Chapter 45 With that one arrow, she had already lost!
For some reason, a stubborn streak of refusal to admit defeat suddenly rose in Shang Ruyi's heart when she faced him.
She said, "Why not compete?"
Yuwen Ye raised an eyebrow slightly, while Shang Ruyi had already slung her quiver over her shoulder, grabbed her longbow, and walked out.
A moment of silence fell over the military camp.
Although everyone was excited by Huang Gongyi's superb horsemanship and archery skills, the person he was competing against was, after all, a woman, and the young mistress of the Duke's mansion at that. This kind of competition was inherently unfair. Although he was certain that he would not lose, what was the point of winning like this?
Just then, Huang Gongyi jumped off his horse and shouted at Shang Ruyi, "Young Madam, I, Huang Gongyi, am not one to take advantage of women. You don't need to ride a horse. Just stand there and if you can hit the target, you win."
This remark was met with a burst of laughter from the crowd.
That's true, but in this way, not only did Huang Gongyi win the competition, but his opponent also became a laughing stock.
Shang Ruyi thought for a moment, then turned her head to look at the empty target in the center of the East Training Ground without saying anything.
After a moment of silence, she drew an arrow from the quiver behind her back, nocked it, and aimed at the target.
This action immediately drew boos from the crowd.
Although everyone knew that the competition might not be fair, since she had taken the stage, everyone was hoping to see her "skills." However, they didn't expect that she would actually get this advantage, which inevitably made people look down on her.
Upon hearing the hissing, Da Bo immediately turned around and waved to the people behind him, and the soldiers immediately shut up.
However, that mocking gaze, and even the atmosphere, had already enveloped Shang Ruyi.
Her hands trembled slightly, and sweat beaded on her forehead.
The bow and arrow were different from what she had when she was a child.
There were no women or children in the army, so there were no bows for women or children. These were bows that only adult men could draw. Shang Ruyi used all her strength, her index finger was already white from the pressure, and she barely managed to draw the bow. But her hand was so painful and trembling that she had no way of aiming the arrow at the bullseye.
Tushe'er, standing behind him, turned pale with anxiety.
Just then, Shang Ruyi seemed to hear a cold, indifferent voice again—"If you don't want to compete, I'll go talk to him."
Although she didn't turn around, she could sense that Yuwen Ye was watching coldly from the sidelines.
We must never let him look down on us!
Although she didn't know why she had this obsession, once the obsession arose, the chaos in her mind was swept away, and her hand suddenly stopped moving. Shang Ruyi narrowed her eyes, aimed at the dazzling red bullseye in front of her, and suddenly let go.
With a whoosh, a cold glint flew out.
The bow trembled in her hand and then slumped down as if paralyzed. Shang Ruyi immediately opened her eyes wide and looked ahead.
The arrow hits the target!
Shang Ruyi was overjoyed and a smile appeared on her face.
But then, her heart sank again.
The arrow hit the target, which meant that her archery skills from more than ten years ago had not been in vain. However, it was still some distance from the bullseye. With just this one arrow, she had already lost!
Just then, she heard footsteps behind her, and someone walked up to her side.
"If he doesn't want to compete, I'll go talk to him."
That same phrase again.
Shang Ruyi turned around and saw Yuwen Ye standing behind her, still indifferent, neither happy nor angry, as if he were watching a competition that had no meaning for him.
Shang Ruyi said, "The competition isn't over yet."
After saying that, she raised her voice and said, "Bring the horse over here!"
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