Chapter 50: Clear and Organized
"Why not?" Xie Rongying smiled faintly, looking calmly at the Crown Prince, and brought the topic back to Zhang Ran's disdain for Xie Yi. "Since Young Master Zhang despises my brother and disdains my fourth uncle leading the army to attack the Jin people, the descendants of the Xie family will definitely not let anyone say anything."
"It's just..." Xie Rongying said, glancing at Zhang Ran on horseback. "Your Duke of Ying is so dissatisfied with my fourth uncle leading the troops to war. Are you looking down on my fourth uncle's ability, or are you questioning the emperor's ability to judge people?"
After these words were spoken, the expressions of everyone present changed.
It was clearly just a contest between young masters from aristocratic families, but the atmosphere became weird because of the prince's interference.
At this time, Xie Rongying brought up the official again, and the atmosphere around them instantly became several degrees colder.
Anyone who has been paying attention to the recent changes in the court knows that the government has taken away many things from the prince's hands, and the prince's ambitions have reached the point where they are not concealed at all.
Perhaps the emperor also realized what his son's actions would bring to him, so he decided to take drastic measures to make the prince feel aggrieved for a while.
Previously, the prince wanted the Duke of Yingguo and the Marquis of Yongyi to lead the troops to war, but they were intercepted by the Xie family.
The prince held a grudge, and when Zhang Ran openly displeased with the Xie family, the prince would naturally stir up trouble and want to teach the Xie family a severe lesson.
Xie Rongying was not afraid either. Since the situation was not favorable to her, she would bring out Emperor Dayin.
"Ah, I shouldn't have said the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion. After all, Master Zhang doesn't represent the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion." As Xie Rongying spoke, her gaze fell on the Crown Prince again, and she smiled charmingly, "What do you think, Your Highness? Is Master Zhang looking down on the frontier soldiers protecting Dayin? Or is he questioning whether the emperor has misjudged them? Or is he just hoping that Dayin's soldiers will lose to the Jin army this time?"
"What nonsense are you talking about!? Who questioned the emperor!?" Zhang Ran really underestimated Xie Rongying's eloquence. He just questioned whether Xie Yi was suitable for leading troops in battle, but this bitch dragged the emperor into it.
The Crown Prince stared at Xie Rongying meaningfully, and finally warned lightly: "Since you think that Fourth Master Xie has the ability to lead troops, then every descendant of the Xie family should have extraordinary abilities. Don't say useless things."
Xie Rongying laughed and said, "Then sign the life and death agreement."
"Elder sister," Xie Ting pulled Xie Rongying aside, "I'll sign."
Xie Ting knew very well the reason why Zhang Ran and the prince were in trouble. The prince wanted to strengthen the military power in his hands, and the only solution was to send his confidants to the border.
This is also the reason why the emperor wanted to negotiate but the prince's party strongly opposed it.
Unexpectedly, the government refused to negotiate and gave the opportunity to the Xie family. However, the people of the Xie family were stubborn and boring and could not be won over.
And Xie Yi's son is close to King Wei. How can the prince swallow this?
"Do you think that person is also dissatisfied with the Xie family?" Xie Rongying warned.
Xie Ting's eyes darkened slightly, and he pulled Xie Rongying's sleeve to loosen his grip. If anything happened to him because of the Xie family, that person would definitely vent his anger on the Xie family, and the Xie family was like his weak spot. He didn't dare to protect them tightly, nor did he dare to let go of them at will.
"Xie Ting, do you really want to hide behind a woman and be so cowardly?" Zhang Ran mocked again.
The prince looked back and forth between Xie Ting and Xie Rongying with cold eyes.
"Master Zhang, I told you, the women of the Xie family are enough to deal with you." Xie Rongying turned to the prince and said, "Then sign it."
There were more and more people around, and many people had a more solemn look on their faces.
At the other end of the corridor, Madam Xue stood in the crowd with Zhang Ruru, who was wearing bright makeup. However, although Zhang Ruru looked healthy with the makeup on, the lingering coldness between her brows made people afraid to approach her.
"Ruru, look, will Brother Ran let go of the people who bullied you?" Mrs. Xue said in a low and soothing voice.
Zhang Ruru's eyes were fixed on Xie Rongying. She said coldly, "So why does she deserve everyone's attention? She should suffer the same pain as me to relieve the hatred in my heart!"
"No rush." Madam Xue patted Zhang Ruru's hand gently and said tenderly, "It's still early today. Your brother should take her for a walk. She will never be able to hold her head up among the nobles of Bianjing. She will pay you back a hundredfold for your pain."
Zhang Ruru snorted coldly and turned to leave, but when she glanced sideways she saw a figure and stopped. Even her lifeless eyes showed a glimmer of light.
Mrs. Xue followed Zhang Ruru's line of sight and saw a tall young man standing in the crowd. His angular profile revealed a hint of sickness. She didn't know what the people around him said to him, but the corners of his lips were raised, which was particularly eye-catching.
"Ruru, actually the prince is not bad." Madam Xue suddenly said this.
Zhang Ruru suddenly turned around and stared at Madam Xue: "Aunt, what do you mean?"
"It's okay, it's okay." Madam Xue was afraid of irritating Zhang Ruru: "Auntie was just talking casually."
"Grandfather and father still want to use me to stabilize the relationship between the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion and the Crown Prince?" Zhang Ruru smiled, a creepy smile: "If you dare to do so, don't blame me for making the Crown Prince bear a grudge against the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion."
Madam Xue chuckled softly, "Ruru, auntie was just saying this casually. Your father and grandfather don't have such thoughts either. It's just that auntie learned today that the eldest lady is interested in the youngest daughter of Shi Yang, the Minister of Personnel."
"The Shi family?" Zhang Ruru's expression changed. "Shi Jiyue?"
Just as Mrs. Xue was about to speak, a cry of surprise came from the other end. They looked and saw Xie Rongying, with her sleeves tied up, jumping onto the horse nimbly. She did not look like a girl in the boudoir who did not know how to ride a horse.
Xie Rongying, on horseback, looked down at Xie Ting's dissatisfaction and worry, and laughed, "Xie Ting, shout for your elder sister like a man. There is no coward in the Xie family!"
Xie Ting laughed and said nothing.
Seeing this, Xie Rongying gripped the reins tightly and headed towards the horse farm.
This venue is divided into left and right sides, which were originally used for practicing horse riding or archery. The two sides were separated by a low wooden fence. However, Zhang Ran not only wanted to compete in horse riding and archery, but also had to shoot at the targets behind each other.
This means that it is very easy to shoot or injure the other party.
But both parties signed the life and death agreement readily.
Such contests have occurred before, but they only happened during family feuds and no one was killed. The young men and women who were watching the show knew that Zhang Ran just wanted to teach the Xie family a lesson.
After all, he had heard a lot about the grudges between the youngest son of the Xie family and the eldest son of the Zhang family, but the youngest son of the Xie family was always by the side of King Wei, so Zhang Ran did not dare to provoke him rashly.
But what no one expected was that the person who signed the life and death agreement today was the married eldest daughter of the Xie family.
"Xie Rongying, if you bring your brother down to your knees and beg me right now, saying your Xie family is worthless, we won't compete." Zhang Ran was surprised that Xie Rongying didn't show any fear, but he also found it amusing. "If you insist, don't blame me for bullying a woman!"
Xie Rongying took the longbow and quiver from the servant. She grasped the weight of the bow, raised her eyes to look at Zhang Ran, and said in a flat tone: "Young Master Zhang, why are you dithering like a woman? If you want to compete, then compete. If you don't want to compete, then kneel down and beg me, saying that your Zhang family is full of good-for-nothings, and then we won't compete."
Zhang Ran looked at Xie Rongying's arrogant look, staring at her coldly, feeling an indescribable weirdness in his heart.
It is said that the morale of the army must be stable when going into battle to kill the enemy. Zhang Ran looked at Xie Rongying who was so frank and arrogant. He was a little suspicious whether Xie Rongying really knew archery or was just messing with his mentality.
At this time, Hongzhi, one of the people beside the Crown Prince, walked between Zhang Ran and Xie Rongying and said, "You two have ten arrows in your quivers each, and ten targets. His Royal Highness said that you don't have to hit the bull's eye. Whoever has the most arrows on the target will be the winner. The loser must kneel down and kowtow to the winner to resolve the grudge."
Zhang Ran heard this and said loudly: "I know!"
Xie Rongying raised her eyebrows slightly, said nothing, and just tightly grasped the reins in her hands, with a dark light flickering in the depths of her eyes.
Then a servant came up to Hongzhi with a gong. Hongzhi took it and walked to the back between Zhang Ran and Xie Rongying, saying, "Be careful, you two. I'll strike the gong and it will begin."
As soon as the words fell, the sound of gongs resounded throughout the racecourse, followed by the sound of horse hooves and the neighing of horses piercing everyone's ears.
On the corridor, when Qin Junyi arrived, he saw Xie Rongying galloping freely on horseback with high spirits.
Shangguan Yao, who was beside her, saw Qin Junyi's eyes on Xie Rongying and said, "Sister, you have this side of yourself. I thought she was just an ordinary girl in the boudoir. I really envy her."
Qin Junyi came back to his senses, took Shangguan Yao into his arms, and said, "I'll teach you horsemanship when I have time."
Shangguan Yao said in a coquettish tone: "You are so nice." But she felt a little sour in her heart. Ever since Qin Junyi brought Xie Rongying back, she could clearly feel that Qin Junyi's eyes would occasionally linger on Xie Rongying.
At this time, in the horse farm, two horses were running side by side in their respective lanes. There was no doubt about Zhang Ran's horsemanship. Every year, the men in Bian Jing would privately compete in horsemanship and archery, and Zhang Ran would always be at the top.
But Xie Rongying's horsemanship was too amazing. Although not as proficient as Zhang Ran, he was not inferior to the men who could ride horses present.
Zhang Ran was indeed shocked by Xie Rongying's unbridled appearance on horseback. He said that if she didn't have some skills, how could she challenge him? He quickly loosened the reins in his hand, took out the arrow from the bamboo tube, quickly put it on the longbow, and locked his eyes on Xie Rongying's arm.
Xie Rongying saw Zhang Ran's actions out of the corner of her eye, tightened the reins, and twitched her red lips slightly.
Swish!
The sound of arrows cutting through the air made the spectators hold their breath.
"Xie Rongying!" Xie Ting shouted anxiously.
Just as the arrow was about to shoot towards Xie Rongying, the woman on horseback suddenly leaned over. Because her slender body was completely leaning over the horse's back, the arrow passed by her ear and knocked off the jade hairpin on her hair, and the arrow fell.
Zhang Ran's face turned cold.
When Xie Rongying stood up, her long black hair fell down. She looked at Zhang Ran and said coldly: "It's my turn..."
After she finished speaking, she swiftly raised her longbow and picked up an arrow from the quiver. She quickly and accurately put the arrow on the bow, pulled the string, and released it. The sound of the string being released silenced the entire audience.
Zhang Ran didn't expect Xie Rongying to react so quickly. He looked at the long arrow shooting towards him, and suddenly stood up, using the horse's back to gain momentum, and flew into the air, avoiding the long arrow.
Bang!
But in the next moment, the arrow shot by Xie Rongying accurately hit the target behind Zhang Ran.
There was another cheer on the veranda.
"I didn't expect the Xie family's daughter to be so powerful."
"Yeah, why haven't I heard of it before?"
"You probably don't know this, but her mother is the eldest daughter of the Yan family. You've heard of the Yan family on horseback, but it's a pity that they've fallen into decline."
Xie Ting was still nervously staring at Xie Rongying's figure.
The prince, who had been sitting lazily watching the show, became serious when he saw Xie Rongying's skills, and even his sitting posture became much more formal.
Just as Zhang Ran got off the horse, he heard his servant yell, "Master, be careful!"
He suddenly looked towards Xie Rongying and saw that the woman had already pulled the string to its full extent.
The next moment, another long arrow came straight at him.
Zhang Ran tightened the reins in his hand and slapped the horse's buttocks hard, causing the horse to speed up and the long arrow to hit the target accurately again.
At this moment, Zhang Ran's speed and hand speed were obviously disordered.
Xie Rongying still had the arrow in her hand, pulled the string, and released it!
Three,
Four,
The fifth...
Five arrows in a row hit the target.
At this time, Zhang Ran also recovered. He looked at the long arrow on the target behind him with a colder look in his eyes. When he was about to draw his bow and shoot at the targets in Xie Rongying's row, he saw Xie Rongying's arrow pointed at him.
Zhang Ran's face changed slightly, his heartbeat quickened. Xie Rongying smiled, and murderous intent flashed in her shrewd eyes.
The crowd was shocked.
Xie Rongying was well-organized. She dodged when Zhang Ran attacked first, and then quickly and accurately welded the rules of the game onto the target. Five arrows hit the target, and the remaining five were aimed at Zhang Ran.
Zhang Ran was confused from the beginning.
The prince stood up and stared at the situation in the carriage.
The astonishment in Qin Junyi's eyes was no less than that of the people around him.
Xie Ting's clenched hands loosened slightly.
The King of Wei, who was mixed in the crowd, looked at the scene and couldn't help but chuckle.
Mrs. Xue stared at the horse farm with a sharp look, her heart in her throat.
"Aunt, is my brother going to lose?" Zhang Ruruo's heart was in her throat, and she asked worriedly.
At this moment, Zhang Ran wanted the arrow in his hand to hit the target too much. Although he was a little worried about Xie Rongying's ruthlessness, he was sure that Xie Rongying would not dare to do anything to him. He just wanted to win!
Zhang Ran released the string again, and when the arrow shot out, it made a "whoosh" sound and was knocked to the ground by an arrow shot from the other end.
Seeing this, Zhang Ran suddenly looked towards Xie Rongying. At that moment, Xie Rongying had already put another arrow on the bow. At this moment, Zhang Ran's hand was trembling slightly as he picked up the arrow again.
He didn't dare to think about how many people would laugh at him in the future if he lost to a woman today.
As he picked up another arrow and put it on the string, the servant's voice rang out again: "Master, be careful!"
whoosh!
The arrow passed by his ear, causing Zhang Ran's hand that was pulling the string to tremble, and the arrow on the bow fell off. When he looked at Xie Rongying, Xie Rongying had already pointed another arrow at him!
"Mr. Zhang, I am not talented, so I will continue to show my ugliness." Xie Rongying said loudly in a provocative tone.
As soon as he finished speaking, the hand holding the string suddenly loosened.
Before Zhang Ran could react, the arrow passed by his shoulder accurately.
There was already fear in his eyes. Xie Rongying quickly put the arrow on the bow again. This time she aimed at Zhang Ran's left shoulder. Sure enough, the next moment, the arrow quickly shot past Zhang Ran's left side.
Zhang Ran felt a chill down his spine, but he didn't want to be at a disadvantage, so he quickly put the bow back on and shot at the target opposite him, but his arrow was shot down in mid-air again.
"Don't go too far!" Zhang Ran said coldly. After he finished speaking, he put an arrow on the bow, but was still shot down.
Zhang Ran tightened the reins to slow the horse down and said coldly, "Xie Rongying! You are such a mean person!"
Xie Rongying aimed her last arrow at him.
Zhang Ran's expression suddenly changed: "You dare!"
Xie Rongying pulled the string to its full length and asked, "We signed a life and death agreement. What are we afraid of?"
Zhang Ran's whole body was stiff. He bet that Xie Rongying would not dare to kill him in public. However, when Xie Rongying released the bowstring, Zhang Ran's mind went blank and he was frightened by the murderous arrow and fell off his horse.
An arrow flew across the sky, and Zhang Ran actually felt a sense of relief that he had dodged it.
"Your Highness, what should we do?" Hongzhi walked up to the prince and asked.
The prince wanted to step forward but Xie Ting stopped him and said, "Prince, are you going to go back on your word?"
"Xie Ting, it's just a joke. Why do you, the Xie family, take it seriously?" The prince was also afraid that because of his interference, something might happen to Zhang Ran and he would offend the Duke of England.
Xie Ting smiled faintly: "Then what can be taken seriously for the prince? If my eldest sister ends up like this, can it be taken seriously?"
"you!"
The neighing of horses began again.
There was another uproar at this moment.
The woman on the maroon horse was seen steering the horse smoothly like flowing water. Suddenly, she raised her horse's hooves and jumped over the wooden fence, heading towards Zhang Ran like a storm.
"The Yan family's horsemanship and archery skills haven't declined."
"She's so fierce, no wonder the young marquis of the Qin family took a concubine right after marrying her. Which man likes this?"
“…”
There was a lot of discussion on the corridor, and everyone was worried.
Zhang Ran, who had fallen to the ground, had just gotten up when he saw Xie Rongying running towards him, getting closer and closer. The sound of the horse's hooves hitting the ground seemed to be pounding Zhang Ran's heart.
When the maroon horse approached Zhang Ran, the woman on its back quickly tightened the reins, causing the horse's hooves to rise. The horse neighed loudly, and its two front hooves were raised high. Zhang Ran was frightened again and fell to the ground.
The next moment, the horse's hoof landed squarely on Zhang Ran's right leg.
Ah! A heart-wrenching sound and screams from all around rang out simultaneously!
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