Chapter 15, "I want it."
During her eight years in Jinling, Qian Yingyi offended some sensitive young ladies because of her outspokenness, and Guo Yue was one of them.
However, Guo Yue herself was not popular at that time, and perhaps they found a bit of sympathy in her. Guo Yue looked down on her at that time.
Later, Qian Yingyi locked herself in Yunteng Pavilion, spending her days with paper and pen. In her otherwise mundane life, an incident occurred that would ensure she would never again be bullied by any noble family member in Jinling.
At that time, Qian Lanting couldn't stand her staying at home all the time, so he advised her to go out and move around.
Left with no other choice, Qian Yingyi did not take a carriage, but went out for a stroll with her maid. At that time, she was accompanied by two strong old women, both of whom she had brought from the capital.
Disappointed after playing for half a day, Qian Yingyi was about to head home when a boy of about the same age ran out from a side alley and bumped into her with a "thud," causing her to stumble backward in pain.
The boy was arrogant and didn't even apologize after bumping into someone; he just ran off in the other direction.
Qian Yingyi rushed over to stop him, her eyes fixed on his face. "You bumped into someone and didn't even apologize. You look like a young master, but you act so rudely. You're not allowed to leave!"
The boy, relying on his greater strength, broke free in a few moves, pushed her to the ground, and said with disdain, "Who are you to stop me?"
Qian Yingyi has always been the type of person who responds better to gentleness than force. She was a tough nut to crack in the capital, but when she arrived in Nanjing, she couldn't get along with the young ladies there, so she had to endure the boredom of staying at home.
As she fell to the ground, Qian Yingyi regained her senses and stared blankly at her palm, which was bleeding from the scraping. Anger rose in her heart, and she was about to do whatever she wanted, ordering two old women to capture the boy.
Caught off guard, the old woman suddenly grabbed the boy's arms behind his back.
The two old women, who had previously served Qian Yingyi's mother and had seen much of life, hesitated upon seeing her distinguished attire, fearing she might be from a wealthy family. "When we first arrived," they said, "Master and Madam repeatedly told Miss to take good care of herself. The Old Master also said Miss shouldn't associate with strangers too much, if they find out..."
The boy listened intently, his mind quickening. He soon guessed Qian Yingyi's identity and sneered, "So it's that pitiful wretch from the Qian family, unloved by her father and mother."
The boys in Jinling who were just twelve or thirteen years old always liked to talk about their parents, and in their eyes, Qian Yingyi was a child abandoned by her parents.
Qian Yingyi was already somewhat angry, even though that wasn't the case. But hearing this only fueled her anger, and she charged at the boy in a flash, punching him in the face.
"..." The boy stared blankly, then quickly came to his senses. His anger flared, and he shoved her against the wall. "Have you lost your mind?! You dare hit me?!"
In the blink of an eye, the two were wrestling.
One of them was shouting, "I have a father and a mother, and my parents love and live a harmonious life. I can't compare to you. You were born but no one taught you!"
One of them, growing increasingly enraged, roared, "Who are you calling uneducated? I'm going to fight you today, a girl, and beat you so badly you'll never dare to bark again!"
The two were so strong that even two broad-shouldered old women couldn't hold them back.
It was the young man's lost servant who came running at the sound, and with a look of shock, he and the old woman pulled the two apart.
Qian Yingyi's hair was completely disheveled, and she looked extremely disheveled, but her face was not injured.
In contrast, the young man, with disheveled hair, his robe askew, and a disfigured face, clutched his shoulder and kept shouting, "You dare bite me? Do you know who I am...?"
"I don't care who you are!" Qian Yingyi glared at him with her hands on her hips, panting heavily. "You bumped into me and insulted me first."
The short alley was soon filled with people. No one expected that it was two sons of officials fighting each other. Someone in the crowd recognized the boy and exclaimed, "...Isn't that the Prince Rui's heir? Even he has his setbacks?"
The news quickly reached the ears of the elders on both sides. When Qian Lanting and Rui Wang arrived, Qian Yingyi and Yu Minsen were pushing each other. It turned out that while waiting for the elders to make a decision, the two had become like oil and water and started arguing, and then gradually started to fight.
Qian Lanting had no prior dealings with Prince Rui, so he was quite astonished by this. He originally intended to take them each home and teach them a lesson, but because there were many common people around, Prince Rui had no choice but to "interrogate" them on the spot.
Knowing that his son was in the wrong, Prince Rui gritted his teeth and pressed Yu Minsen's head down, saying in a deep voice, "Apologize to Miss Qian."
Yu Minsen was also a tough nut to crack; no matter how much Prince Rui pressured him, he gritted his teeth and refused to give in.
Finally, when Prince Rui told him to leave him where he was and to treat him as if he were no longer the heir of Prince Rui's mansion, he felt a tiny bit of fear. The words "I'm sorry" seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.
That night, news of Qian Jiaying's brawl with the Prince Rui's heir and her victory spread throughout the various residences. What kind of little tyrant was the Prince Rui's heir? He always had his head on the top, and in all of Jinling, apart from the Prince Rui himself, no one could control him!
This one thing alone made Qian Yingyi free from any gossip. Even the young ladies who disliked associating with her no longer scrutinized her with their eyes.
Since then, Yu Minsen and Qian Yingyi have been at odds, and they always exchange sarcastic remarks whenever they meet.
As Qian Yingyi grew into a young woman, she became more thoughtful and developed a different perspective on what happened back then. She felt that it was too impulsive, so she avoided Yu Minsen as much as possible in the past two years.
Qian Yingyi quietly observed the disdain and arrogance in Yu Minsen's eyes, composed herself, and bowed respectfully to him as if nothing had happened, saying, "Your Highness."
"You've become quite obedient now."
Qian Yingyi remained composed, maintaining her humble demeanor, and said, "The Crown Prince is as before."
Just as repulsive as ever.
Yu Minsen's eyes held a scrutinizing gaze, as if trying to dig out the arrogance and vulgarity of her youth from that face.
Some of the young masters and ladies around them had already forgotten about the incident, but now it was as if a club had been thrown into their minds, and they immediately remembered the hatred between the two.
Some people who love to watch the excitement had already turned their attention to Yan Wenying.
Yan Wenying clearly did not invite Yu Minsen, and she deliberately avoided not only him but also Wu Niansheng.
While pondering the matter, Yan Wenying unexpectedly met Lin Yuhu's eyes from the men's section. Her heart skipped a beat, and she cursed him inwardly for his despicable behavior.
Lin Yuhu only cares about having fun and doesn't care about anything at home. She embarrassed him a lot some time ago. This time, he must have invited Yu Minsen, that tyrant, for what purpose?
Naturally, everyone hoped that Yu Minsen would cause a scene at the Spring Festival banquet, so that her banquets would be avoided by everyone in Nanjing.
There was no time to settle scores with Lin Yuhu. Yan Wenying suddenly stood up, put her arm around Qian Yingyi's shoulder, and mediated with a smile, "Don't just stand there like idiots. Qingxi, take the young master and young master Wu to your brother-in-law's place and ask him to treat them well."
Yan Ruheng was a very perceptive person. He had already seen through the subtle exchange between Qian Yingyi and Yu Minsen, so he smiled and nodded, leading the two over.
Putting aside this minor incident, the banquet proceeded as planned, and the invited opera troupe performed on stage. Qian Yingyi sat quietly in the four-cornered pavilion, feeling somewhat disappointed.
So she rested her chin on her hand and surveyed the various faces. Before long, she noticed Wu Niansheng peeking at her from the other end. She was filled with impatience and subconsciously searched for the figure of the guard.
But they couldn't find him anywhere; only maids and servants were seen walking back and forth.
“Yingyi…”
Qian Yingyi quickly snapped out of her daze and turned to look at the side. It turned out that Yan Qiuyan and Wen Ninglan had sat down next to her at some point, each holding a plate of pastries in front of her. "We know you have a grudge against the Prince Rui and are not feeling well right now, but we are at Sister Yan's husband's house, so we should at least give Sister Yan some face."
Qian Yingyi glanced lightly at Lin Yuhu, who was drinking with others, and sighed, temporarily suppressing her annoyance. "I understand."
After the performance, the crowd cheered and applauded, praising Yan Wenying for finding such a wonderful troupe. A flurry of flattery ensued, and the atmosphere in the theater became lively once again.
Qian Yingyi searched for the guard's figure again, and this time she saw him. He stood obediently in place, looking at her from a distance.
Just as he was muttering to himself, Yan Wenying smiled and nodded, then had her maid carry two trays. "Some of you probably don't like watching operas, so I've had the tools for guessing riddles and throwing arrows prepared in advance. We'll use these two things as prizes and see who's the best today."
Everyone strained their eyes to look, and upon closer inspection, they discovered it was a painting and a glass incense bottle.
Yan Wenying glanced at Qian Yingyi and explained to everyone with a smile, "This painting was acquired when I was young. It's not a rich painting, but it's a fine one, made by a famous artist. This glass incense bottle next to me was also a gift from my mother. You can put incense balls inside and wear it as a novel little trinket."
She had already figured it out from Yan Qiuyan; Qian Yingyi often searched for paintings everywhere.
I thought Qian Yingyi would stare at the painting with delight, but to my surprise, her gaze remained fixed on the glass incense bottle.
Perhaps it was because her gaze was too direct, Yan Qiuyan looked puzzled and whispered to her, "You usually like to find paintings to give to your grandfather, but today you've changed your mind and taken a fancy to the glass incense vase?"
Wen Ninglan, being observant, glanced at Qian Yingyi, who was lost in thought, and chimed in, "Doesn't Yingyi have someone similar? Perhaps she wants to make a pair?"
Qian Yingyi's eyes were filled with the glass incense bottle. Obeying Wen Ninglan's words, she nodded slightly and said, "I want it."
Yan Qiuyan and Wen Ninglan exchanged glances and chuckled, secretly planning to let her win when they played the guessing game later.
Having made up her mind, Yan Qiuyan turned to Guo Yue and asked, "Are you going to play or not?"
Guo Yue was uninterested, saying, "I don't really want to."
Therefore, Yan Qiuyan crossed her arms and said with a smile, "Sister Yan, everyone at our table except Guo Yue is playing!"
Guo Yue then changed her tune, glancing at Yu Minsen, and said with a smile, "I only said I didn't really want to play, not that I didn't want it. I also want the glass incense bottle."
The garden suddenly became quiet.
"Sister Yan, what's fun about archery?" Yu Minsen stood up at some point and shouted in this direction, "If you ask me, why not change it to foot archery? Whoever has the best aim can have both of these."
The glass incense bottle was small and lovely, and the young ladies were initially eager to try it out. However, upon hearing that the challenge had been changed to archery on foot, they immediately looked down on it and secretly cursed Yu Minsen for being unrefined.
Yan Wenying inwardly groaned, and was about to speak when Lin Yuhu clapped his hands and cheered, his phoenix eyes gleaming with drunkenness. "Riddles are no fun, they're just a test of who can think faster. Compared to that, archery is much more exciting. How about this: I have a spacious field at home. Anyone who wants a prize can go there, each with a bow, and we can all go down together and shoot arrows. Whoever hits the target first gets the prize. What do you say?"
He spoke before Yan Wenying could, and everyone assumed that the couple meant the same thing. The young master and young lady were secretly eager to try, but they were also afraid of making a fool of themselves. For a while, the garden was buzzing with activity, and people kept whispering among themselves.
In the end, including Qian Yingyi, there were a total of twelve people.
Lin Yuhu laughed loudly, "Come on! Follow me!"
After a long and winding journey, we finally arrived at the place Lin Yuhu had mentioned, which took about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
Lin Yuhu had drunk too much and his steps were a little unsteady. He turned his head to look at the two maids carrying trays and pointed to the center of the field, "Go, put it there."
The maid looked troubled and turned to look at Yan Wenying.
Yan Wenying tightened her lips, and after a long while, took a deep breath and nodded.
He immediately exchanged a glance with Yan Ruheng and ordered him to take both prizes and then secretly give them to Qian Yingyi.
The servant of the Lin family soon brought twelve bows and arrows and presented them one by one to the crowd standing in a circle in the arena.
This place is a flat area, like the place where Lin Yuhu learned to ride horses when he was young, so there are only a few dead trees around.
Qin Lizheng leaned against a withered tree, quietly watching the girl with a bow and arrow through the gaps between the crowd of people.
I wonder how accurate your aim is?
Qian Yingyi held a bow, her gaze fixed on the painting in the center. Because it was made of paper, and she was afraid of accidentally damaging it, Lin Yuhu ordered a servant to place a square wooden board on the painting, saying that whoever could hit one corner first would win.
With Wen Ninglan between them, Wu Niansheng glanced at her sideways and whispered, "Yingyi, I'll win it for you."
"Does my sister have no one by her side?" Qian Qiyu happened to be on the other side of him, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes. "Does she need someone like you, a complete stranger, to win for her?"
Yan Ruheng stood tall and elegant opposite Qian Yingyi. Even with a bow and arrow in hand, he remained gentle and refined, exuding the air of a gentleman.
He secretly observed Qian Yingyi's expression, feeling somewhat puzzled. In their previous meetings, he knew very well that her eyes would linger on his face, unable to look away.
But I don't see her like this today...
Soon, Lin Yuhu climbed onto a fake rock about the height of a person's calf and shouted with a laugh, "Listen to my command..."
"shoot--"
With a series of "whoosh" sounds, twelve arrows were fired simultaneously, with the first arrow shooting out from Yan Ruheng's direction and swiftly landing on one of the corners of the wooden board.
Unfortunately, some of the twelve were inexperienced and shot off course, which coincidentally deflected Yan Ruheng's arrow to the side.
Qian Yingyi wasn't interested in the painting; her mind was entirely focused on the glass incense vase. So, it didn't matter who got the painting...
Yu Minsen had been secretly observing her. Seeing her casually draw the bow when shooting arrows, he knew that her goal was something else entirely.
Therefore, in the ensuing struggle, he pretended to have poor aim and frequently missed.
The painting eventually ended up in Yan Ruheng's possession.
Lin Yuhu chuckled twice and then ordered her maid to place a glass incense bottle on the table.
This time it was a bit more difficult because the bottle was relatively small. Lin Yuhu, who was full of wicked ideas, came up with a suggestion: he had a servant cut a piece of hemp rope and make about four fist-sized circles around the glass incense bottle.
The first to shoot into the circle wins.
Qian Yingyi was on high alert this time, her fingertips caressing the bowstring. After a moment, she straightened her back, drew the bow, and aimed the arrow at the circle.
Qin Lizheng raised an eyebrow slightly, somewhat surprised, not expecting her to be so skilled at drawing the bow.
Her gaze shifted slightly, then fell upon Yu Minsen's confident smile, a hint of coldness gradually creeping into her eyes.
Lin Yuhu has already given the order.
Qian Yingyi exerted all her strength, and the arrow shot outward with full force, carrying with her the determination to win.
Her archery skills were taught by her brother, who, although now a civil official, was mischievous in his youth and was an expert archer, hitting the bullseye every time.
She refused to believe she couldn't win it over.
Unexpectedly, trouble arose. The instant the arrow left the bowstring, another arrow shot out from the sky with a fierce gust of wind, heading straight for her bow.
Qian Yingyi tried to dodge, but how could she possibly be a match for an arrow?
As she watched the arrow about to shoot at her, Qian Yingyi's heart leaped into her throat!
The onlookers gasped in surprise.
"Bang!"
Suddenly, a pebble shot out from who-knows-where, striking the arrow directly and making a sharp whistling sound.
Qian Yingyi gasped for breath, her eyes widening in lingering fear. After regaining her senses, she looked in the direction from which the arrow had come and immediately exclaimed angrily, "How despicable the young master is!"
Yu Minsen smiled apologetically, "I'm really sorry, I'm a bit rusty and I've held you back from winning the prize."
Qian Qiyu was both shocked and frightened. With a "smack," she threw down her bow and arrows and pretended to beat Yu Minsen. "You dare to bully my sister in front of me? Didn't I beat you into submission last time?!"
Everyone rushed to pull him away, but Yu Minsen seemed unconcerned about the beating he had received last time, only offering a warm smile, "You missed, just try again."
She then slightly raised her chin towards Qian Yingyi and said with a smile, "You have an accomplice too."
Qian Yingyi's heart was still pounding, and she unconsciously searched for the guards in the crowd.
She knew it must have been him.
Unfortunately, the crowd of people blocked her view during her inspection.
Yan Qiuyan shouted repeatedly, "How can you shoot so wide? If Yingyi had been hit by your shot, how would you compensate her?"
She patted her chest in relief, then hesitated and looked at Qian Yingyi, "Maybe... we shouldn't play anymore."
Qian Yingyi withdrew her gaze from the crowd and returned Yan Qiuyan's reassuring smile, "I'm fine."
Yu Minsen seemed impatient and shouted, "Are you still going to play or not? If not, get off!"
He was always so unforgiving. Qian Yingyi's gaze gradually hardened into a tangible coldness. After a moment of silence, she bent down to pick up the bow and arrows that had just fallen to the ground and said indifferently, "Playing."
This surprised everyone. After what had just happened, they naturally assumed that she was just a weak woman and that even if she was scared, she should have been frightened away.
Yu Minsen glared at Qian Yingyi, his lips slightly parted, "You wait."
If he could shoot the first arrow, he could shoot the second. If he didn't scare her to her knees and beg for mercy today, he wouldn't be able to get rid of the grudge he held from back then.
Unfortunately, he didn't get to be smug.
Before Lin Yuhu could give the order, Qian Yingyi suddenly drew her bow fully, her eyes sharpening with a vengeful glint in them, and shot at Yu Minsen's right leg with a speed that caught everyone off guard.
The arrow was so fast that everyone was still in shock.
Fortunately, Yu Minsen reacted quickly and jumped aside, but he also tripped and fell.
The place was quiet, then a light breeze blew by. Lin Yuhu, drunk and confused, burst out laughing again.
Everyone was shocked and turned to look at Qian Yingyi.
The girl stood quietly in the breeze, her red lips slightly parted, returning the apology she had just said to Yu Minsen.
"Sorry, I was a bit rusty and made you land on your feet."
A note from the author:
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Hehe, the next chapter will be available for purchase!
Qian Yingyi is so handsome!!!
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