Lady Nara also deserted her post.
She wiped the sweat from her forehead and shook her head: "I haven't ridden a horse in years, and my body is already used to the comfort of a carriage. It's too difficult to pick up riding and archery again."
Who would have thought that before the talent show, I was able to ride horses and enjoy leisure activities with my older brothers?
Lady Nara let out a long, leisurely sigh.
The palace is like a golden birdcage, turning these women, who once had full wings, into canaries with broken wings. Apart from serving their masters with beautiful songs, their past survival skills in the wild have long been forgotten.
Noble Lady Nara shook her head, no longer thinking about it, and turned to ask Wan Anran, "How is your archery?"
Wan Anran shook her head: "It's just an act."
The two looked at each other.
Wan Anran and Nara Guiren both gave a wry smile. Their goal had shifted from hunting three roe deer to simply not embarrassing themselves too much in future hunts.
As for anything more.
For example, ranking among the top few and receiving praise from the emperor were not even in their considerations.
Wan Anran shook her head.
The Empress Dowager chuckled and smiled. Instead of criticizing the two, she comforted them, saying, "I've almost forgotten all about riding and archery. It's alright! There will be plenty of opportunities and time in the future. Let's practice step by step and then compete for everyone to see."
Wan Anran nodded with a smile.
If you can't ride a horse, then try archery. Guided by several eunuchs, she picked up a longbow and drew it back with both hands.
Wan Anran's forehead was covered in cold sweat.
The bow that the young eunuch brought was only a sixth-grade bow, but it felt incredibly heavy in his hand. Wan Anran gritted his teeth and strained, feeling as if he needed to use all his strength to draw it.
She breathed a sigh of relief.
Wan Anran released the bowstring and then shook his hand: "How much does a sixth-grade bow weigh?"
"Reporting to Master Qi, a sixth-grade bow is one to three units of strength. The longbow in Master Qi's hand is about one and a half units of strength."
Wan Anran slowly fell into deep thought.
Later generations have always passed down the story of Emperor Sejong's "four and a half strengths" and regarded it as a joke... Hmm. Now, Wan Anran is not sure about the other things, but she is certain of one thing: she absolutely cannot lift the bow with "four and a half strengths".
She swallowed hard.
Wan Anran tentatively asked, "If I want to become a four-and-a-half-strength individual, how much practice time would I need?"
"Four and a half li?" The little eunuch was taken aback for a moment. Then he replied tactfully, "This servant heard that His Majesty has ordered the making of a bow and arrow for Daxin, and it already has four and a half li."
Wan Anran: ...
Keep in mind that the eldest prince is only six years old. The little eunuch was almost saying: "Your Highness Consort Qi, you have no talent!"
Wan Anran's cheeks puffed up instantly.
The Empress Dowager couldn't hide her smile and reached out to poke Consort Qi's forehead: "With your inconsistent work ethic, you expect to be able to pick up a 4.5-strength bow and arrow right away? Just use what you have."
Wan Anran was too embarrassed to say what she was thinking.
Looking at their own incompetence, even the Wan'an people were starting to worry. They wondered if Mao Tao could even lift a four-and-a-half-strength bow and arrow? And if he was even worse…
Just thinking about it made Wan Anran want to shed a tear for her future son, Xiao Maotao. She secretly resolved that when Xiao Maotao grew up, she would seriously urge him to train hard and strive to surpass Si Liban.
With her mind in turmoil, Wan Anran picked up her bow and arrow again to practice. She pulled back the bowstring, her slender fingers nocked the arrow, and held her breath as she aimed at the target.
With a twang of the bowstring, the arrow hurtled toward the target like a shooting star. Judging by the action and appearance alone, Wan Anran would get full marks, but the problem and the result only earned him zero points—the arrow didn't even touch the target before falling directly to the ground.
Wan Anran's cheeks grew even redder.
Unconvinced, she picked up her bow and arrow and fired several more arrows, but unfortunately, even the best arrow barely landed on the target, still a long way from the bullseye.
Wan Anran wants to come again.
This time, it was the Empress Dowager who stopped her. The Empress Dowager took the bow and arrow from Wan Anran's hand: "Watch carefully, I'll demonstrate for you."
As soon as Wan Anran finished speaking, the Empress Dowager's aura instantly changed. If the Empress Dowager was usually a kind middle-aged woman, now she exuded the aura of a great general.
The Empress Dowager stood upright, her eyes fixed straight ahead. With just a slight exertion of her arm, she drew the bow and arrow in a perfectly rounded motion.
Not only Wan Anran stared intently, but even Consort Nara and many palace servants all turned their gazes to the Empress Dowager. No one had expected the Empress Dowager to have such a side to her.
The next instant, only a soft shout was heard from the Empress Dowager. With lightning speed, she darted towards the target, stabbing it hard and deeply into the bullseye.
All three arrows were fired in succession, and the result was the same.
Wan Anran's mouth gaped open as she jumped up and down excitedly, clapping her hands vigorously: "Empress Dowager, you are truly amazing!"
The Empress Dowager chuckled: "You can achieve this level with more practice."
"Really?"
"Of course it's true, I never lie!"
Wan Anran nodded excitedly.
She fawned over the Empress Dowager, massaging her shoulders and hands: "Empress Dowager, tell me, how can this be accomplished?"
Just as the Empress Dowager was about to speak, a commotion arose behind them. Wan Anran looked up and saw that the horse race between Consort Yi and Consort Xuan had concluded, and surprisingly, the winner was not Consort Xuan but Consort Yi.
Consort Xuan was somewhat disappointed, but her expression remained composed. She smiled and clapped at Consort Yi, gracefully accepting her defeat: "Next time, I won't lose to you!"
Consort Yi raised her head slightly: "I won't lose next time either!"
The moment their eyes met, it was as if thunder could be heard. They looked away, and Consort Yi trotted her horse towards the edge of the riding arena, stopping right in front of Wan Anran: "Consort Qi, would you like me to teach you a few moves?"
Wan Anran shook her head.
She earnestly stated, "It would be best for my younger sister to practice archery first, and then learn to ride a horse, taking it one step at a time."
Since this hunt wouldn't be necessary, Wan Anran was happy to take it slow, as there were plenty of days to come.
Consort Yi was simply trying to show off.
Seeing that Wan Anran didn't give her the chance, she pouted and turned to run two more laps. Consort Yi was determined to make a name for herself at the hunt and attract the Emperor's attention.
But as soon as she turned around, Wan Anran exclaimed in surprise. Her gaze fell on Consort Yi's back, where a patch of her fiery red qipao had deepened, almost turning black.
It looks like it's been stained with water...
Wan Anran's heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively rushed forward to grab the horse's reins.
That move was too dangerous.
The chestnut horse let out a startled neigh. Fortunately, Consort Yi reacted very quickly, otherwise the horse might have kicked Consort Qi away.
Even so, Consort Yi turned pale with fright and shouted sternly, "Consort Qi! Are you out of your mind?"
Wan Anran initially had some doubts.
As she got closer, her suspicion turned to seven-tenths. She looked up at Consort Yi, her expression even more serious than Consort Yi's: "If you ask me, Consort Yi, are you out of your mind?"
"...Huh?" Consort Yi was stunned when she was turned around and accused. As the saying goes, one's momentum is strong at the beginning but weak at the end. When Consort Yi hesitated for a moment and then became angry again, her momentum obviously dropped a lot.
Consort Xuan, realizing something was wrong, rushed over.
Without hesitation, she placed her trust in Wan Anran: "Sister Qi, what's wrong?"
Wan Anran lowered her voice.
She looked at Consort Yi: "You didn't even know you were having your period?"
Consort Yi was stunned.
She blurted out instinctively, "How could that be? I haven't had my period yet..."
Consort Yi's voice abruptly stopped.
If it wasn't her period, then what could it be? She stiffened her neck and looked down, her fingertips lightly touching it; it was wet and smelled of blood…
Consort Yi turned pale with fright.
The Empress Dowager's expression changed drastically the moment she approached. Even though she had never given birth, she knew the problem. Without hesitation, the Empress Dowager immediately ordered the palace servants to help Consort Yi down and take her to a side hall to rest, while summoning the imperial physician.
The good news is that Consort Yi is pregnant.
The bad news is that riding a horse has made Consort Yi's pregnancy unstable, and there is a possibility of miscarriage. Forget about riding a horse and hunting, the only thing Consort Yi can do now is to lie in bed and rest.
Consort Yi was overjoyed, but also filled with lingering fear!
According to the imperial physician, if it hadn't been discovered immediately, or if it had been discovered half an hour or even an hour later, the pregnancy might not have been saved.
The more she longed for the child in her womb, the more terrified she became. Consort Yi held Consort Qi's hand, choking back tears, unable to express her gratitude even a thousand or ten thousand times.
Even Consort Guo, who was less than two months away from giving birth, rushed over and bowed deeply to Consort Qi, saying, "This concubine thanks Consort Qi for saving my life."
Consort Yi's pregnancy was like a pebble thrown into a lake, causing ripples upon ripples. Especially after news spread that Consort Yi had suspected a miscarriage, which was discovered by Consort Qi, many concubines secretly complained about Consort Qi's meddling.
It's important to understand that Consort Yi is different from Consort Qi, who didn't receive much favor. Consort Yi, who was considered the most favored concubine in the harem, was pregnant and gave birth, which was of extraordinary significance.
At this moment, Consort An also raised a question: "Noble Lady Guo is pregnant, and Consort Yi is also pregnant now, so doesn't that mean there are two children in Yikun Palace?"
For a time, the palace maintained a calm on the surface, but beneath the surface, a turbulent undercurrent was brewing, with everyone's eyes fixed on Consort Guo.
With her due date approaching, Consort Guo's emotional instability was evident on her face. Even with Consort Yi's comforting words, Consort Guo remained preoccupied.
If Consort Guo had previously wanted a prince, she was now secretly praying: "If only it were a daughter."
Of course, some people complained, while others had a better impression of Consort Qi. For example, Emperor Kangxi, the Empress, and Consorts Hui and Rong.
As the two sat together talking, they couldn't help but mention Consort Qi. Consort Hui sighed, "Her Majesty the Empress has a better eye than us. To be honest, if I, my sister, had found out... I probably wouldn't have said anything, would I?"
"Isn't that right?" Consort Rong said with a sense of sympathy. She and Consort Hui had both lost children and knew how difficult it was to be a good person in the cold and cruel harem, how hard it was to be a good person, and how rare it was to be a good person.
The two recognized each other at first glance.
Consort Hui and Consort Rong both felt that Consort Qi might be someone they could get along with.
In no time, Wan Anran received many invitations, and many influential people, attendants, and accomplices greeted her frequently, instantly improving her popularity.
Wan Anran was happy to interact with the pandas, but her only problem was that with so many people coming and going, she had less time to play with them.
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