Chapter 66 – Impressive, Word Streamer! (1)
Wu Ma Jun didn’t want to offend either side, so he chose to remain neutral, while Feng Jin’s anger was already aflame inside.
The Young Master took a peculiar fruit from the food table, slightly larger than an adult’s fist.
Xu Ke’s eyes widened as he held the fruit, seemingly not expecting things to unfold this way.
Feng Jin rarely shed his gentle façade, coldly stating, “There are ladies present; if an arrow goes astray, wouldn’t that disturb the Noble person?”
The opponent pressed forward aggressively, “Ritual, music, archery, charioteering, arithmetic, and writing—these are the six arts of a gentleman, the foundation of a gentleman’s existence. Cultivating the mind, self-cultivation, managing the household, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world are paramount. Everyone here has learned since childhood; how could you not even control a single arrow?”
Finishing his point, he laughed again, youthful yet harboring a sinister smile.
Remembering Jiang Pengji’s past judgment regarding this pink-clad Young Master, Feng Jin couldn’t help but admire her perceptiveness once more.
Taking a silent deep breath, he maintained a placating demeanor, “Young Master, have you forgotten? This is Lan Ting’s book boy, a servant of the Liu Residence. How could you overstep your bounds and lay hands on him? Such behavior is unbefitting of a gentleman, so I advise you to reconsider.”
Lan Ting, someone who could dispatch a horde of bandits, was no easy target.
Rather than protecting Xu Ke, it seemed Feng Jin was preventing a potential “disaster.”
And he truly couldn’t comprehend why someone would provoke Lan Ting at this moment.
Did they not know that Lan Ting’s father was the chief examiner this year? A single word from him could determine the fate of many young scholars.
The opponent scoffed, “Ha, if something happens to this lowly servant, he can compensate Lan Ting with ten or eight more. Blind fools, fetch me the bow and arrow… I suppose Lan Ting, coming from a scholarly family with strict upbringing, wouldn’t bother over a lowly servant’s grievance…”
Xu Ke’s barely concealed anger now made his hands tremble.
These national leeches, unaware of people’s suffering and indulging in pleasure, disregard life and death, taking positions without merit… young but with hearts like steel.
An arrogant voice drifted to his ears, “Set him at fifty paces; make sure he stands still, and don’t shiver, lest you miss your aim.”
There were quite a few household servants guarding the Elegant Gathering, surrounded by a layer of white cloth that blocked the wind and hid them from prying eyes.
Wei Jingxian, hearing the commotion next door, curiously called a maidservant over to inquire, only to learn what was happening.
Wan Xiuer, seated nearby, frowned and said, “This Elegant Gathering was meant for poetry discussions; how did it turn into this?”
The clueless Noble Girl giggled softly, “I heard that Young Master Zheng has had his eye on Jingxian for a while; he’s probably feeling jealous.”
Had it been any other time, Wei Jingxian would have shot him an angry glare for such teasing, but today, she seemed distracted, and Wan Xiuer had to nudge her several times to bring her back to reality, looking quite absent-minded.
Wan Xiuer bluntly expressed her discontent, “Even if it’s jealousy, it shouldn’t lead to such humiliation.”
It was one thing for a book boy to outdo her in poetry; it was another to throw a tantrum and lash out. Such behavior was terribly unsightly.
Thinking it over, she called over her maidservant and whispered a few words to have Lan Ting come and clean up the mess.
Wei Jingxian cast a grateful glance at Wan Xiuer, which made the latter feel quite perplexed.
There was something odd about this Elegant Gathering today, and Wan Xiuer couldn’t help but furrow her brows.
Meanwhile, Jiang Pengji was still leading a horse out for a walk.
A group of audience members inexplicably began calling her “Senior Brother” and called Shangguan Wan the “loli version of Master.” She had no idea what had triggered these people’s fanboy moment, feeling as if she were surrounded by a bunch of crazies… the generation gap truly couldn’t be bridged.
“Eh?”
“What’s wrong now?”
Jiang Pengji lifted her eyelids, this little ancestor still wanted to continue walking the horse?
Her wooden sandals were about to wear out on these stones!
Shangguan Wan looked uncertain, “Brother Lan Ting, it seems someone over there is running towards us, waving.”
“Waving?” Jiang Pengji frowned, a hint of displeasure flashing in her heart. She said to Shangguan Wan, “Let me take a look.”
With a light shift of energy, she easily leaped onto the horse’s back, startling Shangguan Wan into almost gasping out loud.
“Hold tight to the reins.” With that, the previously quiet horse suddenly reared and dashed forward, “What’s the matter?”
Jiang Pengji steadied the reins, as the horse precisely came to a stop in front of the stranger maidservant.
The maidservant crouched and bowed before saying, “Your servant was sent by the Young Mistress to inform you to return quickly.”
“A headless message, who knows what’s happened…”
Jiang Pengji mumbled softly, just then, Shangguan Wan, being held by her, looked around, and then exclaimed, pointing at a clear area in the Elegant Gathering, “Brother Lan Ting, look over there; the target looks… like a person?”
A target? Like a person?
Jiang Pengji furrowed her brows, following Shangguan Wan’s finger to glance over.
Because her back was turned, Shangguan Wan didn’t see the sudden change in expression of the other party, and after waiting for a long while without a response, she called, “Brother Lan Ting?”
After a long pause, a slightly sinister suppressed voice came from behind, “Wan’er, do you want to try archery?”
Jiang Pengji grinned, a glint of fierceness flashing in her eyes. So they want to bully people at their doorstep, huh?
Not waiting for Shangguan Wan to agree, Jiang Pengji took the bow and arrow hanging from the horse’s accessories.
“Hold tight to the reins!”
While saying this, she tightened her legs around the horse’s belly, and the obedient white horse suddenly jolted, galloping swiftly toward the Elegant Gathering pavilion. Jiang Pengji calmly drew an arrow from the quiver, the bow string instantly curling into a crescent.
It’s worth mentioning that this bow was a full stone’s strength; in this era, one stone was approximately equivalent to 50 kilograms. Not everyone could easily pull a bow of such strength. Some adult men might manage it, but it was quite terrifying in the hands of a twelve-year-old (or a girl).
On the other side, Xu Ke restrained his rising anger, bouncing the peculiar fruit on his head.
Fifty steps away, the pink-robed Young Master wore a constant smile, taking his bow from the attendant, weighing it, feeling somewhat satisfied. This was the bow he practiced with, requiring half a stone of strength to draw to its full.
Seeing him actually draw the bow, aiming clearly for Xu Ke’s heart, anger surged in Feng Jin, who stepped forward to grab his hand, raising the bow. At that same moment, an arrow shot through the air, slicing past Feng Jin’s cheek, bringing with it a sting.
In a split second, as everyone stood dumbfounded, the Young Master’s neatly arranged headpiece was swept away by the arrow, his raven hair cascading down.
Thud—
The arrow lodged deep into a pear tree, the exposed tip quivering for a long while before finally coming to rest.
“My person—who gave you the right to act with such aggression!”
