there’s some difference between other people’s horses and mine?”
His counterattack made Lin Tan's face look unpleasant. Xie Yutang glanced at him. Actually, Lin Tan didn't need to speak in this situation. She had a rough idea in her mind, but she didn't say anything. She directly ordered people to take the two horses away and have Song Zhen bring two new horses. However, A Shan stopped her: "Your Highness, I have no other intention. I just really like these horses. It was just a momentary impulse. Please forgive me, Your Highness and the Crown Prince."
“I’ve already test-ridden this horse, and everything is fine. Changing it back and forth would be too much trouble. Besides, it’s getting late, and everyone is waiting to go back to sleep. Let’s not waste any more time and get started.”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
