Chapter 14 Chapter 14 She felt Xie Zhuo was flirting with her
Xue Mingyao remembered Xie Zhuo's eyes at the time, and it was hard to say that there wasn't a hint of eagerness in them.
Meeting the beauty's fierce gaze, Xie Zhuo couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Xue Mingyao's expression changed drastically, and she slapped the back of his hand that was gripping her wrist. "Take it off!"
She used all her strength, and Xie Zhuo's hand immediately turned red. Xue Mingyao glanced over and suddenly realized that Xie Zhuo's hand was not the thick, fleshy palm commonly seen on martial artists; instead, it was quite slender, with even the nail beds being delicate and graceful, giving her a vague sense of familiarity. She wanted to take a closer look, but Xie Zhuo calmly moved his hand away.
"Has the princess vented her anger?" he asked.
“Not enough,” Xue Mingyao said coldly. “I need to hit you at least ten times.”
"I'm afraid we can't let the princess have her way."
"Of course, you're not stupid."
Xie Zhuo seemed to smile again, his voice low and resonant in her ear, "I just didn't want the princess's hand to hurt."
......
Even on the day the spring hunt began, Xue Mingyao sat at the table, listening to the elegant music of the grand sacrifice, and still occasionally thought of Xie Zhuo's words.
I always felt there was a hint of flirting in it.
"Don't get lost in thought, the archery ceremony is almost here," Zhao Ying reminded her gently from the side.
Xue Mingyao replied in the same way, "I understand."
The grand ceremony was a very solemn part of the spring hunt. The emperor sat facing south, surrounded by a large assembly of officials. To the left of Emperor Deyuan was the empress, who possessed an elegant and dignified air. The empress was no longer young; she had been his concubine before his ascension to the throne and was made empress consort several years after the death of Empress Duanhui.
Emperor Deyuan was not fond of women, and his harem was not large. He treated his concubines equally, and there were only a few who could be considered truly favored. On this hunting trip, besides the Empress, only Consort Feng accompanied him.
Consort Feng sat beside the Empress. She was only in her twenties, and her face, adorned with jewels and jade, was fair and delicate, making her a sight to behold.
Seated at the lower level were the Crown Prince, princes, and princesses. As married princesses and princesses of different surnames, Zhao Ying and Xue Mingyao were also among them.
With the priest's final prayer, the lengthy ceremony finally came to an end. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief; they no longer had to be so solemn, and could relax their shoulders and whisper a few words.
The following archery competition, called "ceremonial archery," has essentially become a contest. As is customary, anyone, regardless of gender, who considers themselves skilled in archery can participate. After three rounds, a young man and a young woman are chosen as the winners, receiving the grand prize.
Generally, older people, as well as those who have participated in hunting and archery, will no longer participate in archery, and will give the opportunity to shine to the younger generation.
Although Xue Mingyao was a widow from Dagui, she never kept a low profile because of her status and position. Naturally, she changed her clothes, took her bow, and wanted to win first place in the archery competition to bring honor to her general father in the afterlife.
At 9:00 AM, the sun was high in the sky, and the air in Beiming Mountain, at the turn of winter and early spring, was still crisp and cold. The emperor led his officials out of the main hall and to the large open space in front of the altar to watch the archery competition.
The valiant archers had finished their practice, setting the mood, and then, in unison, stepped back to the sides, giving the field to the nobles who would be shooting arrows.
The archery competition consists of three rounds. The first round is a trial shot, where scores are not recorded but numbers are counted. Those who do not reach the required score are eliminated and cannot proceed to the main shooting round.
Of the dozens of archers, more than half were eliminated in this round. There were already few women participating, and now they could be counted on one hand. Among them, the most outstanding was Princess Yongning. Her black hair was tied up high, and her crimson Hu-style dress fluttered in the wind. When she drew her bow to test the shot, all the generals watched. When she hit the target with one arrow, thunderous cheers erupted.
The princess showed no shyness; her bright eyes swept over the crowd, her cherry lips curved slightly, and her gaze shone with captivating beauty. The soldiers were stunned; some of the more shy ones lowered their heads, unable to look any longer.
Xue Mingyao remained increasingly composed in such situations, confidently firing all eight arrows before joining the others in observing their attempts. Xue Mingyu, having hastily prepared, had limited success and unsurprisingly failed to shoot. To Xue Mingyao's surprise, the Third Daughter of the Chen family barely crossed the line and entered the main shooting range. Dressed in a turquoise robe, she gracefully drew her bow, resembling a fragrant and beautiful orchid in a secluded valley, captivating all who beheld her.
Zhao Ying whispered to Chen Liangzheng in the crowd, "My little sister has only been practicing archery for half a month, and she has already performed so well. That's really impressive."
Chen Liangzheng nodded and said, "He's much better than my second brother."
Chen Liangqing, standing to the side, paid no attention. He raised his eyebrows and looked into the arena, where he met the red-clad woman's charming smile. Her face was like a lotus flower, and her eyes were captivating.
Chen Liangqing nodded politely as always, his gentle eyes blending with the sunlight and clouds, a rare moment of tranquility amidst the hustle and bustle. Young ladies like Xue Mingyu, who admired him, were all secretly watching him, paying no attention to the young men shooting arrows on the field.
When Xie Zhuo test-fired, the soldiers erupted in thunderous applause once again. Such treatment was only deserving of a hero, and aside from a beautiful woman.
Xue Mingyao knew without a doubt that the hero's archery skills must be outstanding, but she did not expect that the hero's archery posture was also exceptionally pleasing to the eye.
The standard archery stance is to bend over and shoot diagonally, which makes it easier to generate power. This is how it is taught by any archery master. When Xue Mingyao was learning, she thought this stance was clumsy. Whether she shot well or not was secondary; the shooting posture had to look good. She insisted on keeping her chest up and back straight and shooting with a straight body. With diligent practice, her accuracy and power were no less than those of shooting with a bent body.
Later, she taught Xie Qinglang and Xue Mingyu in the same way.
Unexpectedly, Xie Zhuo also drew his bow with his back straight, standing out among the young men as exceptionally tall and heroic. Xue Mingyao watched him shoot the first arrow, then the second, and finally couldn't help but watch until his very last arrow.
Every arrow hit the bullseye.
The winner of the archery contest seems to be in no doubt.
As expected, after another round of shooting, Xie Zhuo had a significant lead in the number of targets. On the women's side, Xue Mingyao was in first place, but she was still quite far behind Xie Zhuo.
The first round does not eliminate participants; the scores from both rounds are combined. The second round features a chorus of drums and music, requiring archers to fire arrows in time with the beat, significantly increasing the difficulty.
The man shot first. Xie Zhuo, stepping to the powerful drumbeats, hit every arrow without fail, his last shot piercing the bullseye, earning him countless cheers.
The second and third ranked generals were also young generals, but their demeanor was far inferior to Xie Zhuo's.
The handpicked General Who Conquers the South won first place, and Emperor Deyuan was overjoyed, praising him for his extraordinary bravery despite being ill.
Xue Mingyao felt both convinced and unhappy. When it was the women's turn, she became increasingly irritated by the powerful music and accidentally missed two arrows.
The young prince shouted at the top of his lungs, "Aunt Yongning, you're about to lose!"
Xue Mingyao turned around and glared at the little guy.
Zhao Jingyun whispered a few words to the young prince.
The young prince's loud voice rang out again, "Aunt Yongning, so be it!"
Xue Mingyao: "......"
She won't lose!
She felt countless eyes on her, a particularly intense gaze coming from Xie Zhuo, and even Chen Liangqing seemed to be looking at her.
Xue Mingyao suppressed her anger, hardened her face, and fired the remaining arrows. Although her number of targets was not as high as in the previous round, she was still in first place, but unfortunately, the gap between her and Xie Zhuo had widened even further.
Among the remaining young ladies, none surpassed her; Chen Zhelan ranked third, already the most outstanding among the daughters of civil officials.
Xue Mingyao felt somewhat embarrassed to be listed as one of the winners alongside the sharpshooter Xie Zhuo.
This blush vanished quickly after hearing Emperor Deyuan say that the victor, in addition to the gold and silver rewards, could also ask him for an extra reward. Since the emperor was willing to play the role of Guanyin Bodhisattva, Xue Mingyao, a greedy mortal, quickly decided what wish she wanted Emperor Deyuan to grant.
Back in the hall, the servants had already set out a banquet, and everyone took their seats in turn.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Xie Zhuo repeatedly declined, saying that His Majesty's favor was already enough and he did not wish to ask for more.
"Very well!" Emperor Deyuan waved his hand. "If Minister Xie has no requests for the time being, then we can bring them up when we do."
After saying that, he turned his head to Xue Mingyao, who had been waiting for a long time, and said, "Yongning, I know you must want something from me. Tell me, what do you want?"
Xue Mingyao smiled gracefully, "Your Majesty truly understands Yongning."
She didn't rush to speak, but first glanced at Xie Zhuo beside her, a sharp look in her eyes.
Xie Zhuo's heart clenched suddenly, a bad premonition rising within him.
When he followed Xue Mingyao's gaze and swept around the hall, finally landing on Chen Hanlin, who was sitting upright in white robes, his premonition came true, and his heart sank heavily.
"Your Majesty, I wish to ask you for something, but it is not in your treasury," Xue Mingyao said in a clear voice.
Everyone became curious and listened intently as she asked for a reward.
"Oh?" Emperor Deyuan chuckled. "Does Yongning perhaps intend to make an exorbitant demand, asking me for the moon in the sky?"
"Yongning dares not." Xue Mingyao said calmly and slowly, "I have long heard that Chen Hanlin has a pair of exquisite painting skills, and Yongning dares to ask you for a painting by him. Not a landscape, not a flower and bird painting, but a painting of Yongning himself."
A note from the author:
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No update tomorrow night (October 12th), update the night after (October 13th), and then daily updates will begin from the 13th!! The pace will pick up soon, please don't let me over-update.
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